"What... what's happening? What has happened to our... our family temple?"

Upon seeing the eerie scene outside the ancestral hall, Xu Qingyuan was immediately thrown into a panic, his face reflecting utter horror.

Incense was stuck in little mounds of soil, and these little soil mounds looked eerily like miniature graves.

The scene was chilling to the extreme. Combined with what he had seen earlier, it involuntarily sparked dreadful associations in his mind.

Xu Qingyuan subconsciously wondered whether these small soil mounds actually symbolized real graves.

If they were real graves, or substitutes of graves, appearing outside his family temple and encircling it, what could that possibly signify?

He did not dare to imagine.

Xiao Mu was relatively calm at the sight. The appearance of grave-like mounds, although surprising, did not seem totally unreasonable to him.

The Sky-covering Bloody Tiles and the Ghost Gate had already appeared; what more difference could replicating graves with little soil mounds make?

He could not help but examine the small soil mounds closely, stuck with incense. The incense was the Unusual Incense, emitting an abnormal smell that immediately reminded Xiao Mu of the particular scent he'd been noticing earlier.

From beginning to end, the Yin Spirits or Evil Spirits had been using the same kind of incense.

This incense might have come from Xu Qingyuan's family.

Xiao Mu's attention fell onto the mound beneath the incense. On closer inspection, he was taken aback.

The small mound was made of Nether Soil, the same type that Xiao Mu had found earlier in the Xu Family's property.

The black Nether Soil was stained red with blood, releasing an unusual form of evil power.

As the incense burned, it seemed to be absorbing something from the little soil mound through the power of the Nether Soil. Afterwards, it released it, disappearing into nothingness.

This is...?

Xiao Mu took a careful sniff, and after distinguishing the scent, discovered that the blood in each mound of Nether Soil varied, but was of the same origin.

This implied that the blood came from the same bloodline, shared the same ancestors, but belonged to different individuals.

A shudder ran through Xiao Mu, a horrible thought forming in his mind.

The blood on the Nether Soil and the blood scent he had smelled from Xu Qingyuan and Father Xu were extremely similar. Obviously, it was originating from someone in Xu Qingyuan's family clan.

A feeling of foreboding swept over him.

Could these tiny soil mounds really represent certain graves? Could these graves belong to the ancestors of the Xu Family?

Did the burning incense extract power from the graves, specifically the ancestral blood power of the Xu Family?

Simultaneously, Xiao Mu smelled a sinister scent from the burning process of the incense.

The scent was accompanied by an intense corrosive power, as if it were making a sacrificial offering.

Were the Evil Ghosts burning incense to sacrifice the ancestors of the Xu Family?

If so, the ancestors of the Xu Family must have met with some disaster and met their absolute end.

After the demise of the Yin Spirits, burning incense on the grave mound; such an absurd act of evil was clearly intending to devour the Yin Spirits entirely and take control of the power held in the ancestors' bloodline left in the corpse.

Glancing at Xu Qingyuan, an ominous thought arose in Xiao Mu's mind.

All of Xu Qingyuan's ancestors were already dead. This news should not be shared with Xu Qingyuan for now, lest it cause him to panic and make a mistake.

His gaze returned to the Xu Family ancestral hall.

Inside the hall, a tranquil atmosphere prevailed. From the outside at least, there was no sign of any Evil Spirit mischief.

This left Xiao Mu feeling somewhat stunned.

It seemed that the Evil Ghosts had some special means. These methods had created the present phenomenon, managing to fool even him.

"One, two, three..."

Xu Qingyuan began counting the small soil mounds in a low voice.

"How many?"

Xiao Mu asked.

"Six... six."

Xu Qingyuan replied shakily.

"How many ancestors does your family have in total?"

"Th...thirteen."

Xu Qingyuan answered again with trembling voice. Evidently, seeing these soil mounds resembling graves, he had started to dread what it might imply.

Thirteen? Yet the soil mounds made to look like graves numbered only six, could it be that...

Xiao Mu was slightly relieved at the response, wondering if not all the Xu Family ancestors had met their demise…

Then, he heard Xu Qingyuan continue in a trembling voice, "Thirteen ancestors, but... including the great-ancestor, there are only... only seven remaining Yin Spirits... Six mounds here... could it be..."

Xu Qingyuan's voice was shaking so much that he almost couldn't finish his sentence.

However, Xiao Mu had already understood his meaning. Despite the Xu Family having thirteen ancestors, the number of remaining Yin Spirits was just seven, including the Great Ancestor Xu.

The other six Yin Spirits had either undergone reincarnation or had completely ceased to exist.

Could it be that there were six graves made of Nether Soil outside the temple?

Did it mean that these six counted all but Great Ancestor Xu, or were they inclusive of him, and one ancestor had escaped?

"Overthinking won't help the situation, let's go in and see."

Xiao Mu suggested.

"Our ancestors... must have met with some disaster."

Xu Qingyuan looked panicked, deeply anxious, his countenance ashen and grave.

"Mr. Xu!"

Seeing this, Xiao Mu couldn't help but scold him. With a serious face, he reminded him, "This is not the time to worry. I suspect there are Evil Spirits in your family temple. Your present state, once inside, will only reveal our intention."

"The situation is very severe. The slightest carelessness, and your entire family could die."

"Thus, Mr. Xu, please curb your grief, calm down, come in with me, and we'll act according to the situation. If things worsen, no one will be able to help you."

"Mr. Mu, you're right. I apologize for my loss of poise."

Upon hearing Xiao Mu's words, Xu Qingyuan shook himself, quickly rallying his spirits and calming down; he seemed much better.

"That's more like it, Mr. Xu. The situation is critical, there's no room for negligence. Once we're inside, no matter what we encounter, please maintain your composure. Leave the rest to me."

Xiao Mu instructed.

"Alright, Mr. Mu."

Xu Qingyuan readily agreed.

At this point, the two of them proceeded in, walking towards the temple through the main entrance.

They soon entered the ancestral hall.

To their astonishment, once inside the hall, the atmosphere was even more tranquil and harmonious. Inside the whole hall, there was no sign of any Evil Ghosts or malevolent presence, only an atmosphere of familial warmth and coziness.

Yes, familial warmth and coziness.

After all, this was the temple, the Xu Family's family temple; it was where they worshipped their ancestors.

In such a place, even if inhabited by Yin Spirits, there would not be any sense of grim terror.

But, the more it seemed so, the more suspicious Xiao Mu grew.

He signaled to Xu Qingyuan with his eyes, prompting him to lift the sacred curtain and go in.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

A sudden old coughing sound came from within the hall, "Is that you, Qingyuan? Come in quickly!"

Xiao Mu's expression remained calm as he looked at Xu Qingyuan.

"It's my grandfather."

Xu Qingyuan responded, his voice a mix of sorrow and joy.

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