At this time, one of the kneeling villagers, an aged elder with a sunken waist, raised his head and lifted his hand:
"We are humans, we are humans ah! Our ancestors were Qin People."
"Do not know which gods you exalted folks might be, are you perhaps visitors from beyond the heavens?"
The elder's words momentarily halted the internal debates within Luo Yu's group.
Cao Ritian opened his mouth to ask, "Your ancestors were Qin People?"
The elder immediately answered with a panic, "Yes, we are all descendants of the Qin People. We lost track of the years in these mountains, and now we don't even know how many years have passed."
"Why would you think we are visitors from beyond the heavens?" Zhu Qing pressed on.
The elder said, "Sirs, you all possess a remarkable bearing, completely different from those green corpses outside, how could you be monsters?"
"But in this world, there is only our village; no outsiders exist, so you can only be visitors from beyond the heavens."
"What do you know?" Cao Ritian narrowed his eyes.
The elder answered, "Our ancestors were once protected by the Mountain Lord. After an upheaval in the outside world, the Mountain Lord, in his mercy, to avoid calamity befalling our village, used Great Divine Power to bring our ancestors into this Peach Blossom Spring, and thus we have settled here ever since, severing ties with the outside world."
"Do not know, honored sirs, how many hundreds of years into Great Qin it is now in the outside world?"
Hearing the elder's response, everyone was shocked.
The legendary Peach Blossom Spring, it actually existed, only it was a bit more bizarre.
"Pre-Qin immigrants?" Luo Yu narrowed his eyes. Whether others believed it or not, he did not—there were too many suspicious points here.
"Great Qin fell in its second generation, and it has been over two thousand years since its demise," Zhu Qing bluntly stated.
"What?"
"Impossible!!!"
The elder was greatly startled upon hearing this.
"According to ancestors' records, Emperor Qin Shi Huang had the bearing of a divinely favored being, his power overshadowing everything under the heavens, his achievements covering all the lands. It is inconceivable that he would perish hastily—after just two generations; surely he was meant to attain immortality," the elder argued.
"Qi Refiners, Mystical Beasts?" Zhu Qing and the others were startled once again at these words.
Legend had it that Emperor Qin Shi Huang was but a mortal ruler, yet listening to the Pre-Qin immigrants, he seemed like a cultivator with Great Divine Power.
"Indeed, this further confirms that many great cultivators existed in ancient times, and Martial Artists and Mutant Beasts were not just phenomena of recent times."
"But the resurgence of the Red Moon and Spiritual Energy truly did appear only in recent times."
"What secrets exactly is history concealing?"
The crowd was abuzz with discussion, as the elder's words sparked endless speculation.
"Enough, you believe whatever someone says?" Zhu Qing rudely interrupted: "I might also claim I'm the reincarnation of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, trapped in the Secret Realm unable to escape, asking you to send money my way. Would you believe that too?"
As he spoke, he strode forward to stand before the elder, snorted coldly, and a ball of purple-black flames appeared in his palm, hissing as they scorched the air.
"Audacious monster."
"I could tell at a glance you are not human."
"Now reveal your true form at once!!"
"What?" The crowd expressed their astonishment, immediately erupting with Spiritual Power all over, watching the hundreds of kneeling villagers with caution.
In an instant, the elder prostrated himself on the ground, utterly subservient.
"An injustice, an injustice, sirs. This old man and all the villagers are merely ordinary humans, not blessed with such marvelous Great Divine Power as you sirs have," the elder pleaded.
"Hmm, I know you are wronged, everyone get up, sorry about this, old village chief."
The village chief and all the villagers dared not stand up, seemingly frightened.
Zhu Qing laughed, returned to the main group, and winked, a sly glint flashing through his eyes.
"How was it, did I act the part well?"
"If there were any monsters, they probably would have been scared out of their wits just now, ready to lash out at us in an instant."
"These villagers are so thoroughly cowed; they really do seem to be Pre-Qin immigrants."
Pan Ren and others nodded, while Luo Yu felt somewhat speechless inside.
It seemed quite a convincing act, without any flaws, but if they really spotted a yōkai, who the hell would shout a warning to the creature? That would be purely foolish.
Shouldn't it be to strike instantaneously, to attack by surprise, taking down one if possible?
Seeing the others lavishly praise Zhu Qing, Luo Yu was even more speechless. He had a faint suspicion that these villagers were peculiar, but after sweeping his gaze over them with a glint of gold in his eyes, he indeed didn't find any issues, unless he increased the power, but then the others should've noticed.
Most of Cao Ritian and his people were hot-blooded youths, naturally incapable of mindlessly killing the innocent.
Once they were sure there were no problems, they no longer made things difficult for the villagers.
The villagers also warmly brought them to their seats and made room for them.
"You have been living here for generations, what do you survive on, aren't you afraid of the green corpses on the mountain?" Cao Ritian sat in the chief seat, with the other team leaders and Luo Yu also at this table.
The old village chief sighed bitterly:
"Afraid, how could we not be afraid."
"It's just thanks to the Mountain Lord, those green corpses only act at night, they absolutely do not appear during the day. We go to the north side of the village to farm during the day, so there isn't much danger."
"Why don't the green corpses attack your village?" Zhu Qing asked.
The old village chief cast his gaze outside the village, showing a deep sense of gratitude.
"It's all thanks to the Boundary Stele left by the Mountain Lord."
"Thanks to this stele, the entire village is protected within a barrier, those demons can't get in."
"I see." Zhu Qing suddenly realized and nodded towards Cao Ritian, "Looks like the reason we can't fly is because of this Mountain Lord's barrier."
"Even a fool could figure out what's going on, no need to show off."
Cao Ritian faced the elder, not showing his domineering arrogance, and calmly inquired, "Old village chief, do you know the source of the green corpses, we can lend a hand and eliminate the trouble once and for all."
"No need, no need!" The old village chief exclaimed in alarm, his face showing indescribable fear.
"What do you mean, are you trying to shield something?" Pan Ren narrowed his eyes.
"I wouldn't dare. I'm just afraid the honorable guests might go and never return, needlessly losing their lives." The old man sighed deeply, as if he were thinking of something dreadful.
"Bullshit, there's no demon we can't subdue." Zhu Qing slammed his hand on the table, his youthful vigor unable to bear such provocation.
"There's no harm in telling us, our team specializes in subduing demons, and besides, that's exactly why we've come here." Cao Ritian assured.
After hesitating for a moment, the old man said, "According to ancestral records, a wicked spirit is suppressed under the mountain. It once rampantly killed people until it was personally suppressed by the Mountain Lord. The Sky Giant Eye and the green corpses are probably its means of gradually reviving."
Biting his teeth, he said, "If you really are confident, tomorrow during the day this old man can lead you all up the mountain to search."
"Hahaha, it seems that solving the wicked spirit sealed beneath the mountain, we would have essentially unraveled this Secret Realm." Zhu Qing laughed loudly.
"Take us there tonight." Cao Ritian spoke up.
"That can't be done, no way." The elder waved his hands repeatedly, "The wicked spirit's power increases at night, and tonight, my daughter's getting married, leaving wouldn't be quite..."
Everyone understood the elder was trying to say it wouldn't be quite appropriate, but dared not say it outright.
Luo Yu gestured with his hand towards the far end of the banquet away from where they were, "This old man getting married to your daughter, she wouldn't happen to be in those two coffins, would she?"
"What?"
Their attention being on the villagers and the questions for the elder, they only noticed upon Luo Yu's reminder the two mahogany coffins at the distant end of the feast, covered with flowers and placed side by side in a square fashion, not particularly noticeable amidst the floral decorations.
"Damn it! Just what kind of demon are you, old man? I've never heard of anyone getting married in two coffins." Zhu Qing erupted in anger, gripping the old man's neck.
"Cough, cough, cough, my lord, my daughter and son-in-law died tragically. They were supposed to get married today, but mysteriously died yesterday, found at the village entrance already turned into mummies, likely victims of the wicked spirit's doing."
"To make up for their regrets in life, I planned to help them fulfill their wishes and then bury them."
"I see." Feeling embarrassed, Zhu Qing let go, "Sorry, sorry, it's all a misunderstanding."
"I take no offense." The old village chief kept shaking his head, coughing non-stop, "The honored guests may dine here, please stay over tonight, and tomorrow this old man will accompany you to the mountain."
Seeing that an inquiry and all other aspects revealed no problems, they all somewhat relaxed.
"Damn it, traveling thousands of miles to Sichuan Province, and then getting a scare from the green corpses, it's about time to eat. Let's feast!" Zhu Qing was unabashed, grabbing a plump and fragrant chicken leg from the table, the aroma was truly tempting.
While Zhu Qing was eating heartily, Luo Yu didn't touch his chopsticks, feeling something was amiss. When he cast his gaze toward the coffin and activated his X-ray vision,
his heart suddenly skipped a beat, and his pupils constricted sharply.