Chapter 247: Completely Different
Zhou Ping's heart gave a slight jolt, and thoughts flashed rapidly through his mind.
What should he say? What excuse could he find?
Or perhaps this difficult Immortal Master had some other method?
This Immortal Master couldn't possibly only know how to manipulate him, right?
"Uncle Zhou..." Zhou Ping had just uttered two words when he heard a bang!
Immediately after, he saw Uncle Zhou fall straight back, closing his eyes.
But halfway down, he stood back up in a bizarre manner, like a corpse springing to life.
Seeing this scene, Zhou Ping felt his heart pound fiercely. Could a person feign death and reanimate like a corpse?
What... what the hell was this thing?
Zhou Ping suppressed the urge to scream. Watching Uncle Zhou look like a walking corpse, he didn't know if something was wrong with Uncle Zhou or if the Immortal Master in his basket had made a move.
"Walk toward the wall where he came from." Chen Baiqing's voice gently drifted out.
Hearing the voice, Zhou Ping let out a sigh of relief and began to play along.
"Uncle Zhou, tired? You shouldn't be up this late. Let me help you over for a bit."
As he spoke, Zhou Ping supported the middle-aged man, guiding him toward the shadows where he had come from.
The middle-aged man nodded his head in a somewhat eerie, jerky manner. His walking movements were abstract, giving the distinct impression of a marionette.
Seeing this, Zhou Ping realized that Immortal methods indeed had their own ways.
After the middle-aged man sat down by the wall, Zhou Ping heard Chen Baiqing's cool, crisp voice.
"Continue to the ancestral hall."
Zhou Ping nodded repeatedly. Having witnessed this skill, he felt somewhat more grounded.
When he turned his head, under the contrast of the dim moonlight and shadows, he seemed to vaguely catch sight of a few thin threads being retracted.
Hiss...
Zhou Ping instantly understood the method of the Immortal Master in his basket.
Were Immortal methods truly this unadorned?!
He had thought it relied on Immortal arts, but it turned out to rely on technique?!
But technique it was. Even this technique was not something he could ever hope to touch.
Zhou Ping took a deep breath and continued toward the not-so-distant ancestral hall, his expression returning to normal.
With Uncle Zhou out of the way as an unexpected variable, Zhou Ping encountered no further surprises on the road to the ancestral hall entrance.
At least, that was his perception.
Zhoushan Village was poor; most houses were made of mud. Only the ancestral hall was built with the most grandeur.
Vermilion doors stood tall, pasted with images of glowering deities, looking as if they were interrogating him.
Stopping a few meters from the entrance, Zhou Ping spoke.
"Great Immortal, we have arrived."
"Push the door and go inside."
"Great Immortal... if I go in, unless something unexpected happens... I will probably die, right?"
"What you need to think about is that if you don't push the door, even if an accident happens, you will still die."
Hearing this, Zhou Ping took a deep breath. He glanced around, and seeing no one nearby, he summoned his courage and walked toward the vermilion gates of the ancestral hall.
Under the glow of red lanterns, Zhou Ping swallowed lightly, suppressing the terror in his heart, and reached out to push the door.
Zhou Ping hoped the door wouldn't open—that way, he wouldn't have to face his fear.
But he also feared the door wouldn't open—the Great Immortal in the basket behind him would likely make him suffer even more.
Just as Zhou Ping's hand was about to touch the door, Chen Baiqing's slightly grave voice came.
"Stop."
Zhou Ping's hand halted immediately. It was clear that the Great Immortal in the basket was very cautious in her actions. If she suddenly called him to stop...
There was no doubt that this door likely had a major problem!
Zhou Ping realized this and felt goosebumps rise all over his body. He felt as though he had just walked a circle around the gates of hell.
This ancestral hall was indeed deadly; just pushing a door could kill someone...
At the same time, he felt lucky that this Great Immortal didn't truly treat him as cannon fodder and actually gave a warning.
Zhou Ping asked in a low voice, "Then... what do we do now?"
Chen Baiqing looked at the vermilion door and spoke calmly.
"I will open it."
Zhou Ping heard the voice shift suddenly from the basket behind him to his side. His heart pounded wildly. He looked sideways; the young girl Immortal Master was now standing beside him, her expression serious as she gazed at the vermilion door before them.
"Great Immortal... I only ask one thing of you..." Zhou Ping felt he couldn't hold on much longer.
Chen Baiqing glanced sideways at him. "What is it?"
Zhou Ping said with a mournful look, "Great Immortal, please don't scare me suddenly anymore. My heart is pounding terribly."
It was already night, and the atmosphere was gloomy and frightening. They had come to such a deadly place.
This Great Immortal was indeed powerful, appearing and disappearing like a ghost, but that was also terrifying!
He had been living in fear for some time now, and she still kept springing big surprises on him.
Chen Baiqing withdrew her gaze. Her Master had taught her to have a bit more tolerance when within one's ability.
With the utmost tolerance, she said, "I didn't scare you; your courage is just a bit small. Don't worry, even if you want to die, it won't be that simple."
Zhou Ping instantly felt the charm of language... he could only take those words as kindness.
It probably wasn't a threat, right?
However, Zhou Ping didn't have the chance to ask further.
Chen Baiqing had already extended her fair little hand, her expression grave as she reached to push the vermilion door.
Zhou Ping silently retreated two steps, standing behind Chen Baiqing. He wasn't standing behind a young girl; he was standing behind a Great Immortal.
He held his breath, watching Chen Baiqing's small hand make contact with the vermilion door. The door seemed unlocked and was pushed open bit by bit by Chen Baiqing.
It was unlike the clash of Immortal power or dazzling light shaking the village that he had imagined.
Chen Baiqing simply reached out in an ordinary manner and pushed the door open, without even a breeze passing by.
Could it be... that this Great Immortal was just toying with him?!
But soon, this thought was erased from Zhou Ping's mind.
Chen Baiqing didn't push the door wide open, but the gap was enough to see the situation inside.
The interior structure was simple. Several statues of unclear significance but very fierce appearance lined the left and right of the main hall.
A plaque hung high above inside the ancestral hall.
Chen Baiqing looked up and saw four large characters written on the plaque—Incense Divine Path.
The plaque was written with a certain charm. Chen Baiqing could even faintly sense that it seemed to contain some kind of spiritual power.
The surroundings of the ancestral hall were filled with incense. This incense constantly emitted red dust, drifting toward the center of the hall.
However, the most conspicuous sight was Ancestor Zhou, suspended in mid-air by a dust mist emitting a faint red glow, wearing an expression that seemed to be smiling yet not smiling.
Ancestor Zhou's body remained motionless; only his lips moved slightly up and down. His eyes were completely dead.
Chen Baiqing pushed the door open a little further. Zhou Ping saw the statues on the left and right inside the door, one holding a sword and the other a blade, glaring furiously at the entrance.
After looking at Ancestor Zhou for a moment, Chen Baiqing's expression became extremely grave.
The aura on Ancestor Zhou's body was not considered thick; strictly speaking, his level was below the fifth layer of Qi Condensation.
His strength was not great, and the ritual array before him was of a high grade, but its purpose was clearly to control the power of incense and wishes to nourish Ancestor Zhou.
So, it didn't pose a threat to Chen Baiqing.
What truly puzzled Chen Baiqing was... there were two different consciousnesses crazily intertwined within Ancestor Zhou at this moment. In Chen Baiqing's eyes, they had almost twisted into substance.
One was likely regret and anger.
The other was endless calm.
Humans were complex, and possessing many emotions simultaneously was normal, but absolutely not such opposite emotions.
If Chen Baiqing sensed correctly—the two emotions were conveyed by nearly two souls.
Inside the body of Ancestor Zhou before her were two completely different souls.
And they... seemed to be connected together in a bizarre way.
Chen Baiqing watched for a moment, then lifted her foot and stepped into the ancestral hall.
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