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Upon hearing this, Chu Yuening held the peach wood sword and gazed at the iron chains swaying in the northwest corner due to the wind. She chuckled and said, "Mr. Qi, you really don't prepare your lies, do you?"

"If they've already reincarnated, then what about the two souls you have confined there?"

As soon as she finished speaking.

Qi Ru's body stiffened. The carefully constructed mask on his face cracked into several pieces. He narrowed his eyes and sneered, "I underestimated you."

From the fact that Chu Yuening could deduce all these matters, he knew for sure that she was an expert in the mystic arts.

It was unforeseen that the array set up by Grandmaster Qi was seen through by an inexperienced junior like her.

Qi Tianrui struggled to his feet, his voice trembling. "Grandmaster, what do you mean? Is my mother and sister still here?"

"See for yourself."

With those words, Chu Yuening reached out and brushed across Qi Tianrui's forehead.

In the next instant, Qi Tianrui saw two lingering souls locked in the northwest corner. The moment he caught sight of them, he could almost hear his mother and Tianmei's pained cries.

His eyes widened instantly. "It's Mama and Tianmei."

Chu Yuening explained, "The Human Sacrifice Continuation Array requires the sacrifice of the founder's wife and a direct descendant's blood to activate the formation. Their corpses need to be soaked in Yin water for forty-nine days to fill their souls with resentment. The stronger the resentment, the more powerful the fortune transformation will be."

"It doesn't end there. To prevent the souls from escaping the array, there's also a Soul Trapping Formation on the roof. To better prolong the souls, the villa connected to the cellar should have the layout of a Yin house," she continued.

The butler trembled and looked up at Master Qi fearfully. "Yes, the entire villa upstairs follows the principles of a Yin house. When Master first built the villa, all the workers and I noticed something was off. This... How can this be a Yang house? It's... It's clearly a Yin house for ghosts."

Despite their realization, none of the workers dared to ask Qi Ru to change it.

Chu Yuening's gaze remained cool and detached.

Houses where living people reside were called Yang houses in feng shui, while those for the dead were known as Yin houses.

A Yin house for ghosts aimed to provide them with sustenance.

But within the Human Sacrifice Continuation Array, it was purely malicious – because... only when the souls persisted would the fortune continue to grow.

"Imprisoned spirits here are tormented as if constantly roasted on a fire. They cannot live, nor can they die. What about reincarnation?"

Chu Yuening held the peachwood sword and spoke coldly, "What reincarnation? Trapped in this array until their souls dissipate, they will never have another chance at life."

Qi Tianrui's gaze turned to deep hatred.

Seeing that the situation had reached a deadlock, Qi Ru realized he could no longer sway Qi Tianrui. He raised his hand, signaling the bodyguards behind him, "Deal with it thoroughly."

The butler, overcome with sorrow, stepped in front of his young master, "Master, Young Master is your own flesh and blood!"

"What difference does it make?" Qi Ru twirled his ring, "Just two descendants. If I so desire, I can have as many offspring as I wish."

With that, Qi Ru turned to leave.

The bodyguards prepared to seize the captives.

Chu Yuening gazed at the iron chain in the northwest corner, tilting her neck slightly with the peachwood sword. She said calmly, "If we cut the Soul Shackles, they should be able to escape, right?"

Her words caused Qi Ru's eyes to widen abruptly.

He laughed in sheer fury. "The Soul Shackling Chain I used can't be severed by anything."

As his words faded.

Chu Yuening rushed forward with a leap, stepping on a wine jar. She swung her peach wood sword fiercely at the black iron chain attached to the wall.

The thick chain remained steadfast, unyielding.

The trapped soul let out a pained cry.

With narrowed eyes, Qi Ru's expression relaxed as he spun his ring. "This Soul Shackling Chain was acquired at great expense. It's rumored that the Chain is what Yin and Yang Officers use to bind souls; even if it breaks, it can be reconnected. Do you really think a mere peach wood sword can cut through it? What a joke."

No sooner had the voice faded.

The peach wood sword slashed through the air, swinging once more.

A soft thud was followed by the scrape of something heavy against the wall. The iron chain slithered down the surface.

The Soul Shackles have broken.

Chu Yuening held the peach wood sword and rubbed her wrist. Before Qi Ru now stood two women, their faces pale and filled with malevolent spirits.

She smiled slightly. "I've severed it."

Before this, Qi Ru had been unable to see his wife or daughter. This time, he felt a chilling gust of cold wind brush past him, revealing a bone-chilling frost.

Upon closer inspection.

The young girl's eyes were streaming with blood tears as she slowly choked Qi Ru's neck, grinning. "Daddy, I'm in so much pain. Do you remember how you killed me?"

His bodyguards had submerged her in a vat of alcohol, drowning her alive. In her final moments, she could still see her father standing coldly by the side.

She hated, she hated it so much!

In the next instant.

Qi Ru was thrown into the vat. His left hand touched the slippery, lotus-root-like corpse, and the pungent smell of formaldehyde splashed onto his lips, causing him to scramble out of the vat in fear.

The previously dry ground was suddenly dotted with damp patches.

Suddenly.

His hand, defying his will, fished out a gun from his pocket, the cold barrel slowly parting his lips before slipping into his throat.

Thud.

Qi Ru knelt on the ground, shaking his head in terror. "No, Ah Rong, I can't die yet."

The middle-aged woman's clothes clung wetly to her body. Gripping the gun, she lowered her head, her tiny pupils locking onto Qi Ru's as a thin smile gradually spread across her face.

"You're about to experience my pain in full measure."

Bang.

Qi Ru's eyes widened as he fell to the ground, blood pooling behind his head in silence.

The other two bodyguards, witnessing this bizarre scene, turned to run in fear. But before they could escape the cellar, they too pulled the trigger and took their own lives.

Blood splattered through the air in a vivid arc.