Chapter 473: Claw Marks on the Coffin Lid! Strange Eyes! Blood Corpses! Revenge!

At this moment, the walls inside the Liu ancestral hall resembled the inside of that stone coffin lid. The chaotic claw marks gave him almost the same feeling, strikingly similar.

Instantly, Zhang Wei’s fear surged.

“Zhang Wei, are you okay?” Li Yanchu asked.

Zhang Wei shook his head and said with effort, “I just remembered some terrifying things.”

“Terrifying things?” Li Yanchu asked. “Say it out loud so everyone can be scared too.”

At his words, Zhang Wei froze, and everyone else fell speechless.

Under Li Yanchu’s urging, Zhang Wei recounted the harrowing memory of going down into the tomb.

Gasp!

Everyone drew in a sharp breath, their faces pale. Could it be that the Liu ancestral hall itself was like a giant coffin? And that, in the past, it had suffocated certain people alive within its walls?!

This horrifying thought involuntarily appeared in everyone’s minds, and they couldn’t help but glance at Li Yanchu.

Wouldn’t it have been better if Zhang Wei had borne such a terrifying experience alone? Saying it out loud would only make everyone scared.

But now, after speaking it, Zhang Wei actually felt somewhat better, and his face was full of gratitude as he looked at Li Yanchu. Ah, letting out a memory long sealed in his heart really lightened the burden a bit.

This was how human emotions differed; people could experience completely different feelings in the very same situation[1].

Meanwhile, Li Yanchu’s thoughts were elsewhere, pondering whether the Eight Trigrams Tower had been built to bring prosperity to the clan, to improve feng shui, or... was it meant to suppress something?!

If he followed this line of thinking, could it be that the original Daoist had built the ancestral hall and the Eight Trigrams Tower to seal an evil entity, using the lives of the entire Liu clan and the ancestral merits to keep it in check?

Later, for some reason, the Eight Trigrams Tower collapsed, allowing the sealed evil to escape and kill the entire Liu clan.

A thoughtful expression crossed his face. Of course, this theory presumes the Daoist was a good man, but even if he was, his methods were still sinister, with ulterior motives.

Crack!

A crisp sound interrupted Li Yanchu’s train of thought.

“Is someone there?”

Li Yanchu didn’t let the noise lure him. Instead, he activated his Spirit Eyes. His eyes flickered with mystical light as he scanned the area, hoping to detect any clues.

He had extensive, well, about three or four horror movies’ worth of experience. At this moment, if he left, the others would almost certainly be in danger. If they weren’t the protagonist, whoever followed the sound would probably die.

Now was not the time for rash action. After all, he had brought these people in; he had a duty to ensure their safety. Especially since they’d already gone to such lengths to save them; if they were killed by ghosts now, all their efforts would be for nothing.

“It’s fine. Stay calm. If you encounter a ghost, deal with it. Don’t panic,” Li Yanchu said, using the simplest, most direct language to reassure the group.

Surprisingly, it worked quite well. Though his words were blunt, they imparted an inexplicable sense of security.

Especially for Zhang Wei, Master Zhiqing, and Liu Jun, they had witnessed Li Yanchu’s effortless, fluid ghost-slaying skills in this mysterious town. His movements were simply as smooth as flowing water, effortless and perfectly in control!

With that, the group continued moving forward.

Suddenly, from behind a door in the Liu ancestral hall, a pair of eyes met Li Yanchu’s gaze. They were calm, numb, unfocused, but radiated a foreboding, ominous aura. It was as if all the malice in the world had condensed into those eyes.

Boom!

A deafening sound exploded next to Li Yanchu’s ear, yet only he could hear it. The next instant, he felt as if ten thousand steel needles pierced straight into his soul. But this sensation lasted only a moment before he diverted it using the Transference Technique.

“Not playing by the rules? Get out here!” Li Yanchu’s voice thundered like an explosion.

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Without the protection of the Five‑Lightning Talisman, the domineering pure yang aura within his soul couldn’t manifest outward. Yet some little ghost dared to peep at him in secret and even launch such a vicious, underhanded attack!

He suffered a slight loss, but he did not retreat, and his eyes instead flashed with killing intent. He immediately cast Soul Snare, grabbing directly at the eyes behind the door!

With that, a bloody, mangled figure was yanked out. The entire body of the owner of those eyes was devoid of skin, as if his flesh had been peeled off by force. Fresh blood dripped continuously, while certain areas had already crusted into dark, hardened scabs.

The appearance of this horrific blood corpse made the group gasp in terror, and they instinctively hid behind Li Yanchu.

“How dare any filthy evil spy on me from the shadows?!” Li Yanchu roared.

A black‑and‑white Taiji diagram slowly emerged above his head, the surroundings shifting into an ink‑wash world of black and white.

A swirl of ink‑colored energy shot forward, and...

Boom

!

The grotesque, skinless corpse was instantly blown apart; its soul was shattered and body obliterated with not even bones left behind!

Li Yanchu withdrew his primordial spirit manifestation, his expression cold and stern.

With that, the surroundings returned to normal, and the group stared at Li Yanchu in stunned silence. When that blood‑soaked corpse appeared, they felt as though their very blood had frozen. Those hollow, numb eyes, filled with boundless malice and resentment, chilled them to the bone.

Before this, they were still wondering whether Daoist Master Li could really lead them out safely... But they never expected him to have such a temper, nor that he would directly unleash such a powerful divine technique, destroying that terrifying corpse in a single move!

“This place is incredibly sinister. If we continue exploring, someone will die. What do you all think?” Li Yanchu asked.

Everyone fell silent.

Then, Liu Jun spoke first, “Daoist, you saved all of us. Without you, we would’ve died long ago. Whatever you choose to do, we’ll follow.”

Li Yanchu looked at them and spoke after a moment, “That filthy thing just now almost wounded me. If it had attacked any one of you instead, you would’ve died instantly. And there’s no guarantee the evil in this ancestral hall will always target me first.”

He felt a headache coming on. Right now, these people were just ordinary humans, not to mention a bizarre creature like that skin‑less corpse, even an ordinary little ghost would be enough to kill them.

In this kind of environment, it was very easy to die.

Li Yanchu’s words made everyone’s faces turn even paler.

“Let’s retreat first, then figure out a plan. We can’t stay here any longer.”

Being trapped in this town didn’t mean instant death, but if they insisted on exploring the Liu ancestral hall next, few of the people he brought along would likely survive.

Li Yanchu decided to explore other parts of the town first, at least somewhere less dangerous, to see if he could find a few protective talismans or magical artifacts for the group.

That way, if they ran into ordinary

jiangshi

or little ghosts, they’d have some means of self-defense.

1. The author wrote “这就是人类的悲喜各不相同” which literally means “This is the difference between humans’ joys and sorrows,” and if I translated it literally like that, it would sound awkward and unnatural in English. The literal version captures the meaning but fails to convey it in smooth, idiomatic English. Instead, I chose “people could experience completely different feelings in the very same situation”, which preserves the original sentiment while making it readable and fluid. ☜