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Since he had accepted payment to eradicate the calamities, Gu Yan wouldn't allow the other party to remain in the Lin Family's residence, despite being weak to its childish appearance.

Zhou Yun was also very tactful; he dared not be otherwise. He had lived a free and unfettered life in the human realm. If that lord saw his uncooperativeness and decided to send him back to the ghost city or restrict his access to the human realm in future, it would be too late to cry.

Zhou Yun could see from that pair of narrowed eyes that it was completely possible for him to do so. Those dark eyes carried an indistinct sense of danger. He was entirely capable of doing something much more merciless than this; there was no possibility of leniency.

This man had reigned steadily over the ghost city for so many years without threat. Zhou Yun expressed there was no way he could afford to provoke him.

He had only lived for a few hundred years. Compared to the other person, the difference was like an elephant and an ant. In terms of physical abilities, it was not an exaggeration to state that the lord could pinch him to death with one hand.

"300 years-old. Not a child." After the cute and beautiful child-like ghost left, Xie Lan quietly asserted this point.

He had wanted to say that Zhou Yun was already a 300-year-old geezer so that the youth wouldn't need to patiently coax him. But after thinking about his own age, he quickly changed the words that were already at the tip of his tongue.

Currently, Gu Yan was laying out a Zhoutian array. From his lover's words, Gu Yan could tell his lover had minded him rubbing the other ghost's head. Now, he had specifically tried to remind him of the 'little' ghost's true age.

If the ghost didn't look like a child and he didn't know that Gu Yan simply regarded the former as coaxing a kid, his family's cat would probably glower at him silently for a long time.

Remembering that gaze, Gu Yan let out a light cough. Being stared at wasn't unbearable but after a while, he would be forced to relent and coax his family's Qiuqiu.

Now that his lover had only used his mouth instead of staring gloomily at him, Gu Yan quickly gave an obedient 'en'.

The array required a period of time that was neither too long nor too short – exactly an hour. Although the array was indeed a Zhoutian array, there was a big difference between the one Gu Yan laid in the Lin family's residence and Nine Temples Zhoutian Array. The one he laid could be called the Four Divisions Zhoutian array, but it was more than enough to ward off regular spirits.

After Four Division, there were the Five Phases, Six Directions, Seven Stars, Eight Trigrams and finally the Nine Temples Array. Gu Yan knew how to lay all of them. Choosing the Four Division Array wasn't him slacking off but because the others were too taxing for a lone wolf like him.

"Evil and filth begone. The Dao exists, shi—" Theyellow talisman pinched between his two fingers disappeared. Gu Yan dusted his hands and threw a satisfied look at his array.

This array was sufficient to get rid of the common spirits but unable to ward off the uncommon ones, such as the ghost king standing beside him.

Back when he was practising at home, Gu Yan spent an entire three days in his study to lay the Six Directions Zhoutian array. His lover had stepped into it without the slightest bit of resistance, as if he hadn't known of the array's existence. However, this was due to the large disparity in their strengths. The weak didn't have any hope of affecting the superior party in any way.

"Ah Yan is already very powerful." Feeling as if his existence as a ghost standing upright in an array like this may hurt the youth's pride, Xie Lan quickly comforted him.

Moreover, these were his heartfelt words. The Zhoutian array was ancient. Not to mention the number of people who had mastered it, there were barely any who knew what it was.

Even if the array was collected and publicized, there were too few divination masters who had the ability to learn it. Moreover, among the few who knew, each and everyone of them were half a foot into their grave as far as Xie Lan could remember.

That was why he felt that the Lin family's commission this time only had benefits and no risks.. Any other divination master could not lay down a Four Direction Zhoutian Array as perfectly, no matter how much money was offered.

After the commission was complete, the head of the Lin family personally sent Gu Yan out, giving him a lot of face.

"In the future, should Grandmaster Gu have any requests, do not hesitate to look for us. The Lin family will definitely extend a helping hand as long as it is within our means." The head of the family spoke while the butler at the side very naturally extended a namecard to him.

No matter how much money one has, they must have the power and ability to live on in order to enjoy it. The head of the Lin family was someone who understood this fact. Since he didn't know how to deal with supernatural things, it was important to build a good relationship with those who did.

Gu Yan did not reject the name card but neither did he express any other emotion. He simply took the name card.

The head of the Lin family didn't simply escort him to the door, but intended to invite him to a banquet. However, recalling the matters of the Kun Yi Mountain, Gu Yan naturally found an excuse to turn him down. He had to find the reason why evil spirits were gathering there.

"Xu Qiu said that there were no reports of this matter." Knowing the youth was concerned about the strangeness of the Kun Yi Mountain, Xie Lan had crossed into the other realm to contact his subordinates while the youth had been laying the array.

His trusty subordinate, who had been working extremely hard while waiting for his boss to return and express his 'sympathy', finally saw him once more. However, it was the same as before. Once he finished his report, the other party didn't give him a chance to express his frustrations and ask about his return before cutting their connection.

This degree of abnormality shouldn't have gone undetected to the ghosts who'd come to capture the evil spirits. And if they'd discovered it, it was even less likely for there to be no report.

However, Xie Lan didn't doubt his subordinates. Xu Qiu was his trusted aide who was completely loyal to him.

The deputy leader who had their connection terminated was now gripping his brush in one hand while clutching his head in the other.

His boss had told him before that he didn't need to report every single matter. Those which he could settle should be resolved. Therefore, him asking about a matter was extremely rare.

He wasn't stupid. From his boss's tone, Xu Qiu could tell that something had happened in the human realm. It was related to the ghost city so he couldn't ignore it.

"Xu Qiu may not know, but the spiritual organisation should." After returning home, Gu Yan was fished and pulled into his lover's lap. He was beginning to get used to this intimate position of being held tightly, so he no longer showed any resistance.

Frankly speaking, Xie Lan didn't have an ounce of concern for the human realm, nor did he care that there might be someone from the ghost city doing something behind his back. The former had nothing to do with him while the latter… killing a ghost was not illegal. He simply had to wait for the ghost to expose itself after it tired of hiding before teaching it a lesson.

However, the one in his arms cared about the human realm so he also cared. Xie Lan simply gave a light 'en'.

Gu Yan found his phone and after unlocking it, he scanned through the directory a few times before choosing Grandmaster Zhao. The number of divination masters he was familiar with could be counted on one hand. In the end, he chose a senior he was most familiar with.

Gu Yan only said that they "should know about it". But if they didn't, it could serve as a reminder for the human realm to make ample preparation for this abnormal situation.

Once the call connected, Gu Yan didn't have the chance to speak before the old man's excited voice came through the phone. "Since you took the initiative to call this old man, did Xiao Gu think it through and agree to become a part of our organisation? You just have to give the word and I'll immediately recommend you to the head."

After the spiritual convention, this talented junior had told them he wanted to be a member of the department in name alone. Although Grandmaster Zhao didn't say it, he was immensely disappointed. He wasn't disappointed in the youth but in being unable to obtain such a talent. It was already a blessing the other party had agreed to partake in the convention so he dared not push his luck.

Knowing that the truth would let down the senior once more, Gu Yan still chose to politely reject him before going straight into the main topic. "I called to talk about the matter of Kun Yi Mountain. This place seems strange as of late. Does Senior know anything about it?"

After he spoke, there was silence on the other side of the line. Finally, there was a voice but thetone was evidently unhappy and even carried mockery. "It has to do with external powers. The peace treaty between the human realm and ghost city has just been concluded but some people already can't sit still."

"That son of a bitch wants to touch the dragon's vein1. They really dare—"

When his voice transmitted through the phone, it was already quite loud. He could imagine Grandmaster Zhao's mood as he spoke these words.

"Shifu, don't be angry… calm down. The doctor just said you can't get too agitated. Don't scare your disciple." A vague voice came from the other side but it was clear enough to make out his words.

When it comes to the dragon vein, China had 9×9, 81, in total. In the study of Daoism, 9 was a special number. The convergence of spiritual energy in one spot was only sufficient for one family's fortune while a dragon vein was related to the interests of the entire country. This 'abnormal situation' was mostly likely more troublesome than they had expected.