And before Old Dong and the other two could ask, the hall's ceiling changed again.
Zhang Daoling's personal dharma seal emitted thousands of rays of light, like a sun that had exploded, its dazzling aurora swiftly covering the entire ceiling.
The light then flowed down along the ceiling, quickly spreading throughout the grand hall.
The walls, floor, and even the cracks in the floor were filled with thick luminescence.
Simultaneously, the temperature of the entire hall rose sharply, and a faint crackling sound could be heard in the void.
It was as if something was burning!
"What's going on?"
Seeing this, Old Dong and the other two turned pale with shock and asked.
Ying Chen did not answer, but narrowed his eyes and observed silently.
After a moment, a cold glint flashed in his eyes, and he said, "Zhang Daoling has turned the entire underground palace into a refining furnace!"
Old Dong and the other two looked confused, clearly not understanding Ying Chen's meaning.
"The hall as the furnace, the seal as the fire, the bell as the catalyst, and souls as the material. This underground palace was not designed as a tomb from the beginning, but as a dan furnace for alchemy!"
"Everything inside is meant for refining pills. As for the ingredients, they are the ten thousand demon effigies arranged in the hall!"
"Zhang Daoling intends to refine all these ten thousand demon effigies into a single pill!"
Hearing Ying Chen's explanation, Old Dong and the other two suddenly understood and were filled with dread.
If the entire hall was a dan furnace, wouldn't they, who were inside the hall, also become ingredients?
Would they ultimately be refined into a pill along with the ten thousand demon effigies?
No wonder those two giant demon effigies were desperately trying to escape; they had already guessed Zhang Daoling's intentions!
But Zhang Daoling had them perfectly trapped, using the power of the Twelve Zodiac Bells of Xuan Yin to capture them.
In the end, they could not escape the fate of becoming ingredients.
"Come out!"
"You've meticulously prepared for eighteen hundred years, just waiting for this moment?"
At this moment, Ying Chen suddenly shouted towards the ceiling.
While Old Dong and the other two were surprised by whom Ying Chen was talking to, they saw the Yang Ping Zhi Du Gong Seal on the ceiling flash.
The next second, a resplendent golden silhouette wearing a Celestial Master robe appeared before them.
"Zhang Daoling?" Seeing this golden phantom, Old Dong and the other two turned pale with shock and called out his name.
"It is I."
The golden phantom nodded slowly and said.
"How is this possible! You were clearly dead, and it's been over eighteen hundred years, how could you have lived so long?" Old Dong and the other two could not believe it.
"He indeed couldn't have lived that long, and he did die. What you are seeing now is merely a remnant of his soul. He used the power of the Yang Ping Zhi Du Gong Seal to preserve this remnant, coupled with the design of the underground palace that isolates it from heaven and earth, and the sun and moon, allowing it to survive for eighteen hundred years."
Ying Chen explained.
"However, there is one thing I don't understand."
Ying Chen looked at Zhang Daoling's remnant soul.
Zhang Daoling's remnant soul smiled slightly and made a gesture of invitation: "Please ask."
"You clearly had the strength to suppress ten thousand demon effigies, you had already obtained the Twelve Zodiac Bells of Xuan Yin, and refined numerous magical treasures. Why didn't you refine the souls of the demon effigies into a pill when you were alive, but wait for eighteen hundred years?"
"What were you waiting for, or what were you scheming for?"
Hearing Ying Chen's question, Zhang Daoling stroked his beard and laughed: "If I were to say I was waiting for you, would you believe me?"
A hint of mockery flashed in Ying Chen's eyes.
Zhang Daoling's rhetoric might be effective for others. Most people would be overly excited upon hearing this, believing themselves to be chosen individuals, the heirs designated by Zhang Daoling.
But Ying Chen would never entertain such thoughts.
The reasons were simple: Firstly, Zhang Daoling was merely a junior disciple of Ying Chen. Did he have the right to choose Ying Chen?
Secondly, how could a founder of a sect have such simple intentions? The schemes of such a person would be at least seventeen twists and turns, if not ninety-nine!
To believe such a person's nonsense would be to have one's brain flooded with water!
They might be sold out and still count money for the seller!
Seeing Ying Chen's disbelief, Zhang Daoling sighed: "Alright, strictly speaking, I wasn't waiting for you, but for the arrival of this era."
"You ask why I didn't refine the demon effigies when I was alive. The answer is simple, because my strength was insufficient."
"These demon effigies are numerous and powerful, all of them being spiritual creatures born from devouring the essence of the sun and moon. It took me all my life to suppress them, and I had no spare energy to refine them all."
"The most important point: the power of ten thousand demon effigies gathered together is too immense. If I were to forcibly refine them, it would only lead to one outcome – the destruction of the pill and the death of the refiner, rendering all my efforts in vain."
"But I was unwilling, unwilling to let a lifetime of effort go to waste. So I used my final cultivation to predict the future. I eventually predicted that eighteen hundred years later, a period of Dharma decline would arrive, during which spiritual energy would be depleted, and Daoist magic would not manifest. All cultivators would face great tribulations, and their cultivation would plummet to humble realms."
"Similarly, these demon effigies would also suffer a great loss of power. And by then, I could successfully refine them into pills without the fear of the pill being destroyed and myself perishing."
After listening to Zhang Daoling's explanation, Ying Chen's gaze flickered slightly.
This explanation made sense, and Zhang Daoling was likely not lying.
The combined power of ten thousand demon effigies was indeed astonishing.
It was like making fireworks; there had to be a limit to the amount of gunpowder used. Too much gunpowder would cause the fireworks to explode into a cloud of black smoke on the spot, rather than a vibrant display of colors.
Zhang Daoling's ability to predict the Dharma decline a thousand eight hundred years later, and to use the power of that era to weaken these demon effigies, was indeed worthy of his reputation as a sect founder.
"Since your intention was to refine pills and not to harm innocent people, could you let us leave?" Old Dong interjected at this point.
Zhang Daoling lowered his gaze and looked at Old Dong. Although he still had a smile on his face, his words were unusually cold and merciless: "You three must be tomb robbers of this era, right?"
"Since you have chosen to rob my tomb, you should have the awareness of being buried here."
"So I'm sorry, you cannot leave."
"..." Old Dong and the other two were instantly enraged.
Not because Zhang Daoling refused to let them go, but because Zhang Daoling called them tomb robbers!
"You are the tomb robber, your whole family are tomb robbers! We are upright archaeological experts! We excavate ancient tombs to protect and preserve, to restore history, and to vividly present the lives of our ancestors to future generations!"
"Heh heh." Zhang Daoling let out a disdainful cold laugh. "Your high-sounding reasons are merely your wishful thinking! How do you know if the ancients were willing to have their tombs dug up, and their lives presented to future generations?"
Old Dong and the other two were collectively speechless.
They couldn't communicate with the spirits; how would they know if the ancients were willing?
Besides, when one dies, their lamp is extinguished. Even if they were unwilling, what could be done? Would they rise from the dead and stop them?
Oh, they actually could.
For example, the person in front of them was about to refine them into pills within this hall furnace.