Yu Tian Culture has only been established for a few years, yet its reach is so extensive.
This can only be attributed to the backing of the Ouyang family.
It’s even likely that the Ouyang family, which made its fortune in real estate, suddenly ventured into the seemingly unrelated MCN field precisely to take advantage of the convenience of live-streaming donations.
“The methods the Ouyang family used to rise to prominence were never clean. It took three generations, and it wasn’t until Ouyang Jue took over that they were fully legitimized,” Yan Jing remarked.
Over the years, while dealing with Yu Tian Culture, Yan Jing had also been quietly investigating the company’s major shareholder, Ouyang Jue.
As a result, he had a decent understanding of the Ouyang family’s history.
Ouyang Jue is ruthless yet cautious.
Since he took control of the family, their public-facing businesses have always been clean, and they’ve even made high-profile donations from time to time, presenting themselves as philanthropic entrepreneurs.
Yu Tian Culture, which he founded, mirrors his personality-flashy in style but exceptionally skilled in execution, with an intricate and highly secretive network of connections behind the scenes.
If it weren’t for the downfall of Longevity Island, the arrest of numerous individuals involved, the exposure of many intermediate links, and the relentless efforts of the anti-fraud team to conduct layer-by-layer investigations, it might have been impossible to trace the trail back to them.
In addition, Yan Jing discovered last night that the source of the “online courses” Fang Zhenghao purchased on Cat Paw, as well as the videos that exposed his undying physique, likely all originated from the same troll farm.
On the surface, this troll farm has no connection to Yu Tian Culture, but its accounts are filled with funds of dubious origins, and it has repeatedly suppressed influencers who were at odds with Yu Tian Culture.
These “online courses,” which teach people how to summon ghosts, cast curses, refine souls, and other dark arts, have been quietly circulating in Xiluo through the troll farm’s channels, luring unsuspecting ordinary people into participating and unknowingly becoming part of the disturbances in Xiluo.
In other words, the dark web that has been collaborating with Longevity Island to create chaos in Xiluo is likely Yu Tian Culture itself.
“Yu Tian Culture, the Ouyang family…” Shi Pengpeng’s brows furrowed almost into a knot.
Recalling the company’s past actions and its dealings with Meng Zhen, he wasn’t entirely surprised.
The real question now is: Did Yu Tian Culture simply provide services to Longevity Island for money, or is Yu Tian Culture itself a part of Longevity Island?
Yin Cong shook her head: “We’re not clear on that yet…”
There’s still no definitive information from Cat Paw’s side.
Yu Tian Culture’s methods are highly sophisticated, and even now, the chain of evidence remains insufficient.
What’s most peculiar is that Ouyang Jue, despite being the major shareholder of Yu Tian Culture, has somehow managed to remain completely unconnected to everything that’s been uncovered so far.
Given the current situation, even if Yu Tian Culture were to be completely dismantled, he could still walk away unscathed.
“That’s impossible, isn’t it?” Shi Pengpeng found it hard to believe.
Recalling his brief encounter with Ouyang Jue at the auction, where Meng Zhen followed him around, attentive and respectful, it was clear that Ouyang Jue was the one in charge of Yu Tian Culture.
Shi Pengpeng now has a rudimentary understanding of business operations.
Since Yu Tian Culture leveraged the Ouyang family’s foundation and Ouyang Jue holds such prestige within the company, he must have been deeply involved in its management.
How, then, could he have completely distanced himself from it all?
Even if Ouyang Jue had others handle everything while he remained a shadow behind the scenes, the investigation department wasn’t incompetent.
Any actions taken would inevitably leave traces.
Could he really have had no involvement at all?
“Speaking of which, there’s one thing I still can’t figure out…” Shi Pengpeng wrinkled her nose, looking deeply puzzled.
“What exactly is the purpose of Longevity Island causing so much chaos in Xiluo?”
Wu Xiayu had once mentioned that, based on his observations in the area, the cruel actions of Longevity Island didn’t seem to be solely for financial gain.
But if not for wealth, what else were they after?
Shi Pengpeng suddenly recalled the eerie mausoleum in Biannan and the clay figures of corpses inside it.
Why had the Grand Preceptor gone to such lengths to build that mausoleum?
She asked Yin Cong about it.
Yin Cong, however, wasn’t entirely clear either.
The underworld had sent back some information-the Merit Officer had already explained the matter of the mausoleum, but there wasn’t much to it.
The Merit Officer claimed that the construction of the mausoleum was proposed by the Grand Preceptor, who said it was to build a temple and create a statue for the Merit Officer.
The clay figures of corpses were meant to trap the souls of the victims, forcing them to serve the Merit Officer.
However, the scale of the mausoleum was too large, and Longevity Island had even sunk some of the bodies into the water, creating forbidden water ghosts.
To avoid attracting the attention of Biannan’s patrols, the Merit Officer had to reverse the spell and set up a formation for the Grand Preceptor to conceal the mausoleum’s existence.
In the end, the offerings it received were quite limited.
At this point, Yin Cong seemed to have mixed feelings.
“It’s said that the Merit Officer has been arguing with the underworld, claiming that he was also deceived by Longevity Island and is a victim himself…”
On the scene:”…..”
Shi Pengpeng remembered how the Grand Preceptor had given the Merit Officer a fake Zigan Sword, which became the final straw that broke him.
She couldn’t help but feel a sense of schadenfreude, sneering, “He dares to say that? Isn’t he just getting what he deserves? I hope he learns his lesson in his next life… if he even has one.”
Yin Cong sighed, “I doubt he will.”
By the time they finished discussing, it was already noon.
Xiao Lingshu had intended to invite Yin Cong to stay for lunch, but Yin Cong said she had other matters to attend to in the afternoon and couldn’t stay long.
Xiao Lingshu didn’t press further, but as Yin Cong stood up, he suddenly remembered something.
After hesitating for a moment, he slowly spoke up, “By the way, teacher, when do you plan to return to the school? I have two little things here that you could take back with you…”
He was referring to the Nian Beast and the E Beast, which had taken the forms of a lion dog and a rabbit.
These two demon beasts should have been sent to the Liangyi Academy long ago, but because the teachers had been away on a mission to Biannan and the school was short- staffed, they had to be temporarily kept at the Yuan Yi Temple.
Unexpectedly, they had become surprisingly popular, bringing considerable attention and income to the Yuan Yi Temple during this time.
Xiao Lingshu, feeling generous, had even bought a luxurious rabbit hutch for the E Beast.
But Xiao Lingshu was also aware of his limitations.
The Yuan Yi Temple was, after all, located in a bustling area, and they didn’t have the permits or licenses to keep demon beasts.
Reluctant as he was, they would have to be sent away eventually.
“Oh, you have such conditions here?” Yin Cong glanced toward the courtyard and finally noticed a powerful talisman formation there.
She immediately saw through the truth, “This formation was set up by Shi Pengpeng, wasn’t it?”
“Teacher, you have a keen eye to spot that so quickly,” Xiao Lingshu admired.
“It has nothing to do with keen eyesight; it’s just a matter of elimination,” Yin Cong said with an air of calm.
“First, I ruled you out…” Xiao Lingshu protested, “Teacher, I’m really going to make a fuss now…”
Seeing that he was about to launch into a lengthy tirade, Yin Cong quickly interrupted, “We probably won’t be leaving Xiluo anytime soon, so you can continue taking care of these two spirit beasts. Also, I have something else to leave with you.”
With that, she picked up the large backpack she had brought with her, opened it, and pulled out a folded wooden figure, shaking it open.
The wooden figure was painted with two layers of mottled colored lacquer.
The lower half of its face had a circle of ink resembling a beard, and a talisman was pasted on its forehead to keep it from moving around.
“Eh? The Guardian Spirit Wood?” Shi Pengpeng exclaimed in surprise.
“Why did you bring it here?”
This wooden figure was the wood spirit from the southern mausoleum.
After the mausoleum was crushed by the stone elephant, Shi Pengpeng had handed the wooden figure over to the elders of Liangyi Academy for handling.
“It’s a long story…” Yin Cong’s expression turned somewhat complicated.
Following the usual procedure, after the matters in the south were settled, they had prepared to perform a ritual to purify this wooden figure, eliminating the resentment and malevolence from it.
Then, based on its karma, they would decide whether to release it, imprison it, or destroy it.
However, after several attempts, they discovered that this wood spirit could not be purified.
“Unable to purify it?” Shi Pengpeng was surprised.
The expertise of the elders at Liangyi Academy was beyond question, and the cultivation of this wooden figure didn’t seem particularly profound.
How could it be impossible to purify?
“Exactly,” Yin Cong said, her brow furrowing with seriousness.
“The sins it carries are too deep, beyond our ability to eliminate.”
“Could it be…” Shi Pengpeng frowned but quickly realized, “No, it’s not the figure itself—it’s that drop of cursed blood!”
Yin Cong nodded.
“Precisely.”
The reason this wooden figure had become a spirit was entirely due to the drop of heart’s blood on its chest.
The origin of that drop of blood was unknown.
Shi Pengpeng could only tell that it had been refined and carried a heavy burden of sin.
It wasn’t surprising that the Longevity Island, known for its evil deeds, might produce a drop or two of cursed blood.
But the depth of the sin carried by that blood, to the point where even Liangyi Academy couldn’t purify it, was far beyond her expectations.
“What exactly did Longevity Island do?” Shi Pengpeng asked.
“Unclear,” Yin Cong shook her head, her voice heavy.
“But based on the nature of the sin, we suspect it might involve kin slaying, the destruction of human ethics…”
“This… this is…” Xiao Lingshu was so shocked he stuttered, “Worse than beasts!”
Indeed, it was worse than beasts.
Even a tiger wouldn’t harm its own cubs, yet in Longevity Island, someone had committed such a heinous sin.
The elders couldn’t purify the wooden figure, nor could they trace its origins.
For the time being, they didn’t know how to handle it, so they decided to keep it with them until their mission was complete before making further plans.
This mission had been quite taxing.
They had barely finished dealing with matters in the south and hadn’t yet returned to the academy when they received orders to divert to Xiluo, so the wooden figure was brought along.
However, Yin Cong and her companions were in a hurry, and it wasn’t convenient to leave the wooden figure in the hotel.
Carrying it around everywhere was also quite troublesome.
Yin Cong originally planned to find some time to visit Qinglian Temple and leave the wooden figure there.
However, upon seeing the talisman array at Yuan Yi Temple, her thoughts immediately shifted.
After all, Qinglian Temple belonged to outsiders, and since her own disciple had a suitable place, it was naturally better to leave it here.
Xiao Lingshu naturally had no objections and readily agreed, even patting his chest to assure, “Master, don’t worry, I’ll take good care of this wooden figure. Don’t let the size of this place fool you-it’s very secure…”
“Good, good.” Yin Cong also gave Yuan Yi Temple her full approval.
“This place is excellent, and I feel completely at ease.”
Xiao Lingshu didn’t expect his master to trust him so much, and he puffed out his chest even more.
“Right? When it really matters, I’m someone you can rely on!”
“Indeed, you’re quite lucky,” Yin Cong sighed.
“To have Pengpeng affiliated with your temple is a blessing. With Pengpeng’s talisman array here, I’m truly reassured.”
Xiao Lingshu:”….”
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