Yan Aohan nodded slightly. "The situation in the Dark Abyss is far beyond description. The items belonging to the Demon Saint are not meant to be taken freely. To obtain them, one must pay a price. This masked man intends to use this entire plane as that price. He plans to use the Nine-Nine Return Array to cultivate Yin Female Souls, then trigger the Nine-Nine Childlike Purity Method to open the Dark Abyss. His goal is to devour this plane and gain entry into the Abyss."
Zhu Yanyi listened to Yan Aohan’s words, speechless. "Her plot is so massive. I don’t think she is from our Huaxia. People from Huaxia would not produce such scum."
Yan Aohan smiled lightly. "Have you forgotten about those bodies? I suspect someone used a soul-splitting technique to enter the body of a person in this plane, controlling everything from within."
"How do we investigate?" Zhu Yanyi asked. If Yan Aohan was right, this would be very difficult to trace.
Yan Aohan smiled. "Now that we have destroyed the Nine-Nine Return Array, the Nine-Nine Childlike Purity Method cannot be performed. We only need to find and destroy this split soul. At least, this plane is saved."
Although Yan Aohan appeared calm, a shadow lingered in his heart. Saving this plane was not difficult, but what if someone applied this method to other planes? Yan Aohan did not believe the masked man had only plotted within this single plane.
Zhu Yanyi also thought of this problem. However, they currently lacked the power to manage other planes. She sighed. "For now, we can only do this. We will take it one step at a time, hoping no such situation arises in other planes."
Yan Aohan smiled. "It is fine. I will issue an order shortly, asking the Yin Messengers of all planes to keep watch. If there are any traces, they will be easy to find. Yin Messengers are well-suited to track soul-related matters."
Zhu Yanyi nodded slightly. They had done all they could for now, hoping for a good outcome.
"So, next, we need to lure out this masked man. What do we need to do for that?" Zhu Yanyi tilted her head, asking.
Yan Aohan smiled and said, "I just need to carve eighteen wooden statues. Nine in the shape of boys, and nine in the shape of girls." Yan Aohan clearly had a plan already formed in his mind.
Zhu Yanyi nodded after hearing this. "I do not understand these things, so I will rely on you."
Yan Aohan smiled. "Ani, have you heard of the Yin Messenger Yang Mistake Array?"
Zhu Yanyi had studied many arrays, so she had heard of the Yin Messenger Yang Mistake Array. Hearing Yan Aohan mention it, she nodded with a smile. "I have heard of it, but only in passing. It is said to use the method of 'Li Dai Tao Jiang' (substitution)."
Yan Aohan nodded slightly. "The Yin Messenger Yang Mistake uses the principle of substitution to turn the impossible into the possible. I will use these eighteen wooden statues, carved by my own hands, as bait to fish out that masked man."
Zhu Yanyi nodded slightly. She knew Yan Aohan’s abilities. Since he said so, he must be confident. "Do you need my help?"
Yan Aohan smiled. "Help me sort the wood." Yan Aohan would never miss an opportunity to spend more time with his wife.
Zhu Yanyi chuckled. "Okay." Understanding her thoughts, she was happy to cooperate.
Actually, sorting wood did not require Zhu Yanyi’s help, but Yan Aohan wanted to spend time with her, so he suggested it. Since he asked, Zhu Yanyi agreed, and accompanied him to select the wood.
After selecting the wood, she sat beside her, watching her carve.
It had to be said that Yan Aohan’s carving skills were excellent, and his speed was fast. He carved without any hesitation, finishing one statue quickly.
There were eighteen wooden statues in total. While others would take a long time, Yan Aohan finished them all in just three days.
Zhu Yanyi looked at the eighteen carvings. They were small, but the faces were clear. Obviously, all eighteen statues looked identical, except the girls had long hair and the boys had short hair. Otherwise, they looked the same.
"They feel exactly the same, with no difference," Zhu Yanyi said slowly.
Yan Aohan laughed. "Wooden carvings, of course, are the same. They cannot be different."
Then, Yan Aohan placed them one by one in the courtyard according to specific positions. He smiled at Zhu Yanyi and said, "You know my Dao is different from others. I follow the Yin-Yang Dao. Now, let me show you a minor spell from one of its branches, the Reincarnation Dao: 'True and False Are Hard to Distinguish.'"
Yan Aohan lightly tapped his finger. Instantly, the wooden statues transformed from the head down into the forms of children.
What surprised Zhu Yanyi most was that although the carvings were identical, the transformed children all looked different.
Moreover, when given toys, these children would move, play, and even laugh. If she had not known they were fake, Zhu Yanyi would have believed they were real children.
Zhu Yanyi watched in astonishment. "What a powerful spell."
Yan Aohan smiled lightly. "Let’s go. We can wait for people now. The 'catching the turtle in the jar' plan can begin."
After speaking, Yan Aohan said to Ming Chuanyunzi, "You proceed to the next step."
Ming Chuanyunzi agreed, took out a copper coin, placed it in front of the statue in the Mountain God Temple, and then left.
Yan Aohan, Zhu Yanyi, and the others all sat on the beams of the Mountain God Temple, waiting for the masked man to appear.
They waited for about two hours. Just as Zhu Yanyi began to doubt if anything would happen, the copper coin started to emit gas. Gradually, the coin turned into a pile of powder, and the gas disappeared.
"So the copper coin was a signal flare, but it needed time to ferment," Zhu Yanyi said.
Yan Aohan hummed in agreement. It seemed this person’s plan was quite thorough. If they had not been on the beams, they might not have realized that this small copper coin was a signal flare. This method was best because it avoided detection.
"This person’s thinking is quite good. Using a copper coin as a signal flare is something we never thought of," Zhu Yanyi said slowly. "But now I am inspired. We can make signal flares using one-yuan coins too. It would be very fun."
Yan Aohan tapped Zhu Yanyi’s forehead. "Keep your thoughts in check. This technique involves artifact refinement. Do you plan to learn artifact refinement?"