Wen Yan was unaffected; he didn’t even care about the triggered passive basic abilities.

He instantly switched to the Heavenly Gang Origin Steps, exerting force with one foot, all the muscles in his body tensed up, his body leaned back at a sharp angle, one arm quickly supported the ground, and both feet swiftly crisscrossed, instantly retreating over a meter’s distance.

At the same moment, the blackened chopping knife, with a thud, struck the threshold.

Wen Yan saw the trajectory of the falling knife, and cold sweat broke out.

This old man really strikes hard, the exertion is quite particular, if he leaned back normally to avoid, his head would be missed, but his chest could be hit; if his body dodged, then his legs could be slashed; if he moved his legs, then his feet would be chopped.

Unless, at that moment, he could avoid with his entire body.

Looking at this old man again, he seemed quite aged, yet his arms were thicker than Wen Yan’s; this kind of physique, honed through years of manual labor, was incomparable to the average person of his generation.

When he was young, he truly saw many people of the old man’s generation, even at seventy or eighty years old, still able to carry two baskets of coal, walk briskly, work for two hours at such heavy labor without much reaction, leaving young onlookers astounded, and you couldn’t even suggest they rest, or they’d be displeased.

Wen Yan rolled over and got up from the ground, seeing the old man holding the black chopping knife in one hand, looking at Wen Yan with cold eyes.

"You little brat, who the hell are you?

Don’t think just because I’m old, you can fool me.

Disciples of Mount Laojun, no one of your age would choose the Qi Conquering Talisman.

Disciples granted permission to descend the mountain would never choose the Qi Conquering Talisman either."

...

Wen Yan clicked his tongue, somewhat helplessly said.

"Uncle, I never said I was a disciple of Mount Laojun."

"Then where are you from?"

"I’m from Fuyu Mountain."

"Why would a Fuyu Mountain disciple choose the Qi Conquering Talisman?"

"I’m just letting you know, I’m not a malicious person, I have something to discuss with you."

The old man frowned slightly, pondering for a moment, realizing it made sense. Although not everyone who can impart talismans is a disciple of Mount Laojun, the talisman originates from there, and if young people from other places desire it, Mount Laojun wouldn’t deny them if they deemed it acceptable.

After all, it is the Three Mountains and Five Ridges that have the qualification to impart, but the world is not limited to just these places.

Being able to receive impartation from Mount Laojun indeed makes it unlikely for one to be a malicious entity.

Those imparted with the Qi Conquering Talisman are also unlikely to be malicious.

And even more unlikely to cause trouble in the Central Plains County.

The old man opened half of the wooden door and retreated a few steps; Wen Yan sighed, first discussing with Tong Si within the Jade Pendant about borrowing his vision.

He now felt that the temporary ability provided was extremely necessary and wasn’t given arbitrarily.

He switched to Borrowed Vision, borrowing Tong Si’s visual ability, and in the blink of an eye, his eyes seemed to transform into grim-eyes.

Looking up again, everything that met his eyes had changed.

Buried beneath the simple rural gate of Central Plains County was a skeleton, resembling that of a wolf or dog, but it had a skull; the skull slightly tilted upwards, like baring teeth and roaring.

One of the two doors was open, and behind the other, a blood-colored rune was lighting up, the left door and the doorframe seemed to transform into a wide-open mouth.

The wind chimes hanging above the door looked like large-eyed insects, staring at him intently.

And on the ground inside, chains extended, swaying slowly like living things, with one end stepped on by the old man.

The old man just stared at Wen Yan, saying nothing.

Seeing the manifestation, Wen Yan finally understood what the warning meant.

This old man still didn’t trust him.

The old man, at some unknown time, had arranged this method, just waiting for verification.

The old man retreated into the courtyard, saying nothing, not even inviting him in.

Now it was up to Wen Yan to make the entrance himself.

If he were some demon or ghost, even slightly weak ones wouldn’t be able to step inside without permission.

If a more powerful demon forced its way in, that moment of forced entry would be its death sentence.

Even if not a demon, there would surely be an impact.

Wen Yan sighed again, unsure of what experiences the old man had been through to cultivate such a high level of vigilance.

He stepped over the threshold into the courtyard.

The moment he entered, the wind chimes hanging above glowed a red light with one eye each, scanning his body, ultimately doing nothing.

No penalties were activated for things targeting demons or aberrations, but once he stepped in, a chain locked onto his leg.

At the same time, he received a notification.

"Negative buff triggered: Sealing Chains.

Within the range of the chain’s lock, your Qi Conquering Talisman enters a dormant state."

Then, the next moment, another chain appeared.

"Negative buff triggered: Sealing Chains.

Within the range of the chain’s lock, your Calamity Protector Water Official Talisman enters a dormant state."

Wen Yan looked at the seven or eight chains there, as if attracted, successively locking onto his feet, each chain temporarily sealing one of his abilities.

However, it was clearly insufficient; merely seven or eight sealing chains were not enough to seal all his abilities.

The old man also sensed this, his expression shifting slightly.

Wen Yan spread his hands, indicating it wasn’t his doing.

"Old man, do you believe me now? I truly have no malicious intent, I’m here for Wang Jianjun.