Li Qiu recalled what the Evil Daoist had just said: "I have gathered the spiritual energy of eighty-one young girls... wait, why are two missing?" Not understanding the meaning, he asked Madam Wu Mei, "What did that Evil Daoist mean just now?"
Madam Wu Mei heard Li Qiu’s inquiry and, sensing the young man might be contemplating a countermeasure, quickly revealed the truth: "This 'Ten Thousand Ghost Skeleton Formation' is immensely powerful, but it has one drawback: it consumes a vast amount of the caster's mental focus and spiritual power. Therefore, the Evil Daoist devised a method to plant Yin-thread seeds within eighty-one young girls. By casting spells at night, he draws on a continuous supply of spiritual energy, allowing the skeleton ghosts within the formation to endlessly regenerate. That is the source of its infinite power."
Li Qiu realized, *So that’s it.* He thought back to the skeletons he had observed; there certainly weren't "ten thousand" of them. The Evil Daoist, with only his Qi Condensation Level 3 cultivation, likely couldn't bring the formation to its full potential. *Wait, what did he mean by 'why are two missing'? Could it be that by using my Azure energy to stabilize the conditions of Ya'er and Bao'er, I severed the connection between them and the Evil Daoist?*
Chapter 28