Sun Busan and Sun Busi were in the midst of heated argument when Shi Hufa, quietly all along, had been channeling his inner energy, attempting to use a secret technique to break the restriction placed upon his golden elixir. Yet no matter how hard he pushed, trying various secret arts, all efforts seemed to vanish like stones sinking into the sea, producing no reaction whatsoever. His expression changed drastically, finally realizing that Sun Busan’s earlier words had not been bluffing.
“Mr. Shi,” Mei Qing said calmly, “you should see clearly now—the situation is entirely under my control. If you refuse to speak, do you really think that with the might of the Brocade Guards, we won’t be able to uncover every last detail? Furthermore, Yang Jin over there hates you with a passion. If you won’t talk, do you think he won’t? I daresay, the moment he awakens, the first thing he’ll tell us will be the location of your heretical sect, who you’ve gathered, and what you’re planning. At that point, what room for maneuver will you still have? A wise man knows when to yield—heed well, don’t make the same mistake twice.”
Shi Hufa, hearing these words from Mei Qing, felt his heart stir. His gaze shifted toward Yang Jin, who lay nearby, and suddenly his eyes widened.
Unbeknownst to them, Yang Jin had already awakened at some point. One of his hands had already reached the ankle of Zhao Dayou, who had his back turned to him.
Following Shi Hufa’s gaze, everyone turned and was greatly startled. Before they could cry out, Zhao Dayou had already let out a cry and fallen over, the inkstone in his hand not yet hitting the ground when Yang Jin snatched it away.
Yang Jin had once suffered at the hands of Sun Busan, and knew all too well the power of his sound attacks. Thus, upon seeing the copper bowl appear, he immediately realized the danger. He shut off all five senses, and once the sound attack had passed, he immediately dropped to the ground, feigning death.
Even so, that tremendous noise had nearly rendered him unconscious for real. Therefore, when Zhao Dayou approached to grab the inkstone, he endured the pain and dared not move a muscle. After a brief recovery, he realized that the time had reached the stroke of midnight—there was no more time to delay. Thus, he secretly made his move and snatched the inkstone from Zhao Dayou’s hand.
With the inkstone in hand, Yang Jin wasted no time. He began chanting incantations: “Divine ghosts, divine emperor, heavenly destruction and earthly annihilation—Chire!” Immediately afterward, with a swift change in his hand seal, he struck his own chest, right where a long nail pierced his body.
The impact drove the nail entirely into his chest. Strangely enough, not a single drop of blood flowed from the wound where the dark nail disappeared into his body.
“He’s using the Heaven’s Destruction Curse!” Shi Hufa, seemingly stunned, pointed at Yang Jin, stammering, “Dare you still use this curse now? Do you wish to perish within a quarter of an hour?”
A wild, ecstatic expression spread across Yang Jin’s face as he burst into maniacal laughter. “I never intended to survive this night. Midnight has come—now I shall free my father from his plight. All of you shall perish alongside us!” With that, he let out a howl like that of a wild beast.
As he laughed, his back began to hunch lower and lower. His grizzled hair visibly turned snow-white before their eyes, and his aged face suddenly bore even more wrinkles. In the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a feeble, elderly man on the brink of death.
Yet Yang Jin seemed oblivious to the transformation occurring in his body. He pulled out several bright red talismans, affixing them one by one onto the inkstone in his hand. Then, turning, he placed the inkstone atop the coffin and knelt before it.
But suddenly, a sound of “chirping” arose from the surroundings. The myriad puppets previously subdued by the red-mist bracelet had risen once again. These puppets appeared severely damaged, their clothes tattered and their size reduced. Yet, under the final surge of Yang Jin’s energy, fueled by the Heaven’s Destruction Curse, their ferocity remained undiminished. They multiplied rapidly, splitting into eight in an instant.
These eight puppets fought as if possessed, moving in unison. As they attacked, a chilling wind accompanied their motions, each strike aimed directly at Mei Qing and the others’ vital points.
Meanwhile, Yang Jin knelt motionless on the ground, his hands forming the Five Elements Heart Offering Seal. He began chanting: “Divine ghosts, divine emperor, gathering soul and spirit. Let the soul fly southward, let the spirit drift northward…”
The incantation was long, and as Yang Jin began reciting its opening lines, Shi Hufa shouted urgently: “Stop him quickly! He’s trying to transfer the evil spirit within the inkstone into the corpse of Yang Zui inside the coffin. If he succeeds, the corpse will become a malevolent revenant, and we’ll all perish by its hands!”
Upon hearing Shi Hufa’s warning, Sun Busan and Sun Busi exchanged doubtful glances. Yet recalling Yang Jin’s earlier words about making them all pay with their lives, and seeing him now risking everything to cast his spell, they began to believe the warning. They each began chanting their own incantations, activating their magical weapons to strike at the puppets.
Since their previous encounter with the myriad puppets, Sun Busan and Sun Busi had gained some understanding of their tactics. Logically, this time should have given them the advantage. However, this time was different—the puppets now fought as if possessed by death itself. Their eight arms moved with lightning speed, their nails grown long and sharp as blades. When they struck Sun Busan’s protective barrier, the sound rang out like metal striking metal, their force rivaling even the hardest steel.
Busan and Busi grew increasingly desperate. Meanwhile, Yang Jin’s incantation grew faster and faster. From within the coffin, the corpse of Yang Zui seemed to sense its impending liberation, emitting a series of piercing, eerie cries. Each cry was more chilling than the last, raising goosebumps on the skin of those who heard it.
Realizing the danger, Mei Qing quickly stepped forward, extending his spiritual senses to lock onto the puppets’ true forms. With a hand seal, he began chanting: “Yin and Yang divide, thunder arises, prohibitions take hold—Freeze!”
The eight puppets, struck by Mei Qing’s Thunder Seal, froze momentarily. But this time was different from before. The puppets only hesitated for an instant before a tremendous force surged against the seal’s pressure, instantly shattering Mei Qing’s restraint.
Taking advantage of the opening, Sun Busan let out a sharp whistle. His copper bowl shot forth, enclosing the puppet within its aura, while Sun Busi landed a decisive blow, sending the puppet crashing to the ground.
At that moment, Yang Jin finished the final words of his incantation. He let out another wild laugh, clapped his hands together—and the long nail embedded in his chest suddenly shot out with a sharp “twang,” a single drop of emerald blood slowly trickling from his chest, landing precisely on the inkstone.
“It’s over… it’s over…” Shi Hufa muttered, “With his heart’s blood as an offering, the soul will transfer, and the corpse will become a malevolent revenant. I fear we’ll all perish here tonight.”
Hearing Shi Hufa’s words, Yang Jin’s laughter grew even more maniacal. He cackled, “Brocade Guards! The Fragrant Sect! You despicable cowards! You’ve ruined my family. Tonight is the night of my vengeance—I shall see how you all meet your end, hahaha…”
Witnessing this scene, Mei Qing’s companions felt a chill run through them. Their eyes were fixed on the coffin, as if expecting Yang Zui’s corpse to leap out at any moment.
Yet what followed defied all expectations. When Yang Jin’s drop of emerald blood landed on the Seven-Star Inkstone, nothing happened. Instead, the blood slowly trickled down the sloped surface, dripping off the edge and onto the dusty ground. It vanished silently into the earth without even a sound.
Inside the coffin, the eerie “clicking” sound resumed, filled with confusion and urgency.
Yang Jin, seeing this unfold before him, froze in disbelief, muttering incoherently, “How is this possible? How is this possible? What… why? Why?”
Though Mei Qing and the others didn’t fully understand what had occurred, they all realized something must have gone wrong with Yang Jin’s blood ritual, which had left him so astonished.
“Haha…” Shi Hufa suddenly burst into laughter. “Yang Jin, boy, now you should finally give up. Heaven itself refuses to let you succeed. Your blood offering has been rejected—what soul do you have left to transfer?”
“No!” Yang Jin trembled violently, nearly driven mad as he roared, “You’re lying! All of you are lying to me! I’ll destroy you all!” As he spoke, he wildly flailed his arms, rushing to the coffin and grabbing the inkstone. He mumbled, “Impossible! You lied! You lied to me!”
Suddenly, a piercing wail erupted from within the coffin, like the mournful cry of a grieving ape. Yang Jin cried out, “Father! Father!” As the sound echoed louder and sharper, his eyes turned blood-red. He glared at the inkstone and screamed, “It’s all your fault! I’ll kill you!”
With that, he raised the inkstone high, intending to smash it against the ground.
Unfortunately, his body at this point was so weak that as he lifted the inkstone, his strength gave out. The stone slipped from his grasp, striking him squarely on the head. Everyone watched as he suddenly froze, then collapsed limply to the ground.
No sooner had Yang Jin fallen than the wailing from within the coffin grew even more furious, its pitch rising sharply, nearly shattering the eardrums. Just as everyone stood stunned, staring at the coffin, a deafening explosion rang out. The coffin shattered into pieces, its boards flying in all directions. From within, a figure covered in snow-white fur leapt straight up into the air.
Mei Qing and the others were startled. The figure was entirely covered in long, white fur. Its face was pitch-black, its eyes glowing with a cold, sinister light. Its long arms ended in dark-green claws, and it breathed heavily, “Huh! Huh!” Its neck twisted stiffly, turning in all directions as if searching for something.
When it spotted Yang Jin lying on the ground, it suddenly turned its head. Blood-red light flared in its cold eyes. With a shrill, piercing screech, without even bending its legs, it leapt straight upward, soaring over a man’s height, and in a flash, lunged toward Mei Qing and the others.
Seeing its fierce charge, Mei Qing and the rest instinctively took a step back. But Shi Hufa, who had been restrained, was now left exposed at the front. Without hesitation, the white-furred revenant lunged straight at Shi Hufa. A piercing scream echoed as the revenant’s razor-sharp claws tore through Shi Hufa’s chest, ripping out his still-beating heart with a single motion.
Looking at the blood-soaked heart in its hand, the revenant’s iron-dark face twisted into a cruel smile. Then, with a single wide-open bite, it swallowed the heart whole. With another shrieking cry, it leapt once more, charging toward Mei Qing and the others.
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