The stone guardian’s staff was clearly a magical artifact he had painstakingly refined with great care. When he wielded it, the resulting display of power was indeed impressive.
In contrast, Yang Jin appeared significantly inferior. His two puppets struggled desperately, left and right, and were soon repeatedly struck under the storm of staff attacks. Although Yang Jin in the center looked anxious, he was helpless to change the situation.
A look of smug satisfaction appeared on the stone guardian’s face as he sneered coldly, “Yang Jin, are you still refusing to admit defeat until you see the coffin? If you kneel down and surrender immediately, handing over the treasures, I might still speak a few kind words for you before the sect leader and spare you the torment of being transformed into a puppet and endlessly refined. If you remain stubborn and refuse to yield, don’t say I didn’t warn you when you end up in the Hall of Ten Thousand Ghosts.”
Yang Jin had already been struggling to hold on, but upon hearing the stone guardian’s words—”still refusing to admit defeat until you see the coffin”—he suddenly felt a surge of desperation rise in his heart. The stone guardian had merely spoken casually, but Yang Jin’s father, Yang Zui’s coffin, was right beside them. This was the most painful memory in Yang Jin’s heart. Now, upon hearing those words, old grief and new hatred surged together in his mind. Moreover, the Hall of Ten Thousand Ghosts mentioned by the stone guardian was a secret location within their sect, rumored to be where traitors were transformed into puppets after death, suffering endless torment without hope of escape.
At this thought, Yang Jin hesitated no longer. With hatred in his voice, he shouted, “You, Master Shi! Killing someone is no more than bowing your head to the ground. Since you have forced me into a corner today, I will fight you to the end!” Saying this, four blood-red long nails suddenly appeared in his hands. With a swift motion, he stabbed them into his own body.
Previously, during his battle with Mei Qing and others, Yang Jin had used this method to boost his puppets’ power, though he had used only two nails at that time. This time, determined to fight to the death, he used four nails at once. With a sound of “puff, puff,” two of the nails pierced his shoulders as before, the third struck his chest, and the fourth, with a clenched jaw, he drove into his right eye.
Blood splattered as the nail pierced Yang Jin’s eye socket. Gritting his teeth, he made a series of hand seals, bit his tongue, and spat blood onto the puppet in his left hand. He chanted a spell: “Heaven and earth, gods and ghosts, bear soul and body; with my blood, I temper your spirit. Break!”
With a piercing, mournful cry like the howl of apes or the shriek of owls, the two puppets suddenly split into four. Each moved its limbs, and the five ropes binding their bodies instantly turned blood-red. The four puppets split into two groups, rushing forward like ghostly shadows, creating a fierce gale of cold wind.
Caught off guard, the stone guardian reacted slightly too late. The staff’s shadow in the air was entangled by the four puppets and could no longer be wielded freely. A loud clanging sound rang out. The eight arms of the four puppets flashed a flurry of shadows, quickly seizing the staff. Then a shrill screeching filled the air as the four puppets pounced on the staff and began gnawing on it fiercely.
The staff trembled violently, trying to break free, but how could it resist the ferocious assault of four puppets like wolves and tigers? Within moments, the staff was bitten all over, its wounds oozing blood.
The stone guardian let out a loud cry. With a flick of his left hand, an iron ring flew out, spinning and emitting a resonant hum, shooting golden rays toward the four puppets.
Unfazed, the four puppets dropped the staff, now reduced to pieces, and with their eight arms fully extended, they engaged the iron ring in battle once more.
“Good for you, Yang Jin! Even at death’s door, you still fight like a cornered beast. You dare to destroy my Nine幽 Staff? Soon, I’ll make you suffer the torment of a hundred ghosts devouring your heart!” The stone guardian roared, his face twisted like a vengeful ghost’s. “Hmph! Now that you’ve dared to use this blood-needle heart-piercing technique, let’s see how long you can endure!”
“Stone Guardian, Yang Altar Master, why have you two come to blows? If I hadn’t woken up early and sensed the magical fluctuations here, I wouldn’t have known what was happening. Stone Guardian, we came out together on this mission, yet you left me behind in the room without a word. I’m quite heartbroken,” a sweet, coquettish voice suddenly interrupted.
As the voice entered, a pink silk handkerchief suddenly appeared between the two combatants. Embroidered with a vivid red peony, it gleamed strangely under the moonlight streaming through the window, instantly causing the two fighters to pause.
The handkerchief slowly rotated and touched the ground, disappearing in an instant, and a human figure appeared between them.
The figure was a beauty, her black hair as glossy as lacquer, her delicate cheeks as white as snow. She wore a red cloak that hugged her shapely figure. Her eyes fluttered, and with a sudden smile, she said, “Oh my, Guardian, dear brother, what’s going on here? Fighting furiously in the middle of the night… Oh, what happened to you, Yang Jin?”
As she turned and smiled, she suddenly noticed Yang Jin’s aged appearance, and for a moment, her smile froze in shock.
“Juanyan, you’d better keep your distance from your dear ‘younger brother,'” the stone guardian said mockingly. “If you didn’t know, this ‘younger brother’ used some method to kill Guardian Zheng and then fled here with the item our sect leader needed, intending to save his father’s cursed soul. As for his current appearance, heh heh, he used the Heaven-Cutting Curse a few days ago and just stabbed himself with the Blood Devouring Nails. That pretty face you were so infatuated with won’t be making an appearance anytime soon.”
“Ah Jin, what happened to you? Are you okay?” The woman, called Juanyan by the stone guardian, couldn’t help trembling at the news of Yang Jin. Her expression changed drastically, her previous lightheartedness gone. She hurried forward, her voice trembling as she asked.
“Stay back!” Yang Jin screamed shrilly. “Stay where you are! You’re all lying to me! You’re all deceivers! Get out! Get out!”
Juanyan’s body trembled violently. Though she tried to keep her expression calm, her voice couldn’t help breaking with sorrow. “Ah Jin, what’s wrong with you? Why are you hurting yourself like this? Don’t you care about your life anymore… How could I ever deceive you? Tell me what’s wrong, and we can talk about it…” As she spoke, she took another step toward Yang Jin.
“Stop pretending! Who’s your little brother! You despicable woman, stop putting on that act! I won’t fall for it again!” Yang Jin roared furiously, gritting his teeth. “Heaven and earth, gods and ghosts, attack!”
As Juanyan lifted her foot, she suddenly heard Yang Jin’s furious roar and involuntarily hesitated. At that moment, the four puppets blocking Yang Jin’s path had already launched their attack simultaneously. With eight arms swinging, they conjured a sky full of ghostly shadows. Facing Juanyan, they instantly trapped her like a rag doll in midair.
A pained groan was heard as Juanyan spat blood from the combined strike of the four puppets. Fortunately, a colorful sash automatically flew out from around her, blocking the giant mouths of the puppets as they bit down, saving her from being killed on the spot.
With a flick of her fingers, Juanyan’s sash transformed into a flurry of long ribbons. With a wave, they wrapped around her and pulled her back, retreating from the puppets’ attack range. With a thud, the ribbons suddenly vanished, leaving Juanyan collapsed on the ground. She struggled to rise, her face pale as snow.
“Ah Jin… you…” Juanyan stood there dazed, staring at Yang Jin with a voice filled with anguish.
“Hahaha… Lady Wu, now you see this brat has gone mad, right? Drop your act already. Who in our sect doesn’t know your charm? Why are you still putting on this act at a time like this? When the time comes, I’ll make sure to satisfy your needs myself… Hehehe, now watch me destroy this brat’s puppets!” The stone guardian had already waved his hands, and three talismans instantly appeared before him. On the pale yellow talisman paper were drawn strange red symbols. As the stone guardian continued chanting his incantation, the symbols gradually became translucent.
Stimulated by the three talismans, the golden-ringed iron hoop in the air emitted a buzzing sound and suddenly expanded in size. The golden rays extended like tentacles, infiltrating every corner and enveloping the four puppets within. The once ferocious puppets, upon being struck by the golden light, seemed to suffer a painful erosion. They suddenly became sluggish, shrieking wildly but unable to break free.
Meanwhile, Yang Jin, though desperately commanding his four puppets to struggle, was clearly reaching the end of his strength. His frail body swayed precariously, clearly unable to continue.
Seeing this, the stone guardian laughed triumphantly, “How about it, Lady Wu? Isn’t my Red Glow Bracelet quite impressive? Just wait a little longer; this brat will surely be captured soon. At that time, I’ll hand him over to you, and you can take your anger out on him however you like!”
Saying this, he continued flipping through hand seals, and the golden light from the iron hoop retracted, firmly trapping the four puppets within the golden glow, leaving them unable to struggle any further.
On the side, Wu Juan had clearly suffered a serious injury, her face still pale and bloodless. Upon hearing the stone guardian’s words, she gritted her teeth and said, “Thank you for your kindness, Master Shi. But he has insulted me deeply and attacked me treacherously, gravely injuring me. If I cannot personally capture him and torment him in every way possible, how can I ever erase this hatred from my heart? Please, Master Shi, continue to suppress his puppets while I capture him myself!”
Saying this, Wu Juan stretched out both hands, forming hand seals on either side, slowly flipping them open as she shouted, “Rise!” Her long ribbons suddenly extended from around her body, weaving through the air like a net before expanding into a giant net descending from above.
As the net was about to descend upon Yang Jin, his eyes burned with fury. However, after enduring repeated injuries and frequently using secret techniques to launch attacks, he was now completely drained of any spiritual energy, feeling hollow inside. He could no longer attack or even move his feet. He could only glare at the two of them helplessly as the net approached.
Just as the giant net was about to land on Yang Jin, an unexpected change occurred!
Lately, I don’t know what’s going on; I just can’t write.
I sit there for hours and only manage to write a few words. It’s really frustrating.
It’s Labor Day now. I hope I can change my mood and things will get better.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage