Seeing the yin wind surge again, about to enter the corpse.
Daoist Lin Jiu had long since bitten his middle finger and drawn a yellow talisman.
As Bai Yu finished his tune, his yellow talisman was also completed.
The yellow talisman in his hand ignited without wind, turning into a streak of fire that soared into the air and struck the yin wind.
Something unexpected happened—the yin wind was blasted apart.
The watery footprints on the ground dried up in an instant.
Daoist Lin Jiu's face was slightly pale, his lips cracked, and his expression was exceedingly furious.
"What is going on? What exactly did Iron Wolf Protector do for the baleful energy to return a second time?"
"Even twice the usual number of yellow talismans failed to suppress it. I had no choice but to use my vital blood to draw a blood talisman."
"Using up a blood talisman for a single funeral—what a huge loss."
"Still, the problem is solved. If the corpse had turned into a Baleful Corpse, that would have been real trouble."
Bai Yu hurriedly poured him a cup of hot tea.
"Uncle Jiu, have some tea and catch your breath."
His mind was still a fog. What blood talisman? What did it mean for baleful energy to return a second time?
Daoist Lin took a sip of hot tea, steadied his breathing, and said,
"Little Bai, we owe this one to you. Your suona played the sound of soul suppression, buying me time to draw the blood talisman."
"I've been a Yin-Yang Practitioner for decades, but I've never seen anyone as gifted with the suona as you."
"At such a young age, you've already grasped the artistic conception of soul suppression."
Bai Yu hurriedly asked,
"Uncle Jiu, what is a blood talisman?"
Daoist Lin Jiu instructed Bai Yu to close the door before explaining it to him.
It turned out that the arts of his lineage had all been passed down from a book called the "Zhu You Yin Fu Jing."
It recorded many strange arts and techniques, drawn from a hodgepodge of origins.
Some came from the ancient Yin-Yang School, some had been influenced by Immortal Dao talismans, some were passed down by the witch sects, and some originated from Ancient Body Refiners.
Blood talismans had been inherited from Ancient Body Refiners. Using one's own vital blood as ink, the talismans drawn possessed many miraculous functions.
It could be said that Yin-Yang Practitioners were a complete mishmash.
They had all sorts of odds and ends; whatever worked, they used, as long as it solved the problem.
Daoist Lin Jiu let out a long sigh.
"According to my master, in ancient times, Ancient Body Refiners were beings capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with Immortal Qi Refiners."
"Unfortunately, the Ancient Body Refiner lineage later declined, and many of its inherited cultivation methods devolved into mundane martial arts."
"Meanwhile, the qi-refining lineage flourished into a powerful civilization of immortal cultivation."
"Most blood talismans of the body refiners were also scattered and lost. Only a small portion was absorbed by mortal Yin-Yang Practitioners."
"Unfortunately, what remained were mostly talismans and spells for suppressing and dispersing baleful energy. There were no longer any blood talismans of great power."
Bai Yu was deeply stirred.
Ancient Body Refiners, Immortal Qi Refiners, blood talismans...
This world truly filled him with the desire to explore.
That night, neither of them had any mind to sleep. They talked until dawn.
Bai Yu discovered that Uncle Jiu's knowledge was truly vast beyond measure.
Uncle Jiu's martial arts were only at the third rank, but among Yin-Yang Practitioners, his standing was that of a grandmaster.
He had heard countless tales and seen far too much.
Bai Yu listened with relish, still wanting more even when dawn arrived.
The next two days went smoothly.
Bai Yu followed Daoist Lin Jiu as they conducted Iron Wolf Protector's funeral and dispersed the baleful energy.
When Iron Wolf Protector's coffin was lowered and buried, Uncle Jiu deliberately showed off a little.
He took more than a dozen yellow talismans from his robes, rubbed them between two fingers, and flames rose with a whoosh.
Then he tossed them into the air. The dozen burning yellow talismans scattered like celestial maidens strewing flowers, firelight shooting everywhere in a dazzling display.
Iron Wolf Protector's relatives nodded again and again, saying they had truly made the right choice in finding Daoist Lin this time.
The funeral guests were astonished and loudly cheered.
They repeatedly praised Daoist Lin as a grandmaster of the Yin-Yang and feng shui trades.
Daoist Lin stood with his hands behind his back and a smile on his face, carrying himself like an exalted master.
Only Bai Yu beside him was secretly holding back laughter.
Uncle Jiu had burned his hand just now. His right hand was tucked into his wide sleeve as he kept rubbing his fingers together from the pain.
At last, the funeral concluded perfectly.
Iron Wolf Protector's family was overflowing with gratitude and presented thirty taels of silver as thanks.
Uncle Jiu refused several times before finally accepting it "with great reluctance."
After leaving, Uncle Jiu handed Bai Yu ten taels of silver.
"Little Bai, this is yours. We really had you to thank this time."
"If that Killing Intent had entered the corpse, the consequences would have been far more serious."
Bai Yu accepted the silver with a smile.
"It was only what I should have done."
He could not help sighing inwardly that the rich were indeed good customers.
For just three days of work, ten taels of silver was worth several years of wages for him, even if he ate and drank nothing.
Both of them were in high spirits, chatting and laughing all the way.
As they emerged from the alley, they saw a fat monk with a hooded man following behind him.
The man was tall and powerfully built, with a hood over his head that hid his face.
Yet judging by his build, he looked remarkably like Mangzi, who had left before.
Bai Yu called out, "Brother Mang!"
The hooded man did not react and walked past without even turning his head.
The fat monk, however, turned around and gave Bai Yu a kindly smile.
Bai Yu was a little puzzled.
"Did I see wrong?"
Still, Bai Yu did not dwell on it and happily returned to his Household.
He closed the door and eagerly claimed his reward.
Obtained ordinary reward: Vitality +188, Life Experience +888.
A wave of heat spread through Bai Yu's body, his vitality surged, and the vitality within him greatly increased.
With 188 points of vitality gained, his skin-tempering progress could rise another step.
Funeral participation: 53%. You may select one additional reward.
Family satisfaction: 70%. You may select one additional reward.
Thus, Bai Yu could select two additional rewards.
Bai Yu looked at the Burial World panel.
Available rewards: saber technique experience, Iron Shirt Skill, Mad Demon Saber Technique, Crushing Monument Leg, Black Wolf Heart Sutra...
Overall, although Iron Wolf Protector's martial arts were formidable, the grades of his cultivation methods were ordinary, all being Yellow Rank techniques.
After considering it, Bai Yu first chose the Iron Shirt Skill.
Iron Shirt Skill, Yellow Rank, Middle Grade. It specialized in increasing defensive power and could temper the skin membrane.
It was exactly what Bai Yu needed.
Next, Bai Yu chose saber technique experience.
Saber technique experience +999!
Nine hundred ninety-nine in a single stroke—this could raise his saber technique cultivation.
Without another word, Bai Yu added the saber technique experience to the Soul Severing Blade.
The Soul Severing Blade's proficiency skyrocketed, immediately reaching complete mastery!
Bai Yu grabbed his tenfold-refined steel saber and swung it repeatedly, each slash cutting out sharp sounds of air splitting apart.
He felt as though the steel saber had become an extension of his arm, its moves growing ever more fierce and ruthless.
His cultivation and martial skill panel became:
Cultivation Method: Four Elephants Five Elements Fist (complete mastery, 3/10000) Martial Skills: Soul Severing Blade (complete mastery, 125/10000), Dark Turtle Breath Concealment Art (practiced to proficiency), Sky-Treading Step (practiced to proficiency), Iron Shirt Skill (not yet initiated)
Next, it was time to practice the Iron Shirt Skill.
Before you continue