Everyone followed the sound and looked over. When they saw who had spoken—Mo Chuan—their expressions immediately turned uncertain and suspicious.
—Could this man truly possess heaven-reaching abilities?
In this hopeless predicament, even a single straw to clutch at for life made many hearts waver.
But even more common was helpless rage.
Especially Chong Xuzi, who began berating him without restraint:
"Old Daoist Priest Yanzhen, are you still making fools of us when death is at the door? If you could truly take down the Great Five-Armored Demon, then what was that mere zombie yesterday? Are you trying to send us to our deaths so you can buy time to escape?"
Everyone wore looks of sudden realization at those words, their indignation and despair growing deeper.
That was right. As disciples of the Dao, slaying demons and banishing evil was their bounden duty!
Even if their abilities differed somewhat in focus, the gap could not possibly be this vast. If Old Daoist Priest Yanzhen could handle the Great Five-Armored Demon, he would not have let yesterday's zombie go.
Having understood this, everyone's hearts turned to ashes.
"Fellow Daoist Yanzhen, might you have a means of facing the enemy?"
Daoist priest Yi Qian asked dryly, treating a dead horse as though it were alive.
"Last night, you saved the people of Changlan. Today, let this heaven-shaking merit belong to this poor Daoist!"
Mo Chuan smiled. With a lift of his hand, countless talismans surged from his sleeve.
There were so many that they spread like a curtain of rain!
"This—"
This sudden sight left Chong Xuzi dumbstruck.
"Ghost Subduing Talismans!!!"
Daoist priest Yi Qian blurted out. Amid his shock, the flames of hope abruptly ignited in his eyes.
Ghost Subduing Talismans were talismans that borrowed the power of Jie Immortals and specifically countered vicious ghosts.
As the saying went: when humans died, they became ghosts; when ghosts died, they became jie.
For this reason, Ghost Subduing Talismans were extraordinarily difficult to inscribe.
First, one needed a Jie Immortal to lend its power. Thus, to inscribe one, a senior member of the Dao had to pass into immortality first.
Second, ghosts were the souls of humans. It was already difficult for a human to become a ghost; for a ghost to become jie was rarer still.
Thus, even if a senior of the Dao gave their life for righteousness, if they could not become jie, all efforts would come to nothing.
That was why Ghost Subduing Talismans were exceedingly scarce in this world, most of them serving as inherited foundations of the great Daoist temples.
No one had expected Old Daoist Priest Yanzhen to possess such an enormous number of them!
Could it be... could it be that he had stolen all of Yunji Temple's accumulated foundation?
As everyone's hearts churned and their hopes rose, the Ghost Subduing Talismans, vast as a torrential downpour, had already filled the sky!
"Whoosh—"
The Great Five-Armored Demon turned pale in fright at the sight.
It summoned a black cloud to conceal itself, while also sweeping up a gale with one wave of its hand. Dust flew wildly across the entire city, yet the wind could not scatter the Ghost Subduing Talismans.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
In an instant, the Ghost Subduing Talismans pierced through space and shot into the dense cloud layer.
"Argh—"
A shrill scream came from within the black clouds.
After being struck by the Ghost Subduing Talismans as though the ground itself had been washed clean, the Great Five-Armored Demon could no longer maintain the black cloud shielding its body and revealed its true form.
Its azure body had visibly become several degrees more transparent.
Its cultivation had nearly been knocked down!
"How dare you!"
The Great Five-Armored Demon flew into a towering rage. With a savage sweep of its hand, the black tornado engulfing the city abruptly rose from the ground and condensed into one massive column. Like clouds hanging over the sea and mountains rising from it, like an overturned gorge pouring out a river, it swept toward Yi Qian's Residence.
"My life is over!"
Watching the black tornado crush forward with the pressure to overwhelm mountains and rivers, everyone's faces went deathly pale.
Some fled in panic;
Some activated talismans in a final struggle before death;
Others collapsed limply to the ground and stretched out their necks to await slaughter.
As the black tornado was about to strike, Mo Chuan, who had scattered all the Ghost-Subduing Talismans, calmly looked toward Luo Feibai and asked with a smile, "Chief Escort Luo, do you still remember what this poor Daoist entrusted to you?"
Having endured the tragic death of his eldest son, the desecration of his corpse, and the demon's assault upon the city, Luo Feibai's mind had long since gone blank. Hearing this, he stared dazedly at Mo Chuan. The spirit of the Jianghu made him instinctively reply, "I remember."
"Then this poor Daoist can rest easy!"
Whether zombies murdered people or demons massacred cities, Mo Chuan had always remained restrained. If he could help with a simple effort, he would help; if it required risking his life, he naturally had to think thrice before deciding. Selfishly speaking, he did not care about Yanzhen's fleshly body, but he cared about Yunji Temple's Daoist arts. They were his opportunity to step onto the Dao Path.
Now... enough, enough! Looking upon this scene, Mo Chuan suddenly thought of a song lyric and softly recited:
"I was born a proud child of a Daoist temple, believing neither in ghosts nor gods nor men."
"After taking all the kindness this world could offer, I returned it all to this wandering body." Note 1
"Fellow Daoists."
"Part here, meet elsewhere."
Amid everyone's stunned stares, Mo Chuan suddenly took a great stride forward, pulled the Seven Star Sword from the side of a Daoist priest beside him, and savagely swept it across his own throat.
In an instant, blood sprayed three feet, dyeing his Daoist robe crimson.
Mo Chuan had actually taken his own life!
This abrupt sight made Luo Feibai, who had dazedly agreed to the promise, stare with dilated pupils at Mo Chuan as he drew the sword across his own neck.
The Daoist priest remained standing even in death, leaning upon his sword.
His disheveled long hair rustled in the wind, and the proud, unyielding soul within him seemed faintly visible, standing phantom-like in the heavens!
Between his furrowed brows and glaring eyes shone the light of righteousness in the mortal world.
For a moment, Luo Feibai's mind felt as though it had been tempered by five bolts of lightning, and an indescribable emotion stirred within him.
The Yellow-crowned Buddhist disciples filling the courtyard were likewise dumbfounded.
Th-this was because he did not wish to offer all his vital essence to the demon, so he had killed himself to disperse it?
How magnificent was such an act!
Chong Xuzi's eyelids twitched violently. The Seven Star Sword could not sever a warrior's righteousness, yet it stabbed viciously into his heart.
Thinking of all the ways he had made things difficult for him before, an indescribable shame rose from the depths of his heart, gnawing at his soul and scorching his heart until he could not rest easy.
"Hahaha, Fellow Daoist Yanzhen, this poor Daoist shall now go witness your wondrous Daoist arts!"
Chong Xuzi laughed miserably and drew his sword, intending to emulate Yanzhen's righteousness. Yet what he caught in the corner of his eye made his expression abruptly change.
As the wind swept fine dust aloft, thunder would bring a violent rainstorm.
A humanoid phantom suddenly rose from Old Daoist Priest Yanzhen's corpse and soared into the sky.
"Demon, go die for me!!!"
His tongue burst with thunder, carrying the unyielding soul of the Dao that saved and delivered all living beings.
It sent the hearts of those in Yi Qian's courtyard swaying wildly!
Old Daoist Priest Yanzhen had never committed suicide at all!
Th-this was clearly Liberation by Violence, Emerging Yin Spirit—he sought to become a Ghost Immortal and battle the demon once more!
In an instant, the entire city saw a flickering firefly's light charging against the wild wind and thunder toward the Great Five-Armored Demon.
"I never expected the Human race to possess such a loyal and righteous man!"
The Great Five-Armored Demon looked down at Mo Chuan shooting toward it, its heart stirred. Even it was deeply shaken by such self-sacrifice for righteousness.
But an ant rolling into a sea of fire, however spectacular, was still only an ant!
As the thought flashed through its mind, it raised a hand. A beam of black light descended in suppression. Mo Chuan could not evade in time and was struck at once, his soul body left on the verge of collapse.
"Your loyalty and righteousness have earned Lu's admiration. If you are willing to acknowledge me as your master, Lu can spare the people of this entire city!"
The Great Five-Armored Demon had developed an appreciation for talent.
"A dying thing like you dares ask me to acknowledge a master? How utterly arrogant!" Mo Chuan mocked.
"You do not know life from death! I would like to see how you intend to kill me!"
The Great Five-Armored Demon's face turned cold. With a lift of its hand, it no longer held anything back. Rolling demon wind surged and erupted from its palm, pouncing toward Mo Chuan.
"Open your dog eyes wide and watch how I kill you!"
Mo Chuan shouted furiously, and his critically unstable soul body suddenly shattered.
Dead?
No!
The Great Five-Armored Demon's expression changed drastically.
Within that crumbling soul body, an invisible thing was unexpectedly born. It resembled a soul body, yet was more ethereal than a ghost; to look upon it made one's eyes bulge and head ache.
—It was a Jie Immortal!
The Great Five-Armored Demon was instantly scared out of its wits. Without a second thought, it turned and fled!
With its Five-Armored cultivation, it might not necessarily have feared a newly born Jie Immortal.
However, after fighting until now, its strength had already been exhausted, and the Ghost Subduing Talismans had nearly knocked down its cultivation.
If it did not flee now, even if it survived, it would have to shed a layer of skin.
Yet just as it was about to make its escape, a Headless Ghost abruptly emerged in front of it and pounced with ferocious savagery.
In ordinary times, even though the Headless Ghost was one of the Dao's four great evil ghosts, it could have slain it with a wave of its hand!
But at present, it could not end the battle swiftly.
In the instant it formed a hand seal and gathered its qi, the invisible Jie Immortal had already ignored the obstruction of the gale and crashed into its body.
"No—"
The Great Five-Armored Demon shook as though struck by lightning. Its hands transformed into sharp claws and plunged into its chest, trying to pull out that damned Jie Immortal!
Yet at that moment, the Headless Ghost had already closed in. It seized the demon's head in an embrace, like a savage crocodile blocking a river that had bitten down on its prey and launched into a death roll.
"Get lost!"
The Great Five-Armored Demon roared, but it dared not use its demon arts, nor did it have the strength to do so.
Because that Jie Immortal was already seizing possession of its Ghost Body.
"Fellow Daoist Yanzhen actually became a Jie Immortal!"
At this moment, inside Yi Qian's Residence, the Yellow-crowned Buddhist disciples throughout the courtyard stared blankly at the Great Five-Armored Demon rolling, twisting, charging left and right amid the clouds. Every one of them was shaken to the core.
To kill oneself and become a ghost could still be explained as cultivating the Yin Spirit method!
But to cast off the Ghost Body and become a Jie Immortal!
It was simply unbelievable.
If Jie Immortals could be so easily attained, would Ghost Subduing Talismans still be inherited foundations of so many Daoist sects?
This could only mean that Fellow Daoist Yanzhen's heart was as firm as a boulder!
"Born a hero among men, dead a hero among ghosts! This poor Daoist wronged Fellow Daoist Yanzhen."
Chong Xuzi's eyes were bloodshot, his fists clenched tightly as he stared unwaveringly at the fierce battle in the sky.
The shame enough to breed inner demons tortured his conscience, making him pray for Yanzhen's victory so that he could personally speak a word of apology.
Note 1: These were lyrics from Modern Brothers Liu Yuning's "Let the Wine," with several words slightly altered. The original lyrics were:
"I was born a proud young minister, believing neither in ghosts nor gods nor men. After taking all the kindness this world could offer, I returned it all to this wandering body. Part here, meet elsewhere."
I still have not been scheduled for a recommendation this week. I could cry to death. Fellow Daoists, please give recommendation votes! Monthly votes! Comments and support!
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