Senior Brother Mingshan and Senior Sister Mingyue were flung away by the Mistress's long hair.
They flew like kites with their strings cut, spitting blood.
The two slammed into the wall around the Stone Workshop Eatery, smashing two holes in it.
The intense pain knocked the siblings unconscious on the spot.
At that moment, only Li Yan remained, facing the Nine-Foot Mistress alone.
The "towering" Mistress slowly turned around and looked at Li Yan.
Her entire face was hidden behind black hair, and sobs came from within the thick strands.
The Nine-Foot Mistress slowly approached Li Yan's room, seemingly floating.
On closer inspection, she wasn't floating at all. Her long hair writhed along the ground, pushing her forward.
"This is bad."
He hadn't expected Senior Brother and Senior Sister to be swatted away by the Nine-Foot Mistress in a single exchange.
He'd hoped Mingshan and Mingyue would draw her hatred, but now he had no choice but to face her alone.
The crying outside grew closer. Countless strands of black hair slipped through the doors and windows, probing their way into the room.
Li Yan glanced around. The Mistress's hair surrounded him from every direction, sealing off every escape route.
The Spirit Suppressing Talismans in the room had burned to ashes, filling it with drifting dust.
Li Yan gripped the Ebony Sword and formed the hand seals for the Lamp Burning Method.
The Mistress's mournful sobs echoed through the room. Li Yan drew a deep breath.
She was here!
Hair forced the wooden door open, and a wave of foul, baleful air rushed in.
The wind buffeted Li Yan, forcing him to retreat two steps.
The girl beside him, named Xin Zhi, fainted on the spot beneath the overwhelming aura of deathly Yin.
At that moment, Li Yan truly stood alone.
"Burn!"
As Li Yan silently recited the incantation, flames sprang up around the Nine-Foot Mistress outside the door.
But there was an obvious difference in their levels.
Li Yan was a sixth-layer cultivator of the Blood Condensation Realm, while the Mistress had been in the Blood Moving Realm when she was alive. Now that she had become an Abyssal Creature, she had retained her former strength.
The Lamp Lighting Technique set the Mistress's body ablaze, but she stubbornly endured the flames by relying on the deathly Yin aura within her.
Li Yan held his hand seal tight. Golden light illuminated his Golden Body Dharma Aspect!
As the Mistress drew closer and closer, the corners of Li Yan's mouth lifted.
"Mistress, forgive me!"
Li Yan thrust the Ebony Sword forward!
[Death Yin · Ebony Sword] [Reversal side effect: While you hold the Ebony Sword, it can absorb the energy of those around you, whether they are living people or vengeful spirits.]
The unremarkable Ebony Sword transformed into an astonishing Divine Artifact in Li Yan's hand.
The Ebony Sword had once harmed its master, drawing the owner's blood. With its effect reversed, it now drew energy from its enemies instead—a Magic Artifact!
Vast amounts of deathly Yin poured out of the Nine-Foot Mistress, the dense black aura streaming into the Ebony Sword.
The Ebony Sword, once so worthless that no one would pick it up off the ground, now gleamed black—so bright it seemed almost purple!
Under the tremendous pull, the Nine-Foot Mistress let out a piercing wail.
Before their very eyes, the Mistress was drawn bit by bit into the Ebony Sword, until the instant she was sealed inside.
Once the Mistress had been sealed completely within the Ebony Sword, the raging wind outside stopped, and everything fell silent.
Only then did Li Yan let out a long breath of relief.
He raised his hand in disbelief and stared at the Ebony Sword he held.
A line of text appeared before his eyes.
[Nine-Foot Yin Immortal · Ebony Sword] [Lower Ninth Grade → upgraded to Middle Sixth Grade Magic Artifact]
The Ebony Sword's name had changed. The Mistress was sealed within its blade, and it now contained terrifying power.
Li Yan hadn't expected that the Ebony Sword, so despised that even dogs avoided it, would become a small Divine Artifact capable of sealing the supernatural after its effect was reversed.
Now that he held the Ebony Sword, he could feel the Mistress's power flowing within it.
He tightened his grip and focused. He could clearly feel a warm current pouring steadily into his inner core.
"How interesting. The Mistress has become my power bank?"
The more he studied it, the more remarkable the Ebony Sword seemed.
With the Mistress sealed inside, the Ebony Sword could unleash terrifying power.
Li Yan gently stroked the blade and felt it tremble.
He whispered to the sword, "Mistress, stay peacefully in there. One day, I'll avenge you."
Only then did the Ebony Sword, which had been shaking wildly, slowly settle down.
How interesting!
Just as Li Yan was examining the transformed Ebony Sword, two figures appeared ahead.
Senior Brother Mingshan and Second Senior Sister Mingyue were limping toward him.
Their robes were stained red with blood, and they looked wary and uneasy.
"Strange. Where did the Mistress go?"
"Junior Brother, are you all right?"
Mingshan and Mingyue had just been flung away and had been unconscious for quite some time.
When they returned, they couldn't find the Mistress anywhere, and they were concerned.
"Junior Brother, what happened while we were unconscious?"
Li Yan was considering how to bluff his way out of it, but the two soon turned their eyes to the Ebony Sword in his hand.
"Why does the Mistress's aura come from that Ebony Sword?"
Senior Brother Mingshan stumbled back several steps, afraid the Mistress would surge out of the sword.
Second Senior Sister Mingyue looked thoughtful. "Junior Brother, did you seal the Mistress inside?"
"Could it be... that the Ebony Sword Master gave you isn't an ordinary item?"
Mingyue surmised that the Ebony Sword in Li Yan's hand couldn't be an ordinary Ebony Sword. Otherwise, how could it have sealed the Mistress inside?
At this, a flash of jealousy crossed Senior Brother Mingshan's eyes. "Junior Brother, you've got quite a trick up your sleeve. I've followed Master for nearly ten years, and he's never given me a treasure like that."
The two seemed to have misunderstood, convinced that the Ebony Sword was no ordinary item.
Li Yan hesitated, then thought better of explaining. It was better to say nothing.
No matter what he said now, they wouldn't believe him.
Seeing jealousy rise in Senior Brother Mingshan, Second Senior Sister Mingyue gave a dry cough. "Brother! If Junior Brother hadn't had such a Magic Artifact, we might both have died here."
"R-right, exactly!"
Senior Brother Mingshan immediately changed his expression, smiling as he patted Li Yan on the shoulder. "Little Junior Brother, Master really did pick the right person! You're the most promising disciple this year. Don't let Master down after all the effort he's put into raising you."
Li Yan cupped his hands modestly. "It's thanks to Senior Brother and Second Senior Sister keeping the creature occupied that I had a chance to subdue it."
"Ha! You're still being modest, kid? How about you lend that treasured sword to your senior brother..."
As he spoke, Senior Brother Mingshan couldn't keep his hands to himself and reached for the Ebony Sword.
Just then, Second Senior Sister Mingyue slapped his greedy hand away.
"Brother! Master gave that Magic Artifact to Junior Brother. Don't try to take what belongs to him!"
Second Senior Sister Mingyue knitted her brows and kept shooting Senior Brother Mingshan pointed looks. Only then did he rein himself in.
"Ah, why can't I control my hands? Whenever I see a treasure, I just want to touch it."
Looking at the two before him, Li Yan kept a smile on his face, but remained on his guard.
He hadn't expected the Ebony Sword to advance to the Middle Sixth Grade as soon as he sealed the Mistress. Senior Brother Mingshan had already set his sights on it.
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