Exorcism

(Brain storage)

Pen Fairy stood before him, and Xiao did not dare make any rash moves.

Indeed, compared to Pen Fairy, Xiao was much shorter and even looked less powerful.

Yet the evil spirit still did not dare attack lightly. It could sense the enormous power contained within the young man before it, enough to tear it apart with ease.

"..." Without another word, Xiao spread his palm, and a green spear appeared out of thin air.

"Bane of All Evil!" A yaksha mask appeared over his face as Xiao lunged at Pen Fairy with astonishing speed.

Thanks to the effects of Lin Yiyi's talisman, the aura Xiao emitted was a pure, jade-like green Anemo glow. At the same time, Xiao would not have to endure pain or lose his own life force.

Even if he did lose some, he would not feel much.

The Conqueror of Demons moved as fast as lightning, reaching Pen Fairy in an instant.

Primordial Jade Winged-Spear in hand, wreathed in green Anemo energy, cleaved toward Pen Fairy with the force of thunder. The spear's light streaked through the air, leaving behind a dazzling green trail, like an emerald dragon roaring across the sky.

What looked like an ordinary basic attack was an utterly deadly strike against a ghost like Pen Fairy.

As an adeptus, he was naturally the bane of ghosts.

But Pen Fairy had existed for so long that it was no ordinary foe. It immediately transformed into a cloud of black mist and fled into the distance.

"Hmph—" The yaksha mask vanished from Xiao's face, and he too became a streak of pure green light, chasing Pen Fairy through the air.

Above the city, a mass of black currents and green light collided repeatedly. With every collision, the black mist shrank a little more—this battle was completely one-sided.

"Boom—"

In less than ten seconds, the black mass was forced back into its original form and landed precisely in a narrow alley.

Like the Grim Reaper descending upon the world, Xiao dropped from the sky and landed silently on the ground.

"Who is it, disturbing my sleep..." A voice suddenly sounded. Xiao looked toward it and found an old homeless man groggily climbing to his feet.

His golden pupils suddenly contracted, and he rushed forward at once.

But he was a step too late. Pen Fairy was faster, instantly drilling into the old man's body.

Possession!

"Ahhh—what is this thing?!" After struggling fruitlessly for a while, the homeless man went still and collapsed facedown onto the ground.

Then, his body twisted into an incredibly grotesque posture as he crawled back up.

The old man then swung his hand, sending several screws flying toward Xiao.

"Clang, clang, clang—" The screws struck Xiao solidly, but caused no damage whatsoever.

As one of the Three-Eyed Five-Manifestations Adepti, Xiao's body had been tempered to perfection. Ordinary resentful spirits and vicious ghosts could exhaust all the power they had in life and still fail to harm him in the slightest.

He alone could hold the line to the death. What were a few screws to him?

Xiao brushed the dust from his clothes and looked at the old man again, only to see the homeless man under Pen Fairy's control thrust several steel pipes at him!

"..." Unlike screws, steel pipes were much harder. Xiao would still not be harmed, but he could still feel the pain when they struck him.

"Swish, swish, swish—" Several green flashes streaked through the air as Xiao blinked about several times before returning to his original spot.

But he still did not dare attack. His power was too great; if he acted recklessly, he feared he would destroy both man and ghost together.

The Xiao of the past, who knew only slaughter, would have eliminated both human and ghost without a second thought. But the past was the past, and the present was the present. He was no longer the same.

The young adeptus could only evade Pen Fairy's attacks. Yet he did not simply wait to die, constantly searching for a chance to break the deadlock.

But no matter how many openings Pen Fairy revealed, Xiao could not act rashly. He was worried that his adeptal power would erase both man and ghost alike.

And so, the standoff continued for quite some time.

"So you really were here!" Suddenly, both adeptus and ghost heard a voice.

They looked toward the sound and saw a young man in a black trench coat running into the alley from outside, a cane in hand.

"It's you... How did you find this place?" Xiao was somewhat surprised, but when he saw Lin Yiyi point at the talisman on his body, he understood immediately.

"I can sense your aura." Lin Yiyi smiled. The Splendor of Tranquil Waters in his hand glimmered with blue light, while Furina stood beside him with puffed cheeks. Liu Chao, Tian Heng, and the others were still hiding behind Lin Yiyi.

Xiao stepped aside. His adeptal power was too strong, and he could not attack again. If it were left to this junior—whose strength seemed roughly equal to the evil entity before them—then every problem could be resolved.

"Haha, it's showtime!"

Lin Yiyi swung the cane in his hand. "The five stars stabilize their colors, their radiance shines upon the dark abyss; a thousand gods and myriad saints, protect my true spirit; mighty beasts of the heavens, subdue the five weapons; demons and ghosts of the five heavens, perish in body and form; wherever I stand, all gods welcome me!"

"By the law's swift command!"

At once, the Splendor of Tranquil Waters in his hand transformed into three blue longswords, hovering behind him.

Then Lin Yiyi pulled out two stacks of talisman paper from the backpack Furina was holding.

"Soldiers, warriors, fighters, all assemble and advance—go!"

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—"

At Lin Yiyi's command, dozens of talismans surrounded the homeless man.

Taking three steps in two, the young man flipped through the air and pinned the old man firmly beneath him. Empowered by the talisman array, Lin Yiyi formed hand seals with one hand, pressed them before the back of the old man's head, and pulled hard, trying to drag Pen Fairy directly out.

He had seen this method on television, and it should not cause much harm to the person's body.

Pen Fairy still refused to leave the old man's body. Lin Yiyi changed his hand seal again, then exerted force and violently tore it out.

After being pulled out, Pen Fairy tried to burrow back into the homeless man's body. How could Lin Yiyi give it the chance? He tore off a nearby talisman and stuck it onto the old man's body.

"Go!" Lin Yiyi shouted, pointing with his cane. The three Splendor of Tranquil Waters swords attacked Pen Fairy in midair, pinning it against the wall and leaving it unable to move.

"Finally got it done." Lin Yiyi clapped his hands, and all the talismans flew back into his grasp.

Furina, Liu Chao, and the others watched the entire process in utter shock. They had only half-believed in such things, which made witnessing it unfold before their very eyes all the more unbelievable.

After witnessing Lin Yiyi's powerful and flashy magic, Furina found it even more unbelievable. She stood there frozen like a wooden chicken, not even noticing when Lin Yiyi tucked the stolen Splendor of Tranquil Waters into her hat.

The young man snickered and walked over to Xiao. At that moment, Xiao stood before Pen Fairy and asked:

"Should this demon be completely exorcised?"

Lin Yiyi shook his head. "Some resentful spirits and vicious ghosts suffered inhuman torment while alive. After death, they become lingering souls, unable to enter reincarnation for a long time."

"Over time, some of these ghosts become Pen Fairies. While they can help ordinary people, those people must also pay a corresponding price."

"These evil spirits all have different temperaments. Earlier, when I watched Miss Furina speaking with her, she did not immediately start killing without question. Instead, she patiently listened to her tell her own story."

"I imagine she is not an absolutely evil ghost. Miss Furina merely said something she should not have and provoked him.

"I never expected this bastard to split off an avatar to deceive me while I was away, then send his main body here to commit murder."

"If you have done nothing wrong, you need not fear ghosts knocking at your door. Let's subdue it first, then ask the victim what happened later."

"If it truly harmed people for no reason, it should be subdued."