Yin Soldier Formation Board

Even Chen Xin herself had not expected it. She froze where she stood, a strange look on her face. But Tang Changsheng could tell that no Vicious Ghost had possessed her. Could the ghost have vanished into thin air?

"I... I have this on me..." As though she had suddenly remembered something, Chen Xin, still shaken, pulled an amulet from around her neck.

A necklace. Another necklace...

Tang Changsheng cursed inwardly. How many necklaces have I run into lately? We really do have a connection!

Just then, with a bang, a door burst open. A frantic fluttering followed as a swarm of bats rushed out like a whirlwind of black clouds, filling the entire corridor.

It was as though Tang Changsheng faced a tornado! Hundreds upon hundreds of bats bore down on him with enough force to blot out the sky.

Tang Changsheng gave a cold snort and hurled a bottle of water. Acrid liquid arced through the air.

In an instant, the bats shrieked and flew back the way they had come. The swarm dissolved into chaos; some even slammed into the walls.

"What was that?"

"Garlic water!"

An inscrutable smile touched Tang Changsheng's lips.

In truth, he was just as astonished. He had only prepared a little on a whim and kept it handy. He had never expected it to actually work!

By then, Tang Changsheng had brought Chen Xin into a large waiting room. "Stay here," he ordered. "Don't go wandering off..."

With that, he turned and headed downstairs.

Only then did Chen Xin notice that Song Da and the other injured people were there, along with most of the others in the hospital.

Talisman paper covered the room from wall to wall!

"Dr. Chen, come over here. You're hurt. Let's treat your injuries first..."

By then, Tang Changsheng had chased his quarry out of the inpatient building. Fog hung thick all around, but whoever had been casting spells downstairs had vanished without a trace.

All that remained were yellow paper and soybeans scattered across the ground, stirring gently in the night breeze.

"The Bean-Summoning Soldiers Technique!"

At the sight, Tang Changsheng's gaze sharpened, and he cried out.

Then surprise flashed across his face. "The Yin Soldier Camp Board... I thought this thing had been lost long ago. No wonder. No wonder they could use the Bean-Summoning Soldiers Technique..."

Beside a pool of fresh blood lay a small wooden board, like a marble game board.

Joy and astonishment mingled on Tang Changsheng's face. This had once been one of the General's Temple's most important treasures.

It had gone missing back in his master's time. He had assumed no one knew where it had ended up.

Only now did he learn that it had fallen into the hands of the Gourd Islet branch.

This time, it had finally returned to its rightful owner!

"Good, good, good! Your inner cultivation truly is profound, to have mastered even the Bean-Summoning Soldiers Technique... I thought you Gourd Islet disciples had forgotten all the techniques of our school and knew only how to show off with Western witchcraft!"

His voice carried through the night wind, but even after he waited a long while, no answer came.

Da Xiang, who had been casting spells there moments earlier, had already seen that things were going badly and fled.

How could he hear Tang Changsheng now? He was coughing up mouthfuls of blood, a bitter smile on his face. "Yin-Yang Mountain truly is the sect leader's line. His cultivation is formidable. He even broke the Bean-Summoning Soldiers Technique I used with the spiritual food I had such trouble making!"

With that, he retched and spat out another great mouthful of blood.

Fortunately, three dark figures darted out from nearby. "Da Xiang! Da Xiang, are you all right...?"

Seeing that help had arrived, Da Xiang relaxed and promptly fainted.

The Yin Soldiers had already wounded him.

Now his injuries had only grown worse! Even if he was lucky enough to survive, he would have to spend months in bed!

On Yin-Yang Mountain, Ling Xiaoyu waited and waited, then began to doze off.

By the time a noise outside the temple roused her, it was already around five or six in the morning.

Ling Xiaoyu woke with a start and clutched the Talismans in her hands, shaken by how close she had come to sleeping through something.

Then she saw Tang Changsheng stride inside.

"Ah!" Ling Xiaoyu jumped to her feet. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I fell asleep... I forgot I was supposed to guard the entrance for you!"

Tang Changsheng smiled faintly. "But you did a fine job. It's because you stood guard here all night that nothing happened to the General's Temple!"

"Really?" The young woman looked half convinced. But one glance at Tang Changsheng's smile, and she deflated like a punctured ball. "I'm not that capable. Oh, right, here's the Talisman you gave me..."

The night before, Tang Changsheng had given her a Talisman and asked her to guard the entrance. If anything went wrong, she was to burn it at once...

In the end, she had never needed it!

Thinking about it now left her thoroughly discouraged.

Tang Changsheng smiled. "Keep it. Carry it with you as an amulet!"

As if he needed someone else to guard the temple!

He had left the guardian Yin Soldiers behind to watch over the temple grounds. He had only asked Ling Xiaoyu to stay because he feared she would insist on accompanying him to the hospital...

He had guessed the hospital would be dangerous last night, but he had never imagined someone would even use the Bean-Summoning Soldiers Technique. It had been far more dangerous than he had expected!

Still, he had recovered the Yin Soldier Camp Board, an artifact the General's Temple had lost decades ago. Tang Changsheng could not have been happier.

He said to Ling Xiaoyu, "All right, things are more or less settled. You can go home now. I'm going into seclusion to cultivate for a while, so there won't be anyone at the temple..."

"Huh?" Ling Xiaoyu froze. She was reluctant to leave; her days at the General's Temple had been exciting and fun.

But Tang Changsheng had all but asked her to go, and she could think of no way to stay. She had no choice but to obediently leave...

Her eyes kept darting about, though. Clearly, she was hatching some scheme!

Tang Changsheng, however, was too absorbed in the newly recovered Yin Soldier Camp Board to notice.

Once his excitement had settled, Tang Changsheng turned all his thoughts back to cultivation!

He took out the Yin Soldier Formation Board and examined it closely.

This so-called Yin Soldier Formation Board was really just a game board. It was made of some unknown magnetic material that held all its pieces in place.

The pieces were marked with ranks such as general, officer, lieutenant, and soldier. There were thirty-two in all—exactly the number of Yin Soldiers in one camp!