Spring Orchid

Qin Yang poked his head out and caught a faint whiff of rotting stench.

He shut the window again, his eyes flickering.

From what Yaoju had said, Youlan must have been transformed into an evil spirit by overwhelming baleful and resentful energy. Everyone who went to Spring Orchid Courtyard would meet with misfortune.

"Li Baling and the others were the unlucky fools assigned to Spring Orchid Courtyard during the Qing Tian Festival."

"The girls accompanying them all drowned after losing their footing. They may have temporarily escaped disaster only because they left Huaxiang Tower."

"But while they were in Spring Orchid Courtyard, evil qi may have entered their bodies. After returning, they suffered endless nightmares and were tortured to death alive."

Qin Yang speculated.

Back at the Broken Temple, he had fallen victim to illusions too.

Fortunately, he had entered a state of Zen Meditation. Otherwise, he would not have been able to break free.

As for ordinary people like Li Baling, there was no need to mention them. Their minds were undisciplined, and they could easily collapse when faced with such strange horrors.

"I want to see just how vicious you can be."

Qin Yang walked out of his room and headed toward the courtyard ahead.

He passed through several more small courtyards along the way.

A small plaque hung outside each courtyard gate, bearing the name of the courtyard.

Winter Snow, Autumn Leaf.

As he passed by, Qin Yang could still hear some indecent sounds.

At last, deep within the compound, he saw a shadowy courtyard.

A wooden plaque hung before its gate, carved with the words Spring Orchid.

The courtyard was deathly silent, without the slightest trace of lamplight.

Fearless, Qin Yang strode into Spring Orchid Courtyard.

The ground was strewn with talisman papers, along with incense, candles, and the like.

There was a pond ahead. Moonlight spilled over it, making the ripples glimmer.

Suddenly.

Qin Yang sensed something and whipped around.

In a daze, he seemed to see a pair of numb, malicious eyes staring at him.

As his gaze swept over them, those venomous eyes vanished again.

Qin Yang's expression tightened.

The source of that gaze had been a windowsill in one of the courtyard rooms.

The window stood open outward. Qin Yang peered inside, but it was pitch-black, and he could not make anything out.

"Something's wrong. This window should have been closed when I came in."

Qin Yang muttered to himself, then walked toward that room.

The door was not locked. It opened with a light push.

A cold, sinister aura lingered in the room, sending a chill through Qin Yang's body.

Just as he stepped through the doorway.

His footsteps abruptly halted.

After he opened the door, moonlight happened to stream through it, casting his shadow upon the ground.

But when he looked down, there were two shadows on the ground.

Qin Yang had no time to think. He raised his elbow and viciously swept it backward.

Whoosh~

The air churned.

He hit nothing.

Qin Yang turned around. Behind him lay only a cold, ghastly pale pond.

"Did I see wrong?"

Qin Yang narrowed his eyes and looked at the ground again.

This time, there was only his own shadow.

Qin Yang entered the room.

The room had clearly not been tidied for a long time. It was a complete mess, with more incense and candles scattered over the floor.

He went to the windowsill and found damp traces on the floorboards.

Then he looked through the window toward the pond.

There, he saw a woman standing silently against the edge of the pond.

The woman wore a red dress, but her features could not be seen.

"Finally willing to show yourself?"

Qin Yang leaped out through the window and, in a flash, rushed to the pond's edge.

Yet the eerie red figure quietly disappeared beside the pond.

"Gone again?"

Qin Yang frowned slightly, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding area.

A very pale hand silently appeared behind him and struck toward his back as fast as lightning, seemingly intending to shove Qin Yang into the pond.

Bang~

A large hole tore open in Qin Yang's sleeve as violent currents of air surged.

The instant danger descended, Qin Yang sensed it and immediately activated the Primordial Qi Shield.

That palm landed on his back as if it had struck a mountain, unable to move him even an inch!

"Trying to ambush me?!"

"Not a chance!"

Qin Yang's large hand shot backward in a fierce grab.

A red figure was struck by his palm.

Bang~

It was like hitting a mass of cold, sinister mud.

A chill crept up Qin Yang's arm and spread into his body.

Crash~~~

The qi and blood within him surged like raging tides, instantly extinguishing that chill.

A red figure flew backward.

Only then did Qin Yang clearly see what the red figure looked like.

Her skin was deathly pale, her lips bluish-black, and bloody tears flowed from both eyes.

"You must be Youlan."

Qin Yang spoke coolly.

"All... people... should die. Die~"

Youlan's mouth emitted a venomous, shrill voice. Her figure flashed violently, whipping up a sinister wind as she pounced fiercely at Qin Yang.

When Qin Yang came to Huaxiang Tower tonight, the Fine Steel Chopper had been too conspicuous to bring along. However, he had concealed a Wild Goose Feather Saber at his waist.

Clang~

The instant he drew his saber.

A streak of cold light slashed out like a gale sweeping wildly across the land.

Clang~

The Wild Goose Feather Saber crashed fiercely into Youlan's bizarre claw, actually throwing off sparks.

"Arhat Bell Crash!"

Qin Yang roared low, raising his left elbow and slamming it savagely forward~

The elbow strike smashed directly into Youlan's face, blasting a bloody hole into it.

Youlan let out a piercing shriek, her claws stabbing rapidly toward Qin Yang.

Clang clang clang~~~

Qin Yang shifted his saber stance. The blade light seemed to transform into a grim dense forest, layer upon layer, blocking every one of her attacks.

Army Breaker: Forest Stance

They exchanged a wild barrage of attacks for dozens of moves.

The dense collision sounds rang out crisply, like iron being hammered.

Despite such high-intensity fighting, Qin Yang's breathing was not disturbed in the slightest. His strength was like the vast Yangtze River, flowing on without end.

This was the profound meaning of the Divine Ability formed after the Azure Wave Blood Transference Method reached perfection: Rushing Rivers Return to the Sea.

"Ah!!!"

Youlan let out a piercing shriek.

The sound was terrifyingly penetrating, like a dagger stabbing into Qin Yang's head. Blinding pain caused a flaw to appear in the changes of his saber stance.

Youlan had been waiting for precisely this chance. Her claw stabbed viciously toward Qin Yang's heart.

Qin Yang shifted slightly, moving his heart's vital point aside.

At the same time, the Primordial Qi Shield covered his entire body.

Youlan shrieked as a bizarre aura surfaced over her claw, nearly tearing apart the Primordial Qi Shield.

Once the Primordial Qi Shield was breached, he would need to condense a Qi Shield Seed at the heart again.

The terrifying impact also jolted Qin Yang's whole body, forcing him back several steps.

"You actually dared to wound me!"

Qin Yang looked at the shallow wound on his chest, fury blazing within him.

He roared, and the Wild Goose Feather Saber slashed out like a fierce fire setting the plains ablaze.

Crash~~~

The qi and blood in his body roared rapidly, erupting violently as though enormous waves had risen.

Youlan gave a strange cry and lunged fiercely at Qin Yang as well!

Boom!

A Fierce Fire Slash hacked viciously into Youlan, cleanly severing her entire shoulder.

At the same time.

He gripped the Wild Goose Feather Saber with both hands and smashed it down at Youlan as though swinging a hammer.

Po Jun: Mountain Fall Stance!

Its force was like the crushing pressure of a thousand pounds, incomparably ferocious.

Bang bang bang~~~

Youlan screamed without end as the Wild Goose Feather Saber continually chopped away her body.

Flesh, blood, and bones burst and exploded one after another. Even her head was hacked down until only a skullcap remained.

Yet Youlan showed not the slightest sign of dying.

"Are evil spirits really this hard to kill?!"

Qin Yang refused to believe it. His strength erupted again, the muscles in his arms swelling into round knots as he madly hewed and hacked at Youlan.