There was moonlight on the second night. The rain and snow that had been brewing for so long never fell. The clouds dispersed, but the north wind still howled, blowing hard.
After practicing his swordsmanship, Chen Jin leaped deftly into the treetop.
He had practiced this leap countless times, yet he still could not extend and contract his limbs freely. After all, the three foot yang meridians and the three foot yin meridians had yet to connect fully.
His sword hand had become nimble because the three hand yang meridians had almost completely recovered. If he could press on in one vigorous push and open the three hand yin meridians as well...
Then half of his twelve primary meridians would be open, greatly improving the flexibility of his entire upper body.
The three hand yang meridians ran from the hands to the head, connecting to the seven apertures and providing useful feedback and support to the five senses.
After opening his eye and ear apertures, his next step should have been to work on his nose aperture and restore his sense of smell. But circumstances were pressing him now, and Chen Jin urgently wanted to remove the Corpse-Suppressing Talisman between his brows first.
Otherwise, leaving such a hidden danger in place meant that if he encountered an expert from the Yan Household, a single shake of a corpse-driving bell could introduce unforeseen complications.
Nobody liked placing their fate in another's hands, leaving themselves subject to another's control.
As for how to remove it, he had already made attempts. First, physical methods did not work. Second, applying the essence Qi he gathered from moonlight could not wear it away either; instead, there were signs that it strengthened the talisman.
After turning it over in his mind, he feared his only option was to gather solar essence Qi, visualize and condense true fire, and burn it away.
The principle was much the same as refining the Heng Bone.
The problem was that although Chen Jin now had the courage and confidence to face the rising sun directly, he still could not gather its Qi.
He had tried that morning. Just a single wisp of Yang Qi entering his throat had burned like a glowing coal, nearly scorching his throat to ruin again.
Solar essence Qi was truly fierce and overbearing.
And since a zombie was naturally imbued with Yin Baleful Intent, would encountering yang essence not be like pouring boiling broth over snow, as incompatible as fire and water?
There were two ways to solve the problem. One was to continue "gathering yin to replenish yang," increasing the Yang Qi within his body until he had created sufficient conditions to prepare himself to receive concentrated yang from outside. The other was to wrap the solar essence Qi in enough Yin Baleful Qi and swallow the Qi whole.
Just as a raging fire could boil water dry, enough water could also extinguish a fire.
Yin and yang could work in concert, and water and fire could blend. They had never been wholly opposed.
The former required slow, painstaking work and would be hard to achieve without a year or more. The latter would take far less time: he merely needed to stockpile the moonlight essence Qi he gathered and keep it in reserve.
Precisely for this reason, Chen Jin stopped working on his nose aperture. He had an important use for the moonlight essence Qi.
He entered meditation and gathered Qi. Moonlight descended in wispy strands, ethereal and dreamlike.
Suddenly, a wind came-an eerie wind, its chill piercing to the bone, as though it could blow into his mind and freeze his very soul stiff.
At the same time, his thoughts slowed, growing slower and slower, like those of a doddering old man who could forget any number of things in a moment of carelessness.
Even his own name...
For a person to live, remembering their own name was very necessary.
Chen Jin gave a violent shudder and sprang up, shouting in a low voice, "Who's there?"
There was no echo and no answer. The eerie wind still blew from all around, threatening to surround him.
At that moment, Chen Jin felt unbearably tense, like a bowstring drawn to its limit. The slightest lapse could snap the string and break the bow.
He knew perfectly well that someone must have come and was lurking nearby. He simply could not see or locate them.
Chen Jin drew a breath and abruptly leaped down, landing directly on the hillside.
A large blue-gray boulder lay a short distance ahead. He ran straight over and stood still, then slowly turned his head and twisted sideways to look at the stone in the moonlight.
What he saw was by no means his own shadow, but a sinister, eerie silhouette.
Something had silently draped itself over Chen Jin's back. Slow to realize it, he only discovered it now.
"You-who are you?"
Chen Jin asked in a low voice, the five fingers of his right hand clenching tightly around the hilt of the Slay Evil Sword.
"Hehehe!"
An uncanny laugh seemed to ring beside his ear. Rather than answering directly, the being kept blowing against the back of Chen Jin's head.
Every breath it blew turned into an eerie wind, penetrating his scalp and seeping into his bones.
At that moment, Chen Jin's soul was like a guttering candle in the wind, flickering unsteadily, in grave danger of being blown out.
If that truly happened, his end would be "the man dies, the lamp goes out"!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Startled by the noise, the monkeys poked their heads out one after another from the ruins, bushes, and tree hollows where they had sheltered for the night.
"Eek, eek, eek!"
The next moment, as though they had witnessed some utterly terrifying being, they shrieked and fled for their lives, running far away and not daring to return.
At this moment, Chen Jin knew full well that he could not draw on anyone else's strength. He could only rely on himself to escape.
But what could he do?
The first thing was to visualize the bright moon, protecting his whole body with moonlight so that he would not fall into darkness.
"Hehe, not bad. Interesting."
A faint female voice drifted over. It seemed to speak from behind him, yet the eerie wind scattered it, sending it floating in from every direction.
Chen Jin held fast to his mind and will. The value of the Eight Scenes Contemplation and Visualization Method became apparent. Without it, the very first breath of eerie wind blown at him in the treetop might have scattered his soul to the winds.
The female voice continued, "I've taken a liking to you. From now on, you'll be my servant. Just right for guarding the entrance to my cave abode."
Hearing this, Chen Jin felt a sense of absurdity. It was utterly inexplicable.
After the absurdity came anger. What sort of ghost or monster is this, suddenly coming here and declaring it wants me as a servant? Does it really think it's the emperor?
But demons and monsters prowled these mountains, and there was no order to speak of in the first place. Never mind taking someone as a servant-even taking a life was merely a matter of a passing thought.
"Either nod and agree, or die!"
The female voice was ice-cold, its tone sinister, carrying an air of bossiness and self-importance, as though all things beneath heaven ought to submit to it.
Yet Chen Jin was no ordinary corpse monster, and this could not frighten him. He remained silent, slowly drawing the Slay Evil Sword.
This was a magic sword. Moonlight fell on its blade, illuminating its markings ever more clearly. Red threads resembling meridians and blood vessels stood out vividly.
The female voice gave a sound of surprise. "I didn't expect you to actually own a magic sword. But it's useless. You can't hurt me. If you offer this sword up to me, perhaps I'll treat you a little better."
Chen Jin still ignored it. Suddenly, his right hand closed around the blade.
The blade was sharp and immediately sliced through his skin, staining its edge with blood.
Because he had opened the three hand yang meridians, the Qi and Blood in this hand had recovered somewhat.
The blood was red.
Holding the sword, he flicked it backward.
"Ah!"
A piercing howl immediately rang out. "What kind of blood is this?"
The eerie shadow had been injured. It swiftly detached itself and fled in an instant. "I'll come back for you..."
The voice faded into the distance, filled with resentment and unwillingness.