Taiyi Windfire

The man in white attacked without another word, clearly lashing out in embarrassment after being caught off guard. But it also proved that he did not know Gu Zhao and the others.

The old man in brocade relaxed, gathered his sleeves, took two steps back, and watched to see how things unfolded.

But when he saw Daoist Yansong purse his lips into a whistle and blow out a gale, his eyelids twitched. He scrutinized the group carefully. "Not ghosts or gods... are you sorcerers, or Demonic Beasts?"

The wind Daoist Yansong blew contained spiritual energy. Like sandpaper, it ground the ghostly mist into nothingness, leaving it unable to gather again. After merely two breaths, the fog inside and outside the ancestral hall had actually been swept clean.

The man in white's expression changed. At last, he spotted Bai Ke on Xiuniang's shoulder. "It's you, little fox?"

"That's me!" Bai Ke stuck out her tongue in a humanlike manner. "Surprised? Unexpected?"

"You escaped last time, yet you dare bring helpers back? Do you think this will be enough to kill me?" The man in white glared at Bai Ke. The five fingers of his right hand clenched inward, but could not fully close.

"Die!" Seeing that the ghostly mist could do nothing to Daoist Yansong, the man in white sprang forward. Black nails three feet long shot from all ten fingers, clawing at Daoist Yansong's face and chest.

Though his attack targeted Daoist Yansong's face and chest, the man in white never took his eyes off the sword at the Daoist's waist—a longsword with a brass pommel and a hilt wrapped in blue silk.

Yet before he could wait for Daoist Yansong to draw his sword, he suddenly felt a wave of heat.

Instinctively looking up, the man in white saw that the old man opposite him had changed faces again. This face had a red base, cheeks gilded like fire, and an eye in the center of its brow. It looked fierce and imposing.

At the same time, a ball of flame sprayed from his mouth, mixed with gale-force winds. In an instant, it became a wave, wind and fire entwined as it blasted straight at him, covering him from head to toe.

The moment his nails touched the wind and fire, black smoke rose from their tips. Then the nails began to twist and deform, as though they were about to melt in the flames.

The man in white shuddered in alarm. His steps halted, his body twisted, and he retreated, but he still could not escape the wind and fire sweeping toward him. He could only circulate the icy ghostly energy throughout his body to resist it.

"What kind of fire is this?" the man in white cried out in shock.

It was not as though people who had wandered in here had never used flames against him before. Ordinary fire could hurt him, but it had never given him the bone-chilling feeling that he was about to be melted away.

Seeing his spell display such mighty power, Daoist Yansong was invigorated and delighted. Hearing the man in white's question, he stroked his beard, every inch the lofty master. "It is merely Taiyi Windfire. Forgive the display, forgive the display."

Daoist Yansong cultivated the Quanzhen Longmen Sect classic Great Elixir Direct Guidance, while also practicing the Qingcheng Ancient Daoist Arts Taiyi Fire Mansion Secret Method. Kidney Water gave rise to green wood, green wood gave rise to wind, wind stoked the flames; wind and fire emerged together. The texts of the two sects complemented each other seamlessly, multiplying their power.

Moreover, Daoist Yansong had cultivated for over fifty years. His true qi and Mana were deeper than Gu Zhao's, who had only recently activated his cheat. With one full breath of inner qi, he could keep spewing Taiyi Windfire without pause; even speaking did not interfere with his spellcasting.

Gu Zhao could not figure out how Daoist Yansong managed to talk and breathe fire at the same time.

Seeing the confusion in Gu Zhao's eyes, Daoist Yansong said smugly, "This old Daoist can look at his phone while striking a chime. What is so difficult about talking while breathing fire?"

Gu Zhao quipped, "The wind is too strong and the fire too fierce. That means your liver is overheated and your heart is irritable. You should drink more chrysanthemum tea."

Daoist Yansong shot Gu Zhao a sidelong glance. "Drink chrysanthemum tea to reduce internal fire? Is that how you solve your own problems?"

Gu Zhao said, "..."

Daoist Yansong and Gu Zhao joked on this side, yet it did not hinder the Taiyi Windfire in the slightest. A tornado enclosed the man in white in the center of the ancestral hall, flames mixed into the wind and trapping him tightly. The man in white tried several times to charge out, but all his attempts came to nothing.

The old man in brocade saw that Daoist Yansong's Taiyi Windfire only trapped the man in white within it. Though he himself stood not far from the battlefield, he felt only a faint warm breeze, without even a spark drifting his way. His gaze grew even more solemn.

Just then, the man in white's furious roar came from within the Taiyi windfire tornado. "Open for me!"

"Bang!"

Ghostly energy surged wildly, and a white figure burst through the Taiyi Windfire that had taken the shape of a tornado, landing beside the old man in brocade.

But the man in white was in a sorry state. His bluish-white face had darkened in places, his robes were disheveled, his hair hung loose, and he looked utterly bedraggled. The ghostly energy around him churned unsteadily.

"Give me the Blood Spirit Pearl!" The man in white looked at the old man in brocade. "I agree to your terms!"

The old man in brocade raised a brow, but did not speak at once.

"Give me the Blood Spirit Pearl and replenish the last trace of vitality in my Crimson Fiend Corpse Body!" The man in white turned to Daoist Yansong and snarled, "Once my Crimson Fiend Corpse is fully completed, none of them will be my match! I'll tear them into pieces, devour their souls, and make sure they can never be reborn for all eternity!"

Seeing that the old man in brocade seemed hesitant, the man in white added one final sentence. "That white fox is a spirit lord. She is not one of your kind."

At the same time, Bai Ke heard their conversation and said, "The Blood Spirit Pearl is a magic treasure made by refining living people and condensing their blood. This old man is no good either!"

Hearing this, Daoist Yansong stopped testing the power control and delicate manipulation of his Taiyi Windfire. Instead, he pursed his lips into a whistle, and howling winds and blazing fire fiercely blew toward the man in white.

But the man in white and the old man in brocade were too close together now. The old man in brocade raised a hand and waved, and a blood-colored pearl flew from his sleeve, dropping straight into the man in white's hand.

The instant the pearl appeared, a dense stench of blood spread through the ancestral hall. Blood energy churned within it, as though it still retained a trace of vitality.

Holding the Blood Spirit Pearl, the man in white looked at Daoist Yansong and gave a sinister chuckle. "Old fellow, just wait a moment. Once I..."

"Thunder and lightning chase each other, heaven and earth are my eyes. Righteous qi fills the eight directions, lightning flashes."

"Boom!"

Purple light flickered, and lightning arrived in an instant, striking the man in white in the blink of an eye.

The man in white had only just erupted with all his strength to break free from the windfire tornado. Not only did he look miserable, he had in fact suffered serious injuries. With no protection at all, the lightning strike nearly scattered his entire body apart.

More importantly, his whole body convulsed violently, and the Blood Spirit Pearl flew from his hand.

"Heavenly net unfolds in season, spreading densely in all directions, seizing evil demons; no ghost may escape its form."

A spark shot through the air and instantly struck the Blood Spirit Pearl itself. Then it suddenly transformed into a net of fire, enclosing the Blood Spirit Pearl within.

"Collect!"

Gu Zhao drew back with his Sword Finger, and the fire net that had bound the Blood Spirit Pearl into a sphere flew toward him.

"No!" the man in white screamed miserably.

The old man in brocade's expression changed. He reached out, and his right hand abruptly grew seven feet long, seizing the fire net that was dragging the Blood Spirit Pearl back.

"Sizzle—"

Black smoke rose. The old man in brocade immediately recoiled in pain. A tuft of golden fur grew on the back of his hand, then swiftly receded. "What kind of fire is this?"