The Opening Movement: A Martial Artist's Disadvantage

It's around 7 PM now.

If it weren't for the snow disaster, the city would probably still be bustling with people coming and going.

Even with the inconvenience caused by the weather, people at home are still awake during this time of day, and almost every household has its lights on.

In places with poor soundproofing, you can often hear the television sound coming from inside the house.

An 18 or 19-year-old girl was watching TV on a wooden sofa, clutching a plastic bag of dried sweet potatoes, when she suddenly noticed her phone light up several times in a row.

Upon opening it, I saw it was a group text message sent by the school, three messages in a row.

Evil Spirit are at work tonight, stay calm! Stay calm! Stay calm!

The dantian massage exercise taught in school, which involves pressing all acupoints in reverse with precise pressure, can stimulate the flow of essence and blood.

Cutting your palm in this state is believed to have a stronger effect in exorcising evil spirits. If you encounter a relative or friend who is possessed by Evil Spirit, you can smear your palm with blood and strike their forehead.

But do not linger in battle; you can flee and send a message, or call for reinforcements!

The girl's mouth was open, with unchewed dried sweet potato still inside, and her face was blank.

What the heck? A prank?

This is not a prank, please don't send us useless messages, our phones are busy right now!

The girl was startled when she saw the message pop up on her phone again.

By the way, there have long been rumors that the truly skilled martial arts teachers at martial arts schools sometimes encounter strange and supernatural things when they go out on errands.

If even the vice principal can make ice sculptures with his bare hands, it's not surprising that there might be Evil Spirit involved!

The girl quickly stood up, grabbed a stool from the side, went to the window, peered outside, and called out, "Mom and Dad, don't go out tonight!"

The indifferent voices of my parents could be heard coming from the kitchen.

"In this freezing weather, only you would want to go out."

Dad said again, "Huh, today isn't any anniversary or holiday, so why is the city sending us messages on our phones... What is this?!"

The father's voice became somewhat panicked, and he took it seriously.

The girl picked up her phone and looked at it.

[Urgent Notice: Tonight, armed rioters have infiltrated our city and are smuggling a large quantity of dangerous organisms carrying unknown pathogens. All residents are urged to keep doors and windows tightly closed. Do not approach any unusual activity outside. Turn on all electrical appliances, including candles and other lighting. If in danger, immediately go outside and call for help.]

The urgent announcement was posted even more times than the martial arts school announcement.

Compared to Evil Spirit, which are subject to much debate and leave people with mixed feelings, there might even be some reckless individuals who want to go out and see the world.

The danger posed by armed thugs and pathogenic organisms is something everyone can sense.

Aside from those who live on campus, the students at the martial arts school are mostly from Guangling, residing in various parts of the city.

They are now guarding their own doors and windows, their vigilant postures remarkably uniform, one hand holding a weapon, the other performing massage exercises upside down.

"The city's response was surprisingly quick!"

The electric tricycle was parked on the side of the road. Uncle Nan, panting, glanced at his phone.

Things like electrical appliances and candles are easily influenced by evil spirits.

Conversely, the unusual nature of these things also consumes the power of Evil Spirit.

Uncle Nan had just read those messages when his phone screen flickered a few more times and then went black.

The surrounding snow Shangdu traces of cinnabar, as well as several puddles formed by the melting of snow by internal force.

He was someone who chose to cultivate internal energy shortly after his Aperture Opening. He just managed to eliminate three Evil Spirit, but his internal energy was also greatly depleted.

Whether one cultivates internal strength or physical power, martial artists have a natural disadvantage when facing Evil Spirit.

Many techniques that are effective against physical beings are ineffective against Spirit Body.

Even if a martial artist manages to hit the Evil Spirit, no matter where the blow lands, it won't be a fatal blow.

Therefore, if you want to use internal energy to exorcise evil spirits, you can only rely on a large quantity to dissolve and neutralize the Evil Spirit throughout their entire bodies.

In contrast, sorcerers can identify and respond to Evil Spirit Evil Spirit by matching their Mind Power abilities with the spells and incantations they use.

Then, hitting a spot can have the effect of hitting a vital point, so there's no need to use your Mind Power to forcibly cancel it out.

If it weren't for Zhu Sha's help, Uncle Nan would probably have exhausted himself to the point of vomiting blood just trying to deal with those three pursuing Evil Spirit.

Mobile phones were also affected at that time.

Uncle Nan pressed the power button on the side of the phone twice more, but there was no response.

His old face was reflected on the black screen.

Beside the old face, there was an even older, white face.

Uncle Nan was horrified!!

Right behind him, a figure dressed in tattered clothes, its body bloated from being soaked, slumped inside him.

Hehehehe...

A muffled laugh, accompanied by the sound of numerous bubbles rising from the water, rang in Uncle Nan's ears.

His pupils rolled upwards in a daze, as if trying to look into his own brain.

All that remained in his eyes was a deathly paleness.

But in the split second that his pupils disappeared, his eyes forced themselves to look down and turn back a little.

His eyes were out of sync, with one pupil pointing to the upper left and the other to the right; his face was sagging and oozing a lot of water droplets.

Uncle Nan felt that his internal energy was being suppressed by a cold, damp, and swollen strange force, and all his meridians felt cold and swollen.

In order to counteract that power, the light red internal energy in the meridians was visibly fading away.

It's a water ghost!

This Evil Spirit didn't smell of decay at all; instead, it smelled like dirty water, very similar to the muddy snow on the street.

Uncle Nan was caught off guard and this guy found an opportunity to possess him.

He was still barely able to stay conscious, but his body had already been severely affected, with water droplets rapidly secreting from the pores of his head and face.

His chin was stained with a continuous stream of tears.

"Lin! Bing!"

Upon hearing the two syllables, Uncle Nan shuddered, and then felt two burning, painful marks appear on his chest.

One horizontal line and one vertical line, like a large cross.

The water ghost screamed inside his body as it was suddenly pulled out by the cross-shaped mark.

Uncle Nan blinked, his pupils slowly returning to normal, and only then did he realize that there was already someone standing in front of him.

Chu Tianshu's right hand formed a claw, gripping a wisp of water vapor tightly.

A ghostly face, sometimes long, sometimes flat, howled in the mist.

"No, even if it's a water ghost, its malevolent energy is so restless."

Chu Tianshu frowned slightly, opened his mouth, and slapped the ball of ghostly energy directly into his mouth.

Uncle Nan was startled.

But when the ghostly aura approached his mouth, Chu Tianshu's Adam's apple bobbed.

A single syllable of "fight" burst forth, instantly creating a large hole in the mass of ghostly energy, causing the thin ghostly energy at the edge to dissipate.

He didn't intend to put it in his mouth; it was just that he cultivated the Nine-Syllable Mantra and his physique was strong and pure.

For a newly captured Evil Spirit, the most efficient way to eliminate it is to release a mantra mixed with the yang energy from the mouth and nose as it approaches the mouth.

"Thank you very much, brother..."

Uncle Nan snapped out of his daze and immediately asked, "Are you looking for some kind of special Evil Spirit?"

"These Evil Spirit must have just come from the Spirit Realm; we need to find the entrance that connects to the Spirit Realm."

Chu Tianshu spoke quickly, "If the Spiritual Qi is relatively stable, it can be captured and used to cast spells, tracing it back to that location."

He had already observed from a high vantage point that these Evil Spirit did not spread outwards evenly from a certain location, but rather flew around erratically, sometimes passing through the ground and sometimes floating in the air.

There's no way to deduce the source of Evil Spirit from its movements; we can only trace it back using magic.

Most Evil Spirit, once severely damaged or destroyed, can stabilize their residual aura and use it to cast spells.

Even if the Evil Spirit are destroyed tonight, their lingering aura will still stir.

However, Evil Spirit differ in essence because of their different origins.

Even if they are stirred up by catalysts, there will be a few, maybe one or two, that will calm down much faster.

Before setting off, Chu Tianshu used his aura to create a simulation, informing everyone at the martial arts school.

A spirit whose aura is stable enough to be considered a usable Evil Spirit is one that meets certain criteria.

If you can catch them, do so; if you can't, try to notify others as soon as possible.

"That's roughly the idea. If we encounter this and can't get through on the phone, we'll spread the word as quickly as possible, whether it's blowing whistles or setting off fireworks. Someone will come looking for us."

Chu Tianshu released his Mind Power to provide a reference for Uncle Nan, and then, without having time to worry about anything else, he leaped into the air.

He ran and jumped from the one- or two-story rooftops to the five- or six-story apartment rooftops.

For him, navigating between different neighborhoods was almost like walking on flat ground.

However, there might be one or two paw prints or shoe prints in certain spots on the wall.

"Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Zhen, Lie, Qian, Xing!!"

He stood on the rooftop of his apartment building, shouting directly at the sky and pointing with his finger.

A headless Evil Spirit in the air, with a blue face, fangs, and hair like seaweed, was suddenly struck from a distance by a Mind Power and exploded.

The members of the Golden Saber Martial Arts School split up to fight among themselves, while those with weaker skills traveled in groups.

They were like a large firework slowly blooming, spreading towards the city.

Along the way, any Evil Spirit they encountered were either blasted to death or wounded and forced to flee.

Guangling has a modern urban area, as well as some places that have preserved the old town's appearance.

Hide Market Street is a composite of various features; most of the houses here are built with blue bricks, and the brick walls are tightly packed.

The roof ridge is about the same height as the utility pole.

The original good road on the street was only three meters wide, but a few years ago it was widened and paved with granite, making the street eleven meters wide.

The snow in the middle of the road had been shoveled repeatedly, but after being piled up on both sides, the snow layer on both sides became higher and higher, in some places almost reaching an adult's thigh.

When each household leaves their home, after stepping over the threshold, they still have to walk a short distance between the "low walls of ice and snow" before they can actually reach the street.

This area, located at almost opposite ends of the city from the Golden Saber Martial Arts School, is also witnessing a fierce battle.

Several houses had their doors and windows broken, an elderly person's body lay on the doorstep, and a child huddled inside, looking dazed.

Some people gritted their teeth, gripping kitchen knives with a mixture of tears and anger, watching the green shadows floating in mid-air.

Those things were deliberately made visible to them.

The green shadows all had long hair that covered their faces, bare-chested, with shockingly large bellies, but their limbs were as thin as bamboo poles, and their skin was bluish, making it impossible to tell whether they were male or female.

Belly Stone Ghost!

Most of these Evil Spirit died during famines, ate dirt to fill their stomachs, and died from bloating. If they encounter their kind after death, they will travel together with them.

They will prioritize killing humans who are experiencing pleasure from tasting food.

Laughter could still be heard coming from inside the large, green belly.

I'll fight you to the death!

The middle-aged man, dressed in thermal pajamas, charged out with bloodshot eyes, roaring furiously.

Suddenly, a dark figure knocked the kitchen knife out of his hand, grabbed him around the waist, and pushed him back into the room.

BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!

The people hiding in their homes nearby, filled with shock, fear, and anger, all heard the continuous gunshots.

The Belly Stone Ghost's eerie laughter abruptly ceased, replaced by a piercing scream.

A dozen or so soldiers wearing strange goggles and carrying equipment resembling hunting rifles advanced through the streets.

What spewed from the shotgun was not iron pellets or steel balls, but large amounts of cinnabar.

They worked in groups of three to five, with one person taking out a thumb-sized ammunition to reload while the other continued firing.

The Belly Stone Ghost can float in mid-air, its large belly as light as a balloon.

But in reality, the yin energy inside that big belly is exceptionally tough, hence the name "belly stone".

The first batch of cinnabar hit their bellies, but it bounced off immediately. Coupled with the fact that it had just been used to kill people, it aroused their ferocity, and they tried to retaliate.

Immediately, three soldiers pulled out the syringes from their waists and inserted them into their necks.

The first few Belly Stone Ghost that rushed forward were all crushed by the three people's selfless attack, screaming as they collapsed.

The three soldiers stood up; their lips were not red, but rather had a golden sheen.

That was an injection, and also a talismanic liquid.

Within ten minutes, their blood boiled, and their bodies were filled with the power to dispel evil.

With the three of them blocking the first wave of counterattack, and even charging forward, the Evil Spirit were forced to scatter.

The remaining soldiers seized the opportunity to launch a fierce attack. Bang! Bang! Red ink splashed down, staining a large area of the snow-covered street ahead red.

The Belly Stone Ghost were successively destroyed.

The soldier who had just pushed the man with the cleaver into the room glanced back.

"Please accept my condolences. Don't act rashly; you have children at home."

He only had time to say that one sentence before continuing on his way.

The man with the cleaver looked at the soldiers' backs, then at his wife holding their child in the corner. He opened his mouth, tears streaming down his face.

The Special Investigation Bureau is divided into multiple action groups and teams.

The members of the task force are responsible for handling cases on a daily basis. They are all quite accomplished in their spiritual practice, but their numbers are limited.

The action team consists of elite soldiers equipped with special equipment, including protective gear, firearms, and syringes—fully armed to combat Evil Spirit.

This time, Chang'an relayed the message to Jianghuai, urging them to fully cooperate with the operation, and even the operation team arrived here.

If you look down at the city, you'll see...

Including Hide Market Street, soldiers like these were advancing on many nearby streets.

People from more than a dozen nearby households came out to check.

The neighbors, who had been neighbors for many years, were shocked and saddened to see someone die before their eyes and wanted to comfort the family.

An old woman came out with a winnowing basket at that moment, hurriedly swept the cinnabar off the ground, and put it into the house of the man with the kitchen knife.

What are you standing there for?

The old woman shouted outside again, "This matter is probably not over yet. Everyone, please sweep up some; it might be useful!"

Yes! Yes!

Once someone spoke up, everyone's motivation to act overcame their fear.

Or rather, they're still afraid, but they're also able to take action.

Some people even thought of the messages they received on their phones, suggesting that appliances and candles might be useful, and that they might even have electrofishing equipment at home.

He rushed home and found the bamboo pole wrapped with electrical wires.

It was as if he had also grabbed a gun.

At this point, the fastest advancing team in the operation had already reached Wenchang Middle Road.

Several boxers with cracked rosary beads on their arms were tumbling and rolling around at the crossroads ahead, desperately trying to avoid the danger.

Another boxer was lying under a streetlamp, his hands and feet trembling uncontrollably.

Judging from his appearance, he was possessed by Evil Spirit, and his companions dislocated his limbs on the spot, so he couldn't stand up even though Evil Spirit.

"A calm mind stops the flow of water; when the water stops, the mind remains calm!"

A silver needle flew over and pierced the boxer's left temple.

No one chanted the incantation after that, but the soft hum of the needles sounded just like a undulating spell, naturally flowing into the boxer's mind.

With a tranquil mind, undisturbed by waves, one can walk until the water ends, sit and watch the clouds rise, the sky bright and clear, bathed in the glow of the setting sun!

The dislocated boxer felt a sense of relief, a purplish-red glow spreading across his face, and a wisp of pale white smoke escaped from his skull.

Another silver needle flew by, pinning the smoke to the lamppost as if it were pinning down a live snake.

"Damn, it hurts so much, you bastards!"

The boxer with the dislocated shoulder cried out in pain as soon as he regained consciousness.

Just then, a boot kicked him four times, all of them hitting his elbows and knees.

The force of the boot was nothing more than what an ordinary person could exert, yet it struck the boxer's joints precisely, greatly reducing his pain and leaving him feeling weak and sore.

The young man, wearing boots, had a fair complexion, slightly curly hair, dark circles under his eyes, a black earphone in his right ear, and many silver needles between his fingers.

"Team leader, at four o'clock, three meters off the ground."

As soon as the young man finished speaking, ten copper rings flew out from behind him.

Ta-da!!!

The copper rings are oriented in different directions, reflecting back and forth on the surrounding streetlights, walls, ground, and traffic lights.

The boxers who were dodging the Evil Spirit were startled, but none of them were hit by the whistling copper rings.

Suddenly, a scream rang out from mid-air.

The copper rings surrounding her from all sides revealed a semi-transparent figure in a wedding dress.

The moment the copper ring struck and sparks flew, the silver needle flew out, and the rosy light and flames instantly ignited, burning the Evil Spirit of the wedding dress into a surging purple fire in the sky.

A strong but not tall man jumped forward, waving his arms in the air and catching five copper rings.

Liu Suran, leader of Group One in Jianghuai.

"It's safer for us to train our internal strength and Mind Power."

Liu Suran sighed, "Ruyu and the others who practice internal energy cultivation haven't even gotten this far, and their internal energy is already less than half depleted."

Lin Baisui looked up. "Ruyu and the others killed quite a few, mainly because they were too impatient."

"There's no other way but to be in a hurry."

Lin Baisui said with deep concern, "There are far too many Evil Spirit tonight. I'm afraid it's not just a matter of the scale of the offerings, but also the efforts of the Ghost God themselves."

If offerings are used to exchange for Evil Spirit, people have a rough estimate of how much stock the Ghost Market can accumulate in a year.

But what if the offerings are merely used to maintain the passage, Ghost God, in order to expand their influence and support the already confused and entrenched hatred, actively send the Evil Spirit they have interfered with into reality...?

It's hard to say how many can be sent over.

Even Ghost God, at least they're called gods.

Why are you working so hard?

Lin Baisui said, "We must find the altar as soon as possible."

Liu Suran nodded and looked towards the end of the street. "Ruyu and the others have caught up. Let's continue..."

Gaa!!

The strange sound, like a saw tearing through a skull, made everyone's ears ache and their stomachs churn.

Liu Suran's arms tightened instantly, his gaze sharp, as he turned to look at the traffic light.

Atop the tall traffic light pole sat a blind man wearing round-framed sunglasses, a guqin (a traditional Chinese stringed instrument) resting on his knees.

The strange sound I heard earlier was from his fingernails tracing across the strings.

The figure didn't seem real; it was as if everyone could see the moon in the sky through his chest.

But the chill he brought affected the nearby boxers and the action team members dozens of meters away.

Even the team members a hundred meters away felt as if they were weighed down with lead weights, making it difficult for them to move.

This is an Evil Spirit.

A Evil Spirit that has been trapped in the Spirit Realm for so many years can still play the piano and has gradually cultivated himself to be no less powerful than when he had a physical body in his previous life.

"Heaven has lost its order, and earth has lost its order; God of Vengeance, please bless me to return home!"

The blind man's voice was unpleasant, and his black glasses pointed at Liu Suran, "You don't seem to be my enemies, but your demeanor..."

"Hehehe, none of those people who randomly fired at me back then ever touched me, yet I cut them all in half at the waist."

Liu Suran's face showed anger, but he did not move forward. Instead, he suddenly leaped to the right and back.

The snowflakes in the air, which had turned black at some point, transformed into smoke plumes the size of car heads, and pelted towards Lin Baisui.

As Liu Suran intercepted, the copper rings on his hands vibrated, and his fists, like two dragons emerging from the sea, slammed into the skull.

He smashed the skull to pieces, but then felt a sharp pain in his legs.

The trouser legs were shredded by blade-like black snowflakes, revealing the skin underneath, which was thick and tough, and red marks had been left on it.

Lin Baisui finally finished reciting the incantation and pierced Liu Suran's neck with a needle.

Liu Suran's vision shifted, as if he had briefly acquired a state of spiritual insight.

He noticed even more tiny blades formed entirely of yin energy in the air.

Hundreds and thousands of blades flew like dust, floating across the entire intersection.

Hidden in the snow, hidden in the wind.

The blind man plucked the strings, and the resounding notes of the zither provoked all attacks.

The effects of the spell are hidden within the music, making the Yin energy and snowflakes impossible to defend against.

The sound of the zither itself was incredibly strong, with astonishing penetrating power.

Even people five kilometers away could hear this sharp and harsh sound.

Yuan Chongxiao stood at the entrance of a hospital, his inner energy enveloping Evil Spirit resembling a skinned monkey.

The dark blue internal energy contracted, freezing the skinned monkey into an ice sculpture no bigger than a palm, which was then crushed with a single palm strike.

When the music reached him, his expression changed drastically, and he instinctively reached for his waist.

That voice is so similar.

It was a single, invisible melody that nearly severed him at the waist, leaving a gruesome scar that is still visible today.

"Ghost Owl, you can really turn into a ghost?!"

Yuan Chongxiao leaped up.

In the blink of an eye, his figure became like a kite blown by a rapid current, skimming across the building and heading towards the source of the music.

A few streets away.

Feng Jianhua stood in front of a fireworks store, extending one palm forward.

The roller shutter door was already in pieces.

Several flames flickered in the shop, their faces like flames, their tongues like red candles.

However, all the fireworks and firecrackers were covered with a layer of pale blue light.

These violent Fire Ghost were not only unable to ignite the gunpowder, but were also trapped by the blue light.

Feng Jianhua swept his palm horizontally, as if to wipe away the blemishes on the canvas.

The Fire Ghost vanished on the spot, leaving only pure blue light in the shop.

His internal energy then surged back into Feng Jianhua's body like mist.

Just then, the sound of a piano came from the room. Feng Jianhua recognized the familiar timbre and was about to turn his head when his eyes lit up.

Mo the Second's sword light, like water droplets shattered by a storm, was silvery and free, covering Feng Jianhua's face.

(End of this chapter)