ATEG Chapter 87

Clang!

The wooden sword clashed with the ghost blade, yet produced the ringing sound of metal striking metal.

The evil black ghost qi released and retracted instantly. Marquis Wu retreated several steps, his form growing even dimmer, as if covered by yet more dust.

But the three people from Xingfeng Temple on the opposite side weren’t faring well either. The young Daoist had already fallen to one side unconscious. The old Daoist’s hair had come undone from its topknot, his right arm hanging limply, no longer able to form hand seals with any strength. The little Daoist child’s wrist trembled slightly as he gripped the wooden sword—the tendons and bones of his arm had been injured by the impact. Were it not for his firm will, he would likely be unable to hold onto the wooden sword in his hand.

“After you take your revenge, what do you plan to do?” Marquis Wu suddenly asked, his voice low and hoarse.

The little Daoist child was about to sneer coldly, but suddenly felt a force descend upon him, compelling him to answer truthfully. “Reclaim our former lands and prepare to survive the great calamity.”

After answering, he frowned. This was the power of the Precept-Keeping Dharma. Xingfeng Temple had suffered greatly under this power before. Though the power of the Precept-Keeping Dharma was nearly impossible to resist, it also had limitations. The power Marquis Wu had cultivated through keeping precepts was currently mostly used to control his resentful evil energy—this was why he had barely used the Precept-Keeping Dharma during this battle. But now he had used it, yet why on such a question?

“Prepare to survive the great calamity…” Marquis Wu coughed a few times, more ghost qi dispersing from his body, his half-lowered face making his expression unreadable.

“You…” The old Daoist’s brow furrowed deeply as he watched Marquis Wu warily. Just as he was about to ask why he posed such a question, he was suddenly stung in the eyes by a flash of light.

Marquis Wu turned his wrist, the blade rotating to catch the sunlight, yet the reflected brilliance was a sinister green.

When this light shone into the old Daoist’s eyes, he suddenly felt his surroundings transform into a dark, sunless ghost realm of the underworld. Yin wind, cold evil, and ghost qi pervaded everything as countless grotesque ghost hands tore and clawed toward him.

The old Daoist opened his eyes wide and snorted angrily. The eerie scene around him shattered like bubbles in an instant. This illusion had only trapped him for a moment, but when he escaped from it, he saw that Marquis Wu had already appeared before the little Daoist child in that instant, his blade tip viciously and ruthlessly gouging toward the boy’s heart! The little Daoist child had also just escaped from the illusion and could only barely raise the wooden sword in his hand to block, but it was already too late.

The old Daoist’s eyes nearly split with rage. His left hand formed a seal as he shouted explosively, “Changshou!”

The young Daoist who had been lying unconscious to one side was abruptly awakened by this shout. Though his consciousness was still muddled, he reflexively opened his mouth and said, “Imperial decree…”

As these words left his mouth, Marquis Wu immediately felt a strange power descend upon him. Though not strong, it blocked him for an instant. In just this instant, the little Daoist child’s wooden sword had already moved to protect his chest, and the seal in the old Daoist’s hand had also fallen upon him. Marquis Wu’s blade tip struck the sword’s spine, which was knocked backward to slam hard against the little Daoist child’s chest, sending his entire body flying.

The old Daoist shifted his steps and caught the little Daoist child, but was struck by this force until his face flushed red. Unable to hold back his breath, he coughed up a mouthful of blood. Because the old Daoist had previously placed a protective seal on him, though the little Daoist child’s chest hurt terribly, he suffered no serious injury.

He raised his head to look at Marquis Wu, only to see that those originally clear eyes had, at some unknown time, been tainted with a faint blood-red color.

“Truly a fierce and evil appearance!” The little Daoist child gritted his teeth viciously. “Would you rather let resentful evil invade your body than face the evil consequences of your own actions?!”

Marquis Wu’s expression was cold and indifferent, yet the blood color in his eyes revealed fierce and evil intent. Resentful evil was originally the fastest method for ghost-kind to increase their power, but it was feared by orthodox cultivators because it would affect one’s consciousness. Previously, he had used the Precept-Keeping Dharma to maintain his consciousness while controlling a certain amount of resentful evil power, but now he had actively opened a crack, fully absorbing resentful evil to greatly increase his power—this also tainted his consciousness with fierce and evil qi.

“Not dare?! Would letting you people ‘prepare’ this place until it’s covered with starving corpses be daring?!” The fierce gleam in Marquis Wu’s eyes surged as he raised his blade and charged forward with a direct chop!

Ghost qi gathered densely around him with surging evil qi, yet it also carried a certain majestic divine air. His ghostly evil energy, stripped of its sinister and eerie nature by this divine air, became instead a cold, heavy, formidable might.

The young Daoist who had just awakened was still not fully conscious. Pointing at Marquis Wu, he continued, “…Marquis Wu’s virtue is lacking, revoke his…”

A special qi emanated from him. Following his words, it was about to transform into a restraint and descend upon Marquis Wu through some mysterious connection, when Marquis Wu’s blood-colored eyes glared at him, fierce evil qi bursting forth. “Get lost!”

The young Daoist’s forcibly awakened consciousness was struck by this, the latter half of his sentence choked back directly, unable to speak for a moment.

The little Daoist child pushed the old Daoist aside and wiped his hand across the wooden sword. Though the sword had no edge, it broke through his palm, staining it with blood. The sword then lit up with lightning.

“Good! The more fierce and evil you are, the more you deserve to be slain!”

Boom!

Thunder from a clear sky, specially striking at demons and evil.

When Liu Si and Ding Wang heard this thunderclap, they were frightened into trembling. The thunder seemed to sound right beside their ears. They turned to look in the direction of the sound, only to see the cinnabar on a yellow talisman pasted on the western window flash once, then dim again, its color even more faded than before.

Ding Wang’s upper teeth chattered against his lower teeth as he stammered, “Co-coming, has something come?”

Liu Si’s face twisted, his jaw clenched tight. “What’s there to fear? We have Xingfeng Temple’s protection—those ghost things can’t get in!”

The room where they were now located had already been set up with a formation, with talismans pasted everywhere. These things obtained at great cost from Xingfeng Temple were clearly not just for show—the thunderclap just now had proven their power.

But the two men’s hearts were obviously still filled with fear and resentment—fear directed at Marquis Wu, resentment toward Xingfeng Temple.

According to their original plan, naturally it would be best to hide in Xingfeng Temple itself, or at least to leave far beyond the range under Marquis Wu’s jurisdiction. But Xingfeng Temple disagreed. They required the two men to remain within Marquis Wu’s domain, or they would not help.

Xingfeng Temple’s purpose was to use their identity as Marquis Wu’s worshippers to bypass the oath’s restrictions and enter Marquis Wu’s temple. These three men had already had their courage shattered by Marquis Wu, their previous faith in him long since scattered. If they left Marquis Wu’s domain again, even though they had once offered sacrifices to him, they could no longer be counted as his worshippers, and that yellow paper prayer would naturally lose its effect. But Liu Si and Ding Wang didn’t understand this. However, even if they had understood, they would likely only resent Xingfeng Temple more.

Though Xingfeng Temple required them to remain within Marquis Wu’s domain, they weren’t leaving them completely unprotected. These formations and talismans were laid down by Xingfeng Temple precisely to preserve their lives. While they were alive, they could barely be counted as Marquis Wu’s worshippers, but if they died, this relationship would likely be directly broken. For this reason, Xingfeng Temple’s life-preserving arrangements for them were absolutely thorough.

As for Han Sheng, he also received some things that could ward off ghosts, but Liu Si and Ding Wang were unwilling to bring him along. Having someone outside to distract attention was best, and for the two of them, staying together was better. But this created a small problem.

If the two were separated, they would naturally each stay in their own family’s territory. But if the two stayed together, whose house should they stay in?

Staying at the other’s house would make one uneasy, while staying at one’s own house meant bearing the risk for the other without cause. Under this strange mindset, the Liu and Ding families finally found an infrequently used residence, installed the two men there, and arranged for many servants.

But the matter of their offense against Marquis Wu had spread throughout the city. These people were even more worried that when Marquis Wu came to take their lives, they would be implicated, so the guards weren’t very dedicated either.

The earlier thunderclap that suddenly erupted from the talisman made people’s hearts jump with terror—clearly something had come!

The person responsible for guarding the gate felt a cold wind blow past, raising goosebumps all over his skin. He simply leaned his body against the wall, closed his eyes, and began muttering like an incantation. If one listened closely, one could hear clearly: “Just making a living, nothing to do with me, don’t come for me, I can’t see, just making a living, nothing to do with me, don’t come for me…”

In the world he couldn’t see, several spirit gods wreathed in incense qi floated in the courtyard, each staring at the room but not making a move. Xingfeng Temple’s arrangements were quite extraordinary, specifically targeting demons and ghosts. They had just tested it—were it not for their years of receiving incense offerings that had removed much of their yin-evil qi, that one attempt would likely have severely injured them.

But Xingfeng Temple’s arrangements for these two men could ward off ghosts and slay evil—yet they didn’t guard against people…

The spirit gods exchanged glances. One of them floated before the guard who was muttering with his eyes closed and gently covered his ears with both hands.

A moment later, a human figure avoided the servants in the residence and climbed over the wall into this courtyard filled with talismans and formations. He landed rather unsteadily, making some noise, but the guard was completely oblivious. The person crept to the outside of the room, his face hidden in the shadow of the corridor, revealing only a pair of eyes fierce with evil qi.

…….

Blood-colored eyes.

Marquis Wu’s hand gripping the blade was trembling slightly, but this wasn’t from exhaustion—it was from excitement.

The evil qi on his body had grown even more concentrated. His body bore several scorch marks from being struck by lightning, yet the killing intent in his eyes only grew more fierce. He no longer had that earlier appearance of weighty might, but increasingly resembled an evil ghost crawling up from the Nine Nether depths. If a more timid person saw his current appearance, they might be literally frightened into unconsciousness.

Yet the little Daoist child showed no fear whatsoever, his eyes instead growing brighter. Marquis Wu’s heart had been invaded by evil qi—he was about to lose control. He now had only two choices: either give up, or allow the evil qi to corrode him and completely abandon his consciousness to become a malicious ghost.

The blood-evil in Marquis Wu’s eyes surged ever more violently. The little Daoist child raised his sword and pressed forward, the blade shooting out lightning a foot long. Marquis Wu’s consciousness struggled endlessly. Killing intent rose greatly in his heart—he wished he could kill to his heart’s content without any restraint. But if he allowed himself to follow his instincts, he would immediately fall into confusion, only able to gamble that there would be a chance to recover his clarity later.

Xingfeng Temple had come too well-prepared. They had been preparing since arranging for the little Daoist child’s reincarnation and re-entry into the Dao, yet only took action today. This wasn’t only because of the oath’s restrictions. People like Han, Liu, and Ding were not few in number, yet Xingfeng Temple only acted now—they were waiting for the right moment. During the great calamity, just looking at the prosperity within Marquis Wu’s domain revealed how much resentful evil he had refined. Now, as the great calamity reached the moment when the mortal realm’s tribulation was subsiding while the cultivators’ tribulation was intensifying, it was precisely when his condition was most perilous.

Xingfeng Temple had only sent three people, not because they only had three people, but because that yellow paper could only allow three people to come here without being restricted by the oath. There was the trap laid by resentful evil methods, the experienced old Daoist, the young Daoist bearing royal qi and speaking imperial decrees, plus the little Daoist child—originally this trap should have long since caused Marquis Wu, deeply mired in calamity, to fall. But Xingfeng Temple hadn’t anticipated that unexpected guest in his rear hall. Not anticipating this was normal—Marquis Wu hadn’t anticipated it either beforehand.

If he temporarily lost his consciousness, would that guest help him recover his clarity?

He knew his own abilities. He knew that if he transformed into a fierce great ghost that had lost its consciousness, he would surely be able to eliminate the three people from Xingfeng Temple before him. But he also understood clearly what disaster that would bring.

Should he take this gamble?

With this moment of hesitation from Marquis Wu, his movements slowed a fraction. The little Daoist child’s sword light thrust straight at his chest—he was already too late to dodge.

Blood-evil churned, fierce qi surged, Marquis Wu’s face grew increasingly grotesque like an evil ghost, his right arm holding the blade trembling violently.

Clang!

He released his grip. The long blade fell to the ground, its sinister green fierce flames flickering twice before extinguishing.

In Marquis Wu’s blood-colored pupils was reflected that lightning-wreathed sword light. His grotesque face suddenly showed tranquility.

The sword light had already reached his chest.

….

Blood-colored brilliance burst forth!

Liu Si stared blankly at the bloody flower blooming on Ding Wang’s chest. After two seconds of stunned silence, he began to shriek miserably.

Zhuang Hai held a crossbow, his face expressionless as he aimed the arrow at Liu Si.

The guards outside the door heard the commotion and were frightened into trembling. He reflexively opened his eyes, only to see a ghost face almost pressed right against his own, grinning at him with bared teeth. The guard’s eyes rolled back. Thud—he fainted.

The spirit god who had finished scaring the person floated to one side and looked into the room. “Still has some spine. Not in vain that Marquis Wu busied himself on his behalf.”

Liu Si rolled and crawled, dodging while wailing. “Help! Help! Spare me! Spare me!”

Several crossbow bolts were stuck in his body, but none in vital areas.

Zhuang Hai watched him coldly, his crossbow held steady, aiming so that Liu Si dared not show his head. “The harder you dodge, the more my arrows miss, the more you’ll suffer.”

“I’ll give you money! I can give you so much money!” Liu Si cowered behind a table, trembling with fear. “Zhuang Hai! Zhuang Hai! Let me go! I’m just a worthless scoundrel! I can marry your sister—I’ll make her my legitimate wife! No one will know what happened! Let me go!”

The blood-evil in Zhuang Hai’s eyes suddenly thickened, but he lowered his crossbow and slowly walked over, asking, “Does it hurt a lot?”

Liu Si nodded desperately. “I know I was wrong! I really know I was wrong! I’ll change everything! I’ll make proper compensation!”

Seeing Zhuang Hai lower the crossbow, he thought he had a chance to live and begged desperately.

Zhuang Hai approached, looking down at Liu Si from above. His hand suddenly swung—the crossbow body struck hard against Liu Si’s head. The crossbow no longer had any arrows loaded.

“Yue Niang hurt a lot too.”

He pulled an arrow from Liu Si’s body and thrust it into his heart.

….

The sharp edge touched his body. Marquis Wu already felt the stabbing pain in his chest, but the sword light in the little Daoist child’s hand suddenly dispersed. The old Daoist’s expression changed. His arm trembled as the yellow paper prayer fell from his sleeve, burning rapidly, turning to nothing but a handful of ashes in an instant.

Liu Si and Ding Wang were dead. After Han Sheng learned that his life had been preserved, he no longer had any will to oppose Marquis Wu. The Xingfeng Temple people weren’t even summoned by him—he had merely been brought along by the Liu and Ding families.

Without this prayer, the three people from Xingfeng Temple immediately came under the oath’s constraint. At this moment they were only being suppressed, but if they didn’t leave, their cultivation would likely begin to dissipate.

The old Daoist grabbed the little Daoist child and shouted, “Leave!”

The little Daoist child ground his teeth, but the matter had failed. Staying would only make things worse.

Marquis Wu didn’t stop them. He closed his eyes and slowly regulated his breathing. After a moment, the shocking yin-fierce evil qi gradually withdrew into his body. When he opened his eyes again, the blood color had faded from them.

In the rear hall, shadows swayed—seemingly uneasy, seemingly pleading—yet never daring to climb onto the hem of that guest who sat drinking alone.

Li Chi’s qin had already been set aside. He sat casually, his half-lowered eyes faintly veiled by clouds and mist, karma like strings.

“Congratulations, Marquis Wu.”

Marquis Wu strode into the hall, stood before Li Chi, and suddenly bowed. But he could only bow halfway before being unable to bow further—a breeze had lifted him up.

“This is merely returning the courtesy,” Li Chi said.

Marquis Wu was silent for a moment, then said, “Three days of feasting and drinking are not worth that one song.”

Li Chi made a sound of acknowledgment, his gaze falling to the foot of the mountain. He said leisurely, “When I came here and saw the human world’s prosperity and the charm of its vibrant life, I was in a very good mood. That was worth a song.”

He casually took out a small bag of sugar-roasted chestnuts and tossed it to Marquis Wu. Though the chestnuts had been on Li Chi’s person for three days, they were still just like when freshly roasted—fragrant, warm, and hot.

Marquis Wu peeled one and placed it in his mouth. He couldn’t help but close his eyes as the evil qi he had forcibly suppressed in his heart-spirit dissolved by quite a bit. Within these sugar-roasted chestnuts was condensed the gratitude of the city’s people toward Marquis Wu. Years of protection, still able to obtain peace during the great calamity—people’s gratitude condensed into the soft, fragrant heat of the chestnuts, dispelling his killing intent and fierce qi.

When he opened his eyes again, Li Chi had already risen with his qin on his back, his toe touching the ground. “A narrow path will ultimately lead to an evil place. Though you may escape from the thorns for a time, if you don’t turn back promptly, sooner or later you’ll suffer torment again.”

Yet Marquis Wu smiled, smiling with defiance yet stubborn resolve. “I have the heart to bear suffering to protect this place, and also have the means to forcibly seize this place’s faith.”

Li Chi didn’t judge whether his choice was right or wrong, only saying, “Having finished observing this place, I should also take my leave.”

“May I ask your name?” Marquis Wu asked.

“Li Quan.”

As his voice fell, his figure had already disappeared from the hall, leaving only a wisp of clear breeze.

Marquis Wu peeled another chestnut and put it in his mouth—warm and comforting.

This was his taste of the good things in the human world.