Chapter 127 – One False, One Real

The moonlight suddenly brightened, and Wei Yang found himself walking along a forest path. It wasn’t so much a path as it was a trail beaten by wild animals, winding and rugged, with some hoof prints creating small depressions along the way. This place was already quite far from the village at the foot of the mountain, deep in the wilderness where even hunters seldom ventured, so there was no trace of human activity to be seen.

His steps were steady, unaffected by the uneven ground beneath his feet. The long wild grass brushed against the hem of his clothes, making a soft rustling sound, adding a sense of tranquility to the scene, as if he were strolling through a garden. Just then, a flame suddenly ignited ahead. The light was greenish-blue, its core slightly contracting, swaying in the wind. Under the eerie green glow, a line of soldiers marched forward, holding long spears and clad in armor. They appeared disciplined and orderly, but their pale, ghostly faces flickered faintly, as if covered by phosphorescent fire. Their hollow eyes glinted with a dark red murderous intent.

This was a group of passing Yin soldiers, remnants of some long-forgotten army. Encountering such a group of ghostly soldiers in the wilderness was undoubtedly terrifying. The bone-chilling Yin wind licked at his skin, yet his breathing remained steady. He walked straight past them, neither yielding nor avoiding them. As he moved, the ghostly figures began to tremble. The neighing of warhorses and the roars of battle cries vanished in an instant, dissipating like bubbles popping in the faint sound of his footsteps.

He passed through the line of ghost soldiers as if they weren’t there, effectively destroying them, and continued deeper into the forest. Almost instantly, Wei Yang felt a sense of familiarity, as if he had walked this path before. However, his steps didn’t falter because of this doubt. Instead, they quickened, carrying him forward under the moonlight.

After what felt like an eternity, he finally stopped. Before him was a ridge, and in the sunlit hollow of the mountain, there was a large, oddly shaped rock that jutted out like a branch, forming a small clearing about ten meters long and three to five meters wide. This was the True Yang Position. For some reason, a small thought surfaced in Wei Yang’s mind. As this thought arose, he walked to the edge of the rock face, knelt on one knee, and pulled out a short knife, plunging it into the hard soil below.

Soon, a shallow pit appeared before him. He reached into his robes and pulled out an object, gently placing it into the pit. As he did so, a faint golden light emerged, and in response, two more golden lights flashed briefly in the sky. After all the strange phenomena disappeared, he covered the pit with soil, restoring it to its original state.

“A thousand years from now, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

A voice spoke, but it wasn’t his. His body jolted, and Wei Yang suddenly awoke. The sleeping bag was stiflingly warm, and his clothes were soaked with sweat. Had he just dreamed something? Was that person in the dream… Sun Yunhe?

Before he could make sense of the dream, a hissing roar echoed through the air. It didn’t sound like anything a human could produce. Wei Yang jerked awake, scrambling out of the sleeping bag, and a sight he would never forget appeared before him.

About ten meters away, two figures were locked in combat. One was the bearded guide he had just met today, and the other was a monster with a snake’s head and a human body. Its long neck was as thick as a bowl, its triangular snake head swaying and its fangs over three inches long. Black drool dripped from its forked tongue onto the ground. Below the neck was a corpse-like body, its naked back covered in faintly visible green scales.

This thing was a Snake Husk! Wei Yang finally snapped out of his shock, realizing that Yao Wei seemed to be at a disadvantage. One of his arms hung limply at his side, clearly injured, and the stick in his other hand had just been knocked away by the Snake Husk, sending him tumbling to the ground. However, the Snake Husk hadn’t fared much better. Two long gashes ran across its back, nearly splitting it in half. A swarm of finger-length Bean Rats scurried frantically over its body, driving it into a frenzy as it flailed its arms, trying to crush the spirits.

He had to do something! Cold sweat trickled down his back, but Wei Yang had already pulled out a talisman from his robes. He quickly cut his finger and smeared blood on the talisman. In an instant, the paper ignited, and with a deafening roar, a golden lightning bolt struck the Snake Husk’s head. This was a genuine Five Thunder Righteous Heart Talisman, drawn by Zhang Xiuqi and activated by Wei Yang’s witch blood. Though it was meant to suppress Yin ghosts, it should still have some effect on this Snake Husk!

And it did have an effect. With a piercing screech, the Snake Husk staggered and turned its head. The top of its snake head looked as if it had been split open, revealing something white and pulpy. Enraged, its crimson eyes glowed with a terrifying ferocity. It no longer cared about Yao Wei, who was lying on the ground, and with a sudden lunge, it charged straight at Wei Yang!

The monster moved too fast, covering the distance of over ten meters in a single leap. Wei Yang, startled, had no time to dodge. The massive snake head was now right in front of him, the sticky liquid on its long fangs clearly visible. But suddenly, a white light blocked the Snake Husk’s path, as if it had hit an impenetrable wall. It let out a shrill scream and tumbled to the ground.

What the hell just happened? Before Wei Yang could react, a rustling sound came from near his feet. He looked down to see Lao Ye scurrying toward the Snake Husk with surprising speed, moving faster than any turtle should! The Snake Husk seemed to sense the danger, its limbs twitching violently. Its neck stretched and contracted, as if the snake head was trying to break free from the body.

Wei Yang immediately shouted, “It’s trying to escape!”

Just like the Yellow Husk, it was attempting to shed its shell at the critical moment. But Lao Ye had already reached the monster and, with a loud chomp, bit down on the charred corpse’s toe. With just that one bite, the Snake Husk began to convulse. The black snake head struggled wildly, as if its tail had been caught and it could no longer escape. At that moment, Yao Wei also charged forward, the short stick in his hand now transformed into a dagger. With a sharp “shh” sound, the blade sliced into the Snake Husk’s long neck. A spray of foul-smelling liquid erupted, and the severed neck twitched on the ground for a moment before finally falling still.

Yao Wei wasn’t quick enough to avoid the liquid, and he frantically began tearing off his contaminated clothes. The liquid was like concentrated sulfuric acid, quickly burning holes in the fabric. Wei Yang swallowed hard and walked over to the Snake Husk’s feet, carefully crouching down to look at Lao Ye. The old turtle slowly released its bite, the white light around it fading. Its round head swayed back and forth, its mouth wide open as if it had just eaten something incredibly disgusting and wanted to vomit.

Sure enough, after a few seconds, it spat out a sticky lump. Finally seeming to calm down, it turned around with a huff and scurried back to the base of the rock wall where it had been sleeping earlier. It poked its head out and began nibbling on a few sparse red grass blades growing there.

It seemed the turtle was fine. Wei Yang quickly moved to Yao Wei’s side and asked anxiously, “Brother Yao, are you okay?”

Yao Wei was now shirtless, his tattered clothes sizzling on the ground, burned through in several places. Ignoring the ruined garments, he grabbed his shoulder with one hand and gave it a sharp twist. A soft “click” sounded as he reset his dislocated joint. The pain was intense, and he gritted his teeth, suppressing a groan as he muttered, “I’m fine. Brother Xuan might not be doing so well. We need to go support him.”

With that, he quickly returned to his backpack, pulled out a jacket, and put it on. Then he grabbed a few more items and turned to leave. Hearing that Zhang Xiuqi’s team might be in danger, Wei Yang’s heart tightened. But the dream he’d just had suddenly resurfaced in his mind. He turned to look at Lao Ye, now munching on the grass, and as if struck by a thought, he shouted, “Wait!”

The shout was so loud that Yao Wei stopped in his tracks and barked, “What is it?”

Wei Yang frowned, quickly walking over to the patch of grass. “I just dreamed about this place. It feels like there’s something buried here, something important…”

“What?” Yao Wei was momentarily stunned. Dreams? Now was not the time for this! But then he remembered the extraordinary behavior of Lao Ye earlier. Those few blades of grass were just ordinary plants that grew in the True Yang Position. Why had they caught the turtle’s attention? Could there really be something unusual here?

Gritting his teeth, Yao Wei walked back and pulled out a triangular military knife, handing it to Wei Yang. “Don’t waste time. If you dreamed about it, let’s dig and see.”

Remembering the golden light from his dream, Wei Yang clenched his teeth, gently moved Lao Ye aside, and plunged the knife into the soft soil…

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A thunderclap echoed in the distance, startling Zhang Xiuqi so much that he almost turned his head. With his skills, he could immediately recognize the sound of a Five Thunder Righteous Heart Talisman. The only ones who could use such a talisman from Longhu Mountain were himself and Wei Yang, whose witch blood could activate it. Had something gone wrong over there? Why would they need to use the Five Thunder Righteous Heart Talisman?

Just as he was distracted, a sharp ghostly claw slashed across his arm. Zhang Xiuqi grunted in pain, but with a flick of his wrist, he sent three copper coins flying toward the ghost general. The coins, imbued with his vital energy, pierced the ghost’s body. Though it was just a Yin spirit, the Yang energy from the coins caused it to let out a howl before it vanished into thin air.

However, even after defeating one ghost, there were still countless others. This ghost formation seemed endless. Even with his uncle’s help, they could barely hold their ground. The Nightmare Wood at the formation’s core was far more troublesome than they had anticipated. The power of the celestial stars couldn’t even shake it. By now, they realized that this formation was likely connected to the Soul Stealing Grand Formation. Because it wasn’t a standalone formation, it was even more difficult to deal with.

Was he going to be worn down to death here? A chill ran down his spine. They could hold out for a while, but what about Wei Yang? Yao Wei didn’t know any proper Daoist techniques!

Taking a step back, Zhang Xiuqi slashed his left wrist, and blood splattered out. With the spray of blood, three talismans erupted with silver light. A deafening “boom” echoed as the Heaven-Breaking Sound resounded. But he didn’t stop there, shouting, “Uncle!”

Zeng Jingxuan smelled the strong metallic scent of blood and even saw the splatter land on the Nightmare Wood. This was the layered formation technique. He understood that his nephew was now fighting with his life on the line. Gritting his teeth, Zeng Jingxuan continued his movements. The Chicken Throats had already been inserted into the Seven Passes, and the short knife in his hand was plunged into the soil below. That spot was the dantian position of the Yin Coffin. If the celestial star energy could penetrate the Yin Coffin’s spiritual aperture, it would completely disperse the raging resentful spirits.

This was the most direct and simplest method, as long as the celestial Yang energy could increase by just a little more!

However, dark clouds covered the moon and obscured the stars. The few silver chains of light descending from the sky were dim, gathering sporadically on the short knife in his hand. Beneath the blade, a faint black energy began to seep out, creeping up the knife’s edge. If it managed to shatter the Heavenly Star Formation… Zeng Jingxuan clenched his teeth and spat out another mouthful of true saliva, this time aiming it at the blade in his hand. If this couldn’t activate the Yang energy, then the only option left was to explode his Yang energy!

Just then, a golden light suddenly flashed in the distance. As the light rose, the dark clouds in the sky scattered. Zeng Jingxuan’s dagger sank deeper into the Yin Coffin’s abdomen, and several brilliant silver lights surged in with the blade. With a sharp “crack,” the Nightmare Wood in the Yin Coffin’s mouth shattered into pieces.

The Nightmare Formation has been broken!

The Yin soldiers and ghost generals surrounding the clearing all froze. The chaotic, bloodthirsty glint in their eyes dimmed, and their forms began to fade. As if swept away by a gust of wind, they vanished into the night.

The formation was broken! Zeng Jingxuan’s legs nearly gave out, but Zhang Xiuqi was already running toward the source of the golden light. Zeng Jingxuan paused for a moment before quickly following. Right, that direction was the True Yang Position where they had set up camp. What happened there?