Chapter 61 – Sacrificing Life

There were no sparks of electricity, no explosive cracks of Heaven’s Break. With a stiff step, the Corpse Puppet walked out of the Copper Coin Formation. Sun Muhua let out a choking sound from his throat, trembling all over as he tried to grab Wei Yang’s sleeve, but he grabbed nothing. The man beside him had already stood up.

“Woody, keep an eye on Brother Qi. I’ll lure it away,” Wei Yang said, his face pale but his back straight as he stepped out of the circle of Red Nitre beside him.

He could feel the monster’s gaze fixed on him. The leakage of Yang energy caused by his injury was probably something even the Evil Suppressing Talisman couldn’t conceal. Unlike the Three Corpses, the Corpse Puppet was likely even more sensitive to this scent. If he continued to hide behind the talisman now, he would only drag down the two beside him. As for Woody, that idiot, given his relationship with the old charlatan, there was no way Wei Yang could let anything happen to him. And Brother Qi—what time was it now? The two wandering souls outside hadn’t stabilized yet. If they were attacked by this demonic creature now, it would surely end in disaster.

So he had no choice but to step out of this fragile protective circle and fight for the two behind him.

Downstairs, the sound of chaotic shouting could faintly be heard. It seemed that Wang Wei, who had been possessed, had already rushed downstairs and was fighting the tomb raiders to the death. However, Wei Yang had no time to pay attention to this. His full focus was on the Corpse Puppet in front of him. As expected, the monster’s gaze followed his movements, its pale, rotten eyes locking onto him. Though it was already decayed beyond recognition, Wei Yang could still see the hideousness and greed on its face. The yellow fluid dripped from its lips, as if it was drooling over a delicious prey.

Wei Yang licked his dry lips and pulled out the short sword he had been holding in his hand, raising it in front of his chest. Although he no longer had the wooden fish or prayer beads, he still had the Talisman Jade and True Script from Longhu Mountain. If used properly, perhaps he could still block this monster…

But the moment the blade left its sheath, the Corpse Puppet moved. Unlike its previous stiff and slow movements, Wei Yang only felt a blur before him, and a tremendous force slammed into him! In that split second, a bright white light burst from his chest, forming an impenetrable barrier that firmly blocked the monster’s body. However, the difference in strength between the two was too great. Even if the Talisman Jade could block the Corpse Puppet’s evil and malevolent energy, it couldn’t stop the force akin to a charging horse. Wei Yang felt as if his chest and abdomen had been struck by a heavy hammer. His body was lifted off the ground, and he was sent flying backward!

A chaotic buzzing exploded in his eardrums. Wei Yang crashed to the ground, dizzy and weak in all four limbs, but the short sword in his hand remained firmly gripped. The Corpse Puppet also took two large steps back, the yellow fluid on its body scattering in all directions. Its bulging white eyes protruded from their sockets, as if they might fall out at the slightest touch, and its swollen abdomen convulsed violently. More and more black liquid seeped out, as if it was about to dye the lower half of its body completely black.

“Roar!” An angry roar erupted from the Corpse Puppet’s mouth. Its black claws flipped, and it pounced toward Wei Yang again!

There was no time to dodge, and Wei Yang had no intention of dodging. Instead, he struggled to his feet, spat a mouthful of true saliva onto the Yellow Talisman in his hand, and with his bloodied left hand, he thrust the talisman forward. The Nine Phoenixes Evil Dispelling Talisman shot out from his hand.

Unlike other Taoist talismans, the True Script of Longhu Mountain didn’t require incantations or hand seals to activate. It could be activated solely with true saliva. The Nine Phoenixes Evil Dispelling Talisman was especially effective in dispelling evil and warding off malevolent forces. With a soft hum, the Corpse Puppet failed to dodge, and the talisman landed squarely on its bulging abdomen.

With a deafening explosion, the sound of Heaven’s Break erupted. It wasn’t like the sound of a light bulb breaking or a firecracker going off, but a genuine “thunderclap,” as if someone had set off a bundle of dynamite upstairs. The Corpse Puppet let out a heaven-shaking scream as its bloated abdomen contracted violently, and a mass of black blood exploded from it. It seemed the talisman was so powerful that it had blown a huge hole in the creature’s abdomen.

A foul, sticky liquid scattered through the air, black and yellow, carrying an air of cruelty and danger. But Wei Yang didn’t dodge. Instead, he tightened his grip on the short sword in his hand and thrust it directly into the gaping hole! The sword wasn’t some divine weapon. Its blade was pitted and worn from age, the edge dulled to a hazy gray. But when it pierced the Corpse Puppet’s abdomen, it was like a hot knife cutting through butter, sliding in with a hiss.

A few drops of the sticky liquid splattered onto Wei Yang’s face, but he didn’t have time to wipe them away. With all his strength, he tried to drag the blade sideways, intending to slash open the Corpse Puppet’s abdomen. But something blocked the blade. The already rusted and damaged short sword trembled violently before snapping in two with a sharp crack!

This turn of events was completely unexpected for Wei Yang. With all his strength focused on the hilt, he lost his balance and fell forward. Before he could steady himself, a small, sharp claw clamped around his throat. From the Corpse Puppet’s split abdomen, a tiny arm emerged.

The arm wasn’t physically real, but more like a semi-transparent black shadow. The small, withered arm was adorned with sharp hooks like eagle claws, and it viciously gripped Wei Yang’s throat. Then, another pair of hands followed, and the Corpse Puppet bent down, trying to use its nearly broken arms to strangle Wei Yang’s neck. Two large hands and one small one, like the scythe of death, loomed above his head.

With a buzzing in his head, Wei Yang struggled with all his might. The Talisman Jade on his chest also began to emit light, the white light hissing and burning. The air filled with the smell of scorched decay, but the Corpse Puppet showed no fear. Instead, the small black shadow hand slid down slightly and slammed into the Talisman Jade!

Another Heaven’s Break sound erupted. The ghostly claw made of shadow shattered into pieces, and a softer sound came from Wei Yang’s chest. A long crack appeared on the surface of the Talisman Jade, the once flawless white jade trembling as if it had been struck by a great force.

With a spurt, Wei Yang bit his tongue again, spitting a mouthful of true saliva at the Corpse Puppet’s forehead. He no longer had any usable ritual instruments on him, and the only thing left was the Yang energy contained in his tongue blood. The Corpse Puppet let out a piercing howl, as if it had been burned by the true saliva, or perhaps it was a cry of excitement. However, the large hand around his neck only loosened for a moment before tightening again. A strong smell of blood rushed into Wei Yang’s throat. His mouth was already a mess of blood and flesh, and his entire body ached terribly. At some point, most of the candles in the room had been blown out by the violent wind, and it was now pitch black. Only the crowing of a rooster pierced the silent night, ringing in his ears.

As the saying goes, the rooster crows three times before dawn. Roosters are most sensitive to Yang energy and will begin crowing from the third watch of Zi Hour, crowing again at the fourth watch and finally at the fifth watch. The third crow marks the dawn. This was the second crow of the night, meaning it was already halfway through the Yin Hour. If he could just hold on for another hour and a half, the first light of the Yin Hour would arrive, and Brother Qi’s soul would return to his body. By then, he should wake up, right? Wei Yang coughed up a mouthful of blood, his hands fumbling across the ground nearby. He remembered that Wang Wei had dropped his knife nearby earlier. That should also be a ritual instrument…

But no matter how long his arms were, he couldn’t reach that short knife now. As the Talisman Jade cracked, the Corpse Puppet’s claws once again closed around his neck. This time, it wasn’t the small ghostly claw, but a pair of rough, wooden hands that squeezed the air from his throat inch by inch. Wei Yang’s arm twitched, and his fingers fell weakly, a few drops of blood sliding down his palm and landing on a small bone segment.

It was a very slender bone, like a human finger bone, with strange ghostly script known as “Extinction Script” drawn on it. The Bone Formation he had brought back from Treasure House hadn’t yet been stored away when Wei Yang was kidnapped by the bandits and brought here. Now, the Bone Formation had somehow fallen out of his pocket and lay silently on the ground, its intricate patterns soaked in blood, taking on a sinister crimson hue.

As the red color blossomed, the Corpse Puppet’s throat suddenly let out a gurgling sound. Its face, which had been leaning close to Wei Yang’s, actually moved away. The small ghostly hand that had reformed in its abdomen also struggled in terror, as if it was being drained of its power, forcing it to try to escape. At this moment, Sun Muhua finally snapped out of his daze and screamed, “Brother Yang!”

His voice had already changed from fright, carrying a tone of near-collapse. Though the shout wasn’t loud, it caused Zhang Xiuqi’s body to tremble slightly.

In order to capture the three souls, the Little Celestial Master had been in a meditative state. For Taoist practitioners, entering meditation was the fastest way to stabilize the soul and restore spiritual energy, but it was also the most dangerous. If disturbed during meditation, the stabilized soul could become unstable, leading to a state akin to “Qi Deviation.” Wei Yang didn’t know this, and Sun Muhua was even more clueless. The only one who knew this was Zhang Xiuqi, but he hadn’t mentioned a single word about it.

This was because he had used the soul-capturing technique too many times. Over the past twenty years, from childhood to adulthood, this technique had become one of his survival instincts. Few people could disturb his meditative practice. But today, for some reason, when he heard that cry, an indescribable fear suddenly rose in his heart, and his eyes snapped open.

In front of him was a scene that filled him with dread. A monster, its intestines spilling out and its body barely human, was crouched low, its withered, twisted arms tightly gripping a man’s neck. The man’s eyes were closed, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, silent and lifeless.

“Brother Qi, stay in meditation. I’ll find a way to hold off the Corpse Puppet until your soul stabilizes. It’s okay. We’ll deal with everything tomorrow…”

“Xiao Qi, stay here quietly. Don’t move, don’t make a sound. Daddy will lure them away… Don’t be afraid. Stay here and wait for me to come back.”

That smiling man never came back. He never came back!

Zhang Xiuqi’s teeth clenched tightly, and his body swayed as he lunged forward.