Yan Wei watched as Mr. Bai collapsed to the ground. At the moment of his death, the deathly aura backlashed onto his corpse, and like A-Yu, his body was instantly covered in corpse spots.
In just a few moments, Mr. Bai’s corpse would likely decompose into foul-smelling corpse water, seeping into the cold snow, just as A-Yu’s had.
Yan Wei, who had been fully focused on controlling the Moon Wheel, was drenched in cold sweat. He finally relaxed, his tense back easing as Yan Mingguang, having finished meticulously cleaning his hands, walked over and supported him, offering a place to rest.
With Yu Feizhou’s assistance, both he and Yan Mingguang had only suffered from physical and perception exhaustion, with no serious injuries. Yan Wei, who had been protected by them, didn’t even have a trace of blood on him. Yan Mingguang’s wounds had been transferred away by Yu Feizhou, leaving only the marks on his clothes as evidence of his injuries.
Yu Feizhou’s hands had rotted to the point where bones were visible in some places, yet he frowned and remained silent.
“How are you?” Yan Wei quickly exchanged for some expensive healing medicine from the shop and poured it over Yu Feizhou’s hands.
Yu Feizhou simply smiled, “It’s nothing. I heal quickly. As long as nothing’s broken, it heals fast. Even if it is broken, it can be reattached.”
Yan Wei continued to pour medicine on Yu Feizhou’s hands, while Yan Mingguang also exchanged for some medicine and applied it to Yu Feizhou’s other hand, saying, “Thank you.”
Yu Feizhou chuckled helplessly, “We’re in this instance together. It’s what we should do.”
Seeing that the flesh on Yu Feizhou’s hands was visibly healing, Yan Wei finally stopped.
But just as he relaxed, he frowned and asked, “Where’s the notification sound?”
The notification sound hadn’t come yet.
In the Guanyin Temple, Song Cheng’an, pale from the earlier exertion, was breathing heavily. But he didn’t sit down to rest; instead, he stared intently at the sinister Guanyin statue.
Geng Liang also noticed something was wrong, “Didn’t Yan Wei and the others just kill Mr. Bai? Why is the array…”
“The array isn’t destroyed. Except for the minor part we dismantled earlier, the rest remains intact.”
Song Cheng’an’s expression grew more serious, “This array connects Mr. Bai and the Shen Estate, allowing the deathly aura to transfer between them, amplifying the evil energy. There must be a core controlling the other two locations. Mr. Bai is dead, but the array is still active, meaning he wasn’t the core… We’ve been entangled with this array for a while now. If it were the core, I would have sensed it.”
Geng Liang was shocked, “Then where is the core?”
“The Shen Estate.”
Hearing their conversation, Yan Wei’s heart sank.
Yu Feizhou asked, “What’s going on?”
Before Yan Wei could answer, the surge of black aura rising from the direction of the Shen Estate, now a hundred times stronger than before, provided the answer.
In front of Yan Wei and the others, Mr. Bai’s corpse, covered in corpse spots, instantly decomposed into a pool of foul-smelling corpse water. But instead of dissipating, the corpse water was absorbed into the ground amidst a swirl of black aura, flowing towards an unknown destination.
It was as if it was being absorbed as nourishment by something.
Yan Wei and Yan Mingguang exchanged a glance. Without hesitation, Yan Mingguang grabbed Yan Wei and Yu Feizhou, swiftly moving towards the Shen Estate. At the same time, Yan Wei opened a communication channel to Song Cheng’an and Geng Liang in the Guanyin Temple, “Mr. Bai was also a pawn in this game. Killing him didn’t break the array. Stay there and do everything you can to dismantle that array.”
Song Cheng’an’s voice was grave, “I’ll do my best.”
In the brief exchange, the deathly aura had already darkened half the sky.
The commotion was so intense that even the ordinary residents of Guanyin Town could see it clearly. In an instant, the entire town was engulfed in fear and panic. The residents near the Shen Estate fled towards the opposite side, their screams the only accompaniment in the icy, snowy weather.
As if the deathly aura was annoyed by their speed, in addition to the rapidly spreading aura from the Shen Estate, an overwhelming wave of resentful evil energy surged from the seaside, flooding half the town from both sides.
Yan Wei, with his superior perception, could hear countless desperate cries for help and screams in his ears.
Moving against the tide of people, they finally reached the edge of the spreading deathly aura in just a few breaths.
As soon as Yan Mingguang landed, he instinctively reached out and caught Zhong Bufan, who had been sent flying towards them.
Zhong Bufan’s right arm was completely severed, his shoulder a mangled mess of flesh and bone. Covered in blood, his face was devoid of color. Besides his broken arm, there were several wounds on his body, clearly caused by the deathly aura. The word “tragic” didn’t even begin to describe his condition.
The deathly aura spread rapidly. By the time they reached the edge, it was already upon them.
Yan Mingguang pulled them back, retreating an entire street before stopping.
“Where’s Yu Zhengqing?” Yan Wei asked immediately.
Zhong Bufan took a deep breath and said in a low voice, “Dead.”
No further explanation was needed. The overwhelming resentment in the air was enough to indicate the brutal struggle they had just experienced in the Shen Estate.
If Yan Mingguang hadn’t acted swiftly, Zhong Bufan would have been completely consumed by the deathly aura.
Yan Wei’s eyes darkened.
Without needing to ask, Zhong Bufan quickly continued, “Yu Zhengqing and I acted out a scene, handing the Pure Vase water to Zhuo Xidong, then stayed near the Shen Estate to observe. They indeed stopped tearing open the seal as agreed, and after receiving the Pure Vase water, they began using the method to suppress the array. They sprinkled the Pure Vase water and set up the array. But after the array was set, instead of dispelling the deathly aura from Jiang Jingyun’s resting place, the aura suddenly surged, breaking the seal of the courtyard.”
This was something Yan Wei and the others had anticipated. The Guanyin Pure Vase water was not a good thing.
But they had thought that with Mr. Bai, the mastermind, dead, everything would come to an abrupt halt. Now, however… it was clear that wasn’t the case.
Amidst the overwhelming, flood-like deathly aura, a figure in flowing robes seemed to stand. While the surrounding residents fled in panic towards areas free of the deathly aura, their screams unceasing, the figure appeared unaffected, walking step by step through the black aura, seemingly approaching them.
Zhong Bufan continued, “After the deathly aura surged, the coffin suddenly broke, and Jiang Jingyun’s corpse inside suddenly rose, instantly killing Zhuo Xidong and his group. Not a single person survived! Yu Zhengqing and I, outside, immediately realized what was happening and tried to run back to find you, but she seemed to sense our presence and chased us. Yu Zhengqing couldn’t hold her off…”
“Jiang Jingyun?”
Yu Feizhou said, “Could it be that the deathly aura has truly nourished Jiang Jingyun’s ghost body?”
As he spoke, the deathly aura surged again, and the figure in the black mist grew closer. The fleeing residents had no time to pay attention to those standing still. Some ran aimlessly, while others, the elderly, weak, women, and children, unable to keep up with the surging deathly aura, were quickly engulfed.
Yu Feizhou’s expression changed as he saw the deathly aura about to overtake a wailing child. He rushed forward, grabbed the child, and rolled back several times.
Yan Wei raised his hand, and the Moon Wheel emitted a dazzling white light. At that moment, a massive barrier rapidly formed in front of the black aura, separating Yu Feizhou from the deathly aura and protecting the part of Guanyin Town not yet flooded by the black aura. The barrier stood firm, colliding with the surging tide of deathly aura.
The overwhelming deathly aura was borne by the Moon Wheel. Yan Wei suddenly paled, spitting out a mouthful of blood from the internal shock.
Yan Mingguang immediately supported him, “Let me use the Moon Wheel.”
Yan Wei shook his head, “You have more important things to do.”
Zhong Bufan was stunned, “Yan Wei, you…”
Even though the situation was urgent, they could still retreat to the Guanyin Temple and buy some time to react. At this moment, standing here, apart from saving the lives of those in the instance, was pointless.
Yan Wei glanced at the child in Yu Feizhou’s arms.
“They want to live too,” he said.
Yan Mingguang avoided Yan Wei’s gaze.
“If I were in my undying state, I could move freely in this deathly aura. But now, I can only use the Moon Wheel…” He paused, his face growing paler, “The Moon Wheel is powerful, but the deathly aura corrodes everything. The barrier I create can’t withstand such a large area of deathly aura, and my own energy can’t sustain it. We must deal with the source of this deathly aura.”
Yu Feizhou, who was comforting the child, looked up, “Jiang Jingyun’s ghost body?” After asking, he patted the child’s head, urging them to run.
Yan Wei had only blocked for a few minutes, but it was enough for the residents to get further away. Still, he held the Moon Wheel’s barrier, thinking that the longer he could hold on, the more lives he could save.
He had been pondering the entire instance’s thread, and now it all became clear.
“She’s not Jiang Jingyun.”
In that brief moment, the figure in flowing robes had already walked up to Yan Wei and the others. She stopped, standing amidst the endless deathly aura. The face, belonging to Jiang Jingyun, though filled with the pallor of death, was animated, her expression one of curiosity and anger as she looked at Yan Wei and the others.
“Well,” she licked her lips, her voice sinister, “you actually blocked my deathly aura. Which temple or monastery do you foolish Taoist monks come from?”
“Jiang Jingyun” raised her hand, and the deathly aura surged with her movement, slamming into the barrier Yan Wei had erected.
Yan Wei felt his entire body shake, staggering back as he spat out another mouthful of blood.
The barrier cracked, but the deathly aura didn’t advance further—it seemed to be tied to “Jiang Jingyun.” As she moved forward, the deathly aura surged; now that she had stopped, the aura quietly flooded the houses, not advancing further.
Yan Wei spread his perception, speaking to Yan Mingguang and the others beside him, as well as to Song Cheng’an and Geng Liang in the Guanyin Temple, She is the ancient evil sealed beneath the sea in Guanyin Town.
A-Yu thought she was the one doing evil, but she was merely a pawn in Mr. Bai’s hands.
Mr. Bai thought he was the mastermind, but was he not also a pawn in someone else’s hands?
His scheme, seemingly intricate and interconnected, had missed one crucial point.
A-Yu’s evil techniques were given to her by Mr. Bai, but where did Mr. Bai, a once ordinary scholar, obtain these world-shaking arrays and evil techniques? Did he stumble upon them by chance, or was there something else that gave him the opportunity, making him believe he had found them by chance, when in reality, he was just a tool in someone else’s hands, doing their bidding?
A-Yu had used the evil techniques for five years, yet her appearance hadn’t changed much. Mr. Bai had used the techniques for five years, yet Jiang Jingyun’s vengeful spirit hadn’t returned from the underworld. Where had all this resentment gone?
This five-year scheme wasn’t meant to allow Mr. Bai to summon Jiang Jingyun’s vengeful spirit. Instead, it was designed to reverse Guanyin Town’s suppression array, absorbing the greed, anger, and hatred, and using Jiang Jingyun’s corpse as a vessel to allow this ancient evil to break free!
The task’s “suppress resentment” wasn’t about dealing with A-Yu, suppressing Jiang Jingyun, or killing Mr. Bai.
It was about resealing this ancient evil beneath the sea.
“So that’s it… We’re not setting up a small array, but a massive one capable of suppressing the ancient evil.”
The evil entity had been observing them, and now, amused, it said, “I hate you Taoist monks who always try to exorcise and suppress ghosts. After plotting for so long, I finally used a few fools to break the seal. Since someone’s in my way…”
It smiled, licking its lips, its voice devoid of any human emotion, “I’ll just kill them.”
The voice still lingered in the air as it appeared before them in an instant.
Yu Feizhou quickly pulled the severely injured Zhong Bufan back, while Yan Wei, as he had done with the deathly aura-infused Mr. Bai, wielded the Moon Wheel to assist Yan Mingguang. The evil entity clashed with Yan Mingguang in an instant, and the next moment, both Yan Mingguang and Yan Wei were sent flying by the tremendous impact. Yan Mingguang’s arm was torn open, a large area of flesh corroded by the deathly aura.
The evil entity blinked, its voice innocent, “So fragile.”
Yan Wei’s body tensed, sweat beading on his forehead.
Combined, he and Yan Mingguang had over thirty to forty thousand in perception and body index, yet they were no match for a single strike from this evil entity.
This entity wasn’t the kind of ghost or monster that could be dealt with through brute force.
If violence couldn’t solve it, then there must be a way to resolve the situation without confronting the entity directly.
As the evil entity smiled and walked towards them, the deathly aura surging behind it, Yan Wei said, “Run!”
Before the words left his mouth, Yan Mingguang grabbed Yan Wei and fled. Yu Feizhou, dragging the injured Zhong Bufan, was slightly slower. As the deathly aura was about to engulf his back, a black arrow shot through the air, grazing Yu Feizhou’s back and intercepting the dense deathly aura, the arrow disintegrating in the process.
Yu Feizhou narrowly escaped, immediately carrying Zhong Bufan forward. On a nearby rooftop, Lin Zhen, dressed in black, held a bow. Arrows flew from his hands, one after another, intercepting the deathly aura.
“You’re awake?”
Lin Zhen’s eyes gleamed, his expression cold, his red eyes filled with calm. His tone was grave, “Don’t just stand there. Run.”
Yu Feizhou didn’t stop, following Yan Wei and Yan Mingguang, but his eyes dimmed slightly.
The next moment, the young man who had been covering them with arrows retreated across the rooftops, his serious expression suddenly turning mischievous, his tone teasing, “Hey, brother, why so harsh? Be gentler.”
The grave voice spoke again, as if to himself, “We’re in a life-and-death situation. Behave.”
“Tease you, tease you, you can’t pull my hair now.”
Yu Feizhou: “…”
Yan Wei: “…”
Ahead, Geng Liang approached Yan Wei and the others, “What’s going on? Song Cheng’an is still in the temple trying to dismantle the array, but he says even if the array is destroyed, it won’t stop this deathly aura.”
“It won’t,” Yan Wei panted, “Those interlocking arrays were meant to help the evil entity break free. Now that it’s out, using Jiang Jingyun’s body, those arrays have served their purpose.”
This evil entity was beyond their power to kill.
Could it be that his second chance would end here?
Yan Wei looked back, seeing that although Lin Zhen and Lin Qing’s arrows couldn’t block the deathly aura on a large scale like his Moon Wheel, they could still hold back small portions with less energy consumption. Lin Zhen and Lin Qing, though not as powerful as he and Yan Mingguang, didn’t need to confront the entity directly and could hold it off for a while.
He called out to Lin Zhen on the rooftop, “Lin Zhen, Lin Qing! Can you keep it busy for a while?”
A serious voice responded, “Okay.”
A playful voice added, “Hey, you five-year-old unbathed lady, come at me!”
The evil entity, already amused by them, immediately charged towards Lin Zhen. But it had a temper, and provoked by Lin Zhen’s taunt, it said sinisterly, “What an interesting child.”
The entity didn’t move, but the deathly aura around it chased after Lin Zhen.
“Be serious. Don’t provoke it. Just lead it away.”
“How can I lead it away if I don’t make it angry? It’s not stupid. If I just say ‘follow me,’ it won’t. Anger is the most effective tool. Five-year-old unbathed lady, come on, come on!!”
“…”
Yan Wei saw the deathly aura temporarily shift towards Lin Zhen and Lin Qing’s direction. After catching his breath, he said, “I’ve figured it out.”
Zhong Bufan: “What?”
“The core of this high-level instance lies in how the task has been guiding us step by step, making us feel like we have a goal at every turn. The tasks themselves aren’t wrong, but they never explicitly told us who or what we needed to deal with in this instance.”
If the task had told them from the start to suppress the evil entity, it would never have broken free.
That malice truly never ceased in its unseen interference.
He continued, “Zhong Bufan, when you and… and Yu Zhengqing handed over the Pure Vase water, did you know who had it?”
Zhong Bufan, with his remaining hand, pulled out a white porcelain bottle and two items, “This is the remaining Pure Vase water and the items Yu Zhengqing and I were assigned. At the time, I thought the Pure Vase water might still be useful, so I delayed for a moment, allowing Yu Zhengqing…”
His eyes dimmed as he handed the items to Yan Wei.
Yan Wei grasped them tightly, “He didn’t die in vain.”
Zhong Bufan remained silent.
“Geng Liang, take this Pure Vase water to the Guanyin Temple. Have Song Cheng’an use it according to Mr. Bai’s suppression array method, sprinkling the water at the array’s core. He’ll lead the array formation, while the rest of us will take the remaining items to the four corners of Guanyin Town, as the array requires.”
Everyone was stunned.
Yan Mingguang was the first to understand, “Since the evil entity broke free from the ancient suppression array, we’ll use the Guanyin Temple as the center to form another one.”
Geng Liang was puzzled, “But isn’t this array a trick? When Zhuo Xidong used this method, it completely released the ancient evil!”
Zhong Bufan’s dim expression suddenly brightened, “But we also have the reversal array.”
Yu Feizhou: “So that’s it, so that’s it…”
Zhuo Xidong’s mistake was using an evil array.
But what we need to do is set up a massive evil array, then draw the reversal array to suppress the ancient evil once more!
Behind them, the deathly aura surged, blotting out the sky. Ahead, countless cries for help and screams echoed, while the towering Guanyin Temple stood silently in the distance, oblivious to the half-ruined town.
On the other side, Lin Zhen, who had been leading the evil entity and the deathly aura, hissed as he retracted his hand, now a bloody mess from the deathly aura, and shouted, “Little pet, I can’t hold on much longer! If it comes again, I’ll be entangled with this deathly aura!”
The serious voice from the same mouth followed, “Yan Wei, do what you need to. I’ll do my best.”
Yan Wei tossed Lin Zhen and Lin Qing an item needed for one corner of the array, instructing them to take it and hold their position.
“I can only hold the deathly aura with the Moon Wheel for three minutes at most,” he said.
Time was of the essence. Without further delay, Yu Feizhou and Zhong Bufan each took the items needed for their respective corners and quickly left. Geng Liang grabbed the Guanyin Pure Vase water and hurried towards the temple.
With Lin Qing and Lin Zhen no longer luring the evil entity, it noticed Yan Wei and Yan Mingguang still standing there. It laughed and sent the surging deathly aura crashing towards them.
Yan Wei took a deep look at Yan Mingguang.
This corner, engulfed by sinister energy, was naturally the only place where Yan Mingguang, who could temporarily resist the instance’s rules, could stay for a moment.
As Yan Mingguang took the Item from his hand, he tightly grasped Yan Wei’s hand and whispered, “Protect yourself.”
“I will,” Yan Wei said. “I still want to make another choice with you.”
Yan Mingguang took the Item from his hand and plunged into the vast sea of deathly energy.
With this, the four directions of Guanyin Town were now guarded by Yan Mingguang, Zhong Bufan, Yu Feizhou, and Lin Qing and Lin Zhen, who currently shared one body, each holding an Item to form the four corners of the array. Song Cheng’an and Geng Liang, using the Guanyin Grand Array and Guanyin’s Pure Vase as the core, laid down the array, and through the power of the reversed array, they aimed to suppress the ancient evil entity.
Yan Wei turned around, and the Moon Wheel in his hand once again erupted with a dazzling light. Amidst the vibrating air, the Moon Wheel drew a barrier, blocking the flood of sinister energy pouring forth.
The evil entity, wearing Jiang Jingyun’s face, smiled at Yan Wei with great interest.
“What an impressive person,” it said. “But how long can you hold out?”
It waved its hand, and the vast deathly energy suddenly became restless, madly crashing against the transparent barrier before it.
Yan Wei, pale-faced, took deep breaths, maintaining the rotation of the Moon Wheel in his hand. He didn’t respond to the entity, pouring all his focus into blocking the deathly energy. The evil entity, along with the energy, was temporarily held back by the barrier.
In his heart, it was as if a clock was ticking, counting down the seconds he could still hold on.
Only a little over two minutes remained.
At the Guanyin Grand Temple, Geng Liang had already handed the Pure Vase water to Song Cheng’an. Song Cheng’an dared not delay, using every ounce of his strength in the few minutes they had amidst the collapsing world to, together with Geng Liang, draw a massive array connecting the entire Guanyin Town and the reversed function array with his own blood.
Geng Liang, utterly exhausted, could no longer stand, slumping down in front of the golden Guanyin statue, muttering to himself, “Once the array is activated, will this instance be broken? Will I finally reach the top?”
At this moment, only a few dozen seconds remained before Yan Wei could hold on any longer.
Song Cheng’an was also nearly out of strength, but he still had to complete the final step to activate the array and couldn’t rest yet. Using his cut palm, he drew the final stroke of the array, stopping in front of the golden Guanyin statue. He sighed softly and said, “Yes, when I entered, I never thought I’d really make it this far. I once had someone I loved, was about to propose, but then I stumbled into this place and have been here so long, I’ve almost forgotten her face. But with the time difference between the inside and outside worlds, I should still have time to see her face again and prepare a proposal when I get out, right? It would be—”
His voice suddenly stopped.
Yan Wei was betting his life to block the overwhelming deathly energy, and time was running out.
Geng Liang, unable to see or hear anything, asked anxiously, “Why haven’t you activated the array?”
Song Cheng’an was stunned, and the hopeful tone in his voice gradually faded, replaced by a chilling realization.
“The array can’t be activated… This array requires the Pure Vase water to be sprinkled on the core—the golden Guanyin statue—to use the statue as the array’s heart and connect the four directions of Guanyin Town. But this statue…”
The statue had already lost all its spiritual energy after five years of erosion by the sinister energy.
It could no longer serve as the array’s heart.
The four directions were complete, the two arrays were ready, but the heart of the array was lost.
