Clashing with Master Yao

After Su Er and I finished scattering the glutinous rice and cinnabar around the grave, we quickly turned to leave.

But before we could even step out of the graveyard...

*Boom!*

A loud explosion rang out. Startled, I looked back.

What met my eyes was the sight of a man with a blood-drenched face. Red blood flowed from his eye sockets, fangs protruded from both sides of his mouth, and his face was deformed beyond recognition.

Su Er shrieked in terror, retreating behind my back:
"Chu Ling, what is that thing?"

I didn't answer her immediately, only quietly observing the figure before us. At first glance, one could guess he had come from the direction of Master Yao's grave. To still be alive in such a state, he was definitely not human. Yet, since he didn't fear sunlight, it was hard to determine if he was a ghost.

The creature before us continued to advance. His heavy footsteps seemed extremely difficult, yet his movement speed was incredibly fast, closing the distance in the blink of an eye.

Su Er's voice trembled with fear: "He carries Yin energy, and the Yang energy in his body is completely depleted. Chu Ling, let's go quickly."

Su Er pulled my hand, intending to run, but he quickly blocked our path. Reaching out with one hand, he easily lifted me into the air. The sky grew increasingly gloomy; what was once midday now became as dark as midnight.

I struggled repeatedly, but the blood-stained hand only gripped tighter the more I fought. Su Er delivered a powerful kick to his leg, but he showed no sign of pain, casually continuing to choke me.

My vision gradually blurred. Suddenly, a wound on his arm flashed into view. The wound was wide, and inside it grew two rows of sharp teeth. Any flies or mosquitoes passing by could not escape it. After swallowing those insects, the mouth wriggled toward me as if wanting to eat me alive.

I coughed a few times, my body gradually losing consciousness. In my ears, only Su Er's loud cry remained: "Let him go!"

As soon as she spoke, Su Er took it upon herself to open her Yin-Yang Eyes. With her current cultivation, doing so would only harm her. The light from the Yin-Yang Eyes shone directly onto his hand. With a sizzling sound, the hand released me.

I fell to the ground like a sack of sand, coughing violently before quickly turning my eyes toward Su Er. Blinded by the light, the demon used his massive hand to swat Su Er away. Her Yin-Yang Eyes deactivated. Watching her from afar, I couldn't do anything in time and could only yell, "Run!"

No sooner had I spoken than he raised his sharp claws again, intending to finish Su Er off. Fortunately, she rolled aside just in time, dodging a fatal blow. I let out a sigh of relief, drenched in sweat. Su Er bit her finger, planning to use her blood to open her Yin-Yang Eyes once more.

On my side, I pulled out the Golden Severing Thread from my bag. With a *whoosh*, I bound his legs with a net made of the Golden Severing Thread. Unable to move forward, he roared in fury.

I leaned close to the ground, using the strength of both legs to anchor myself against his power. The demon before me seemed to explode with rage, dragging me across the ground. Fortunately, I managed to grab onto a tree trunk in time to halt his momentum. Su Er threw glutinous rice at him, but it had no effect.

Feeling that I couldn't hold on much longer, I tried my best to shout, "Su Er, run! Let me hold him back!"

Su Er replied resolutely, "If we die, we die together!"

Unwilling to delay any longer, he severed his own arm—the one with the sharp-toothed mouth—and ordered it to deal with me. The severed arm flew toward me as if it had grown wings. I flipped backward, kicking it away, then returned to my original position to keep holding him back.

In front of him, Su Er drew her peach wood sword, her agile movements delivering strike after strike. One, two... nearly twenty strikes, but he dodged them all. The twenty-first strike was caught firmly by him. He grabbed Su Er's arm and snatched the peach wood sword...

Before I could pay more attention, the severed arm from earlier grew larger. It lunged to bite my leg. Fortunately, I dodged in time, but it continued to attack relentlessly. In a moment of distraction, it scratched my leg. Pain shot through me as I pulled my leg back, unable to hold the Golden Severing Thread net any longer.

With nothing left to restrain him, he grabbed Su Er, threw her high into the air, and aimed the peach wood sword to kill her. Terrified, I screamed, "No!"

Following my scream, I gathered my strength to kick the severed arm away, while my other hand threw the Golden Severing Thread net toward the demon. But how could I match the speed of Su Er's fall? I was frozen in terror.

Suddenly, a streak of white light shot over, knocking the sword from his hand. A dark figure moved with extreme speed, catching Su Er's falling body.

Only then did I regain my senses and look closely. It turned out the one who had come to our aid was the Blind Old Man. Who would have thought that despite his blindness, his movements were still so sharp.

The demon, who had done nothing but growl until now, spoke upon seeing the Blind Old Man. His voice was raspy, sounding as if it came from the depths of hell: "You and that priest sealed my grave, and now you want to ruin my plans. Have you appeared now just to throw away your life?"

The Blind Old Man spat on the ground and snorted coldly, "Bah! You think you can take my life? You'll need to cultivate for a few more lifetimes to manage that."

With that, the Blind Old Man drew a brilliant white sword. The sword was untainted by a single speck of dust, shining even brighter when it sensed evil. The Blind Old Man formed a hand seal and chanted, "Qiankun of the Great Dao, Qingding Divine Sword, go!"

Obeying the command, the sword flew toward Master Yao. The reason I called him Master Yao was because his words just now had confirmed his identity. Master Yao was not to be outdone, quickly dodging several of the Blind Old Man's sword strikes. The severed arm from earlier also automatically reattached itself to his body.

I helped Su Er up, taking a few steps back. I thought the Blind Old Man would handle everything smoothly, but to our surprise, at Master Yao's roar, dozens of paper effigies rushed out from the distant forest.

Su Er and I had already fought Master Yao to the point of exhaustion; dealing with these paper effigies now would be no easy task. Leading them was a black paper effigy that looked incredibly imposing. In the blink of an eye, they surrounded us. Su Er tried to stand, while I held the peach wood sword, preparing to fight, but we were swiped to the ground by them.

I quickly used my body to shield Su Er. The two of us rolled a few times on the ground, and a drawing was suddenly revealed on the dirt beneath us. Looking closely, I realized it was a Qiankun Formation. Remembering the Eight Trigrams Mirror I always carried with me, I placed it in the center of the formation.

The sole ray of sunlight shone directly onto the mirror, creating a barrier that enveloped Su Er and me. Unaware, the paper effigies stepped forward to touch it, and they were instantly burned to ashes.