"An ant trying to shake a tree. How laughably arrogant."
Taoist Zhi Qing smiled faintly as Taoist True Qi circulated within him. He easily shook off the shackles of the surrounding Yin Qi, expelling any that tried to invade his body.
"The morning mushroom knows not night and day, the summer cicada knows not spring and autumn."
Taoist Zhi Xiu shook his head and once again uttered a soundless word.
The next moment, the remaining four all felt a sharp pain in their internal organs. Their spleens and stomachs seemed to turn to earth and stone, growing harder and heavier, as if bearing an immense weight that pulled them relentlessly downward.
The beautiful, agile woman was the most affected.
Her true form was a blue-and-white patterned snake, nimble and swift, moving like the wind.
She was the first to attack after the brawny man’s death. Taoist Zhi Qing had struck the man with his Thunder Axe, sending him flying, before it transformed into a Thunder Sword. The sword had stabbed at her three times, but she had dodged them all.
But now, Taoist Zhi Xiu’s Five Sounds Shattering Illusions took effect. Following the principle of Fire generating Earth, the Heart Fire ignited the Spleen’s Earth, causing Earth Qi to gather within her and form a crushing weight.
The woman’s movements faltered, and before she could react, Taoist Zhi Qing’s Thunder Sword was upon her.
Her Protective Demon Qi did offer some resistance, but the sharpness of the Thunder Sword far exceeded her expectations.
SHHNK!
With a barely audible sound, the Thunderbolt shattered her Demon Qi, and the Thunder Sword instantly plunged into the woman’s chest.
"HSSS—"
The woman’s eyes instantly turned to vertical slits. Her body shot backward, pulling herself off the Thunder Sword and bringing a spray of her Heart’s Blood with it.
The woman managed to dodge two more of Taoist Zhi Qing’s sword strikes, but Thunder Power surged endlessly into her body from the wound, shattering her meridians. It crushed her Protective Demon Power and headed straight for her internal organs.
At the same time, with her Heart Fire blazing and the Earth in her spleen weighing her down, the woman lost her ability to fight. Her body moved like a snake, slithering into a corner of the courtyard.
"Release the Restriction! I want to leave!" the woman yelled, looking at the white-robed old man.
The white-robed old man said in a grave voice, "If I release the Restriction, they’ll be able to leave too!"
The woman’s expression turned cold. She glanced at the two Daoists, who were currently dealing with binding Yin Qi, tearing shadows, and soul-stealing drumbeats. She didn’t believe for a second that such methods could kill them.
"Rest assured. Now that they’ve entered my Illusory Yin Manor, they won’t be leaving."
The white-robed old man reassured the woman, then stomped his foot.
The next moment, the Yin Qi in the courtyard grew even denser, forming a mist from which vengeful spirits suddenly emerged one by one.
At the same time, infused with the Yin Qi, the trees and plants in the courtyard seemed to come alive. Twisted roots burst from the ground around Taoist Zhi Qing and Taoist Zhi Xiu, coiling toward them like ghostly pythons.
As the ghostly pythons coiled toward them, all the spirits howled and charged forward.
Taoist Zhi Qing’s Hand Technique changed. His Thunder Sword transformed into a Thunder Net, shimmering with countless Thunder Needles.
With a light sweep of the Thunder Net, the countless ghostly pythons reacted as if they had met their natural predator, instantly incinerated into charred dust by the Thunderbolt and rustling to the ground.
The next moment, countless Thunder Needles shot out from the Thunder Net, piercing through all the attacking spirits.
How could mere spirits withstand the Celestial Thunder power attached to the Thunder Needles? After being struck by just a few, they dissolved into thin smoke and scattered in the wind.
Taoist Zhi Xiu chuckled, the shape of his mouth changing as he uttered another word.
Earth generates Metal. The Spleen’s Earth transformed into the Lungs’ Metal.
With the Heart Fire burning and the Spleen’s Earth weighing them down, the Lungs’ Metal now transformed into an intensely sharp energy. The mere act of breathing caused excruciating pain.
These Five Sounds of the Five Elements corresponded to the Five Qi and five organs within the body. It wasn’t only physical organs that were injured; anything with a Five Elements affinity would be affected.
Although a Fierce Ghost has a Divine Soul Body and is an incarnation of Yin Qi, it cannot escape the domain of the Five Elements.
"Cough, cough, cough... Aaargh!"
The old crone in the shadows had resisted the Heart Fire and endured the Spleen’s Earth, but she could no longer withstand the Lungs’ Metal. With a wail, she emerged from the shadows, revealing her form as a ferocious Fierce Ghost, and lunged to bite Taoist Zhi Xiu’s ankle.
Taoist Zhi Qing dispersed the Thunder Net, and raising his right hand, a Thunder Hammer the size of a wicker basket instantly took shape.
BOOM!
The Thunder Hammer crashed down, striking the old crone squarely on the head.
A purplish-gold light exploded in the courtyard. The blast scattered the surrounding Yin Qi, and the roaring Thunderbolt smashed the ground, causing it to collapse.
Struck by the Thunder Hammer, the old crone’s protective Yin Qi fell into disarray. The Thunderbolt entered her body, and black smoke poured from her seven orifices. She could barely maintain her Ghost Body.
Even though Taoist Zhi Xiu was right in front of her, within arm’s reach, the old crone no longer had any chance to get closer.
Because the Thunder Hammer above her head had already transformed into a Thunder Cone, boring down toward the crown of her head.
The old crone’s form merged into the shadows, which then fled back toward the courtyard gate.
But the Thunder Cone plunged into the ground right behind her, and arcs of lightning spread from it, engulfing the shadow.
PFFT!
Half of the old crone’s body dissolved into black smoke as she was forced out of the shadow again. Her remaining half was flickering and indistinct as she struggled to get away from Taoist Zhi Qing.
"Useless," Taoist Zhi Xiu said, shaking his head. He put away a Paper Talisman he had been pinching between his fingers.
The Ghost Child sitting on the second floor was pale, his eyes wide with fury as he shook his rattle so hard it seemed about to break.
Then he saw Taoist Zhi Qing and Taoist Zhi Xiu turn their heads in unison and look at him.
And his face grew even paler.
"As expected of a ghost. That face is paler than if he’d powdered it," Taoist Zhi Qing quipped.
"And it’s a very natural white. Translucent, even. As pale as snow," Taoist Zhi Xiu added his critique.
Compared to the brawny man, the woman, and the old crone, the trivial soul-stealing sound of the rattle and the binding Yin Qi of the courtyard had no effect on them whatsoever.
For the enemy to use such tactics against them was a blatant show of contempt for their Taoist True Qi and Dao Heart Divine Soul!
The Thunderbolt in Taoist Zhi Qing’s hand changed shape once more.
The Celestial Book Thunder Talisman allowed him to transform Thunder Power into all kinds of weapons. Taoist Zhi Qing held one hand out flat and drew the other back.
A Thunder Bow and a Thunder Arrow appeared in his hands.
He drew the bow, nocked the arrow, and aimed at the Child.
"Strike!"
A purplish-gold flash of lightning vanished in an instant. The Ghost Child stopped shaking his rattle and, with a leap, transformed into a trail of black smoke to flee.
WHOOSH!
The Thunder Arrow flashed past. The Ghost Child moved like lightning, dodging to the side.
But before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, the Thunder Arrow that had just flashed past reversed its direction, tracing a purplish-gold arc of lightning through the air before instantly burying itself in his back.
The Ghost Child let out a bloodcurdling scream as his protective Yin Qi instantly disintegrated.
The Thunder Arrow did not pass through his body; instead, its full power remained inside the Ghost Child, causing him to fall uncontrollably from the air.
At the same time, Taoist Zhi Xiu uttered another word.
Five Sounds Shattering Illusions. Metal generates Water. Surging Kidney Water flooded the Ghost Child’s meridians, connecting with the Thunderbolt and converging with the Heart Fire, Spleen’s Earth, and Lungs’ Metal in his organs.
The Ghost Child wailed again, smoke pouring from his seven orifices. With a POP, his Ghost Body exploded, turning into a formless cloud of black smoke that tried to flee, only to be blocked by the courtyard’s restriction.
Taoist Zhi Qing and Taoist Zhi Xiu paid no more mind to the four heavily injured and powerless Demons and Ghosts, instead focusing their attention on the white-robed old man standing at the entrance to the main house.
The white-robed old man’s cheek twitched. He was struggling to resist the four types of Qi surging within him. Seeing that Taoist Zhi Xiu was about to utter another word, he hastily cupped his fists and said, "Wait, you two! I surrender!"
Taoist Zhi Xiu, his face devoid of expression, uttered the final word.
Taoist Zhi Qing beckoned with his hand, and a Great Guan Saber appeared in his grasp. With a single leap, he was beside the white-robed old man.
He slashed down!