Chapter Nineteen: The Seal (Part One)

“No need to chase her. She has already left!”

The Moonlight Corpse slowly floated out from the Yinfiend Cave. Although she possessed a corporeal form, much like a zombie, her appearance was indistinguishable from that of an ordinary woman.

“Why did you just...”

Zhao Fifteen could no longer restrain himself and suddenly asked. But before he could finish, the entire Fenghua Mountain began to tremble, as if an earthquake had struck, shaking the mountain to its core.

“This is bad! The Solar Corpse is about to emerge ahead of time. That female ghost just took the Yellow Spring Gourd from the eye of the trapping array, the one meant to bind the Solar Corpse. I never expected the prophecy my uncle told me years ago would come true!”

Standing at the mouth of the trembling Yinfiend Cave, bathed in moonlight, I watched as the Moonlight Corpse approached me step by step.

“What are you going to do?”

As this beauty in ancient attire drew near, my heart leapt into my throat. Zhao Fifteen, by my side, had already formed a spell gesture, ready for a lethal strike, but together we could not hope to match the Moonlight Corpse before us.

Yet, seeing the clarity and faint worry in her eyes, I felt no threat. Twice already, she had shielded me.

“Is your name Yang Dong?”

The trembling of Fenghua Mountain seemed to subside, but I sensed the Yinfiend energy dissipating around us. From within the cave, the dark mists were slowly fading.

Facing this woman in ancient dress, her familiar voice stirred something inside me, bringing both comfort and confusion. My heart was torn.

I nodded.

The moment I did, she seized my neck with uncanny speed. Zhao Fifteen hadn’t even reacted before I found myself face to face with the Moonlight Corpse—and then she gently pressed her lips to mine.

A chill, tinged with a faint fragrance, swept through my body.

---

For a moment, my blood surged wildly, boiling as though heated to the brink. Despite these sensations, my mind drifted back to the past—to the first shy kiss with Su Ying in the woods behind our school.

For an instant, I wondered if the Moonlight Corpse was Su Ying—the gentle, caring Su Ying I had searched for.

I did not know how much time passed. Tears streamed down my cheeks, and I saw a pained expression cross her face.

“I...”

I tried to speak, but she pressed her hand over my mouth.

“You must say nothing. I know what you feel. In time, you will understand. The Life Blood Array within you has been fully awakened by me. Soon, countless spirits will be drawn here, and only then can we temporarily suppress the Solar Corpse that has yet to be fully refined!”

“But this will kill Xiao Dong!” Zhao Fifteen said coldly.

“Do not fear. I promised to always protect Yang Dong—and I, Xiyue, will keep that promise!”

Xiyue?

Was that the name of this Moonlight Corpse?

Suddenly, my heart shuddered, as if an ancient door within me had been struck by the sound of her name.

“Rise!”

Xiyue waved her hand over the still-unconscious Chen Chuyi, and he shuddered, then opened his eyes in confusion.

“Chuyi!”

Seeing him awake, Zhao Fifteen hurried over to help him up.

“Ask nothing now. I need your help. Prepare the Tri-Yin Gathering Fiend Array!”

---

Chen Chuyi’s face trembled. “The Tri-Yin Gathering Fiend Array? You—”

He looked at me, his expression changing instantly.

“Begin. We have little time. The Fenghua Mountain array is broken. Now we must fill the Yinfiend Cave with the purest Yin energy, then enact the Nether Seal to hold the Solar Corpse beneath the mountain. Later, when the opportunity arises, we will release it, perform the Three Corpses Soul Restoration Array, and summon my ancient soul!”

At her words, everyone present was shaken.

No one expected that the ancient, fate-defying Three Corpses Soul Restoration Array truly existed here, nor that the soul to be restored was Xiyue’s ancient remnant.

“Incredible. There truly exist people who can overturn destiny. Xiao Dong, this Moonlight Corpse named Xiyue seems intimately connected to you. I sensed the aura of Su Ying—the one you wed in the Spirit Road—on her. But that day, Su Ying was only a fragment, controlled by others. Now, Xiyue is protected by vast cosmic energy. Xiao Dong, you must ask her what binds you together!”

I nodded. In truth, I had felt the same, and when Xiyue kissed me, the sensation grew stronger.

As I communed silently with the Immortal Lady, Xiyue, Zhao Fifteen, and Chen Chuyi took positions in three directions.

Now, looking at them, I saw no trace of Yang energy. For Xiyue, this was expected—she was an ancient corpse, asleep for countless years. But Zhao Fifteen and Chen Chuyi were also shrouded in Yin, which surprised me. Yet, I had witnessed the wonders of the Yin-Yang arts before; they must have used techniques to conceal their Yang energy. As for me, my understanding of these arts was still at the most basic, introductory stage.

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

The ground trembled violently once more. The Yang energy around me grew ever more intense, warming the previously chill Fenghua Mountain. From within the Yinfiend Cave, a voice suddenly echoed.

“Who dares disturb my cultivation?”

The voice was ancient and desolate, inspiring a primal fear.

The moment it spoke, Xiyue waved her hand toward me and uttered a single word: “Disperse.”

Instantly, cold winds whipped around me, and waves of Yinfiend energy surged forward, swirling above my head to form a vast, shadowy vortex...