Chapter 23: The Soul-Shattering Talisman of the Sixty-Year Cycle

I was utterly dumbfounded; everything before my eyes left me in a state of shock. What was this thing—it was nothing short of a monster. I hadn’t even managed to scream before Xiyue seized me in her arms and retreated at lightning speed.

“Trying to escape? Since the Azure Dragon values this offering, how could I let you get away? Come back here!”

“Go now!”

At that moment, Xiyue suddenly struck my back with a powerful palm. In the next instant, it felt as though an immense, invisible hand had grasped me and flung me swiftly out of the village.

“The Ultimate of Yin and Yang, the Nine Transformations of Heaven’s Path, Manifest!”

No sooner had I flown out of the village than a brilliant light enveloped it, and I was thrown heavily to the ground. My chest trembled violently, and a mouthful of blood surged up and sprayed out. Only then did the suffocating sensation gradually dissipate.

Before me, Lingquan Village began to tremble incessantly, as though a small earthquake were shaking the earth.

“Priestess, what should we do now? What was that just now?”

Confronted with such a scene, I, a mere novice in the ways of Yin and Yang, felt completely lost, as if I knew nothing at all.

“That monster that emerged from the ancestral hall ought to be the young dragon Xiyue mentioned earlier. It’s been suppressed for years, so its resentment has condensed. For reasons unknown, the foolish villagers have been worshipping it as a deity. In this manner, the monstrous dragon, which should never have gained form, has gradually accumulated a powerful grudge through incense offerings. By attaching itself to a person, it has slowly begun to take shape. Judging by what we saw today, it appears still unformed, which explains its grotesque appearance.”

“Is Xiyue its match?”

My heart was filled with worry for Xiyue. The recent scene brought to mind Su Ying, who, on that road of ghosts, was gravely wounded by a great specter while saving me.

“No, I must go back and save her!”

The more I thought about it, the more anxious I became. Without waiting for the priestess to reply, I rushed headlong toward the glowing barrier.

Bang!

My body was instantly repelled and sent flying, slamming hard into the ground.

“Don’t charge in. The entire place has been sealed off. Apparently, Xiyue’s uncle foresaw that Lingquan Village was a place of misfortune. Let’s head to the Spirit Spring!”

I quickly acknowledged her words and hurried toward the spring. Before I could reach it, I was struck by an astonishing sight: a massive, invisible hand was emerging from the spring, and as it did so, a formation diagram appeared in midair.

This diagram closely resembled the one Xiyue had previously set, only hers had countless lights flickering across it, while this Yin-Yang diagram was set against a blood-red backdrop.

My expression changed drastically as I recalled the words on Village Chief Wang’s bamboo slip: “Three days hence, the entire village will perish within the Blood Diagram!”

I had thought that the so-called Blood Diagram referred to the one Xiyue had set up earlier. In truth, it was not; it was this very blood-red formation flying out of the Spirit Spring now.

Sensing my intent to disrupt the diagram’s operation, the priestess shouted urgently, “Leave now! Lingquan Village is about to be refined—this is a massacre array, far more brutal than the previous blood-sacrifice array.”

Leave?

“No, I can’t go—Xiyue is still inside!”

My desperation mounting, I tried to charge in again.

Bang! I was thrown back once more.

“Xiao Dong, do you truly intend to save Xiyue?”

At that moment, a note of solemnity and coldness crept into the priestess’s voice, as if she were making a significant decision.

I nodded without hesitation.

“No matter the price you must pay?”

She pressed me again.

I nodded once more.

“In that case, I shall help you. But remember, you owe me a favor.”

I remained silent, for at that moment, I had no chance to say anything. My body was completely immobilized.

“Xiao Dong, this massacre array can only be constructed by a master of Yin and Yang. Even in Azure Dragon Mountain, only elders are capable of laying such a formation. But I do not wish you to live with regret. Xiyue has never harbored malice toward you, and your true heritage seems deeply connected to her.”

“Priestess…”

“Be silent and listen. Whatever you see or hear, do not speak. There is but one chance. I will use your essence blood to craft a Hexagram Soul-Breaking Talisman. Such a talisman can only be drawn by a master of Yin and Yang, just as with the massacre array. I may fall into slumber; do not disturb me. Merely gather stray spirits for me to absorb, or seek out rare herbs and treasures. Perhaps, one day, I shall awaken. Of course, should my spirit and form be utterly destroyed, then you…”

She did not finish her words, perhaps to prevent me from making a sound later. At once, she used her power to seal my ability to speak and move. I saw clearly as my body broke through the barrier like a shooting star, landing directly at the scene of battle.

By now, Xiyue’s hair was disheveled and her body covered in wounds. The terrifying Azure Dragon before her laughed loudly, its form suddenly growing immense, turning into a malformed dragon’s head that lunged straight at me, jaws agape.

A sharp pain tore through my tongue, and I spat out another mouthful of essence blood.

That blood shifted and transformed in the void, and in the blink of an eye became a massive, ancient rune.

“Break!”

I could barely make out the word, uttered in a hoarse, numb voice.

The instant the word left my lips, the space before me changed abruptly. The monstrous dragon’s head, lunging to devour me, was instantly enveloped by the talisman. The priestess took control of my body, seized the grievously wounded Xiyue, and fled.

Roars echoed behind me. As we ran, I could see the people around me begin to transform—some into skeletons, others into ghastly faces. Wang Dabao, right before my eyes, turned into a massive blood-red serpent.

I was petrified by the horrific scenes unfolding.

“Run!” the priestess’s voice urged, though my feet were growing sluggish.

At that moment, the blood diagram encompassing the village began to spin. Trees and rocks around me twisted into insects, serpents, and ghostly visages, all flying toward the heart of the diagram.

“Vanish!”

Suddenly, Xiyue, whom I was dragging along, spat out a mouthful of blood, forming a dim, blood-red character. As soon as the word was spoken, my vision blurred, and I felt as though I were plunging into a bottomless abyss…