Chapter Fifty: Dead Yet Unyielding

Boom!
Buzz!
Two sounds erupted in quick succession, swiftly followed by the terrifying noise of wind shattering and exploding. The old crone, who had seemed so fearsome just moments before, was now trembling uncontrollably under Xiyue’s palm strike. Her face was twisted in terror—already horrifying to behold, but now I could nearly see, on one side of her face where some withered, not yet fully rotted skin clung, that it was slowly peeling away. The sight sent shivers down my spine.
“How… how is this possible?”
For a moment, the old crone seemed unable to accept what was happening. Her entire body trembled, and the Buddhist light that surrounded her surged violently.
“Pity you’re not a true incarnation of the Buddha. Your remnant soul is far too feeble to bear the burden of this Buddha’s corpse. Had you truly managed to fully refine this body, perhaps the three of us together would not be your match.”
“Is that so?”
The old crone lifted her head, and suddenly, on the part of her face where the skin had fallen away, a golden bead no larger than a pinky nail appeared. The bead radiated an aura of sacred and boundless light. Without warning, it shot forth and pierced straight through Xiyue’s palm.
Xiyue cried out, stumbling backward.
“You think you can kill me? You’re far too green!”
As she spoke, the old crone’s body convulsed, and she clawed directly at Xiyue’s brow. I could almost see her outstretched hand, the skin instantly sloughing away, leaving only stark white bones that seemed about to snap.
“Xiao Dong, now!”
Zhao Wen, standing by my side, stepped forward as he spoke. In his hand flashed a dark object resembling a tortoiseshell—precisely the Spirit Turtle Armor Xiyue had mentioned earlier.
Crack!
Indeed, it was a defensive treasure of yin and yang. At the very instant the withered claw struck, the armor expanded to envelop the three of us, blocking the skeletal hand outside its tortoise-like shell.
“We act together—trap her first and seize the Buddha’s relic from her brow! All her power comes from that relic, but she can’t truly wield its strength.”
In a heartbeat, Zhao Wen formed a seal and chanted an incantation. The armor covering the three of us instantly transformed into three separate suits, tightly protecting us all.
Xiyue struck again, her figure almost dissolving into moonlight, though a vivid stain marked her wounded hand.
I stepped forward as well.
“Young Master, I can take the relic. All you need do is touch the Buddha’s relic at her brow with your sword when the time comes.”

Just as I was about to bite my finger and draw a Soul-Breaking Talisman, Nie Xiaoke’s voice rang out.
“Master, it’s true—as long as I’m shielded by the Buddha’s radiance, and since my body itself is a beam of Buddha’s light, this relic might truly resonate with me. If I act, I can claim it at once. Then we can seize the Buddha’s corpse, and the benefits will be even greater.”
Listening to Tu and Nie Xiaoke, I calculated my own odds.
By now, I had almost fully accepted the reality that I’d entered a world akin to fantasy—a place still governed by yin and yang, yet so far removed from the traditions of the old exorcists.
Perhaps that was why I found it all so fascinating.
Now, I could choose how to live my life. Though burdens and entanglements remained, this existence was far more interesting than the one I led before.
Maybe it’s simply a different kind of life—or maybe, deep down, I never wanted to be that mediocre version of myself.
First, I must become strong.
Lost in these thoughts, I found myself standing before the old crone. At this moment, the Tear of the Vast Sea had enveloped her completely from Xiyue’s brow.
Zhao Wen hovered in midair, drawing nine talismans with his own blood, forming a great array.
With both means combined, the old crone was utterly trapped.
“I offer my soul to the heavens—Buddha’s golden body!”
A resonant hum rang out as Buddhist light blazed. The old crone’s body was suddenly engulfed in holy fire, her withered flesh burning away to reveal a stark, white skeleton.
Creak, creak, creak…
“Young Master, quickly! She’s trying to destroy herself and take us all with her!”
My heart lurched—I wasted no time. Lifting my sword, I brought it down on the skull before me.
“Quake!”
As my sword fell, the skeletal figure seemed to sense deadly peril, writhing in a frenzy as pillars of Buddhist light shot skyward.
Xiyue coughed up blood, spitting out a single syllable.
In that instant, my blade struck the skull.
Aaaahhh—
A blood-curdling scream, like something torn from the depths of hell, echoed out. As it faded, a pillar of blood-red light soared into the heavens.
“You whelps… just you wait…”

The voice was heavy with malice.
“After her!”
Zhao Wen barked, swiftly casting a tracking talisman.
Buzz!
The talisman shattered as soon as it flew into the air.
“There’s a barrier.”
I frowned.
“Follow me…”
Xiyue stepped forward, white robes billowing.
I hurried to sheathe the Sword of All Beings, and with a gesture, swept the skeletal remains into the Diagram of Bloodslaughter.
Zhao Wen and I followed Xiyue for about a kilometer, until, in a desolate spot, we saw a figure standing in the distance.
It was a middle-aged man, his back hauntingly familiar. Beside him lay a body, hollowed out and empty. The corpse on the ground was none other than Li Hongbo.
Could it be…
As shock thundered through me, the man turned.
It was none other than Master Wuwang.
But now, his entire demeanor had changed. A blood-red point of light spun at his brow, then vanished into his body.
Clearly, Master Wuwang’s body had been overtaken by the crone who tended the grave.
“Not bad, not bad. Though it’s a step down, this body is still nearly a perfect corpse-fiend!”
“We must subdue this corpse-fiend at once, or all of Chengdu will know no peace!”
Zhao Wen moved without warning, stepping forward as talismans whirled around him. I saw again, on his palm, that ancient, broken character…