Chapter 41: White Bones
When Zhou Hao saw Li Yue’er produce the Exorcism Talisman, he quickly hid in the darkness.
In fact, he had sensed them the moment Li Yue’er and her two companions set foot in Black Tiger Stream.
When the tall young man first barged in, he had planned to make a move.
However, he noticed that the tall young man was holding a Peach Wood Sword and had a Black Dog by his side.
Zhou Hao had been severely injured by that Cultivator yesterday, his strength greatly diminished. He worried that if he attacked the tall young man, he would be hurt by the Black Dog.
Immediately after, Li Yue’er and her companion came in.
’Compared to the tall young man, Li Yue’er and her companion look like much easier targets!’
Just as he was about to succeed, Li Yue’er sensed something was wrong and unleashed the Exorcism Talisman.
He could only avoid its power and wait for an opportunity to strike.
Just then, Zhou Hao noticed that the tall young man seemed utterly terrified, huddled in a corner, clutching the Peach Wood Sword with both hands and trembling uncontrollably.
The Black Dog had actually left him, turning instead to protect Li Yue’er and her companion.
’A rare opportunity!’
Zhou Hao immediately turned and headed for the tall young man.
’First, I’ll devour and refine this person’s Yin Spirit to recover some of my strength.’
’Once the light from the Exorcism Talisman fades, the two remaining women will be no threat. They’ll all become my food!’
Zhou Hao cast the Illusion Realm once more, shrouding the tall young man as he approached step by step.
"Daoist Li!"
Seeing him approach, the tall young man looked overjoyed and quickly called out.
’That’s right.’
In the young man’s eyes, he should only be seeing ’Li Yue’er’ walking towards him.
"Daoist Li, you’re finally here! You scared me to death."
The tall young man looked relieved, clutching the Peach Wood Sword in his left hand while patting his chest with his right. He was clearly badly shaken.
"It’s all right now. I’ve already killed the evil spirit. Let’s leave quickly; Xiaodie is still waiting outside."
"That’s good, that’s good."
The tall young man nodded repeatedly.
The two of them drew closer and closer.
The Ghost Fire on Zhou Hao’s body was already touching the tall young man!
A sinister smile crept across Zhou Hao’s face.
’The young man won’t see any Ghost Fire. He’ll just feel a chill run down his spine.’
’By the time he realizes what’s happening, Yin Qi will have invaded his body and penetrated his organs, the Ghost Fire will be burning away his vitality, and it will all be too late.’
Suddenly!
Without any warning, the tall young man raised his sword and swung it down at him!
They were too close.
Moreover, Zhou Hao was completely defenseless; he never expected the tall young man to suddenly attack him.
In that moment of stunned surprise, the Peach Wood Sword sliced down, cutting his Soul Body diagonally in two!
Fortunately, the Magic Ban on this Peach Wood Sword had failed, and it no longer held any Magical Power.
Otherwise, that single strike could have annihilated him!
Even so, Zhou Hao’s Soul Body dimmed considerably.
The Yang Qi contained within the Centennial Peach Wood had inflicted no small amount of damage on his Yin Soul!
’How is this possible?’
’How could he have sensed my presence?’
Wounded by the sword strike, Zhou Hao was stunned and couldn’t process what had happened for a moment.
While he was still stunned, the tall young man, having delivered the sword strike, used the right hand that had been patting his chest to suddenly pull a paper packet from his robes and fling its contents at him.
A cloud of Cinnabar rushed towards him, landing on his Soul Body.
The already faint Ghost Fire was completely extinguished!
"AHHH!"
Zhou Hao felt searing pain all over his Soul Body and couldn’t help but let out a wretched scream.
’Wait a minute!’
’This move... why does it seem so familiar?’
’I remember now... the night before last, a masked man used this exact trick. A sword strike first, followed by a handful of dust.’
Just as Zhou Hao was about to flee, an eerie light suddenly flared from the man’s chest, enveloping him completely.
"It’s you!"
Zhou Hao was horrified.
It was only when the dark abyss that had struck terror into his heart manifested on the man’s chest that he realized the person before him was the masked man from two nights ago!
Although the Daoist had severely injured him last night, the hidden thing in the masked man’s chest from two nights ago was far more terrifying to him!
It was a fear that stemmed from the very depths of his soul, one that was impossible to resist.
A mere wisp of aura from that dark abyss was enough to make his Soul Body tremble and his very being quake with fear!
That night, after killing over a hundred members of the Zhou Family, he had fled Liuxi Town with no intention of ever returning.
It was precisely because he was terrified of running into that masked man again.
He never imagined the man would actually track him down!
The panic and fear the man had just shown—it was all an act!
Zhou Hao wanted to struggle free from the eerie light’s envelopment, but he was no longer in control of his own movements.
At full strength, he might have been able to escape.
But now, he had first been severely wounded by the Daoist.
Then, he was ambushed with the Peach Wood Sword and Cinnabar, leaving his Soul Body with barely any power. He was completely unable to resist.
Overcome with terror, Zhou Hao could only watch helplessly as he was pulled closer and closer to the dark abyss.
In the blink of an eye, he was reduced to a wisp of a Yin Soul, which was drawn into the abyss and vanished without a trace.
Lu Bai let out a sigh of relief, his face alight with excitement.
’I’ve got the Soul Light!’
’And it’s a higher-grade Soul Light than one from an ordinary Yin Soul!’
’This time, I can try to restore the Celestial Tier Technique, the "Mountain Monarch Bone Forging Technique," to an Ultimate Skill!’
’There’s no rush. I’ll find a chance to get away from Xiaodie and Li Yue’er before I cultivate.’
Furthermore, when Lu Bai had just activated the Ancient Mirror to release its eerie light, he had faintly seen a flash of gold from a corner not far away.
Lu Bai took out his flint and steel, gently blew it to life, and walked in that direction.
After a few steps, he reached the end of the cave.
There, two skeletons stood facing each other. The one on the left wore a long robe, while the one on the right was draped in a Kasaya.
The left skeleton’s palm rested on the right one’s head, its skull shattered by the blow.
The right skeleton held a metal weapon. It was golden all over, with a round, segmented grip in the center. Symmetrical, three-edged pyramidal points extended from both ends, as sharp as spearheads, giving it a fierce and aggressive appearance.
The golden light he had glimpsed earlier must have come from this pestle-like weapon.
Weapons of this type mostly originate from the Buddhist Sect.
The weapon was currently piercing the chest of the left skeleton, having almost run it completely through.
Lu Bai used his Peach Wood Sword to lightly touch the robes on one of the skeletons.
WHOOSH!
Upon contact with an outside force, the robe and Kasaya on the two bodies instantly disintegrated into ash, drifting down to reveal the bare skeletons beneath, devoid of any flesh or blood.
THUD!
A fist-sized cloth pouch fell from the left skeleton.
Though the clothes on both bodies had turned to dust, this small pouch looked perfectly preserved, if a bit worn with age.
A thought struck Lu Bai.
He suddenly recalled that Li Yue’er had a similar pouch hanging from her waist.
’The legendary Storage Pouch?’
Lu Bai crouched down and, out of caution, first prodded the pouch a couple of times with his Peach Wood Sword.
Seeing no reaction, he finally picked it up, blew off the dust, and tucked it inside his shirt.
’I wonder what this person’s status and Realm were when they were alive.’
’Still, a Cultivator’s Storage Pouch usually has plenty of good stuff inside.’
’I’ll just take it for now.’
Just then, a sheet of golden paper slowly drifted down from the right skeleton.
It seemed to have writing on it.
Lu Bai picked it up and gave it a quick look.
The script on it was bizarrely shaped, completely different from the writing of the Wu Dynasty. He couldn’t recognize a single word.
’I’ll take this too.’
’Everything else on their bodies turned to dust, but this sheet of golden paper is still in perfect condition. It can’t be an ordinary item.’
He had no idea how long the two bodies had been here. Their flesh had long since decayed, and the pestle-like weapon was lodged in the left skeleton’s sternum.
Lu Bai brought the flame a little closer.
On the pestle-like weapon, four small words were inscribed: Vajra Demon-Slaying Pestle!