Chapter 49: Chapter Forty-Nine: Taiyi Taiyi Fenghuo

The white-robed man acted without a second word, clearly furious from his earlier oversight, which also proved he did not recognize Gu Zhao and the others.

The elderly man in brocade relaxed, tucked his sleeves, stepped back two paces, and watched the situation unfold.

Yet seeing Daoist Yan Song purse his lips into a whistle and blow out a gale, his eye twitched; he scrutinized the group closely. "Not ghosts or spirits—either a mage or a demon?"

The wind blown by Daoist Yan Song contained spiritual energy; like sandpaper, it ground the ghostly mist to dust, scattering it so it could no longer gather. In just two breaths, the mist inside and outside the ancestral hall cleared completely.

The white-robed man's expression changed; he finally saw Bai Ke on the embroiderer's shoulder. "It is you, little fox?"

"It is me!" Bai Ke humanely stuck out her tongue. "Surprised? Unexpected?"

"Last time I failed to keep you, yet you dare seek help. Do you think this can kill me?" The white-robed man glared at Bai Ke, his right hand's five fingers curling inward tightly, yet unable to close fully.

"Die!" Seeing the ghostly mist could not harm Daoist Yan Song, the white-robed man leaped forward, ten black nails three feet long instantly extending from his fingers, clawing at Daoist Yan Song's face and chest.

Though attacking the face and chest, the white-robed man's eyes never left Daoist Yan Song's waist, for hanging there was a long sword with a brass pommel and a handle wrapped in green silk.

Yet before he could wait for Daoist Yan Song to draw the sword, he suddenly felt a wave of heat.

Instinctively looking up, the white-robed man saw the old man opposite had changed his face again; now the face was red as a base, cheeks gilded like fire, with an eye in the brow, radiating a fierce momentum.

At the same time, a ball of flame erupted from his mouth, mixed with a gale, instantly forming a wave; wind and fire intertwined, blowing straight at him head-on.

His nails had barely touched the wind and fire when black smoke rose from their tips, then the nails began to twist and deform, as if being melted by the flames.

The white-robed man recoiled in terror, his steps faltering; his body twisted as he retreated, yet still could not escape the blowing wind and fire, so he had to summon his entire body of chilling ghostly qi to resist.

"What fire is this?" the white-robed man cried out in shock.

He had been targeted by flames from those who mistakenly entered this place before; ordinary flames could injure him, but never gave him such a terrifying sensation of being melted away.

Seeing his spell unleash its full power, Daoist Yan Song was greatly cheered and delighted; hearing the white-robed man's question, he stroked his beard, adopting the demeanor of a master. "Just a bit of Taiyi Taiyi Fenghuo. My apologies, my apologies."

Daoist Yan Song cultivated the Quanzhen Longmen School classic "Great Elixir Directives" and also practiced the ancient Qingcheng technique, the "Fire Palace Secret Method." Kidney water generates green wood; green wood generates wind; wind fuels the fire's momentum; wind and fire emerge together. The scriptures of the two schools combined seamlessly, doubling the power.

Moreover, Daoist Yan Song had cultivated for over fifty years; his true qi and magic power were even deeper than Gu Zhao's, who had just received a cheat. With a full internal breath, he spat out Taiyi Taiyi Fenghuo without pause, not even affecting his spellcasting while speaking.

Gu Zhao could not figure out how Daoist Yan Song managed to speak while spitting fire.

Seeing the doubt in Gu Zhao's eyes, Daoist Yan Song said proudly, "An old Daoist can watch a phone while striking a chime; what's so hard about speaking while spitting fire?"

Gu Zhao retorted, "The wind is too strong, the fire too fierce; it shows your liver is overactive and your heart restless. You should drink more chrysanthemum tea."

Daoist Yan Song glanced sideways at Gu Zhao. "Drinking chrysanthemum tea to reduce fire—is that how you solve your own problems?"

Gu Zhao, "..."

While Daoist Yan Song and Gu Zhao joked on this side, it did not affect their casting of Taiyi Taiyi Fenghuo at all; a tornado surrounded the white-robed man in the center of the ancestral hall, the wind carrying flames that trapped him firmly. The white-robed man tried several times to break out, but all failed.

Seeing that Daoist Yan Song's Taiyi Taiyi Fenghuo only trapped the white-robed man inside, the elderly man in brocade, though not far from the battlefield, felt only a slight breeze and warmth, with not a single spark drifting toward him; his eyes grew even more solemn.

Just then, inside the Taiyi tornado of wind and fire, the white-robed man's furious roar erupted. "Open for me!"

"Boom!"

Ghostly qi whirled wildly; a white figure burst through the Taiyi Taiyi Fenghuo, which had formed a tornado, and landed beside the elderly man in brocade.

But the white-robed man's appearance was far from good; his originally green-and-white face was now somewhat blackened, clothes disheveled, hair strands flying, making him look utterly wretched, his ghostly qi unstable and turbulent.

"Quickly give me the Blood Spirit Pearl!" the white-robed man looked at the elderly man in brocade. "I promise you!"

The elderly man in brocade raised an eyebrow, yet did not speak immediately.

"Give me the Blood Spirit Pearl to replenish the last trace of vitality in my Red Fiery Corpse!" the white-robed man turned to Daoist Yan Song, speaking with a sinister voice. "Once my Red Fiery Corpse is fully completed, none of them will be my match. I will tear them into fragments, devour their souls, and ensure they never achieve rebirth!"

Seeing the elderly man in brocade seemed hesitant, the white-robed man added one final sentence. "That white fox is a Spirit Lord; she is not of your kind."

At the same time, Bai Ke heard their conversation and said, "The Blood Spirit Pearl is a treasure refined from the blood of living humans; this old man is no good person either!"

Hearing this, Daoist Yan Song ceased testing his control and precision over the Taiyi Taiyi Fenghuo; instead, he pursed his lips into a whistle, and a gale of raging fire blew fiercely at the white-robed man.

Yet at this moment, the white-robed man and the elderly man in brocade were too close; the elderly man in brocade merely raised his hand and waved, and a blood-colored pearl flew from his sleeve, dropping straight into the white-robed man's hand.

The moment the pearl appeared, a thick scent of blood filled the ancestral hall; the blood qi churned within, as if still carrying a trace of vitality.

Holding the Blood Spirit Pearl, the white-robed man looked at Daoist Yan Song and sneered, "Old fellow, wait a moment; when I..."

"Thunder chases thunder; heaven and earth become the eye. Righteous qi from eight directions; lightning flashes."

"Boom!"

Purple light flashed; lightning arrived in an instant, striking the white-robed man in the blink of an eye.

At this moment, the white-robed man had just fully unleashed his power, breaking free from the tornado of wind and fire; not only was his appearance wretched, but he had also suffered serious injuries. Struck by Lei Ting without any protection, his entire body nearly scattered.

More importantly, his whole body shook violently, and the Blood Spirit Pearl in his hand flew out involuntarily.

"Heavenly Net spreads wide, densely covering all four directions; capturing evil spirits; ghosts cannot escape their form."

A single spark flew forth, instantly landing on the body of the Blood Spirit Pearl, then suddenly transforming into a net of fire that enveloped the pearl.

"Seize!"

Gu Zhao flicked his sword finger; the fire net binding the Blood Spirit Pearl into a spherical shape flew toward him.

"No!" the white-robed man shrieked in agony.

The elderly man in brocade's expression changed; he reached out and grabbed, his right hand swelling seven feet, seizing the fire net that was pulling the Blood Spirit Pearl back.

"Hiss—"

Black smoke rose; the elderly man in brocade immediately recoiled in pain; a tuft of golden hair grew on the back of his hand, then rapidly faded. "What fire is this?"