Chapter 219

"Heavenly Emperor, Earthly Emperor, unleash thousands of catties and myriad ghosts, hard to defend against..." Wu Fei moved swiftly, but my reaction was no slower; as that nameless evil ghost lunged at me, I had already activated the Thousand Catties Weight incantation.

Thousand Catties Bind Ghost, soul flies and spirit scatters. This technique is a Daoist Sect martial art, also the famed signature skill of Master Yu Tai Zu Shi; its power can be imagined. After many days of cultivation, the Thousand Catties Method shines forth again at this moment.

The flower character was pressed onto the evil brute's forehead; he instantly howled and flew backward. Then, under Wu Fei's astonished gaze, like a wall long exposed to wind and rain, beginning to rot, his body began to crumble piece by piece like damaged bricks, finally unable to withstand the pressure, turning into fragments.

While Wu Fei was still dazed, I sprinted forward, dragging my legs on the ground, about to draw a talisman circle to encircle these ghosts. But Wu Fei's reaction was no slower; almost as I was about to finish drawing the formation circle, he waved his command flag and swiftly summoned back the remaining troops.

"The famed signature skill of the Yu lineage—I really underestimated you." Wu Fei looked at me, the corner of his mouth curling into an arc, laughing bewilderedly: "But even if you know the Thousand Catties Weight, so what? You'll still die the same."

"Not necessarily… perhaps it's you who will die!" I returned a cold sneer, preparing to overlay a flower character on my palm to enhance the Thousand Catties Martial Art's power, then in one breath annihilate this Wu Fei.

But just as I raised my palm, I quickly sensed something amiss. My hand, indeed my entire body, could not move. It seemed like an instant, as if a tendon somewhere in my body had been plucked, then my whole body began to go numb, like an immobilized stake, even my toes unable to budge.

I stared at Wu Fei in astonishment, my eyes filled with undisguisable shock. I wanted to speak, but found my mouth unable to move; I could only wriggle my tongue inside my mouth, producing only uh-uh ah-ah sounds.

"Quite surprised, huh?" Wu Fei's gaze was cold and grim as he stepped toward me one step at a time. He looked at the command flag at my waist, his eyes full of contempt: "A command flag will always be just a command flag; it can never compare to the Slaughter God Flag."

Wu Fei's arrogant demeanor made me want to stomp him into the ground and ravage him, but I, in my current state, could not move at all. The only thing I could feel was numbness, like when one sits too long and the legs start to sore, numb, and cramp.

Why on earth is this happening? In my memory, there seems to be no such technique; even the Immobilizing Root Method cannot silently curse a person to immobilize them.

I racked my brains to no avail, while Wu Fei seemed to see through my doubt. Under my doubtful gaze, he gave a half-contemptuous, half-regretful light laugh: "You're strange, wondering when you were hit by the technique, and when I cast the curse."

Although I couldn't speak, the longing in my eyes already revealed my urgency. Perhaps Wu Fei understood my gaze; not long after, he chuckled and told me, this is one of the marvelous uses of the Slaughter God Flag. He sneered at me: "How shameful that you, as the inheritor of both Yin Mountain lineages, don't even know this marvelous trick of the Slaughter God Flag."

He swayed the black-and-white dual Slaughter Flags, his eyes blazing with barely concealed fervor. At first I was also puzzled, but when I saw the two figurine patterns on the Slaughter God Flag, especially those eerie eyes on the figurines, I began to understand a little.

Those two eyes must be the cause of my immobilization. The Yin Mountain's Soul Capturing Method confuses people with the eyes. If no accident, Wu Fei had already drawn a similar soul-capturing technique onto the Slaughter God Flag; in battle, unexpectedly, he could cast a curse through the flag. Such a technique needs no preparation or chanting; it can afflict someone silently, leaving no defense. Who would think that the weapon held by the opponent bears a spell inscribed upon it?

Wu Fei now acted like a lunatic, berating me to my face one moment, then like a madman crying and laughing the next. I couldn't make out his exact words, because at this moment I was racking my brains for a strategy to escape.

Alright, after talking this long, it's time to do something. As fellow disciples, I'll try to let you die swiftly. Wu Fei sighed, raised his palm, preparing to strike my crown. I gritted my teeth, mustered all my strength, but no matter how hard I tried, everything was in vain. I could only watch helplessly as his palm slowly approached me; the shadow of death once again shrouded my heart. At this moment, I once again set foot into the Gates of Hell.

"Stop!" just as Wu Fei's palm was less than a centimeter from my crown, a loud shout suddenly came from the air. My heart leapt with joy, I opened my tightly shut eyes. That voice was very familiar to me—it was QingSongShu.

Wu Fei furrowed his brows, turned toward the source of the sound. QingSongShu was still some distance away, merely running toward us, but Wu Fei hesitated not, waving the Slaughter God Flag to summon two evil ghosts to lunge at QingSongShu.

Due to the angle, I couldn't clearly see QingSongShu's battle against those two evil ghosts. Yet even stiff as I was, I heard the ghosts' howls. At the same time, Wu Fei standing before me showed extreme astonishment; almost instantly, he unhesitatingly retracted his command flag and swiftly stepped back. As he retreated, he rapidly formed the Seal Finger signs and chanted the incantation.

I recognized the Seal Finger signs he was making—this is the hand seal for commanding and dispatching the Five Ghosts of the Funeral Pall. What is Wu Fei doing? I was puzzled, but soon I had the answer.

A thunderous boom came from behind, like a heavy object striking. Wu Fei vanished from my peripheral vision in that instant, disappearing without a trace.

Although my body was paralyzed and I couldn't see behind me, through inference I guessed that Wu Fei was abandoning the cart to save the commander, using the moment the silver coffin struck QingSongShu to make his escape.

About half a minute after the boom, I saw QingSongShu's tense face. He chanted the divine decree, patted my body, and released the immobilization spell.

I drew a deep breath, my body went limp, and QingSongShu instinctively grabbed me to steady him, asking, "Are you alright?"

I shook my head, said I was fine. Then I looked toward the direction Wu Fei fled and told QingSongShu: "Uncle, that scrawny kid just now is also a disciple of Yin Mountain; he intended to lure the earth dragon to destroy the Yang family's ancestral feng shui grounds. Moreover, this Wu Fei kid is not the mastermind; he's merely a pawn following orders."

QingSongShu grunted, solemn: "Looks like those who intend harm to the Yang family are no simple matter. By the way, Xiaoqiang—why isn't he with you?"

QingSongShu looked at me, asking where Xiaoqiang had gone. Only then did I suddenly recall that Pangzi was still sparring with Han Duo's little girl. I hurriedly led QingSongShu to run over there.

After taking half a step, I turned back anxiously to ask QingSongShu: "Uncle, if we two leave, will anyone else come to destroy the Yang family's ancestral grave?"

That's right, you stay here to guard! I'll go check. QingSongShu prepared to go alone.

I waved my hand and said: "Forget it, uncle, you stay here. I know the way; I'll go help Pangzi." After saying that, he took his command flag and ran toward Pangzi and Han Duo's direction.

I had thought Pangzi and Han Duo were still engaged in a fierce fight, but when I arrived, all I saw was Pangzi sitting on a large stone, head dusty and face grim, his clothes torn in several places, as if scorched by fire.

Pangzi's condition puzzled me; logically, as a fire-play expert, if anyone were to burn, it should be him burning Han Duo, so how did he end up on fire himself?

Upon my question, Pangzi replied with a mournful face: "Forget it—Han Duo is too crafty; I just carelessly threw a fire, and that's how it turned out like this."

I was shocked—could Han Duo possess a fire-restraining technique, or perhaps a treasure that counters fire?

Pangzi sighed, pursed his lips, and said: "She doesn't play with fire, and fire actually restrains her."

"Then how did you get burned like this? I don't feel like you set fire to Han Duo; it seems more like Han Duo set fire to you." I asked, bewildered.

Pangzi said with a bitter face: "It's not because this is a forest, damn it—Han Duo lured me into throwing a fire talisman; she cunningly dodged, and that fire talisman burned on the ground, of course it ignited."

"Well… the fire, how did you put it out?" I glanced around Pangzi's vicinity, seeming to lack any firefighting tools.

Pangzi sighed, his gaze deepening: "What else can be done? Just throw yourself onto the fire and rub it hard."

I instantly understood, looking at the obvious burn holes on Pangzi's body and the patches of dark, grimy skin; I gave him a "I get your look." One can imagine: Pangzi flung out a fire talisman, which unintentionally ignited on the forest floor; he lunged onto the fire, rubbing it hard. This scene shows how hard Pangzi worked, and yet how comical it is…!

I suppressed my laughter and told Pangzi: "Let's go, QingSongShu is here too; I'll go down the mountain with you."

Pangzi rolled his eyes: "Want to laugh, huh? Go ahead and laugh. Anyway, I've got Xiaoqiang's heart in this life, destined to suffer endless hardship."

This time I couldn't help but burst into loud laughter. After laughing my fill, I joked with him a few more sentences, then stepped forward to help him up and walked down the mountain.

"Guess what I saw when I returned to the Yang family mausoleum?"

Pangzi glared at me irritably: "What did you see? If it wasn't a person, could it be a ghost?"

I……, you guessed right—it's indeed a ghost, and also a fellow disciple of Yin Mountain.

On the way, I recounted to Pangzi the whole process of seeing Wu Fei; after finishing, we had also reached the foot of the mountain and returned before the Yang family ancestral tomb.

That night, Pangzi, QingSongShu, and I kept vigil before the Yang family ancestral tomb until dawn the next day, when we saw nothing unusual happening, and only then did we leave the tomb.