Chapter 61

Behind Pangzi stood over ten figures clad in red Daoist robes. Though they looked no different from ordinary people, I knew they, like Fan Tiansheng, were all Yin Masters. Only Fan Tiansheng's group were from my Yin Mountain Sect, while the Yin Masters behind Pangzi belonged to the Radiant Light Sect.

What Pangzi summoned must surely be my helpers, no need to ask. However, what frightens me is this group of helpers, because they are Yin Masters of the Radiant Light Sect.

The Yin Mountain Sect and the Radiant Light Sect, one emphasizes yang, the other yin; their magical arts and divine abilities are innately mutually restrictive. Before the 1970s, the two sects often clashed; the Daoists of Radiant Light and Yin Mountain were like fire and water, meeting meant a fight to the death. Who would have thought that the Yin Masters Pangzi brought and the ones I invited would turn out to be enemies or friends?

No need for me to guess; in the next minute, the Yin Masters of both sects gave me the answer with their actions.

"Fan Tiansheng, you son of a bitch!"

"Zhong Renhai, do you still remember Tang Fei of Yin Mountain?"

After exchanging a round of insults, in less than a minute the Great Harmony Hall became a battlefield again. Only the opposing sides had changed: from a clash between Longfeng Hall and the Yin Mountain Sect to a melee between the Radiant Light Sect and Yin Mountain.

Seeing the Yin Masters of both sects go to war, Pangzi froze on the spot, at a loss. As a Yin wind command was hurled toward him, I quickly grabbed him and dragged him under a table to escape the chaotic battlefield.

"Holy shit, Hai Sheng, what the hell is going on?" Pangzi stared at the melee in the field and asked me in astonishment.

I glared at him angrily and said, "How dare you say that, not knowing that the Yin Mountain Sect and your Radiant Light Sect have been mortal enemies, just like Mao Mountain and Lushan?"

Pangzi scratched his head, puzzled, and said, "I didn't know you'd summoned Yin Masters either; I originally wanted to settle this trouble for you in advance, give that damned Fox Immortal a lesson, so he wouldn't dare look down on your Yin Mountain Sect."

Pangzi muttered to himself in a low voice, his tone tinged with self-reproach.

"Settle it for me in advance, so I don't have to go through all this trouble?"

Pangzi's offhand mutter made my heart swell with a mix of emotions, and my heartstrings trembled again at those words.

Looking at his chubby face, I suddenly felt moved and wanted to cry. If I hadn't invited the masters today, it would have been Pangzi who came. If the Yin Masters Pangzi summoned could defeat the Outrider Hall, that would be good; if they couldn't, Pangzi's fate…

I dare not think further; I want to cry, yet my heart also feels genuine happiness for having such a brother.

"Damn, don't just stand there, tell me what to do now!" Pangzi shoved me hard, pulling me out of my daze.

Having come to my senses, I shook my head and tucked away that sentimental feeling. Some things are best remembered; some favors must never be forgotten. But there's no need to speak them aloud—doing so only makes one appear affected.

I forced a wry smile and said, "What can we do? Just let it be; we'll talk after they finish fighting."

"Makes sense. You keep an eye on the situation; if your Yin Mountain Sect's Yin Masters win, remember to protect me. If the Radiant Light Sect's ancestral master wins, I'll drag you out and give you a beating just for show." Pangzi's bulky frame shrank further under the table.

I… why would I protect you if Yin Mountain wins, but you'd beat me if Radiant Light wins?

In fact, Pangzi is just that kind of person—sometimes moving, sometimes making you want to beat him up. Besides those two feelings, there's another: a speechless defiance of common sense… for example

"Hey, want an egg? Here's one." At that moment, Pangzi pulled an egg from a small packet and handed it to me.

"This… isn't appropriate!"

"If you don't want it, I'll eat it." Having said that, Pangzi stuffed the egg into his mouth, finished it, then pulled out a bun and siu mai, wolfing them down while mumbling indistinctly, "Delicious, delicious."

Finally, I couldn't resist either; having gone two days without food, my reason couldn't withstand the protests of my five viscera, so I simply grabbed a bun and stuffed it into my mouth.

The ancestral masters of the two sects fought to the death in the hall, while their disciples hid under the table sneaking buns—however you look at it, they seem heartless. But whatever; this big bunch of "old fogeys" won't listen to our advice, and they'll naturally stop once they're tired from fighting.

Wolfing down the bun, I suddenly felt a bad premonition flash across my heart. Then the surrounding air seemed to solidify in an instant, even the wind fell silent, making it hard to catch my breath.

"Uh-oh… Pangzi, quickly tell your Radiant Light Sect Yin Masters to leave, hurry!" I anxiously grabbed Pangzi and shouted, "Hurry up, if you don't go now you'll be too late!"

"What's the fuss? Your Yin Mountain Sect's Yin Masters are formidable, and ours aren't pushovers either—let them fight." Pangzi took a big bite of the bun, still unaware that disaster was imminent.

"Go… if you don't go now, you'll be too late." I hurriedly pulled him, trying to drag him out.

But I was ultimately a step too late. In the span of a single breath, a chant echoed in the hall—green, red, yellow, white, black—the Five Directions Five Ghosts lifted a bronze coffin, which appeared in the middle of the hall.

After the bronze coffin appeared, the hall fell silent to the point where a pin drop could be heard; the fighting Yin Masters all stopped. It wasn't that they didn't want to move, but nobody could. The air seemed to condense into a thousand‑jin weight, pressing on every body—moving a finger was impossible, even breathing felt difficult.

This overwhelming pressure was clearly that of the Bronze Coffin Master Ancestor; only he could possess such an aura. The moment the air solidified, I guessed it was him, but I never imagined he would arrive so swiftly—so fast that I couldn't even get Pangzi to take the Radiant Light Sect's Yin Masters away.

"Damn…" Though I couldn't move, I was now extremely anxious. Although the Radiant Light and Yin Mountain sects have long harbored grudges, these Yin Masters were brothers I'd summoned to help me; no matter what, I couldn't let them come to harm. Moreover, my brother is from the Radiant Light Sect; if the Bronze Coffin Master Ancestor blames them, collateral damage could strike—what would I do if even my brother wanted to kill them?

I couldn't just sit and wait for death; instantly I bit my tongue, letting the pain stimulate my brain nerves to shake off that oppression.

I barely managed to struggle out from under the table.

"Bronze Coffin Master Ancestor, please show mercy and spare them—these Radiant Light Sect Yin Masters were summoned by my brother to help me, acting purely out of goodwill; I beg you to let them go, don't make things difficult for them." I knelt before the Bronze Coffin Master Ancestor and pleaded earnestly.

After I spoke those words, the air fell silent again; nobody dared to take a breath. Even without lifting a hand, I could be absolutely certain that everyone here combined could not withstand a single round from the Bronze Coffin Master Ancestor.

After a long while, a voice finally drifted out from within the bronze coffin.

"Have your brother come out to see me?"

As soon as the Bronze Coffin Master Ancestor spoke, the pressure on everyone eased instantly, and they involuntarily exhaled. The Yin Mountain Sect's Yin Masters retreated neatly to the side, while the Radiant Light Sect's Yin Masters also gathered together, cautiously on guard.

With a gurgling sound, a ball‑like object rolled out from under the table, drawing everyone's gaze.

Pangzi's manner of appearing left me thunderstruck, my eyes and mouth askew; moreover, after standing up he showed no awareness of having just made a fool of himself, instead he nonchalantly patted his sleeves, bit into a large bun, and mumbled to the Bronze Coffin Master Ancestor, "Coffin‑grandpa, uh… I'm Hai Sheng's brother."

I was so embarrassed I wanted to find a crack to crawl into; you say you, just speak properly—yet you're biting into a bun like a starving ghost.

Unexpectedly, Pangzi's appearance instead made the Bronze Coffin Master Ancestor chuckle, and he asked Pangzi

"As the Master, I ask you: as a disciple of the Radiant Light Sect, why are you helping a disciple of my Yin Mountain Sect? Don't you think my Yin Mountain Sect is evil?"

Faced with the Bronze Coffin Master Ancestor's question, Pangzi simply answered bluntly: "I don't care about orthodox or heterodox; I only know that Hai Sheng is my brother, and when a brother is in trouble I must help."

After Pangzi finished speaking, the Bronze Coffin Master Ancestor did not continue questioning. After a moment of silence, he then said

"Take your Radiant Light Sect Yin Masters and leave; this time the grudge is between my Yin Mountain Sect and the Outrider Immortal Hall—no need for you to interfere."

Although he didn't blame them, his aura still carried an overbearing presence that made one dare not defy him.

Pangzi let out an "oh" and said, "Thanks, Coffin‑grandpa."

He then ran to my ear and muttered softly, "With such a formidable person around, I reckon Longfeng Hall is doomed. Take it easy, don't create too much killing karma—I'll take the Yin Masters and leave first."

Having said that, he led the Radiant Light Sect's Yin Masters out of the courtyard of Longfeng Hall.

Before leaving, the Yin Masters of both sects couldn't help but hurl a couple of insults at each other, scoring points in verbal sparring.

After the Radiant Light Sect's Yin Masters left the courtyard, the Five Directions Ghost Kings lifted the Bronze Coffin Master Ancestor and approached the remaining Outrider Immortal households.

The leading yellow weasel was already ashen‑faced, devoid of any immortal aura.

"Wait, Master Chen, the one who snatched the Cat Immortal is me, and the one who clashed with you is also me. A true man takes responsibility for his own actions—if you want to kill, kill me, Fang Xin, alone; don't trouble the other immortals of the Great Harmony Hall." Under everyone's gaze, Fang Xin stepped forward, chest out, bearing the solemn grandeur of a man ready to die for his duty.

"You can't bear this responsibility." I shook my head and said, "It's your Great Harmony Hall that has been overbearing, trying to exterminate my Yin Mountain lineage; to protect myself I had to strike first."

Fang Xin looked at me in surprise and asked, "Master Chen, where did you get that idea? Our Longfeng Hall people have never said such a thing."

I gave a self‑mocking laugh and spoke loudly: "But I heard this sentence from the mouths of your Great Unity Hall's immortals—do you dare say nobody has ever said it?"

As I spoke on, my tone grew colder and colder.

"Enough nonsense, let's fight." The Bronze Coffin Master Ancestor spoke again; this sentence was like a doomsday judgment, condemning this group of Great Unity Hall immortals to death with no reprieve.

Fan Tiansheng drew a flower‑like character on his hand and, step by step, approached the remaining horse‑riding immortals, ready to carry out the Bronze Coffin Master Ancestor's order.

However, just as he was approaching this group of horse‑riding immortals that were like trapped beasts, Fan Tiansheng stopped.

The reason was simple—something else had happened outside the door.

"Three planks make one layer of heaven; part the clouds and mist to see the blue sky, hey…."

This ballad had a strong Northeastern accent; although I didn't know what he meant by singing those words, from the ballad I guessed the answer: "Three planks make one layer of heaven; part the clouds and mist to see the blue sky" refers to a coffin.

Everyone turned their gaze toward the door, and the originally collapsed yellow‑skinned creature's ashen eyes rekindled with light.

"The Founder of the Clear Wind Sect, the Sect Leader has come!" his shoulders shook, his expression excited. Not only him—after this ballad appeared, the previously listless horse‑riding immortals all rekindled hope in their eyes, stood up one by one, and looked eagerly toward the door.

I furrowed my brows—could it really be the Clear Wind Grandmaster of the Dragon and Phoenix Hall arriving?

Among the Northeastern horse‑riding immortals, there is also a kind of immortal little known to people, whose status is no less than that of the Hu, Huang, Chang, and Python immortals; this immortal is called the ghost immortal, and Clear Wind is the patriarch of the ghost immortals.

I turned my gaze toward the door, and an elderly figure walked toward me, singing a ballad as she slowly advanced, her left hand holding a large water vat, her right hand holding a large bowl, sprinkling water as she walked.

Behind the elderly person, two old women stood on her left; both were immortals of the spirit hall, invisible to ordinary people.

One of them was none other than Grandma Hu, who had fought me for the cat immortal in the forest; beside her trod a large gray rat, which I instantly recognized as the very rat that Pangzi had caught in the ancient castle—he had told me that Grandma Hu had sworn to destroy the lineage of my Yin‑Shan Sect.

Seeing the two of them, I felt a surge of violent rage well up in my chest; I immediately charged forward, shouting as I went, "You bastard, pay for Qingqing's life with your own!"

As soon as I saw this Hu immortal, I thought of the cat immortal, then of the deceased Qingqing; my anger clouded my reason, and I instinctively blamed her death on this Hu immortal, regarding him as the murderer.

"Stand still." Fan Tiansheng grabbed me from behind and pulled me back.

I turned around, looking at him in astonishment, not understanding what he meant by doing this. Could it be that the reputation of Clear Wind is so great it has stunned him?

In that moment of pause, this procession also slowly entered the Hall of the Horse‑Riding Immortals.

However, when I saw the two figures being guarded by the horse‑riding immortals behind the elderly person, I couldn't help but be greatly startled.