Chapter 98: Thirty-three years later, the fellow disciples join forces to break the evil spell! She...saw it...

Celestial Master He Xun, at this moment, felt his scalp tingling with waves of numbness.

It wasn't that he wouldn't help with this matter.

He had already made it very clear earlier that he would definitely help, even preventing the old man from asking the Patriarch.

But he was still worried.

What if the Patriarchs disagreed, what if they were displeased?

This junior brother of his was notoriously stubborn, willful and obstinate.

If he really did something the Patriarchs detested...

The result.

Good heavens!

Mother of mercy!

They all agreed! Not a single one disagreed!

The Blade and Soldier Aspect manifested by the incense, its killing intent was practically condensing into something tangible!

Well, this was just great.

Now he, He Xun, had become the cowardly, hesitant bad guy?

He had become the only person in this "family" who had even considered *not* killing?

He was the outsider now!!

At the same time, having received the divine decree, the old man turned his head, grinned at Celestial Master He Xun outside the hall, and let out a "heh heh" laugh.

That smile held a trace of cunning and warmth.

The old man wasn't truly as he'd said with his words, unwilling to accept Celestial Master He Xun's goodwill.

What he intended to do was far too extreme.

He was a stubborn mule, had been since he was a kid.

Even if all the Patriarchs disagreed, he would still slaughter that Commanding Ghosts Liu Family to the last man!

If he said kill, then kill!

Otherwise, would Li Xiuye truly be destined for endless rebirths as pigs and dogs?

But this matter, if it dragged Senior Brother He Xun into it, and the Patriarchs vented their wrath on him too, that would be no good.

That's why he had to ask.

If the Patriarchs didn't permit it, then he would wade into this muddy water alone.

And now...

The old man's heart was blooming with joy.

Indeed~

The old saying was absolutely right~

Those who aren't of the same family, don't enter the same door!

Soon, the old man tidied up the ritual tools inside the hall, turned, and walked out. He looked at Celestial Master He Xun and said:

"Come on, let's find a place. I'll tell you about this Commanding Ghosts Liu Family business!"

Celestial Master He Xun swallowed back a bellyful of words, ultimately just giving a heavy, firm nod.

The two old men walked side by side, having just stepped out of the Sanqing Hall of Zhenlong Temple.

The clear, cold moonlight outside the hall spilled onto the bluestone slabs. In the silence of the late night, only the sound of their own footsteps could be heard.

Suddenly!!

A terrifying aura, indescribable in words, erupted with a deafening roar from the side hall in the backyard of Zhenlong Temple!!!

That aura was sinister and strange, yet refined to an extreme purity, carrying a sense of antiquity, nobility, even transcending the very concept of evil itself.

And faintly, there was also a trace of...

Something indescribable!

Its depth, even a current-era Celestial Master like He Xun, together with the old man, could not perceive in the slightest!

Celestial Master He Xun's entire body stiffened, not knowing what had happened.

But the old man slapped his thigh fiercely, knowing exactly what this situation was!

The evil curse on Gu Qingwan's forehead had been broken!!!

"Hurry!!"

The old man roared at Celestial Master He Xun.

"First, pacify the disciples in the temple! Don't let them approach the side hall!!"

Before his words even faded, he himself had transformed into a blur, darting like a streak of smoke towards the backyard!!

……

When Old Man Li Xiuye and Celestial Master He Xun were struck with soul-shaking terror by that terrifying aura that had erupted so abruptly.

Inside the side hall, the transformation had reached its peak!

Lu Yuan still had half an unchewed dumpling in his mouth, chopsticks pinched in his hand, his entire person staring dumbfoundedly upwards.

Not her soul body.

It was her physical body!

The entire coffin was standing upright, suspended in mid-air!

The coffin lid was open, and one could see Gu Qingwan "standing" inside the vertical coffin!

At the center of her forehead, that twisted, coiled, dark-colored evil curse seal, the color of dried bloodstains, was undergoing a silent and bizarre transformation.

No radiant light, no thunderous roar.

The edges of that seal were turning to ashes, inch by inch.

Not burning, not melting.

But the most thorough "annihilation."

As the evil curse seal vanished, an even more refined, more primal, and more soul-terrifying pressure slowly flowed out from the center of Gu Qingwan's forehead.

Initially fine as a hair, yet heavy as a thousand jun!

Within the side hall, all the fine dust in the cracks of the bluestone floor tiles, even the deeper Earth Vein yin energy.

All were stirred as if by an invisible force, spontaneously, silently floating upwards, bowing in worship towards Gu Qingwan's direction.

They congealed and shrank to a halt three feet away from her.

As if kneeling to welcome their sole sovereign.

There was no wind inside the hall.

Yet her crimson skirt and waterfall-like long hair floated silently in a slow, rhythm-filled manner.

Outside the hall, within a radius of a hundred zhang.

All sounds, the wind, insect chirps, the distant whispers from the temple, even the faint sounds of grass and trees growing, of earth energy flowing...

At this moment, completely vanished.

Not quiet, but absolute "extinction."

This space seemed to have been forcibly stripped from the world, forming an independent, deathly silent domain where only she existed.

The light dimmed.

Only the red of the dress on her body grew increasingly glaring, increasingly profound, devouring all light and color around her.

BANG!!

The hall door was violently smashed open by a tremendous force!

The old man and Celestial Master He Xun barged in!

When these two pinnacle existences of the Daoist path focused their gaze.

Their transcendent spiritual senses "saw" a scene even more terrifying than what their physical eyes beheld!

Beside Gu Qingwan, countless extremely fine, dark red threads flickered in and out of existence.

These were not physical entities.

They were resentment, they were Yin Malevolence, they were the manifestation of some higher-level power!

They entwined, they guarded her, like billions of subjects guarding the supreme empress.

Merely perceiving the existence of these threads made the two Celestial Masters' Dao hearts tremble violently, their spiritual platforms tarnished!

She did not make any movement.

But an intangible "presence" erupted, spreading outwards with her at the center!

The moment this "presence" appeared.

The old man and Celestial Master He Xun completely freaked out.

"She... how can she have 'presence'...!!!!"

Celestial Master He Xun's voice stuttered from extreme shock, his eyes turning incredulously towards the equally dumbstruck old man beside him.

The old man was also dumbfounded, his throat dry.

"...How the fuck would I know..."

Despite the aura being terrifying to the extreme, the phenomena earth-shattering.

Yet, from Gu Qingwan's body, there was no release of destructive, violent killing intent, nor any trace of uncontrolled madness.

The old man keenly detected that deep within her boundless, primal evil energy, there was a thread.

A golden thread formed from the faith power Lu Yuan had "stolen."

It was gentle and warm, carrying prayers and protection.

It had not been devoured by that terrifying power, nor had it been rejected. Instead, with a resilience beyond imagination, it tenaciously maintained her consciousness.

This thread connected her with Lu Yuan, with this Zhenlong Temple, creating a faint resonance.

And it was precisely this thread that became the final point of "wish" within her boundless terror of "evil"!

Therefore, when those abyss-like eyes of hers looked downwards, towards that dumbfounded Lu Yuan.

Deep within the dark, icy depths of her eyes, a moment of softness and dependence actually rippled.

Finally, that massive coffin crashed down.

All phenomena receded, Gu Qingwan's soul body appeared once more, floating beside the coffin.

On the surface, she seemed no different from before.

But Lu Yuan knew it was different.

Before, Gu Qingwan's eyes were purely empty, deathly still.

Now...

"That's not right!"

Lu Yuan rushed over in large strides, craning his neck to look into the coffin.

"Why are Qingwan's eyes still like this?!"

Wasn't this exactly the same as before?!!

This shout instantly snapped the old man and Celestial Master He Xun, who were still immersed in the terrifying pressure from moments ago, back to reality.

The two old men regained their senses and looked over. Lu Yuan was already leaning over the edge of the coffin.

They were just about to say something when a commotion suddenly came from outside the hall.

The phenomena from earlier had alarmed the temple's disciples.

The old man and Celestial Master He Xun exchanged a glance, their figures flashing as they left the side hall.

The two of them, through a mix of fabrication and persuasion, finally managed to pacify the group of terrified disciples.

When they returned again.

Lu Yuan was resting his chin on his hand, gazing intently into the coffin, a look of deep contemplation on his face.

Gu Qingwan's soul body floated quietly beside him, also looking down at "herself" in the coffin.

"I almost forgot, the evil curse on the forehead was only the first step."

Lu Yuan looked up at the two old men who had entered, his expression extremely serious.

"There's an even more malicious technique in Qingwan's eyes."

Inside the coffin.

Her eye sockets were two smooth, charred black holes, the edges unnervingly even.

The eyeballs had been precisely "scooped" out by some kind of scalding copper spoon.

Before the execution, three-year-old or older lamp oil was dripped into the eyes.

Euphemistically called, "borrowing yang fire to see the human world's path one last time."

Its true purpose was to burn away the last moisture of the eyeballs, preventing any "visual memory" from manifesting in the underworld.

Within those charred black holes, a dark red, mud-like substance had been packed.

Eye-Sealing Mud!

Made from the middle finger blood of three generations of the husband's male descendants, ancestral hall incense ash, and powdered rooster comb blood, the three mixed together.

On the surface of the mud seal, an extremely small, inverted pair of Yin-Yang Fish was painted in gold lacquer.

Yang below, Yin above.

Its meaning was to have her, for all eternity, be in a position of being looked down upon and controlled by her husband.

For Gu Qingwan to truly "see," this Eye-Sealing Mud must be dug out!

Inside the side hall, the terrifying pressure lingering in the air had not completely dissipated, but Gu Qingwan's aura had already withdrawn back into herself.

Only those empty, charred black eye sockets remained, like two cold imprints, revealing the deeper, more malicious technique.

The old man and Celestial Master He Xun stood side by side before the coffin, their expressions unprecedentedly grave.

With their level of Cultivation, they saw through the sinister method behind this "Eye-Sealing Mud" at a glance.

"Middle finger blood of three generations of the husband's male descendants, locking down bloodline kinship, severing her ability to 'see family.'"

"Ancestral hall incense ash, using clan wish power as shackles, suppressing her 'thought of seeing the clan.'"

"Powdered rooster comb blood, using ultimate yang malevolence to destroy the yin meridians of the eyes, forever cutting off her foundation for 'seeing herself' and 'seeing others.'"

The old man's voice was low, each word carrying a chill.

"Finally sealed with the inverted Yin-Yang Fish gold talisman, overturning natural order—it's meant to have her forever trampled under the husband's family's feet, never seeing the light of day, unable to distinguish family from foe!"

Celestial Master He Xun beside him, his face cold as he looked at everything within the coffin, couldn't help but curse in a low voice:

"Fuck their mothers!!"

"What malicious intent, what despicable methods!"

"Such evil arts truly trample the last shred of dignity of being 'human.'"

Lu Yuan at the side could barely bear to look anymore, just anxiously looking up at the old man and Celestial Master He Xun and asking:

"Can it be broken?"

The old man and Celestial Master He Xun exchanged a glance. The former slowly nodded, the latter's eyes also blazing with fighting spirit.

"Yes!"

The old man said resolutely:

"But extreme caution is needed. The Eye-Sealing Mud has already formed connections with the flesh and bone of her eye sockets, even parts of her soul consciousness due to the evil method."

"Forcefully clearing it, at best damages the foundation of her soul body, at worst may trigger the restriction's backlash, plunging her into confusion or madness."

At this moment, Celestial Master He Xun beside him also nodded, agreeing with the old man's assessment, and added:

"Requires the three methods of 'using softness to overcome hardness,' 'using righteousness to break evil,' and 'using emotion to transform resentment' to proceed simultaneously."

After saying this, he looked at the old man, his tone becoming somewhat distant.

"Junior Brother, it's been over thirty years since we last joined forces..."

The old man looked down at the coffin, his voice incomparably serious.

"Thirty-three years."

"After that year at Tianmu Mountain, you and I went our separate ways..."

Hearing this, Celestial Master He Xun directly waved his hand:

"Enough, no need to bring up past matters. Today, we brothers join forces once more to break this evil art!!"

"I'll handle the external aspect, using thunder methods to stabilize her soul, suppress its agitation!"

"You handle the internal, perform the 'Golden Needle Channel Passage' and 'Incense Fire Transforms Malevolence' methods, carefully peel it away."

The old man immediately agreed:

"Exactly what's needed!"

The two wasted no more words, immediately beginning preparations.

This time, even Lu Yuan was ordered to retreat to a corner of the hall, absolutely forbidden from approaching, to avoid any interference from even a wisp of aura.

First step: Set up an altar, invite the sages, stabilize the soul and secure the ethereal soul.

The old man fetched a specially made "Yellow Silk for Pacifying Souls and Stabilizing the Ethereal Soul," spreading it on the ground before the coffin.

Celestial Master He Xun then solemnly took out from his bosom a purple jade thunder-patterned command tablet.

A Zhenlong Temple heritage treasure, the "Purple Mansion Thunder Command"!

This command was not an offensive weapon, but was most adept at pacifying the spirit-soul and repelling external malevolence.

Celestial Master He Xun stepped on the Big Dipper Soul-Stabilizing Steps, held the thunder command, and loudly recited the soul-pacifying chapter from the "Wondrous Scripture of Salvation Spoken by the Numinous Treasure Celestial Master of the Supreme Profound Cavern."

"Silent and still, reaching the formless, empty and towering over the kalpa's edge..."

"..."

Amidst the recitation, he gently suspended the thunder command three feet above Gu Qingwan's coffin.

The command tablet spun on its own without wind, sprinkling down streams of gentle, warm purple thunder light.

That thunder light was upright and balanced, carrying not a hint of brutality, yet containing the majestic dignity of the Heavenly Dao.

It transformed into a curtain of light, enveloping both Gu Qingwan's soul body and her physical body within the coffin.

Gu Qingwan's soul body, slightly fluctuating due to the awakening of power, was instantly smoothed. A layer of stable barrier isolated the inside from the outside.

Second step: Golden Needle Channel Passage, seek the gap, probe the roots.

The old man cleansed his hands and burned incense, taking out a set of "Golden Needles for Crossing Calamities" treasured within a Lightning-Struck Jujube Wood box.

The needles were fine as ox hair, of varying lengths.

He silently circulated his profound cultivation, his eyes shining with divine light, his right hand pinching the shortest, finest golden needle.

His left hand formed the "Dragon-Seeking, Acupoint-Probing Finger," his spiritual sense transforming into intangible tendrils, probing inch by inch towards the edge of the Eye-Sealing Mud in Gu Qingwan's left eye socket.

The golden needle did not pierce in, but hovered a hair's breadth above the mud surface.

The needle tip trembled slightly, emitting an extremely faint hum.

The old man closed his eyes, using the needle as a medium to sense every connection node between the evil force and the physical body.

A moment later, fine sweat already beaded his forehead. He suddenly opened his eyes.

"The blood malevolence is entangled at the Sizhukong and Tongziliao acupoints on the orbital rim."

"The incense ash is suppressed deep into the Muchuang and Chengqi acupoints."

"The rooster comb blood yang malevolence is entrenched in the center, its connection with the inverted Yin-Yang Fish talisman the deepest!"

This task required extreme focus and meticulous control; the slightest carelessness could trigger the restriction.

It was truly draining on the spirit!

Third step: Incense Fire Transforms Malevolence, warm emotion as the guide.

The old man threw a meaningful glance towards Lu Yuan in the corner.

Lu Yuan immediately understood, lighting three specially made "Soul-Returning Incense" sticks on the small altar beside him.

This incense was made from agarwood, resurrection plant root, cinnabar, mixed with the faith power incense ash from Zhenlong Temple most familiar to Gu Qingwan.

Blue-tinged, gold-streaked smoke wafted towards Gu Qingwan.

This smoke held no magic power, only the purest concern and the concept of "home."

It drifted in wisps, permeating that cold, solid Eye-Sealing Mud, attempting to soften the evil force at its core, which was built upon "hatred" and "control."

Fourth step: Dual methods break simultaneously, reverse Yin and Yang!

All preparations were complete. The most critical moment had arrived.

"Now!"

The old man's eyes blazed with intense light.

Celestial Master He Xun simultaneously activated the "Purple Mansion Thunder Command," the sky-filling purple light suddenly contracted!

The light transformed into two threads fine as hair, yet incredibly condensed, with incredible precision "nailing" them onto the fish-eye positions of the inverted Yin-Yang Fish gold talisman on Gu Qingwan's eyes!

The yin eye of the yang fish! The yang eye of the yin fish!

The thunder light was ultimate yang, ultimate righteousness, specially designed to break the fundamental structure of evil talismans, causing its operation to instantly stagnate!

Almost at the same instant, the old man's hands moved like butterflies threading through flowers, attacking from both sides!

Each hand held a medium-sized golden needle, the tips dipped in the long-prepared "Three Lights Transform Malevolence Water"!

This water was collected from morning dew under the illumination of sunlight, moonlight, and starlight, then mixed with the tears of a newborn infant not yet touched by earthly energy!

With a "Phoenix Nods" technique, he pierced into the left and right eye sockets like lightning!

The points of entry were precisely the core convergence points of the "blood malevolence" and "incense ash" he had probed out earlier!

Pfft! Pfft!

Two soft, muffled sounds—not the shattering of physical objects, but the sound of evil force structures disintegrating.

"Blood malevolence, disperse!"

The old man uttered a low shout, his left golden needle trembling lightly, guiding the Transform Malevolence Water to flush through.

That dark red middle finger blood malevolence melted away like snow meeting boiling water, rapidly fading.

"Incinse ash, retreat!"

His right golden needle drew an arc, a gentle pulling force drawing the deeply embedded ancestral hall incense ash bit by bit "out" from its connection with the physical body.

Transforming into specks of dull gray ash that drifted away.

The core rooster comb blood yang malevolence and the inverted Yin-Yang Fish talisman, having had their vital points pinned down by He Xun's thunder threads and lost their peripheral support, struggled violently!

Emitting "hiss" sounds of resistance, even materializing into blurry, resentment-filled male phantoms, but were firmly suppressed by the purple thunder light.

"Lu Yuan!!"

The old man's sharp shout, like a thunderclap, exploded in the tense air, each word carrying an unquestionable urgency.

Lu Yuan's heart suddenly clenched tight!

His body's instinct surpassed thought.

He fiercely bit through the tip of his tongue!

Intense pain and the metallic taste of blood exploded in his mouth!

He spat that mouthful of pure yang true blood, saturated with the essence of life, fiercely onto the blank Yellow Talisman he had already clenched until it was scorching hot in his palm!

Sss—!

The sound of blood soaking through the talisman paper was piercingly clear in the deathly silent side hall.

The Yellow Talisman was instantly dyed mostly red. The bloodstain didn't spread evenly; it spontaneously outlined a complex and blazing Heart Fire Spirit-Protection Pattern!

Lu Yuan's eyes were completely bloodshot.

He pressed this scorching hot, blood talisman carrying all his protective will and life force, with a "slap," firmly onto the center of Gu Qingwan's physical body's brow!

The center of the Yintang point!

The gateway to the spirit platform!

This wasn't an attack!

This was a declaration!

A final declaration of war issued to the evil art entrenched in her eyes, representing "husband's authority suppression" and endless malice!!

Fuck your mothers!!

Get out!

Now!

Immediately!

Right away!

Her family is here!

Her morning sun is here!

Her new life...

Is right here!!!

Hum—!!!

The moment the blood talisman adhered to her brow, Gu Qingwan's physical body and the soul body beside it simultaneously emitted a low, ancient bell-like resonance!

That long-silent, vast, and awe-inspiring primordial power was thoroughly ignited by this drop of scorching hot "family blood"!

A strand of supremely yin power, refined to an indescribable degree yet carrying a trace of "warmth," surged out from the depths of her soul body!

This power was no longer the deathly cold of stillness, but the undercurrent of a thawing glacier!

It carried the determination to wash away all filth, actively, precisely cooperating with the old man's golden needles probing the minute details!

Cooperating with Celestial Master He Xun's Purple Mansion thunder light suppressing all directions!

From the very core of the evil art, from the inside out, it gave a mighty shake!

Boom—!!!

Not a real loud noise.

But on the spiritual sense level, an earth-shattering collision erupted!

Within the Eye-Sealing Mud, that inverted Yin-Yang Fish gold talisman struggled violently, the materialized blurry male phantom emitting a silent, venomous shriek!

The rooster comb blood yang malevolence was even more like a mad snake, wildly counterattacking!

The two forces, internal and external, one yin one yang, one hard one soft, one emotion one method, reached the peak of most intense confrontation at this moment!

The air inside the side hall was thick as mercury, time stretched infinitely long by an invisible force.

The old man's arms were steady as a rock, but the fingertips holding the golden needles had turned slightly white from excessive force.

Veins throbbed at his temples, large drops of sweat slid down his cheeks, hitting the ground, soundlessly.

Celestial Master He Xun's face was as grave as iron, his right hand maintaining the thunder command trembling slightly. The purple thunder light flickered bright and dim, clearly under great strain in the tug-of-war with the evil art's core.

Lu Yuan couldn't help with any technical aspect.

He could only stare fixedly at Gu Qingwan's trembling soul body and the physical body in the coffin.

Every breath felt as long as a year.

Stalemate.

Torment.

Silent screams and struggles were wildly playing out on the spiritual level.

It was unclear how long had passed, perhaps just the snap of a finger.

Just as the old man felt the golden needles were almost shaken loose by the evil force, and He Xun's thunder light also began to show unstable ripples...

Lu Yuan suddenly looked up, gazing towards the window lattice.

An extremely faint, yet incredibly pure fish-belly white had quietly climbed the eastern horizon.

Dawn...

Was about to break.

Immediately after, a second strand, a third strand... faint light tore through the deepest darkness before dawn, ripped through the night curtain, slowly brightening the window paper.

Just as the first strand of golden morning light, carrying the temperature of new life, passed through the window lattice, precisely illuminating the position of Gu Qingwan's physical body's eyes.

"Senior Brother!!!"

"Junior Brother!!!"

"Now!!!"

The old man and Celestial Master He Xun, as if sharing one mind, simultaneously let out a roar suppressed to the extreme!

They poured forth all the remaining True Qi they had left, without reservation, together with that strand of newly emerged sun's life-generating energy from heaven and earth!

Lu Yuan's blood talisman blazed with red light, almost burning!

Crack—!!!

A sound clearer than shattering glass, more earth-shattering than a thawing ice river, exploded directly within the depths of everyone's souls!

That inverted, Yin-Yang Fish gold talisman that had suppressed her for who knows how many years could no longer withstand this triple impact from the dawn, familial affection, and supreme Daoist methods!

It collapsed with a crash!

It transformed into countless fine golden specks of light, like winter snow melting under the blazing sun, unwillingly, yet irreversibly dispersing in the air.

The malicious rooster comb blood yang malevolence at the core also let out a faint wail, completely disintegrating, turning into nothingness.

The next moment, Lu Yuan immediately turned his head towards Gu Qingwan's soul body behind him!

He saw that previously hollow, vacant, unfocused pair of pupils of Gu Qingwan were now gradually recovering clarity!

Recovering vitality!!

Finally, a flash of light passed.

Gu Qingwan blinked those beautiful, clear, cold eyes. Her eyes gained brightness, began to focus.

Finally, these beautiful eyes focused on Lu Yuan!

Success!!!!

The evil art on Gu Qingwan's eyes was broken!!!!

She... could see!!!!