Upon seeing the word "death," Yuan Ying's face turned extremely pale.

She gripped the Bone-Revealing Mirror tightly in her hand: "It seems the Half-Immortal's resentment runs too deep; this seal probably won't last long."

As she spoke, she suddenly took out a very small Buddha statue.

Set up the "Nine Netherworld Returning Soul Formation" in front, and place the half-immortal's incomplete scroll, the fragment of the fetal soul jar, and Xiuxiu's baby hair at the center of the formation.

I asked her, "Is there really no other way?"

We can't keep dragging this out, can we? If this continues, people will go crazy.

Yuan Ying didn't answer immediately. Instead, she took out the Bagua mirror that had shattered into seven pieces and embedded the pieces into the array according to the Big Dipper's orientation.

"Yes, but it requires twins with the same yin destiny to cut their hair and drip blood at the same time, so that the Book of Life and Death can be reshaped before the yin gate closes."

She looked at me with a sharp gaze: "Xiao Chen, use the peach wood sword to cut off the ends of your hair. Remember, at midnight, recite the 'Supreme Three Lives Resolving Grievances Sutra' over the fragments of the Fetal Soul Jar."

"What do I need to do?" Xiuxiu asked nervously from the side.

Yuan Ying frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and then spoke.

"You don't need to do anything special. Just sit quietly to the side, calm your mind, and don't let distracting thoughts interfere with the magic array. Your very existence is a crucial link."

Xiuxiu bit her lip, nodded vigorously, and gripped the hem of her clothes tightly, trying to calm herself down.

As time ticked by, midnight approached, and the whole world seemed to be shrouded in an eerie silence.

Suddenly, the cawing of crows came from the direction of the mass grave.

I picked up the peach wood sword and slowly shaved off the ends of our hair.

Xiuxiu's hair fell into the formation and transformed into tiny paper effigies.

As if they were alive, they slowly crawled toward the fragments of the soul-binding jar.

I cut my finger, and blood dripped onto the lens.

In an instant, the mirror reflected the remnant soul of the half-immortal clinging to the rings of the old locust tree.

Each ring of the tree is engraved with the birth date and time of a substitute person, densely packed together.

"Hurry, hurry, as the law commands!"

Yuan Ying suddenly shouted and lit the tattered copy of "The Forbidden Book of Lu Ban" with the tinderbox in his hand.

The flames burned fiercely, from which the memories of the immortal emerged.

During the Guangxu era, he was tricked by the owner of a medicine shop into taking his life. On the verge of death, he offered his own blood as a sacrifice to paper offerings, and from then on, he was trapped in an endless cycle of reincarnation, unable to be reborn.

In order to escape this painful fate, he studied evil arts and created the "Ten-Life Reincarnation Wheel," attempting to use people with unfulfilled destinies to open the gates of the underworld, so that he and eight hundred lonely souls could be reborn in the mortal world.

"It turns out he didn't intend to harm anyone at all; he just wanted to find a way to survive."

Xiuxiu looked at the illusory figure of the half-immortal in the flames, a trace of pity appearing in her eyes.

Yuan Ying snorted coldly, her eyes full of mockery.

"Looking for a way to survive? He's dragging more people into an abyss of no return! If everyone resorts to any means to free themselves, wouldn't the world be filled with evil spirits?"

"When he was studying evil arts, did he ever think about the people he used as pawns? To be able to be reborn, he arbitrarily manipulated the life and death of others. How is such behavior any different from that of an evil spirit?"

After a pause, Yuan Ying's tone grew even colder.

"He has ended up like this because of his own actions, but who will he seek justice from for those innocent souls who lost their lives and were caught up in this terrible evil situation because of him?"

The moment the tattered scroll burned to ashes, the fragments of the Fetal Soul Jar suddenly emitted a sharp, deafening buzzing sound.

Then, the fragments miraculously pieced themselves together, slowly forming a complete jar.

The jar's opening shone brightly, revealing a projection of the Book of Life and Death from the underworld.

The writing on it was faintly visible.

Seeing this, Yuan Ying hurriedly pushed me and Xiuxiu forward, urgently shouting, "Quick! Use your blood to cross out your eight characters in the Book of Life and Death! This is the crucial moment to rewrite your destiny!"

The moment my fingertip touched the projection, I saw countless paper figures surging in from all directions.

Each little figure has a birth date and time from a different era pasted on its chest; these are substitutes for the deceased, collected by the fortune teller over the past thirty years.

They bared their teeth and claws, as if they wanted to devour us.

Xiuxiu suddenly grabbed my hand tightly, looking very nervous.

I patted her hand, signaling her to relax.

"Don't worry, it'll be alright soon!"

"Um!"

Xiuxiu gritted her teeth and hummed in response, but her trembling voice revealed that she was merely enduring it.

I took a deep breath, mixed my blood with Xiuxiu's, and struggled to draw a huge "止" (stop) character on the Book of Life and Death.

Amazingly, wherever the writing passed, the paper figures turned to ashes and disappeared.

With a loud bang, the soul-binding jar shattered completely, and a powerful force erupted instantly.

A collective sigh came from the direction of the mass grave.

At the same time, the crack in Yuan Ying's Bagua mirror suddenly healed.

The mirror reflected the old locust tree regaining its vitality, with tender green buds growing rapidly, and the baby's handprint on the trunk turning into locust blossoms that fell, creating a peaceful scene.

"It's done."

Yuan Ying slumped to the ground, closed her eyes wearily, and took out half a jade pendant from her bosom.

"The remnant soul of the immortal has dissipated, and eight hundred lonely souls have entered the cycle of reincarnation. Your birth dates..."

She looked at the fading lines on our wrists and smiled with relief: "The ink on the Book of Life and Death may be faint, but it can still be considered a correction."

...

Back at the shop, the blood lines around the eyes of the paper-mache boys and girls on the shelf had completely disappeared.

The stroller wheels no longer turn on their own.

This should be considered the end, right?

For several days in a row, I waited for Liu Sandao to be discharged from the hospital, but I still didn't hear any news about Xiuxiu's accident.

Although this sounds a bit strange, it's a good thing overall.

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!