Chapter 2: Kill the Tail Ghost
The sun peeked out, casting a golden veil over the distant forest. Everything was shrouded in a thin mist, the shadows of the trees swaying. Birdsong gradually rose, heralding the approach of the first rays of sunlight.
However, the tranquility of the forest was suddenly broken by a sharp scream: "Ah! I'm going to die, I'm going to die."
It turned out that it was You Xiaohun who was pushed off the cliff and turned into an evil ghost with his head and body separated.
You Xiaohun endured the pain and slowly stood up. She checked her limbs and luckily, she only had some superficial injuries and no injuries to her bones or muscles. It turned out that at the critical moment, the compass on her body flew into the air and supported her, preventing her from falling to her death.
She slowly approached the evil spirit, ready to give it the final blow.
The gentle light of dawn pierced the mist with irresistible force, pouring out. As the evil spirit let out a shrill wail, its form gradually melted away under the sun's rays, eventually turning into a wisp of smoke. Only the faint scent of burnt ash remained, lingering in the air for a long time, unwilling to dissipate.
It turns out that the ghosts in this world are also afraid of sunlight, but the ghosts here are more concrete. They exist in physical form, can cause substantial harm to people, and are more difficult to deal with.
After experiencing a whole night of sudden changes, You Xiaohun was exhausted to the extreme.
She was thirsty and tired, but fortunately, she found a source of drinkable water along the way and used bamboo to make a container to collect water. Afterwards, she found a relatively dry and safe place to rest for a while.
Perhaps it was because he had been extremely nervous before, and now that he relaxed, You Xiaohun began to feel sleepy.
You Xiaohun cheered himself up, pinched his fingers and drew spells in the air in four directions, and then built a simple barrier.
She looked around at the vegetation and concluded that they were still in the heart of the forest. Even if it was broad daylight and there were no ghosts, there would inevitably be wild animals roaming around.
Just like that, You Xiaohun leaned against the tree trunk and gradually fell asleep.
You Xiaohun had a dream. It was pitch black, and she couldn't see her hand in front of her face. The tension and anxiety flooded her heart again. No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't get out of the predicament.
She suddenly woke up and found that the sun was setting. A ray of sunset glow shone through the treetops and sprinkled on her face, bringing a hint of warmth. She wiped the cold sweat from her body and felt that her body had regained a lot of strength.
While it was still light outside, You Xiaohun quickly took out some talisman paper and prepared to draw some more in case of emergency, as the previous ones had been used up.
Only now did she recall that although the ghosts had looked ferocious, they were actually not very powerful and a fire attack talisman was enough to destroy them. It was just that she was new here and was frightened by the situation.
You Xiaohun suddenly had an idea and asked Zirong, the "coolie", to come out: "Go and help me pick some edible fruits and catch a few fish. I'm hungry."
Zirong stretched out his body and protested with a bad face: "Why should I listen to you, huh!"
"Zirong, you have lived for hundreds of years. You can't be unable to tell whether a fruit is poisonous or not, right? Catching a small fish is a piece of cake for you. Otherwise, I really doubt whether you have reached the level of Taoism. Maybe you need to practice hard." You Xiaohun questioned it with pretended doubt.
Zirong jumped up with a red face and the two small leaves on his head shook: "Who said that? I'll catch it for you right now! Just wait!"
You Xiaohun was secretly delighted. When he cast the Tongsheng Curse, he discovered that this little tree spirit was extremely naive. It was estimated that it had little contact with humans and was unaware of the dangers of the world. It was really a waste of its cultivation.
While Zirong was out looking for food, You Xiaohun seized the opportunity to get down to business. In this desolate place, with no cinnabar to use, she had no choice but to bite her finger, squeeze out the blood, and write the spell on the talisman paper.
When drawing the spell, she must concentrate completely. Any distraction could render the spell ineffective, a matter of life and death. At the same time, she must guide the surrounding spiritual energy into her body, through her arms, and then to her fingertips, pouring spiritual power onto the talisman paper.
Even though You Xiaohun was drawing the talismans very quickly, it was already completely dark. She only had time to draw some fire attack talismans and some water defense talismans.
Due to the restriction of the same life curse, Zirong could not leave her for too long. At this time, Zirong also came back with some fruits.
Looking at Zirong's hesitant expression and pitiful appearance, You Xiaohun couldn't bear to make fun of it and only expressed his gratitude to it.
After eating some fruits to barely fill his stomach, You Xiaohun said that he had to leave the forest and head to a populated town as soon as possible. Continuing to survive in the wilderness was not a solution.
"When we get to the town, there should be a hotel no matter how backward this era is." You Xiaohun remembered the boy's clothes last night and judged what era it was. He didn't know whether the boy was safe now.
Zirong smiled and said, "Hmm!~ Do you have money?"
I didn’t expect that Zi Rong, who has been practicing Taoism for hundreds of years, suddenly became smart and actually knew that the currency here is not universal!!!
You Xiaohun sighed resignedly, "No matter what, we'll figure it out when we get there. There's always a way."
Then he took out the compass, gathered spiritual power on his fingertips and pointed at the compass: "Open the gate of heaven, open the door of earth, keep the door of people, hurry and obey the command!"
Then, You Xiaohun walked in the direction indicated by the compass needle.
As the night deepened, the forest was pitch black. Only the compass in You Xiaohun's hand emitted a faint light, guiding her direction. She carefully shuttled between the trees.
After walking for a long time, You Xiaohun felt a little tired, but she couldn't stop. In this unknown forest, every moment was full of danger. She had to stay vigilant and keep moving forward.
Finally, when she walked out of the forest and saw the quiet village, it was already three o'clock in the morning.
It is not easy to find a place to stay for the night at this time. After thinking for a moment, You Xiaohun decided to jump onto a roof and plan to spend the night there.
Fortunately, You Xiaohun has always been a person who goes with the flow, taking the sky as a blanket and the ground as a bed, and can take care of himself no matter what situation he finds himself in. However, it would be great if his stomach stopped growling.
You Xiaohun rested his head on his arms and looked up at the starry sky.
She suddenly remembered that the handwritten note her grandfather had given her from his master's family described a mysterious Taoist technique that could turn stone into gold. However, due to the thin spiritual energy in her world, she had never been able to perform this technique.
But she immediately shook her head, dismissing the thought. After all, this kind of deceptive Taoist technique was truly against morality!
Just as You Xiaohun was falling asleep, the surroundings suddenly became dead silent. The moonlight was dim, casting twisted and strange shadows, and the air was filled with a strong ominous smell.
You Xiaohun suddenly opened her eyes, her sleepiness instantly gone. In the dim moonlight, she caught a glimpse of a ghostly figure, barely maintaining a human silhouette, sliding in through a window.
She slid down with a swift leap and silently approached the window of the house where the ghost had passed. The wall still bore sticky marks left by the ghost's passing.
She cautiously peered through the window, and the sight before her made her nauseous. It was a creature with almost transparent skin, covered only by a thin membrane. Its internal organs were wriggling, and it was trailing a curled tail, the tip of which emitted a creepy, eerie sheen.
Just as the tail ghost was ready to attack and eat people, You Xiaohun quickly picked up a stone, aimed at the tail ghost's head, and shot it out.
The tail ghost instantly noticed You Xiaohun's location. Although it had no eyes, You Xiaohun could feel that it was staring at her, as if she had become the sinner who prevented it from enjoying its delicious meal.
Seeing that the hatred was growing, You Xiaohun turned around and ran. He had to lead the tail ghost to a deserted place to prevent innocent people from being implicated.
While running, she couldn't help but look back, only to see the tail ghost using all four limbs and sliding its body, approaching her at an astonishing speed, which startled her.
You Xiaohun once again increased her physical limit and ran wildly, finally arriving at the woods outside the village. Before she had time to catch her breath, she saw the strange long tail of the tail ghost, like a poisonous snake flashing in the dark night, suddenly attacking her.
She rolled to the side and barely avoided the attack, her eyes fixed on the sharp tail that was flashing with a strange color. You Xiaohun thought, could it be poisonous?
Seeing that his attack missed, the Tail Ghost immediately became furious and laughed strangely: "Hehehe, can you run away!? Look, I'm going to pierce you into a pulp and then eat you. It will be delicious!~"
You Xiaohun was quick and agile, throwing out several fire attack talismans in succession, but they were all dodged one by one by its slippery body. It dodged between the tree trunks like a fish, at an extremely fast speed.
The two sides were in a stalemate and could not do anything to it for a while. The tail ghost took advantage of the situation and attacked again. Its long tail was like a snake, extremely swift, and it rushed straight towards You Xiaohun.
"The virtue of water in heaven and earth washes away all things. I obey the order of the ancestors and pray! The water is controlled here. Hurry up and obey the order." You Xiaohun mobilized his spiritual power and poured it into the talisman to activate the talisman to resist the attack.
In an instant, a clear water curtain rose out of thin air, like an invisible shield, and the aftermath of the attack stirred up layers of delicate ripples.
A glimmer of inspiration flashed in You Xiaohun's eyes, and he immediately had an idea. There was spiritual energy everywhere here, so maybe he could give it a try.
She gently stroked the peach wood sword in her hand, her fingertips moved slightly, and she resolutely bit her finger, using the blood as a guide to quickly outline a complicated talisman on the sword.
"With the blessing of the ancestors, it will definitely work!" In fact, You Xiaohun was not sure in her heart, because she had never tried to kill ghosts by flying a sword like this.
The tail ghost roared and attacked again. You Xiaohun shook her wrist, and three blazing fire attack talismans accurately blocked all the ghost's escape routes, forcing it to dodge along the path she had preset.
Seeing that the feint was effective, she moved her mind, and the peach wood sword seemed to be given life. It soared into the air and turned into a stream of light, as fast as lightning. With a "swish", the tip of the sword accurately pierced the chest of the tail ghost and nailed it firmly to the tree trunk, making it unable to move.
As the tail ghost wailed miserably, its figure began to gradually dissipate.
Just when You Xiaohun was breathing a sigh of relief, he didn't expect that the tail ghost still had the strength to fight back: "I will take you with me even if I die, you hateful ghost hunter!"
It suddenly opened its huge, smelly mouth and sprayed out several poisonous needles that flashed with strange light, pointing directly at You Xiaohun.
Faced with this sudden attack, You Xiaohun was so close to the tail ghost that he had no time to dodge and the poison needle was right in front of him.
At this critical moment, a breath as hot as flames stretched between the two with unstoppable force.
A swordsman swung his sword with lightning speed. With a flash of sword light, the tailed demon's head fell to the ground, and the poison needle attack was also blocked.
You Xiaohun calmed down. It was a swordsman wearing a fiery red cloak, with yellow and red hair, bright eyes and sword-like eyebrows. On the cloak, flame patterns were leaping, as if it contained endless power; and the blade in his hand was even more fiery red, with flame-like patterns flowing on the blade, emitting a scorching edge.
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