"You reap what you sow." Yuan Qi's face tightened as she formed hand seals, a cluster of red lotus karmic fire emerging from the tip of her index finger. She chanted incantations as she struck the stone statue of Miao Xiuniang, the Mysterious Maiden.
The stone statue, already weakened by a thousand years of wind and frost, was further damaged by the Red Lotus Karmic Fire, which came from hell and could destroy everything. In an instant, the stone statue collapsed and scattered into pieces.
Black mist still emanated from beneath the pile of rubble, though less intense than before; only a wisp of black smoke, about the thickness of a chopstick, slowly rose from the gravel.
The red lotus fire was still burning, and the black smoke gradually became thinner.
As Miao Xiuniang watched the power of the divine artifact she relied on for survival vanish, she cried out in despair, "No..."
Subsequently, the black mist surrounding Miao Xiuniang visibly decreased, shrank, and even disappeared almost completely, leaving only Miao Xiuniang's dark red soul.
It's surprisingly sturdy.
"Little Celestial Master, you have ruined my grand plan. Today is your death day!" Miao Xiuniang's face was ferocious, her hands turned into sharp claws, and her head shook, turning into a skull. She chanted some incantation, and black mist surged in from around the Xuan Nu Temple, continuously flowing into her body.
She had been trapped here for two years, swallowing countless vengeful ghosts. With the help of that treasure, she had long since developed her own set of skills. Even without that treasure, she was confident that she would not die at the hands of this little girl today.
Yuan Qi then produced several lightning-summoning talismans and exorcising talismans, throwing them at Miao Xiuniang without hesitation. Miao Xiuniang let out a shrill wail that sent chills down everyone's spines.
"Heaven and Earth are the origin of all things, I have cultivated for countless eons to prove my divine powers. All gods pay homage, and I command thunder and lightning. Demons and monsters lose their courage, and spirits forget their forms. Within lies thunder, the Thunder God conceals his name, penetrating wisdom and insight, the five elements surge forth, hasten as the law commands, I command!" She continuously formed hand seals, using golden talismans to surround Miao Xiuniang, trapping her inside and isolating her from the evil energy outside.
Miao Xiuniang struggled painfully within the Soul Devouring Array, having lost the strength to resist. Her soul gradually changed from blackish-red to semi-transparent blackish-red, and then all the blackish-red faded away, leaving only a weak, almost transparent soul.
If Yuan Qi were to loosen the formation again, her soul would be scattered.
"You think I can't handle you?"
Deprived of her source of ghostly power, Miao Xiuniang became extremely weak and begged for mercy within the formation: "Celestial Master, I dare not do it again, please spare me. I had no choice. I didn't want to harm her. I just wanted to leave this place."
After using the formation to suppress her again, Miao Xiuniang was truly annihilated, and Yuan Qi then withdrew the formation.
"Tell me, where is Fu Lingxi?"
Bai Youhui and the Feng family were all dumbfounded. It took them a while to remember the purpose of their visit. Feng Zhaolin was worried that Yuan Qi's actions might have killed his wife as well, so he stepped forward and asked anxiously, "You didn't kill Fu Lingxi's soul, did you?"
Yuan Qi pouted and snorted, turning to scold him: "Am I that stupid? If I killed your wife, how would I collect the incense money? I'm a professional!"
Feng Zhaolin, feeling guilty, gave an "oh" and asked, "Then where is Fu Lingxi?"
Yuan Qi glared at him: "Didn't I already ask her?"
Miao Xiuniang's weak soul pointed to a large rock behind the stone statue: "Inside the nightmare array inside the stone coffin."
"Nightmare Array?" Yuan Qi had seen this array in the book of array formations. It traps souls or living people inside, and what they see are all illusions. If a soul is trapped inside, it will relive its most painful past experiences over and over again, and no matter what it does, it will be unable to escape and will eventually perish within the array.
Yuan Qi stepped forward to inspect it and saw a stone coffin, six feet long and three feet wide, right in front of him. However, the stone coffin was small, just tall enough for one person to lie down.
Bai Youhui and the Feng family members went forward to check with trepidation. Bai Youhui and Feng Zhaolin, in particular, were young and their legs went weak at the sight of the coffin. Bai Youhui tugged at a piece of Yuan Qi's clothing, not daring to let Yuan Qi get too close.
Miao Xiuniang's expression suddenly turned ferocious, and she shoved Yuan Qi violently: "Go to hell!"
If Yuan Qi is placed on the stone coffin, his soul will be trapped inside, just like Fu Lingxi's soul.
But who is Yuan Qi? How could he not know the secrets of this formation?
The Nightmare Array is ever-changing, with thousands of different ways of setting it up, and the ways it traps people also vary. One variation is that if a person trapped inside can find a scapegoat, they can escape.
Yuan Qi estimated that the Nightmare Array inside the stone coffin was this kind of array.
She pulled Bai Youhui aside nimbly, and Miao Xiuniang's weak soul was sucked into the stone coffin.
At this moment, her soul was extremely weak, even weaker than Fu Lingxi's.
Fu Lingxi, who was trapped in the formation, saw that the person who had tricked her into coming in had also come in, and they started fighting.
Bai Youhui and the Feng family were also shocked. Feng Zhaolin was even more worried: "Won't she kill Fu Lingxi if she goes in? Little Taoist priest, no, little Celestial Master, please save Fu Lingxi. If she dies, our family will not be able to explain to the Fu family."
Yuan Qi was somewhat displeased. She had performed so well just now, yet he still called her "Little Celestial Master": "Remove the 'Little' from your name."
Feng Zhaolin immediately changed his tune: "Master, please save her! You can ask for any amount of incense money you like!"
Yuan Qi smiled, a smile playing on her lips; these were the words she had been waiting for. She took out several talismans from her cloth bag and affixed them around the stone coffin to ensure the nightmare array wouldn't pull anyone outside in.
"Have someone move the coffin lid."
The Feng family guards were trembling with fear upon seeing this, but Yuan Qi repeatedly assured them that there were talismans suppressing the evil spirits and that nothing would happen.
Only then did the guards muster their courage to step forward and lift the coffin lid.
Inside the stone coffin was a complete skeleton. After a thousand years, the original clothes and hair on the skeleton had decayed and disappeared. There were no other burial objects in the coffin. Around the skeleton were seven black metal blocks the size of fingernails, arranged in a star-shaped pattern. One of these seven black metal blocks was a hollow skull. Yuan Qi felt that it looked very familiar and that he had seen it in a book.
Ghost Blade fragments?
How did I end up here?
With the Ghost Blade fragments and the Seven Star Nightmare Array, no wonder it could trap Miao Xiuniang for a thousand years and allow her to cultivate to such a powerful state.
Fu Lingxi had no magical powers, and although he fought fiercely with Miao Xiuniang, he couldn't cause any real harm.
Yuan Qi silently took out the seven fragments of the Ghost Blade, and the Nightmare Array disappeared.
She took out a talisman, wrapped it around the fragment of the ghost knife, and carefully placed it into her cloth bag.
The Ghost Blade is one of the ten ancient demonic weapons. It's unknown why the fragments appeared here, or who Miao Xiuniang offended, that she was suppressed by such a powerful weapon.
Miao Xiuniang and Fu Lingxi came out from inside, wrestling.
Yuan Qi had no intention of mediating the fight, but the Feng family did want to. However, it was the first time anyone had ever seen two ghosts fighting, so they couldn't help but want to watch the spectacle.
If Yuan Qi hadn't reminded them to bring in Fu Lingxi's physical body so that her soul could return to its place, they don't know how long they would have been waiting.
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