The Final Battle at the Taoist Temple and the Evil Witch God's Trump Card
The moment the peach wood sword and the black longsword collided, a dazzling burst of golden light and black mist erupted. The entire main hall of the Taoist temple shook violently, dust and spider webs fell from the roof, and the alchemy furnace emitted a humming sound, as if it would collapse at any moment. Xiuxiu's arm was numb from the shock, and blood oozed from her knuckles, but she still held the hilt tightly, her eyes unwavering. The spiritual energy brought by the Soul Gathering Pill circulated wildly within her body, and the runes on the peach wood sword seemed to come alive, constantly devouring the surrounding black mist and pushing the golden light further and further.
"Impossible! Your soul is clearly on the verge of dissipation!" The Evil Witch God's voice was filled with incredible anger. He controlled Yuanyang Girl's body to retreat continuously. The black mist on the black sword sizzled as the golden light burned, and tiny cracks began to appear on the blade. He never imagined that a single Soul Gathering Pill could restore Xiu Xiu's strength so quickly, even making her stronger than she was at her peak.
Lin Munan seized this opportunity, swiftly drawing his silver bow to full strength. Three silver arrows, each inscribed with runes, simultaneously launched at the black mist connecting the Yuanyang girl's head to her body. With a piercing sound, the silver arrows pierced through the golden light, piercing precisely into the thickest part of the black mist. The runes instantly ignited, and golden flames spread through the black mist, quickly enveloping the Yuanyang girl's head and body. "Zila—" the black mist struggled in the flames, emitting a shrill cry. The Yuanyang girl's head fell from mid-air, and her body collapsed to the ground. The black mist quickly dissipated like a popped balloon.
"Now's the time!" Lin Shen roared, charging forward. Gathering all his strength, he thrust the dagger in his hand towards the core of the remnant of the evil witch god's spirit within Yuanyang Woman's body. The silver powder on the dagger shone coldly under the golden light. Just as he was about to strike his target, the ground suddenly shook violently. A huge crack appeared in the ground of the Taoist temple's main hall, and black evil energy gushed out from the crack, instantly enveloping the entire main hall.
"Hahaha! Do you think you can defeat me like this?" The voice of the Evil Witch God came from the gap, with crazy ridicule, "Under this Taoist temple is where I was sealed a thousand years ago! Now, I will lift the seal and restore all my power! When the time comes, all of you will become my sacrifice!"
Everyone stared in horror at the crack in the ground. Countless twisted souls emerged from the black evil aura. These souls were even more terrifying than those they had encountered before. Some were headless, others missing limbs. Their wails were like hell, their ears aching. Even more terrifying, a massive black altar slowly rose from the crack. The altar was covered in strange runes, and a black spear stuck in the middle of the runes. The spear was dripping with black blood and exuding a suffocating evil aura.
"That's... the Sealed Spear!" Lin Munan's face turned pale instantly, his eyes filled with shock. "Legend has it that this spear sealed the Evil Witch God. Now he wants to pull out the spear and completely lift the seal!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the remnant spirit of the evil witch god floated out of Yuanyang Woman's body, transforming into a black shadow and flying towards the black spear. The shadow landed on the altar, grasped the spear's handle with both hands, and began to pull upward with all its might. As the spear moved, the crack in the ground widened, and the black evil energy grew thicker. The surrounding wronged souls became even more frantic, and they pounced on the crowd.
"We can't let him pull out the spear!" Xiuxiu shouted, raising her peach wood sword and charging towards the altar. The golden light from the peach wood sword collided with the black evil energy, unleashing a powerful shockwave that repelled the surrounding wronged souls. But the Evil Witch God's power grew stronger, and the spear was pulled up faster and faster. The outline of the Evil Witch God's true form began to emerge from the black evil energy—a towering black figure, wrapped in countless chains, with skulls hanging from them, emitting a despairing evil aura.
Lin Shen, Li Ye, Su Wan, Meng Yao, and Chen Ba also rushed forward, engaging in a fierce battle with the wronged spirits. Lin Shen's dagger repeatedly pierced the bodies of the wronged spirits, silver powder shimmering in his hand, and each swing dispelled the evil spirits. Li Ye's hiking pole smashed into the wronged spirits like an iron rod, the blood on the metal tip mingling with the black evil spirit, leaving a series of glaring streaks. Su Wan scattered shards of talisman paper into the air, and the talismans transformed into golden points of light that landed on the wronged spirits, instantly purifying them. Although Meng Yao was unarmed, she used her camera's flash to continuously illuminate the wronged spirits. While the strong light couldn't completely destroy them, it could temporarily repel their attacks. Chen Ba pulled the last can of poisonous insects from her arms. Under her control, the insects surged towards the wronged spirits like a tide, constantly gnawing at their bodies.
Lin Munan continued to draw his silver bow, firing silver arrow after silver arrow at the Evil Witch God's phantom, trying to prevent him from pulling out his spear. However, the Evil Witch God's phantom was surrounded by a thick layer of black fog, which the silver arrows could not penetrate at all. They could only leave tiny spots of light on the black fog, which was quickly swallowed up by it.
"It's useless! You can't stop me at all!" The Evil Witch God's voice was filled with crazy laughter. The spear was pulled up with greater and greater amplitude, and the outline of the Evil Witch God's body in the black evil energy became clearer and clearer. "In a while, I will be able to recover all my strength. By then, the whole Qingwu Town, no, the whole world, will become my possession!"
Xiuxiu watched the Evil Witch God's true form approaching, a surge of despair welling up in her heart. She knew that once the Evil Witch God regained his full power, they would all be dead, and even the entire world would be plunged into darkness. At this moment, she suddenly remembered what her grandmother had once told her: the peach wood sword not only dispelled evil spirits but also absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. If she could merge her soul with the peach wood sword, she would be able to unleash power beyond her capacity, but the price of doing so would be the complete dissipation of her soul.
Xiuxiu's gaze grew resolute. She looked at the people around her battling the wronged spirits, then at her grandmother's coma in the distance, and a decision was made. She took a deep breath, channeling all her spiritual energy into the peach wood sword, while also gradually merging her soul into the blade. The red light from the peach wood sword instantly surged, more dazzling than ever before. The entire main hall of the Taoist temple was enveloped in a red glow, and the evil black energy gradually dissipated within it. The wails of the wronged spirits gradually faded.
"Xiu Xiu! What are you doing?" Lin Shen was the first to notice something was wrong. He looked at Xiu Xiu's body, which was gradually becoming transparent, and felt a strong sense of unease in his heart. "Stop! Don't do this!"
Xiuxiu turned around and gave Lin Shen a brilliant smile. Her voice was a little weak, yet still firm: "Brother Lin Shen, I'm sorry, I can't continue with you. Only in this way can we completely destroy the evil witch god, protect grandma, and protect everyone..."
With that, Xiuxiu's body completely transformed into a streak of red light, merging into the peach wood sword. The sword hovered in mid-air, its blade trembling violently. The runes on it seemed to come alive, continuously flashing with golden light. Immediately afterwards, the peach wood sword flew towards the shadowy figure of the evil witch god and the black spear, as fast as a meteor and carrying a force that could destroy everything.
"No!" The Evil Witch God screamed in terror. He tried to control the black mist to block the peach wood sword, but found that the black mist was like paper in the face of the red light, completely unable to resist. The peach wood sword pierced through the black mist, accurately piercing the Evil Witch God's phantom and also piercing the black spear.
With a resounding "Zila—" a powerful shockwave erupted from the red light and black evil energy, instantly collapsing the entire main hall. Everyone was flung away by the shockwave, falling heavily to the ground and fainting. In his final moments of unconsciousness, Lin Shen watched as the red light from the peach wood sword completely engulfed the shadowy figure of the evil witch god and the black spear. The black evil energy gradually dissipated, the cracks in the ground gradually closed, and the surrounding wronged souls transformed into white points of light and vanished into thin air.
After an unknown amount of time, Lin Shen slowly opened his eyes and found himself lying in ruins, surrounded by the wreckage of the collapsed Taoist temple. Sunlight shone through the cracks in the wreckage, landing on his face with a hint of warmth. He struggled to sit up and looked around. He saw Li Ye, Su Wan, Meng Yao, Chen Ba, and Lin Mu Nan lying nearby. They were all awake, but they all had wounds to varying degrees.
"Xiu Xiu..." A strong sadness surged in Lin Shen's heart. He remembered Xiu Xiu's last brilliant smile and the scene where she turned into red light and merged into the peach wood sword. He couldn't help but shed tears.
Everyone fell silent, with sad expressions on their faces. They all knew that Xiuxiu had sacrificed her soul to destroy the evil witch god and had left them forever.
At that moment, a faint light suddenly emanated from the ruins. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw the peach wood sword Xiuxiu had used lying in the center of the ruins. Though slightly damaged, the blade still glowed with a faint red light, and the runes on the blade flickered continuously. Even more surprising was that next to the peach wood sword lay a small figure—it was Xiuxiu!
"Xiu Xiu!" Lin Shen shouted in surprise, immediately rushing over and hugging Xiu Xiu in his arms. Although Xiu Xiu's face was a little pale, her breathing was steady and her body was no longer transparent, so it was obvious that she was fine.
"Brother Lin Shen..." Xiuxiu slowly opened her eyes and looked at Lin Shen with an innocent smile. "I... I'm not dead... I feel like my soul has merged with the peach wood sword. Not only has it not dissipated, it has become even more powerful..."
Everyone gathered around, looking at Xiuxiu with pleased smiles on their faces. Lin Munan picked up the peach wood sword, examined it carefully, and said, "It seems that the peach wood sword has absorbed the evil spirit of the evil witch god and the spiritual energy between heaven and earth. It not only preserved Xiuxiu's soul, but also further enhanced her power. Now Xiuxiu is no longer an ordinary corpse soul, but a true 'peach wood spirit body', possessing the powerful power to fight against evil beings."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, smiles of triumph on their faces. The evil witch god was completely destroyed, and the remaining soul of the mandarin duck girl also disappeared with the dissipation of the evil spirit. Qingwu Town and the small town finally returned to peace.
A few days later, the group returned to the town with Xiuxiu and the old lady. Upon hearing that they had eliminated the evil witch god and the mandarin duck girl, the townspeople flocked to greet them and held a grand celebration. Lin Shen and Li Ye helped the townspeople rebuild their burned-down houses, while Su Wan used her knowledge to treat the townspeople's illnesses. Meng Yao documented the town's reconstruction process with a camera. Chen Ba prepared herbs to ward off evil spirits for the townspeople, and Lin Munan continued to investigate other possible evil spirits, striving to protect the safety of as many people as possible.
Xiuxiu spent her days playing with her grandmother in the small town, occasionally helping the townspeople solve minor problems. Her peach wood sword remained with her, and whenever she encountered an evil aura, it would emit a faint red light, alerting her to the presence of danger.
Although the Evil Witch God has been completely destroyed, everyone knows that there are still many unknown evils in this world, and many people who need their protection. Their adventure is not over, and their battle has not stopped. But they are no longer afraid, no longer confused, because they know that as long as they unite, as long as they have the faith to protect, no evil can defeat them.
As the sun sets, golden sunlight shimmers across the town's streets and on everyone's faces. They stand in the town square, gazing at Qingwu Town in the distance, their eyes filled with determination and hope. The road ahead is still long, but they believe that as long as they keep walking together, they will surely usher in a brighter tomorrow.
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