"It was a black-robed sorcerer, leaning on a cane, with a hoarse voice. He was accompanied by several disciples, all dressed in black robes," the old woman described. "He said he was some kind of 'messenger of the underworld,' sent to exorcise ghosts for us. But... but ever since he came, even more people have died in the village..."
Qiqi's little face was serious. "Grandma, that sorcerer is a bad person. Those children weren't taken away by the mountain spirit, they were taken away by him."
The old woman was struck dumb. "What? Those... those Amu and the others..."
Amu is the old lady's grandson. His parents work away from home, and the child lives with her.
But three days ago, Amu suddenly disappeared.
She begged the monk to go and find him, but the monk told her that Amu was beyond saving.
Qiqi held the old woman's hand. "Grandma, don't cry. We've come to save Amu and the children. Tell us, where is that sorcerer now?"
The old woman wiped away her tears. "They're in a cave on the back mountain. They say they're setting up an altar there to suppress the mountain demon. They won't let us get close..."
Lin Wei immediately notified the others via communicator, "We've discovered a Netherworld Palace stronghold, which may be holding some children. Change our plan, take down this stronghold first, and rescue the children we can save."
Huo Yuwei frowned. "But won't this alert them?"
"We can't worry about that now," Lin Wei said firmly. "We'll save as many as we can. Besides, taking down this stronghold will also weaken the Netherworld Palace's power."
She looked at the old lady and said, "Grandma, could you take us to the back of the mountain? But you only need to give us directions; you don't need to get close, it's too dangerous."
The old woman nodded firmly, "What do my old bones matter as long as it can save the children! I'll take you there!"
Night fell, and the mountains and forests were pitch black.
Led by the old lady, the group quietly arrived at the back of the mountain.
From afar, one could see an eerie green light shining at the entrance of a cave, with two men in black robes guarding the entrance.
Lin Wei gave a hand gesture, and the special department team members split into two groups to flank from both sides.
"Qiqi, you stay here with your big brother," Lin Wei whispered.
Qiqi shook her head. "Sister Linwei, there's a formation in the cave. Forcing your way in will trigger an alarm. Wait a moment, and I'll quietly destroy the formation."
Huo Yuwei wanted to object, but Qiqi had already taken out several talisman papers and quickly folded them into several small paper cranes.
She blew on the paper crane, and it came to life, flapping its wings and silently flying towards the cave.
"This is..." Yun Songzi exclaimed in surprise, "Controlling objects and transforming them into human form? Such a young child has mastered such profound magic?"
Qiqi focused intently on controlling the paper crane, her little face looking especially serious in the moonlight.
The paper cranes flew around the cave and landed in several inconspicuous spots.
That was the node of the formation.
Qi Qi changed her hand seals and softly shouted, "Break!"
The paper cranes burst into flames, turning into golden fire that instantly destroyed the array nodes.
The whole process was completely silent; even the two guards at the cave entrance didn't notice.
Lin Wei seized the opportunity and waved her hand, "Action!"
The special operations team members pounced like cheetahs and subdued the two guards in an instant.
The group rushed into the cave.
The cave was larger than expected and had been converted into a temporary sacrificial site.
In the center was a pool of blood, emanating a strong stench of blood.
There were more than a dozen iron cages around, each containing two or three children, most of whom were unconscious.
Deep inside the cave, a man in black robes was chanting incantations before an altar, seemingly performing some kind of ritual.
"Stop!" Lin Wei shouted, throwing out several talismans.
The man in black robes turned around abruptly, revealing a gaunt face. "Who goes there? How dare you disturb the rituals of the Netherworld Palace!"
With a wave of his skull cane, a horde of vengeful spirits surged from the pool of blood and pounced on the crowd.
"Be careful!" Yun Songzi and Qingyin attacked simultaneously, their golden light and sound waves intertwining to shatter the vengeful spirit.
Special forces members rushed to the cage and began rescuing the child.
Seeing that things were going badly, the man in black robes began chanting obscure incantations, and the entire cave began to shake.
"He's going to detonate the blood pool!" Qiqi shouted. "Quick, get the children out of here!"
She was held protectively in Huo Yuwei's arms, but her little hands were rapidly forming hand seals.
Qiqi bit her fingertip, used her blood to draw a complex rune in the air, and then pushed it violently into the blood pool.
"Heaven and earth are boundless, the universe borrows its power, seal!"
The runes were imprinted on the blood pool, and the boiling blood instantly calmed down.
The man in black robes stared at Qi Qi in shock. "So you're that little girl with the pure Yin body! You've really chosen the path to hell when there's one in heaven!"
A greedy glint flashed in his eyes, and his skull cane pointed directly at Qi Qi. "Capture her, and the Venerable One will reward you handsomely!"
More men in black robes emerged from the depths of the cave, clearly having been lying in ambush for some time.
"We've fallen for their trap!" Lin Wei's expression changed. "This is a snare!"
Huo Yuwei shielded Qiqi behind him and said in a deep voice, "Don't linger in the fight, cover the children's retreat!"
The battle erupted instantly.
The special forces members were well-trained and, while fending off the attacks from the men in black robes, they organized the children's evacuation.
Qiqi was protected by Huo Yuwei and retreated to the cave entrance, but she noticed that there were several iron cages deep in the cave, and the children inside were in bad condition, with black energy swirling around them.
"Big brother, those children are dying, Qiqi has to go save them!" Qiqi said urgently.
"It's too dangerous!" Huo Yuwei refused to let go.
Just then, the black-robed mage suddenly broke through the defenses, and his skull staff transformed into a bone whip, whipping towards Qiqi.
Huo Yuwei pushed Qiqi away, but he himself was entangled by the bone whip.
"Big brother!" Qiqi exclaimed.
The black-robed mage grinned maliciously, "Got you!"
He pulled hard, and Huo Yuwei was dragged toward him.
At the critical moment, Qiqi's eyes shone brightly with golden light. She no longer concealed her strength and formed a complex hand seal with her small hands.
"Heaven's will is clear, evil spirits are banished, break!"
A pure golden light burst forth from her hand, slashing towards the bone whip like a sharp sword.
The bone whip snapped instantly, and the black-robed mage screamed, staggering back several steps, staring at Qiqi in disbelief.
"You...you actually managed to break my Hundred Resentment Bone Whip!"
Qiqi's face was pale. This attack had consumed a lot of her spiritual power, but she couldn't care less about that in order to protect her older brother.
She helped Huo Yuwei up. "Big brother, are you alright?"
Huo Yuwei shook his head, then looked at Qiqi disapprovingly, "Qiqi, didn't we agree that we weren't allowed to use spiritual power?"
“Big brother, now is not the time to talk about this,” Qiqi looked into the depths of the cave, “We must rescue all the children.”
She took a deep breath and pulled out a life-saving charm from her bag, a charm she rarely used.
It was a golden talisman with ancient runes flowing across it.
"Master said that we shouldn't use this unless absolutely necessary..." Qiqi murmured, then her eyes hardened, "But now is the time when we absolutely have to!"
She tossed the golden talisman into the air, formed a hand seal, and used her last bit of spiritual power to activate the talisman.
"All gods and Buddhas, heed my command! Sweep away evil spirits and restore peace to the world! So be it!"
The golden talisman burst forth with dazzling light, and wherever the light touched, the black-robed men screamed in agony, their black aura dissipating like snow meeting the spring sun.
Those vengeful spirits turned into wisps of smoke in the light.
The black-robed sorcerer stared in horror at the scene. "This...this is a Celestial Master's Divine Talisman! How do you possess something so long lost!"
He dared not fight any longer and turned to flee.
But Lin Wei had already blocked his way: "Trying to run? Too late!"
Yun Songzi and Qingyin attacked simultaneously, subduing the black-robed mage.
The battle ended quickly, and the forces of the Netherworld Palace at this stronghold were wiped out.
All 23 children were rescued, including Amu.
After Amu woke up, he hugged the old lady and cried uncontrollably.
Other children were also claimed by the villagers who arrived one after another, and for a time, the sounds of crying and laughter mingled outside the cave.
However, Qiqi fainted in Huo Yuwei's arms because she had exhausted her spiritual power.
"Qiqi!" Huo Yuwei called out anxiously.
Yun Songzi came over to check and breathed a sigh of relief, "It's just excessive consumption of spiritual energy, but fortunately, it didn't damage the meridians, so it's not a big problem. He just needs to rest for a while, but..."
His expression was grave. "The commotion caused by Qiqi's use of the Celestial Master Talisman was too great. The Netherworld Palace has probably already noticed. We must leave here immediately and head to Eagle's Beak Cliff. Otherwise, if they act prematurely, those children will be in danger."
Lin Wei nodded, "Clean up the battlefield, take this prisoner, and set off immediately! The main force of the Netherworld Palace must have already laid a trap at Eagle's Beak Cliff. The real battle has only just begun."
The convoy set off again, heading into the depths of the Ten Thousand Mountains under the cover of night.
Meanwhile, at Eagle's Beak Cliff, the old man known as the Netherworld Venerable was standing on the altar, looking at a bone mirror that had suddenly shattered in his hand.
He raised his head, looked into the distance, and a strange smile appeared on his lips.
“Little girl, you have indeed come. Very good! Very good! The night of the alignment of the seven stars will be the time when my lord descends. And you will be the most perfect sacrifice.”
The night wind blew through the valley, carrying with it the stench of blood and an ominous atmosphere.
The decisive battle is imminent.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com