Chapter 31
The monk in the cemetery also began his ritual of deliverance. Like Xiao Mu, he sat on the ground with his hands clasped together, his staff resting horizontally on his legs. Golden Sanskrit characters surrounded him, and some of the wronged souls that had been entangled around Xiao Mu also came to his side.
As the corpses rotted one by one, the ritual reached its most crucial moment. The resentment began to backfire, filling the entire cemetery with black, malevolent energy.
Instead of scattering and fleeing because of the black, resentful aura, people began to try to help these wronged souls be released and purified. Some parents sat behind the monk, and they began to chant sutras. When someone approached them, they discovered that the so-called chanting was nothing more than the four words "Amitabha Buddha" that everyone often heard.
Su Qiwen had also read some scriptures, including the widely circulated "Qingjing Jing" (Scripture of Purity and Tranquility) among the immortal sects. When he felt agitated while reading, he would silently recite it to calm his mind. He sat behind Xiao Mu and silently recited the "Qingjing Jing," hoping to help these women who had nowhere to voice their grievances.
As more and more people joined, the golden Sanskrit scriptures shone brighter and brighter until they finally soared into the sky.
The cries of the wronged spirits subsided, and the chilling feeling gradually disappeared.
Only now could Xiao Mu be distracted. Who was this monk? Just passing by? He was very grateful for his help at this crucial moment. He had only recently learned this method of dispelling resentment; if he had to rely on himself, it would have taken him a very long time to complete.
The Gou family and Ding Jiangyi seemed to have discovered something. They ran out of a basement and looked in the direction of the cemetery. The soaring golden light meant that the resentment there was being dispelled.
The middle-aged man looked at Ding Jiangyi, his eyes red-rimmed, his hands trembling slightly with anger. "What happened?"
Ding Jiangyi looked in that direction and mumbled, "It was that person who had... It was Xiao Mu, whom they had overlooked. How could he have resolved the resentment so quickly with his cultivation level?"
But the scene before them also indicated that something they didn't want to see had indeed happened there. Ding Jiangyi turned his head and said, "Senior Brother, don't worry, I'll go take a look."
He told them not to rush, but he himself was very anxious. They had already tried using Ye Lingxi's soul before, and none of the people from Tianyu Mountain knew any way to resolve or exorcise resentment. The soaring light today also proved that their previous conclusions were wrong.
"Alright," the man called out to Ding Jiangyi, looking at the soaring light with resentment. "Those little guys from Tianyu Mountain don't have that kind of ability; they must have brought in help."
No sooner had he finished speaking than an arrow shot toward his face, which he immediately blocked with a barrier.
Then he saw Shi Yunzhou's sword thrust towards him, and the man had no choice but to block the attack with his own sword. Then the two began to fight.
Upon seeing Shi Yunzhou, Ding Jiangyi suddenly ran towards the place where the two people were imprisoned, only to find two more people sitting motionless within the formation.
With the array removed, the illusion vanished, and two puppet-like figures fell to the ground. When did these two appear? Ding Jiangyi now regretted underestimating them.
A red smoke suddenly appeared in the sky above the Gou family's residence. Upon seeing the smoke, the cultivators patrolling outside quickly gathered in the inner courtyard.
"Zhou Xuanzhi and Shi Yunzhou from Tianyu Mountain have escaped. We must find them even if we have to dig three feet into the ground!" With Ding Jiangyi's order, the cultivators began searching in groups of three.
Ding Jiangyi also drew his dagger and headed towards the direction where Shi Yunzhou and his senior brother were fighting.
Zhou Xuanzhi could also hear the sounds from outside.
Since the elderly couple had chosen to tell everything, they didn't call anyone else in.
"So, you mean Ding Liuyi was going to use my son's corpse to do bad things? Didn't he ever think of resurrecting my son?" Madam Gou asked, crying.
Having been in Jianye Town for so long and seen so many parents who have lost their children, Zhou Xuanzhi now felt a little reluctant to let them go. However, thinking about what these two had done for their son, he couldn't bring himself to sympathize with them: "That's right. After it's done, we'll try to see if we can get Young Master Gou to come out and meet you."
Although they didn't have much of a relationship with the people of the underworld, they had at least helped them capture many vengeful ghosts. For example, Xiao Mu had helped so many people dispel their resentment this time, so they would probably help him out in return for that.
Old Master Gou wanted more than just a meeting; he asked unwillingly, "Can't you just let my son come back?"
For so long, the image of Master Gou in everyone's mind has always been that the Gou family has declined, and now that a promising person has finally emerged, he can't let this opportunity slip by. But sometimes, however, he acts like a father who has lost his child.
Looking at this person, Zhou Xuanzhi shook his head.
Madam Gou suddenly grabbed Zhou Xuanzhi and pleaded, "It would be alright if we could just meet him once."
"We will definitely bring..." Before he could finish speaking, there was a knock on the door.
"Master and Madam, what happened inside?" It was Ding Jiangyi's voice.
His coming here meant their deception had been exposed. Zhou Xuanzhi shook his head at Madam Gou, signaling her to stop. Master Gou's expression was unreadable; he was still somewhat worried.
"No." Seeing Zhou Xuanzhi's nervous expression, Master Gou decided to believe him this once. "What happened?"
“A few rats ran away, but it’s nothing serious, sir, please don’t worry,” Ding Jiangyi said.
Shi Yunzhou is still outside. Has he encountered the two brothers? Ding Liuyi's strength is above Shi Yunzhou's.
When there was no sound outside, Zhou Xuanzhi said goodbye to the two men and went outside. It was at this moment that Zhou Xuanzhi suddenly realized that they should be searching for him outside. He thought of the middle-aged man's back; Miss Ma was with him, along with Gou Tingxuan's body. This was a golden opportunity; perhaps there was still hope of rescuing Miss Ma.
He turned his head and saw the soaring golden light. There were two beams. The one belonging to Xiao Mu was familiar to him, while the other was the helper he had found, Fei Xiang from the Prajna Temple. He should be about the same age as his senior sister from the late Ming Dynasty, but among the younger generation of Buddhist cultivators, he was undoubtedly the number one.
The thought that Shi Yunzhou might face Ding Jiangyi and Ding Liuyi alone filled Zhou Xuanzhi with fear, as these two were very powerful. So, he led the cultivators away while heading towards Shi Yunzhou's direction.
The situation in Shi Yunzhou is very bad. With Ding Liuyi already on the list, it's difficult to add Ding Jiangyi to the mix. He even feels that he might not see the sunrise.
The combined attack of the two Ding brothers sent him flying. Just when he thought he was going to crash into the wall, he was caught.
It was Zhou Xuanzhi.
"How is it?" Zhou Xuanzhi asked, putting down Shi Yunzhou.
Actually, he didn't look very good, but at this point, no one could back down. He stood in front of Shi Yunzhou, sword in hand.
Upon seeing Zhou Xuanzhi arrive, Ding Liuyi gave his junior brother a look, and the latter nodded.
This action was not done in secret from Zhou Xuanzhi and Shi Yunzhou. Although the two of them combined were no match for Ding Liuyi alone, at this point, they had no choice but to risk everything.
When Ding Liuyi launched his attack, Zhou Xuanzhi drew his sword to meet him. Shi Yunzhou, on the other hand, blocked Ding Liuyi's path.
Zhou Xuanzhi's situation wasn't so good. The gap between him and Ding Liuyi was too great, making it extremely difficult for him to gain any advantage. Shi Yunzhou had already been seriously injured by him, and if the two of them were to clash again, his junior brother would truly be in danger.
I sent a message to Tianyu Mountain before, did the sect expect that they would also need to send people here?
It was during this moment of distraction that Zhou Xuanzhi was struck in the abdomen by a sword. The power of this sword was something he had never experienced before; it felt as if his internal organs had been shattered.
He immediately stepped back, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Ding Liuyi's sword was already pointed at Shi Yunzhou's back. Zhou Xuanzhi mustered his last strength and rushed forward, deflecting Ding Liuyi's sword with a single blow.
Ding Liuyi naturally wouldn't let Zhou Xuanzhi off easily, and struck Zhou Xuanzhi in the chest with another palm strike.
Zhou Xuanzhi crashed into the wall behind him and fell down. Everything went black, and he knew nothing more after that.
Seeing his senior brother beaten like this, Shi Yunzhou angrily knocked Ding Jiangyi to the ground. Then, he too fell to the ground, just like his senior brother.
When Zhou Xuanzhi and Shi Yunzhou woke up, they found themselves in what appeared to be a secret room. Their wounds had not been treated and were still bleeding.
They got up and explored the layout of the Gou family's residence, wandering around for quite a while before finally reaching the basement. There didn't seem to be any protective barrier inside, and once that was confirmed, they began searching freely.
That day, he witnessed Ding Liuyi putting Miss Ma's soul into a black box, and today he was determined to release Miss Ma's soul no matter what.
But after searching for a long time, we still couldn't find the black box. Instead, we did see various formations, and these formations were suppressing something.
Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside; someone had entered. Judging from the footsteps, they seemed very familiar with the place, and they walked in the direction without hesitation—it was the Ding brothers.
Looking at the array formations on the ground, neither of them could calm down. Shi Yunzhou nodded to Zhou Xuanzhi, and the two of them composed themselves, destroying all the array formations on the ground with their swords.
In that instant, Ding Liuyi appeared before them. When he saw that the formation on the ground had been destroyed, he pointed at the two of them and roared, "You know what you're doing..."
Before he could finish speaking, a howl echoed from within the formation, a piercing and mournful cry. Zhou Xuanzhi saw the creatures emerging from the formation; they were humanoid, but entirely black, their faces obscured, radiating resentment and malevolence, and, most importantly, emanating a foul stench.
He finally understood what these people wanted to do with Gou Tingxuan's corpse. Just when he thought he was about to resolve the matter in Jianye Town, he discovered that all his previous efforts had been in vain; they were building a "weapon of mass destruction."
The "Ku Lei Zi" is a practice where a male corpse, preferably a female ghost, filled with resentment and malevolence, is forcibly stuffed into it. The "corpse" is then subjected to a series of treatments. After this, they become invulnerable to weapons and only know how to kill.
It was unclear whether these puppets could be considered "finished products," but they all pounced on Ding Liuyi.
The two took this opportunity to continue searching for the black box containing Miss Ma's soul. Miss Ma and Gou Tingxuan had matched their birth charts, and their birth charts would multiply the power of the puppet.
"They're building cave puppets, and these monsters have already emerged!" Shi Yunzhou couldn't believe what he was seeing. If these things were created, the entire Jianye Town, no, the entire Pingxi City, would disappear.
"Take these Gou family members and get out of here. The basement is full of puppets." Zhou Xuanzhi grabbed Shi Yunzhou and ran out immediately. He didn't know what to do next. The few of them were completely unable to handle the situation here.
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