Mu Zhanting still had a strong survival instinct. The Dragon Lord’s words echoed in his mind: “See that bright star in the sky? If Nan Yan doesn’t return home safe and sound, that’ll be your final resting place.”
Truly his master’s disciple.
So, even though his little sister was ready to disown everyone, Mu Zhanting firmly clung to her legs: “This journey will be long. When we meet again, I fear you’ll bring back nieces and nephews. We should go protect you!”
Yin Ya chimed in: “Exactly! We can postpone our matters. What’s more important than our sister, right?”
Qi Yang, observing Nan Yan’s violent outburst through the cage bars, said: “Indeed. I recently fought with my master and got injured. I can’t suppress some fierce evil ghosts for a few days. Since you two brothers each control a river of souls, please protect me for two days.”
Mu Zhanting and Yin Ya fell silent for a moment, then asked: “You can’t suppress fierce ghosts? What do you mean?”
Qi Yang: “Look behind you.”
The three turned around to see that the captured mortals in the cage had been quietly taken away by ghost tribes. Those remaining, though looking like mortals, all wore eerie smiles and cast no shadows.
Yin Ya: “How many evil ghosts are actually around you?”
Qi Yang humbly replied: “Wherever I stand, as far as the eye can see, is the Yellow Springs.”
“…”
Half an hour later, as the whaleship slowly sailed away, Nan Yan stood expressionlessly by the stern railing, feeling the cold wind as she watched Mu Zhanting and Yin Ya bid tearful farewells.
“Even the longest bonds have their end. Let’s smile and forget our grudges. Sister, this journey will test you with demons and ghosts, tempering your Buddha’s heart. Stay strong!”
Such a caring brother.
As night stars began to appear, Nan Yan turned to look at Qi Yang, who was resting with his eyes closed nearby. True to his words, some Yin priests were secretly observing him from afar, their hollow ghost-fire eyes revealing a hint of hungry desire.
Nan Yan suddenly recalled the last time she saw him injured, with Yin priests surrounding him similarly.
Thinking of this, she directly released the Buddha aura from the Seven Buddhas’ Karmic Scripture. Soon, the Yin priests scattered.
“Are you injured?”
“Just a casual remark.”
Nan Yan glanced at the Yin priests still lingering in the dark corners and took his hand. “Come with me.”
As Nascent Soul cultivators held high status on the whale ship, she quickly used the Evil Dao guest token to disguise as a demonic cultivator and was led to a private cave dwelling.
She made Qi Yang sit in a chair, then proceeded to set up layer upon layer of Buddhist barriers around the entire dwelling, much to his amusement.
After finishing, Nan Yan stood before him with a solemn face. “How confident are you in controlling the demon realm under the Demon Sealing Formation?”
Qi Yang leaned back slightly, raising an eyebrow. “If I’m not, how do you plan to… deal with me?”
He seemed composed but was always gambling on a knife’s edge where she couldn’t see.
“How about the Chou Shan Buddhist Sea Nine Tribulation Pagoda Demon Suppression Sanatorium?” Nan Yan said expressionlessly.
“You’re not angry this time?”
“Monastics don’t indulge in anger or delusion.”
“Is it not indulging in anger, or not indulging in delusion?”
After a brief staredown, before Nan Yan could attempt to kill him with her gaze, Qi Yang finally confessed truthfully.
“He’s very angry,” Qi Yang said, with obvious delight in his eyes. “My master is an extremely arrogant person. Once he decides on a course of action, he never backs down. Plotting against the Six Venerable Ones of State Destruction, killing Sovereign Nan Fang, suppressing the Buddhist Repentance Lord, including trying to kill me before and now wanting to kill you – every single thing was within his calculations… But now he’s discovered something.”
“What?”
“He can’t calculate you anymore.” Qi Yang raised his hand, conjuring a Taoist Eight Trigrams seal in mid-air. “He doesn’t prefer direct intervention, basing every move on his divination techniques. But now his divination is gradually failing. I tried confronting him once in the Hall of Righteous Law. If his Dao’s heart hadn’t faltered, the Prohibition Tower couldn’t have been unlocked. This time, his inaction allowed Yin Ya to succeed, which indicates one thing.”
“The Reverse Reincarnation Mirror?” Nan Yan felt her palm grow hot. “Isn’t it a treasure of the Way of Heaven? Why would it help me?”
“It’s not helping you. The Reverse Reincarnation Mirror comes from beyond this world; the Way of Heaven isn’t its master. As for my master, he’s always walked a path that defies heaven. He’s killed many, relying on his powerful cultivation to conceal the karma attached to him, allowing him to compare himself to the Sovereign of the Mysterious Heaven. Now, the Reverse Reincarnation Mirror is using you as a starting point to seek retribution for his past sins. It will assist you repeatedly. As long as he doesn’t give up on usurping the Nine Hells, the mirror will protect you for a day. You can see it as the Heavenly Dao helping you in subtle ways.”
Remembering the 60,000 sacrificed in Wu State, Nan Yan asked, “So, because he defies heaven, he’s hunted by the Heavenly Dao, and my every move is meant to eliminate him?”
“You could understand it that way. However, he’s not the only one being hunted by the Heavenly Dao.”
“Who else?”
“Me.”
Nan Yan was stunned but instinctively avoided this topic. “You mentioned earlier that you’ve tried to confront him?”
“It’s embarrassing. His divine consciousness vessel was destroyed, and I was injured.”
“Let me take a look,” she said.
The ghostly aura surrounding them had intensified imperceptibly as if the most ferocious evil spirits were anticipating the Prison Lord’s weakness, ready to strike at any moment. Unlike Mu Zhanting and Yin Ya, Ji Yang’s method of seizing control of the Yellow Springs Prison must have been unique.
“Oh?” Ji Yang looked at her with surprise, his blood-red pupils gleaming slightly. “It hurts quite a bit. Would you help me?”
“I just want to examine your wound.”
“Your brother fears pain, I’m merely being honest.”
Nan Yan, silently reciting Buddhist scriptures, began to untie his robe in the strange atmosphere. Before she lay the lean, muscular body of a man in his early twenties. His pale skin and blood-red eyes gave him an eerie appearance. As Nan Yan infused Buddhist energy into the wound on his back—inflicted by Ya Quan Chuan—his features gradually took on a suppressed look of desire.
Simultaneously, horror spread across Nan Yan’s face as she realized the extent of the injury. Though only about three inches long, it contained a destructive force equivalent to an attack from ten thousand evil spirits—the Prison Lord’s final, fatal blow.
Fortunately, her Seven Buddhas Karma Scripture could counter demonic forces. Under the flood of her Buddhist power, the wound of ten thousand evil spirits was completely purged.
“Your opponent must have been the Six Imperial Master,” Nan Yan said, her spiritual energy nearly depleted. Her hands stung, and she broke out in a cold sweat. Before she could hide her condition, Ji Yang pulled her onto his lap, grasping her hands.