Chapter 5: Ghosts and Demons, Vanquished with a Flick of the Wrist
A chilling wind swept through the forest, like the wail of a vengeful spirit.
Hua Shuya felt a bone-chilling coldness, her teeth chattering. The eerie woman remained silent, her face dark, the tension between her and Lin Tianlu creating a suffocating pressure.
“You scholar—”
The eerie woman finally spoke, her voice raspy and chilling. “How dare you touch me!”
“I know it’s improper for a man and a woman to touch,” Lin Tianlu said with a faint smile. “But aren’t you going to explain what happened to these farmers?”
“Die!” The woman’s eyes widened, as if blood was about to spill from them. A surge of icy energy erupted from her, like a shadowy blade!
“…”
But after a moment of silence, Lin Tianlu looked down at himself with a puzzled expression. “Miss, it’s not very polite to curse someone.”
The woman was stunned.
Suddenly, Lin Tianlu felt the cold hand he was gripping slip away. The eerie woman vanished into thin air.
“S-Senior… what… what was that?!”
Hua Shuya’s face was pale, her breathing shallow, her sword hand trembling.
Lin Tianlu narrowed his eyes and took a few steps back, his voice low. “It seems to be a wandering ghost.”
“Hiss, hiss, hiss—!”
A strange sound came from behind them.
Lin Tianlu quickly turned around and saw a pale figure flashing before him, its hand shooting out from its sleeve with a powerful strike!
—Boom!
The impact resonated like a thunderclap.
The force of the blow sent Hua Shuya stumbling back, her face filled with shock. “Senior!”
“…Hmm?”
Lin Tianlu looked down at the handprint on his chest, his eyes filled with surprise.
He didn’t feel any pain. On the contrary…
It felt cool and refreshing.
Rather pleasant?
—No.
He gradually realized what was happening.
His body… was abnormal.
“How… is this possible?!”
The eerie woman’s pale face was etched with shock.
Before she could withdraw her hand, Lin Tianlu’s gaze sharpened, his hand shooting out like lightning, grabbing her wrist again.
He didn’t waste any time. Taking a deep breath, he struck her chest with his palm.
Slap!
A look of shock and confusion still lingered on the woman’s face as half her body dissolved into smoke, dispersed by his palm strike.
“Aaaaaaaaah!”
A piercing scream echoed through the forest, startling birds and beasts.
The eerie woman’s body transformed into a dark cloud of smoke, fleeing into the distance.
…
“Impossible! Impossible!”
The woman darted through the trees, her form becoming increasingly translucent, her expression a mixture of panic and terror.
“That scholar… he looked so weak and frail, his face so gentle. How could he possess such terrifying power?!”
“Pure Yang realm? Azure Spirit realm? Or a Five Meridian Grandmaster?!”
“No! None of those! That man—”
A terrifying realization dawned on her.
“I have to escape, I have to get away from that monster!”
But she quickly sensed something was wrong.
Strange, silver threads had silently wrapped around her body, slowing her down.
Then, to her horror, she froze in mid-air, completely immobilized.
…
Lin Tianlu lowered his hand, watching the retreating smoke with a focused gaze.
At that moment, he suddenly felt his vision changing.
The sunlight filtering through the trees seemed to dim and distort, and faint, shimmering trails of light appeared in the air, spreading towards the depths of the forest.
He could even perceive the slightest movements around him – the fluttering leaves, the swaying grass and flowers, and strange, luminous specks he had never seen before, dancing and swirling in the air and on the ground.
The shimmering lights intertwined, weaving a beautiful and ethereal tapestry.
The scenery was breathtaking, the silence profound.
In a daze, Lin Tianlu’s eyes became clear and bright, and he instinctively extended his hand, pointing a finger into the air.
“Heaven and earth are my net, where can you escape?”
A warm, gentle breeze swept through the forest.
Hua Shuya suddenly felt the oppressive coldness that had gripped her body receding. She breathed a sigh of relief and looked around in surprise. Even the zombies that had been surrounding her stopped in their tracks, stumbling and falling to their knees.
At the same time, a woman’s pained cry echoed through the forest.
“I… I’m not resigned!”
“Not resigned?”
Lin Tianlu chuckled, shaking his head. A flash of emerald green light flickered in his eyes.
Within the woman’s struggling, trembling soul, a crimson light pulsed, as if countless vengeful spirits were wailing alongside her. Her sins were heavy, countless innocent lives lost at her hands.
“—You have no right to be.”
Lin Tianlu sighed softly, his hands clasped behind his back.
But the eerie woman, trapped in mid-air, was terrified, her soul trembling.
Before her eyes, the vast Mount Taiyi trembled, its majestic peak piercing the clouds. Countless streams of spiritual energy erupted from the earth, transforming into a world-ending wave!
A roar like a dragon, a blinding light, an unstoppable force… In an instant, it swept over her soul, crushing it completely!
“…”
The forest fell silent again.
The gentle breeze dissipated, and the chilling aura vanished without a trace.
The mist cleared, and warm sunlight bathed the trees once more.
The zombies, freed from the control of the Yin energy, seemed to find peace. Their gruesome faces showed a hint of joy as they bowed respectfully, kowtowing repeatedly.
“Thank you, Great Immortal, for setting us free—”
“We will never forget your kindness, Great Immortal—”
Their bodies turned into wisps of smoke under the sunlight, dissipating into the air.
Hua Shuya watched this unbelievable scene unfold, murmuring, “Senior, they…”
“They have returned to dust, their souls at peace.”
Lin Tianlu sighed, his gaze fixed on the sky.
The girl’s eyes sparkled as she looked at his back, her gaze filled with awe.
Bathed in the warm sunlight, his slender figure seemed so tall and imposing, ethereal and immortal, almost overlapping with the image of the transcendent being she had yearned for in her childhood.
But she didn’t know that Lin Tianlu was filled with surprise.
After he had destroyed the eerie woman, a strange, dark gray aura had emanated from her, flowing towards him.
Reaching into his pocket, he realized that this strange aura was being absorbed into a broken jade pendant.
“This is… the jade pendant I dug up on the mountaintop?”
Lin Tianlu was surprised.
He had thought it was just a decayed and worthless antique. But unexpectedly, it still possessed some mystical properties?
However, there was something even more surprising.
Lin Tianlu put away the jade pendant and clenched his right hand, his expression strange.
He had just been experimenting, but he hadn’t expected… he now possessed extraordinary abilities.
But he hadn‘t read any cultivation manuals. Where did this power come from?
Hua Shuya had struggled so much against just a few zombies, but he had dealt with the ghost behind it all with such ease, as if it were nothing.
He couldn’t understand it.
But it didn’t seem like a bad thing.
Lin Tianlu’s gaze swept towards the direction where the ghost had disappeared, and he sighed inwardly.
This world was far more dangerous than he had imagined. There were truly such sinister beings. If he had come here as an ordinary mortal, his fate might have been the same as those farmers, a tragic death.
Hua Shuya sheathed her sword and walked towards him, her expression grave. “Senior, is that female ghost gone?”
“Yes.”
Lin Tianlu turned to look at her. “What are you planning to do now, young lady?”
“These farmers died because of me. When we return to town, I’ll compensate their families as best as I can.” Hua Shuya sighed softly. “It’s just a shame that I can’t bring their bodies back for a proper burial. I feel ashamed to face their families.”
She was a kind-hearted woman.
Lin Tianlu was about to speak when Hua Shuya took a deep breath and bowed deeply. “Thank you for saving my life, Senior! If it weren’t for you, I would have died at the hands of that evil creature!”
“It’s alright.”
Lin Tianlu coughed lightly and waved his hand dismissively, trying to act calm. “Since everything is fine now, let’s continue our journey. Staying in this damp and sinister place for too long is bad for your health.”
“Yes!”
Hua Shuya eagerly quickened her pace, leading the way.
Lin Tianlu followed silently behind her, wiping the sweat from his brow.
It was truly difficult to maintain the demeanor of a transcendent master. Fortunately, his half month of solitude had calmed his mind, allowing him to speak with confidence.
Once they reached the town, he would have to carefully sort through everything that had happened since he transmigrated.
And he had to figure out what happened to Mount Taiyi…
Hmm?
Lin Tianlu turned around instinctively, his eyes widening in shock.
White clouds swirled around the mountain, a breathtakingly beautiful sight. Lush greenery covered the slopes.
But…
The towering peak that had once loomed over them was gone.
Where was Mount Taiyi?
That massive mountain, how could it have vanished into thin air?!
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