Chapter 103: Good Things Come with Trials

Starting tomorrow, reading the book will require payment. Everyone, please remember to top up your Qidian coins and subscribe for me. Thank you!

"These two are truly formidable!" Wan Tianze squinted, watching the battle unfold. The swirling whirlwind lashed his face painfully, nearly blinding him.

Purple Dragon roared fiercely. Even though the figure before him was Ye Dong’s junior brother, it did not shake his resolve to subdue Guang Qi. With a flick of his hand, a talisman ignited without flame. "Purple Night Star Micro, a word that moves heaven and earth. Dragon soul dances, striking like the blazing sun and moon! Supreme Taoist, by urgent decree!"

"Is this his true power?" Guang Qi watched, astonished, as the colossal dragon before him grew larger, its scales deepening in color. As expected, the purple dragon was slowly revealing its true form.

"This is bad!" Seeing the situation turn suddenly, Guang Qi channeled his vital blood into the Samadhi True Fire, attempting to stabilize the battle with the flames.

However, he was not Ye Dong himself and could not fully unleash the true might of the Samadhi True Fire. Yet, he had other tricks up his sleeve.

Grimacing, Guang Qi supported the giant dragon bearing down on him with one hand, while drawing a jade flute with the other. Then, he began to play a strange, sinister tune, a "dili-li" sound.

"Oh!? This must be what Wen Xing and junior brother Hengxing described—using demonic music to confuse the mind and launch a surprise attack in battle!" Purple Dragon remained cautious, silently chanting the "Purification Mantra" to guard against Guang Qi’s trickery.

"Hmph! You’d better be on your guard!" Guang Qi sneered coldly. As a cunning scoundrel, using underhanded tactics was second nature to him. But this time, his target wasn’t Purple Dragon—it was the dozen or so bodyguards sprawled on the ground.

"Dili-li, dili-li." The bodyguards, who had long since fainted, suddenly opened their eyes at the soul-stealing melody and sprang up upright!

"Old skills still come in handy!" Guang Qi chuckled inwardly. "Although Huang Wuchang taught me some dirty tricks, their effectiveness is undeniable."

"Trap him for me!" Guang Qi shouted. Those bodyguards, now like mindless corpses, lunged at Purple Dragon.

"Damn it, Guang Qi is truly despicable!" Wan Tianze’s anger boiled over, and he cursed loudly.

"Using unorthodox methods to show off in front of an expert?!" Purple Dragon laughed angrily, urgently reciting, "Heaven and Earth boundless, universe borrowing magic! Ghosts and demons tremble, spirits lose form. Remove calamity, restore righteousness! By urgent decree!"

As soon as the incantation ended, Purple Dragon smeared fresh blood on a talisman. With a grand sweep of his hand, the talisman ignited without flame, instantly transforming into a huge purple character meaning "Exorcise," which charged fiercely toward the bodyguards under Guang Qi’s control.

This was the exorcism spell of the Zhengyi sect.

The character “Exorcise” grew from small to mountain-sized, bearing down on the controlled bodyguards.

Before Guang Qi could resist, the bodyguards were stunned by the spell, frozen rigid on the spot.

"Impressive!" Guang Qi’s heart jolted, feeling a surge of pressure in his chest, a suffocating sense rising within. "Senior Brother really is Senior Brother—his skills surpass even Lord Wei’s by an order of magnitude! I’m no match for him now. I can’t afford to get caught up in the fight!"

He snorted coldly, then shot out his vital blood with a beautiful arc, bypassing the "Eye of the Storm" and striking Purple Dragon’s forehead.

This move was the Xuanwu Evil-Repelling Spell from the Maoshan tradition.

"Xuanwu Evil-Repelling Spell? This is what I’ve been waiting for!" Purple Dragon smiled faintly and shouted, extending a hand to firmly catch the few droplets of vital blood.

Seeing Purple Dragon absorb his full-force attack, Guang Qi was shocked. "He actually caught my Xuanwu Evil-Repelling Spell outright!?"

Before he could launch another attack, Purple Dragon roared again, as if preparing a powerful counterstrike.

"Hmph! You have a clever plan, I have a ladder to climb over the wall. So what if you’re strong?" Guang Qi suddenly smiled. With a flick of his finger, a drop of vital blood shot like a bullet toward Wan Tianze.

"Despicable scoundrel!" Furious at Guang Qi’s trickery, Purple Dragon cursed. He had no choice but to temporarily abandon his big attack and protect Wan Tianze, giving Guang Qi a precious moment to escape.

It must be said, Guang Qi inherited Huang Wuchang’s less-than-honorable techniques—dirty tricks, sneaky moves, and especially escape tactics.

“Senior Brother, we shall meet again!” Guang Qi laughed heartily, slamming the door shut with both hands. He then pressed a yellow talisman onto the door, swiftly drawing a command charm in blood with his finger before sprinting away.

"He actually got away!" Purple Dragon prepared to give chase but found the door sealed.

"Uncle Wan, are you alright?" He turned to Wan Tianze, concern in his voice. "Is the jade pendant still with you?"

"I'm fine. The pendant is in my study at home. Hurry and call an ambulance—Zhixing is badly hurt!"

"Alright, I’ll break the seal!" Purple Dragon sighed and began casting a spell to undo the seal.

Meanwhile, Ye Dong was completely unaware of the peril Wan Tianze faced. He was diligently sifting through Guang Qi’s memories, seeking a method to swap himself back with Guang Qi.

"Found it!" Ye Dong exclaimed with joy, reciting Guang Qi’s annotations on the ancient text repeatedly: "All beings of the Three Realms cycle through the six destinies, like a spinning fire wheel. Heaven, humans, and asuras form the three good paths, while hell, animals, and hungry ghosts form the three evil paths. They revolve endlessly through birth and death as the wheel turns."

"Wow, is this an explanation?" Ye Dong was speechless at the abstruse commentary. "How complex must the original Outer Three Realms incantation be!"

"Don’t panic. Since Guang Qi mastered this reversal technique, he must have this part of the memory. I just need to learn the casting steps and then reverse it again!"

"Naïve, shallow, ignorant." The words hit Ye Dong like a slap to the face.

"What else can I do?!" Ye Dong was frustrated. "I don’t even know how much time is left, and even if I learn the reversal method, I’ll need some time to practice."

Just then, a giant Kongming lantern drifted through the snowy sky, approaching and retreating as if searching.

"Right, I still have my master—my father-like Chen Yao! This is the soul-searching lantern; he’s come to rescue me!" Ye Dong shouted toward the glowing lantern. "Master! Master! I’m here!"

As the lantern drew closer, suddenly a massive arrow shot out with a whistle and struck it down.

"What the hell? Where’s the person? Where’s the lantern? Damn it, who’s so wicked to shoot down the lantern!" Ye Dong raged, cursing furiously.

Chen Yao, casting a spell nearby, paused in confusion. "Who’s causing trouble? How dare they destroy my soul-searching lantern!"

"We shoot whenever we like. Mind your own business," came a teasing male voice.

"Who’s there? Show yourself!" Ye Dong’s anger flared, sensing deliberate antagonism.

"Fine, we’ll come out. What, you think we’re afraid of you?" Several men laughed as they strode forward, standing before Ye Dong.

"Who are you? Why are you blocking my master from rescuing me?" Ye Dong demanded.

Before him stood five men clad in armor dressed alike, but their faces were strikingly different—white, black, yellow, red, and blue—an eerie sight.

"Ghost-faced men!" Ye Dong had studied cultivation and knew something of spirits and demons. These five were the infamous "Five Ghost Men."

Hearing Ye Dong call them by name, the blue-faced one shook his head with a smile. "Oh, you’re somewhat knowledgeable! You actually know our name!"

"Damn, why do I have to run into these things now?" Ye Dong seethed. "Misfortunes never come singly!"

Chen Yao had once told him that the Five Ghost Men were a legend from the Han dynasty. Their parents were wealthy; when their mother died in childbirth, the five quintuplets, trapped inside her coffin, broke out by tearing her belly open, absorbing the corpse’s spiritual energy to survive as yin-yang infants. When they were trapped and about to perish, two grave robbers broke in. One died of fright at the sight of the bloodied infants, while the braver one, Xuan Xiu-zheng, after steadying himself, took the infants as his adopted sons before fleeing with the treasures.

Strangely, these five yin-yang children grew rapidly, were clever, and before age five, already helped Xuan Xiu-zheng in grave robbing. With their aid, he prospered, accumulating fortunes and writing a book in old age called "Xuan Xiu’s Ghostly Wealth," a guide to the tomb-robbing profession. He became revered as the founder of the craft, and the Five Ghost Men as its guardian spirits.

Why were they called the Five Ghost Men?

Because their birth defied natural law—they emerged from a corpse, exploiting a loophole in fate. Their names were not recorded in the Book of Life and Death. Being half-ghost, half-human, they were called Five Ghost Men. Ultimately, they would perish together; grave robbing damaged their virtue. When they died, they went to the underworld, but since their names weren’t in the ledger, the King of Hell refused them entry. They couldn’t return to the mortal realm either, so they wandered outside the gates of the underworld, sustained only by offerings to Xuan Xiu-zheng and the Five Ghosts.

With the story told, back to Ye Dong.

"I’m innocent! Why did you shoot down the soul-searching lantern? I have important matters to handle in the mortal world!" Ye Dong shouted.

The white-faced man chuckled, "Why? Because your enemy got you here. He offers incense to Xuan Xiu-zheng and us, but you don’t. So, of course, we have to stop you from returning!"

"Oh my God!" Ye Dong’s eyes widened. "Just because they feed you, you don’t distinguish good from evil and help the wicked?!"

"No, no," the black-faced man smiled. "They worship us, so you’re under our protection, understand?"

"Understand my ass. You help the bad guys and ignore the good. No wonder you can’t enter the underworld!" Ye Dong lashed out, striking a nerve.

"Hey! You’re so arrogant!" The blue-faced one, infuriated, pinched Ye Dong’s nose hard. "Believe it or not, I’ll peel off your nose!"

"Arrogant? If I understood you, I’d beat all five of you without breaking a sweat!" Ye Dong retorted angrily, unafraid.

"Heh," the white-faced man teased, leaning in. "You talk big. Who’s your master?"

Ye Dong smiled coldly, "Don’t faint when I tell you—my master is the esteemed Sunlight Taoist of the Zhengyi sect!"

"Sunlight Taoist!?" The white-faced man frowned, turning to the black-faced one. "Who’s that?"

The black-faced man glared and whispered, "Sunlight Taoist is the most famous Taoist recently—heard he’s very formidable."

The blue-faced one added, "I heard he’s powerful but petty and grudging. If what this kid says is true, shooting down his soul lamp was a big mistake."

"What now?" The black-faced man’s face darkened.

"What else? Help him out. Otherwise, if Sunlight Taoist comes down to beat us, it’ll be real embarrassing." The white-faced man rolled his eyes at the black-faced one, who rolled his eyes back.

"Hey, what are you whispering about?" Ye Dong pouted, then yelled, "If you want to chat, go somewhere else! You’ve been together over two thousand years, still not tired of it? Don’t block my master’s rescue signal!"

Before he could finish, his soul suddenly trembled.

"This chill... what’s happening?!" Ye Dong struggled to steady his mind. "At that moment, I felt my body was injured. Is it because Guang Qi’s memories and mine are syncing more and more?"

"Hey? You okay? I didn’t hit you!" The blue-faced man looked at Ye Dong in surprise.

"Quiet!" Ye Dong snapped.

Suddenly, a hazy image flashed before Ye Dong’s eyes.

"Is this a real vision or his memory?!" Ye Dong’s soul quivered. "That’s not a memory—that’s reality! Damn, how did Guang Qi get to Wan Tianze’s house?!"