Chapter 139: Sudden Turn of Events

“Dachuan, you’re quite formidable! You actually managed to kill one of my shadow soldiers.” Just as I was puzzled, a familiar voice came from behind me.

Turning around, I saw Xingyun standing not far away, leaning on a staff.

“Who exactly are you? Are you really Xingyun? Don’t play tricks on me,” I said, angered to find that the figure I had just slain with a single sword strike was nothing but a withered corpse.

“Wang Dachuan, long time no see. Consider this a little gift to welcome you back, just a small joke. Hope you’ve been well!” Xingyun said as he approached me.

“Xingyun, don’t try that nonsense. Where’s Wang Ying?” I demanded angrily.

“Dachuan, don’t be so hot-tempered. How about we go to the Quiet Mind Hall for some tea?” Xingyun said with a forced smile.

“I’ll ask again—where is Wang Ying?”

“Oh, Wang Ying? That ghost wife of yours! She was disobedient, didn’t diligently train the shadow soldiers for me, so I shattered her soul and fed her body to the shadow soldiers,” Xingyun replied.

His words hit my mind like a thunderclap. I could still see Wang Ying’s bloody, lifeless form. Suppressing my grief, I raised the Fengchi Divine Sword in my hand and thrust it toward Xingyun. The Fengchi Sword, fused with the Luoshui Ring, unleashed immense power—the sword’s aura screeched as it pierced through the air toward him. Xingyun raised his staff to block.

Boom! A deafening explosion sounded as a strong force flung me far back. Xingyun was also pushed back seven or eight steps. The flowers and grass around swayed in the wind, a clear sign of the tremendous power just unleashed.

“You’ve got guts, kid! Enough fighting—join me, and you can have anything you want! What’s so great about a ghost like Wang Ying? I’ll find you living people, beauties, as many as you want. How about that?” Xingyun taunted while exchanging blows with me.

“Today you must die—for Wang Ying, for Master Li Danian, and for all the innocent people you’ve killed!” Rage filled me, and all I wanted was to drive my Fengchi Sword deep into his chest.

It was a fierce battle.

A truly brutal fight. As we clashed, dust swirled around us and the wind howled. Fortunately, most visitors had gone to see the divine beasts; otherwise, many would have been injured by the sword aura.

We fought from the backyard to the front yard, then out of the Dinglin Temple, finally ending beneath the ancient ginkgo tree, a thousand years old.

The Fengchi Divine Sword was indeed formidable. Combined with the Luoshui Ring, it unleashed boundless power, breaking many thick branches of the ginkgo tree.

“Wang Dachuan, I don’t want to fight you anymore,” Xingyun said, leaning on his staff and panting after an hour of combat.

“You say you don’t want to fight, but I haven’t avenged everyone yet!” I was filled with fury. Today, I would crush him into mincemeat.

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“All right, I’ll give you a chance,” Xingyun said, tossing aside his staff. Interlocking his palms, he suddenly grabbed at the ground as if drawing water with twin dragons. Both palms struck the earth, and he shouted, “Palm Thunder!”

Boom!

The sound was louder than thunder in the sky. A wave of scorching heat rushed over me, and I was flung into the ancient ginkgo tree with a crash. Luckily, the sword aura of the Fengchi Sword shielded me from being shattered by the Palm Thunder. Looking around, I saw many of Xingyun’s shadow soldiers severely damaged, most shattered. I had used Palm Thunder many times before, but none matched this power.

Leaning against the ginkgo tree, I was utterly drained. My Fengchi Sword fell to the side, its sword aura fading.

Xingyun approached me. His monk’s robe was torn by the force of the Palm Thunder, hanging loosely on his body.

“Wang Dachuan, I’ve never treated you badly from the start. Why are you doing this to me?” he said, pointing a finger at me.

“Xingyun, spare me the act. You’ve been lying to me all along, manipulating me to attack the Underworld, killing Li Danian and the others, framing the Underworld. Why? Yueyue was a kind girl, yet you turned her into a murderous demon. And Wang Ying—what did she ever do to you that you’d kill her?” I lay there, powerless, but my heart burned with anger.

“Wang Dachuan, everything is karma’s cycle. I won’t kill you, but you must come with me,” Xingyun said as he tried to help me up.

“I’d rather die than go with you. If I had any strength left, I’d kill you, you old bald monk!” I spat, unable to do more than curse him.

Xingyun shook his head. “Fine. The path is your choice. But I must tell you, I’m not the one who wants to kill you. Someone ordered me to bring you back. If I can’t take you alive, I’m to bring back your corpse.” Raising his staff, he aimed for my chest.

My life was ending!

I closed my eyes and reached out blindly, my hand grasping a gnarled branch of the thousand-year-old ginkgo tree. A surge of heat flowed up my arm from the branch. Instinctively, I pulled hard, snapping off a limb as thick as a person’s arm. I swung it at Xingyun.

The Essence Absorption Technique! Auntie named it so. Absorbing the spirit of the 4,000-year-old ginkgo tree instantly made me strong and vigorous, filling me with inexhaustible power.

The broken branch roared as it crashed toward Xingyun.

After a series of thunderous crashes, dust rose from the ground. Xingyun vanished, swallowed along with the branch into the earth. My immense force had driven him deep into the soil.

Buildings nearby trembled with the force, some roof tiles fell, and old walls even crumbled.

Xingyun’s remaining shadow soldiers scattered, sensing the tide had turned. I lifted the branch—it was intact. Xingyun lay in the mud, his body grotesquely deformed.

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Watching this scene, sorrow overwhelmed me, and no joy touched my heart. Wang Ying, Master Li, I have avenged you.

“Dachuan, Dachuan.” Just as tears blinded me and I was about to leave numb and hollow, Xingyun, buried in the mud, spoke and stretched out his hand.

So powerful? He still wouldn’t die.

“Speak,” I crouched down, looking at him. Despite his shattered body and bloodied face, I felt no pity. He deserved his fate.

“Dachuan, I want to say a few words,” he gasped.

“Speak!”

“Your Wang Ying’s soul hasn’t dispersed, and her body hasn’t been harmed. But no one knows where she went. One night about a month ago, she suddenly disappeared,” Xingyun’s body trembled slightly, blood staining the earth.

My whole body shook as confusion turned into clarity. “What? What did you say?” I reached out and yanked him from the mud. “Is it true?”

“Dachuan, I’m not lying. I have no reason to lie. At first, I wasn’t evil, but now I can’t turn back. Maybe it’s for the best. If I die today by your hand, I will have no regrets,” Xingyun smiled weakly, blood trickling from his mouth.

“Why? Why did this happen? Why have you lied to me? Tell me the truth. Why can’t you turn back?” I asked, shaking his hand.

“Dachuan, don’t ask. The more you know, the more it will hurt. Your suffering, trials, sorrow, and hardships will continue. I started out kind, but ended a killer demon. I’ve wronged the world. Dying by your hand today, I have no regrets.” With that, his eyes closed, and he passed away.

The sky suddenly changed.

Dark clouds rolled in, thunder shook the earth, and heavy raindrops hammered down. Blood flowed like rivers on the ground, and the air was thick with dust and blood.

“Dachuan, it’s all over. Let’s go. We need to leave quickly before the police arrive,” Fat Young Master and Purple Golden Colt appeared beside me without me noticing.

“Go ahead. I’m opening the Underworld’s barrier to find Wang Ying. She disappeared—she must have been saved by my second uncle’s guardian. I have to find her. I have to find my second uncle. I must unravel this mystery,” I said mechanically, standing in the rain.