Chapter 137: Good and Evil

"You've finally come. Why didn't you save me back then?"

Before I could even steady myself, the woman with a delicate face yet reeking of deathly yin energy—Wan Niang—flashed directly in front of me, her chilling voice ringing in my ear.

Why didn't I save her back then?

It seemed she truly was the Wan Niang who had been pushed down from the sacrificial pit, that nameless tomb, all those years ago.

Yet, in my memories, when I had previously arrived at the altar, Wan Niang was already dead. Could it be that she hadn't died immediately at that time?

"Get back!"

Chen Chuyi roared instantly, then brought his palm down in a fierce chop beside me.

Hum!

That terrifying wandering spirit was completely cleaved apart by the sheer force in an instant, scattering into a fine, chilly gale.

"Since you've come to my territory today, all of you must die!"

Wan Niang's icy voice slowly echoed from the void, and then I saw the yin energy in the center of the altar once again coagulate into Wan Niang's form.

"Pay attention. This spirit is entirely composed of yin energy, and this entire place is saturated with it. Xiaodong and I cannot afford to separate. Xiyue, you are free to launch offensive strikes because the corpse aura on you is also an exceptionally powerful force."

Xiyue nodded. At that moment, I quickly pressed my back against Chen Chuyi's. To be honest, this back-to-back stance felt exceedingly strange.

"You are all disciples of Taoism, carrying within you an abundance of Taoist breath that can nourish our souls. If I can absorb the Taoist breath from both of you, I will be able to escape this place in no time. Even the Shadowless Village wouldn't dare try to stop me! Hahaha..."

In an instant, that unbridled laughter reverberated throughout the entire space. I stared blankly at the space before me. Wan Niang, who had been standing on the altar, began to tremble violently. The yin spirits surrounding her flickered crazily as countless ghosts scattered in all directions.

All around us, countless faces emerged. Every single one of these faces was unforgettable—each one young and extraordinarily beautiful. I couldn't help but recall the words the little girl had told me when we first entered the Shadowless Village.

Right, that little girl, Yinyin.

However, I no longer had any time to sort through these thoughts, for the moment I began to ponder, the billowing yin energy had already morphed into a giant hand, lunging directly toward us with overwhelming momentum, leaving no room for the slightest carelessness.

This place was originally a nameless tomb, saturated with extremely dense yin energy. At this moment, this aura made me acutely feel a potency far surpassing any yin energy I had ever experienced in the living world.

Even before these yin energies had fully converged, they were already more terrifying than the gathering-yin vaults of the mortal realm. If this "Wan Niang" were to employ some method to concentrate the yin energy further, I truly shuddered to think what our fate would be today.

"Xiaodong, follow my lead!"

Just as the giant hand of yin energy lunged toward us, Chen Chuyi bit down hard on his middle finger, then spoke in a deep voice.

Naturally, without needing Chen Chuyi to remind me, I was no longer the novice I used to be. Without wasting words, I bit down on my middle finger and drew a Soul-Breaking Talisman directly toward the incoming claw of yin energy.

Rip!

The moment the giant hand of yin energy grabbed at us, the entire space shook violently.

"To think you've weakened to this extent—truly heaven is helping me!"

As Wan Niang spoke, I could clearly perceive the excitement in her eyes, as if we were already fish in a barrel.

Taoist breath is an energy condensed within the body of a Yin-Yang master during their cultivation. This breath is akin to the sarira of Buddhism. Therefore, when a Yin-Yang master who has attained a certain level of cultivation passes away, this Taoist breath will linger in their body for nine days. These nine days represent the deceased master's final opportunity to return to the world of the living, typically achieved through borrowing a corpse to bring the soul back.

Yet, most of the time, this serves no purpose at all, because Yin-Yang masters generally die in one of two ways. The first is while subduing demons and vanquishing ghosts; those killed by malevolent spirits and fierce corpses usually have their internal souls completely destroyed by the evil entities. Of course, this does not exclude those few masters who possess unique secret techniques capable of protecting their souls from being obliterated.

The second way a Yin-Yang master dies is in duels of magic against other practitioners. Death in such confrontations almost invariably results in the soul being scattered into nothingness, leaving virtually no possibility of resurrection.

"Xiaodong, you must be doubly careful. It seems this 'Wan Niang' has her main sights set on you. Although your Yin-Yang cultivation is not yet very high, the root of Dao lingering within your body, and the Taoist breath it sustains, are things we cannot compare to."

I nodded, my eyes fixed intently on the "Wan Niang" before me. I watched as she gave me a cold smile, her entire form instantly cleaved apart by a single sword strike from Xiyue.

Facing a wandering spirit whose strength was completely unfathomable, Xiyue had directly unleashed her Incarnation Sword.

Past and present, a single sword creates all things!

Perhaps this was destiny—no one could truly understand it, yet everyone wished to explore it, wished to alter it.

"Heh-heh-heh-heh..."

Accompanied by a chilling laugh, the "Wan Niang" who had just been cleaved in two suddenly split further, and the surrounding yin energy frantically converged toward her body. In the blink of an eye, two "Wan Niangs" stood before us.

"No wonder the village chief said I had a great destiny. I've been biding my time for all these years, and I never expected the opportunity would finally fall into my hands today!"

The village chief? Destiny?

Could the village chief Wan Niang spoke of be none other than my past-life self that I had seen in the Shadowless Village within my memories?

What on earth was all of this? I was getting tangled up in my own thoughts.

Forget it. I didn't want to dwell on anything right now. Once I reached the Shadowless Village, everything would come to light. First, I had to destroy the "Wan Niang" before me. Though I wondered where the Wan Niang who had entered with us had gone, this was hardly the time for sentimentality or searching; a fierce battle awaited us.

"Xiaodong, watch out, she's coming!"

I nodded, having already perceived it myself, and instantly swung my peach wood sword forward.

"Still hoping to put up a futile struggle?"

Wan Niang's voice was frigid, laced with a hint of mockery.

"Break apart!"

Before Chen Chuyi and I could properly coordinate our offense and defense, an icy shout rang out.

Hum!

Puff!

She was too powerful. The moment "Wan Niang" lunged at us, Chen Chuyi and I were left with virtually no chance to retaliate before being blasted several meters away. My body slammed heavily against the ancient rock wall of the tomb, and a wave of agonizing pain instantly coursed through my entire being...