Chapter 138: The So-called Opportunity (Part 1)

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"Hehe, it seems you are in no position to contend with me at all now."

"Wan Niang" swayed her graceful figure step by step, drifting toward me with an expression of utter excitement plastered across her face.

I shook my head forcefully and cast a bitter smile toward another Wan Niang not far away, who was locked in a fierce battle with Xiyue. At the same time, I couldn't quite fathom how this "Wan Niang" had grown so immensely powerful in such a short span of time.

Thud!

Just as I attempted to stand up, a violent surge of energy churned within my chest, and a mouthful of fresh blood sprayed from my lips once more.

"Master, actually this is quite easy to explain. Because this 'Wan Niang' is entirely composed of malicious thoughts. As the saying goes, 'It is hard to become a Buddha, but easy to become a demon'—that precisely describes the situation of the 'Wan Niang' right before us!"

Tu, it was Tu's voice.

Hearing Tu's voice in such a critical moment undoubtedly revitalized my spirit, bringing an instant wave of pleasant surprise.

Under these circumstances, I had no other options left; I had only to fight.

Just as Tu had said, this "Wan Niang" was formed from resentment and evil energy, tainted with the trace of malice that originally existed within the real Wan Niang's body. What we were looking at now was a Wan Niang embodying human malignancy. The Wan Niang who had originally followed us into Painted Eyebrow Village was the kind-hearted one. I wondered where the benevolent Wan Niang might be right now.

"Master, dodge!"

While Tu was still speaking, an eerie black hand materialized outside my body, directly blocking a strike from "Wan Niang." For a fleeting moment, I could distinctly hear a sizzling sound constantly emanating from Wan Niang's body.

"Oh?"

"I didn't expect there to be something strange hidden within your body after all. But as of today, everything you have belongs to me. Hahaha..."

That "Wan Niang" merely hesitated for a split second before launching another attack. She had been standing about three meters away from me, but the moment she spoke, she appeared directly in front of me in the blink of an eye.

Without time to think, I reacted instantly, raising my hand and throwing a punch straight at "Wan Niang's" face. With a muffled hum, "Wan Niang's" body shattered apart in an instant.

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With a loud bang, a sharp pain struck my back, and my body was sent flying through the air once again.

Damn it!

I couldn't help but curse inwardly. Watching that "Wan Niang" stride step by step toward the exact spot I had just occupied, I felt a deep wave of frustration.

"Tu, what should we do now?"

"Actually, it's very simple, Master. Just have Sister Nie Xiaoke step in. She is formed from the light of Buddha and is truly extraordinary. Moreover, Sister Nie Xiaoke has grown even stronger once again. Previously, because we were all trapped within the formation, our souls could not coexist inside that restrictive domain, so none of us dared to act. But things are different now; this place is a vast formation where those restrictions cannot reach, which is why I was able to manifest!"

A sense of relief washed over me. No wonder back in Painted Eyebrow Village, no matter how desperately I called out to Tu and Nie Xiaoke, they ignored me. I had assumed back then that they were merely illusions as well.

"Xiaoke, Xiaoke..."

I had barely called out twice when a low hum immediately sounded from the backpack I was carrying. I whirled around, unzipped the bag, and grabbed the Sword of All Living Beings. At that moment, "Wan Niang," who was walking toward me step by step, paused slightly upon seeing the sword in my hand, and then said in a deep voice, "I never expected you to possess such a Buddhist artifact!"

Seeing that "Wan Niang" appeared deeply fearful of the Sword of All Living Beings, I gripped the weapon tightly and slowly pulled myself up.

"Young master, leave her to me. Right now, the Sword of All Living Beings is most in need of wandering souls."

I nodded. Indeed, the Sword of All Living Beings inherently required countless wandering souls to nourish it. At this moment, Painted Eyebrow Village, this ancient tomb, and even the Shadowless Village I was about to visit harbored numerous wandering souls waiting to be absorbed. What did "all living beings" mean? It represented the collective will of the populace, making this an enormous collection project from the very beginning.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!"

Right at that moment, the "Wan Niang" standing before us began to heave and pant incessantly. Suddenly, a funnel-like vortex formed near her mouth, and the boundless resentful energy and wandering souls lingering in the surroundings surged frantically into her mouth. The other "Wan Niang," who had been locked in an intense battle with Xiyue and Chen Chuyi, also continuously retreated toward the "Wan Niang" standing right in front of me.

Because the "Wan Niang" before me had condensed from the malicious thoughts of young maidens sacrificed at this altar over many long years, and this nameless ancient tomb had existed for an untold duration, the sheer presence of these evil thoughts was utterly terrifying—something ordinary Yin-Yang practitioners could never simply disperse.

"This is bad! She's trying to compress her resentment and condense it into a physical entity! Stop her, quickly!"

Chen Chuyi flashed forward, standing between me and Xiyue with an anxious expression on his face.

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"There's no time left, she has already completed it!"

I said in a deep voice, and then slowly took a step forward.

"Elder Chen, Xiyue, fall back!"

At this moment, I could not retreat. Only I could fight this "Wan Niang" formed from malicious thoughts. Looking at the trembling wandering souls all around, the countless skull fragments, the cascading black hair, and the crimson bridal attire that kept appearing, I understood just how much pain those sacrificed maidens had endured in life. Trapped within this altar, their souls could never find transcendence; from the very moment they stepped onto the sacrificial altar, they were cursed never to enter the cycle of reincarnation.

If even those legendary, heaven-defying Yin-Yang masters could not reverse their fates to achieve immortality, the destiny of these lonely, helpless wandering souls was bound to be even more tragic. There was virtually no possibility of them ever leaving this place; protected by the altar, their wandering souls would never dissipate, but neither would they ever find peace.

"Yang Dong, if you were the man you used to be, I might still harbor some fear toward you. But your current self has yet to fully mature. If it weren't for you back then, this altar would have completely collapsed. Yet it was precisely because of your arrival and your entry into Shadowless Village that this ancient tomb began to operate once again, doubling the altar's demand for maiden sacrifices!"

"Everything we suffered is because of you! It's all your fault!"

"I want you to die!"

"We want you to die!"

In an instant, the entity before me ceased to resemble merely a single "Wan Niang," transforming into something exceedingly terrifying. Her body trembled violently as countless surrounding wandering souls echoed her words with frantic shrieks. The force of resentment multiplied once more, swelling the current "Wan Niang" to a height of one zhang, her entire body wrapped in a writhing mass of spectral faces that completely obscured her original features.

Countless shrieks echoed wildly around the entire altar. Only by being trapped right in the middle of it could one truly experience that bone-chilling terror originating from the depths of one's soul.

If Tu hadn't transformed into a layer of black armor to protect my body, and if Nie Xiaoke hadn't manifested as a beam of Buddha's light to guard my spiritual core directly, my soul would have long since been shattered into nothingness...

(There will be another chapter tonight, around ten o'clock!)

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