"You still refuse to return them?"
Yao Yao saw the white mist on the lake surface being bombarded by the lightning until it was as thin as paper, yet the lake remained eerily calm. Her voice also grew colder. She figured the entity believed it could escape by hiding in the lake, but that was underestimating her far too much.
She changed her hand seal; the three inwardly curled fingers extended sequentially, then reformed into a lotus seal. Her clear, childlike voice resonated again, chanting a sacred eulogy.
"The Nine Heavens' Primal Abode, Supreme Jade Purity King..."
The water ghost's approach was wise. Beneath the lake was its hiding place. If the lightning couldn't pierce the water, then at most it would be injured by the residual shockwaves, not destroyed. The essence of the Five Thunder Seal was to summon Yang Thunder, borrowing the power of heaven and earth for righteous law. The more lightning, the greater the consumption. If it came down to a war of attrition, it wasn't guaranteed to lose.
Yao Yao, however, had no concerns about running out of energy. After the seventh rank, the consumption of borrowed magic would decrease significantly. Not to mention, she had been in the eighth rank for some time and had absorbed so much merit; she had already completed most of her eighth-rank cultivation.
Yao Yao also didn't want to get tangled up in a prolonged fight. Even with the talismans, Hong Jiu and the others might not be able to hold back the Red Fiend for long.
"I respectfully invite the Great Sage, Great Benevolent, Nine Heavens Responding to Primal Origin, Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Celestial Venerable!"
At this moment, the sacred eulogy had reached its final mantra, which she then uttered. If a profound master were present here, they would surely fall silent, because Yao Yao had just performed a divine invocation. One must know that the art of divine invocation was notoriously difficult to master in the Xuanmen, often resulting in nine failures out of ten attempts. This was even with half a month of fasting and purification before the invocation, and with all the grand rites of Luo Tian in place.
For someone to simply chant a sacred eulogy to invoke a deity, if seen by an official of meritorious deeds, they would surely be scolded for disrespect. Not to mention invoking a deity, they wouldn't even be able to summon a fart.
However, the result was unexpectedly different. As the divine invocation spell fell, the previously rolling dark clouds visibly darkened. The silver-tinged purple tribulation clouds inexplicably transformed into a deep violet. The sheer pressure from the distortion alone caused hearts to flutter, a suffocating sensation as if the sky itself was shattering, several times more terrifying than before.
Clearly, the invocation had succeeded. Because the Responding to Primal Origin Universal Transformation Celestial Venerable was inherently the righteous deity controlling the Five Thunders, when the deity responded, the power of the lightning naturally soared.
"Fall!"
In Yao Yao's dark, large eyes, dazzling purple light reflected. She pointed her fingers towards the lake and pressed down. The purple lightning, as if obeying a command, directly tore through the sky and slammed into the lake. The white mist floating on the lake surface seemed to sense the threat, coiling and rolling in resistance.
Unfortunately, under the lightning infused with divine power, the white mist couldn't endure for even a breath, directly scattering and disintegrating. Following the lightning's descent into the water, a mournful shriek echoed without source, sending shivers down Ye Yan's spine on the shore.
She looked at the awe-inspiring Yao Yao, opened her mouth to say something, then immediately paused. Her gaze was drawn to the coffin that suddenly emerged from the lake.
"This... this is..." Ye Yan remembered the saying about a water ghost raising a coffin during funeral rites, and an answer faintly formed in her mind. What Yao Yao said next undoubtedly confirmed her thoughts, making her entire being tremble with excitement.
"It's too late to return them now!"
Yao Yao's small face still showed anger after seeing the coffin. She had given this White Fiend a chance. Since it wouldn't listen, she didn't mind getting rid of it. After all, it was a malicious entity with harmful intentions; its death was just its death, and she could even devour it.
Thus, Yao Yao not only did not hold back, but she used one hand to lift the coffin ashore, while her other hand continued to summon lightning to strike the lake.
"You... go... too... far..."
The lake surface churned, and a figure draped in a straw cloak emerged from the water. It glared furiously at the small child on the shore. It had clearly returned the coffin, so why was she still holding it accountable? It dared not charge forward; the force of those lightning strikes was too terrifying. Even through the lake water, its body had suffered severe damage. If it directly collided, its soul would be scattered.
Unfortunately, Yao Yao did not respond. She was determined to slay this White Fiend, and what she said, she would naturally do.
After several breaths, the white mist dissipated, and the sky and earth became clear.
"Yao Yao, this coffin, I... I... can't move it!"
Seeing Yao Yao look over, Ye Yan's face showed some embarrassment. She had just witnessed the other party destroy an evil spirit, yet she couldn't even push a coffin. She felt like she had lived all those years in vain!
"Fourth Sister-in-law, it's normal that you can't push it. There's a water ghost's spell on it. Let me handle it," Yao Yao reassured her crisply.
This explanation eased Ye Yan's expression slightly, and she stepped back to the side. Yao Yao went forward, placed her small hand on one corner of the coffin lid, and forcefully lifted. The coffin, which had seemed to be welded shut, was torn open like paper, revealing its interior. Inside lay an unconscious soul-body, completely entangled in malevolent energy, with only its spiritual platform remaining untainted.
Fortunately, it was still in time. Yao Yao breathed a sigh of relief. The spiritual platform was where the soul resided. As long as it was clear, there was still room for maneuver. She extended her finger and pressed it against the latter's brow. Streams of spiritual energy poured in, and the malevolent energy receded rapidly, like melting glaciers.
After several breaths, Yao Yao placed the fully restored soul-body into the talisman pouch.
"Fourth Sister-in-law, the person has been saved. Let's go to the next location." Yao Yao turned and explained to Ye Yan. This was because the latter had no special means to see the soul-body, so she said it to reassure her.
Hearing the words "saved," Ye Yan's hanging heart mostly settled. The two then headed straight to the Red Fiend's location.
The Red Fiend was located in a remote small village, with no signs of life at the village entrance. Yao Yao followed her senses to the end of the village. Before she could take a closer look, she heard a huge explosion, followed by laughter.
"Finally killed that bastard, hahahahaha!"
This sound made Yao Yao pause. She recognized it as Hong Jiu's unique voice. For the latter to be so happy, it couldn't possibly mean it lost. Had it and Xuan Jiu teamed up to kill the Red Fiend?
"That's great!" Yao Yao's chubby little face instantly broke into a smile. This meant she had saved herself some trouble.
She trotted towards the source of the sound and saw a chaotic scene. Various objects were scattered everywhere, and there were many bomb craters around. The one in the very center was estimated to be at least ten meters across.
Beside the crater, one cat and one fox lay on the ground as if paralyzed. Especially the latter, its body was bruised and swollen, with several deep claw marks visible to the bone, and the attached Yin energy made its features twitch. But even so, it was still laughing brightly.
"Hiss! This crazy vixen, she's truly reckless." Xuan Jiu, beside it, felt its scalp tingle at the sight of the fox. It had originally just wanted to hold back the Red Fiend, after all, with the Little Ancestor's methods, she would arrive quickly, there was no need to fight to the death.
Who knew that this damn fox, upon seeing the Red Fiend, would act as if it were high on drugs, fighting with such abandon that it provoked the Red Fiend into a frenzy, forcing itself to fight desperately too. The more they fought, the more intense it became. In the end, the Red Fiend was killed, but the injuries it sustained would require at least another month of recovery.
How unlucky! Xuan Jiu spat. Just then, it heard a movement. It thought the Red Fiend had a hidden trick, and immediately looked over vigilantly. Then, upon seeing that it was Yao Yao, it let out a "meow" and lay back down, its expression visibly relaxing.
Clearly, now that this Little Ancestor had arrived, even if something happened, it wouldn't have to worry. This sense of security felt particularly justified.
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