Starting as the young master of a medicine shop, he practiced swordsmanship for twenty years.

Chapter 432 The power of the talisman is fully bestowed upon me! The Yangyan Protective Talisman!

"Lieutenant Mo! Master Jiu! Help me! There's a ghost!"

When Manager Wu saw who it was, especially when he saw the old master in his Taoist robe, he was so happy that he burst into tears.

This is the junior brother of the abbot of Fuyuan Temple. His cultivation is profound and he is far superior to ordinary sorcerers in the martial arts world!
Overjoyed, his will to survive overwhelmed everything. Ignoring his aching knees and scraped hands, he scrambled to his feet and crawled toward where Lieutenant Mo and the old master were.

Immediately afterwards, a chilling, oily green light seeped out from inside the previously dark doorway.

The figure of the seventeenth concubine slowly floated out and hovered half a foot above the ground.

Her face was deathly pale, her eyes were pure black, devoid of any living spirit, only a bone-deep coldness and deathly stillness, as she indifferently stared at the three people in the courtyard.

"It's...it's the Seventeenth Concubine!" Lieutenant Mo gasped, feeling a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. His legs went weak like noodles, and he almost collapsed on the spot.

If it weren't for the presence of the former master of Fuyuan Temple by his side, he would have abandoned everyone and fled without looking back!

The reason why the old master appeared here was because Lu Xuan specifically instructed Deputy Officer Mo to invite him from Fuyuan Temple.

At the time, Lieutenant Mo was thinking that the Marshal's move was probably to find an auspicious burial site for the seventeenth concubine and Miss Qing, who died tragically, and to invite an old master to preside over the funeral rites.

He had just settled the old master in the next courtyard, prepared some tea, and was about to exchange a few polite words when he heard a great commotion and howling from the courtyard next door.

The old master's expression suddenly changed, and he rushed over—Deputy Officer Mo had no choice but to follow, only to witness this horrifying scene!
The vengeful spirit of the seventeenth concubine didn't waste any words with the three of them; a chilling wind billowed around her, and her skirt fluttered in the wind.

She spread her arms, and the black fingernails of her ten fingers suddenly extended, carrying a chilling aura, and shot towards the three of them, including Deputy Officer Mo!

"Such a heavy aura of malevolence!"

The old master's pupils contracted, and he dared not be negligent.

He immediately stepped out with the profound Seven Star Step, and in a flash, he blocked the way for Deputy Officer Mo and Steward Wu.

At the same time, the old master reached into his robes and quickly took out a meticulously drawn yellow talisman paper, on which cinnabar patterns coiled like dragons and snakes, containing pure yang power.

He formed a hand seal to ward off evil and chanted incantations in a voice as loud as a bell: "By the decree of the True Lord of Yangyan, heavenly fire descends! Burn away evil and filth, illuminate ten thousand miles! The Samadhi burns fiercely, demons and monsters are purged! So be it!"

"Edict!"

As soon as the incantation was finished, the yellow talisman in his hand suddenly burst out with dazzling golden light!
Then, with a "boom," the talisman spontaneously combusted, transforming into a blazing golden flame that enveloped his palm without harming him in the slightest.

"go with!"

The old master's hair and beard stood on end, his Taoist robe billowed, and he forcefully pushed the ball of golden flame in his hand toward the ten ghostly claws that were attacking him!
The golden flames swelled in the wind, illuminating the entire courtyard.

"what--!"

The female ghost let out a shrill scream. Her ten jet-black fingernails, imbued with intense malevolent energy, ignited the moment they touched the golden flames, turning into wisps of pungent white smoke at an incredible speed.

The old master had extensive experience in slaying demons and monsters. He noticed that the female ghost's movements faltered due to her injuries, revealing a weakness.

His eyes flashed with a sharp light, and without the slightest hesitation, he sprang up once more!
The old master moved with the speed of the wind, leaving a trail of afterimages in the night as he rapidly approached the body of the seventeenth concubine.

During the sprint, he did not hesitate to put his left index finger in his mouth and bite it until it bled.

Immediately, a smear of crimson blood essence was applied to the peach wood sword that was always tied to his waist.

"Om-!"

After being blessed by the sorcerer's blood essence, the seemingly ordinary peach wood sword suddenly emitted a clear sound, its blade shone brightly with golden light, and a pure and righteous aura of exorcising evil soared into the sky!

The old master saw that the peach wood sword had been consecrated and its power was greatly enhanced. He knew that such a vengeful spirit was deeply attached to its possessions, and that directly piercing it might damage the foundation of its soul, which would be contrary to the laws of nature.

Therefore, with a flick of his wrist, he changed from stabbing to slapping, and used the golden peach wood sword, which shimmered like a ruler, to slap the spirit of the Seventeenth Concubine horizontally!
"Clap!"

Where the sword clashed with the spirit, a burst of golden and red sparks suddenly erupted, as if righteous masculinity and malevolent resentment were violently colliding and annihilating each other!
"Ugh—!"

The seventeenth concubine let out a painful wail, as if she had been struck head-on by an invisible, heavy hammer.

Finally, she was sent flying backward out of control, passing directly through the open door and falling back into the eerie room!
The old master stood with his sword in hand, his beard and hair slightly fluttering, and shouted in a deep voice: "You wicked creature! Submit to the law now!"

After saying that, he rushed into the house without looking back.

Seeing the old master unleash his divine power, he slapped the terrifying vengeful spirit of the seventeenth concubine back into the house with a single sword strike.

The two officers outside, Deputy Mo and Steward Wu, were dumbfounded.

However, at that moment, Lieutenant Mo suddenly snapped out of his shock and finally came to his senses.

His eyes widened instantly, and the thought of the commander-in-chief's personality terrified him. He no longer cared about ghosts or monsters and shouted anxiously at the old master's back.

"Master! Show mercy! Please, have mercy!"

"That's the body of the Seventeenth Concubine! You are all-powerful, so please, please don't damage her body in the slightest!"

Otherwise... otherwise, if the Commander-in-Chief were to blame us, you and I... and everyone in this manor, we'd all be in deep trouble!

Lieutenant Mo knew his commander's temper all too well. Even if he had grown tired of a woman or had already killed her, he would never allow outsiders to damage her body in the slightest.

He couldn't even imagine the scene if the commander-in-chief saw two corpses that had been beaten to pieces and were charred and broken!
Mo's reminder made the old master, who had just stepped across the threshold, suddenly stop in his tracks, abruptly halting his pursuit.

His original plan was to press his advantage and completely weaken the female ghost's resentment and yin energy.

Then, they would try to subdue it, bring it back to Fuyuan Temple, and slowly perform rituals to release its resentment and send it to its next life.

This is both the duty of Taoists and a virtuous act to accumulate merit.

But now...

"Alas!" The old master sighed inwardly and instantly changed his mind.

We need to change our approach.

He had personally experienced the methods of that Commander Lu.

When a scholar encounters a soldier, he cannot explain why.

The old master did not believe that his reasoning could outwit a warlord who was a ruthless killer and held considerable military power.

If the female ghost's body is truly damaged, even if it's for the purpose of exorcising demons, he will likely face his wrath.

The old master's eyes narrowed, and the golden light on the peach wood sword in his hand slightly subsided, shifting from a fierce offensive stance to a calm defensive posture.

He swiftly hung the peach wood sword, its golden light concealed, back to his waist with his right hand, while simultaneously drawing his left hand, fingers together, into his sleeve like a sword.

In the next instant, a fiery red talisman slid out from the wide sleeve of his right hand and was firmly held between his fingers!

This talisman is drawn on specially made red paper with cinnabar mixed with saltpeter. The strokes are vigorous and contain a powerful suppressive force. It is the "evil-suppressing talisman" passed down by Fu Yuan Temple!
This talisman does not need to be burned. As long as it is successfully affixed to the female ghost's body, it can draw upon the righteous energy of heaven and earth to temporarily suppress her actions.

This is the best option right now to both subdue the enemy and avoid damaging their bodies.

In an instant, the old master's hair and beard bristled, and he suddenly shouted, "You wicked child, look here!"

Although the seventeenth concubine was injured by the peach wood sword, she kept her lips tightly closed and did not utter a word.

Those completely black eyes surged with overwhelming resentment, fiercely piercing the old master and the adjutant Mo who had just mustered up the courage to approach.

Stared at by that inhuman, terrifying gaze, Lieutenant Mo felt a chill run from his tailbone straight to the top of his head, his throat tightened, and he couldn't help but swallow hard.

He desperately tried to reassure himself: "Don't be afraid... with the old master here... don't be afraid..."

In a flash, the old master's left hand reached into his robes and pulled out a palm-sized ancient bronze mirror.

The mirror surface is covered with densely packed talismans in cinnabar!
"Om-"

The bronze mirror shone brightly in the wind, suddenly bursting forth with dazzling golden light!

The light was extremely bright and intense, like a sharp sword piercing through the darkness, instantly illuminating the entire room!

"Hiss—!"

The seventeenth concubine was struck head-on by the pure yang golden light, and her eyes immediately felt as if they were being burned by fire, causing her to let out a shrill scream.

She instinctively raised her arms to protect her face, and the yin energy around her surged and dissipated like boiling water.

Don't miss out!

The old master sprang up again, his feet moving in a series of rapid steps, covering a distance of five steps in an instant.

His eyes flashed like lightning as he locked onto the female ghost, who was caught off guard by the bright light. His right hand, holding the crimson talisman, became a blur.

"Edict!"

The talisman flew out of her hand, its crimson light flowing like blood, carrying a fierce power to ward off evil, and shot straight at the seventeenth concubine's brow.

The wind suddenly stopped, all was silent, the lingering chill dissipated, and the room instantly returned to clarity.

In the center of the room, the body of the seventeenth concubine remained frozen in place, arms raised as if about to lunge forward.

The crimson talisman was firmly affixed to her forehead, the cinnabar runes faintly glowing, maintaining this fragile balance.

Seeing this, Lieutenant Mo finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he abruptly turned his head to look at Miss Qing's coffin beside him.

Ok!

Although Miss Qing's face was frighteningly pale, she remained lying quietly inside the coffin without making any unusual movements.

However, just to be on the safe side, Lieutenant Mo cautiously tugged at the old master's sleeve and lowered his voice.

"Master, is Miss Qing alright?"

"Would you like to take a look too? It would be best...it would be best to put a talisman on it as a precaution, just in case."

"I'll go and fetch the commander-in-chief right away to make a decision! Old Master, you... you must keep a close watch on this place, you can't let the bodies of Seventeenth Concubine and Miss Qing be harmed again!"

Having said that, he dared not linger any longer. He cupped his hands in greeting to the old master, then turned and ran quickly toward Lu Xuan's courtyard.

Not long after, in the room, Steward Wu and the returning Deputy Officer Mo cautiously relit the extinguished candles.

The flickering candlelight illuminated a scene different from before.

Instead of a coffin, there was the body of the seventeenth concubine, frozen in place by a talisman.

"General, what should we do with the Seventeenth Concubine?" Lieutenant Mo asked hesitantly, while the old master and Steward Wu focused their attention on Lu Xuan.

Lu Xuan narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the stiff corpse, then glancing at the quiet Chen Qing in the coffin.

"A vengeful ghost seeking a life must have a grievance, but the dead cannot be brought back to life..."

As he spoke, he suddenly turned his head and looked at the old master beside him, "Do you have any way to extract the memories from her mind?"

When the old master saw that Lu Xuan, the great warlord, was looking at him, he bowed without hesitation and replied, "Yes!"

The old master immediately took action. He took off the apricot-yellow magic bag he always carried with him.

Take out a wolf-hair brush, a cinnabar inkstone, and a piece of cut-out yellow talisman paper.

The old master laid out these objects one by one on the altar, his expression solemn.

He then pointed his fingers like a sword and made several strokes in the air towards the wolf-hair brush, chanting incantations that were all obscure and profound.

As the incantation was performed, a faint crimson light emanated from his fingertips!
Once his inspiration had stabilized, the old master swiftly grabbed the calligraphy brush from the table.

Dipping his brush in crimson cinnabar, wrist suspended in the air, he swiftly and deftly wrote a complex incantation on the talisman paper. "Om!"

As soon as the talisman was completed, a barely perceptible golden light flashed, signifying that spiritual energy had been attached to it.

The old master dared not delay and quickly walked to the side of the frozen seventeenth concubine, carefully taking a strand of her hair from her head.

He carefully wrapped his hair with the talisman he had just drawn, forming a small triangular pouch, and then lit it in front of the candle flame.

The talisman pouch quickly shrank and carbonized in the flames, but instead of producing the choking smoke of ordinary burning items, it emitted a strange aroma of sandalwood mixed with the scent of ashes.

The old master waited patiently until the talisman pouch completely turned to ashes and fell onto the table.

He carefully swept all the ashes into a white porcelain bowl that had been prepared beforehand, which was half-filled with clear well water.

When ash is put into water, it does not dissolve; instead, it seems to come alive as it slowly rotates and sinks in the water.

The old master held up the porcelain bowl with both hands and handed it to Lu Xuan, saying in a deep voice.

"General, if you give someone this bowl of 'Tracing the Source Water' to drink, you can glimpse fragments of the deceased's memories before their death."

Manager Wu, who had been cowering in the corner and trying to make his presence as inconspicuous as possible, watched the entire process of the old master's spell and heard every word of the conversation about "peeking into memories".

The more he looked, the more horrified he became; the more he listened, the more terrified he became!

If the commander-in-chief were to actually drink that bowl of talismanic water and see the seventeenth concubine's memories before her death...
Then his crimes of abusing and murdering the mother and daughter and disposing of their bodies to cover it up will be exposed!

At that time, they will definitely die without a burial place!

Overwhelmed by fear, Manager Wu's reason crumbled instantly, and a crazy idea formed in his mind—this must be stopped!

At the very least, no one else should drink it!
Just as Deputy Officer Mo and the others were looking at the bowl of water with ash floating on it, their faces showing difficulty and hesitation.

Manager Wu suddenly rushed out from the corner, knelt down in front of Lu Xuan with a thud, and cried out in tears, "General! Let me drink!"

He raised his face, streaked with tears, and looked extremely remorseful: "I failed to take good care of Seventeenth Concubine and Miss Qing. It was my dereliction of duty, and I deserve to die!"

"Please, General, grant me a chance to atone for my sins and seek redemption. Let me suffer the pain of this talismanic water and uncover the truth!"

As long as he drinks the talisman water, whether it's real or fake, whether he sees memories or nothing at all, is entirely up to him to decide!

When Lieutenant Mo saw that it was once again that unlucky Steward Wu who volunteered to take the blame, he felt a sense of relief and even a little schadenfreude.

He secretly pursed his lips, secretly rejoicing: This stuff mixed with the ash of dead people's hair, let whoever wants to drink it drink it, as long as I don't have to.

Before Lieutenant Mo could even catch his breath, three words exploded in his ears like thunder: "You drink!"

Without a doubt, Lieutenant Mo's face fell instantly, his expression twisted as if he had swallowed a live fly, looking even worse than if his parents had died.

Then, under Lu Xuan's gaze, he tremblingly accepted the bowl of talisman water with grayish-black residue floating on it.

Looking at the murky liquid in the bowl and smelling the strange odor, Lieutenant Mo felt a wave of nausea wash over him.

But military orders are absolute, so he closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and gulped down the entire bowl of talisman water!

Seeing that his plan had failed and his last hope had been dashed, Manager Wu, who was standing to the side, felt as if all his strength had been drained away. He collapsed to the ground with a thud, his face ashen and his mind completely blank.

But at that moment, no one noticed his loss of composure.

Lu Xuan and the old master both stared intently at Deputy Officer Mo.

After drinking the talisman water, Deputy Officer Mo's eyes were tightly closed. His body trembled violently at first, and then wisps of thin white steam rose from his pores!

Immediately afterwards, the expressions on Lieutenant Mo's face began to change rapidly, like a revolving lantern.

First came extreme fear, his pupils trembling wildly beneath his eyelids, followed by immense humiliation and indignation, his lips clenched tightly.

Finally, it transformed into a raging, helpless fury, twisting his entire face in agony...

That expression perfectly captured the most genuine and painful emotions of a frail woman facing an insurmountable act of violence!
The next moment, Deputy Mo suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils still showing an unbelievable shock and an indescribable anger that he felt deeply for the man.

He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to immediately report the horrifying truth he had "seen" to Lu Xuan.

however--

"Don't even move!"

A hoarse roar interrupted Lieutenant Mo!

Manager Wu, who had been slumped on the ground like a dead dog, suddenly sprang into action!

He darted to Lieutenant Mo's side with extraordinary speed, and before Mo could react, he snatched the pistol from his waist!

Immediately afterward, he darted behind Lu Xuan, pressed the muzzle of his ice spear firmly against Lu Xuan's temple, and roared at everyone with a ferocious expression.

"Don't move! If you move even once, I'll shoot this bastard dead!"

Just as Lieutenant Mo was recovering from that horrifying memory, he was enraged to see Steward Wu dare to kidnap the commander-in-chief, his eyes blazing with fury!

"You beast! How dare you! Release the commander at once, or I'll make sure you die a horrible death!"

The old master, standing to the side, was also taken aback by this sudden turn of events. He instinctively clenched the talisman in his sleeve, hesitant to act rashly for fear of harming the innocent.

"General!" Lieutenant Mo disregarded the danger, pointed at Steward Wu, and roared out the truth he had seen in the talisman water.

"It's that damned beast! He's the one who killed Seventeenth Concubine and Miss Qing!"

"That beast poisoned their food and drink! The seventeenth concubine was the first to fall victim to his evil deeds. This despicable wretch used this to coerce and humiliate the seventeenth concubine, threatening her not to tell anyone!"

"Later...later, Miss Qing noticed something was wrong and came to her mother's house, where she caught him in his shameful affair!"

This heartless beast, fearing that his actions would be exposed, went all out and drugged Miss Qing as well!

Then...then they threw the mother and daughter into the well, staging it as a suicide!

This shocking truth was revealed in public, and even the old master looked at Steward Wu with shock and disdain.

After his crimes were exposed, Manager Wu went mad, pressing the gun barrel against Lu Xuan's temple even harder, and yelled, "Shut up! Shut the hell up! If you dare say another word, I'll shoot this piece of trash right now!"

Just as Steward Wu was completely focused on reprimanding Lieutenant Mo, the muzzle of his gun slightly veered off course due to his agitation.

Lu Xuan made a move!

He raised his right hand with lightning speed and astonishing force, but Lu Xuan was not trying to take the gun.

Instead, he precisely grabbed Manager Wu's wrist, which was holding the gun, and forcibly turned the muzzle so that it was aimed at Deputy Officer Mo, who was not far away!

The entire process was completed in the blink of an eye, without the slightest hesitation.

"boom!"

Gunshots rang out! Bullets whistled as they flew toward Lieutenant Mo's palm!

Everyone present was stunned by this sudden turn of events.

However, the expected scene of carnage did not occur.

With a clang, like metal clashing, a sound was heard!

A faint, almost imperceptible red halo appeared in front of Lieutenant Mo's palm.

The scorching bullet seemed to have struck an invisible steel barrier, instantly being squeezed and deformed, before falling onto the bluestone slab with a "thud".

Lieutenant Mo's hand was completely unharmed!

Really useful!

A glint of light flashed in Lu Xuan's eyes. The Yang Flame Amulet that he had secretly given to Deputy Officer Mo earlier was now taking effect!

This talisman can make a person invulnerable to swords and spears, and impervious to water and fire for a short period of time!

With his current cultivation level as a perfected geomancer, his spiritual power is as vast as the ocean, so drawing such a talisman that consumes a lot of energy is just a piece of cake for him.

In fact, before coming here, Lu Xuan had already cast various enhancement talismans around himself, including the Yang Flame Protector Talisman, the Mighty Strength Talisman, the Swiftness Talisman, and so on.

At this moment, he appears to be under someone else's control, but in reality, he is just acting.

Lu Xuan's motive for choosing Deputy Officer Mo to test the Yangyan Protective Talisman was quite pure.

While talismans are theoretically invulnerable to weapons, who knows if their effectiveness in practice will be compromised?
If the description is exaggerated, wouldn't it be unfair to get injured if you try it yourself?
It's safest to find a reliable "target" to practice on.

Now it seems that the results are remarkable, which makes Lu Xuan very satisfied.

Just as Manager Wu was still reeling from the shock of this unimaginable scene, Lu Xuan's arm holding his wrist trembled slightly.

An overwhelming force struck him, sending Manager Wu flying. He crashed face-first to the ground, his gun flying out of his hand.

"Pick up your gun!"

Upon hearing Lu Xuan's voice, Deputy Officer Mo, understanding immediately, quickly picked up his sidearm from the ground, his eyes flashing with a fierce light as both old and new grudges surged into his heart.

"You beast, worse than a pig or a dog! I'll kill you!"

He pulled the trigger as soon as he finished speaking!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

More than a dozen gunshots rang out in succession, and bullets poured onto Manager Wu, causing his body to convulse violently and kill him on the spot. His blood instantly stained the ground red.

The old master, witnessing this bloody scene, knew that Steward Wu deserved his punishment, but he couldn't help but feel pity. He silently closed his eyes and whispered a Taoist chant.

"Men!" Lieutenant Mo holstered his gun and ordered sternly, "Drag this beast's corpse out and burn it! Burn it completely!"

He was on guard, having experienced tonight's bizarre event of a corpse coming back to haunt him.

Lieutenant Mo was afraid that after Steward Wu died, he would turn into a vengeful ghost and haunt him, so he simply burned it completely to prevent future troubles!
When the old master opened his eyes again, he had already suppressed all his emotions.

He walked up to Lieutenant Mo, took the right hand that Lieutenant Mo had used to block the bullet, and examined it carefully—the skin on the palm was intact, without even a trace of redness!

"You..." A look of disbelief flashed across the old master's eyes. He seemed to have thought of a certain possibility and suddenly spoke, his voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible excitement.

"Lieutenant Mo, do you... carry a protective talisman bestowed by a master?"

"Amulet?" Lieutenant Mo was wondering why he was unharmed when this was mentioned. He suddenly remembered that a few hours ago, the commander-in-chief had indeed inexplicably given him a folded triangular amulet pouch.

He quickly took it out of his pocket and handed it to the old master.

"Huh? That's strange," Lieutenant Mo said, looking at the talisman pouch in his hand with a puzzled expression.

"This talisman was given to me by the commander not long ago. I remember it clearly. It was a bright red cinnabar color before. How... how did it suddenly turn into a grayish color?"
"Just as I suspected!" The old master was greatly shocked, his guess confirmed.

He suddenly looked up, his gaze fixed intently on Lu Xuan, who stood to the side with his hands behind his back, seemingly oblivious to everything.

Lu Xuan simply waved his hand dismissively, his tone as casual as if he were discussing a trivial trinket.

"I don't know where it came from, but it's an eyesore. I, the commander, found it too troublesome, so I just gave it to my adjutant."

Lu Xuan was unwilling to discuss further, and immediately ordered, "Alright, take care of the aftermath here. Dispose of the bodies as appropriate. Tomorrow morning, the entire army will assemble at General Mountain."

Lu Xuan had no intention of destroying the little ghost, the Seventeenth Concubine. She was lucky, being the first ghost to survive in Lu Xuan's hands!

(End of this chapter)