Courtyard House: Time Traveler Not Yet a Ghost

At the summit of Taihang Mountain, the gale-force winds were like knives. Ma Xiaoling stood leaning on her sword, blood still wet at the corner of her mouth, her breath rapid, and shock still lingering in her eyes. But the stubbornness and pride that belonged to the Ma family made her straighten her back and stare intently at He Damin, whose aura was deep and imposing, not far away.

Her prized Soul-Suppressing Bell was easily knocked down, her all-out attack combining man and sword was shattered with a single finger, and even the trace of wolf immortal power she had summoned was dispersed. The strength of the person before her was unfathomable, far exceeding her expectations. It was something no ordinary possessing ghost could possess! But that lingering, almost tangible "ghostly aura" was so real... The contradiction, the immense contradiction, unsettled her, yet it also stirred a stronger sense of defiance and fighting spirit within her.

He Damin looked at the rekindled flame in Ma Xiaoling's eyes and nodded slightly in approval. The pressure wasn't enough. Although the previous exchange had allowed him to loosen his muscles and sense the profound mysteries of his opponent's inheritance, he was still far from breaking through the barrier of a perfected Nascent Soul. He needed more intense hammering, a true sense of crisis teetering on the edge of life and death, to forge the last trace of imperfection and force the complete explosion of his potential.

"Miss Ma," He Damin began, his voice still calm, yet carrying an invisible, heavy pressure, "is that all? If the methods of the Ma family in the Northeast were only this, I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to stop me today." He deliberately kept his tone indifferent, even carrying a hint of barely perceptible "disdain."

Sure enough, upon hearing this, the last trace of hesitation in Ma Xiaoling's eyes was replaced by anger. She couldn't stop him? This monster (she was already convinced that no matter his background, he was definitely not a good person) still wanted to cause trouble?!

"Arrogant!" Ma Xiaoling shouted sharply, suppressing her surging blood and qi, her eyes turning sharp as ice. "Since you've chosen your own death, today I'll show you why the Ma family can guard the northern lands!"

She held nothing back, disregarding the potential damage to her foundation. She had only one thought in her mind—to fight with all her might, even at the cost of mutual destruction, to leave behind this unfathomable "demon"!

She reached to her waist with her right hand, and five antique, bronze-lustered, round copper coins with square holes appeared between her fingers. She bit the tip of her other finger, quickly smearing a trail of blood across each coin, chanting rapidly, "Heaven and Earth are boundless, the universe lends its power! Five Emperors suppress demons, the formation begins!"

"Swish, swish, swish!"

Five coins, stained with the essence of blood, flew out of his hand, not directly towards He Damin, but following a mysterious trajectory, instantly dispersing to five directions around him—east, south, west, north, and center! The coins hovered in mid-air, humming and vibrating, the bloodstains on them glowing crimson, emitting thin, blood-red rays that instantly intertwined to form a massive, three-dimensional net of light covering an area of ​​dozens of feet in radius! As soon as the net of light formed, an immense pressure, heavy as a mountain, imprisoning space and suppressing all evil forces, descended! He Damin immediately felt his body sink, as if he were trapped in an invisible quagmire, even the flow of his true energy became somewhat sluggish. This was the Ma family's secret "Five Emperors Demon-Suppressing Array," using the power of bloodline to connect the righteous energy of the dynasty and the will of the people contained within the ancient coins, forming a powerful barrier.

While setting up the formation, Ma Xiaoling pulled out a large stack of yellow paper talismans from her bosom with her left hand, and without even looking at them, she threw them out!

"Heaven and Earth, the profound origin of all things! Golden light, swiftly appear, to protect the True Man! So be it!"

"The Supreme One commands: search and capture evil spirits! Thunder God and Lightning Goddess, quickly descend with your mighty power! So be it!"

"I command the Eastern Azure Wood Thunder! I command the Southern Fire Thunder! I command the Western Metal Thunder! I command the Northern Water Thunder! I command the Central Earth Thunder!"

Dozens of talismans spontaneously combusted without wind, transforming into a shower of fiery light! Most of them, after burning, formed a dazzling golden shield, firmly protecting her (Golden Light Spell). Even more unusual were a dozen or so purple lightning talismans; instead of dissipating after burning, they coalesced into flickering purple electric snakes that snaked around her, emitting chilling crackling sounds and drawing in the clouds high above, producing a muffled rumble of thunder—she was gathering power, summoning true heavenly thunder!

That's not all! Ma Xiaoling slapped a long, narrow cloth bag behind her that she hadn't used before.

"Clang!"

With a clear, resonant sword cry, an ancient sword, its entire body a warm, dark red, its wood grain naturally forming mysterious runes, and its blade flowing with a faint, pure yang aura, soared into the sky! A thousand-year-old peach wood sword! This sword's restraint against evil spirits and demons far surpasses that of her Qingfeng sword!

Immediately afterward, with a flick of her wrist, a small, nine-story pagoda, only three inches tall, neither gold nor jade, grayish-white in color and covered with fine engravings, appeared in her palm. She tossed the pagoda above her head, and it grew rapidly in the wind, instantly becoming three zhang tall. The pagoda exuded a vast and ancient aura of suppression, its base aimed at He Damin, casting a hazy beam of light that combined with the pressure of the Five Emperor Coins array, causing the spatial confinement around He Damin to increase several times over! This was another treasure of the Ma family—a replica of the Soul-Suppressing Pagoda!

Finally, she took a deep breath, formed hand seals, and gestured towards the sea of ​​clouds below. A dim, blood-gold streak of light struggled to fly back from the clouds; it was the Soul-Suppressing Bell that had been knocked down earlier. Although its spiritual light was greatly diminished and cracks appeared on its body, she forcibly recalled it using a secret technique. It hovered beside the Soul-Suppressing Tower, emitting intermittent low chimes, still contributing a wave of weakening soul power.

The Qingfeng sword she had used earlier was now hovering above her head, its tip pointing directly at He Damin, echoing the peach wood sword, the Soul Suppressing Tower, and the Soul Suppressing Bell.

In just a few breaths, Ma Xiaoling, like a Taoist priest driven to the brink of despair, unleashed all her hidden treasures and secret techniques! The Five Emperor Coins were arranged to suppress the space, the Golden Light Talisman protected her body, the Thunder Talisman drew upon the might of heaven and prepared to strike, the Thousand-Year Peach Wood Sword was the main weapon to break through evil, the Soul Suppressing Tower strengthened the suppression, the broken Soul Suppressing Bell provided auxiliary interference, and the Green Edge Sword was waiting for an opportunity to strike!

The relentless attacks, interwoven with profound light and precious energy, pushed her Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation Perfection Realm power to its limit, even showing signs of overexertion. Her face was pale, but her eyes shone with a frightening light, fixed intently on He Damin within the formation.

The pressure is completely different now!

Under the dual suppression of the Five Emperors Demon-Suppressing Array and the pillar of light from the Soul-Suppressing Tower, He Damin felt the air around him thick and sticky, and his true essence circulation slowed down by nearly 30%! The pure yang energy emanating from the thousand-year-old peach wood sword caused his Taiji true essence (though not yin, its yin aspect subtly countered it) to feel a slight burning and stagnation. The interference from the broken Soul-Suppressing Bell, though weak, buzzed incessantly like flies, trying to disturb his mind. Above his head, Ma Xiaoling's sword finger was raised, and the faint thunderous pressure emanating from the clouds made his brow twitch, sensing a true Heavenly Dao power capable of threatening a Nascent Soul cultivator!

"Good!" He Damin was not surprised but delighted, and he mentally shouted. This was exactly the kind of pressure! This was the deadly sense of crisis that could result in the destruction of magical treasures, a thunderbolt from the sky, and complete loss of body and soul if one was not careful!

He no longer deliberately concealed his aura, nor did he hold back. With a thought, his nascent soul activated at full power, and the vast and boundless Tai Chi true essence erupted like a bursting dam!

"break!"

With a soft shout, the black and white Tai Chi aura surrounding him suddenly expanded and spun violently, with the Yin and Yang energies clashing and generating wildly, unleashing terrifying tearing and annihilation power!

"Snap!"

The crimson net of light formed by the Five Emperor Coins was the first to succumb, emitting a cracking sound as it broke under the immense pressure. The five coins trembled simultaneously, their light dimmed, and they flew back. The gray beam of light cast by the Soul-Suppressing Tower was also distorted and scattered by the violently rotating Tai Chi energy. The tower itself swayed, shrank, and flew back into Ma Xiaoling's hand.

The spatial confinement suddenly loosened!

However, Ma Xiaoling's offensive has already followed!

"Die, you demon!" she shouted, pointing her sword at He Damin in mid-air!

"Boom!"

The thunder that had been brewing high in the sky finally struck! Not one, but five lightning bolts of different colors and thicknesses, arranged in the five elements, tearing through the heavens with the majestic power of the Heavenly Dao, fiercely striking towards He Damin! It was the "Five Elements Heavenly Thunder" that she had summoned with her essence blood and magical power, combined with the Five Elements Thunder Talisman! Although it was not comparable to the true Heavenly Tribulation Thunder, its power far exceeded that of ordinary thunder magic, and it could cause great damage to spirits, ghosts, and even cultivators!

At the same time, the thousand-year-old peach wood sword transformed into a crimson streak of light, striking first and piercing straight for He Damin's heart! The Qingfeng sword, like a venomous snake emerging from its hole, silently attacked the back of He Damin's head! The two swords, one orthodox and one unorthodox, one yang and one sharp, combined with heavenly thunder, exuded a chilling killing intent!

Faced with this attack from heaven, earth, and man, He Damin's eyes were extremely solemn, yet also extremely excited. He let out a long roar and advanced instead of retreating!

With a clenched fist in his left hand, the Soul Refining Banner manifested itself for the first time in battle! Though merely held in his hand and not yet unleashed, the dark banner moved without wind, emanating a chilling aura capable of devouring all souls, its surface faintly shimmering with the roaring shadows of countless spirits. He swung the banner, not to attack, but to trace a profound path with the banner's shaft, drawing upon the Yin energy of the surrounding天地 (heaven and earth) to create a deep, seemingly all-absorbing "Netherworld Barrier" before him. Five Elements Heavenly Thunder struck the barrier, unleashing a deafening roar. The lightning raged, causing the Netherworld Barrier to tremble violently and flicker, yet it failed to shatter in one strike! A large amount of lightning power was absorbed by the barrier and channeled into the mountain below, causing rocks to scatter and dust to billow into the sky!

He joined his right fingers together, and the tip of his finger once again shone with the bright silver light condensed from the sword intent of destruction. This time, however, black and white energy faintly swirled within the light. He didn't even glance at the green sword attacking from behind; he simply slashed backward with his hand!

"bite--!"

A sharper impact! The bright silver finger sword precisely struck the tip of the Azure Edge Sword, the violent sword intent and true essence penetrating in. The Azure Edge Sword let out a mournful cry, its sword light completely dimmed, and it flew away in a whirl, embedding itself diagonally in the distant rock wall, trembling violently.

On the other hand, the crimson peach wood sword was already at his chest! He Damin had just withstood the heavenly lightning, his old strength was slightly exhausted, and his new strength had not yet been generated. The intense pure yang sword energy of the peach wood sword had already stung his skin!

A matter of life and death!

At this critical moment, the nascent soul within He Damin's body, which had been sitting cross-legged in the Purple Mansion, warm and jade-like, suddenly opened its eyes! Purple energy surged around the nascent soul, and under the pressure of life and death, all the forces—including the Taiji True Essence erupting from He Damin's body, the Netherworld Power drawn by the Soul Banner, and the violent Heavenly Dao Aura remaining from the Five Elements Heavenly Thunder—underwent an incredible fusion and qualitative change!

"The moment is here!" He Damin sensed something, but instead of panicking, he took the initiative to withdraw the protective true essence in front of his chest and used his physical body to withstand the slight stab from the sharp tip of the peach wood sword!

"Pfft!" The sword tip pierced half an inch into the flesh, the pure Yang sword energy invading, bringing burning pain and damage. But this external, extreme "damage" and "pressure" was like a final, heavy hammer blow, slamming hard against that invisible barrier!

"Click..."

It felt as if something within my body had shattered. It wasn't the foundation of my Dao, but rather a constraint, a bottleneck, the invisible barrier between "divine" and "emptiness"!

He Damin's aura suddenly changed! It became ethereal, otherworldly, as if it were about to merge into this world, yet remained independent of all things! His Yang Spirit, emerging from his Nascent Soul, began to undergo a fundamental sublimation!

And almost at the same moment that he broke through his sensory perception—

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The dark clouds, which had not yet completely dissipated after being stirred up by Ma Xiaoling's thunder magic, suddenly converged at a hundred times the speed! As black as ink and as heavy as a mountain, they covered the entire sky. Within the clouds, silver snakes danced wildly, and lightning shone brightly. A pressure of heaven and earth, countless times more vast, majestic, and terrifying than the Five Elements Heavenly Thunder summoned by Ma Xiaoling, descended as if it were a tangible force! The center of its lock was none other than He Damin!

Heavenly Tribulation! The Tribulation of Refining the Spirit and Returning to Emptiness!

Ma Xiaoling was the first to be hit, her soul trembling from the sudden, terrifying pressure from the pure Heavenly Dao level, her entire body's magical power almost freezing! She looked up in horror at the sky-covering tribulation clouds, feeling the destructive power within them, and instantly understood what was happening.

"A tribulation of lightning?! He...he's breaking through?!" Ma Xiaoling's mind was in complete chaos. How could a ghost attract a heavenly tribulation? And such a righteous, supremely yang, and powerful tribulation of breakthrough?!

But there was no time for her to think. The heavenly tribulation was merciless, and all living beings within its range could be affected. If she remained where she was, she would surely die!

He Damin also sensed the approaching tribulation lightning. He turned his head, glanced at the horrified Ma Xiaoling, and transmitted his voice, "Get back! The farther the better!"

The voice remained calm, yet carried an undeniable air of authority.

Ma Xiaoling jolted awake, her survival instinct overriding everything. She gritted her teeth and summoned back all her magical treasures (the Qingfeng Sword was no longer able to recall them), not even caring about the damaged Soul-Suppressing Bell and the injured Five Emperor Coins. She transformed into a streak of light and fled frantically towards the edge of the tribulation clouds with all her might! She didn't stop until she reached a mountain peak dozens of miles away, still feeling lingering fear, and looked back.

The sky was completely filled with pitch-black tribulation clouds and blinding lightning, like the end of the world. He Damin's figure hovered below the center of the tribulation clouds, appearing incredibly small, yet exuding an aura of towering solitude and composure.

"BOOM—!!!"

The first bolt of heavenly lightning, as thick as a water vat and a deep blue in color, carried a majestic heavenly might as if it were the beginning of creation, tearing through the sky and striking straight down! Its power far exceeded the sum of the five elements of heavenly lightning that Ma Xiaoling had previously summoned!

He Damin raised his head, neither flinching nor dodging, even spreading his arms wide. His spirit was cheering, yearning for this baptism of thunder!

"Come! Let this tribulation of lightning forge my Yang spirit and prove my return to emptiness!"

The deafening roar drowned out his voice, and the lightning engulfed his figure...

In the distance, Ma Xiaoling held her breath, watching the figure rise and fall amidst the devastating lightning. A wave of shock, confusion, and even a hint of awe she herself hadn't noticed washed over her. This battle, this mysterious man, and this sudden, terrifying tribulation had completely overturned her understanding. She suddenly realized that her previous judgment might have been wildly wrong.

One bolt of lightning after another, growing increasingly violent. There were nine bolts in total, each stronger than the last, their color changing from azure to blazing white, then to purplish gold, and the last one was a chaotic color, as if containing a wisp of primordial power from the creation of the world!

As the last chaotic lightning bolt dissipated, the sky filled with tribulation clouds slowly dispersed, revealing a sky that had been cleansed and made exceptionally clear, and below, a scorched mountain peak that looked as if it had been brutally scraped by the heavens.

A figure still hovered there.

His clothes were tattered, and he had scorch marks on his body, making him look somewhat disheveled. But his aura was completely different.

Ethereal and ethereal, as if a gust of wind could disperse him, yet also as if he were one with this world, existing eternally. His eyes were even more profound, and in the opening and closing of his gaze, it seemed as if the sun, moon, and stars were rising and falling, and yin and yang were cycling and turning.

The Yang Spirit has completely transformed, moving from the concrete form of "spirit" to the realm of "emptiness," becoming more aligned with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. Refining the Spirit to Return to Emptiness—a first glimpse into the path!

He Damin slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, within which tiny sparks of electricity flickered. He felt the power within his body becoming more harmonious and transparent, resonating with the heavens and earth, and a genuine smile finally appeared on his lips.

His gaze fell upon the figure standing motionless atop that mountain peak, dozens of miles away.

When Ma Xiaoling met his gaze, she trembled and instinctively gripped the peach wood sword in her hand, only to find her fingertips icy cold.