Chapter 2: Awakening Youth

At midnight, a bright moon hung high. The grand palace gates were tightly shut, yet all the palace lamps inside were lit. Their red candlelight brightly illuminated the interior furnishings.

Ning Qinshui stood at the palace entrance, frowning.

Their guide was still Sir Song Ce, whom they had met earlier that day. Song Ce explained, "This is General Wang Yangyu's main hall. Since the general died suddenly three days ago, this grand hall has been sealed. However, every night after dark, the candles inside the palace spontaneously ignite, and occasionally, an elderly voice can be vaguely heard from within."

Ning Qinshui frowned. "What kind of voice?" he asked.

"It's very faint; no one can make it out clearly," Song Ce replied. "But the palace maids all say it's General Wang Yangyu's voice."

Ning Qinshui then asked, "Where is General Wang's body?"

Song Ce seemed to recall something, instinctively clenching his fists before sighing. "It was cremated," he said.

"Cremated the body so quickly?" Ning Qinshui asked, puzzled. "Was it due to a plague?"

Song Ce shook his head, his expression complex. "It also spontaneously combusted," he said. "We couldn't put out the flames no matter what we did."

Ning Qinshui's expression changed slightly. He stroked his streaked white beard, then with a flick of his sleeve, his fingers began to make rapid calculations.

Song Ce sighed, "If you, venerable sir, choose to withdraw, knowing the difficulty, we would not make it difficult for you."

Ning Qinshui ignored him. His hand was already on the main door. After removing the seals, he pushed the door open and entered. The candlelight filling the hall cast a faint red glow on his beard and hair.

As he stepped over the threshold, a copper coin slipped from his sleeve and landed precisely on the threshold.

"Hmph, petty tricks designed to mystify," Ning Qinshui scoffed, scanning his surroundings. With a flick of his Daoist robe, most of the candles in the room extinguished. He said in a deep voice, "Changjiu, Xiaoling, follow me to subdue the demon."

The boy and girl glanced at the dimly lit, profound hall, feeling a tremor of fear, yet they responded in unison:

"Yes, Master."

As Ning Qinshui spoke, his steps had already slowed. His hand reached into his sleeve, and seven small, beast-tooth-like objects emerged, hovering around him like protective talismans.

Behind him, the girl, dressed only in a thin Daoist robe, hugged herself. She secretly glanced at the old man, her expression showing a hint of resentment.

The gentle-faced boy beside her, however, was almost like an idiot. He simply followed behind the old man, keeping his gaze fixed downwards, not daring to look around.

The old man didn't care about the fate of the young boy and girl behind him. They were merely good prospects he had scouted from the market a few years ago. Although valuable, they were ultimately like magical artifacts; when it was time to deploy them, no matter how much it pained him, they had to be used.

Ning Qinshui shook out a talisman paper. As soon as it was released, it instantly burned to ashes in mid-air. The ashes did not fall but transformed into a yellow bird, both real and illusory. It circled the hall, and a moment later, let out a sharp cry. The old man's expression subtly shifted, and he snorted coldly, "Found you!"

He took a step forward, and a strong gust of wind swept through the hall. His body instantly covered several zhang, appearing as if shrinking the ground beneath his feet, and in one stride, he stood before a deity statue enshrined in the hall.

Ning Qinshui, being experienced, wasted no words. Eight yellow paper talismans were already clasped between his fingers. With a push of both palms, all eight talismans shot out simultaneously, forming a connected rope that tightly bound the stone statue. The remaining candles in the room, as if sensing something, flickered wildly, as if they would break free from their wicks and cluster together.

"Venerable sir..." A voice suddenly sounded from behind him.

Ning Qinshui was about to press his advantage and pursue, but his body froze. His expression, uncharacteristically, became dazed.

"Venerable sir..."

The voice called out again, its tone cordial, as if old friends, long separated, had met by chance on the street.

"Stop disturbing my mind!"

Ning Qinshui lightly bit his tongue. In the clarity brought by the pain, his vision quickly refocused.

Before him, at some unknown point, stood a burly man in armor. The man's ashen eyes stared blankly at him. His face, body, and hands were all so decomposed that the white bones were visible. His armor was covered in fine cracks. He bared his teeth, revealing putrid, decaying flesh inside, and within the pale, blood-soaked remnants of flesh, maggots were faintly wriggling.

Ning Qinshui didn't recognize the man, but his intuition told him this was General Wang Yangyu, who had died that day!

According to Song Ce's introduction, Wang Yangyu had cultivated for many years and endured the crucible of battle. His martial arts were incredibly powerful, making it difficult for evil spirits to approach him. What force could have corroded him to such a state?

Ning Qinshui hesitated for only a moment, but he found his own body also beginning to stiffen. His already wrinkled fingers were visibly losing warmth and color. Before long, he would suffer the same fate as Wang Yangyu!

"A mind-disturbing illusion?" he roared, making a decisive choice. Within his frail body, his Daoist robe billowed as if inflated. His five fingers, like eagle talons, struck forward. "Vile creature, do not be so presumptuous!"

Dozens of golden lights burst forth from between his sleeves, each one like a powerful arrow, piercing forward.

General Wang Yangyu's corpse bared its bloody mouth and let out a heart-rending shriek. This shriek was extremely brief, like the sudden cry of a bird, and then it fell straight backward.

With a loud crash, Ning Qinshui's expression changed. Before his eyes were only fragments of a shattered stone statue. Where was General Wang?

He withdrew his hand, believing he had broken the illusion, but the boy behind him suddenly shrieked.

"Master! Your hand!"

Ning Qinshui instinctively glanced down, his expression drastically changing. On his hands, thick blood was incessantly flowing down between his fingers! He was certain it wasn't his own blood!

He tried to draw another magical artifact from his sleeve but found his entire body so stiff he couldn't move. A chill rose from his back, chilling him to the spine, as if a centipede was crawling up his spine, segment by segment.

A black spot suddenly appeared before his eyes. The spot consumed his pupils, rapidly spreading, as if a massive specter was crawling out of a cave, moving with uncanny speed.

As his consciousness was about to be swallowed, Ning Qinshui's expression suddenly turned stern. He struggled to turn his head and glanced at the boy and girl behind him.

The boy had never seen his master look so terrifying and instinctively took a step back. The little girl, meanwhile, directly collapsed to her knees, her legs giving way.

The old man's stiff lips curled into a grin, and he roared, "Heavenly Venerable's decree, spirit communion to invoke deities!"

The boy's and girl's clothes ripped open at their chests simultaneously. Two yellow talismans stuck to their chests pulled their bodies, dragging them towards the old man.

These were the precious talismans the old man had previously claimed would protect them, but now they had become death-hooks!

"Junior Sister!" Ning Changjiu hastily cried out, and with difficulty, stepped forward, blocking the girl.

Ning Xiaoling tried to tear off the paper talisman on her body, but the yellow talisman was as if rooted, making it feel as though she was tearing her own flesh.

The talisman violently pulled her forward, and she crashed into Ning Changjiu's back. She instinctively embraced the boy in front of her, but it was useless; both were dragged forward together.

Ning Changjiu, being at the forefront, was pulled before the old man.

Ning Qinshui mercilessly slapped the top of his head.

Ning Changjiu couldn't even shriek as his limbs instantly went limp. His body still blocked the girl, but he was too weak to kneel. His body was like a wine jar with its seal removed, as innumerable malevolent energies poured in from the top of his head.

This was a method ancient cultivators used to suppress demons with their own bodies. The old man had spent several years finding these two suitable "vessels," and had it not been for the present danger, he would never have dared to use them.

As wisps of malevolent energy poured into Ning Changjiu's body, receding from Ning Qinshui and flowing into the boy, Ning Qinshui gained a chance to breathe. He looked fiercely at the still struggling girl, but his expression suddenly changed.

Ning Xiaoling struggled to raise her hand, but it wasn't in surrender.

Behind her, a faint, ethereal, snowy-white shadow vaguely appeared—it was a curled-up snow fox.

Only, that snow fox's spiritual manifestation had a broken tail. It hissed and bared its teeth at Ning Qinshui, yet it was too afraid to advance.

"You mischievous girl," Ning Qinshui said in surprise, "when did you secretly learn Daoist magic, and even manage to enter its gates and form a primordial spirit?"

To think she'd hidden it from me for so long.

Truly an exceptionally rare talent, one in ten thousand, and far stronger than her foolish senior brother.

What a pity...

None of it is as important as my own life.

Ning Qinshui's hesitation lasted only an instant. He let out a roar, and the yellow talisman activated. The girl let out a miserable groan as she slammed into Ning Changjiu's body, pushing him aside, and was instantly pulled before Ning Qinshui. The old man's palm struck down, and the snow fox's spiritual manifestation was dispelled after a faint resistance. The girl immediately fainted.

The two natural "vessels" quickly absorbed all the surrounding malevolent energy into their bodies.

Next, he reached his hand deep into his sleeve.

They were a pair of purple-gold divine talismans, so precious that his fingers trembled slightly as he drew them out.

But he knew he didn't have many years left to live. Nothing was more important than achieving ascension and seeking immortality. The promise given to him by that exalted figure was his only chance at immortality.

With this thought in mind, the old man no longer hesitated. He slapped the two divine talismans onto their foreheads with a loud thud.

The boy and girl had long lost consciousness. Their skin was so pale it was almost transparent, and the blood vessels beneath were so clear they looked as though they would burst through the skin. They bulged and twisted, like flowers of hell, eerie and beautiful.

As the talismans were pressed on, their convulsing bodies gradually calmed.

The dust settled.

Ning Qinshui wiped the sweat from his brow and let out a long sigh of relief. He waved to the people outside the door, signaling them to enter.

Song Ce, seeing the commotion inside the hall subside, also breathed a sigh of relief. He stepped into the hall with a few people who were at the entrance. He cupped his hands in greeting, but just as he was about to speak, he suddenly froze.

Ning Qinshui saw that they dared not approach him, thinking it was out of fear for the bodies of the young boy and girl on the ground. He smiled and waved his hand, saying, "It's fine. They are merely in suspended animation. Once this old man extracts the evil energies from their bodies, they will revive."

In reality, these were merely perfunctory words. He knew better than anyone that there was no possibility of them surviving.

"Venerable sir..."

Song Ce's eyes widened. He raised a hand, pointing a finger at Ning Qinshui's body, his voice trembling slightly.

Ning Qinshui's expression changed slightly. At the same time, the candles in the hall that had long been extinguished suddenly lit up one by one. Ning Qinshui's expression drastically changed again. He suddenly felt a pain in his chest and reached his hand to it.

Only then did he discover that his chest was, at some unknown point, covered in blood. From the mangled, indistinct flesh, a skinless, bloody hand tore through his body, squirming out like a maggot. Ning Qinshui had no time to react; his own hand was tightly clamped by the other party and then pulled into his body.

It was as if a demon was breaking out of its chrysalis, ready to devour this skin as its own food!

"Save me!" Ning Qinshui shrieked. He looked up, but everyone retreated in fear!

His face was also a bloody mess, his expression so grotesque it was inhuman. Faintly, amidst the bloody flesh, it was no longer his face.

It was Wang Yangyu's face!

The sound of bones snapping echoed bit by bit. The old Daoist's robe tore apart. He couldn't even let out a scream as his body completely collapsed.

"The Sparrow Ghoul! It's the Sparrow Ghoul!"

Someone in the crowd let out a horrified gasp. No one hesitated any longer; they all fled out of the hall doors.

The old Daoist, now no longer human, rose like a walking corpse. He didn't pursue the fleeing people but instead stared at the unconscious boy and girl on the ground. He seemed to see the ultimate delicacy in the human world, a greedy smile on his face.

He slowly crawled towards them.

His fingers rested on the girl's face, which was as pale as a doll's, gently tracing the soft curve of her cheek. Then, he seized her neck and began brutally tearing her Daoist robe.

This was the evil thought that had been stirred from the old Daoist's heart.

With such a young and beautiful girl constantly by his side, how could he not harbor ill intentions? But for greater gain, these thoughts had always been suppressed deep in his heart, while outwardly he maintained the image of a profound and ethereal Daoist.

Now, all his evil thoughts burst forth completely.

Ning Xiaoling could no longer struggle.

The world seemed to grow dark, and the candles flickered wildly.

In the hall, where light and shadow swayed, the boy's body was obscured by the old Daoist's shadow.

At a moment unnoticed by anyone.

The boy suddenly opened his eyes.