Chapter 626 - 401: Bro, Are You Sure You’re Human?

Chapter 626: Chapter 401: Bro, Are You Sure You’re Human?

Difficulty?

The middle-aged Taoist priest was about to voice his polite refusal—he even had thought of how to phrase it.

He planned to first sigh and use the excuse, "It’s not that I am unwilling, but my cultivation is still shallow" to decline.

But now!

Not to mention that from the day of our initiation, we Taoist practitioners take it upon ourselves to vanquish demons and exorcise the world of evil spirits, ensuring peace in our realm is a duty ingrained in us.

And furthermore, this mission is led by a mysterious elder with unfathomable, almost invincible power, aiming to eliminate the malevolent entity in the reservoir.

This is an act of justice when both heaven and human efforts align.

If he dared to say a single "no," how could he face his already deceased master when he descends to the underworld in the future?

Even the Peach Wood Sword personally passed down to him by his master would bring him shame underground.

"Alright!"

......

The candle flame in front of the altar suddenly crackled, releasing a burst of sparks.

The middle-aged Taoist priest, who was reminiscing, was abruptly startled awake.

"It’s Yin energy! Such powerful Yin energy!!!"

There was a barely noticeable tremor in the middle-aged Taoist priest’s voice, not out of fear, but because the sudden cold had tightened his nerves.

The air seemed to carry tiny ice shards, chilling his lungs, even causing the yellow talisman papers on the altar to sway gently.

He gritted his teeth, extended his arm, and steadily received the Peach Wood Sword handed to him by his disciple.

He immediately began chanting incantations, each word clear and resonant, as the spell flowed.

The middle-aged Taoist priest’s gaze shifted from initial shock to become firm and sharp, fixed intently in the direction from which the Yin energy emanated.

As he flipped his wrist, a faint golden light emerged on the blade of the Peach Wood Sword.

Time ticked away, and the middle-aged Taoist priest unconsciously tightened his grip on the Peach Wood Sword, his heart overwhelmed by turmoil.

The Yin energy from the entity in the reservoir was several times stronger than the centennial fierce ghost he and his master had once battled!

That centennial fierce ghost was so ferocious that it could invade cities at night to absorb people’s Yang energy.

His master had deployed the ancestral Eight Trigram Mirror, expending half of his cultivation to seal it.

Afterward, his master reminded him, "If you encounter such a fierce ghost in the future, avoid confrontation."

Yet now, the entity in the reservoir hadn’t even shown itself but merely with its emanating Yin energy, it made the middle-aged Taoist priest’s hair stand on end.

...This level of power far exceeded his understanding of "fierce ghosts."

This all began a few days ago when the middle-aged Taoist priest received a message from an old friend.

The message stated that a formidable ghost had appeared in Qinghong City, residing in the suburban reservoir, with four colleagues having ventured there successively to exorcise it.

The result was either no trace of them was found or only a corpse disfigured by Yin energy was left behind.

The old friend especially warned him, "If you encounter the matter in Qinghong City, make sure to avoid it."

At that time, the middle-aged Taoist priest pondered, "What kind of malevolent spirit could be so capable?"

Now, standing at the reservoir, enveloped by the freezing Yin energy,

he finally understood the terrible outcome implied by the term "damage" in the message.

The middle-aged Taoist priest is not only an experienced veteran magician but also has substantial field experience in subduing evil and is naturally confident in facing danger.

Moreover, the sense of justice fueled by the harming of others and the suffering of colleagues left him without hesitation, rushing to Qinghong City with his disciple.

After landing a few days ago, he skipped the time to adjust to the time zone and drove straight to the reservoir.

He initially believed that with his cultivation, he could deal with troublesome malevolent spirits.

However, upon reaching the reservoir’s edge, an extremely terrifying Yin energy immediately enveloped him.

The intensity of the Yin Sha energy was so overwhelming that even this veteran magician felt unprecedented pressure,

fully aware of the immense disparity in power, realizing that despite his just cause, he would be like an ant trying to shake a tree.

He was never a stubborn and inflexible person, fully aware that acting forcibly would not exorcise the malevolent spirit but instead result in unnecessary deaths for himself and his disciple.

Such a meaningless sacrifice is definitely not the way of righteousness.

Therefore, he decisively decided to stay in Qinghong City with his disciple.

While keeping an eye on movements from the reservoir’s direction, he discreetly monitored information within the magic skill circle, hoping for more powerful magicians to arrive upon hearing the news.

After all, relying solely on his strength would not defeat such a powerful enemy. However, if accompanied by fellow practitioners, they could set up formations and join forces to exorcise it with a slight chance of success.

"Master!" The disciple’s voice suddenly exploded, filled with unprecedented panic, his finger firmly pointing at the ground, stammering, "You... you... look... there!"

The middle-aged Taoist priest was focusing on the reservoir’s surface, trying to capture traces of the Yin energy’s flow.

Pulled back to reality by his disciple’s exclamation, a sense of foreboding surged in his heart.

He followed his disciple’s trembling fingertip to the ground—

Under the streetlamp light, what had always been clearly reflected was his shadow and those of his three disciples.

His shadow was in front with broad shoulders and a straight back, his grip on the Peach Wood Sword leaving a clear outline on the ground.

The shadows of his three disciples were closely following, either squatting or standing, youthful yet distinct.

But at this moment, the picture had completely changed.

A long, thin black shadow, at some unknown time, had silently appeared beside their shadows.

Like a piece of cloth soaked in ink, it clung tightly to the edge of the outermost disciple’s shadow.

It even had a small portion that had overlapped with the disciple’s shadow, indistinguishable.