Chapter 415: Desperate Situation

"Using an innocent four- or five-year-old child to threaten me—where is the honor of Profound Truth Dao?" I gritted my teeth. Er Gou and Mr. Gu could barely hold on under the raging Yin energy and couldn't help at all. Right now, the only good news was that the Three-Eyed Ghost Infant inside me had awakened, absorbing the Yin energy and continuously strengthening my body's Yin Meridian.

"Did I ever threaten you?" Lu Jin said shamelessly. "I am only doing this to help you, to prevent you from making one mistake after another. As for this child, he has a close relationship with you. I can't guarantee he doesn't carry the inheritance of Profound Truth Dao. I'm simply being responsible to my sect."

Realizing words were useless, I gripped my dagger tightly and fell silent. I devoted all my focus to dodging the long Yin energy whip, rapidly closing the distance between myself and Wang Yu.

"Just a dying struggle. So what if you make it over here? My senior brother is present. Even if you possessed heaven-defying abilities, you couldn't stir up a single wave." Lu Jin had absolute confidence in Lu Chen. He lifted Wang Yu from the ground with one hand and slapped the child's face. The intense pain almost made the boy pass out, and it took several more heavy slaps from Lu Jin before Wang Yu finally regained his senses.

He was too young and not good at expressing himself to begin with. He was in so much pain that he couldn't even shed tears. His red eyes bulged outward, looking as if they were about to burst.

"What a pitiful brat. But you don't need to worry, he will soon adapt to this pain. However, by that time, he won't be considered human anymore. After all, Yin people cannot see the light. At best, he'll just be a nest for gu worms. Let me think—what should a mere tool be called?" Lu Jin's voice echoed in my mind. Rage consumed me; in a moment of carelessness, the Yin energy struck me. My body flew sideways and crashed into the wall.

The Yin energy invaded my body, but the Three-Eyed Ghost Infant absorbed it, leaving me with only superficial wounds.

"I almost forgot, you also practice ghost art. Cultivating both the Ghost Dao and martial arts... it seems I definitely cannot let you live." Lu Jin waved his hand at Zhong Jiu, then took out two gleaming gold talismans from his robes and slapped them onto the man's body. "Zhong Jiu, these two Blood Qi Talismans are Lesser Vehicle Talismans drawn by my senior brother. You have the Yin energy assisting you, plus the boost from the Blood Qi Talismans. If you still can't finish him off this time, don't bother returning to the sect with me. Understand?"

"Understood! I will definitely go all out this time!" Zhong Jiu smashed his fists together with the heavy thud of crashing boulders. Blood qi surged around his body, and the whites of his eyes slowly turned pale red.

"Go, don't disappoint me again."

Receiving the order, Zhong Jiu let out a loud roar and lunged at me. He moved exactly like a ferocious beast. "Gao Jian, die!"

I had never heard of a Blood Qi Talisman, but its effect was clearly a massive increase in physical strength. I stayed on guard, exchanging blows with Zhong Jiu while dodging the long Yin energy whip.

During our last fight, he had the Six Ding Six Jia Talisman protecting him, which granted him astonishing defense. This time, the Blood Qi Talisman made him incredibly strong and fast. These specialized talismans were practically cheat codes.

"Get lost!" I narrowly dodged the Yin energy and launched a flying kick at Zhong Jiu's chest. The strike landed solidly, but Zhong Jiu only took a half-step back.

He was already quite tall, and with the rolling blood qi surrounding him, he looked like a legendary giant god, exuding an overwhelming sense of pressure.

Fighting him in the lobby of the Laboratory Building was truly disadvantageous for me. I fought while retreating, falling back toward the entrance.

"Zhong Jiu, don't let him get away!" Lu Jin's voice carried a hint of excitement. He had probably already envisioned the scene of me beaten to the ground.

Hearing the command, Zhong Jiu redoubled his efforts. However, while my strength was far inferior to his, my agility and speed were much greater.

I consecutively dodged several strikes from the Yin energy whip. Just as I was a few meters away from stepping out of the Laboratory Building, the leading black-robed Daoist outside let out a weird cackle. "It seems our friends from Miaozhen temple are a bit lacking in their Daoist arts, falling just short by a hair. Allow me to lend you a helping hand."

She Qian took out something that looked like a drum but wasn't quite a drum in his left hand, and a tattered black whip in his right hand. He lightly struck it, producing a bizarre thump, thump sound.

"The sun sets in the west, the sky turns black; nine out of ten homes shut their doors tight."

"Only one home leaves its door unlocked, burning incense and beating drums to invite King Yama."

"In the left hand, the Soul-Guiding Drum; in the right hand, the Soul-Driving Whip."

"A small drum and a whip, one foot and three inches long, tied with a five-colored ribbon."

"Point it down, it forms a curve; point it up, it forms a peak."

"Strike it once, it trembles three times; strike it thrice, it trembles nine times."

"When the whip strikes, the drum will sound; when the drum sounds, King Yama descends!"

She Qian chanted a strange song, his ethereal voice sending shivers down my spine. I grew vigilant; this song seemed specifically targeted at me.

When he sang about striking it once and trembling three times, every beat on the drum's surface made my heart echo with a thump, thump sound. After nine trembles, my vision blurred, and my consciousness felt as if it were being forcefully ripped out of my spirit platform.

My vision grew hazy. Outside the Laboratory Building, Er Gou and the others seemed to drift further away. Vaguely, I saw a black figure and a white figure walking toward me.

The last time I saw them, they were hundreds of meters away. This time, they had closed to within fifty meters. I could clearly see their attire, and an extreme fear engulfed me.

"The black and white impermanence!"

Last time, I thought what I saw was just an illusion, but with them approaching again, everything felt overwhelmingly real.

Yin energy circulated, and a sudden trace of icy coldness pierced through my body. The Ghost Infant's scream rang in my ears, and I instantly snapped awake. My consciousness returned, and I regained control over my body.

In a life-and-death struggle, even a single second of distraction could decide the outcome, let alone standing frozen in place for so long.

Just as I recovered my senses, agonizing pain erupted from all over my body. The long Yin energy whip lashed at me, accompanied by Zhong Jiu's merciless punches.

Seeing me injured, Er Gou and the others rushed back inside, but without the protection of talismans, they were quickly whipped away by the Yin energy, each left on the verge of death.

"I was too naive. How could the strength of ordinary people contend with these sects and their thousands of years of inheritance?" Blood filled the gaps between my teeth as I barely managed to block. My body was battered repeatedly, like a leaf caught in a fierce gale.

The laughter of Zhong Jiu and Lu Jin rang in my ears. Everything was spiraling in the worst possible direction. The blood-red hue in my eyes slowly faded, replaced by a preternatural calmness. 'Only the Three Yin Sect and Miaozhen temple are making a move against me. This isn't even the worst-case scenario. How can I give up? I've survived so many of those streams—how could I possibly fall in a place like this?'

The pain tempered my nerves. I narrowed my eyes, searching for an opportunity.

Zhong Jiu was enjoying the thrill of brutally beating me, and his vigilance was steadily dropping. Another Yin energy whip flew over, and Zhong Jiu pulled back his fist to easily dodge it. He wanted to wait for the Yin energy to strike me before continuing his torment. This was a perfect opportunity for him to vent his frustrations; he absolutely wouldn't let me off easily, nor would he let me die so easily.

He took a step back, and the Yin energy whip brushed past his body as it fell. Just as he smiled, ready to enjoy my pained expression, I planted one hand on the ground and pushed off fiercely with my back leg, shooting forward like a drawn sword.

The Yin energy whip lashed heavily against my shoulder. I took the blow head-on to close the distance with Zhong Jiu. Before he could react, I drew the dagger from the small of my back, stabbed it straight into his lower abdomen, and sliced upward!

"A dagger..." The smile on Zhong Jiu's face instantly froze. I didn't give him a chance to say anything else and plunged the blade in again.

None of the people present expected me to actually stab someone. It wasn't until blood sprayed out that their expressions finally changed.

"Gao Jian, you dare!" Lu Jin practically shrieked.

"Why wouldn't I dare?" I aimed a kick at Zhong Jiu's neck, sending him flying to the side. "I warned you when we first met. Did you really think I wouldn't dare kill you?"

My sheer viciousness was so intense that even Lu Chen was stimulated by the thick scent of blood, causing him to frown slightly.

"Such nerve! Gao Jian, you have a lot of nerve!" Lu Jin grabbed Wang Yu, pressed down on the child's head, and opened the silk pouch filled with venomous insects. "Since you dared to kill someone from Miaozhen temple, prepare to pay with your life!"

As Lu Jin spoke, he moved to shove Wang Yu's head toward the pouch. I was too far away to stop him in time. Just as I was about to step forward, the previously silent Lu Chen spoke up. "Nonsense! Do not cause extra complications. Carry out the Heart-Slaying Dao Inquiry immediately. There is something amiss with this place, and a delay will bring changes."

Reprimanded by Lu Chen, Lu Jin forced himself to tie the pouch of venomous insects back up. Immediately after, as if he had thought of something else, he sneered, "I will listen to senior brother."

He took out another pouch, poured the gu worms inside into a water flask, and placed it on the ground a short distance in front of him. "Gao Jian, if you still want your son to live, then obediently come over here and drink what's in this flask!"