Chapter 39 Part 1

From the moment Wang Ya said, “Dad, let’s go find Grandma,” to the release of her eerie and powerful energy, it was but an instant.

No one expected Wang Ya to open the Yellow Springs in such a way and in such a short time. Only when the red light enveloped them did they realize something was wrong; many hadn’t even realized Wang Ya had opened the Yellow Springs, searching for the source of the red light with faces full of shock.

Immediately after, over a dozen figures fled desperately in the direction away from Wang Ya, wishing they could instantly escape the red light and the Yellow Springs Other Shore Flowers madly spreading outward!

Zhang Qingshui knew something was wrong the instant she heard Wang Ya’s voice. But Wang Ya had opened the Yellow Springs too quickly, and with Wang Cheng’an restraining her, it was too late to stop it. She watched helplessly as Wang Ya opened the Yellow Springs. An elder beside her kicked Wang Cheng’an flying and grabbed Zhang Qingshui’s arm, running back the way they came.

Zhang Qingshui knew the danger and rushed outward at full speed with two uncles from her clan. But after charging forward less than thirty or forty meters, she suddenly saw a familiar car stopped in the middle of the road, with a familiar figure standing in front of it, looking toward her. Zhang Qingshui’s face changed in shock as she shouted, “Little Qi!”

Standing in front of the car was none other than Huang Qi. The bodyguard in the driver’s seat got out, stunned dumb by the sky full of red light and eyes full of vibrant flowers.

Zhang Qingshui grabbed Huang Qi’s arm and yelled, “Run!” Bone-chilling yin qi swept over them, and in that instant, she felt as if her blood vessels were freezing solid. At the same time, she saw the ground beneath her feet blooming with fiery red Yellow Springs Other Shore Flowers, while her two uncles had shot ahead like arrows from a bow, pursued by countless Yellow Springs Other Shore Flowers.

Old Tang’s voice rang out: “A’qi, why are you here!”

Zhang Qingshui saw Old Tang still behind her and realized they couldn’t escape. She shouted, “Embrace Origin Guard Primordial Spirit! Solidify your primordial spirit! Hurry!”

Old Tang rushed to their side, quickly pulling out several sheets of talisman paper and pasting them on their foreheads, then one on his own. He sat cross-legged, guarding his primordial spirit.

Wang Ya, who had performed the Blood Sacrifice Technique, was pale as paper, weakened as if a massive amount of her essence had been drained in an instant. She took a deep breath, panted twice, then took out her seven ancient copper coins and arranged them into the Big Dipper Seven Stars Formation. She pulled Wang Cheng’an into the array and slapped down seven or eight sheets of talisman paper around them before finally relaxing a bit, panting as she looked around. With the surge of red light and the blooming of the Yellow Springs Other Shore Flowers, massive yin qi emerged, and countless ghost shadows appeared above the Yellow Springs Other Shore Flowers, approaching the living beings who had stepped into the Yellow Springs. Beneath her feet was a narrow, rugged dirt road lined with Yellow Springs Other Shore Flowers, scattered with bones amid the flower clusters. Many panicked people were running forward over the blooming Other Shore Flowers, but now they were in another world— a mere hundred meters stretched like the edge of the sky, and no matter how they ran, they couldn’t escape, as if treading in place. Old Tang, Zhang Qingshui, and Huang Qi sat cross-legged by the car thirty or forty meters away, surrounded by a horde of ghost shadows that couldn’t approach due to the protective items on them.

Wang Ya turned to look in the direction where the old ghost had been and saw seven or eight people of varying ages also sitting cross-legged, guarded by hundreds of hideous, ugly ghosts fighting nonstop with the wandering souls prowling the Yellow Springs Road. The old man previously possessed by the Dead Old Lady lay unconscious on the ground, his ebony staff gone, and Wang Ya saw no trace of the Dead Old Lady. Had she escaped?

With the Yellow Springs Road open, the temperature plummeted at least twenty degrees, giving the summer-clad Wang Ya goosebumps and an involuntary shiver.

Wang Cheng’an, in his short-sleeved shirt, said, “Yaya, it’s so cold here. Why are they all sitting down? There are so many ghosts!”

Wang Ya knew the most dangerous moment for opening the Yellow Springs wasn’t when it opened, but when the connection point between the Yellow Springs and the Yang Realm closed. She had Wang Cheng’an sit and meditate, guarding his mind. She herself sat cross-legged, about to circulate her qi for rest, when she heard an enraged roar from afar: “Wang Ya!” It sounded like the elder who had held a sword to her neck earlier. Wang Ya hadn’t expected the old man to be so close and actually escape. Vague voices came from that direction, but too far to make out. Soon, she saw path-guiding talismans and soul-guiding lamps drifting over, accompanied by constant shouts:

“Hurry, follow the soul-guiding lamps!”

“Follow the soul-guiding lamps out before the Yellow Springs closes!”

Wang Ya sneered and called out, “I say, survivors outside, save your strength. If you’d let me open the Yellow Springs with my usual soul delivery method, I might have guided them out. But with the Blood Sacrifice Technique, no living soul returns. The land covered by Yellow Springs Other Shore Flowers is a sealed barrier—no one escapes. Stay and keep me company in death!”

“Wang Ya! You’ll die a horrible death!”

Wang Ya laughed loudly: “A horrible death? Can you live a thousand years in the mortal world? I’ll wait for you on the Yellow Springs Road!” As she spoke, she saw her dad open his eyes toward her, face darkening as she said, “Dad, forgot what Grandma taught you about taboos when opening the Yellow Springs and accidentally stepping into it?” Wang Cheng’an quickly closed his eyes and resumed meditation. Hearing curses from outside, Wang Ya ignored them, closed her eyes, and entered meditation to regulate her breathing. She knew no one would attack her now; those trapped on the Yellow Springs Road were like her, meditating to guard their souls.

The Yellow Springs and the mortal world weren’t the same; opening the Yellow Springs from the Yang Realm meant they were at the intersection, coexisting in Yin and Yang realms. Those trapped on the road would suffer only minor yin qi invasion, no great danger. The real peril came when the Yellow Springs closed.

Time passed bit by bit, and Wang Ya gradually entered a meditative state, the distant curses and cries of vengeful souls and fierce ghosts fading away.