Chapter 44: Indeed a Great Tonic Part 3

Wang Ya steadied herself, focusing fully. She circulated qi from her dantian, stepped through formation positions, forming seals and striking palms seamlessly. Twelve ghosts surrounded her, pitch-black in Yin Qi, formless but reeking, occasionally clawing with bioluminescent green-scaled limbs— all repelled by her. Wang Ya’s momentum soared, palms whistling. The ghosts neared only to be slapped back, but she knew she hadn’t truly harmed them. She relied entirely on the formation channeling Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise for Four Spirits Body Protection. By past experience, she could hold at most half an hour; fail to subdue them then, and she’d be done for.

Wang Ya couldn’t afford to drag it out! Unable to stall, she had to bleed!

Wang Ya bit down hard on her fingertip again. The sharp pain jolted her spirit, her expression fiercely sharp, brows tightly furrowed with a hint of irritation. Truth be told, she disliked using the Yellow Springs Other Shore Art! Each time, her emotions spiraled out of control, overwhelming her with melancholy like someone owed her millions unpaid. But the situation left no choice—without her trump card, survival was doubtful!

Wang Ya’s hands flew, fingers pinching flowers into seals. A faint red glow enveloped her. She flipped her palm and slapped the nearest ghost’s chest, while her other hand’s flower-pinch seal pressed toward its forehead between the brows! She intoned lowly, “Yellow Springs Other Shore, flower shadows summon souls—living return to yang, dead to nether realms.” As her pinching fingers reached the ghost’s brow, a vivid crimson Other Shore Flower, blooming to full splendor, bloomed from her fingertip and drilled into its forehead. In the next instant, a fiery red Other Shore Flower burst from the ghost shadow, madly draining its Yin Qi. After about two seconds, red light flashed, and the ghost collapsed, leaving only shredded rotten cloth and a pile of white bones.

A faint red glow bathed Wang Ya, even a red Other Shore Flower pattern emerging on her forehead. Her mood inexplicably soured; her once-clear mind dazed. She was herself, yet not—profound sadness and loss gripped her heart. Her left hand posed in flower-pinch, expression desolate. She stepped through positions, gliding ethereally.

Wang Ya instantly reached the next ghost. Her right palm slapped its chest, left flower-pinch seal falling on its brow. She said softly, “Do you hear the cries of lost wandering souls by the Yellow Springs Road?” Her left fingertip bloomed a fiery red Other Shore Flower piercing its brow. Instantly, blinding red light erupted from the ghost—a blue-faced, fanged fierce ghost covered in azure scales. As the red light blazed, it burned like fire, reduced to white bones and rotten cloth scraps in two seconds before her.

Wang Ya glimpsed the encircling ghost shadows retreating. Huang Qi’s cry rang in her ears: “Other Shore Flower Demon!” Her heart jolted. Scanning around, the previously ferocious ghosts had either hidden in stone pillars or fled to beams ten-plus meters up—no trace of Other Shore Demon Flower. She heard Zhang Qingshui: “What’s wrong?”

Huang Qi said, “Wang Ya! She seems possessed!”

Wang Ya irritably glanced back at Huang Qi, then saw Zhang Qingshui shining the flashlight on her. The beam stung her eyes; instinctively, she reached out and snatched the flashlight, suddenly finding herself before Zhang Qingshui with it in hand. Her waist tightened—Zhang Qingshui’s Azure Vine had wrapped it. Zhang Qingshui stared in horror. Nearby, Old Tang yelled, “Wang Ya!” and rushed back, lunging at her with knife raised.

Seeing Old Tang charging with blade drawn, Wang Ya’s left palm rose and slapped his body. Strangely, Old Tang flew off, crashing seven or eight meters away and spitting blood! In the next instant, her wrist was bound by Zhang Qingshui’s Azure Vine. Wang Ya flipped her palm, shaking out red light that snapped the vines free.

Zhang Qingshui pulled Huang Qi back to Old Tang’s side.

Wang Ya glanced at Zhang Qingshui, then at the two ghost shadows by the door. Unlike the pillar ghosts, these were wrapped in Corpse Shrouds thick with Yin Qi. Wang Ya quickly eyed their joints—bones shifted beneath. She figured corpses lay inside. She hated these body-clad ghosts most—indestructible. She stepped up, grabbed one ghost’s Corpse Shroud, and yanked. The ghost resisted, clawing at her. But its once-swift movements now crawled in slow motion to her eyes. She easily dodged, found the shroud’s edge, and pulled. The ghost spun in place like a top!

The Corpse Shroud was extremely long and smelly, but tolerable—not too foul, at least not to her now. Wang Ya dodged claws while tugging relentlessly. The ghost spun faster, becoming a gyroscope! When she finally yanked the shroud to the ground, it still whirled. Its pitch-black bones gleamed jade-like, Yin Qi condensed substantially like muscles and flesh. Seeing this tangible Yin Qi, two words flashed in Wang Ya’s mind: great tonic! Instinctively, she formed a seal and slapped its forehead. An Other Shore Flower drilled in, instantly draining all its Yin Qi energy. The corpse crumbled to white bones. Its soul tried fleeing, but the depleted red light of the flower collided, scattering its three souls to the winds! The red light carrying the ghost’s Yin Qi energy returned to Wang Ya’s body. Another thought surfaced: Indeed a great tonic.