Chapter 147: The Soul Realm

Only then did Xue San awkwardly rise to his feet, thereafter his eyes instinctively drifted toward the Eight Trigrams Mirror in Li Yanchu’s hand.

Seeing this, Li Yanchu gave a faint smile and tucked the mirror away into his robe. This magical artifact was proving very handy, as it was capable of attacking evil spirits on its own and highly effective against cultivators who relied on stealth or illusions.

Xue San beamed. “I once saw you, Immortal. Back then, your blood and qi were already profound, and your divine light was radiant. Now, after some time apart, your cultivation has advanced even further. Truly worthy of congratulations!”

Li Yanchu smiled modestly, neither confirming nor denying.

Xu Lingsu said softly, “Xue San, I’ve invited Daoist Master Yanchu tonight to help the Lady sever the demonic remnant. Open the way.”

A gleam of delight flashed in Xue San’s eyes. “Yes, yes, yes, excellent! Finally, the time has come. Any longer, and I fear I myself would fall into the Demonic Dao.”

As a temple spirit residing within the Lady Qingyi Temple, Xue San was essentially one of her yin officials and a ghostly subordinate of her divine court. Should the Lady succumb to the Demonic Dao and lose her Dao, it was only a matter of time before Xue San would be dragged down with her.

Xue San reached behind his waist and pulled out a copper gong and a wooden mallet. Straightening his spine, he struck the gong with force.

CLANG

!

“By order of the Underworld, open!”

Dressed in his ghost-officer robes and exuding solemnity, Xue San’s appearance suddenly reminded Li Yanchu of the fake City God he had once slain... and that ghostly bailiff, Jiang Tong.

As the gong echoed, a shimmering curtain of light appeared before Xue San, solidifying into the shape of a door.

“Immortal,” Xue San said respectfully, “beyond this door lies the soul realm created by the Lady. The demonic remnant is hidden within.”

Li Yanchu’s eyes flickered with surprise.

What, do I need to leave my body again?

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

He glanced at Xu Lingsu.

The clever young woman smiled gently. “You can enter with your physical body. You’ve been to this place before.”

Li Yanchu paused. “The blood money?”

Xu Lingsu gave a slight nod. “Exactly. When you destroyed the blood money in Wei City, it disrupted the foundation of the demonic remnant. The Lady likely targeted you with her spell back then.”

Just then, realization dawned on Li Yanchu. That time, he had placed the blood money in his room and was attacked by an evil spirit. He’d been dragged into a strange, black-and-white world, and even encountered a fake version of Bai Hongtu.

To think, that was the soul realm crafted by Lady Qingyi. At least entering physically was an option. If he had to leave his body behind in the hands of these two, he honestly wouldn’t feel very secure.

Li Yanchu turned and gave Xu Lingsu a long, steady look.

Xu Lingsu smiled and said, “Don’t worry. How could I ever harm a friend of my future husband? Once you enter, you’ll naturally encounter the demonic remnant. Most of its power has already been suppressed by the Lady. Once you destroy it, you’ll return here.”

Li Yanchu asked, “And if I’m not its match?”

Xu Lingsu handed him a jade talisman, her expression serious. “If you aren’t its match, crush this talisman, and you’ll be able to withdraw from the soul realm. But... from then on, the demon will grow, the Dao will wane. I’m afraid Wei City will no longer be a place fit for living.”

Li Yanchu accepted the talisman and nodded slightly. Without further words, he strode directly into the shimmering curtain of light. As he stepped through, the glow vanished instantly, as if it had never been there.

Xue San looked toward the direction where Li Yanchu had disappeared, clicking his tongue in admiration. “What a promising seed of a Martial Dao immortal. If he can slay the demonic remnant, his inner state will surely rise to another level. His future will be limitless.”

Xu Lingsu said softly, “After the Lady fell into darkness, she had greater and greater difficulty keeping the demon at bay. If we fail this time... the Lady Qingyi Temple will be the first to fall. The entire Wei City may become a ghost-infested nightmare.”

Xue San suddenly asked, “I’m not skilled at reading fate, so I can’t see just how unusual this Daoist’s natal horoscope might be. But... can he really bear this kind of karmic weight?”

Xu Lingsu answered calmly, “He is not a man born of great fortune. Nor is he blessed by the stars. He simply has a tough natal horoscope. His Eight Characters[1] are as tough as iron, his life force is fierce. Only someone like him could enter the Lady’s soul realm and root out the demonic remnant. He can bear this karma. The only question is, how likely is he to succeed?”

Xue San nodded slowly, though suspicion still lingered in his heart. “This young Daoist... is he really that tough?”

***

Splash!

Splash!

Li Yanchu’s vision blurred. A moment later, the sound of flowing water reached his ears, accompanied by the faint slap of waves against a shore.

He opened his eyes, and sure enough, he was once again in that familiar black-and-white world.

Black and white were the shades of the dead.

Li Yanchu’s feelings were complicated as he stood once more in this colorless place. He glanced down at the jade talisman in his hand with a thoughtful gaze.

After a moment, he tucked it calmly into his robes and moved forward without hesitation.

The triple-enhanced Jiaoslayer at his waist, the quadruple-enhanced Five-Lightning Talisman in his robes, the triple-enhanced Spirit Officer Summoning Talisman, and the double-enhanced Eight Trigrams Mirror were all his trump cards.

Compared to the last time he entered this black-and-white world, his strength had reached a whole new level. He even bore on his body the legendary Daoist talismanic armor, so he was fully confident.

Last time, he had walked a long distance before hearing the chaotic murmurs, whispers of resentful spirits, and other bizarre phenomena. But this time, almost as soon as he entered, he sensed a formless, filthy power closing in around him. It aimed to corrupt both his soul and his flesh.

At this time, Li Yanchu activated his inner power. In an instant, divine radiance surged from his body. A wave of pure yang qi flared to life around him.

Whoosh!

That formless filth recoiled at once, repelled by the brilliant, upright energy. The aura of the Daoist talismanic armor was supremely yang and fiercely rigid, so much so that such vile miasma could not cling to it in the slightest.

This time, the black-and-white world had grown stronger, and it had recognized Li Yanchu. Shadowy figures began to flicker into view all around him.

Thud! Thud!

Suddenly, these phantoms began to charge toward Li Yanchu, and as they approached, he saw their faces clearly. There were monks, Daoists, and wandering martial artists. Each wore a blank expression, but their eyes seethed with venomous hatred.

These were all people who had been killed by Li Yanchu: Master Guanxin, Daoist Jinfeng, corpse-bearer Song Sanlang, the paper effigy craftswoman, the second-in-command of the Five Lakes Gang, the black-robed elder of the Feng family, and a string of ruthless sabersmen.

They all came howling toward him, and a terrifying, overwhelming surge of malice and killing intent. But Li Yanchu simply curled his lip in a cold smirk.

“So many have died by my hand without me realizing it... They couldn’t beat me when they were alive. Now you toss out these imitations. What, want me to take a stroll down memory lane?” he sneered.

Boom!

With a palm strike, a blast of scorching, thick inner force surged forth. Instantly, the figure of Master Guanxin was obliterated.

The figures conjured by this black-and-white world were, by nature, mere illusions, so they could never compare to the originals. At most, they only possessed a fraction of their real strength. How could they possibly be a match for the current Li Yanchu?

Clang!

Li Yanchu drew the Jiaoslayer from his waist, and a wave of blazing, razor-sharp saber qi swept out in an arc! Those viciously resentful phantoms were instantly reduced to ashes and dust.

“Is that all you’ve got?” Li Yanchu let out a cold snort, his eyes brimming with contempt.

1. Bazi (八字)—literally "Eight Characters"—is a traditional Chinese astrological system used to analyze a person's destiny, personality, and life path based on their birth date and time.

The "eight characters" refer to four pairs of Chinese characters, each pair representing:

Year

Month

Day

Hour

Each pair consists of one Heavenly Stem (天干) and one Earthly Branch (地支)

So 4 time components × 2 characters each = 8 characters total, hence "Bazi." ☜