Chapter Fifty-Eight: Slaying the Taoist Nun

At that moment, the Daoist nun was still lost in wild exhilaration and madness, utterly oblivious to the looming danger. Not until I fully unleashed the Underworld Incantation did she sense that something was amiss. Just as she tried to throw away the Infernal Seal in her hand, she realized it was already too late. In the totem I traced in the air, a wraith general condensed from black mist appeared, then shot with blinding speed toward the Infernal Seal. In the next instant, a low hum sounded from within the seal, as if the power inside it had been awakened. Countless streams of black mist surged forth, forming a dark barrier that instantly enveloped the Daoist nun.

Panic seized her. She dashed frantically within the barrier, her sharp talons clawing desperately at its edges, trying to break free. But her strength was far too weak—it made no difference at all.

She turned, her face twisted in rage and despair, glaring at us. Her voice was furious and hopeless as she roared, “Child of the Nine Yin Severed Veins, how dare you trick me!”

I rose slowly to my feet and walked toward her, my face impassive as I watched her go mad within the barrier. At last, a brilliant smile lit my face.

“Daoist nun, it’s time to put an end to this!” I leaned close to the barrier, feigning the smug triumph of a petty man. “You schemed for twenty years, betrayed Mount Shu, murdered so many, all to seize the legendary Infernal Seal left by the Dark Son of Heaven. But did you ever imagine that everything you did was for someone else’s gain?”

“No—impossible, this can’t be!” The Daoist nun had lost all reason, her hair wild, her grotesque features twisted beyond recognition. “Wu Dao, where is the real Infernal Seal?”

“You want to know?” I let my face cloud over. “You want to know where the real seal you’ve longed for is hidden? Well, I’ll never tell you. Even if your soul is scattered to the winds, I’ll see that you go with endless regret and agony. Daoist nun, you’ll never, ever know where the true Infernal Seal lies.”

“I’ll kill you!” Her eyes bloodshot, she lunged at me, but the instant her hand touched the barrier, a surge of electricity shot up her arm. She cried out in pain and snatched her hand back in a panic.

No matter how quickly she withdrew, the current still turned her entire hand to a bloody pulp in an instant.

Watching her shriek in agony inside the barrier, I burst out laughing—a joy deeper than any I’d felt since my long descent into this nightmare. I even felt my own mind twisting; the more pain she suffered, the more exhilarated I became.

I could have used the Underworld Incantation to destroy her immediately, but I refused to grant her such mercy. My hatred for this vicious woman was bone-deep. She had killed all my loved ones, claimed the lives of so many innocents—if I let her die swiftly and painlessly, I would never find peace.

I wanted her to be tormented, to vanish from this world in endless unwillingness and rage. Only then could I quell the seething hatred in my heart.

“Child of the Nine Yin Severed Veins! Nine Yin Severed Veins!” The Daoist nun’s shrill, heart-rending screams echoed from within the barrier. I channeled the power of the false Underworld Seal, sending arcs of electricity to strike her again and again.

Wherever the lightning struck, her form dissolved into bloody pus. She had no physical body; what was destroyed was not only her Daoist shell, but also her very soul—her three spiritual and seven corporeal souls.

Each time the Daoist nun shrieked in pain, I would tilt my head to the heavens and call aloud the names I once knew so well: “Father, Mother, Grandfather Zuo, Granny Luo, Grandfather Wang, Old Lady Chen, Yang Li…”

“Did you see? The one who brought death to you all is about to be obliterated—your souls can finally rest in peace!”

As I finished speaking, the Daoist nun within the barrier was already in tatters. I let out a furious roar and chanted, “Endless Underworld, Boundless Dark Arts, Prohibitions from all Quarters, Five Elements to Slay the Immortal!”

With my final words, countless arcs of lightning blazed within the barrier, silver serpents piercing the Daoist nun’s form like a hail of arrows. This time she didn’t scream—she no longer had the strength.

With a thunderous crash, the explosion of power hurled me backward. The pitch-black night sky lit up with a silver sphere of light. As a deafening roar echoed, the sphere burst apart, shattering into countless fragments that soared into the clouds like the most brilliant of fireworks.

I looked up at the night sky as countless silver points of light fluttered down like fireflies—fleeting, vanishing at last into the boundless darkness.

In that instant, a wave of exhaustion swept through me. Just as the Elder Di Yi had warned, with my current abilities, I should never have been able to cast the Underworld Incantation. If not for my innate Nine Yin Severed Veins, I would have been crippled or dead on the spot.

With a heavy thud, I fell to my knees. Every meridian in my body throbbed with unbearable pain, but I gritted my teeth and endured, tears streaming down my face. I knew it was over. The Daoist nun was gone forever. Those who had died unjustly could finally rest.

Wang Feiyang approached with a blank face. The bamboo blade in his hand clattered to the floor, and he too sank to his knees, bracing himself with both hands. For the first time, tears welled up on his perpetually cold, stone-like face.

No matter how ruthless, arrogant, or aloof Wang Feiyang had become, he was still only twenty years old. At this age, he should have been savoring the best years of youth: reading, surfing the internet, skipping class, chasing girls… How could he be forced to endure the destruction of his family?

Neither of us knew how long we knelt there. At last, Lu Li approached, carrying my grandfather on his back. My grandfather’s weak voice said, “Wu Dao, it’s over now. Return to the coffin shop at once. I have important matters to discuss with you.”

My thoughts snapped back to the present. Seeing the pain and gravity etched on my grandfather’s face, I sensed trouble, but I was so weak I couldn’t even stand. In the end, Wang Feiyang helped me up.

“Grandfather, since your soul can’t leave this bus driver’s body, why don’t I take you to the hospital now?”

“No!” my grandfather refused at once. “We must go back to the coffin shop immediately.”

I didn’t ask further. I quickly found the off-road vehicle the geological survey team had driven here. We got in. After finding the keys, Wang Feiyang took the wheel, speeding toward White Street.

None of us spoke during the drive. We were all severely injured. By the time we reached the coffin shop, I had recovered somewhat. Though my body was still weak and my meridians ached as if stabbed with needles, at least I could just barely walk.

Lu Li carried my grandfather inside. Once in, my grandfather immediately instructed Lu Li and Wang Feiyang to stand guard at the door. “Until we come out,” he said, “no one and nothing is to enter the coffin shop—not a single step.”

Lu Li and Wang Feiyang obeyed at once, taking up their posts at the entrance.

My grandfather waved his hand, and the shop’s main door closed of its own accord. He sat down beside the Eight Immortals table, gasping for breath. “Wu Dao, my time is short!”

My eyes reddened instantly. I tried to speak, but he cut me off at once. “I’ll be brief. Go to the second row, third coffin in the shop. Slide open the lid and bring me what’s inside!”

I nodded and hurried over, forcing open the coffin lid. Inside, there was an urn.

“Open the urn,” my grandfather commanded.

I immediately opened it. The moment I did, I felt a strange ripple of energy. Resting quietly inside was a yellowed parchment book. On its cover, three blood-red words leapt out at me—Book of the Underworld!