Not only Xiang Liu’s true soul had caused the death of the two enlightened persons Tian Shu and Tian Hua, he had also suffered their agonic counterattacks. In addition to that, Tian Yin’s soul also made an agonic retaliation. Both his primordial soul and his body were shaken. Once he completely harmonized with Tian Yin’s dharmakaya, he had immediately made his way here. When he reached the snow-covered peak, he made it just in time for the storm, which Wen Leyang and Cone Nail were brought away by the bug tide. He then gathered his subordinates and went in a hot pursuit. After he entered the ore cave, he did not use the ‘firecrackers’ to lead the way but ran off on his own to the depths.
Wen Leyang and Cone Nail were like fishes on a chopping board in his eyes, they could never escape the palms of his hands. When they entered the ore cave, all they thought about was to find the heavenly water spirit and had completely disregarded their badly wounded enemy. They had come to the end of the ore cave to look for the treasure. Not to mention Wen Leyang, Cone Nail was not far from death as her primordial spirit had been damaged and Guo Huan’s soul was weak, hence, nobody noticed that Tian Yin had flown past them.
Tian Yin’s smile grew thicker when he saw Wen Leyang nod. Genuine happiness showed in his eyes. However, he suddenly gave a flying kick and sent Cone Nail, who was in Wen Leyang’s embrace, flying!
Cone Nail almost shattered her silver tooth. She managed to swallow her wail but could not stop the gushing fresh blood that spurted out of her wound. It drew a mottled and forlorn line of blood on the ground.
Wen Leyang howled in fury. His body had not managed to make any movement when the vision before his eyes went dark. A huge force, which he could not repel, hit him. He did a somersault and fell to the ground… Tian Yin’s fanciless punch had landed on Wen Leyang’s head. His strength was heavy but it had a perk, it did not inflict more harm upon him and scatter the Poison of Life and Death, which Wen Leyang had so strenuously gathered!
Cone Nail landed far away. Her whole body shivered as if she was in fear but her gaze was unrelenting as she stared at Tian Yin. Tian Yin looked at Cone Nail with a smile, “I’d hate to see you die.” As he said this, he paused briefly before he continued, “I’d hate to see you die so soon. You had subdued me…”
Tian Yin frowned in pain as if he wanted to calculate the years he had spent in agony on the Black and White Island. Finally, he smiled bitterly and shook his head, he had given up, “Let’s say five thousand years! It mustn’t have been that short but let’s go with it.” As he said this, Tian Yin smiled again as if he was satisfied with his own leniency, “From this day on, you’ll die a little every day, for five thousand years…”
Cone Nail snorted, “You haven’t learned how to speak like a human!”
Tian Yin also smiled with Cone Nail, “That’s why I don’t like it when there are people in this world!”
Wen Leyang was still struggling to get up. Tian Yin’s smile vanished. He kicked Wen Leyang’s body, which had just arched itself down. He made a helpless expression, “You cannot go any further. I have saved Cone Nail’s life by stopping you guys.”
Wen Leyang spared no effort to gather the scattered Poison of Life and Death within his body. His gaze was full of extreme hatred as he glared at Tian Yin.
Tian Yin pointed at the walls of the ore cave. Wen Leyang had only noticed now that four big words were written with beautiful strokes on the cave’s wall.
After a while, Tian Yin saw that Wen Leyang had no reaction. He was first astonished, then he found it slightly funny and annoying, “You don’t know how to read?”
Wen Leyang ignored him… but silently, he felt helpless. He really did not recognize these ancient characters. Even the knowledgeable three-inch nail Wen Bushuo misread ‘Cleansing Magic River’ as ‘Flowing Sand River’. Hence, his knowledge was not even worth mentioning.
Tian Yin pointed at the big words and pronounced them one by one, “Thirteen Shall Not Pass! Do you think that the old man would be so generous as to go through so much trouble to excavate such a passage and allow others to come and take the heavenly water spirit? The old man even left behind thirteen Prohibition Spells! If you guys barged in foolishly, she’ll die forthrightly.” As he said this, Tian Yin politely nodded towards Cone Nail.
Thirteen Shall Not Pass was the thirteen Prohibition Spells that would have to be faced by anyone to obtain the heavenly water spirit!
Although Wen Leyang did not know who ‘the old man’ was, his eyes darkened.
He mustered his strength, not to launch a surprise attack on Tian Yin. It would be a fool’s dream to defeat Tian Yin with his strength. He wanted to find an opportunity to pick Cone Nail back up and rush inwards. Although this thought was also absurdly funny, it was slightly more practical than a sneak attack.
Let alone Wen Leyang who only had five percent of his powers left, even Tian Yin must stop before the Prohibition Spells of this old man, who could excavate such ore caves.
A flurry of clumsy and heavy footsteps echoed. It sounded messy and lifeless. Almost a hundred living dead had caught up. The ore cave that was not wide to start with became even more cramped. Every living dead stood beside Tian Yin, their stoic faces had shown an unprecedented respectfulness that could only be described as fanaticism.
Cone Nail sprawled on the ground and carefully thought through Tian Yin’s words, ignoring the living dead’s arrival. After a while, she lifted her head and looked at Tian Yin, “Who is that… that old man that you’ve mentioned?”
Unexpectedly, Tian Yin shook his head. He did not reply Cone Nail’s question directly but he said strangely, “Heaven’s cone nail, have you ever thought that even though you had subdued me for millions of years on the Black and White Island, the opposite was also true? You were also imprisoned by me for millions of years?”
Cone Nail let out an ‘ah’. It was unknown whether it was due to Tian Yin’s statement that was out of the blue or because it was too cold in the cave, her thin body shuddered…
Tian Yin paid no more attention to Cone Nail but he made a gesture to the Tibetans behind him. On one side, there was Xiang Liu’s true soul, on the other side, there was the living dead who exited samsara and believed in the nine-headed snake. They did not need words to understand the intentions of the other. The huge group of living dead immediately stepped towards the deep ore cave. They left behind eight living dead, who were carrying a heavy luggage and were standing straight beside Tian Yin.
The huge group of living dead cramped into the deeper parts of the ore cave. Other than the sound of their footsteps, there was no other sound. There were no thunder or fire nor were there any arrows, poison or mercury. The prohibition spells’ effects were not what Wen Leyang had expected to be.
Guo Huan grunted in surprise within the jade knife. He helped Wen Leyang to ask the question, “Where’s the Prohibition Spell?”
Tian Yin smiled again, “You hadn’t been talking, I thought you’d wanted to sneak an attack on me.”
“What are you smiling about?” Tian Yin’s voice was rude but his tone was dispiriting, “If I can still activate the Demon Body Breaking Spell, you’ll be lying down by now!”
Tian Yin was amused to the point of laughter by this nondescript statement, “Of course the Prohibition Spell is there! The Prohibition Spells were extracted and refined from every component from the five elements and Bagua. They’re known as Thirteen Shall Not Pass but…” Tian Yin’s smile suddenly sharpened, “Try to think about this, that old geezer had excavated such an ore cave to find the heavenly water spirit, even if his cultivation base reached the heavens, how much energy was left after he obtained the treasure?”
Even if Guo Huan was experienced and knowledgeable, he was also befuddled by Tian Yin’s words as he said in a rage, “Are you saying that these Prohibition Spells are powerless? They can’t even harm that group of living dead?”
Tian Yin continued to smile. Even when faced with Guo Huan, he was still filled with the modesty of an elder, “Of course not! He had already expended a lot of energy, that’s why even though there are thirteen Prohibition Spells, they only affect the spirit and not man! Whether you are the Great Luo gods or the arhat divine dragon, there’s bound to be some element that restricts you among the five elements and Bagua. As long as you walk into the Prohibition Spells, I can guarantee you that your soul will be destroyed!” As he said this, he looked at Cone Nail again and smiled as if he were mentioned something, “He’s a master in Soul Art!”
Even though Guo Huan was inside the jade knife and had nobody, Wen Leyang could still hear him shudder.
Guo Huan was shocked. After that, he ignored Tian Yin and explained to Wen Leyang of his own accord, “Soul Art is an ancient magic. It does not need life vitality to activate but it needs another type of magical power! The more profound a cultivator’s cultivation base, the stronger his primordial spirit will be and the more he’ll be afraid of this Soul Art.” Wen Leyang nodded without fully understanding what Guo Huan had told him. After all, even Guo Huan did not have a complete understanding of this theory. He had given up all hope of understanding what kind of magic Soul Art was, it was sufficient for him to have a general idea of it.
Guo Huan pondered for a while. He shook his head in the jade knife and sighed, “This old man is truly meticulous!”
Tian Yin was in a good mood. Hence, he explained patiently, “Even if it’s me, I wouldn’t recklessly barge into this ‘Thirteen Shall Not Pass’ if I’m not merged with my true body but he couldn’t even have dreamt that there would be a huge number of living dead who exited samsara and had no soul nor body!”
Wen Leyang let out a muffled grunt. He finally understood why Xiang Liu’s true soul had gone through so much trouble to recruit these living dead. He suspected that the gathering of materials to execute the Art of Devilry was all a play. Tian Yin’s main objective of recruiting them was to pass ‘Thirteen Shall Not Pass’ and obtain the utmost treasure of water element.
“If that’s the case, the person knew that you would come and take the heavenly water spirit sooner or later. Is that why he sealed the ore cave?” Guo Huan understood the use of the Prohibition Spells but he did not understand the intention of the person who left them behind.
A disdainful expression appeared on Tian Yin’s face, “Of course not! He’s no god, how could he tell what would happen now. I have said it before, that old man was a narrow-minded fellow, he wouldn’t let anybody else tread the shortcut he created!”
Tian Yin was speaking when his gaze shifted slightly and moved from the jade knife to Wen Leyang’s face, “Now you understand why I have not killed you until now.”
His voice barely faded when laughter sounded from Cone Nail’s, Guo Huan’s and even Wen Leyang’s mouths. They were truly amused this time. Wen Leyang shook his head with all his might. He was befuddled by this sudden statement.
Tian Yin was astonished. He asked with a shock, “You truly did not know?”
Wen Leyang had an impatient look, “Would I be laughing if I knew? Stop talking nonsense, cut to the chase!” His voice was muffled, he still had the hot tofu of the ‘You’ve Got Me’ brand inside his mouth.
Whether it was Tian Shu, Tian Hua or Cone Nail, Guo Huan and even Tuo Xie, whom Tian Yin only met once, the people, who Tian Yin had associated with, were all intelligent people. He finally understood that he had truly met a stupid person. He smiled bitterly and replied, “Your method of practice originates from the outside and is unique, you also have a good foundation. I want to preserve your body and find a home for the third brother!” As he said this, he paused. He was worried that the group still did not understand and he added, “Third brother is the escaped wicked soul which you mentioned, he can’t possibly be imprisoned for a lifetime!”
Wen Leyang could no longer smile. Tian Yin had not killed him because he had taken an interest in his body to save it for the wicked soul.
Tian Yin continued, “I’ll wait till the bugs regain their senses and let them live with you. After a few years, they’ll turn you into the embodiment of true water, then I’ll throw you into Thirteen Shall Not Pass to destroy your body and soul. Then, my plan will have succeeded.”
Wen Leyang still did not understand, although he had no intentions of discussing this topic, he could not restrain himself as he asked, “Why don’t you throw me in now? Is it just to add the embodiment of true water? You might have to wait for decades.”
Tian Yin was stunned again. He fiercely stomped his feet a moment later and cursed, “Why don’t you understand anything?!”
The jade knife Guo Huan broke into laughter and interrupted Tian Yin, “You aren’t the first one to say that!” He explained to Wen Leyang while he laughed, “You don’t have any primordial spirit now. The Soul-refining Prohibition Spell will naturally have no effect on you! If you’re the puppet of the bugs for a few years and turn into the body of water element, then you’ll have a water element primordial soul. Only then, you can be destroyed by the Prohibition Spell!” Lastly, he concluded, “The point is this ‘Thirteen Shall Not Pass’ cannot affect you now! This set of Prohibition Spells deals with cultivators, an ordinary person won’t be affected in the least if he walks in!”
Wen Leyang was stubborn in his non-comprehension, he asked Tian Yin rhetorically, “Then why did you have to recruit the living dead? Won’t it be better to find a few normal persons to help you find the heavenly water spirit?”
He did not wait for Tian Yin’s reply when Guo Huan scolded, “You wood head! How can normal people get past the bugs?!”
Wen Leyang had only understood right now why Guo Huan had exclaimed that this old man is meticulous!
Thirteen Shall Not Pass was only directed to cultivators but did not affect normal persons. However, normal persons would not be able to pass through the thick ice cap and enter the ore cave. Even if someone got into the cave by some coincidence, they would be snatched away by the ‘firecrackers’ that were hibernating to be their master. When the normal person obtained a water element body, they would have primordial spirit and could not pass through the Prohibition Spell.
However, that person had not thought that these ‘firecrackers’ would not stay wild and were surprisingly tamed by the Hua family. In the recent thousand years, if a great avalanche truly happened and someone got into the ore cave through sheer luck, they would have been able to find the heavenly water spirit. However, the probability of this situation happening is almost none.
Wen Leyang finally understood. Tian Yin had talked to them in good-naturedly to wait for the bugs to come and possess them. In the end, it was about taking his body. When he thought of this, he could not help but look at the hole not far before him. He calculated the odds of which he could leap and shoot past Tian Yin and rushed inwards, he wondered if it was more probable than a frog speaking.
Cone Nail had not died because Tian Yin wanted to torture her slowly. Wen Leyang had not died because Tian Yin wanted his body. Guo Huan grunted, “What about me?”
Tian Yin wore a surprised expression, “Why didn’t I kill you? Why don’t you ask me why should I kill you instead?” As he said this, he showed an excited smile, “Not only will I not kill you, I’ll help you remold your demon body and quench your demonic primordial energy!”
Guo Huan was dumbstruck. At this moment, Cone Nail suddenly opened her mouth and said drily, “There aren’t any pure and strong demonic primordial energy left under the heavens. He thought of his third brother, naturally, he can’t bring himself to kill you!”
Xiang Liu’s true soul possessed Tian Yin’s body. Although he was not able to make any grand moves due to the restrictions of Tian Yin’s body and soul, he had left the Black and White Island many times to familiarize himself with the great powers under the heavens. When he was forced to retreat by Taoist priest San Wei and he sneaked into Eyang Sect, he already knew that the Wicked Soul was no longer in Eyang Sect. If he had seen Tuo Xie before, naturally he would know that the Wicked Soul was controlled within Hanba’s body and he must have thought of a way to break it.
Tian Yin chuckled and nodded towards Cone Nail, “I see you’re smarter.”
Cone Nail regained her pitiable expression. She knitted her brows and smiled weakly, “It’s not that I’m smart, it’s just that I know you better. You save people to eat their flesh, you plant trees to set them on fire, you smile to make others cry.”
Guo Huan seemed to be more at ease ever since he knew that he was not going to die. His tone was much jollier, “Talk to me, what do you want to do to the heavenly water spirit?”
Wen Leyang also opened his mouth, “Where did my Grand Master go?”
Cone Nail desperately tried to sit up pitiably. She had been heavily attacked by Tian Yin just now but her body had strangely regained some strength. She knew in her heart that the other party did not wish for her to die so soon. She asked Tian Yin almost at the same time as well, “Who was the person who excavated this cave? Who was I before this?”
Every mystery converged on Tian Yin.
The three persons questioned him in unison. Tian Yin quickly laughed. He shook his head, full of joy, “Tuo Xie’s whereabouts? The Heaven’s cone nail’s past life? You guys cannot die in peace if I did not tell you.”
Wen Leyang growled. He just wanted to curse when his surroundings suddenly turned cold! The few thousand ‘firecrackers’ had digested the power of the crystal. They had formed a bug tide and had arrived without a trace and enveloped Wen Leyang again. The bugs did not pounce on dead people. Wen Leyang had known this all along but he did not know why the bugs seemed indifferent to Tian Yin and dealt with Wen Leyang with their entire strength.
These bugs were more than a hundred times greater than when they originally started! At the instant the bug tide rushed forth, Wen Leyang only felt as if a thousand and six hundred mountains collapsing and the debris crashed down him from all directions.
Wen Leyang shut his mouth tight. He gently pressed ‘You’ve Got Me’ with his tongue and sighed. He had struggled continuously on the snow-covered peak but he still arrived at the worst-case scenario. He knew that he would not last long among this current bug tide.
Tian Yin glanced at Wen Leyang with some excitement but his mouth did not stop. He replied Guo Huan’s question, “My true body had nine heads, and every head had a soul. When you and the cat demon shattered the Heaven’s cone nail, I have escaped together with the third brother. Nine head ten souls had become nine head eight souls.” As he said this, he sighed in slight frustration, “I have miscalculated!”
Xiang Liu’s true soul thought that he could control Tian Yin quickly but due to an accident, he had toiled with Tian Yin’s soul for two thousand years. Tian Yin’s body also could not harm the remaining Heaven’s cone nails on the Black and White Island. The water element Heaven’s cone nail had shattered and the demon-subduing great formation had been broken, but the eight wicked souls that remained had lost the leadership of the true soul and labored hard to little avail as they made their own decisions. That was why he could not return to the mortal realm until now.
“Actually, I had never thought of it last time that third brother would also seize the opportunity to escape! That’s what foiled my grand scheme. The nine souls can understand the world completely if they stayed together. As long as the nine souls stayed in each of their heads, even if I’m not inside the true body, I can still direct them to join forces and break the cone nails!” As he said this, he scolded fiercely, “Curse that third brother! He’s always this rash! The public had always thought that Xiang Liu was a water demon but in truth, it was the third brother who always jumped the gun during a fight.”
When Tian Yin mentioned the escaped Wicked Soul, although his tone was heavy, a genuine kindness showed on his face.
When the nine souls were refined, even if the true soul was not within the true body, it could still direct the entire body. That was why the true soul had bravely escaped with his heart at ease. He had not thought that the Wicked Soul within that head had escaped without hesitation after the Heaven’s cone nail was shattered as if it had been subdued for too long. The nine souls could not connect with each other, which meant that the true soul could not control them, leading to the current situation.
Even amidst the surges of the ‘firecrackers’, Wen Leyang could not help but exchange a surprised look with Cone Nail. Both of them did not know this side of the story. If that Wicked Soul had not escaped, Xiang Liu could have returned to the mortal realm a thousand years ago. If that were the case, the Wicked Soul, which was currently sealed within Hanba Fifth Brother’s body, had helped them a great deal.
Tian Yin continued, “I’m the eldest among the nine of them, my soul power is connected to theirs. I had now obtained eight body parts of the staunch believers. After I obtained the heavenly water spirit and extract some of my own primordial soul, I can re-forge the water soul.”
Tian Yin had deliberately planned his actions on the highlands. He intended to cast the Art of Devilry at the end, sacrifice some of his own soul power and re-forge the Wicked Soul, which was missing from the water element head. The souls in Xiang Liu’s heads each represented an element. However, they were not completely pure and strong. There was some mixing of the other eight elements of the other wicked souls. This was the same for the escaped Wicked Soul. It had all nine elements but its water element was the most outstanding.
That was why Tian Yin needed the utmost water element treasure. The heavenly water spirit, with the eight materials of metal, wood, fire, earth, sun, moon, stars, and finally his own soul power would be required for him to create a new wicked soul. After he succeeded, he would replant it into that head. Then, the nine souls could be connected. Under the true soul’s control, the success of breaking free from the remaining eight shaking Heaven’s cone nails would be within his grasp.
Tian Yin’s requirement of the evil cult followers was that they only needed to form eight teams. However, when he controlled the living dead, he also discovered an unnamed monster sealed under the Tibetan Buddhism Sect mandala. He only wanted to re-forge the new wicked soul and did not wish for any new problems to crop up unexpectedly. He was even more worried that this monster would cause him more trouble if it ever broke free. That was why he ordered the living dead Tibetans to select nine troops and left the strongest team behind to protect the seal, preventing anyone to break the seal and release the monster.
When the true soul made these arrangements, he had practically taken control of Tian Yin. Initially, he would have shown himself on the highlands during the elimination rounds in the small town, but when he saw that Tian Shu and Tian Hua were badly injured, he could not let this opportunity slip past. That was why he moved to harm them. However, in doing so, he suffered the desperate retaliation of Tian Yin. He had lost control of the body temporarily. As a result, he did not make it to the great showdown in the small town, or else Wen Leyang and his group would have been ground to dust by him.
Speaking of Tuer town alone, Wen Leyang had barely escaped. Nevertheless, he was almost dead now. He did not feel especially lucky but the jade knife Guo Huan was still happy. After Tian Yin finished reminiscing, Wen Leyang brought up a new question, “What about the wicked soul that was trapped inside the zombie’s body? Wouldn’t it be easier for you to think of some way to save it and replant it into the head?”
Tian Yin shook his head sadly. Undeniably, this body had been humanized after being controlled by Xiang Liu. The former Tian Yin did not have such rich expressions, “Third brother is nourished by the Corpse’s energy inside the demon figurine. It is beyond hope. I can help it break the Prohibition Spell, but I cannot get rid of the Corpse’s energy. It can never return to the head. I can help it procure some demonic primordial energy and give it a good body to keep it alive.”
Guo Huan did not felt wronged or angered but laughed, “It had foiled the grand scheme, but you’re quite kind towards it!”
A kindness that could only be described as seriousness appeared on Tian Yin’s face again, “It had been bullied for these two thousand years, it had suffered a lot. I’m the big brother. I blame him and hate him, but I truly love him and dote on him…”
Every time the escaped Wicked Soul was mentioned, Tian Yin would be slightly overwhelmed with emotions. Even Wen Leyang could tell that these feelings came from the bottom of the heart. However, this time, nobody had thought that just when Tian Yin’s state of mind was slightly shaken, suddenly, a yell filled with stern majesty erupted like thunder, “Gopaka!”
Everything inside the ore cave changed into something else entirely!