Chapter 61: Distressing

The rain poured down heavier and heavier, and lightning flashed unceasingly across the sky, creating an eerie atmosphere as if the heavens were weeping.

A bolt of lightning coincidentally struck a small tree right beside Li Poxiao, splitting it with a loud crash that burst into flames before being immediately extinguished by the deluge.

Li Poxiao expressionlessly stared at us. A distinct bloodstain marked his forehead, though the flowing blood had already been washed away by the heavy rain, yet his eyes remained fixed on us without even a single blink.

Are you filming a zombie movie or what?! Zhang Yidan! Why on earth did you have to end up standing right there! And why did someone have to borrow your corpse to revive their soul!

At that moment, my eyes turned red with anger.

"Junior Brother, let's hurry and leave! Let's just pretend we didn't see him, whatever you do, don't get out of the car!" Senior Brother urged in a panic. Having previously abandoned Li Poxiao to run for his life, he felt too ashamed to face the young man now.

"But he's staring right at us!" I slammed on the brakes, brought the car to an abrupt halt, pushed the door open, and ran straight toward him, grabbing him firmly by the collar. "Yidan!"

Had it been a matter of fighting for our lives upon a first meeting, Senior Brother would undoubtedly have fled—of that I was utterly certain. The spells of his Yin-Yang School were tailored entirely for running away and surviving tribulations; if you didn't expect him to flee, what else could you possibly expect? When it came to a real fight, he barely had a few tricks up his sleeve to match others. Yet, seeing me step out of the vehicle, he immediately followed.

"Junior Brother!" Senior Brother let out a heavy sigh, realizing that everything I had said was true.

Li Poxiao furrowed his brows, narrowing his eyes halfway as he glared at me with the lifeless stare of a dead fish, and shoved me away with a single push.

"Pardon me, but you have indeed mistaken me for someone else. However, since you've come to me, I won't need to search elsewhere. I am Li Poxiao, heir to the Universe Sect. I've come this time to ask you: can you hand over the two fierce ghosts you are keeping?" Li Poxiao demanded without a trace of politeness.

He was dressed in a black Daoist robe, the hems embroidered with the symbols of the Eight Trigrams of the Universe, and carried a peach wood sword in a long fabric sleeve on his back, looking every bit like a genuine Daoist priest.

Had it not been for that face—one I would never mistake even in death—I genuinely would have believed he was truly Li Poxiao!

"Do you think that's possible?! Let alone the fact that ghosts I keep won't be given to you, you've stolen my brother's physical body, and I'll never let you off for that! This grudge is set. If you're smart, you'll find a place to reincarnate on your own. Otherwise, once we start fighting, it won't be fun for you anymore!" I gritted my teeth and said. I had plenty of methods to drag his soul out of that body; both Song Wanyi and Xijun were masters of such arts.

"So you're saying this is non-negotiable?" Li Poxiao's expression instantly stiffened, and the chill in his eyes suddenly heightened by several degrees.

Wife Elder Sister violently tugged at the corner of my shirt, and I instantly knew that Li Poxiao and I had completely fallen out—it was the precursor to an immediate attack!

"Xijun! Wanyi!" Without a moment's hesitation, I called out to them.

Xijun appeared by my side, her fragmented-flower red long dress trimmed with gold dancing wildly in the rain, radiating an extraordinary and imposing presence like a proud prodigy of her generation.

Yet, in the blink of an eye, her mouth split wide open, a complete row of sharp shark-like teeth extending all the way to her ears. Vicious and fiendish were far from adequate to describe her look.

Song Wanyi remained astonishingly quiet. Even upon appearing, she merely stood by my side, her pretty eyes glancing about before finally resting on my face.

"Myriad forces of the divine, the universe turns—destroy!" Without a moment's pause, Li Poxiao chanted an incantation, formed a hand seal, and flipped a blue talisman in his hand, flicking it straight at Xijun!

Boom!

Xijun was sent flying backward, landing on all fours and sliding across the ground for a long distance before coming to a stop! Furious to the extreme, she let out a roar toward the sky and charged straight at Li Poxiao!

Wanyi swiftly blocked my path, pointing with her sword fingers as the heavy rain seemed to be cleaved apart, and something razor-sharp slashed viciously toward Li Poxiao!

"Gates of the ghost path, the universe turns—break!" Unfazed by the blades of wind, Li Poxiao formed another hand seal and thrust the blue talisman forward. The heavy rain ahead distorted violently, and the wind blades vanished into thin air!

Wanyi looked slightly startled, then flicked three or four more wind blades toward Li Poxiao, only for them to be neutralized just as cleanly, which somewhat provoked her anger.

"Daoist Priest Li! Junior Brother, both of you stop!" Senior Brother shouted loudly, pulling me back behind him. I quickly restrained Xijun and Wanyi, terrified they might accidentally injure Senior Brother.

"What? Old Uncle Hai, do you intend to meddle as well? Don't forget, that little trick of yours—slipping away at a moment's notice—is utterly useless against me." The icy look on Li Poxiao's face grew even more sinister.

"Haha, Daoist Priest Li, you must be joking. I merely wanted to tell you that Xia Yitian is no longer an outsider to the Xuanmen. He is now my junior brother, having inherited the Daoist orthodoxy of our Yin-Yang School. I have taken him into the Dao in place of my master! Daoist Priest Li, please trouble my junior brother no longer. Those two kept ghosts are his powerful assistants, and he and I will follow the laws of the Xuanmen together without causing trouble for ordinary people." Having been described in such a manner, Senior Brother certainly felt somewhat embarrassed, but rather than growing angry, he pointed out the facts, hoping Li Poxiao would clear a path.

"Hmph..." Li Poxiao let out a counter-laughter, glanced at Xijun and Song Wanyi, and suddenly let his expression turn gloomy once more. "And what if I refuse?"

Li Poxiao! You bastard stole Zhang Yidan's body, and now you want to destroy my Xijun and Wanyi? Driven almost completely insane with rage by how much this fellow was bullying us—even a true Buddha had three tempers—I snapped: "If you're courting death, go ahead and try!"

"That suits me just fine." A cold smile played at the corner of Li Poxiao's lips as his hands once again began forming his Universe Dao arts.

"Junior Brother! Listen to your senior brother—leave this to me, get in the car!" Senior Brother turned around and glared at me, signaling me to hurry into the vehicle and start the engine.

Seeing the unquestionable expression on Senior Brother's face, I could only furrow my brows and climb into the car.

After Xijun and Wanyi floated inside the vehicle, I looked outside and saw Senior Brother and Li Poxiao discussing something. However, with the torrential rain pouring down, I couldn't clearly hear what they were saying; I could only see that both of their expressions were extremely grim. Especially Li Poxiao, whose demeanor was haughty and offensive enough to point and curse right in Senior Brother's face.

Yet, after Senior Brother spoke a few words at the very end, Li Poxiao finally calmed down completely. He glared at me once more, turned around, and walked away into the pouring rain.

Watching Li Poxiao walk far away, Senior Brother trotted back into the car, drew a deep breath, and let out a sigh. "Sigh, in the end, I brought up Senior Zhou Ying's name, and he finally gave me enough respect to leave. Junior Brother, you were far too impulsive just now! That Li Poxiao is extremely dangerous to you! Anyone capable of reaching the level of soul-borrowing reincarnation while executing Universe Dao arts is clearly no ordinary person! Even your senior brother acknowledges that I am no match for him; if you underestimate him, you will suffer! Besides, anyone who can storm the City God Temple and escape unscathed—aside from the Li family, there really isn't another Xuanmen clan in this county capable of such a feat."

"Li Poxiao is from the Li family?" I frowned, never expecting this to ultimately involve the Li family of the Four Great Xuanmen Clans.

Noticing my bewildered look, Senior Brother continued, "Indeed. Perhaps you never paid attention before, or perhaps little girl Zhao Qian didn't understand. Very well, let your senior brother explain the Four Great Xuanmen Clans of the county to you once more. Before the founding of the nation, the Wang family were bandits who later washed their hands of it and sold coffins. The ancestors of the Zhao family used to be fortune-tellers; relying on an astrology compass unearthed from an antique market, they eventually became Feng Shui masters. The ancestors of the Zhang family were petty thieves before that generation, and now they are tomb raiders and grave diggers. And the Li family... hehe, they have always been a Xuanmen clan! Do you understand now?"

As Senior Brother spoke, his expression grew faintly cold. "The mystical arts of the Li family are either never unleashed, or when they are, they are extraordinary. Your senior brother was once saved by someone from the Li family, which is why I helped Li Poxiao open his Yin-Yang Dao path in the first place—otherwise, why would I have had the leisure for such things? No, I must call some of my old friends and inquire about this matter. You drive first, head toward the Eighty-Meter Avenue in the county town; my Daoist temple is located right there."

"What about the Zhang family's business? Are we just going to let them keep grave-robbing?" I had no choice but to honestly drive toward the county town, heading in the opposite direction of Liancheng Mountain.

"Forget about them. Didn't old lady Zhang already go? What does it have to do with us anymore? Your trial of mortal lifespan hasn't been completely resolved yet; what fun is it for us to medgle in their affairs? If the Zhang family dares to ask, just drop your senior brother's name. No matter what they say, tell them to come find me, humph! Aside from the Li family whom you must watch out for, you could walk around the county like a crab sideways and still be completely fine!" Senior Brother took out his phone and busied himself inquiring for information on his own.

I couldn't help but laugh dryly. This senior brother of mine—sometimes utterly unreliable, yet at other times immensely reliable. Telling me to walk around the county town sideways like a crab? Just how arrogant would I have to be?

Ignoring him, I glanced through the rearview mirror at Song Wanyi, who sat there blankly looking at me like an obedient girl. But when I looked at Xijun, I frowned. Why hadn't she come over to wrap her arms around my neck like she usually did ever since a moment ago?

Remembering how she had been struck by the Universe talismanic magic earlier, wondering if she had been injured, I felt a jolt of panic. "Xijun? Why are you squatting over there?"

The back seat was quite spacious, and Xijun was squatting in the middle of it with a miserable expression. Seeing me call her, she turned her head, her lips pursed in an aggrieved manner.

"Come here quickly, are you hurt?" I asked anxiously.

Xijun nodded, releasing the hand she had pressed against her neck. She pulled back the collar of her outfit, revealing a ghastly, fierce crimson trail running all the way from her neck down to her chest.

At the sight of it, my heart wrenched painfully.

"Li Poxiao! I'll never let you get away with this!" I cursed inwardly and pulled the car over to the side of the road. "Xijun, come here quickly. Have some spiritual blood."

I pulled her into my arms and reached out to feed her. Injured fierce ghosts required the vital essence blood of their master to feed and heal their wounds.

Seeing that I was about to feed Xijun, Wanyi immediately began murmuring unhappily from the back.

Xijun had originally intended to bare her little tiger teeth to bite, but upon hearing Wanyi's words, she turned her head away and stubbornly refused to drink.

"Stop it! She's hurt that badly, and you still have the heart to say that?" Furious, I scolded her. At my words, Song Wanyi's tears instantly welled up and spilled over, and she turned her head away to look out the window.

Old Hai was still on the phone, glanced at me and Song Wanyi, and let out a sigh.

In the end, under my command, Xijun still consumed my vital essence blood, though the portion was not large.