Yellow Skinned Taoist Master

Chapter 96: Subduing the Immortal

A single utterance of "Yi Qingzhou."

Chen Huangpi's thoughts instantly fell into disarray.

He stared at the Slender Evil Spirit before him, unable to reconcile the figure with the image of Yi Qingzhou he held in his mind.

Back then, Master had brought several thousand Daoists from the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty to create gods in the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

Yi Qingzhou had been one of them.

In the Fox Mountain God's memory fragment, Yi Qingzhou's mother had told him that ten days earlier, evil spirits had appeared inside the Great Qian's borders, and the Emperor intended to seal away the entire realm.

Because of that, Yi Qingzhou had regretted coming to the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

But that was at the very beginning of the Heaven and Earth Mutation.

The next time Chen Huangpi encountered anything connected to Yi Qingzhou.

It was the Flying Immortal Token the Slender Evil Spirit had traded him.Every Daoist of the Pure Immortal Temple carried a Flying Immortal Token engraved with their name.

That particular token bore the name Yi Qingzhou.

Thinking of this.

Chen Huangpi couldn't help but say, "I thought you had robbed Yi Qingzhou's grave, Slender Evil Spirit. I never imagined you actually were him!"

"But how did you end up like this?"

"And shouldn't you have been inside the black coffin?"

Chen Huangpi's mind churned with questions.

His reason for coming to the God-Burying Mound had simply been to reach the passage leading down to the Underworld Yellow Spring.

Now he knew the passage was inside the coffin.

Could it be that Yi Qingzhou had traveled through that passage into the Underworld Yellow Spring and then somehow made his way back to the Hundred Thousand Mountains?

"Chen Huangpi, hold on."

The Brass Oil Lamp spoke with a wary edge. "It may not actually be Yi Qingzhou."

If it truly were Yi Qingzhou.

Why wouldn't he have returned to the Pure Immortal Temple instead of scavenging junk in the Hundred Thousand Mountains?

The lamp hadn't forgotten.

The first time they'd encountered the Slender Evil Spirit at the market.

Its robes had concealed dozens of hollow cavities, each stuffed with random objects.

A Flying Immortal Token. A Hundred-Deaths-No-Survival figurine.

Even some eyeballs and miniature ruined buildings.

Aside from the Hundred-Deaths-No-Survival figurine, the rest of those items were now stored inside the Soul-Hooking Manual.

Chen Huangpi paused at the lamp's words, then said, "Slender Evil Spirit, if you are Yi Qingzhou, nod. If you're not, shake your head."

However.

The Slender Evil Spirit shook its head, then nodded.

Chen Huangpi didn't understand what that meant.

He was about to press further when the Slender Evil Spirit strode toward the black coffin.

Its aura at this moment was beyond terrifying.

Yellow Peril and Mang Shan Jun both bowed their heads.

Calamity Eye trembled uncontrollably.

That sword light had been its most devastating technique, yet against the Slender Evil Spirit it was utterly useless — completely absorbed.

None of them dared make another move.

And so.

The Slender Evil Spirit walked step by step to the center of the altar, where the black coffin rested.

By now, the coffin was already sealed shut.

The source that had spilled out earlier had vanished without a trace.

Yet the Slender Evil Spirit didn't seem to care. It extended one hand and rapped against the coffin lid.

Knock, knock, knock...

It looked as though someone lived inside and needed to be woken up.

Immediately after.

An answering knock came from within the coffin.

Knock, knock, knock...

Creak...

The black coffin opened. Then, before Chen Huangpi's astounded eyes, the water-like source welled up.

From within that source, a blurred, translucent figure stepped out.

The figure wore a dark teal Daoist robe and appeared to be a young man in his early twenties.

The instant the young man appeared.

The Slender Evil Spirit's body began to transform.

Originally, it had stood over three meters tall, with spindly, elongated limbs.

Terrifying by any measure.

But in the blink of an eye, it shifted into an exact replica of the young man.

Then both stepped forward, and their figures merged into one.

Yi Qingzhou turned around and smiled at Chen Huangpi.

This time.

The smile was no longer unsettling.

Instead, it was as warm and refreshing as a spring breeze.

As though sensing the confusion in Chen Huangpi's heart.

Yi Qingzhou spoke. "The being you called the Slender Evil Spirit is my corpse. It is me, yet it also isn't. I cannot leave this place, so I resorted to this desperate measure. I never expected that after all its wandering, it would find its way back here."

"Truly, fate has a way."

Hearing this, Chen Huangpi suddenly recalled an image.

The entrance to the God-Burying Mound.

Two characters were carved upon the tomb gate: Subduing the Immortal!

In other words, the God-Burying Mound was actually built to suppress Yi Qingzhou.

With that realization.

Chen Huangpi couldn't help but ask, "Why were you sealed away?"

"Because he is an evil spirit."

The Deity of Broad Sight's tone was deeply complicated. "Am I right, Yi Qingzhou?"

"That's not important."

Yi Qingzhou replied calmly. "What's important is that I don't have much time left."

The moment those words fell, his figure materialized in front of Chen Huangpi.

The Brass Oil Lamp instantly went on high alert.

Golden Horn, beneath Chen Huangpi, let out a fierce snarl.

"I won't hurt him."

Yi Qingzhou said evenly. "Not for the next fifteen minutes, at least."

"And after fifteen minutes?"

"I'll probably try to kill him."

Yi Qingzhou smiled at the Brass Oil Lamp. "But you needn't worry. With your power, you can certainly keep him safe."

Fifteen minutes was a short window.

After that, he would lose all clarity and become a terrifyingly powerful evil spirit.

But so what?

The Golden Top Heavenly Lamp had been forged by the Guanzhu using the Ten-Direction Shadowless Gold.

It was an existence even mightier than an immortal. Would it really let him run amok?

But why was the Golden Top Heavenly Lamp's aura so feeble?

And why were there so many bite marks on its body?

"Because I'm Huang Er!"

The Brass Oil Lamp ground its teeth furiously. "I'm not Huang Yi, damn it! Not Huang Yi!"

"Tsk..."

Yi Qingzhou clicked his tongue in amazement.

And that only made the Brass Oil Lamp more furious.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

Yi Qingzhou shook his head, his expression turning utterly serious.

Then he addressed Chen Huangpi solemnly. "What should I call you?"

Chen Huangpi thought for a moment. "Were you one of Master's disciples?"

"No."

Yi Qingzhou shook his head. "Only the Eldest Senior Brother was the Guanzhu's true disciple. Xu Qingshan and I, and all the other brothers, were merely disciples of the Pure Immortal Temple — we wouldn't dare claim him as our teacher."

"Then just call me Chen Huangpi."

Chen Huangpi was a bit flustered; he had assumed Yi Qingzhou was Master's disciple.

It turned out only one person — the Eldest Senior Brother — held that distinction.

Yi Qingzhou nodded. "Chen Huangpi, in fifteen minutes I'll lose my clarity. Within this window, inside this God-Burying Mound, whatever you want to do, do it. Whatever you want to take, take it. This is the only thing I can do for you."

The moment he said this.

Mang Shan Jun, Yellow Peril, Calamity Eye, and the other Disasters all felt a blade hovering over their necks.

After all, they had been at odds with Chen Huangpi from the moment they entered the God-Burying Mound.

Now that Chen Huangpi had an immortal backing him, would he let them go?

Of course not.

Chen Huangpi said without a shred of hesitation, "Those Disasters over there — they're rotten to the core. I want them dead."

"Done."

Yi Qingzhou nodded, and without any visible movement.

Those several Disasters disintegrated into ash in an instant.

It happened so fast that Chen Huangpi didn't even see how they died.

But it didn't matter.

Chen Huangpi then pointed at Yellow Peril. "It has attacked me over and over again, and it's absurdly hard to kill. Can you destroy it?"

"Naturally."

Yi Qingzhou said lightly. "It's nothing more than a clay-and-wood false god. Though it lucked into some fortune, stripping that away is no trouble at all."

Yellow Peril's face twisted in horror. "Chen Huangpi, don't kill me! I'm extraordinary — I could be of great use to you! I'll serve you like a beast of burden. Spare my life and I'll be your dog!"

"You and the Fox Mountain God really are two of a kind, both made by Xu Qingshan."

Chen Huangpi said. "The Fox Mountain God offered to be my dog too."

"The difference is, it may be a bit slippery, but its loyalty to me is genuine."

"You, on the other hand — I don't trust you. And I don't want to."

"Yi Qingzhou, go ahead. Just don't make it too quick. Otherwise I won't feel satisfied."

"Rest assured, you'll have your satisfaction."

Yi Qingzhou finished speaking, and his eyes blazed with a brilliant radiance.

That radiance fell upon Yellow Peril.

It immediately let out an agonized shriek.

Threads of yellow sludge began separating from its body.

Yellow Peril had originally been a Mountain God.

It was only the yellow sludge taint that had transformed it into Yellow Peril.

Now, with the sludge stripped away.

It naturally lost its unkillable nature and reverted to a mere clay-and-wood idol.

Chen Huangpi watched its wretched state.

It felt gratifying, yet something was still missing.

So he pressed two fingers together.

A blade of sword qi sliced through the idol.

Yellow Peril opened its mouth, trying to say something, but before a word could escape it exploded into fine powder.

"Much better."

Chen Huangpi exhaled deeply, and the nagging sense of something left undone finally settled.

"Don't forget Calamity Eye!"

The Brass Oil Lamp reminded him. "It must have seen that sword! There's still a sword reflection inside its pupil!"

"I know!"

Of course Chen Huangpi wouldn't forget Calamity Eye.

He turned toward it, and its pupil contracted, conveying a desperate plea.

Calamity Eye couldn't speak.

Chen Huangpi said, "Yi Qingzhou, can you make it talk?"

"I can't."

Yi Qingzhou shook his head. "Its true form is just an eye. It can't speak by nature. Only a being like the Guanzhu could alter things at will."

"However, I do have another way."

With that, Yi Qingzhou grasped the air.

The immense Calamity Eye shrank to a minuscule size, dropping into Yi Qingzhou's palm.

"What technique is this?"

Chen Huangpi leaned in for a look and saw that Yi Qingzhou's palm had become like a mirror. Calamity Eye was lodged within the mirror, and the scene reflected inside showed a certain peak within the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

"A minor trick. Once you grow stronger, you'll learn it naturally."

Yi Qingzhou blew gently into his palm. "Move!"

The scene within the mirror sprang to life.

Chen Huangpi saw shimmering light, saw the sun and moon wheeling in rapid succession.

He also saw Calamity Eye.

It was as though time itself had been set in motion, wound back to a specific moment.

At that moment.

Chen Huangpi saw Calamity Eye hovering within a bank of dark clouds above a mountaintop. Then a streak of sword light — dazzling beyond belief, like a silver river arcing across the heavens — swept past, and every cloud in its path was shattered by the sword qi.

Calamity Eye plummeted into the mountain in terror.

Immediately, a sword cry charged with killing intent rang out.

The entire sky above the Hundred Thousand Mountains turned white.

Calamity Eye saw it. Chen Huangpi saw it too.

A three-foot longsword.

It seemed to have been provoked — or perhaps moved with some deeper purpose — as it hurtled northward.

Chen Huangpi asked, "What's to the north?"

Yi Qingzhou answered, "The Great Qian Immortal Dynasty."