95: Revenge of the Onmyoji

Japan, Kyoto.

An ancient shrine stood quietly in the depths of the mountain forest, its eaves' copper bells unmoving in the night wind.

Inside a quiet room, Tengchuan Chong, an elderly Onmyoji dressed in a kariginu, slowly opened his eyes.

The candle flame before him flickered violently without wind, eventually extinguishing, leaving only a wisp of green smoke.

“Hmph, a Hua Country sorcerer?”

Tengchuan Chong's tone carried a condescending scrutiny.

“To be able to break my Shikigami (Familiar) curse, he does have some skill.”

He stood up, his wooden clogs making a dull sound on the tatami.

“However, things won't end so simply.”

He pushed open the wooden door and walked out.

In the courtyard, several servants attending him immediately knelt on the ground, not daring to raise their heads.

Tengchuan Chong ignored them, walking straight through the corridor to a side hall.

The hall had no windows, and the light was dim. In the shrine at the center, a terrifying statue with a ferocious face, green skin, and fangs was enshrined.

The statue was carved so lifelike, as if it could come alive at any moment and devour people.

Tengchuan Chong walked to the shrine, adjusted his attire, then bowed deeply, speaking in a fanatical and respectful tone.

“Great Tian Yu Zhong Main God, your most devout servant Tengchuan Chong, humbly requests you to unleash divine punishment and curse that ant in Hua Country who dares to challenge your majesty!”

As his words fell, the hall fell into a deathly silence.

A moment later, the eerie statue began to shake slightly.

A humming vibration echoed in the enclosed hall, and dust from the shrine rustled down.

Tengchuan Chong's face showed an expression of ecstasy.

“God! God has responded to me!”

He shouted excitedly, “Quick! Prepare the highest Rank ‘Divine Descent Ritual’! Go now!”

The servants outside the door trembled upon hearing this, then scrambled to prepare.

In less than half an hour, the center of the side hall was arranged into a strange ritual formation.

The ground was covered with complex runes drawn in blood, and a prayer mat was placed at the eye of the formation.

Tengchuan Chong sat cross-legged, his hands rapidly forming various complex and obscure hand seals.

“Lin! Bing! Dou! Zhe! Jie! Zhen! Lie! Zai! Qian!”

With each word he uttered, his Aura climbed a notch, and the air in the entire side hall became viscous.

When he completed the last hand seal, he pushed forward fiercely.

“Summon the God!”

Boom!

The terrifying statue on the shrine suddenly lit up with two points of crimson light in its eyes, and an almost completely transparent phantom was forcibly stripped from the statue.

The phantom had no fixed form, only a twisted, malicious energy body.

It paused in the air for a moment, then transformed into a streak of light, piercing through the roof and flying rapidly towards Hua Country.

“Pfft!”

The moment the ritual was completed, Tengchuan Chong suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning pale, his body swaying.

He gasped for breath, his inner shirt soaked with sweat.

“Quick… quick, bring the ‘sacrifice’!” he weakly shouted.

A servant immediately ran in with a tray covered with a white cloth, kneeling before him.

The white cloth was lifted, and what lay on the tray was a bloody, still warm placenta.

Tengchuan Chong's eyes showed no discomfort, but rather were filled with greed.

He grabbed the item, ignoring the bloodstains, and directly stuffed it into his mouth, chewing it ravenously.

Blood flowed down the corners of his mouth, a gruesome sight.

After a few bites, swallowing the tonic, his complexion recovered some of its ruddiness.

Tengchuan Chong exhaled a long, turbid breath.

“Targeted by the Clone of Tian Yu Zhong Main God, that Hua Country sorcerer is certainly doomed this time!”

He cackled, his eyes filled with cruelty… Meanwhile, at Kunlun Cultivation Academy.

On the vast open-air Martial Arts Training Ground, hundreds of students sat cross-legged, listening intently to the lecture at the front.

Li Heng stood to the side with his hands behind his back, letting Xie Wangsheng and Lin Xiao share their combat experience with these new recruits.

“…When fighting against evil cultivators, remember not to show any mercy.”

Lin Xiao stood on the high platform, his expression serious.

“Their Cultivation Techniques are strange, their methods vicious. Many times, you think he has lost the ability to resist, but the next second he might self-destruct, taking you down with him. So, if you can kill in one blow, never hold back.”

The students below listened with great seriousness, especially those who had not participated in actual combat during the holidays.

Tang Ruoling listened with particular relish.

She fantasized that during her midterm assessment, she too could fly on her sword and slay demons like Xie Wangsheng and the others; how free and unconstrained that would be!

The contribution points earned could then be exchanged for many, many Materials for drawing talismans.

Just as she was happily fantasizing.

Thump!

Her heart suddenly pounded without warning.

A strange sense of dread struck her, making her chest feel tight and her breathing somewhat difficult.

What's going on?

Tang Ruoling frowned, reaching out to press her chest.

She felt as if an invisible pair of eyes, from an extremely distant place, were staring fixedly at her.

It was a pure, emotionless malice that made her body cold.

“Ruoling, what's wrong? You look so pale?”

Shen Miao next to her noticed her abnormality and asked in a low voice.

“I… I don't know, I just suddenly feel very anxious.”

Tang Ruoling shook her head, trying to shake off the uncomfortable feeling.

But the sense of dread did not disappear; instead, it grew even stronger.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Her heart was beating frighteningly fast.

On the high platform, Xie Wangsheng, who was explaining, also stopped. He detected a very abnormal energy fluctuation appearing above the Martial Arts Training Ground.

Almost at the same time.

Li Heng, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them.

He turned his head, looking towards the eastern sky, his calm face devoid of any expression.

All the students felt the change in atmosphere and quietly looked at the Dean.

Li Heng's actions made everyone feel that something was unusual.

“Dean?”

Xie Wangsheng called out tentatively.

Li Heng did not respond to him, only spoke faintly, but his words clearly reached everyone's ears.

“A fly has flown in from the east.”