32: Golden finger?

He stepped in—no, his Soul body floated in.

Lin Yu felt as if he had fallen into a vat of stinky salted fish left for three hundred years.

That cloying, fishy stench assaulted him, so potent that it almost made his ethereal Soul body sneeze.

Lin Yu cursed internally: "Holy crap! This smell is too intense! It's biological weapon level!"

Inside the temple, it was even more dilapidated than it looked from the outside.

Cobwebs, thick as quilts, hung from the fallen beams and corners, covered in dust and the corpses of unknown small insects.

The idol in the center had collapsed halfway. The mud-sculpted face was so peeled that its original features were unrecognizable, leaving only one hollow eye staring toward the entrance with a mix of pity and eeriness.

The faint orange flame came from a broken lantern on the offering table in front of the idol.

Twisted beautiful faces were painted on the lantern's paper skin. As the flame flickered, the beauty's smile was sometimes enchanting, sometimes hideous.

The lamp oil was clearly no ordinary substance; it burned without smoke, emitting only that sweet, fishy smell potent enough to smoke out a person's Soul.

Next to the lantern, a mass of something was suspended.

It was a mass of pure, twisted darkness, like an ink block that had been randomly crumpled. A humanoid outline could barely be discerned, yet it constantly squirmed and shifted.

"Cackle... cackle cackle..."

A grinding sound, like teeth gnashing, emanated from the black shadow, filled with greed and craving for flesh and blood.

Its "gaze" was fixed firmly outside the temple door, locked onto Su Ming's body, which radiated tempting Yang Qi.

Lin Yu: "Alright, case closed. Judging by the appearance, it's either a wronged female ghost or some kind of mountain spirit or savage monster. Terrible taste, negative points for decor, zero points for user experience! Let's quickly finish this up. My Soul body is about to develop a patina from this stench!"

Lin Yu silently hid in the shadow of a relatively intact pillar behind the door, disguising himself as an ordinary shadow.

His plan was simple.

If the enemy doesn't Move, I don't Move.

If the enemy Moves, I... I'll wait and see my disciple's reaction before moving!

Just then, the black shadow seemed to lose patience.

It was no longer satisfied with absorbing the scattered vital essence; it wanted a feast!

The black shadow suddenly trembled, transforming into a sharp black gust of wind that silently slipped through the door crack, rushing straight toward Su Ming's face!

The speed was astonishing!

Su Ming's pupils contracted sharply. He only saw a mass of black shadow lunging at him. His body's instinct urged him to retreat, but his feet were leaden and refused to Move!

A moment of extreme peril!

Lin Yu didn't have time to think, nor did he care about maintaining the demeanor of a Master.

If he didn't act now, his newly acquired retirement plan would be scrapped on the spot!

"Buzz—!"

The ring on Su Ming's finger suddenly burst forth with a circle of dark, profound light!

Another ethereal shadow also rushed toward Su Ming!

It was no longer the outline of the immortal-like elder from before.

Instead, it was a much more solidified Soul shadow!

Countless fine, thorn-like ancient Seal patterns emerged on the surface of the Soul shadow. Between these patterns, six sinister blood-red markings slowly flowed like living things, emitting a chilling, malevolent Qi!

At this moment, Lin Yu did not look like an immortal; instead, he resembled an unparalleled fierce demon crawling out from the depths of Hell!

"Master?!"

Su Ming saw the terrifying Soul shadow that had abruptly appeared, filled with oppressive power, and cried out in alarm.

The black shadow's "cackling" laughter abruptly stopped, replaced by a piercing shriek!

It felt a terror originating from the very level of life!

This thing that suddenly appeared before it was a terrifying existence that it could not comprehend at all!

It wanted to retreat!

But Lin Yu had already lunged!

There were no flashy Spells, no intricate Moves, only the most primal and savage tearing!

Lin Yu's Soul body collided instantly with the black shadow!

"Rip—!"

It was like two pieces of ragged cloth tearing at each other.

The black shadow shrieked, and countless streams of cold Yin energy transformed into sharp claws, fiercely raking Lin Yu's Soul body.

A heart-rending, agonizing pain instantly spread throughout Lin Yu's consciousness!

Lin Yu thought internally: "Pain, pain, pain, pain, pain! Holy Hell! This hurts even more than a Soul body being scorched by the sun! This bastard has armor-piercing effects!"

At the same time, Su Ming, who was utterly horrified, felt his body tremble violently.

An equally Soul-tearing agony exploded in his chest without warning. He cried out, his knees buckled, and he fell heavily to the ground.

"Ugh!"

"Master..." Su Ming curled up on the ground, convulsing. He felt as if his Soul was being pulled by countless hands, ready to be torn apart at any moment.

He finally understood firsthand what his Master meant by "extremely perilous."

Lin Yu's situation was worse.

After all, he was only a wisp of a remnant Soul, while the opponent was an old ghost of many years, possessing dense Yin Qi.

After a few rounds, Lin Yu's Soul body was torn and flickered between light and dark, clearly on the verge of collapsing.

Seeing this, the black shadow let out a triumphant shriek, and its offensive became even more frenzied!

Lin Yu complained: "No! I can't hold on! Five hundred years of Dao cultivation is about to be ruined! I can't die! My retirement life! My slacker life! I haven't even seen my disciple take care of me in my old age yet!"

At this moment of life and death, an instinct originating from the deepest part of his Soul was completely activated by the agony and despair!

It was a feeling of... hunger!

A frantic hunger for the cold Yin energy mass right before him!

This thing, though poisonous, seemed... edible?

And it was a great tonic!

I'll risk it!

"Get over here!"

Lin Yu let out a beastly roar in his heart.

His Soul body stopped maintaining its humanoid shape, violently contracted, and then burst forth!

A dark, shadowy vortex appeared out of thin air!

The center of the vortex was bottomless darkness, while the edges were wreathed in those six ominous blood-red markings. The Seal thorns faintly appeared and disappeared, emitting a terrifying suction force that threatened to devour everything!

The black shadow, which had been swaggering moments before, suddenly froze.

It felt an irresistible suction force, as if its entire Soul body was about to be dragged in and ground to dust!

Fear drowned out its greed.

It let out an extremely mournful shriek and turned, attempting to flee back into the depths of the temple.

But it was too late!

The vortex's suction abruptly increased tenfold!

"No—!"

The black shadow only managed to let out a desperate roar before it was forcibly dragged back. Its massive Soul body was pulled, twisted, and ripped apart mid-air into the purest fragments of Yin Qi, which were then completely swallowed by the dark vortex, like all rivers flowing into the sea!

The entire process took only the snap of a finger.

"Burp..."

Lin Yu's Soul body regained its outline, but it was several times more solidified than before, perhaps even a bit... bloated.

He let out a satisfied burp. A surge of pure Yin Qi was rampaging through his Soul body, making him dizzy and lightheaded.

Lin Yu thought internally: "Oh my god... I ate too much... This feeling is like someone who hasn't eaten for three days downing ten bowls of braised pork in one go. It's sickeningly rich... But, what a rush!"

As the black shadow was devoured, the strange lantern in the temple went "poof," and the flame died out.

The coldness and mist shrouding the entire forest rapidly dissipated.

The wind began to blow again, and the chirping of insects in the woods resumed.

Above the sky, a few scattered stars were clearly visible.

The dilapidated temple now looked like nothing more than an ordinary, unremarkable broken temple, devoid of any strangeness.

Su Ming gasped for air, drenched in cold sweat, and lay paralyzed on the ground. Zhao Rui had already fainted.

Still shaken, he looked at his finger.

The ancient ring rested quietly there, as if everything that had just happened was merely an illusion.

"Master..." He used all his strength to weakly call out in his mind, "Are... are you alright?"

The ring's light dimmed. Lin Yu's aura became extremely weak and chaotic, and he only managed to transmit one sentence: "Disciple... leave quickly... this place is not suitable for staying long... your Master needs to fall into slumber... to digest..." before falling completely silent.