Chapter 9 The Howl

The deep roar echoed through the workshop.

Zhang Yue’s face was filled with madness. If Wei Yuan hadn’t blocked him with his sword, he probably would have pounced on him and bitten his neck. His body, which had been unremarkable before, now emitted a demonic aura that made Wei Yuan’s eyes ache. Zhang Yue had completely transformed into a demon, losing his reason and left only with instinct and a craving for flesh and blood.

Wei Yuan thought of Zhang Xiaoyu’s plea and closed his eyes.

When he opened them, the look in his eyes had turned cold. The sword trembled, and a burst of energy directly pushed Zhang Yue away. He stepped heavily on Zhang Yue’s chest, and the demonized Zhang Yue, whose physique had already surpassed that of ordinary people, was kicked several meters away.

The Eight-Sided Han Sword in his hand followed up, and when it slashed down, it showed no mercy.

There was no doubt that the best way to improve one's swordsmanship rapidly was through actual combat.

Wei Yuan's swordsmanship was now much stronger than it had been at the beginning. His sword moves were fierce, each aimed at a life-or-death outcome, something that the original ordinary Zhang Yue could not compare to. The disheveled demonic Taoist came back to his senses, his expression changed, and he repeatedly urged the golden bell, making Zhang Yue's attacks even more frantic.

Wei Yuan slashed down with his sword, brushing past Zhang Yue's crossed arms, sending out a string of sparks.

Then, he instantly retreated, stepping on a wisp of breeze, and appeared in front of the demonic Taoist in the blink of an eye. He spun around and swept horizontally, the sword vibrating and emitting a shrill cry. This move had great flaws, but its destructive power was also extremely strong. The Taoist seemed very unskilled in close combat and retreated repeatedly.

The Eight-Sided Han Sword slashed at his waist, scattering a string of talismans.

It cut a wound on the Taoist's waist.

The momentum of the sword did not stop, nor did the momentum of the attack. Wei Yuan pulled out the broken sword with his left hand and stabbed forward after the horizontal sweep.

The broken sword pointed straight at his forehead.

The old Taoist retreated, but now he couldn’t dodge the continuous attacks of the two swords.

But before he could use his moves, a fierce wind howled from behind. Zhang Yue roared and pounced on him. Wei Yuan had to roll away to avoid it, blocking backward with his sword. There was a series of clanging sounds. Wei Yuan took the blow head-on, and because he had to retract his strength halfway through, he felt a sweetness in his chest for a moment. He endured it and exhaled loudly, forcing Zhang Yue back with his two swords.

However, Zhang Yue's hand tore a rip in his clothes.

If his footwork had been slightly worse, he might have been injured.

The old Taoist was greatly frightened and retreated in a panic, shaking the golden bell repeatedly, his voice fierce:

"Kill him, kill him!"

"Where are the Five Manifestations Rampaging Divine Soldiers? Come quickly to protect me, come quickly to protect me!"

The workshop was filled with a gloomy atmosphere. Many evil ghosts emerged from behind the old Taoist, all wearing ancient military uniforms, and several of them were wearing armor. The banners fluttered in the wind, looking like elite troops. Wei Yuan sheathed the broken sword and picked up the Evil-Breaking Talisman in his left hand. He wiped it on the sword, and the sword energy became magnificent and upright.

The many ghost soldiers had no ghost general to command them, and they were not a threat.

They had previously surged out in the villa and were sent fleeing in panic by Wei Yuan's sword energy-infused wind technique. Now, seeing this short-haired Taoist raise a talisman and draw his sword, his whole body exuding a murderous aura, they were all afraid to approach. The old Taoist was anxious and repeatedly urged his talisman techniques, but these ghost soldiers were now a motley crew. If you went forward, I would retreat; if this one went up, that one would come down.

The old Taoist's cultivation had been broken, and he couldn't properly command them.

He shook the golden bell violently, wanting Zhang Yue to act as a ghost general first.

There was a yellow talisman attached to the magical artifact, but the spells on it were not written in cinnabar, but in human blood.

This magical artifact had trapped Zhang Yue's three souls and seven spirits.

Using the soul to drive the physical body.

The old Taoist shouted urgently:

"Five Manifestations Rampaging Ghost General, quickly listen to my command, protect me and kill the enemy!"

But this time, Zhang Yue did not move.

The old Taoist's voice was fierce and urgent: "Five Manifestations Rampaging Ghost General, quickly obey the order!!"

"Quickly obey the order!"

Zhang Yue's movements remained stiff. Wei Yuan followed his gaze and saw that his clothes had just been torn open by the force of the wind, revealing most of a pendant hanging outside. Zhang Yue's eyes were fixed on the pendant, his eyes wide. Although he had not regained his sanity, he was already in tears.

The old Taoist also noticed this.

A fierce look flashed in his eyes. He opened his mouth and spat out blood, forcibly controlling the many ghost soldiers to kill Wei Yuan.

At the same time, a dark light flashed through the many ghost soldiers.

He himself ran towards the struggling Zhang Yue, only regretting that he had been frightened by the double sword attacks and retreated, so he was now further away from Zhang Yue. Wei Yuan raised the Eight-Sided Han Sword in his hand and shook it. In this urgent situation, he stirred up demonic power and slashed horizontally, the sword energy mixed with a gust of wind, pushing back the many ghost soldiers.

He held the broad sword horizontally, and there was a crisp sound. A green, oily needle struck the sword directly.

The green needle transformed into a emerald green poisonous snake, bypassing the sword and biting at Wei Yuan's palm.

The light of the broken sword flashed, and the snake was cut in two.

At this time, the cunning old Taoist had run to Zhang Yue's side. He bit his finger and used the blood from his fingertip to draw a talisman on Zhang Yue's back. It was a blood talisman of great misfortune. In a head-on fight, the old Taoist was no match for Wei Yuan, but when it came to performing Taoist rituals and drawing talismans, Wei Yuan couldn't compare to this veteran of unorthodox practices.

In the blink of an eye, the talisman head and talisman center were completed, and the talisman feet were about to be drawn. This blood talisman would then be complete.

Wei Yuan raised his hand and grabbed the pendant, throwing it violently towards Zhang Yue. He raised his palm to control the wind, and at this moment, demonic power wrapped around an Evil-Dispelling Talisman, mixing with the pendant and landing in front of Zhang Yue. He shouted loudly:

"Xiaoyu is still waiting for you to come home!"

The old Taoist made the last step and said, "Rise, Rampage!"

The Evil-Dispelling Talisman burned to ashes.

And Zhang Yue's demonic aura became even more intense and heavy, reaching a level that made Wei Yuan feel pressure.

Faint roars of tigers and cries of birds rose from behind him.

The old Taoist sneered and waved the golden bell, commanding with Zhang Yue's three souls and seven spirits, and said calmly:

"Five Manifestations Rampaging Ghost General, quickly capture that person for me!"

Zhang Yue raised his head and roared, then suddenly turned around. Under the gaze of the sword-wielding Wei Yuan, he seemed to go mad and turned against the old Taoist, grabbing the old Taoist's arm with his hand and biting down with his sharp teeth. Accompanied by a scream, the arm holding the golden bell was bitten off directly.

The golden bell fell to the ground.

The demonized Zhang Yue frantically tore at the old Taoist.

Accompanied by a panicked shout, the old Taoist's clothes suddenly deflated. All that was left in place was a small doll woven from black withered grass, filled with evil energy. However, it was split open from the center of its forehead, and the evil energy on it had also dissipated.

A Substitute Curse.

Wei Yuan recognized this technique. There was still the old Taoist's blood on the sword. With the Thousand-Mile Tracking Talisman, the old Taoist definitely couldn't run far. Wei Yuan looked at Zhang Yue. The demonized Zhang Yue was like a madman, frantically gnawing and tearing at the severed arm, swallowing it into his stomach.

When he finally regained his senses, most of the arm had already been eaten.

Zhang Yue's face changed, and he began to vomit violently.

Then he fell to the ground. The golden bell contained his blood and a wisp of his soul. Now that he had turned against the old Taoist, this technique was directly reversed. Zhang Yue's body trembled. He touched his face and the scales on his arm, the white fluff between the scales. He opened his mouth and tears streamed down his face.

Finally, he let out a mournful cry.

Wei Yuan was speechless. He bent down and picked up the blood-stained pendant.

Zhang Yue looked at his hands, feeling the instinctive desire for human flesh and blood. Tears streamed down his face as he looked at Wei Yuan:

"Xiaoyu, she..."

Wei Yuan said, "She's fine."

He paused and said, "She said she doesn't blame you."

Zhang Yue touched the pendant, smiled, but tears flowed from his eyes again. He wiped away the tears, put the pendant aside, looked at Wei Yuan, who had not moved, and saw the broken sword behind his waist. He said, "Brother, lend me your sword for a moment."

Wei Yuan was silent. He drew the sharp weapon and threw it to Zhang Yue.

The broken sword was stuck upside down in the ground.

Zhang Yue pulled out the sword and thrust it into his arm. His face was pale, and then he roared and used force to pry off the inhuman scales one by one, throwing them on the ground. He also scraped off the white fluff that had grown out with the blade. After the scales were scraped off, his right arm was a bloody mess. He then scraped off his left arm in the same way, and also removed the white fluff from his face.

He looked bloody, but he looked like a human again.

Zhang Yue held the sword with both hands and returned it to Wei Yuan. Then he staggered to his feet, kicked the golden bell to pieces, and cried, "Brother... I'm not a demon, right? I'm not a demon. I'm a person, I'm a person..."

"I beg you, I beg you, save Xiaoyu."

"She's so young, she doesn't know anything yet. I just want her to live, I just want her to live."

The man cried and kowtowed heavily on the ground, his hands tightly clutching Wei Yuan's trouser legs.

Wei Yuan raised his hand to help him up, then paused.

His life force had been exhausted.

Zhang Yue was unwilling to be a man-eating demon and had taken the initiative to smash the natal golden bell. He had already breathed his last, and his soul had been scattered by the backlash of the evil technique. His hand was still tightly clutching the pendant. Wei Yuan bent down, picked up the pendant, and wore it around his neck. After a moment, he picked up a yellow talisman and said slowly:

"Supreme Lord's decree, save your lonely soul, all ghosts and monsters, may all beings benefit."

"Those with heads shall be saved, those without heads shall ascend, those killed by spears and knives, those who drowned or hanged themselves."

"Those who died openly or secretly, those who died unjustly or wrongly, creditors and enemies, debt-collecting children."

"Save all of them, be reborn quickly, save all of them, be reborn quickly."

Zhang Yue's obsession slowly dissipated.

His hand was still tightly clutching Wei Yuan. Wei Yuan said:

"Don't worry, Xiaoyu has never done evil... I will do my best to find a proper place for her."

With a struggle, he finally let go.

Wei Yuan turned around and walked past Zhang Yue.

He raised his hand and drew his sword.

The killing intent was strong.

ps: This book should be available on April 1st at the beginning of the month, which is about a week away. At that time, it should be about 160,000 words. Please support me then. Thank you in advance~