More and more cracks began to appear in the talisman. A strange mist was emitted from the cracks of the talisman and slowly spread around Hei Qin's body. But thankfully, that mist was purified by the Yin Qi that was circulating around his body.
Gui Ling's entire body became as thin as paper, literally. His skin turned ashen and was filled with folds of wrinkles. Now, Gui Ling slowly began to evaporate like dust and completely faded into the air, along with the Ghost General and his ghoul. His eyes carried resentment until the very end.
After a long hour of struggle, and with the "selfless sacrifice" of Gui Ling and the Ghost General, the talisman finally broke with a dull thud.
After that, Hei Qin breathed heavily, his chest rising and falling as the last remnants of tension faded. The oppressive weight of the talisman was gone.
"Finally…"
With a slow breath, he pushed himself to his feet and stepped out into the blood mist outside the cave, to see the sky.
He wanted to remain there in silence, in peace, but he knew this wasn't the time. He had to move as quickly as possible. Once again, Hei Qin confronted the black mist. He quickly activated his Night Vision, a simple technique taught to every disciple in his sect.
'As of now, Master knows Gui Ling is dead, and the talisman in me is destroyed. So, he probably knows that I am the one who killed him. I have to move fast!'
Hei Qin finally accomplished the goal he set for himself five years ago. He didn't really want to cultivate. All he wanted was a peaceful life. Yet, sadly, that didn't happen. Instead, it was destroyed. This was the moment he understood how foolish his thinking had been, in a cultivation world where only the powerful can make decisions.
As the thoughts enveloped him, Hei Qin ran as fast as he could.
Suddenly, he stopped. He sensed something in front of him, hiding in the deep mist, along with a strange, pungent smell.
'Who? Damn it…this smell…It's Xuan Ye!'
Xuan Ye stepped out of the black mist, revealing himself. His entire body was covered in black cloth from head to toe, without a single gap. The only visible part was his eyes, which reflected a deep, hidden pain. They looked lifeless, like those of a dead fish, as if he had not slept for days.
His heart was beating like a drum. Hei Qin's entire face was covered with sweat, and he was clearly afraid. He was completely different from how he had been before he fought Gui Ling. Was Xuan Ye, who was ranked second, even scarier than Gui Ling, who was first? If he had seen another senior, he would have smiled politely and said something to distract them, but he didn't. Instead, all his senses were heightened to their limits.
He was preparing… for a battle.
"You— kkkkkkkkhaaaarrru… ahhhhhhh!"
Suddenly, before he could finish his sentence, Xuan Ye's entire body began to convulse as he let out a shrill scream. The sound was like a thousand birds crying at once, something that could not be described. He grabbed his head with both hands and screamed, the sound mixed with the piercing chirping of something that was definitely not a flock of birds. He seemed to be in deep pain. It was as if his entire body wasn't under his control.
It was the perfect time to act. Yet, Hei Qin didn't move. Moreover, the beating of his heart was increasing like crazy. He wasn't surprised by this either.
Without any warning, Xuan Ye, who had lost himself, jumped at Hei Qin. Hei Qin took out his wooden staff and defended himself. From within Xuan Ye's clothes, a strange, thin, bloodish robe emerged and slowly began to penetrate into Hei Qin's body. However, it was quickly purified by the white aura slowly emanating from him.
Quickly, he freed himself from Xuan Ye and began to put some distance between them. He took out the Lantern of Parting. The blue flame inside finally brought warmth to the surroundings, which were shrouded in dark mist.
Its power was simple, yet at the same time, it was not. As its name suggested, it gave solace not only to ghosts but also to humans. It created a mesmerizing feeling; even a vengeful ghost would have its anger subdued. Ghosts who lost themselves in this solace would listen to the user.
And this time, that user was Hei Qin.
The blue flames turned even deeper in color, and the surroundings were filled with a soothing aura. The ghosts hidden in the deep mist all began to fall asleep within this solace. Not only the ghosts deep within the mist, even Xuan Ye, who had lost control, began to regain himself.
Even if he regained control… was he going to spare Hei Qin?
Hei Qin was not going to wait for that. He quickly moved toward Xuan Ye with a blade formed from Qi. Contrary to his expectations, when the Qi blade met Xuan Ye, something strange happened.