Chapter 28: Iga's Clown

  The death of Difei weighed heavily on everyone's heart. Especially Hu Tou, who had known Difei for hundreds of years and had gone through countless life-and-death struggles together. He never thought that Difei would die in front of him, at his own hands. However, for him, standing before the torment of a thousand years, death might also be a kind of liberation.

  A group of people each with their own thoughts, walked silently forward, passing through the long corridor, they arrived at a vast mountain and water garden. Strange and peculiar artificial mountains stood above the pond filled with lotus flowers, winding paths connected pavilions on the water. A small red pavilion let the green willow trees gently touch it, like a pair of lovers in love. Such scenery is probably only seen in Shanxi's Chang family garden. Yang Hao and his group were attracted by the beautiful scenery before their eyes. The sad emotions from earlier had been largely alleviated by the visual impact.

  Yu Deng was the first to react, pulling out his Heaven-Shaking Twin Blades and standing them up in front of everyone. Clang clang... Several flying darts were blocked.

  "Master, look..." Yu Deng picked up those few hidden weapons from the ground and handed them over to Yi Yang Shu.

  "It's a crossbow bolt..." Yang Hao heard his master's words and looked around nervously, but all he saw was a beautiful landscape with no signs of any spirits or evil energy. Just as Yang Hao felt puzzled, various hidden weapons came flying in from all directions - crossbow bolts, falling leaf darts, sun darts... too many to count. Yang Hao, Yu Deng, Master, and Tiger Head surrounded Yu Zhuo in the middle, carefully deflecting the hidden weapons. Meanwhile, Yu Zhuo crouched among the group, a sniper rifle peeking through the gaps between them, constantly searching for the target's shadow.

  "Bang...". Yu Zhuo's gun fired, a stone table was shot into two pieces. At the same time, a figure jumped out from inside, but in an instant it disappeared. No matter how hard Yang Hao's Tianyan looked, he still couldn't find the target.

  "It's a ninja... everyone be careful..." Yang Hao looked around with his Heaven Eye but found nothing, however from the figure he saw earlier, this group of sneak attackers were not ghosts or monsters, but humans. In Japan, only ninjas could have such swift movements and ability to hide their tracks. But after Yang Hao's warning, all the hidden weapons stopped attacking. The surroundings suddenly fell into a silence.

  "Oh my~~~" A strange howl came from the front, and then a person appeared on the roof of the pavilion, wearing a black tight-fitting outfit, with a ghost mask on his face and his hands clasped in front of his chest. He looked very arrogant.

  "Welcome everyone, please give me your guidance." As soon as the words fell, this person did a backflip from the rooftop and landed on the ground.

  "Teach you? You should be the one to learn from me!" Yu Deng drew out two knives, one gold and one silver, and was about to charge forward in a rage. The black-clad ninja let out a cold hum, and suddenly pulled something out of his sleeve, slamming it onto the ground with a loud crash, sending up a cloud of white smoke. When the smoke cleared, four masked ninjas had appeared on the ground, dressed identically to the previous one, except their faces were covered with black scarves. They grasped knives behind their backs, their eyes gleaming with cold light.

  "Master, I'll go and meet them..." Yu Deng said, finishing his sentence by charging towards the four people. The sound of clashing blades filled the air as a fierce battle began. Hu Tou and Yi Yang Shu watched intently for any opening. But Yang Hao's mind was preoccupied with thoughts of that ghost-faced ninja. Where did he go? Did I just abandon those four small fries??? It didn't make sense. Yu Deng and the four ninjas were locked in a heated battle, one of them holding a knife in both hands, stabbing towards Yu Deng's abdomen, while the other three simultaneously raised their knives to slash at his head. But they had no idea that the person in front of them had already mastered an extraordinary level of martial arts, rendering such tactics useless. Yu Deng took a step to the left with his left leg, and pressed down on the incoming knife with his left hand's Nu Huo Dao, while his right hand's Qi Lin Dao held off the simultaneous slashing motion from above. From a distance, it seemed as if he was a golden Buddha, single-handedly holding up the sky. Facing the combined strength of four people, Yu Deng's horse stance was as stable as Mount Tai, his face flushed with excitement, his breathing steady and calm. The five people froze, seemingly locked in a test of strength. Although Yu Deng possessed extraordinary strength, he didn't dare to sustain it for too long under the pressure of the four ninjas' combined force. So, he sank his body downwards, and then pushed upwards with his right hand, making a 360-degree rotation to the right before striking at the four people's feet with his Qi Lin Dao. The three ninjas who were slashing at him quickly rolled backwards to avoid the attack. As for the ninja facing Yu Deng, due to being too close, he could only jump up. "Hmph... just what I was waiting for," Yu Deng thought to himself, taking a step forward with his left foot and swinging his Nu Huo Dao in an arc, striking the unfortunate ninja who was still airborne. Without hesitation, he turned his attention to the remaining three ninjas, who were still struggling to get back on their feet. In an instant, they saw Yu Deng leap into the air, his two knives crossed over his chest, before splitting apart to slash at them from both sides. The four ninjas were instantly defeated.

  "Great job, Brother!" Yang Hao exclaimed, having witnessed everything. Just as Yu Deng was about to put away his sword and head back, he noticed something off. It turned out that the four ninjas weren't dead after all - the four places where Yu Deng had struck were each marked with a wooden stake.

  "Huh??? Wood????" Yu Deng was surprised at the same time, and everyone else also had a face of incomprehension. Obviously hit it, how did it turn into wood???

  "Master Yang Hao, be careful of the decorations in this courtyard." At the same time as Yu Zhuo's shout, he landed on a willow tree. The result was the same as last time, and a person flew out as the big tree was struck down. It turned out that all the decorations in the courtyard were actually ninjas in disguise. After Yu Zhuo saw through their disguises, they all revealed themselves. The pond, fake mountain, willow tree, stone table, stone bench, standing pillar, etc., all shattered and many ninjas jumped out from inside. The sky, at this moment, slowly turned red, not because of the burning clouds, but because a large amount of vengeful energy had gathered above Ghost Island, condensing into a bloody cloud.

  "Everyone, let's end this quickly, the seal has been broken...." After Old Man Yang shouted, a golden light rushed into the group of ninjas and joined forces with Yu Deng to launch an attack. Yu Zhuo was looking for obstacles, sometimes climbing trees, sometimes jumping into the pond, and hastily waving his guns left and right. At this moment, Yang Hao's eyes caught sight of the ghost-faced ninja standing on the tree at the end of the courtyard.

  With a flash of anger, he rushed over to where he was.

  "What the hell is this? Interesting. Interesting..." The ghost-faced ninja saw Yang Hao rush over and didn't dodge or evade, instead rushing forward head-on. He threw out two hidden weapons while flying through the air, his knife flashing horizontally. Yang Hao used the Heavenly Gate Step to avoid the hidden weapons, dodging left and right before leaping into the air with his left hand raised. Two powerful auras collided, just as the ghost-faced ninja was about to compare auras, he felt a wave of heat emanating from the blade. He hastily retreated, but still got hit by Yang Hao's Five Elements True Fire, causing his clothes to start burning fiercely. However, this ghost-faced ninja seemed to know what to do and quickly turned around, shattering his clothes with a single movement, revealing his upper body. He looked down at the several charred spots on his skin with a shocked expression. "Amazing..." His voice had just fallen when the ghost-faced ninja started chanting incantations, his hands weaving intricate patterns. Yang Hao didn't give him any opportunities and flew straight up, about to strike him down when this person suddenly vanished with a "whoosh". However, the sound of the incantation grew louder. Yang Hao turned around only to discover that several ghost-faced ninjas had appeared around him... "Could it be the art of duplication?!" Just as Yang Hao was about to act, he found his body no longer listening to his commands, unable to move. The chanting voice grew louder and louder. Yang Hao's body became increasingly stiff...

  "What's going on??? Why can't I move???" Yang Hao felt a surge of fear in his heart, if some rogue were to come now, killing him would be easy as pie. Because he couldn't even take a step now... The curse seemed like a ghostly voice, faint yet clear, his mind was numb as if struck by lightning. This ninja leader still had some skills, using the immobilization curse at the same time as the body duplication technique, a double whammy that made him almost unbeatable.

  "Master... Master..." Yang Hao managed to squeeze out a faint voice from his throat before he became numb all over and couldn't even speak anymore. Just as the Ghost Face Ninja thought it was time to finish off Yang Hao with one slash, a clear and melodious sound echoed through the air.

  "Divine... clarity... self... enlightenment..." The four words slowly and clearly shook the deepest part of everyone's heart. Yang Hao's unconscious body changed instantly after these four sounds. A cool stream of air poured in from the forehead, spreading rapidly to every part of his body. Yang Hao opened his eyes to see that his master had already walked over.

  "A trivial skill... You think a simple immobilizing curse can kill my disciple? Ah Hao, today you shall see how China's Taoist magic suppresses Japan's evil sorcery!"

  Yi Yang Shu finished speaking and also pinched a decision in his hand. The ghost-faced ninja was shocked when he saw it. He joined his palms together, let out a low roar, and suddenly split into 10 or so clones that could move freely. Several of them rushed towards Yang Hao. Seeing this, Yang Hao was about to engage the enemy when he discovered that his master's incantation had just fallen, and over 50 clones appeared in an instant, rushing forward. In a few moments, the ghost-faced ninja's clones were eliminated. At this time, the ghost-faced ninja spat out fresh blood, standing angrily in the distance, shouting loudly. The remaining ninjas who hadn't died yet all ran to his side. A group of people joined forces to chant the nine-character mantra.

  "Rin, bin, tou, sha, kai, shin, rei, zai, sen"

  English Translation:

  "When troops are on the battlefield, all formations are in front."

  Note: The provided text is a Japanese proverb, and the translation is based on the given characters.

  Yiyang Shu saw them reciting the nine-character mantra and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  "Haha... these Japanese people, they can't even get the pronunciation right, what great abilities do they have?? Ah Hao, from now on you must practice well, absolutely cannot be arrogant like these Japanese people, who can't even recite the Nine Character Mantra correctly, what use are they? Look carefully, this is the real Nine Character Mantra." Yi Yang Shu finished speaking and also started to pinch his fingers in a specific pattern, reciting the mantra from his mouth.

  "Border, soldier, fight, all arrayed in front", the group of ninjas chanted the nine-character mantra and gathered a ball of blue flames, just about to throw it over, but were shocked to see Yang Sheng also forming the same seal, uttering the same 9 sounds, but with vastly different effects. Just as the ghost-faced ninja was shocked, five bolts of lightning descended from the sky. The remaining ninjas hadn't even reacted before they were struck into pulp. The ghost-faced ninja was grateful that the ball of blue flames in front of him had been extinguished by the bolt of lightning that struck him... allowing him to narrowly escape.

  "Why... why has it come to this?! How could this be?! He was tearing at his hair like a madman, unable to believe the reality before him. In Japan, he was indeed an extraordinary ninja and sorcerer. He had thought that with the Nine Syllable Mantra, he could gather the demonic flames and incinerate everything. He had already reached the highest level of cultivation, but unexpectedly, this person in front of him was able to summon heavenly thunder with the Nine Syllable Mantra and use it at will. How could he remain calm?"

  "Master, you're too amazing... You can even summon thunder from the sky?! Aren't you becoming the Thunder God? Whoever you want to split in two is fine."

  "Ah Hao, this true speech is very consuming of internal energy, it's gathering one's own mind, using energy as a medium to summon heavenly thunder. But if the fire timing isn't grasped well, not only will it destroy your cultivation, but also harm your life. You just need to understand for now, and unless absolutely necessary, it's best not to use it." Yi Yang Shu finished speaking and made a hand gesture, preparing to walk forward. Just at this moment, the ghost-faced ninja saw Yi Yang Shu with his back turned towards him, his eyes changed, and he charged over with his knife, seemingly having a plan to mutually destroy each other.

  "Hmm?????" Uncle Yang suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He immediately turned around and pointed his sword at the ghostly ninja from afar.

  "Sneak attack on me?? Fine, aren't you Japanese fond of committing suicide? Let's let you taste the flavor of suicide too"

  The ghost-faced ninja remained motionless in mid-air, while Old Man Yang slowly walked past him and plucked out one of his hairs. He tied it to a straw man. From then on, whatever Old Man Yang did with the straw man, the ghost-faced ninja would mimic exactly. In the end, the straw man knelt down, clasped its hands together, and stabbed itself in the belly. The ghost-faced ninja died under his own knife, his eyes filled with fear and disbelief at the moment of death.

  Yu Deng and Yu Zhuo also cleared all the ninjas at this time and came before their master...

  "Master, look at the sky! How did it become like this??? I've never seen clouds so red!" Yang Hao's words weren't wrong, if you could call them fire-burning clouds, they were only bright red. But the thick clouds in front of him now were a deep blood-red color. It was suffocating just looking at it...

  "Let's speed up, we must eliminate them before the leaf array is formed, let's go!"

  Yang Hao and his group, following their master's order, quickened their pace and headed towards the top of the island.

  "What the...?! Even Iga ninja lost?! What's going on?! Release Maka and Yoko for me, we must stop them!" The man in white robes gave his final order. At this moment, the island was like an earthquake, a ghost from the 18th level of hell, and a bloodthirsty wolf king were awakened...