Chapter 28: The Void Path Master

  After hearing the old man's last sentence, my poor window immediately closed half of it! Are you older than me? You're already over a hundred years old, how many years has this old Taoist lived?! It's really like just getting out of an ice cave and entering a fire pit, always suffering from the torture!

  Two days later, my parents accompanied me to Nurul Tiger Mountain. On the way here, I couldn't help but think of a question in my mind: If this old Taoist had kicked the bucket early on, would I have to go find my grandfather instead?

  Nowadays, Nourul Tiger Mountain has become a national park and there are very few people living on the mountain. We asked all the way, but no one knew that there was a Qinghe Temple in the mountain. Just as I began to suspect that Old Zhang had made a mistake, we met a middle-aged man who was picking firewood.

  "Old brother, I heard that there's a Qinghe Temple in this mountain, do you know about it?" The old man handed him a cigarette and said with a gloomy face.

  No wonder the old man was annoyed, we've been wandering around this mountain for over six hours! When this middle-aged man heard that we were looking for Qingheguan, he first hesitated, then saw him smile foolishly and take the cigarette from the old man, asking: "I said you guys are from out of town? What's the point of finding that broken place Qingheguan?"

  As soon as we heard this, oh my god, there's a way! So the old man quickly swept away the gloom on his face and smiled all over his face, saying: "Old brother, good eyesight, we are not locals, we came to Qingheguan, mainly to find a Taoist priest named Fang Qinghe..."

  But before the old man could finish, this person immediately changed his face: "I don't know what Qing and Guan are, ask someone else!" After finishing, he carried the firewood and wanted to run away. I thought: Don't let him! It's not easy to catch someone who knows the place, how can you let him run away easily? Thinking of this, I took a step forward and blocked his way, with my hand outstretched: "Stop!"

  The middle-aged man was startled by my sudden movement, and after reacting, he let out a cold laugh: "Heh heh, I told you, kid, what's wrong with you? You think you can rob me in broad daylight?" I thought to myself: Me rob you? With that bandit-like face of yours, it's a wonder you're not robbing me! If you didn't know Qingheguan, I wouldn't even bother with you!

  I was just about to speak when my mother came over and pinched my ear, glaring at me and scolding: "You're getting more and more out of line, not a bit of manners! Apologize to Uncle right now!" Then she smiled at the middle-aged man: "This gentleman, children don't understand things, don't take it seriously. We came to find Master Fang without any other intention, because we are all his juniors, this time is specially to visit him."

  That middle-aged man listened, then curled his lip: "I'm telling you, big sister, it's not me saying this, but you can't even make up a decent lie. This old Taoist priest doesn't have any relatives, where did these few juniors come from? Hurry up and leave, don't mess around here." After speaking, he wanted to slip away again.

  This old man might still be alive! As soon as I realized this, I felt like I had grasped a lifesaving straw! In my haste, I didn't care about Father's and Mother's reactions, and immediately shouted out loud: "My great-grandfather is Wang Sigou!"

  When the middle-aged man heard the three words "Wang Sigou", he really stopped in his tracks. The old father immediately rushed to his front: "Brother, we didn't cheat you, we are all descendants of Wang Sigou, and that old Taoist is my grandfather Wang Sigou's sworn brother, so we are indeed his juniors. This time I came mainly because I have something to ask him, this child has been possessed by a monster, nothing can be done about it, we really have no way out, so we come to beg for your help, Master." After finishing speaking, the old father took out 200 yuan from his pocket and handed it over to him.

  The man looked at the banknotes in Old Man's hand, but didn't take them. Instead, he stared at me carefully for a while before turning to Old Man and saying: "If you're really Wang Sigou's descendants, then follow me! But if you dare to deceive me, well... don't blame me for being impolite!" After that, he turned around and left without looking back.

  Faced with this naked threat, the three of us were a bit embarrassed at the time, but there was no way out, who let us have to ask for help from others. Old Dad put away the banknotes, and we followed behind him in pursuit.

  I don't know if it was sincere or intentional, but this man walked very quickly in front of us, and the three of us were desperately running behind him. Until I felt like my lungs were going to jump out of my mouth, he finally stopped. He turned around and smiled at us: "We're here."

  At last we arrived, and the three of us suddenly collapsed to the ground. All around was a desolate mountain valley, and on our left was a small dilapidated temple. In front of the temple gate was a pile of firewood, where a broken wooden sign lay horizontally, cracked into several pieces: Qinghe Temple!

  This middle-aged man didn't care about our miserable appearance at all, pushed open the temple door and walked in. The three of us looked at each other, it's come to this point, we have to grit our teeth and persevere. So we supported each other, stumbling one step at a time, also walked into the temple.

  The temple was also very old, but extremely clean. In the central hall, an elderly Taoist with white hair sat upright on a meditation mat. If you didn't look at his white hair and only looked at his face, you would never think that he was a hundred-year-old man. His face was delicate and tender, with a healthy glow all over it.

  What a coincidence! This old fellow is still alive! Seeing him, I feel like I've taken a refreshing pill, and suddenly I'm invigorated again!

  The old Taoist also saw us, and after a few glances at us, he stared at the middle-aged man: "Ni Kun, didn't I tell you not to bring outsiders here? Who are they?" The old Taoist's voice was truly loud, and it felt like the entire hall was echoing.

  The man walked up to the old Taoist's ear and whispered a few words. The old Taoist listened, slightly stunned, before turning his head to carefully examine us three. My father hurried over, bowing deeply to the old Taoist: "Old sir, may I ask, are you Fang Qinghe?"

  The old Taoist stared at my father for a while, then smiled slightly: "Fang Qinghe? It's been a long time since I've heard that name. Yes, my Taoist name is Yan Kong, and my secular name is indeed Fang Qinghe!"

  It's really him! I finally found him, and my mother was so excited that she jumped up and hugged me: "Son, this time we're saved! This time we're saved!" After saying that, she burst into tears. That's what a loving mother is like! Who else could care about your life and death so much? I quickly comforted my mother while observing the old Taoist priest, praying in my heart: God, please protect us, please don't let this old Taoist be another charlatan!

  The old man was also infected by the expressions of several of us, and he smiled at us and said: "Alright, kids, this is home, go inside and sit down." After finishing speaking, he got up and led us into a side room. ??Four Small Hidden Doors 28

  The old man and he talked about the past in detail, saying that when my grandfather passed away, this old Taoist also sighed for a long time: "Alas, I didn't expect Shu Wen to be gone too, time really flies!" After finishing, he couldn't help but sigh again.

  Later, I took out that strange stone and let him take a look at the ghost face on my body. When this old Taoist saw the stone in my hand, he immediately glared at me with wide eyes, followed by a frown. After seeing the ghost face on my body, his complexion turned even paler, and even beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead!

  I thought he would scold me like Zhang Lao Ye, but I waited for five minutes and this old Taoist just kept staring at the ghost face on my body. Five minutes later, the old Taoist finally spoke up, letting out a long sigh: "Alas, it's all fate!"

  He then looked at Old Man Wen and said: "Wen Li, do you want this child to live or die?"

  Alive or dead? As soon as we three heard this, we were all stunned. I thought to myself: It's over, it seems that the thing on my body is not ordinary trouble! Sure enough, after hearing this, my mother couldn't control her tears and burst out crying: "Second grandfather, we only have this one child, you must save him no matter what!" After saying that, she wailed loudly.

  The old man also had a sorrowful face, pulling the old Dao's hand and begging: "Second Grandpa, even if it's difficult, we have to save the child. You say what you want, I'll do my best to help. Even if it means using my own life in exchange, that's okay!"

  The old man patted his father's shoulder and comforted his mother a few more times before sighing and saying, "Alright, let's be straightforward with you. This thing is unsolvable! That strange stone is called the Soul Grinding Stone. Since ancient times, there has been a legend that in the underworld, there is a huge stone millstone and a huge stone grinding disc made of this dark-glowing Soul Grinding Stone. It is used to punish those who were great sinners during their lifetime. The ghost officials would first crush the sinners with the stone millstone, then grind them into fine meat and blood to feed the evil ghosts that do not enter the six paths of reincarnation! As for that ghost face, it's not some kind of ghost painting or ghost facial disease. That's called the Ghost King's Order, also known as the Yin Soldier Summoning! It's specially used by the powerful ghost kings in the underworld to recruit yin soldiers! Once you're affected by this summoning, after death, you'll have to serve the ghost king who issued the order for eternity, forever becoming one of those yin soldiers that do not enter reincarnation!"

  It's all over, it's all over! Hearing this was like a death sentence, after dying he wouldn't even have the chance to reincarnate, this is too cruel! At that moment my heart turned cold! But before I lost control, the old Taoist added another sentence: "However, it's not without hope!"

  "Hey, you old codger, what's with the big sighs when you talk? Are you trying to scare someone to death or something? I'm so fed up! And Dad was also taken aback by this old Taoist's way of speaking: 'Second Grandfather, almost gave you a fright, as long as there's hope, that's all that matters! As long as there's hope, that's all that matters!'"

  The old man waved his hand, signaling the old father not to interrupt: "It's not me scaring you, according to the records of 'Huainanzi', this Yinbingji is too sinister. Not only will it turn people into puppet yin soldiers after death, but also during their lifetime, it will constantly erode their yangshou (life force), in other words, you are using your life to nourish it! Moreover, it's not just ordinary greed, it can devour most of your lifespan! So, from ancient times to the present, those who have encountered Yinbingji have used all their energy to find a way to resolve it!"

  Here is the translation:

  "Ah, speaking of this, the old man sighed: "Alas, it wasn't until the Ming dynasty that a great tomb raider named Liu Half-Hall appeared! This person was also infected with the yinbingji in an ancient pre-Qin tomb when he was young. Later, he rummaged through 36 large and small ancient tombs to find a way to rescue himself, but all were in vain! It wasn't until he found the 37th ancient tomb, a Western Jin dynasty tomb, that he finally found a solution. The 37th ancient tomb belonged to Nanlingzi, a great fangshi of the Western Jin period. In Nanlingzi's coffin, Liu Half-Hall found a record about the yinbingji, which recorded the method to restrain it. It turned out that the yinbingji not only absorbs human yangshou, but also absorbs yinqi. Therefore, the method is to use yinqi to replace human yangshou and then use ancient fangshi's talisman techniques to restrain it, in order to maintain peace in the world of the living. Unfortunately, Liu Half-Hall did not find a way to dissolve into nothingness after becoming a yinbingji when he was about to die, so he had no choice but to use the Maoshan technique to shatter his own soul!"

  Hearing this, I couldn't help but admire Liu Bantang deeply. He would rather have his soul destroyed than be a puppet controlled by others, what a real man!

  The old man looked at us a few people and continued: "So, if you want this child to survive, he must save himself, others can't help!"

  "But how can we save ourselves?" Father asked the question that was on our minds, and saw the old Taoist twirl his long white beard, sighing as he said: "Leave this child with me, I'll teach him ten years of skills, after ten years, the road ahead will be up to him."