Chapter 17: Evil Cannot Overcome Righteousness

  "Boom!" A loud noise, Xuan Qing Daozhang jumped out of the coffin. The hall was dimly lit with only a few stars shining on Er Shu's green face. Xuan Qing Daozhang also straightened his body and stood still, the atmosphere suddenly became eerily tense. Er Shu's appearance was terrifying, Xuan Qing Daozhang was emitting a fierce aura, looking at him also made people feel chilled to the bone.

  "You demonic beast, die quickly!" shouted the Daoist priest Xuan Qing, who wore a thousand-year-old peach wood sword on his back, a Daoist hat on his head with a yin-yang diagram on it, and a yellow Daoist robe that set off his black boots, making him particularly eye-catching.

  "Look at me taking you, you demon!" Xuan Qing Dao Zhang first clasped his hands together, then stretched out the five fingers of his left hand with his fingertips pointing upwards. His middle finger pressed down on the horizontal line of his palm, and his little finger hooked around from behind the four fingers to lock onto his thumb, striking the third joint of the four fingers. This finger technique is also called Fu Yin (Capturing Seal), used for subduing evil spirits and capturing demons, also known as the Capturing Seal Technique. I seem to recall seeing this palm technique somewhere before, but can't quite remember which book it was.

  When Taoist practitioners exorcise evil spirits, they usually recite incantations and then use specific finger techniques or palm methods. Using only finger techniques or palm methods to exorcise evil spirits is not enough; if there are incantations that accompany the finger techniques, plus talismans, the power of the spell will be greatly enhanced, and the effect will be even better. Through the finger technique just released by the Taoist priest, I dare say he must be a highly cultivated Taoist priest.

  At the same time as the prison seal was released, Master Xuanclear shot out a peach wood sword. If the peach wood sword hit the evil spirit, it would be sealed away. The peach wood sword flew forward, emitting a hissing sound and a dark glow. As he used his magical powers, Master Xuanclear's entire body emitted a white glow, showing that he had almost exhausted all his strength.

  I didn't expect the evil spirit-possessed Second Uncle to dodge the peach wood sword. He let out a strange cry, and his face changed color, turning pitch black. Second Aunt and I were so frightened that we broke out in cold sweat. If Master Xuanqing loses control, we'll all die here.

  The evil spirit, not being intimidated by the Peach Wood Sword, charged straight at Master Xu Qing. Master Xu Qing quickly used the "Evil-Subduing Finger" technique, and his left hand pointed forward, with his fourth finger curled in and his little finger inserted into the back of his middle finger, hooking and pinching his palm, while his thumb pressed down on his middle finger, bending to press down on his index finger. Between these two fingers was a spiritual talisman that shot towards the evil spirit.

  The "Evil-Subduing Finger" lived up to its name, capable of capturing evil demons and annihilating wicked spirits. This finger technique happened to hit Second Uncle's face, causing him to cry out in surprise and fall backwards.

  "Abominable beast! Today is your day of death!" Xuan Qing Daozhang held the spirit symbol and chased after it, just as he was about to stick it onto the evil ghost's forehead, but the evil ghost suddenly stood up. It turned out that the previous move had hit it, but hadn't subdued it. The evil ghost's potential seemed not to be underestimated.

  The evil spirit stretched out its hands and made a long dive towards Xuangqing.

  At this time, Xu Qing Dao Chang took out the flying symbols that had been prepared long ago. Another move of the Ghost-Sealing Finger, dozens of talismans followed the force of the finger technique and struck Second Uncle's body, the talismans instantly emitted bursts of explosive sounds. Second Uncle was in so much pain that he seemed to howl and ran straight towards the main gate of the hall.

  My second uncle's back had already been pasted with talismans by me, and now I also pasted several talismans on the outside of the main hall's gate. When my second uncle pushed open the main hall's gate, my sister-in-law and I hastily took out a few more talismans from our pockets and pasted them onto his chest. My second uncle's chest hurt again and he was shocked back by the talismans.

  Time flies, and before I knew it, Master Xuancheng took out a yellow cloth bag from behind him, which was full of painted talismans. Master Xuancheng muttered to himself, but this time I didn't understand his incantation. The talismans floated up into the air on their own, one after another, and dozens of them formed a large circle that spun faster and faster. In the center, it seemed to form a yin-yang diagram. Moreover, when the yin-yang diagram was formed, Master Xuancheng activated his finger technique, which was actually the Golden Lotus Finger! I had only vaguely remembered this finger technique from a Taoist book, and generally, only highly cultivated Taoist priests could master it.

  Jinlian's finger technique emitted a golden light that pointed towards the talismans, and the talismans flew towards Ershu as if they had been given extra force.

  I thought these talismans could knock down Second Uncle, but Second Uncle's body actually underwent a transformation. Only to see Second Uncle's muscles bulging up, the blue veins on his neck also bulged up, desperately tearing off the talismans on his body.

  Erbie was about to break free from the restraint of the talisman.

  At this time, Xuán Qīng shouted loudly and made a set of prison seal gestures with his hands. As the incantation was spoken, all 49 star lamps in the hall seemed to be affected, flying towards Ershu's body like giant fireballs. These star lamps were made with talismans and had been cast with spells.

  The second uncle, surrounded by star lanterns, let out a scream and frantically waved his hands to shoo them away. At this moment, Master Xuancheng pointed again, and all the star lanterns flew straight at the second uncle's body. The second uncle originally had talismans on his body, and just as the star lanterns were about to hit him, Master Xuancheng activated his magic, causing all the talismans on the second uncle's body to suddenly burst into flames.

  A faint light illuminated the entire room, and Second Uncle let out a mournful cry.

  I and Erniang were stunned by the scene in front of us, and Xiao Mei had long been frightened into a faint.

  "Master Dao! Spare his life! You can't kill him, he's not a bad person, just possessed by an evil spirit. Master Dao, you must save him!" Second Lady rushed into the main hall like a madwoman, and I hastily grabbed her arm.

  "Don't come in, I won't kill him. The flames of these talismans are not the fire of the sun, but the yin fire generated by my yin spirit spell. Yin fire can only burn evil ghosts that are cold and yin, it will not harm the bodies of living people." Xuan Qing Daozhang saw Erniang rushing over in a near-frenzy and hastily explained.

  These dark fires emitted a dim green glow, and as the dark fire burned, Second Uncle's body also underwent changes. His face turned from black to white, becoming the normal color of human skin. However, the sharp fangs in his mouth were still there, although they had shortened significantly.

  I saw Second Uncle already motionless and hastily ran over.

  "Will Second Uncle Dao be alright? How is he now? Has the evil spirit been eliminated?" I was worried and feared that something bad would happen to Second Uncle.

  Xuan Qing Dao Chang didn't say a word, but those burnt talismans suddenly transformed into a golden-yellow large net. The threads on the net shone with a golden light as if they were made of gold. As the net tightened, Second Uncle's complexion gradually returned to normal.

  The second uncle who was once fierce and menacing has now become just like his former self again.

  "Doll, don't touch your Second Uncle. My spell has now transformed into a seal, which can confine the evil spirit's soul inside, and it won't be able to come out and do harm." Xuan Qing Dao Zhang wiped the sweat from his forehead and picked up the Thousand-Year-Old Peach Wood Sword.

  The Taoist master bit his finger with force, and slowly and evenly smeared the red blood on the thousand-year-old peach wood sword. The thousand-year-old peach wood sword shook, as if it had immediately gained spiritual power.

  At this time, the second uncle who was trapped by the ban suddenly moved and struggled as if he wanted to get up. It seems that the evil spirit's magic is really powerful, and the 49-star lantern spell and countless talismans burning didn't make the evil spirit surrender. Master Xuanning sighed and shook his head.

  "I can only dedicate my blood to the sword!" With that, Xuán Qīng Dào Zhǎng raised his peach wood sword and walked straight towards Second Uncle, aiming at his right shoulder and stabbing fiercely.

  The peach wood sword pierced deeply into Ershu's body and actually inserted directly into the ground. Ershu let out a mournful cry, fresh blood gushing from his right shoulder, his neck twisted at an angle, motionless.

  My heart is extremely distressed, and I don't know if Second Uncle is dead or alive now.

  "Second Uncle!" Second Aunt wailed, shaking Second Uncle back and forth. But no matter how hard she shook him, he wouldn't wake up. She covered his shoulders with both hands to try to stop the bleeding, but it just couldn't be stopped. Second Aunt burst into loud sobs.

  "Keep your voice down, it's not time to reveal yet, don't let the news leak out. I suspect there's more than one evil spirit, maybe other evil spirits are involved too. This ghost may have accomplices coming to help." Daozhang Xuanclear's mysterious tone made my scalp tingle.

  Xuan Qing Dao pulled out a talisman from thin air while reciting an incantation in the vast empty space.

  "Stop!" As soon as the words fell, the talisman pointed at my second uncle's right shoulder, and his right shoulder immediately stopped bleeding.

  "You can rest assured, the yin fire has already consumed half of the evil spirit's power, but now this ghost's primordial spirit is not completely sealed. I will cast a spell to trap him in the array." Xuan Qing Daozhang said, taking out a white cloth bag containing salt.

  The Daoist took the bag of salt and scattered it around the house. Ghosts are afraid of salt, especially the kind that has been blown by the wind and dried in the sun, which absorbs the essence of the sun and moon. If a ghost steps on this type of sea salt, it will burn its feet.

  The Second Uncle, pinned down by the Thousand-Year-Old Peachwood Sword, was constantly twitching and making low growling noises, as if he was trying his best to break free. The freshly stopped blood started flowing again after his struggles.

  "The formation I just set up has been broken, and now I need to set it up again. I didn't expect this evil spirit's resentment to be so great, the previous spells that hit it had no effect!" Xuan Qing Daozhang furrowed his brow.

  Dao Chang took out a thin yellow rope, on which were hung numerous golden bells. One end of the rope was tied around Second Uncle's neck and the other end wrapped around his body. This rope wasn't an ordinary one; it had been made from the leaves of peach trees that had been burned into fragrant ash and then exposed to the scorching sun for 81 days, making it incredibly durable. No matter whether it was an evil spirit or a zombie, this yellow rope could bind them all.

  The Taoist stood behind the altar, picked up the thousand-year-old peach wood sword, and pointed a talisman at the coffin on the ground. The lid of the paper coffin suddenly popped open.

  "Come on, doll! Help out!" I suddenly understood what Da Zhang meant, reached out and grabbed Er Shu's shoulder, and with a bit of effort, stuffed him into the paper coffin.

  Second Uncle was still humming and biting his lips even after being put into the coffin. Dao Zhang took out another big coin and stuffed it into Second Uncle's mouth, who immediately fainted and didn't move anymore.

  At this time, Erniang and Xiaomei walked in.

  "How is Dao Zhang now? How did he end up in a coffin, didn't he die?" Erniang looked at the blood on the ground and sobbed again, and Xiao Mei also cried beside her, rubbing her eyes.

  "Now I have him under control in this magic formation, it's called the Devil-Confining Formation. The coffin is a yin object from the underworld, and evil spirits lying inside won't harm people's bodies. Moreover, the symbols around the coffin are drawn by me, so he can't escape now. However, the power of the coffin is limited and can only trap him for a while. To thoroughly resolve this evil spirit, I still need one more thing!" The Taoist priest was also exhausted from all this trouble, sweating profusely as he sat down with his peach wood sword.

  "What's taking you so long?!" I couldn't wait any longer, I was really worried about Second Uncle, if the formation fails, Second Uncle would be tormented to death by this evil spirit.

  "Suppressing Soul Nail!" The Taoist priest said, taking out a talisman and pressing it onto the coffin lid.

  "What is a soul nail?" The little sister stared at Dao Chang in a daze.

  "After a person dies, they must be buried to rest in peace. The coffin lid must be nailed shut to allow the soul to rest and reincarnate. This is the nail used to secure the coffin lid, and the nailing method varies depending on local customs. However, there are generally two types of nails: one is 1 chi 2 cun (about 35 cm) long, specifically made for commoners' coffins, and the other is 3 chi 6 cun (about 1.07 m) long, often used for high-ranking officials' coffins. Both types of nails have a distinctive feature: the nail head is square, symbolizing the round sky and square earth." The Taoist priest said this while stroking his beard.

  "Town Soul Nail!" I was shocked in my heart, Dao Chang's words just reminded me of the time when I went to Hong Lao Ban's house at Shi Ya Ba with Second Uncle a few days ago...