Chapter 1: The Haunted Yōlin (Part 1)

  After about ten minutes, the sparrow finally managed to crawl out of Zhang Shanyi's backyard with great difficulty.

  Zhang Shanyi quickly wiped his buttocks clean and pulled up his pants.

  And on the face of this sparrow in front of them, there was no expression at all, even anger seemed to have been worn away by the long and arduous journey, leaving only an unspeakable sadness.

  Seeing the dirty sparrow, pitiful like a child who can't find its mother, Ding Lingxiu didn't know what to say.

  After thinking for half a day, I still became serious:

  "Into the cage, you've committed many evils, this ending is also a deserved punishment..."

  "Go die."

  "How dare you scold people! Don't worry, next I will include you in the Hundred Ghosts Painting..."

  "Go die."

  The sparrow inside is full of grievances and refuses to give in.

  "May your soul return to holy land and cleanse your sinful spirit."

  "Damn it, Nima! How can I be so evil and when did you guys become so disgusting!"

  “……”

  The sparrow flew in, chirping angrily and flapping its wings wildly, splashing dung everywhere. Ding Lingxiu hastily jumped back to avoid it, but ended up splattering Zhang Shanyi's face with a big glob of dung as he sat resting nearby.

  "Immortal Venerable of Boundless Heaven, why is it always me who gets hurt?" Zhang Shanyi said angrily as he wiped the filth off his face.

  "...what goes around comes around, the way is long and anger will subside." Ding Lingxiu's face also turned red with sweat.

  "Who did I provoke?!" Zhang Shanyi looked wronged, and quickly ran to the side of the bridge to splash lake water on his face.

  "Alright, I won't waste any more words on you, you've committed many evils and today is your day of reckoning."

  After finishing speaking, Ding Lingxu took out the Hundred Ghosts Diagram and prepared to subdue the Inner Sparrow.

  At this moment, Ding Lingxiu suddenly turned white in front of his eyes, and the surroundings turned into a vast expanse of white, unable to discern what was happening around him.

  His eyebrows were tightly locked, and another person's breath suddenly appeared around him.

  This person appeared out of nowhere, as if he had traversed from another dimension, with no warning signs whatsoever.

  "Haha...... Blue Dragon Hundred Ghosts Diagram...... Indeed, you're no ordinary person. No wonder you dare to capture the inner bird."

  A voice came from the white fog, the voice was very sharp and fine, but it was a man's voice.

  "Who is it? What do you want?" Zhang Shanyi asked.

  But Dīng Líng didn't say a word, because he knew that since the other side had used smoke bombs, asking questions would be meaningless. He tightly hugged the Hundred Ghosts Painting, and since the other side had been secretly spying on him, their goal was likely to come for his Hundred Ghosts Painting.

  "Relax, I'm not interested in your hundred ghost pictures at all. However, I won't be polite about taking that one bird you caught for me." The man did not respond to Zhang Shanyi's question.

  What? Enter the sparrow? Ding Lingxiu was stunned, this guy actually came for the sparrow. Ding Lingxiu thought it was bad, when the smoke suddenly rose, his first reaction was to protect the Qinglong Baigui map, without considering the problem of the sparrow. Ding Lingxiu rushed towards the direction of the sparrow, but ended up empty-handed.

  "Bastard, as a demon hunter, you've actually done something so shameful." Dīng Língxiū cursed loudly.

  "Serves you right... You're no better off either." The sparrow inside actually chimed in again.

  "Haha, in any industry, those who are inferior in skill always like to attack from a moral standpoint. You're just a weakling." The man's voice was sharp and decisive, making people feel uncomfortable all over when listening to it.

  "Despicable."

  Ding Lingxiu had just heard the sound of the bird entering the inner courtyard, but no matter how hard he tried to dispel the fog, he still couldn't see anything.

  "Master Ding, don't panic, I have Qingyun Bufu, I'll disperse the smoke immediately."

  Having said that, Zhang Shanyi took out a duster from his backpack and started waving it around.

  But what he didn't expect was that the dustpan, which could dispel all haze and obstructions, had no effect at all. The white smoke in front of them still made it impossible for them to see anything.

  "How is this possible?"

  Zhang Shanyi was shocked and lost his color, this was the duster passed down to him by his master, almost no mist in the world could not be dispersed by Qingyun Duster, Zhang Shanyi still saw for the first time that the duster had no effect.

  Ding Lingxiu also stopped groping, because he realized something: the other party could move freely in such a large fog, and could see through everything. But he and Zhang Shanyi couldn't see anything, and every step was difficult, which was theoretically impossible. Even if the other party relied on spiritual energy to perceive, they shouldn't have been able to know so clearly that he had hugged the Hundred Ghosts Diagram in the environment just now. Ding Lingxiu felt that something wasn't quite right, but couldn't say where the problem lay.

  In an environment where one can't even see their fingers in front of them, Ding Lingyu couldn't even use his Hundred Ghosts Painting, and was completely at a loss.

  "Hehe, you guys play slowly, goodbye. Also, I can tell you my name, one day I will make the whole world tremble with my name, my name is Nangong Ao Tian, the future strongest demon cultivator."

  The man said coldly and his breath suddenly disappeared.

  The man's sudden disappearance made Ding Ling suddenly enlightened and she shouted at Zhang Shanyi:

  "Zhang Zhenren, we've been deceived! It's not smoke, it's an illusionary technique. Quickly use the Clear Spirit Symbol."

  Ding Lingxiu finished speaking and took out a spiritual talisman, putting it in his mouth.

  Zhang Shanyi suddenly realized that it was no wonder that Nangong Ao Tian could move freely in the thick fog, but in fact there was no thick fog at all. The men had used a blindfold technique to make everything in front of them appear white and blurry, without any blackness. This was done to mislead Ding Ling Xiu and his companions into thinking that there was thick fog around them, thus delaying their progress.

  "This guy is really too cunning." Zhang Shanyi sighed as he dissolved the Clear Spirit Symbol.

  The blindfolds were removed from both of them, and their surroundings became clear once again.

  Nan Gong Ao Tian had already run ashore, and they also saw his appearance clearly: This was a young man in his early twenties, with blue long hair tied into braids, swinging up and down as he ran. His whole body emitted a demonic charm, and the leopard-print jacket on him made him look even more unruly and arrogant, like a wild leopard hunting in the midst of his frantic running.

  "Chase." Ding Lingxiu didn't say a word and ran towards the shore.

  "Wait, Young Master Ding, he's running too fast, we can't catch up with him at this speed."

  Zhang Shanyi, who had been tossed about several times, was already unable to withstand it after running just a couple of steps.

  "Despicable, I absolutely cannot let him escape like this. Ah? Right, let's use your enhanced Gale Sign to chase after him." Ding Lingyu said.

  "What? You're not kidding, right? Don't say that your body can't take it anymore. Even if I use the Gale Sign again, my body will probably fall apart." Zhang Shanyi hastily shook his head.

  "Never mind, then just give it to me. I must get the Inner Sparrow back today no matter what." Ding Lingyu's voice was calm, but his tone was extremely resolute, clearly enraged by Nangong Ao Tian. A hint of anger flashed across his normally tranquil face.

  "Alright..."

  Zhang Shanyi was somewhat embarrassed, but Ding Lingxiu's tone did not allow for debate.

  Zhang Shanyi took out a porcelain bottle, yellow paper, and quickly drew the Wind Symbol. He recited the Purifying Body Spell and slapped the symbol onto Ding Lingxiu's chest.

  "Thank you."

  Ding Lingxiu suddenly disappeared and rushed towards Nan Gong Aotian like a flash of lightning.

  Ding Ling's speed was as swift as the wind after using the Gale Symbol, and he caught up with Nan Gong Ao Tian, who was just about to descend the mountain, in less than a minute. Nan Gong Ao Tian was still immersed in the thrill of victory and had not expected Ding Ling to catch up so quickly. He only suddenly felt a strong gust of wind approaching from behind, and when he turned his head abruptly, a black shadow pounced on him.

  "Damn it! Where are you running to?"

  "Ah——"

  Ding Lingxiu and Nangong Aotian collided with each other and rolled down the stone steps.