Chapter 1: The Haunted Yōlin (Part 1)

  Ding Lingxiu's eyes widened and his tongue stiffened, he who was usually calm and collected rarely had such a flustered expression. He stopped in his tracks, staring blankly at the crimson-robed Xia Xianyao before him.

  Jīn lǚ yī, accurately speaking, should be called jīn lǚ yù yī. The so-called yù yī is also known as "yù guì" and "yù yā", which was the burial attire worn by Han dynasty emperors and high-ranking nobles after death, with an appearance similar to the human body shape. Yù yī symbolized the wearer's identity level, with the emperor's and some close officials' yù yī being made with gold thread, called "jīn lǚ yù yī", while other nobles used silver or copper threads, known as "yín lǚ yù yī" and "tóng lǚ yù yī". This is why the clothes make the wearer look elegant and majestic.

  And Xia Xianyao is wearing a golden-threaded garment, which is the mourning attire for the dead, doesn't that mean she's already dead?

  "You're thinking too much. I'm indeed wearing a golden-threaded robe, but I'm not a transformed ancient corpse." Xia Xianyao gazed at Ding Lingxiu with an innocent look.

  "How is this possible? The Golden Brocade is an evil object, if you're a Demon Hunter, how can you wear something like this?"

  Ding Lingxiu retreated a few steps back and began to be somewhat wary of Xia Xianyao.

  "Heh heh, look at you getting scared. It turns out you're not all-knowing after all. The Golden Thread Robe is just an item with extremely strong spiritual energy, but it's not necessarily a yin evil object. If it's used to collect corpses, it becomes an evil yin object, but if it's used to gather spiritual energy, it can transform into a spiritual instrument."

  Ding Lingxiu remained vigilant towards Xia Xianyao, after all, the demon's words were endless, and if it was a high-level demon, it would be exceptionally cunning. Ding Lingxiu examined her again carefully, only to discover that there wasn't a hint of demonic energy on her clothes, but instead, they were filled with spiritual power.

  "So you're saying that Jinlv clothes are actually similar to a container, if you fill it with hot water it's warm, and if you fill it with cold water it's cool?"

  Ding Lingxiu covered her mouth with her hand, feeling unbelievable.

  "It's just this principle." Xia Xianyao smiled and continued walking forward.

  Ding Lingxiu turned his head and stopped asking further questions. After all, subduing the Human-Faced Tree was the most important thing at the moment.

  Two people walked through the raging flames, although there was steam to protect their bodies, but the scorching air still made it difficult for them to breathe, and they felt suffocated. All around were the crackling sounds of exploding tree branches, which made people even more irritable. Ding Lingxiu also had to look up from time to time to prevent being hit by burning tree trunks falling down.

  After walking dozens of steps, Ding Lingxiu suddenly looked at the Xunyao Luopan that was flashing red light and signaled Xia Xiayao to stop advancing.

  "Wait, the human-faced tree is just ahead." Ding Lingyu said.

  "Did it actually enter into the heart of the flames?"

  Xia Xianyao asked in surprise, and at the same time, she saw that her You Yao Pearl was also having a violent reaction, indicating that the Ren Mian Shu was very close to them. If it weren't for the flames around them, they should have been able to see each other by now.

  "As expected, its cultivation is not ordinary. Although wood is afraid of fire, water gives birth to wood, and if a wooden demon cultivates water-based magic, it can completely make up for its weakness in fearing flames." Ding Lingyu put away the Demon-Seeking Compass and hid behind a pile of trees that were burning fiercely.

  "Hey! What are you doing? There's already not enough water vapor, why did you go to a place with such a strong fire?" Xia Xianyao stared at Ding Lingxiu with big, watery eyes, looking puzzled.

  "Keep your voice down... Come over quickly, there's no time to waste." Ding Lingxiu beckoned to Xia Xianyao, indicating for her to also come over to the fire.

  "This..."

  Xia Xianyao hesitated for a moment, but thinking of Ding Lingxiu's previous decisions being correct, she didn't ask any questions and ran over, imitating Ding Lingxiu's actions, curling up in the midst of this fiercely burning fire.

  She had just crouched down for less than a minute when she felt the air waves surging, and the flames around her suddenly shortened by half. Then, a strange and eerie cry rang out in her ears, and the cloudless night sky suddenly brought forth wind and rain. The sound of steam rising from all directions surrounded them, and the rain poured down like a deluge, carrying away the dancing flames that had been whipped up by the storm, leaving only the remaining sparks on the branches and countless black ash falling down, like a celestial glow.

  When the wind and rain rose, Ding Lingrui rushed towards Xia Xianyao, tightly embracing her, blocking her beautiful clothes.

  In an instant, the surroundings were filled with a thick white smoke and steam, more intense than the original fog in the mountains.

  "Hey, what are you doing?" Xia Xianyao pushed Ding Lingxiu away from her body with force, her cheeks flushing red.

  "Shh, it'll find you, quickly hide the clothes that are exposed outside the straw heap." Ding Lingxiu lowered his voice to the lowest, almost whispering from between his teeth. After finishing speaking, he pulled Xia Xianyao's long skirt into the smoldering straw heap and squatted down again, looking ahead.

  Xia Xianyao pulled the golden threads of her clothes to one side, looking at Ding Lingyu with a hint of shyness as he focused on something beside him.

  "How did you know it would cast a spell?" Xia Xianyao asked.

  "Because the flames ahead have obviously become more intense, it's clear that the Human-Faced Tree is gathering water vapor from the earth to prepare for its Water-Elemental Magic, which has lowered the humidity around it and strengthened the flames." Ding Lingyu gazed intently at the white smoke in front of him, his face expressionless as he replied.

  "It actually dared to make such a dangerous move, and if it wasn't controlled well, the raging flames around it would have engulfed it. It seems I underestimated it." Xia Xianyao said.

  "No, although the flames around it are strong, it must have absorbed enough water before coming to take risks, so that degree of fire can't hurt it." Ding Lingxiu reached into his backpack, as if something was about to change.

  "What's wrong?" Xia Xianyao asked.

  "It's coming, now start, don't speak, there is only one chance, if I stand up, immediately subdue the demon."

  Ding Lingxiu whispered softly into Xia Xianyao's ear, her eyes fixed intently on the dark shadow slowly approaching from within the thick smoke.

  The evil spirit of yin is getting stronger and stronger.

  Ding Lingxiu took out a demon-suppressing talisman from his backpack. The demon-suppressing talisman used by Ding Lingxiu was the secret transmission of the Ding family's demon-subduing scripture, similar to the shocking ghost symbol of the Mao Shan technique. However, it had an even more powerful effect than the shocking ghost symbol. A single unremarkable demon-suppressing talisman, once sealed onto a ghost or lower-level demon's body, could immediately bind and completely seal its demonic power.

  The charred tree branches creaked under the heavy footsteps, and in the distance, more tree spirits were gathering towards this place under the leadership of a massive demon. Ding Lingxiu and Xia Xianyao didn't dare to lift their heads again, holding their breath and staring at each other, waiting for the approach of the human-faced tree. Compared to the human-faced tree, they were more worried about the arrival of other tree spirits, because if the tree spirits joined the battle, it would be impossible to subdue the human-faced tree with one blow, so they hoped that the human-faced tree would come as quickly as possible.

  The more anxious the wait, the longer the time seems.

  The person-faced tree, with its massive claws, was wildly dancing in the ruins, apparently having discovered the auras of Ding Ling and his companions, trying to find their hiding place. The anger of its home being burned made its demonic energy surge, and the bark on its body emitted a rattling trembling sound.

  Xia Xianyao gripped the treasure sword tightly, listening intently to the movements around her. Finally, the footsteps stopped abruptly just a few feet away from them. Suddenly, a fierce gust of wind swept over from above, and Ding Lingxiu gave Xia Xianyao a signal with his eyes, then sprang up single-handedly, while Xia Xianyao also quickly jumped back. Almost at the same time, a greenish-black claw swooped down, and the entire pile of hay scattered like dandelion seeds blown away by the wind.

  Ding Lingxiu sprang up like a light and agile crane, directly jumping to the chest of this three-meter-tall tree demon, and pushed the Demon-Subduing Charm forward. In an instant, a golden light flashed, and the Demon-Subduing Charm was firmly stuck on the mottled green bark.

  "Human-faced tree, you've finally been caught by me." Ding Lingyu said with a smile.

  Ding Lingxiu successfully cast his spell in mid-air and kicked the human-faced tree, landing steadily on the ground.

  Before the words had fallen, in the hazy smoke and fog, a huge figure began to sway, having been hit by Ding Ling's demon-suppressing talisman. The person-faced tree, already stiffened, was kicked again, and directly knocked unconscious onto the ground. The remaining sparks on the ground were stirred up by this shockwave, drifting into the thick smoke.

  Xia Xianyao, who was still standing by and ready to fight, put down her sword and stared blankly at the person-faced tree in front of her, which had been solved in less than a second. Just as Xia Xianyao was about to sheathe her sword, she suddenly realized that something was off - the person-faced tree was still smiling, its laughter extremely piercing.

  "Heh heh... Heh heh... You two are such unrefined demon hunters, yet you think you can capture me? Don't you know any better?" The demonic charm's voice echoed through the hazy smoke, captivating hearts.

  Both of them heard that this must be the voice of the human-faced tree, and Xia Xianyao immediately drew his sword again.

  "Ding Lingxiu, Renmian Shu hasn't finished the spell!" Xia Xianyao quickly looked around, because she found that this voice was nearby, but it didn't come from the fallen Renmian Shu. "Where did the sound come from?"

  Ding Lingxiu dug into his ears, expressionless, and then calmly patted his hands. He took out the Hundred Ghosts Painting from his backpack and flipped it over.

  "The human-faced tree was very cunning, it hid behind this giant tree spirit before coming in, and hugged it tightly, so our demon-seeking instrument would show that the giant tree spirit is actually the human-faced tree, while the real human-faced tree could use this substitute to avoid our preemptive attack." Ding Lingxiu seemed to be explaining nonchalantly, patiently searching for something in the cowhide book.

  "You know all this and yet you're not prepared to fight? The Face Tree is extremely swift and cunning, how can you still have the mood to read books?" Xia Xianyao stood up again with her sword in hand, scolding Ding Lingshu beside her.

  "Hehe... Little boy, you actually saw through my plan, but it's too late now. This blow didn't hit its mark, and you'll never find me again. Farewell." The human-faced tree laughed mischievously.

  The sound came again, and this time Xia Xianyao found the source of the sound. It was behind the fallen giant tree spirit. She immediately jumped over the obstacle in front of her and ran to chase after it. Sure enough, she discovered a humanoid monster standing with its hands on its hips, staring at them.

  "Ah...... Renmian Shu sister, I finally found you. You're really something, being able to talk so much after being hit by the Town Demon Seal. I'm impressed."

  Ding Lingxiu curled her lip and gave a cold glance at the person-faced tree in the distance.

  "What?"

  The tree with a human face was shocked, and when it looked down at its body again, it found that a demon-suppressing talisman was firmly stuck to it. It was as if it had been struck by a magical seal, and the tree, which had just been rejoicing in its good fortune, was now completely immobile.

  "What? How did you do it?"

  Xia Xianyao's eyes widened too, feeling that Ding Lingxiu was like a magic trick.

  "It's very simple, look for yourself."

  Ding Lingxiu pointed to the fallen tree spirit, Xia Xianyao looked in the direction he was pointing, and only saw a giant tree spirit lying on the ground, without anything unusual.

  "What's going on? Isn't that the substitute tree spirit? Didn't you stick your talisman on it?" Xia Xianyao still couldn't make sense of it.

  "You take another look." Ding Lingxiu said calmly.

  Xia Xianyao leaned back, took a closer look, and suddenly found a square hole appearing behind the tree spirit's body, exactly the same size as the Town Demon Symbol. Xia Xianyao immediately covered her mouth with her hand, looking at Ding Lingxiu in disbelief:

  "So you knew it was behind the Tree Spirit all along and directly pierced through the Tree Spirit, shooting at the person with a tree-like face in the back?"

  Ding Lingxi nodded and held up the Hundred Ghosts Painting, slowly walking towards the petrified Man Face Tree.

  "It's a bit too early to say goodbye, isn't it? The time we've spent together has just begun."