Chapter 43: The Daoist Master's Magical Powers

  "Has this person become a god?" I sighed in my heart.

  "Thirty years ago, that ungrateful disciple of mine, Mu Yunfeng, caused great chaos in Miao Shan. I, being already a frail and sickly body, couldn't bring myself to personally kill him due to his special identity, so I had to ask your master for help to mete out the proper punishment. I thought that by sparing his life, he would reflect on his actions, but unexpectedly, he didn't change his ways and even went to seek refuge with the Japanese. His death at your hands this time is also a matter of fate." Leng Yin Shangren looked somewhat sorrowful, still unable to bear hearing about Mu Yunfeng's demise.

  He saw me and my master were old friends, hastily knelt down and kowtowed like pounding garlic: "Master, save my master! My master's life is not long."

  "Get up, get up, I know you're here for this matter. Alas, this person has a fixed destiny. Your master was in his prime at that time, and his identity was very mysterious, even I couldn't figure out his true identity. Although he had a strong sense of justice, he acted too impulsively and recklessly, unaware of what he was provoking. When asked, he wouldn't reveal the truth... Alas, but your master should be clear about it himself." The superior said, sighing again, with a tone that seemed to convey sympathy for my master, yet also a sense of hopelessness.

  "Is my master beyond saving? My master is now in a coma and left me only a letter with a drawing of a bamboo with a child attached to it and some ancient characters." I said, handing the letter over to Yangtong.

  Yangtong handed over the letter and presented it to the superior, who looked at it while shaking his head. After a long time, he suddenly ordered: "Yangtong, go get a jug of water with a golden ladle. Little Wang, you go to that table and bring me three talismans, a flint, and a bottle of medicinal wine."

  The superior man finished speaking and closed his eyes, muttering to himself. After finishing, he shook his head and sighed: "Although the heavenly secret cannot be leaked, what's the use of keeping it in mind? It's better to let go and let people come to understand and attain liberation, feeling refreshed and not caring whether it's a heavenly warning or a heavenly punishment."

  While speaking, Yang Tong had already arrived with a tray of water and quietly placed it beside the person's bed.

  The superior person on the bed instructed Yangtong: "Yangtong, take good care of him."

  I don't know what the person on top is going to do. Seeing Yang Tong nod, the person on top puts the paper charm between the master's legacy and ignites it with a fire stone, putting it into the water. As the flames burn vigorously, he suddenly picks up the wine and pours it into his mouth, then suddenly spits out the wine in his mouth towards the golden gourd. Only to see that the golden gourd suddenly flashes over a green flame, the paper charm has been burned to ashes, leaving only a lingering cyan smoke still rising from the golden gourd.

  As the green smoke drifted away, someone asked: "Yang Tong, what did you see?"

  Yang Tong opened his eyes wide and said in a daze-like manner: "I saw the sun, I saw the moon, and I also saw someone walking with difficulty under the shared light of the sun and the moon."

  The superior sighed and said: "What a terrible curse, Yangtong, you can go rest now."

  "Could this be the legendary 'Dazhao'?" He couldn't help but wonder as he watched the superior being cast his spell.

  "After Yang Tong left, the superior said: 'If I'm not mistaken, your master was cursed with a yin-yang curse. He was afflicted with two of the most severe curses before his death - one yin and one yang. The two curses alternated within him, making your master's life worse than death, waiting for his demise. No wonder when I saw your master that day, his forehead was full of dark energy; it seems he had already been cursed at that time.'"

  "Is there a way to break the curse? Is Master really going to sit and wait for death?" I asked in astonishment.

  "It's difficult to dispel the curse, but if you can't, your master won't just sit and wait for death. However, I think your master has spent a lot of effort over the years and his cultivation is definitely enough to understand how to dispel one of the curses. But this path is extremely difficult to walk and is equivalent to sending oneself to death. That's why he left behind a will to let you avoid it as much as possible. A yin curse requires an extremely yang object to be dispelled, while a yang curse requires an extremely yin object to be dispelled."

  "What is an extremely yin thing? What is an extremely yang thing?" I asked with great reluctance.

  "It's said that this extremely yin substance should be paired with the internal elixir of a thousand-year-old white-haired corpse demon, and taken as medicine with the tooth of a thousand-year-old green-haired zombie as the guide. Although both green-haired and white-haired corpse demons are evolved from zombies, these two types of yin substances are extremely rare. Green-haired ones are mostly evil practitioners who died and were reborn as zombies, then cultivated to become corpse demons in the future. White-haired corpse demons must be buried in a dragon vein cave, and after the dragon vein is destroyed, they suddenly transform into corpse demons that absorb the spiritual energy of the dragon vein, posing a much greater threat than green-haired ones. Extremely yang substances are even rarer, only true dragon pearls condensed from dragon veins can be considered as such. If one can obtain these two types of substances, taking the white-haired internal elixir at midnight can dissolve the yang curse, because the power of the yang curse is weakest at this time. Taking the dragon pearl at noon can dissolve the yin curse, when the yin energy is weakest. I don't dare to make a conclusion on whether this method works or not... Ah, did your master ask you to catch the thousand-year-old green-haired zombie in Guzhang?"

  "Yes, in these two years, Master has sent me twice to catch Green Hair but both times were unsuccessful."

  "This is just right, the Yin Yang Curse is indeed true. If we start counting from now, it may take another year's time. You can't even catch a green hair, how can you catch a corpse demon? Alas, it's difficult!" The superior shook his head.

  It has come to this, and I also know that the superior is helpless with this yin-yang curse. My heart can't help but feel extremely sad. Thinking of Master really waiting for death like this, tears fell down and I cried: "Superior, how can I just watch my master die? I'm not reconciled. That kid's bamboo picture and those ancient characters must be the clues that Master told me about. Superior, you must tell me what they mean?"

  "Child, don't be sad. Everyone has their own fate, whether it's life or death is beyond our control. Although I'm not familiar with those ancient characters and pictures, I can tell you who might know. There are people who specialize in dealing with antiques."

  Before he finished speaking, I excitedly asked: "What kind of person is this? Please tell me."

  "Hill inscriptions, golden symbols move mountains, majestic spirits appear; taking ancient objects, reversing the underworld's instruments, the tomb owner's sorrow and grief, ghosts see anxiety. Breaking wind and water, destroying ancient tombs, only to be born in a chaotic grave. These people specialize in doing these things, remember they have a mole cricket claw-made golden symbol on their body, known as the Golden Mole Cricket General. Go find them, whether you can find them depends on your luck. They can solve the mystery of your master's ancient paintings and characters. Remember, when you do things in the future, if you encounter fire, you will succeed; if you encounter water, you will fail. Fire is heavenly fire, water is heavenly water." The superior man finished speaking and fell asleep.

  In his heart, he knew that the superior had already done his best to reveal many unspeakable heavenly secrets. Although his words were full of mysteries that could not be understood, he had no choice but to leave the thatched cottage with Old Wang in a huff and return to Miao Village along the original path, without saying another word.