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Seeing that I was still in a daze, Master Pan gently patted me a few times and comforted me, saying, "It's okay, Xiao Liu. Don't worry. No matter how powerful it is, it's just a ghost. We, the living Taoists, shouldn't be afraid of a Taoist who has already turned into a ghost."
Although I knew Master Pan was trying to reassure me, I still nodded and opened my Cloth Bag, my mind blank as I pondered how to set things up. In my mind, it seemed that my methods would be useless against that Senior Master.
Master Pan was different from me; he moved away from the coffin and found a relatively flat large stone. He lit incense and candles on it to create an Altar and took out Yellow Talismans and ink to prepare for drawing talismans. I looked around at the terrain, trying to find a suitable place to set up a barrier. After observing for a while, Master Pan said, "Stop looking. Right at the entrance corner is a good spot. I'll set up all the defenses there; it won't be discovered. If we can't fight it off, we can retreat there."
"Will this work? These are all talismans for warding off evil spirits, and some are even magical tools. Do you think that Senior Master won't see them?" I asked weakly.
Master Pan began drawing talismans again, responding with some incantations as he worked. After two minutes, he finished the talisman and said, "If it doesn't have any emotions, it might not notice us. So once it enters, we need to guide it immediately and prevent it from sensing its surroundings. When it sees its Corpse in this state, it will definitely be furious. In that situation, it won't perceive our Defensive Formation. Besides, what we set up over there are all non-aggressive items; they won't be easily detected."
I nodded in agreement as Master Pan continued drawing talismans. I had no idea how many he would draw before stopping. Not wanting to disturb him, I took a red candle and circled around the coffin before heading into the Small Stone Cave at the corner Master Pan mentioned. The entrance was right outside this cave; calculating the position, I figured that sunlight would slant in around ten o'clock in the morning. Upon closer inspection of the space inside, it seemed just right; two people could hide there without feeling too cramped.
I sprinkled Grave Soil around the entrance of the cave and then scattered some incense ash outside of that. After thinking for a moment about not having enough protection, I also sprinkled a circle of Cinnabar in the middle. Taking out the Ink Fight Line from my Cloth Bag, I found the longest one and measured the distance—it was just enough to create a barrier line. However, I wasn't sure how effective it would be; still better than nothing. Unsatisfied with just that, I took out three talismans for warding off evil spirits and threaded them through the heads with the Ink Fight Line before hanging them above it. The two ends of the Ink Fight Line were secured on either side of the Small Stone Cave while I cast several Hand Spells on top of it. Only then did I feel relieved; this was already my limit.
Returning to where Master Pan was working, he was still drawing talismans with an earnest expression that showed he was also quite nervous. Although he told me not to worry, after all, this was a ghost of a hundred-year Senior Master; it would be unnatural not to feel anxious. I couldn't help but think if my master were here, he wouldn't have to work so hard. Thinking about my master made me worry again—if this Senior Master truly harbored resentment and lost its true nature, what if Master Pan and I couldn't handle it? Would it go after my master? We were all from Qiaoling; if such blame arose unjustly, my master wouldn't escape unscathed either.
"Don't worry; I'm no less capable than your master. If we ranked by cultivation level, your master would still have to call me 'Senior Brother.' Back in my day at the sect practicing Cultivation methods, your master often came to play with me—though playing was just an excuse; he really came to learn from me. In this regard, you are quite similar to your master," Master Pan seemed to sense my thoughts about my master and began steering our conversation toward lighter topics.
I chuckled and said, "Yes, you're from a major sect with orthodox Taoism while we from Qiaoling are more like wild practitioners; of course we want to cling to your leg."
"What does 'cling to one's leg' mean?" Master Pan put down his brush; there were already more than ten freshly drawn talismans in front of him.
I explained, "Clinging to one's leg is internet slang meaning seeking support or backing. Hehe."
Master Pan started taking Talisman papers from his bag and applying them over the talismans while saying, "You young people nowadays don't even know how to speak properly anymore—always talking about these random things! Xiao X called me last time saying that once he becomes rich, he'll come back with a beautiful girlfriend to show me off! The nonsense he says is completely beyond my understanding."
Back then when these internet terms were just becoming popular, I laughed heartily and felt much more relaxed instantly.
Master Pan finished the talisman and drew numerous hand seals above it. Holding all the charms in his hand, he asked me what time it was. I glanced at my watch and replied, "It's already past seven. It should be getting dark outside soon."
"Don't worry," Master Pan said. "Even if it comes, it won't be so quick. It will only appear after dark, once the moon rises. It needs to restore its Underworld energy before it can come over. So we don't need to rush."
After saying this, Master Pan stood up, walked around the Small Coffin, and approached the Small Stone Cave to inspect my earlier arrangements. He chuckled lightly, said nothing, and began to place talismans on the stone walls surrounding the cave. He threw down more than ten talismans onto the walls, then held three in his hands and quickly drew a few hand spells on them. He handed one of them to me and instructed, "Stick this talisman on your chest. Your methods won't be effective against it, so if it tries to attack you later, try not to resist and just run inside here. I'll stand beside you to cover you."
"Then the Senior Master shouldn't dare to kill us, right?" In my understanding, no Spirit God would directly kill a living person because doing so would bring down heavenly retribution upon them. Once such a situation arose, the Spirit God would have only one way out: to possess another person. However, once they left that body, they would immediately attract heavenly lightning that would scatter them. No matter how powerful a Spirit God was, they could not escape this calamity.
Master Pan replied, "Killing us is definitely out of the question; however, turning you into an idiot is still possible. So we can't let our guard down. While we can exorcise evil spirits, it takes a toll on our lifespan."
I nodded; I understood these matters well enough. It was just that the power displayed by the Senior Master earlier had instilled some fear in me—the strength of that Yin Qi was a clear testament to this.
Master Pan then used a brush and pure Cinnabar to draw two more talismans on either side of the cave. He looked around and nodded, saying, "Alright, this should do for now. Even if that Senior Master is formidable, it should be able to hold it off for six hours."
I said, "Okay, then when we meet with the Senior Master, let's try to communicate as best as we can. Maybe it won't hold any grudges."
Master Pan replied, "Yes, let's hope so. However, it's nearly impossible not to provoke its anger over such a significant matter. This isn't just about one Corpse; it's about its vessel's issues. You know when you Send Soul that you have to resolve the Obsession of Spirit Gods. But how do you resolve the Senior Master's Obsession? It's different from ordinary Spirit Gods; it has pride a thousand times greater than others and will treat our persuasion as mere whispers in the wind."
"Well, regardless of what happens, what's meant to come will come. We'll just wait and see; it's all up to fate," I said with a chuckle as I clapped my hands together and glanced at the distant Small Coffin. "Master Pan, those snakes won't come out, right? And that Senior Master won't control them to attack us? If that's the case, our defenses will be useless."
Master Pan laughed and said, "Have you been watching too much television? How could it control snakes to attack us? Those snakes merely reside within its body and have nothing to do with its Soul. They've long since adapted to life inside the Yin Coffin and generally won't come out."
I slapped my forehead; I realized I had been overly anxious to even ask such a ridiculous question.
With everything prepared, Master Pan and I each found a stone to sit on at the entrance. We lit several red candles that illuminated the otherwise dark and damp cave quite well; fortunately, it wasn't deep and had plenty of oxygen. Master Pan placed his Peach Wood Sword behind a stone at his back.
After waiting for about half an hour or so, a strong gust of cold wind swept through. Master Pan and I suddenly stood up; we both knew very well that the Senior Master had arrived.
As expected, just as Master Pan and I stood up, a Soul slowly materialized, appearing abruptly before us.
It was none other than the Senior Master...
Before Master Pan and I could even bow in greeting, the Senior Master spoke, "Hey, Qiaoling Kid, why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be looking for resources for me?" Before I could respond, the Senior Master turned to glare at Master Pan and asked, "Which sect do you belong to?"
Master Pan respectfully bowed and replied, "In response to your question, Senior, I am a disciple of the xx Sect. I have heard much about your Revival technique and hold great admiration for it; I specifically came to pay my respects."
The Senior Master waved a hand dismissively, and a chill wind swept over us, causing me to shiver. "Hmm, not bad. Master X should be your Grandmaster, right? He's quite a good person and one of my strongest supporters. But enough about that; I need to check if my Corpse can still be restored. When I left this morning, I sensed that my Corpse was damaged—seems quite serious."
"Uh, Senior Master—" I began, but before I could finish my sentence, he turned and floated swiftly towards the Small Coffin. He moved quickly, clearly anxious.
Master Pan turned to me and said, "It's over; get ready for a fierce battle."
PS: Additional chapters are available for support. This time's additional contributions come from the Patron List: "One Meter of Gentle Breeze" 6000 coins, "Sunlight Shines Through Your Eyes" diamond, "I Am Little Ming" diamond, "Frost 123" twelve flowers. Good night to all the lords.
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