Chapter Six: Reversal

Chapter Six: The Reversal

Chapter Two: A Perilous Encounter with an Immortal, a Stirring Meeting with the Crimson Enchantress (Part Two)

As soon as Lord Huoshu heard the chanting, he felt his Dao energy within begin to stagnate. His own Dao energy was immediately overpowered by the force pulling against it, and to his horror, he sensed it slowly flowing from his body into Ye Hua’s. He was utterly shocked—he had not expected this petty thief not only to resist the suppression of the Purple Gold Bell, feigning unconsciousness, but also to possess such a miraculous treasure. This seemed akin to the supreme Buddhist Pearls; how could this youngster have two of them? Anxiety gnawed at his heart.

Little did he know, the pearls in Ye Hua’s hands were mere imitations. Their power paled in comparison to genuine Buddhist Pearls, able to sustain their effect only for a brief moment. Once their spiritual energy was depleted, they would become worthless. If only he could endure for a short while, Ye Hua’s pearl would break on its own.

In his panic, Lord Huoshu failed to consider the situation carefully. He had many methods at his disposal, but with one hand pressed against the thief’s back to absorb his spiritual energy and the other activating the Soul Refining Demon Array, he could not utilize them. In frustration, he bit his tongue, spraying a mouthful of vital blood onto the array. Instantly, the demonic wind intensified.

With his other hand, he hurriedly performed incantations to drive the array, and although the evil spirits hesitated, fearful of the divine aura, they eventually surged forth. Their screams echoed as every spirit that touched the golden Buddha statues was annihilated.

The remaining spirits dared not approach. Ye Hua, seeing this, felt a surge of relief. He hadn’t expected the pearl to be so powerful; his Dao energy grew stronger. Lord Huoshu’s Dao energy now began to flow into Ye Hua even faster, and soon nearly half of his energy had transferred into Ye Hua’s body.

A brief stalemate ensued, but as Ye Hua's power grew, Lord Huoshu's efforts weakened. The flow of Dao energy quickened until it poured forth uncontrollably, like a river bursting its banks. He desperately wished to pull his hand away and flee, but Ye Hua’s back held his palm fast, and he could not break free. The roles had reversed, though Ye Hua remained unaware, still focusing on absorbing the energy in his panic, not realizing that resisting the hand had become holding onto it.

Lord Huoshu, feeling utterly drained, cried out in terror, “Boy, stop at once!” He tried frantically to summon the evil spirits, knowing that if he could not break the pearl, his own Dao energy would soon be exhausted, leaving not only his essence depleted but his soul scattered, unable to reincarnate.

This realization filled him with dread. As his Dao energy weakened, the evil spirits sensed it and turned upon him. In shock, Lord Huoshu realized that these spirits, oppressed and controlled by him due to his superior strength, were now retaliating as his internal energy waned.

Before he could react, dozens of evil spirits sank their teeth into him, draining his vital blood. He felt his life ebbing, vision darkening, and soon lost consciousness.

Ye Hua’s body burned with heat, growing ever stronger. He did not know what Lord Huoshu had done, only that the influx of Dao energy now exceeded his capacity to absorb, threatening to burst his body. He cried out, “Stop! I’ll surrender!”

But Lord Huoshu neither heard nor responded, the hot energy still flowing. “Fine! If I die at your hands, I’ll become a vengeful spirit and haunt you day and night, drinking your blood…” He desperately tried to use the Heavenly Harmony Technique to restore himself, hoping to hold on a little longer. Ye Hua feared he might die from internal explosion, but gradually the heat diminished and finally ceased.

Ye Hua was overjoyed. He glanced around and saw the golden Buddha statues’ radiance fading, becoming dim and translucent, about to vanish. The demonic aura dispersed, the evil spirits were gone, and soon everything was as it had been.

With a crack, Ye Hua turned to see the two pearls that had floated in midair now fallen to the ground and shattered into powder. The golden statues had vanished. Ye Hua sighed inwardly; the pearls were indeed single-use. He checked himself and, apart from feeling that his body was swollen and about to burst, felt no other discomfort.

“Why is that sorcerer so quiet now?” Ye Hua wondered, turning to look and nearly jumping in fright. Lord Huoshu’s eyes were sunken, his facial bones protruded, and his skin was sallow and taut over bone, resembling a skeleton. All breath was gone; he had become a desiccated corpse.

Ye Hua pondered and vaguely understood: the sorcerer had tried to drain his vital energy but was instead consumed by Ye Hua’s own reversal. Not daring to dwell on it, he felt his Dao energy surge and feared that prolonged instability would bring trouble. He hurried to sit beneath the green locust tree in the courtyard and slowly circulated his energy, gradually calming and consolidating it.

When his body felt normal again, Ye Hua opened his eyes to find it was dawn. The sun’s first rays shone, mountain mist drifted, grass and trees were lush, birds sang cheerfully. He realized he had meditated through the night, now soaked with dew.

He hadn’t expected to have cultivated all night. Examining himself, he found his Dao energy unusually full, faintly golden, thick and condensed—far surpassing previous days. The appearance of golden Dao energy meant he had reached the third stage of the Seven Treasures realm, the Color Treasure stage. He was elated.

He had advanced from the initial stage to the third in one leap. Lord Huoshu had achieved the fifth stage, his Dao energy exceptionally dense. Though most had flowed into Ye Hua, some dissipated, else Ye Hua’s dantian would have been overwhelmed by so much energy at once, causing severe injury. It was Ye Hua’s good fortune to have survived such peril.

Standing up, Ye Hua walked to the temple gate. In the past, Lord Huoshu had set a prohibition linked to his own spirit. Now that he was dead, Ye Hua wondered if the barrier remained and whether he could escape. As he tried to push the gate, a layer of milky light appeared, blocking his way. He pressed against it, but it did not budge.

Ye Hua channeled his Dao energy, his hands turning from pale to deep red, faintly glowing with gold. He pressed slowly against the barrier, which trembled under his power. The more he exerted his energy, the more it quivered, yet it did not break.

He frowned; even with Lord Huoshu dead, the prohibition remained formidable. His current Dao energy was not enough to break it. He sighed and returned to the courtyard, lost in thought. His parents must be worried, yet he was trapped in this small temple, unable to leave. He did not know where he was. The sorcerer had flown for half a day at great speed, putting him thousands of miles from home. Even if he broke the prohibition, returning would be another challenge.

Feeling helpless, he gazed around the courtyard. The halls flanked him, and behind the central temple, milky light rippled like water. He sighed and let his gaze fall upon Lord Huoshu’s corpse. The sorcerer was now a bag of bones, his yellow robe hanging loosely.

Ye Hua was struck by an idea. He approached slowly; Lord Huoshu’s hand still formed an incantation, one hand suspended as if pressing, his robe half open. Peering down, Ye Hua saw a Purple Gold Bell tucked under the robe—the very object used against him. He crouched and gently removed it. As he lifted the robe, he found an embroidered pouch at the waist and took it as well.

After a moment’s hesitation, he collected the small flags stuck in the ground. Returning to the courtyard, he sat upon a stone chair and examined the Purple Gold Bell. It was no larger than a teacup, entirely purple gold, etched with strange symbols and ancient script reading “Purple Gold Bell,” along with carvings of winged beasts resembling lions or leopards. He wondered at their meaning.

Ye Hua contemplated for a moment, then infused the bell with Dao energy and gently shook it. It produced a pleasant chime but nothing extraordinary, no dizziness as before. He was puzzled: perhaps he needed to refine it first.

The Daoist texts recorded that spiritual treasures were categorized from low to high as Yellow Yuan, Clear Yuan, Jade Yuan, and then the mysterious treasures above. Ye Hua never imagined even the lowest-grade mysterious treasure could be possessed by someone like Lord Huoshu.

Yellow Yuan treasures lacked spirit and could be used by channeling Dao energy. Clear and Jade Yuan treasures required refining, merging person and treasure. If so, the bell might be a Clear Yuan or even a Jade Yuan treasure. He was delighted, tucked it away, and resolved to refine it later.

He then picked up the embroidered pouch—a small, brightly colored bag, light and seemingly empty. Ye Hua chuckled at the sorcerer’s eccentricity, wondering what it contained.

He tipped it over the stone table; with a clatter, many items spilled out, to his great surprise. The tiny pouch held several porcelain bottles, wooden boxes, and a jade book.

Ye Hua realized it must be a storage pouch—a magical item for immortals. He examined the items: the bottles bore labels such as “Yu Hu Pill,” “Spirit Source Powder,” “Fat Jade Spirit Liquid.” The wooden boxes contained medicinal herbs like “Flying Dragon Palm Blood,” “Water Dragon Bone,” and “White Milk Wood,” all rare plants.

He picked up the jade book, made from unknown white jade. Since learning that Daoist texts could be recorded on jade pendants, Ye Hua was used to such marvels. Holding it, his vision blurred slightly, and the title “Ghost Valley Secret Manual” appeared.

Ye Hua was struck: “Ghost Valley Secret Manual? Where have I heard that before? North Platform, Li Peak, Fire Cloud Cave? Could it be—” He recalled hearing two disciples discuss the loss of their sect’s secret manual during a trip from Changsheng Palace. The two had fought, both badly injured.

“How did it end up with Lord Huoshu? Were those disciples from Fire Cloud Cave, and the manual stolen by him? It must be so.”

Ye Hua rejoiced—this sorcerer’s wicked arts surely came from the book, and the prohibition outside must have its solution here.

He hastily skimmed through it, finding techniques such as “Yuya Evil Skill,” “Ghost Shadow Escape,” and “Blood Destruction Palm.” Toward the end, he found “Dragon Barrier,” “Source Protection Prohibition,” and “True Concealment Array.” Ye Hua’s spirits rose; studying carefully, he deduced the prohibition here was the Dragon Barrier.

He exclaimed, “According to the manual, the courtyard forms a Bagua array, with nodes at the well, the court, the joy, and the gate positions.” He stood, recalling his uncle Ye Ren’s teachings on the Eight Trigrams, and his studies of arrays with Xuanru at Changsheng Palace. Locating these positions was easy.

After careful calculation, he proceeded to a corner of the temple courtyard, thinking, “This should be the well position. Sorcerer, if you hadn’t tried to absorb my essence, this wouldn’t have happened. Don’t linger as a vengeful spirit; I’ll invite monks to chant for you someday, so you can be reborn soon...”

At the corner, among some stones, Ye Hua channeled his Dao energy and shouted, “Swift!” A thread of golden fire shot from his fingers, blasting the stones apart and revealing a small flag, which burned to ash in the fire.

Ye Hua was satisfied. This was the Condensed Energy Fiery Method from the Heavenly Harmony Technique, fire infused with gold, fiercely potent and unlike any other sect’s fire arts. Though Ye Hua’s mastery was shallow, its power was evident.

The crystal water barrier above the temple trembled, thinning. Ye Hua proceeded to the other positions, breaking each node, and at last the Dragon Barrier vanished.

He was overjoyed, the threat eliminated. Yet, rather than rushing out, he sat in the courtyard and pondered: “The journey home will be perilous. Better to finish the first layer of the Heavenly Harmony Technique here and strengthen myself. As for flight techniques, I’ll need to reach the fourth stage of Seven Treasures before I can learn them—who knows when that will be…”

He sighed, resolved to stay in the temple for a while. The sight of Lord Huoshu’s corpse was unsettling; since he would be living here, it would not do to keep such company.

He gathered some scrap wood, left the temple, and found a spot on the mountain behind. He dragged Lord Huoshu’s body there, piled dried branches atop it.

Standing by, Ye Hua said, “You killed many to fuel your cultivation, truly wicked. You ought to be reborn as an ox or horse to redeem your sins. Though I did not kill you, your death was due to me. May you harbor no resentment and swiftly enter the cycle of rebirth.”

Ye Hua lit the fire; the corpse burned with crackling sound and a foul stench. Ye Hua covered his nose and kept his distance, watching the flames grow. Amid the golden fire, a faint green glow appeared, puzzling Ye Hua. He would wait for the fire to die down to investigate.

The fire burned for half an hour before subsiding, leaving only ashes. Ye Hua approached and exclaimed, “Ah!”—there in the ashes lay a greenish short sword. He used a stick to retrieve it, thinking, “How did this sword survive the fire unscathed? It feels icy cold.”

Before cremation, he had seen no such item on Lord Huoshu. Could this be his life-bound Yuan sword, fused with his body and hidden within, now revealed after the body was destroyed? He recalled the sorcerer fleeing on a green short sword—this must be it.

He resolved to study it later, tucked the sword at his waist, buried the bones in a shallow pit, and covered them with stones. Returning to the temple, night had fallen. The moon hung high, the night bright as day, the Milky Way glittered and stars shone.

Ye Hua closed the temple door and sat in the courtyard, lost in thought. “When will I return home?” He sighed, drew the short sword from his waist, and examined it. Its coolness seeped into his hand; it was only a foot long, jade-green under the moon, as if made of emerald, though not especially sharp—more like a toy.

“I wonder what marvels this sword holds. Let me test it,” he said, channeling Dao energy. A warm current flowed from his dantian through his arm and into the sword. The blade flashed brilliantly, emitting a burst of green light that illuminated Ye Hua’s hair and beard. He jumped in shock.

In amazement, he swept the sword’s green light across the stone chair before him, and the chair silently split in two. Examining the cut, he found it smooth as a mirror—no craftsman could achieve such perfection.

Ye Hua was delighted; never had he seen such a divine weapon! He then recalled his uncle’s flying sword might possess similar power. In high spirits, Ye Hua danced with the sword beneath the moonlight.

(End of Chapter)