Chapter 4 The Aged Tiger, the Cunning Demon

Night had fallen, deep and profound.

The mountain breeze brushed against everything in its path.

The howling of the withered branches made one's heart skip a beat.

The ground was littered with many apparitions, their numerous, ethereal figures invoking extreme fear.

Yet at this moment, the one shivering was not Lin Yan, who was holding votive candles, but the apparitions surrounding him.

As Lin Yan approached, with a knife in one hand and the incense candle in the other,

the intense light of the flame caused the girl to tremble all over, but unlike the other apparitions, she did not flee. Instead, she hid herself in the shadow of Lin Lei.

Using Lin Lei's body as a shield, she evaded the light of the fire.

At the same time, a slender hand clutched at Lin Lei's throat.

"Don't... Don't come any closer..."

The trembling voice of the girl was filled with fear, "Otherwise, I'll strangle him!"

"Ghosts and evil spirits have no physical form, how can they strangle someone to death?"

Lin Yan's voice was indifferent as he reached his brother's side.

He looked up, breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, he had arrived in time; his second brother was still alive, merely trapped in an illusion.

However, he did not rush to awaken his brother but looked at the girl in the shadow, speaking indifferently, "Weren't we going to discuss our marriage? I have come alone!"

With a sudden slash!

He cut down!

He knew the long knife could not truly cut an intangible ghost!

But with the power of the Demon Suppression Divine Power, the intense murderous intent and Evil Qi on his knife could disperse these evil spirits and Yin Souls!

But the next moment, he saw blood spraying out!

She was not a ghost!

She was human!

"Hm?"

Lin Yan's pupils suddenly constricted, and his heart convulsed, "No life force, no breath, no heartbeat, no warmth, her feet didn't even touch the ground... How can she be human?"

Having killed many in recent years, he had rich experience; he could tell whether it was a person or a ghost with a single slash, and it was clear now!

This woman was not human!

To be precise, she could not possibly be a living person!

But she was not an intangible ghost; instead she had a physical body, a dead person!

Yet if she had a body, why did she hover like a demon, not touching the ground?

However, just as he was shaken, a low growl emanated from the temple at that moment!

In an instant, even Lin Yan's heart trembled.

The many surrounding ghosts and Yin Souls, previously scared away by the candlelight, trembled even more, showing greater fear.

But at that moment, they howled and pounced!

Apparitions had no physical body and could not harm the flesh!

But the likes of demons could invade the souls of the living!

The roaring sound stirred hearts and intimidated minds, causing immense fear!

And facing a demon, once one harbored fear, they would be utterly consumed!

If one's will was not strong, despite being at the peak of power, they would still be easily overwhelmed in the current situation!

...

But Lin Yan's eyes remained ice-cold, unpanicked; he immediately stepped forward and placed the votive candle in his second brother's hand.

He raised his brother's arm above his head.

The light from the candle illuminated the surroundings.

Within a radius of roughly three meters, the fierce light of the flame burned like the blazing sun, causing the apparitions to dare not approach.

But at that moment, Lin Yan holding the knife, took the initiative to step out of the protected range of the candlelight.

A few meters away, some faint candlelight remained, but it was no longer enough to deter the apparitions.

The flock of ghostly figures charged, gnashing their teeth, their visages fierce and ghastly.

...

Lin Yan took a deep breath.

A sudden chill emerged from his body.

An evil spirit appeared on his left shoulder.

With a face ashen and fangs bared, hands claw-like and terrifyingly grim.

With a swish!

The blade's light flashed by!

Lin Yan felt the knife cut through empty space, with no sensation of cleaving flesh.

But his expression remained unchanged, and he heard the evil spirit let out a shrill scream.

The evil Qi accompanying the blade, like a breeze brushing over the surface of water, raised ripples... and beneath the ripples' turbulence, the malicious ghosts and yin souls vanished like smoke dispersed by the wind.

Even the most robust Martial Artists, who would treat such ghostly yin souls with the utmost caution, proved to be no match for the overwhelming evil Qi!

The Demon Suppression Divine Skills made his murderous aura seem as if it had exploded in power by a thousandfold!

"Chen Jiangbao!"

Lin Yan suddenly strode forward three steps and swung down his blade.

The shadowy figure screamed for mercy, but as the blade's light passed through, it scattered like smoke in the wind, completely dissipating into nothing.

"In life, a vile wretch; in death, an ungrateful specter."

"Today, I'll grant you a swift end; you're getting off easy."

Lin Yan turned and swung his blade again, annihilating another ghost.

For warriors of this world, it is often the evil spirits that are feared more than the fiendish demons.

Though demons may be powerful, they are still made of flesh and blood, and can be resisted with sword and blade.

But evil spirits have no physical form, therefore swords and fists cannot touch them.

However, today, with the evil Qi engulfing Lin Yan's body and utilizing the Demon Suppression Divine Skills, even his blade could cut down ghosts.

In his eyes, these ghostly yin souls were nothing but dust that could be swept away with a flick of the hand.

All this took no more than twenty breaths' time.

Silence fell upon the land; the shadows vanished, the demons left no trace.

The wild grass and withered trees bore no bodies; not a thing remained, leaving the land pristine.

Yet Lin Yan's eyes were still extremely solemn.

He glanced at the temple, then quickly stepped in front of his elder brother.

He extended his index finger and touched him on the forehead.

Lin Lei's body jolted, and in his bewildered eyes, clarity slowly returned.

Then he saw a cold, indifferent face before him, startling him greatly.

He was so frightened that he fell backward, dropping the candle in his hand.

But the strange man swiftly reached out and caught him.

At the same time, the stranger's other hand caught the falling candle and handed it back to him.

"Hold tight to the candle in your hand."

The stranger's voice was somewhat deep, and he reached into his chest, retrieving another candle not yet lit.

"Before dawn, do not let the candle's flame go out; remember to light this one!"

"..."

Lin Lei accepted it in a daze, though still somewhat bewildered, he knew the other came with good intentions.

"Listen, hold the candle high above your head and walk eastward; three miles away there is a cave, within the 'Pure Land.'"

"Inside, you'll find beasts seeking refuge, but they cannot hunt within the Pure Land, so do not be afraid."

"At the crack of dawn, before the beasts awaken, hurry down the mountain and return to High Willow City!"

The stranger faced away, his gaze fixed on the broken temple, speaking rapidly.

Lin Lei felt an ominous flicker within the temple, deeply unsettling.

He had fully realized what had just transpired.

Ghosts everywhere!

And in the temple ahead, there must lie something even more terrifying!

Lin Lei shivered all over, feeling somewhat suffocated, and asked with a trembling voice, "Aren't you leaving?"

"Something is about to come out of the temple."

The stranger's tone was heavy, "I have to stop it, or you won't be able to escape! Move quickly, I can't look after you after this..."

"Okay... then I'm going..."

Lin Lei swallowed, feeling his mouth dry, and quickly backed away.

Just as he was about to flee for his life, he saw half a roast chicken on the ground, picked it up in a hurry, retreated with shaking voice, "Then you... be careful..."

"I know!"

Lin Yan took a deep breath, gripped his long blade tightly, and looked towards the temple.

The temple was dim, revealing only a pair of cold, chilling eyes, filled with a cruel intent.

They were eyes like copper bells!

As it slowly stepped out of the temple.

Lin Yan gradually made out its body.

It was a massive tiger.

Aged and on the brink of death, like a flickering candle in the wind—an old fierce tiger.

It had grown old, too weary to move, so it relied on vengeful spirits to lure prey to the temple for its sustenance.

Even its breathing seemed labored and strained.

But facing this tiger, reduced to a shadow of its former self, Lin Yan neither dared to hold it in contempt.

For this old tiger had become an enlightened being.