Chapter Ninety-Four: The Grand Ceremony

Beside me, Li Yue’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Three Souls Life-Sealing? How is that possible, Xie Yuan? Who exactly are you, and why do you carry such a seal?”

Once again, I felt my body threatening to scatter apart.

After what my mother did last time, I already knew it was the Seven Souls.

I struggled to stabilize my consciousness, resisting the dispersal of the Seven Souls.

Yet, Wang Gongming directly pulled my soul body out of my physical form.

“The soul body is innate, but... it seems there’s something wrong,” Wang Gongming’s gaze was piercingly sharp.

“Get out.”

Suddenly, he stared at the left hand of my soul body, his voice laced with a strong threat.

Only then did I realize—the skull mark wasn’t on my physical body, but on my soul itself!

At the moment Wang Gongming uttered those words, the mark trembled, and a tiny, pale skeleton appeared above my soul.

It was only half a body; the other half seemed to be submerged within my soul.

Now visible, it was no larger than a palm.

It even let out a threatening roar toward Wang Gongming.

His pupils constricted. “A symbiotic ghost? No, that’s not quite right. There’s a problem here too. Your soul seems somewhat fragmented. Could this be due to the Three Souls Life-Sealing technique?”

“If it’s a symbiotic ghost, it shouldn’t be dangerous. I’ll use the yin energy from this Feng Shui formation to help you eliminate those hidden dangers within your soul!”

Wang Gongming seemed to speak to me, yet it also sounded like a muttered soliloquy; he paid no attention to my state and didn’t expect a reply.

Within the Wang family estate, it felt as if the entire shadowy energy of the Qianshui town converged here.

The sky was gloomy, nearly pitch-black.

The density of the yin energy was nearly comparable to that of the Thousand Corpses Yin Gathering Formation.

The rampant yin energy suddenly poured entirely into Wang Gongming’s body.

However, deep wounds appeared on his right arm, through which the yin energy continuously leaked out.

A look of pain flickered across his face.

I immediately understood the injury he had mentioned earlier.

This was the damage caused by the well-bound ghost, affecting his soul directly, making recovery difficult.

Otherwise, with Wang Gongming’s ability to harness such a vast amount of yin energy, how could he have been defeated by those ghosts?

“Focus, maintain unity!” Wang Gongming’s voice exploded in my ear.

I jolted awake instantly.

The next moment, Wang Gongming’s finger pressed against the forehead of my soul body.

The yin energy wildly gushing from his arm surged into my soul.

This yin energy seemed almost sentient, traveling along a path within my soul.

I felt no pain; rather, there was a sensation of gaining greater control over my soul.

It’s difficult to describe—before, a part of my soul had been beyond my control, something I had never consciously realized.

Now, everything fused into one.

A faint lament echoed in my ear but vanished quickly.

A chill ran down my spine. Could it be that the man’s soul hadn’t been entirely absorbed and merged by me?

Yet, this hidden danger was erased the moment I detected it.

I felt immense gratitude toward Wang Gongming.

His finger left my forehead, and the yin energy gradually dissipated.

“The seal on the human soul has only recently been broken; I’ve now removed the seal on your earthly soul.”

Wang Gongming’s voice grew noticeably weary.

He hooked a line on the left side of my soul and silently severed it.

I sensed my soul gaining something else, something I couldn’t yet comprehend or articulate.

“The human soul governs life, the earthly soul governs calamity, and the heavenly soul governs cause and effect. The Three Souls Life-Sealing is both a seal and fate itself. Whoever used this technique on you must have regarded you as an existence of utmost importance. External forces can only open two of these seals; the last one you must explore on your own.”

“Your soul is powerful. No wonder you can use soul-drawing talismans. The ability to devour souls will only make you stronger—almost immortal.”

Wang Gongming’s voice grew even more fatigued.

He gently pushed my soul, and I returned to my body.

“I need to rest for a while. Don’t leave this estate. They can’t find this place anymore. There’s no normal person left in town now. When night falls, they’ll wait by the river. We’ll go too. Everything must be settled.”

Wang Gongming turned and walked into the main hall.

With a soft thud, the door slowly closed behind him.

I closed my eyes. The feeling within me was entirely different now.

It was as though I had greater control over every part of my body, and my thoughts were several times clearer.

Moreover, it felt like there was something new within my consciousness.

I quickly took out my talisman brush and spread out a sheet of talisman paper.

Following the sensation in my mind, I swiftly sketched a talisman.

A portion of my soul was drawn out, and the talisman instantly took shape.

My heart trembled. The talisman I had drawn was the Fusion Talisman!

The information in my mind was clear: the talisman could act as a clone; it could be controlled by thought and possessed a fraction of the original’s strength.

My heartbeat sped up as I suppressed my excitement.

The brush struck the freshly formed Fusion Talisman again, making a gentle stroke.

The Fusion Talisman dissipated.

A soul appeared on the talisman paper.

I clearly felt that this soul bore a fragment of my consciousness, but it quickly slipped into my body.

Trembling, excited, thrilled.

Unexpectedly mastering the use of the Fusion Talisman meant I could also release Lord Wang’s soul. If his soul entered a body, he could come back to life!

Clutching the talisman brush tightly, I felt my soul brimming with energy.

The previous yin energy had filled the gaps in my soul.

The unsealing of the earthly soul seal had also made my soul far more substantial.

I drew three Fusion Talismans, which slightly drained my soul.

My heart skipped a beat; if there were ghosts here, I could test the power of the Fusion Talisman.

I also sensed my limit.

The Fusion Talisman did not consume much from me, but I could only draw three at most.

The fourth one would not form.

Holding the three Fusion Talismans, I looked at Li Yue, took a deep breath, and said, “Take these talismans. I don’t know how effective they will be, but they shouldn’t be any weaker than the Tremor Talismans.”

The Fusion Talisman comes after the Tremor Talisman in sequence.

Tremor, Fusion, Combat, Death. Each talisman is stronger than the last.

Combat Talismans can even harm Li Cangshui, and for me, they consume almost no energy.

Li Yue bit her lip nervously and cautiously approached me.

Her gaze had clearly changed drastically—disbelief, shock.

I knew in my heart it was because she had uncovered my secret.

I smiled slightly, with a hint of ease. “After narrowly escaping death, do you still find me so unfamiliar? Take these talismans—they will protect you.”

Li Yue lowered her head, taking the Fusion Talismans carefully, biting her lip softly.

“I don’t find you unfamiliar. I just can’t believe how it’s possible that you carry the Three Souls Life-Sealing technique.”

“And the way your mother sealed that ghost—it’s the Three Corpse Gods technique.”

“You devour ghosts, but you have no malice—you’re a good person.”

“The records say that everyone with the ability to devour ghosts must be a demon who has brought ruin upon many lives. Because ghosts devouring ghosts emit a certain aura, but humans devouring ghosts leave no warning, catching ghosts completely off guard.”

I was stunned for a moment, murmuring, “What kind of records could possibly contain such knowledge?”

“My master’s library. If there’s a chance, I’ll take you there.”

Li Yue lifted her head slightly, a faint smile on her face.

After placing the Fusion Talismans safely close to her, she suddenly stepped forward and gently tidied my clothes over my chest.

“You’re wearing Wang Gongming’s old clothes now. Your own clothes were all bloodied and tattered—not good for healing.”

“I should have known you carried many secrets. Your wounds healed much faster than normal, and you survived such severe injuries.”

“I saw that secret—the thing the master wanted to take away, belonging to Liu of the funeral business. I didn’t record the contents but returned it to its original place.”

Li Yue’s hand gently rested over my right chest.

My heart skipped a beat. Only then did I notice the clothes had been changed.

There was indeed something strange on my chest—slightly cold, exactly as I had felt before.

At this moment, Li Yue resembled a well-behaved young girl, without a trace of temper or stubbornness.

She bit her lip softly, looking at me with misty eyes as she leaned closer.

A faint scent of her body fragrance drifted into my nostrils. It had been a long time since I was this close to a girl.

My face blushed fiercely, and my heartbeat quickened.

Li Yue moved closer to my face, her lips nearly touching mine.

At that instant, a sudden chill burst forth from my chest.

Simultaneously, the back of my hand felt a cold shiver.

A pale, ghastly skeleton appeared instantly between Li Yue and me!

It seemed maddened, thrusting its hands toward Li Yue’s eyes!

My expression changed drastically. I reached out to grab it and shouted, “Stop!”