"Little Daoist, you truly have an abundance of vital energy!"
The young woman chuckled lightly, her delicate hand conjuring gusts of spiritual energy. As she watched the agile figure before her, a greedy glint appeared in her beautiful eyes.
When Ji Yuan employed his cloud-like movement technique, the pure vital energy cultivated within him was inevitably revealed, appearing more enticing to her than anything else.
After all, for any demon or malevolent spirit, the qi, blood, vital energy, and mana of cultivators were supreme delicacies and tonics. They not only enhanced their own cultivation but also provided exquisite pleasure.
This was also one of the primary reasons why cultivators and Yin-corrupted ghosts were incompatible. They were fundamentally opposed; once they encountered each other, it was either the former eliminating the latter or the latter feasting on the former.
Ji Yuan was a registered Daoist priest of the Great Yu Dynasty and was naturally very familiar with malevolent spirits. He had dealt with them frequently and understood their ways.
Therefore, seeing the young woman's expression, he knew her thoughts and immediately mustered all his focus, not daring to be distracted for even a moment.
Seeing this, the young woman let out a light laugh. Whether she had grown tired of playing or could no longer suppress her eagerness, she lunged forward in a single step.
A chilling wind swept towards him. In the blink of an eye, she appeared before him, her delicate hands transforming into ghastly white bones under the moonlight, aiming directly for his heart.
Witnessing this, Ji Yuan quickly dodged backward, his small body rolling onto the ground. He narrowly avoided the fatal blow.
However, as soon as he got up, he saw her poised to strike again. With a raised brow, he immediately let out a low cry: "Explode!"
Instantly, yellow paper talismans drilled out from the muddy ground, erupting in dazzling radiance in mid-air. Fireballs flew, water arrows shot, and several sharp sword energies crisscrossed the area.
The young woman's face changed drastically, and she let out a sharp cry. She tried to retreat, but it was ultimately too late, and she was engulfed by the heavy onslaught of over a dozen talismans.
Rumble!!!
The sound of explosions echoed through the night sky, dust flying everywhere. Faintly, crimson, azure, and pure white lights could be seen shimmering within, emitting waves of turbulent fluctuations.
Ji Yuan retreated several feet, looking somewhat disheveled. His gaze held no hint of triumphant joy, but rather a hint of solemnity.
He didn't believe that a dozen ordinary talismans could annihilate a ghost at the late stage of Enlightenment, let alone a special existence among ghosts – a 'Red Powder Skeleton'.
This prepared display could at most cause her some trouble. If she were lucky, it might inflict some injuries, but that would be all.
"Senior Brother! There's a noise ahead!"
Just as Ji Yuan was about to seize the opportunity to escape, a woman's alarmed cry suddenly rang out.
Before he could react, the mist behind him churned, and two figures strode out – a young man and woman in their early twenties, the junior brother and sister of Li Mufeng.
Seeing that no one else emerged from the mist, Ji Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. If all five of them were here, coupled with a late-stage 'Red Powder Skeleton', it would truly be dangerous.
"It's you!"
The somewhat dull-witted man let out a low growl upon seeing him.
Hearing this, the young Daoist priest smiled faintly at the two of them. Disregarding the fierce look in their eyes, he grabbed a handful of talismans from his sleeve and scattered them.
Each talisman, activated by its spiritual core, ignited spontaneously, emitting blinding light. This caused the senior brother and sister, who hailed from prominent righteous sects, to quickly turn their heads away and cover their faces with their sleeves.
When the blinding light disappeared, and they looked forward again, the young Daoist priest had long since vanished. Only a patch of flying dust in the distance was gradually settling back to the earth.
"Yoho, it seems we have new guests!"
A seductive voice echoed from the dust-filled air. A naked young woman slowly emerged, her beautiful eyes sweeping over the two of them before finally settling on the dull-witted man.
Although she had lost the trace of the little Daoist priest, the addition of two more cultivators with higher cultivation was not a bad thing. Perhaps after consuming these two, she could successfully advance to the next major realm?
Never mind what the young woman was thinking. The moment the dull-witted man saw her, his face turned crimson. Never having encountered such a spectacle, he felt his breathing quicken, as if he were in a furnace.
However, it was the woman beside him who, seeing her senior brother's state, immediately flared with anger. Without a word, she drew the long sword at her waist.
"What sorceress are you, daring to bewitch people!"
The woman cried out fiercely and thrust her sword forward.
But as she took only a few steps, a gust of powerful wind came from behind her. It was her trusted senior brother who had struck, leaving a bloody wound on her back with his sharp sword.
"Senior Brother!"
The woman turned to look, only to see her senior brother's eyes vacant. He muttered, "Don't hurt her," and continued to hack and slash, showing no mercy even to his familiar junior sister.
Not far away, the young woman watched the battling man and woman, a smile of unconcealed amusement playing on her lips. The seductive art of bewitching men's minds had always been her innate divine ability, renowned throughout the world along with her indestructible White Bone True Body.
However, she was somewhat puzzled as to why the little Daoist priest earlier had been unaffected by her seductive art, his state of mind showing no fluctuation. Could it be because he was still just an unfeeling youth?
"Achoo!"
Ji Yuan, who had just sprinted to the edge of the graveyard, suddenly sneezed. He glanced around doubtfully, wondering who could be thinking of him at this moment.
But upon considering that it might be that 'Red Powder Skeleton', the little Daoist priest felt a chill and quickly shook his head, stepping into the eerie mist before him.
This time, he did not dare to charge blindly. After entering the Yin energy mist, he took out a talisman from his robes and gently tossed it forward.
Upon activation of its spiritual core, this 'Talisman for Dispelling Evil Spirits and Ghosts' transformed into three coin-sized halos, which flickered sequentially in different directions.
This indicated the presence of evil spirits and ghosts in the directions the halos were pointing. The frequency of their flickering also revealed their aura's strength.
In just a moment, the three halos slowly dissipated. Ji Yuan retracted his gaze and turned towards the direction where no halos appeared.
Along the way, he would occasionally take out a 'Talisman for Dispelling Evil Spirits and Ghosts' to prevent himself from going the wrong way in the mist and wandering into areas inhabited by ghosts.
Fortunately, the little Daoist priest was skilled in making talismans. He used them without regard for cost. While it pained him to do so, it was within acceptable limits. Compared to his own life, losing some of his savings was acceptable.
In addition, Ji Yuan continuously attempted to use his fingers to divine his fortune for the night. However, he didn't know if it was due to insufficient cultivation or some obscuring effect in this place; all his attempts ended in failure.
"This is..."
Half an hour later, as he stepped forward, the little Daoist priest emerged from the mist. He blinked in surprise at the scenery before him.