"Judging by your look, you’re determined to win, aren’t you?"
Evan Lin glanced at the old man, raising an eyebrow.
“Of course. Just hand over the divine medicine and I’ll guarantee you walk out of here alive.” The old man nodded and gave a sly chuckle.
“That depends on whether you’ve got the life to take it.”
Standing before him, the old man gave Evan Lin an uneasy feeling—his aura was cold and oppressive.
“Do you even know who my master is? How dare you run your mouth! Even Drake Huang would have to show respect if he saw my master!” Summer Jay shot Evan Lin a cold look.
“Kid, prepare to die!” The old man sneered, reaching out his thin arm and pointing at the Soul-Sacrifice Beauty Scroll. Instantly, the scroll hanging on the wall began to rattle as if whipped up by a gust of wind.
On the scroll, the three women twisted their heads, cold light gleaming in their eyes. They stared greedily at Evan Lin and Summer Mu, then began writhing as they crawled out of the painting.
"What the hell is that?!"
A gust of yin wind swept through. Summer Mu shivered from the chill and, turning to look, went pale with fright at the scene before him.
“This is the Soul-Sacrifice Beauty Scroll! Back then, I killed a hundred and eight virgins to forge this thing. Today, let me show you its true power!” The old man laughed madly, his hands moving as he painted spell runes in midair. Then he roared, “Between heaven and earth—spirits, monsters, ghosts, demons! Born of blood, nourished by souls! Go!”
As the old man's voice fell, the three women in the beauty scroll instantly grew excited, wailing as they rushed toward Evan Lin and Summer Mu at terrifying speed, the yin wind howling.
“Under the Soul-Sacrifice Beauty Scroll, even if you've reached the peak of inner strength, you're nothing! Once inside, you'll be sucked dry!” The old man's eyes burned with fanatic heat.
He laughed wildly as dozens of ghost faces emerged from the scroll beside the three female souls, baring their fangs and claws as they surged forward.
Evan Lin remained expressionless, raising his hand and tracing a talisman in mid-air.
His movements were calm and unhurried. Evan's fingers tapped the empty air, and suddenly, golden patterns flashed through the void.
The golden lines rippled outward like waves. At the same time, Evan slowly opened his mouth and uttered a single syllable: “Hum!”
That single word was crisp and simple, yet it rang out like a giant bell.
The old man's smile froze. His eyes widened in shock, and he involuntarily spat out a mouthful of blood, his body trembling violently in disbelief.
The ghost faces, touched by the golden ripples, melted away like ice meeting blazing fire.
The remaining ghost faces scattered in terror in all directions.
The rest of the ghost faces scattered in terror.
“Om!”
Evan uttered another syllable. The golden patterns before him converged into a spinning swastika. With a push of his hand, the symbol advanced slowly toward the old man, heavy as Mount Tai. Wherever it passed, the floor cracked and the house shook as if in an earthquake.
The swastika hovered in mid-air, rotating clockwise and radiating golden light. The three female spirits had already fled back into the scroll, trembling, their ghost faces pale with fear.
“Who the hell are you!” the old man roared as he saw the swastika fly forth, his face twisted in shock. He tried to run, but after only a few steps, it was as if he’d slammed into an invisible wall and was bounced back.
The swastika’s golden glow intensified as it advanced, moving slowly but with crushing weight.
“Refining people into tools, practicing crooked arts—this Swastika True Mantra is just perfect for you,” Evan sneered.
The Buddhist True Mantra he used was unlike other techniques; its power lay in cultivation of the mind. The swastika formula was useless against ordinary people, but devastating to those who practiced impure arts or to yin spirits and evil ghosts.
Pushed forward by Evan, the swastika grew ever brighter, golden light flashing.
“Spare me! I’ll reward you handsomely! What do you say?” the old man begged, his eyes filled with terror. His Daoist arts were all crooked, good only for manipulating ghosts and spirits, but up against Evan, he’d hit an iron wall.
The old man tried to run, but the space around him was completely locked by the swastika—there was nowhere to escape.
Evan didn’t even bother to look. The swastika suddenly sped up, crashing into the old man's chest with a thunderous boom.
The old man's face froze. Golden flames erupted from within his body, and in the blink of an eye, he was reduced to a pile of ash.
“Holy crap!” Summer Jay, unable to stand steady, collapsed to the floor, drenched in cold sweat, still in shock from what he'd just witnessed.
Evan casually picked up a steel pen from the table and flicked it. The tip instantly pierced Summer Jay’s carotid artery, nailing him to the floor.
“This painting is the key to your father’s illness.”
Evan turned to the beauty scroll, his gaze cold and clear.
Inside the painting, the three women’s faces were filled with terror. One timidly poked her head out of the scroll: “Master! Spare us! We were forced into this!”
“That’s right! That damned Daoist sealed us in here, never to escape. If we disobeyed, he threatened to burn us to ash!”
The women in the scroll sobbed, their faces full of misery.
“From now on, you’ll be my servants. In exchange, I’ll spare you this once.” Evan’s tone was calm. The three women exchanged glances and nodded.
“Return the yang energy you drained from that man.”
Evan led the three female spirits to Summer Mu’s father’s room. None dared hesitate. One by one, they poked their heads out of the scroll and breathed out streams of pale golden qi, which was absorbed through his mouth.
His previously emaciated body visibly filled out, finally returning to its original healthy form.
“Dad!”
Seeing this, Summer Mu’s face lit up and he rushed forward.
“Let him sleep a bit. By tomorrow morning, he should be fine.”
Evan stopped Summer Mu and said quietly, “Also, I’ll be taking this painting.”
“Okay! Thank you!” Summer Mu took a deep breath, his gaze toward Evan Lin now firmer and more sincere. “From now on, if you ever need anything and I can help, just say the word!”
“I’ll head out first. Oh, and one more thing.”
Evan glanced at the three female spirits huddled together in the beauty scroll and said coolly, “The corpse in the hallway—go eat it. Make sure you clean up.”
At Evan’s words, the three female spirits cheered and flew out, circling Summer Jay’s body. In moments, they had devoured it completely, leaving not a trace behind.