Chapter 147: Chapter 146: Yunyang Calls for Backup

"Mage, spare us! Mage, spare us!"

Gazing at the young man before them bathed in a golden light, a man and a woman knelt on the ground, kowtowing and begging for their lives. He stood there, completely unfazed by their sword strikes, dagger thrusts, and assaults of Yin Qi.

Gu Zhao raised his hand, looking at the golden light enveloping his body. His mind felt unusually clear.

"The Golden Light Curse is truly worthy of being a Taoist Sect’s Divine Curse. It’s extraordinary," Gu Zhao remarked with a sigh. He glanced at Zhuo Qingyan and the Silk Embroideress, who were keeping their distance. "It’s just a bit too overwhelming for yin-aligned evils."

It was a good thing Zhuo Qingyan had absorbed some Incense and Candle Divine Power and Bai Ke had no Evil Qi. Otherwise, just getting close to him would have probably made them so uncomfortable they’d have to use their own power to resist.

As for the man and woman before him—one human, one ghost...

The man appeared refined and delicate, the woman gentle and beautiful. If it weren’t for the Evil Qi emanating from their Divine Souls, Gu Zhao would never have guessed they were demons who killed without batting an eye.

They would use the pretense of admiring the mountain scenery together to lure people deep into the woods, where they would torture and kill them.

"You two certainly have... unique hobbies," Gu Zhao said, looking them over. He then raised his right hand. "I’ll give you three breaths to escape. Three."

"Mage, spare—"

"Two."

The instant Gu Zhao spoke, the pair shot backward. The woman transformed into a wisp of green smoke that enveloped the man, increasing his speed threefold. He shot away like the wind, heading for the depths of the mountain forest.

"One."

Just as the man was about to vanish into the forest, Gu Zhao snapped the fingers of his raised right hand.

BOOM!

A bolt of blue lightning materialized out of thin air and crashed down from the sky. The man let out a bloodcurdling scream as the green smoke around him instantly dissipated. He collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

"Community Thunder Curse. Handy!" Gu Zhao exclaimed in admiration.

The Shenxiao Taiji Thunder Concealment Book also contained Five Thunders Techniques that could be cast individually. But unlike the Wind and Thunder Talismans and Fire Thunder Talismans from the Shenxiao Yushu Zhan Kan Five Thunder Technique, which each had different effects, the Thunder Concealment Book’s versions were the Celestial Thunder Curse and the Divine Thunder Curse. Both were attack-oriented Curse Techniques with added properties.

The Celestial Thunder Curse locked onto the Divine Soul, the Divine Thunder Curse carried fire damage, the Dragon Thunder Curse was piercingly sharp, the Water Thunder Curse was bone-chillingly cold, and the Community Thunder Curse carried the oppressive might of heaven and earth, like the crushing weight of the land itself.

While both types of techniques drew upon the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power to create thunder, the Curse Techniques consumed slightly more Magical Power but were comparatively faster and easier to cast.

Gu Zhao tried them out. ’They each have their own strengths,’ he thought. ’It’s really hard to choose!’

With this in mind, Gu Zhao stepped in a Gang Dou pattern, formed a Seal Technique with his hands, and recited a curse, "Flames blaze brightly, illuminating the somber depths. The Dipper’s gleam flashes golden, a gale sealing the nine voids. I command!"

The next moment, celestial fire rained down, igniting a raging inferno that burned the man he had just struck down to ashes. The flames then slowly died out without affecting the surrounding grass and trees.

The Southern Three Qi Curse: Yang Thunder Fire.

The Northern Five Qi Curse: Yin Thunder Generating Water.

These were also Thunder Techniques from the Thunder Concealment Book that he could cast. However, they used a Thunder Technique as a trigger to produce water and fire as the effect. Strictly speaking, they were actually a Fire Technique and a Water Technique.

Whether it was incineration or drowning, both were excellent methods for destroying a body and erasing all traces.

But Gu Zhao wasn’t interested in these two Curse Techniques. He was more drawn to an even more advanced Five Thunders Technique in the book: the Five Directions Yang Thunder Spell, also known as the Five Yang Thunders.

Its counterpart in the Five Thunder Cutting and Examination Technique was the Five Directions Barbaric Thunder Spell. They were similar, but not the same.

The Five Directions Yang Thunder Spell, aside from vanquishing foes and dispelling evil, could also be used to aid in cultivation, similar to the Golden Light Curse. The Five Directions Barbaric Thunder Spell, however, was purely for offense and slaughter, which was why its attack power was a good thirty percent higher than the Five Yang Thunders.

’As expected of the Five Thunder Cutting and Examination Technique!’

Sensing the Evil Qi being absorbed by the Five Thunders Order in his Sea of Consciousness, Gu Zhao dispelled the Golden Light Curse and turned to the two women. "I hope that didn’t spoil your mood for sightseeing."

Zhuo Qingyan shook her head calmly, while the Silk Embroideress made a fierce face in that direction. "That’s what you get for hurting people!"

Gu Zhao looked around. "But I have to admit, they picked a pretty nice spot."

This place was located somewhere between Xiuyue County and Chongguang County.

Just yesterday, while Gu Zhao and his group were in Xiuyue County searching for demons and evils and doing some sightseeing on the side, the Five Thunders Order received a message from Yunyang. He had encountered a demon with a considerable amount of Evil Qi hiding in a deep pool somewhere.

Yunyang had fought the demon and found they were more or less evenly matched. However, the demon possessed a Magical Treasure and would hide in the water to defend itself, making it impossible for Yunyang to capture it. Knowing Gu Zhao was traveling through Xiuyue County, he had asked for help.

So, Gu Zhao had come. On the way, he ran into that man and woman. Since he had time to spare, he decided to play along with them. They were a little too eager, however, so Gu Zhao had no choice but to send them on their way ahead of schedule.

The group lost their interest in sightseeing. After a brief look around, they walked out of the forest, boarded the horse-drawn carriage waiting by the official road, and traveled straight to Chongguang County. Soon, they arrived and found Yunyang waiting at an inn in the county seat.

"You’re not up to snuff, are you?" Gu Zhao teased.

Yunyang replied helplessly, "He dives into the water at the drop of a hat, stirring up waves to block me. He also has a Magical Treasure that can gather water and give it form. I really couldn’t take him down."

Gu Zhao raised an eyebrow and looked at Zhuo Qingyan. "When it comes to playing with water, you’re the expert!"

Zhuo Qingyan was a hundred-year-old Fierce Ghost to begin with. Although she couldn’t practice Taoist Skills for the time being, she had gained a lot from listening to the old Daoists explain cultivation concepts. Recently, she had absorbed a great deal of the Power of Incense and Candlelight, further increasing her strength. In terms of pure Dao Practice, she was even superior to Yunyang.

Hearing Gu Zhao’s words, she nodded. "I’ll do my best to force him to the surface."

After all, her opponent was a water demon, so Zhuo Qingyan didn’t make any absolute promises.

Leaving Li Erping at the inn, the group set out again. They went out through Chongguang County’s East Gate and headed northeast, soon entering the mountains and following a path that wound into a secluded gorge.

"How did you find this place?" Gu Zhao couldn’t help but ask. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

This gorge was far from any villages or towns. Ordinary people would never come here. Even if there were sprites or monsters hiding in the wilderness, most wouldn’t have any Evil Qi, so they wouldn’t be their targets.

Yunyang answered, "The price of firewood in the county went up. I heard from a firewood merchant that several woodcutters had recently gone missing in the mountains, so I asked him about it and he told me about this place."

"Nice work!" Gu Zhao praised.

Yunyang pointed ahead. "This valley is quite deep. Around one more bend, there’s a cliff and a waterfall. The demon is hiding in the pool of water. The moment I got to the edge of the pool, it tried to drag me in."

Yunyang had just finished speaking and was about to say more when a loud noise suddenly echoed from up ahead. At the same time, a ripple of Magical Power spread out, intermingled with waves of dispersing Demon Power.

"Huh? Is there a fight going on?"

"Did someone beat us to it?"

The group exchanged glances and fell silent. They immediately picked up their pace, quickly rounded the final bend, and arrived at the deepest part of the gorge. They peeked out from behind an old tree to observe.

Before them, the gorge opened up into a sizable area. It was lush and green, surrounded by gentle slopes and sheer cliffs. At the very front was a cliff hundreds of feet high, with a waterfall cascading down in three tiers into the pool below.

And at that moment, a woman was floating in the pool, submerged to her waist, in a standoff with two men on the shore.