I never expected to encounter an emperor who met a tragic end in the tomb of a Ming Dynasty vassal king.
Even more unexpectedly, the "Supreme Soul - Returning Spell" was on a dead soul!
Facing Zhu Youjian, surrounded by boundless hatred, Si Jiangchen showed no sign of fear. He didn't even change his sitting posture. Instead, he calmly handed the lighter to me. Then, with his hand forming the sword - finger gesture, he drew an extremely complex spell symbol in the air. With a gentle wave, it hit the hideous ghost.
"Zhi!"
Unexpectedly, the hanged emperor was not afraid at all. Although the spell made black gas burst out from him, he still lunged towards us.
"The essence of the sun, the divine might hidden in the heart, capture the ghosts, and hide in human form..."
Si Jiangchen's fingers dexterously formed several hand - seals. "A single talisman, no trace of demons. Dare to disobey, and the heavenly troops will descend. Command!"
His voice was extremely low and fast. In an instant, he completed the incantation.
In the darkness, countless voices suddenly rang out. The flickering candle flames gave off countless pale - golden particles, which, in my eyes, transformed into numerous golden - armored celestial gods. They used ropes and fetters to restrain Zhu Youjian's swelling soul.
Countless golden ropes dug into Zhu Youjian's soul like a fishing net. Just like a hot iron chain touching cold and hard ice, there was a continuous "hissing" sound. Only then did Zhu Youjian seem to suffer extreme pain. He opened his mouth wide and let out a silent scream!
"I thought you weren't even afraid of the Hex - Exorcising Talisman of the Six Ding and Six Jia Gods!"
Si Jiangchen then stood up, still firmly holding my hand. He coldly stared at Zhu Youjian, who was surrounded by the twelve gods of the years. "A ghost left over from three hundred years ago, too afraid to face his ancestors! He can only lament and complain in this tiny place. Even if someone used the Supreme Soul - Returning Spell to restrain his soul, he is still a useless person, wasting such a powerful spell!"
As Si Jiangchen spoke, he stretched out his right hand and pressed it towards Zhu Youjian's forehead. His slightly squinted eyes were filled with chilling killing intent. "Why don't you give us the spell, and then just vanish into thin air!"
"Heheh..."
The moment Si Jiangchen's finger touched Zhu Youjian, Zhu Youjian's face immediately changed from a hideous ghostly visage back to his original delicate appearance. "Do you want to take my spell? Will you use it... or will she?"
His eyes were still blood - red, but his expression was extremely miserable.
"What?!"
Si Jiangchen was slightly stunned.
Zhu Youjian, tied up by the ropes of the Six Ding and Six Jia Gods, no longer looked as huge and terrifying as before. He was forced to kneel on the ground by those golden divine beings, and looking up, he said, "There is only one talisman on me. If you become human, then she..."
Zhu Youjian glanced at me with his blood - filled eyes and shook his head. "Will never be saved!"
"You're talking nonsense!"
Although I had just started learning Taoism from Granny Bai, I knew that talismans were created by connecting a person's divine consciousness with the celestial gods in the sky, and then injecting a trace of their spiritual consciousness into the drawn symbols representing their power.
There could be countless talismans. Whether they were effective or how much power they had only depended on the ability of the Taoist practitioner.
The Supreme Soul - Returning Talisman, just from its name, was just a talisman. Even if it was extremely powerful, as long as one knew how to draw it and which gods to invoke, how could it be impossible to draw?
Si Jiangchen tightened his grip on my hand.
"Humph! I know you still want to linger on in this world, so you come up with such a stupid excuse?"
Si Jiangchen coldly curled his lips. "Sure enough, you're a useless and cowardly emperor who lost his kingdom. It's your own fault that your country was taken away!"
"An emperor who lost his kingdom, yes!! I couldn't even protect my own wife and children. I really have no face to stay in this world!"
Zhu Youjian's hands were tied. His face was filled with grief, but there were no tears in his eyes. "However, I dare not go to the underworld, nor can I vanish into nothingness."
He stared at Si Jiangchen. "Because my soul is protected by the Supreme Soul - Returning Spell, and the core of that spell is my daughter!! In order to let me live on in this world, she sacrificed her own life to become my protective spell... So! There is only one copy of the Supreme Soul - Returning Spell on me!!"
"You two..." He looked at Si Jiangchen and me and grinned. "One can become a god, and the other... will become a ghost!!"
It turned out that he had already seen that Si Jiangchen's and my bodies had been eroded by the zombie's toxin. So... there was actually a look of schadenfreude on his face.
...
The commotion Si Jiangchen and I made on one side of the coffin bed was very small. Chen Jiu and the other two were still rummaging through the priceless treasures.
Chen Jiu's backpack was already stuffed to the brim, but he still ransacked the rare treasures like a scavenger.
Lu Dayong was only interested in finding the pages of scriptures. When he saw that Si Jiangchen and I had both stood up, and the candle on the ground had flared up a few times, he immediately came over and asked, "General Si, Madam, what's wrong?!"
As an ordinary person, he naturally couldn't see Zhu Youjian in white with blood - red eyes.
"We've already found the Supreme Soul - Returning Spell."
Si Jiangchen said indifferently, "You can stop now."
"Ah!! That's great!!"
Lu Dayong's joy was very obvious. He had taken Chen Jiu's money and was specifically responsible for dealing with the mechanisms in the ancient tomb.
He didn't know the value of the treasures in the tomb, nor did he have the connections to sell these things. So, he only wanted ready money! Silver dollars or gold bars would do. As long as he could buy food with them in the world and support his family, that would be enough.
He didn't want to risk his life!
"Go. Return the way we came!"
Although Si Jiangchen was speaking, his eyes were still fixed on Zhu Youjian. "... You'll also come with us!"
As he spoke, Si Jiangchen flicked his right hand, and a small moon - white porcelain bottle appeared between his two fingers. "By imperial order! Capture the soul!"
As his low four - character command left his mouth, a wisp of Zhu Youjian's white shadow suddenly turned into a puff of white smoke and was sucked into the porcelain bottle.
"Let's go!"
Si Jiangchen pressed his thumb down, re - pasted the yellow seal on the mouth of the small porcelain bottle, and put it into his pocket.
Still holding my hand, he followed Lu Dayong towards the storage room we had come from.
Behind us, Chen Jiu and his assistant followed out reluctantly. They had only obtained less than one percent of the rare treasures in the stone niches... I could already hear Chen Jiu's low - voiced complaints.
"General Si... You've found what you were looking for. Can you let us stay and take a bit more?"
Chen Jiu looked back, and his greedy eyes couldn't be hidden even in the deep darkness!
"Isn't the gold bar I gave you enough for you to live on?"
Si Jiangchen didn't even look back as he led me forward quickly.
"Who would dislike having too much money?!"
Chen Jiu laughed.
Si Jiangchen just let out a cold "humph" without saying anything.
Chen Jiu immediately let out an excited cry and turned back into the tomb chamber.