Coincidentally, the ceiling lamp suddenly flickered. Xu Ning only caught a glimpse of a deathly pale face.
"Ahhhh!"
Xu Ning let out a shrill scream. His bouncing potential was fully unleashed at this moment. He leaped into the air, but then lost his balance and tumbled forward.
A cool breeze blew against his face. Xu Ning closed his eyes in despair.
He could already envision how unseemly he would be on the trending search list after his death.
[Shocking! The first Taoist priest scared to death by a ghost in a metaphysics competition!]
At the critical moment, someone grabbed firmly onto the collar of Xu Ning's clothes and gently placed him back on the ground.
Xu Ning looked up blankly and saw Yu Nian, who looked a bit helpless.
Yu Nian's skin was already very fair. Under the intense white incandescent light, she looked completely devoid of warmth.
Remembering his embarrassing behavior just now, Xu Ning scratched his nose awkwardly.
Although he had witnessed Yu Nian's strength before, in terms of age, he was, after all, Yu Nian's senior. It was really embarrassing for him to make a fool of himself in front of a junior.
"Why... why did you stand behind me without a sound?"
Yu Nian raised an eyebrow: "I didn't expect you to jump so high just because of a living person like me."
Xu Ning:......
"Where are the others?"
Yu Nian looked at the other rooms with tightly shut doors and said calmly, "The illusion will disperse and restrict the contestants to a certain area. For example, we are trapped in the corridor. The others should be trapped in different rooms."
Xu Ning was shocked and quickly rushed to the room, but he didn't hear anything.
Yu Nian said calmly, "Let's get them out of the rooms first."
As she spoke, she dipped her finger in cinnabar and began to draw something on the door.
Yu Nian drew very quickly. Xu Ning had never seen such a talisman before, so he scratched his head and asked, "What kind of talisman is this?"
Yu Nian didn't even lift her eyelids: "It's self - created, a simplified version of the door - breaking talisman."
Xu Ning: ???
He was speechless at this moment.
It was fine that Yu Nian didn't use a brush to draw the talisman. But she even created her own talisman paper??
If this scene were seen by those old scholars in the metaphysics world, they would surely scold Yu Nian for being arrogant and overconfident!
Drawing talismans was an extremely profound knowledge. Every stroke's position and the strength at the turning points were all carefully calculated. How could one tamper with it casually like Yu Nian? One slightest mistake could lead to a backlash!
As for those who could create their own talisman papers and incantations, they were all top - level celestial masters. Even the old Master Fu of the current Taoist Alliance wouldn't dare to attempt it lightly!
Xu Ning didn't want to meddle in other people's business, but thinking that Yu Nian had once saved him from a female ghost, he let out a deep sigh.
Xu Ning took out a brush and yellow paper from his bag and corrected Yu Nian, "Your talisman is drawn completely wrong! You missed several strokes. The talisman won't work at all!"
Yu Nian remained silent and continued drawing the talisman as if she hadn't heard him.
Xu Ning felt a headache coming on. He said again, "Let me draw it. Although your ranking is higher than mine, I'm your senior in terms of drawing talismans. You can just watch and learn. No one will laugh at you!"
This time, Yu Nian responded. She gave Xu Ning a subtle look and actually took a step back, giving the position for drawing the talisman to Xu Ning.
Xu Ning lay prone on the table beside him, gathering all his spiritual power to his fingertips and drawing the talisman steadily.
Since there was a junior like Yu Nian watching, Xu Ning unconsciously put on an air and was extremely focused. He spent the time it took to burn an incense stick to draw a talisman intently.
"Look, this is how you should draw a talisman. Pour all your spiritual power into your fingertips..."
"Do you see the gap between you and me? Don't worry. With more practice, you can reach my level."
.........
Yu Nian looked at the talisman paper and nodded slowly.
Xu Ning did draw the talisman very well. His strokes were smooth and full of spiritual energy. He must have put in a lot of hard work to reach this level.
But Xu Ning overlooked a crucial problem. In a real fight, no evil spirit would give a Taoist priest so much time to draw a talisman.
After Xu Ning finished his explanation, he wiped the sweat off his forehead.
He carefully pasted the talisman paper on the door and silently recited a few incantations.
The talisman paper suddenly emitted a faint glimmer of spiritual light. Xu Ning was overjoyed and quickly grabbed the doorknob, trying to push the door open.
Unexpectedly, the door didn't budge at all, and the light on the talisman paper faded visibly.
Xu Ning's face immediately turned ugly.
"How is this possible?! My talisman has never failed before!"
He grabbed the doorknob again stubbornly and turned it hard. But then a cold and stinky breath blew past his ear.
A shrill and high - pitched female voice in the cool breeze drilled into Xu Ning's ears all at once.
"Do you want to go with me?"
Xu Ning's scalp went numb instantly. He suddenly let go of the doorknob and looked at Yu Nian in horror, "Did you hear anything?"
Yu Nian shook her head expressionlessly.
Xu Ning looked around suspiciously. After making sure there was nothing around, a look of confusion appeared on his face. Did he hear it wrong?
He grabbed the doorknob again. This time, he was determined to open the door to maintain his dignity in front of the junior!
With a soft click, the doorknob was turned down. That cold voice appeared again! And it was closer to Xu Ning, as if someone was whispering sweet nothings in his ear.
"Giggle, giggle. Let's go play together."
Xu Ning: Play what... play with death?
He immediately let go of the doorknob, and the voice disappeared again.
Xu Ning was on the verge of tears. He felt like he was going crazy.
He couldn't figure out why only he could hear that voice??
Yu Nian stood beside him and said calmly, "Do you want to try again?"
Xu Ning swallowed hard. He silently reminded himself that this was a live broadcast. Third time's the charm. The honor of his entire sect was at stake...
Xu Ning was nervous, but Xu Yufang outside the venue was even more nervous. Her back unconsciously stiffened, and she held her breath for her eldest disciple.
Xu Ning grabbed the doorknob again and pushed the door with all his might.
With a creak, the door opened.
Moreover, a strong gale swept through the corridor, suddenly blowing the old wooden door out. The floor shook slightly, and Xu Ning could hardly stand still.
Only then did Xu Yufang on the judge's seat relax. She responded to the praises of the other judges with a relieved expression.
The corridor was silent for two seconds. Then Xu Ning suddenly let out an exclamation, "I actually opened the door!!"
Xu Ning looked at his hands in disbelief, feeling a moment of daze.
Xu Ning wondered if it was just his imagination. When he was controlling the talisman paper just now, he seemed to feel a powerful and gentle divine sense attached to his hand, guiding him to complete everything like controlling a puppet...
As soon as this thought came up, Xu Ning shook his head with a wry smile.
He must have been carried away by joy. Not everyone could control others with divine sense. It required hundreds of years of spiritual soul cultivation!
Moreover, there were only him and Yu Nian in this corridor. It couldn't be Yu Nian who was controlling him...
Xu Ning was stunned for a moment and unconsciously looked at Yu Nian. She still looked as cold and aloof as ever, with her head down, her fingers idly touching the cinnabar. She looked extremely leisurely.
Xu Ning let out a sigh of relief and happily walked into the room.