He and It Chapter 209: Inquire Here (37)

Chapter 209: Inquire Here (37)

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: GaeaTiamat

 

When the Five Thunders Exorcism was unleashed, the little ghosts scattered on the street immediately ceased their laughter and chaos. Hundreds of ghostly infants cried in unison, and desperately tore through the blood-colored veil to hide in the carriages. Their shrill cries were as piercing as the sound of a knife scraping on a porcelain plate, and caused ordinary people to bleed from their seven orifices. Even cultivators like Jin Cuixu were nearly overwhelmed, their protective energy almost shattered.

“Who dares obstruct the carriage? Do not harm my children!” 

It sounded like a thousand men shouted in unison. The Nine Sons Mother, who had been obscured behind layers of gauze, emitted a roar as mighty and deep as a mountain avalanche.

The sound of tearing gauze was incessant, and in an instant, a gigantic, blood-red, oozing tentacle, like a mass of coagulated blood, emanating a stench that reached the sky, emerged and swung towards Liu Fuguang. The tentacle’s size was so enormous it nearly blocked out the sun. If it were to land, the entire street would be obliterated. Up close, Liu Fuguang could see the swollen suction cups on it wriggled like living creatures.

At that moment, he was barehanded, and his robes flapped wildly in the rancid wind. Compared to that massive blood-red tentacle, he seemed no more significant than an ant under someone’s hand. Jin Cuixu’s heart nearly leapt out of her throat. In a moment of desperation, she drew a Seven Star Pine Pattern Sword from her back, and shouted to Liu Fuguang, “Fuguang! Catch this!”

The wooden sword whistled through the air before being caught by the young man in white who spun around. Despite the perilous situation, Liu Fuguang managed to take a moment and back at her in astonishment, a warm smile on his lips.

“Thank you.” He mouthed to Jin Cuixu.

Then he turned around, took a step sideways, and drew the long sword!

Like a meteor soaring in the sky, the surrounding lights flickered violently, then with a muffled sound, they extinguished with a nearly horizontal haze of blue smoke. The area fell into utter darkness, as if it was the dawn before creation.

At that moment, the world fell silent. A single dazzling beam of snow-white light, like a divine artist’s stroke, cut through the blood-red tentacle. Time seemed to stop, and the ghost mother’s enraged attack also appeared to be suspended.

Liu Fuguang sheathed his sword with a crisp “click.” 

— The golden-white light was blindingly intense, as it erupted with a thunderous roar! The Nine Sons Mother screamed in agony. Along the line of white light drawn by the sword, the gigantic tentacle was severed at the root. Before the broken parts could hit the ground, they burned and evaporated in the fiery light, then disappeared completely. It left only the severed cross-section that writhed in immense pain, and exposed its blood-red interior.

The long street lit up again as if it were daytime. With a “poof,” the lights reignited within a hundred-mile radius as if the earlier extinguishing had been nothing more than a mirage born of sleepless nights.

Jin Cuixu was completely insensible, thoroughly numbed.

She knew that in Taoist magic, there was a class of spells that sounded mysterious but were actually of little practical use, commonly referred to as “borrowing light.” What was borrowing light? It meant that when cultivators fought demons and accumulated merit, they often encountered troublesome local bullies. At such times, it was said that humans, in their mundane world, had their seven orifices nurturing the celestial light. Naturally, among all things in the world, human vitality is the most potent. As long as cultivators could borrow the human energy from the mortal realm, even the most formidable demon race could be easily handled.

The saying was more pleasant than the actual situation. In the mortal realm, who would recognize you as a significant figure? The vitality of the mundane world couldn’t be fully utilized by those who didn’t understand it. Thus, while everyone acknowledged the theory of borrowing light, no one had ever successfully applied it.

Jin Cuixu, having just witnessed the legendary power of borrowing light firsthand, was beyond impressed.

“Truly amazing…” Jin Cuixu murmured.

While she was still marveling and shaking her head in awe, on the other side, because Liu Fuguang had previously instructed that the anchor point involved oppressive evil deeds and was likely hiding significant secrets, Yan Huan could only watch from the sidelines and wasn’t allowed to intervene unless there was a crisis. The Evil One, when he saw the power of that sword strike and Liu Fuguang’s straight-backed figure like a bamboo stalk, was almost intoxicated. Poisonous saliva dripped from his fangs, longed to transform into a pool of spring water and quietly flow off the roof.

Deep down, he even harbored a profound envy towards the ghost mother.

How wonderful it would have been if I had received that sword strike! Yan Huan thought regretfully. If I had received that sword, I would certainly…

When he imagined his lover’s resolute expression, his face as cold as jade, the fierce anger in his eyes, the sword’s edge tracing his neck, the tip trembling and bringing him sweet pain…Excitement coursed down his spine in waves. The Dragon God nearly transformed into his original form as he churned and boiled with excitement, unable to fully release the passionate heat inside even if he crushed the building he was in into dust. ¹

While he was lost in a romantic frenzy and his surging desires, the Nine Sons Mother was in excruciating pain; almost to the point of death. The ghost mother tore at her heart and screamed, “Meddling stinky Taoist! I will kill you!”

In an instant, the layers of blood-red gauze contracted and collapsed inward, then violently expanded and exploded into millions of sticky blood flowers. Each blood flower that splattered onto the ground, walls and eaves reformed into a small, sharp-toothed evil ghost. The ghost mother’s hatred and malevolence was fully unleashed, her overwhelming resentment nearly materialized, like a tidal wave ready to destroy the capital of the mortal realm.

The three adjacent streets were shattered by the ghost mother’s sound waves, with houses crumbled and blue stone streets turned to powder. The surging sea of ghosts was enough to consume an entire nation, but Liu Fuguang didn’t retreat. Instead, he stepped forward.

“Save the people first!” he shouted. Then he called out, “Summon immediately! Release the Yang Sound!”

The long-awaited thunder punishment finally had its moment. The purple and blue giant lighting transformed into a swift dragon. It wielded the force of thunder, and leapt toward Liu Fuguang’s location. Before the lightning arrived, the air was already filled with crackling electric sparks that made it almost impossible to move, causing hair to stand on end.

Amidst all that, the little blood-red ghosts surged forward like a series of exploding firecrackers, and emitted shrill cries. However, just as the thunderstorm was about to strike, it took a sudden sharp turn in mid-air, hesitating as if caught in a dilemma.

The Nine Sons Mother, though an exceedingly vile demon, was insignificant compared to an even larger and deeper core of sinful karma within the range of the heavenly thunder. Before it, all the significant evils of the mortal realm seemed as clear and tasteless as plain water.

— It was truly beyond description and unforgivable!

Jin Cuixu gasped in shock, and Liu Fuguang instinctively turned his head to see that the heavenly thunder, which had curved in the air, was no longer targeting the ghost mother. Instead, it was heading straight for Yan Huan!

The thunderbolt was crushing and destructive, with deafening roars and dense smoke that rolled with explosive fire that created a burning city-like scene in an instant. When he saw the ferocity of the thunder, Yan Huan clicked his tongue but didn’t transform into his true form. Instead, he faced the lightning-element dragon in human form, and engaged in over a hundred clashes with it.

“Little bastard, still trying to defy authority?” he asked nonchalantly, while many of his dark tendrils were scorched by the electricity. Yan Huan remained indifferent, as if merely scratched.

The thunder was attacking in the form of a dragon, and as a descendant of the ancient wild dragons, calling him a little bastard was a matter of fact.

Liu Fuguang, “…”

Liu Fuguang, who was rarely angered, was now genuinely agitated. He quickly shouted, “Wrong target! Not him, wrong target!”

Was he defending himself?

Hearing his lover’s urgent shout, Yan Huan was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter. He felt extraordinarily happy, so happy it nearly lifted him off the ground. Even this once-despised heavenly emissary seemed quite agreeable now.

Liu Fuguang didn’t understand what had suddenly gotten into him. The next moment, the thunder collided heavily with Yan Huan. The thunder was filled with blind false eyes that lacked pupils. A flash of divine light suddenly passed through them.

“…Evil One, I have been watching you.” The thunder-shaped dragon actually spoke in a dragon’s roar, producing the action of communication. “Your thread of fate with the supreme goodness has long been severed. Why do you persist in entangling him? What is your true intention?”

Yan Huan’s laughter abruptly stopped.

Staring at the hint of celestial will, his entire face twisted into a ferocious sneer. The nine eyeballs on his face nearly burst with rage, and almost spewed out venomous fire!

Had that been said by Liu Fuguang, it would have immediately sapped all his strength, and left him to curl up and cry in agony. However, if said by any being other than Liu Fuguang, it was akin to pulling on the dragon’s reverse scale.

No one could touch the Dragon God’s reverse scale and survive unscathed, even if the opponent was the supreme heavens.

He roared in anguish, “Do you want to die?”

Whether ordinary people or high-level cultivators, they could not understand the meaning of the long dragon’s roar from the heavenly thunder. Perhaps only those who comprehended the true principles of heaven might, but it was no longer important. Liu Fuguang, hearing the question firsthand, felt uneasy, and watched as Yan Huan suddenly exploded in rage. He knew that if he went berserk, not just one, but even ten bolts of thunder would be dispersed by him.

Had he summoned that thunder for nothing?

In a moment of desperation, Liu Fuguang disregarded the Nine Sons Mother behind him and leaped into the fray, and aimed to intercept Yan Huan’s attack which focused on shredding the thunder dragon into thousands of pieces. Yan Huan was on the verge of losing his sanity, but his instincts remained. Startled, he dispersed his countless tendrils and hastily transformed his attack from a slashing motion into an embrace, as he pulled Liu Fuguang into his arms. With Liu Fuguang’s back to the thunderstorm, the heavenly Dao, wary of collateral damage, ceased its lightning attacks.

“Stop everything! No more fighting!” Liu Fuguang took the initiative to command and reprimand. He pointed at the ghost mother and said to the thunder, “I invoked the Five Thunder Rites to deal with the Nine Sons Mother who pretends to be a righteous deity. Why are you disregarding your orders?”

The thunder dragon, which had been flying in the air, fell silent. After a pause, it turned its body and charged at the Nine Sons Mother.

Seeing it turn, Yan Huan immediately prepared to strike from behind to give the Dao a little surprise, but Liu Fuguang quickly spotted that and held him back.

“You calm down too,” Liu Fuguang said, as he tried to handle the ghost mother and the thunder, while also controlling Yan Huan. He was overwhelmed. “Do you want more injuries on top of what you already have?”

Yan Huan gritted his teeth and said, “It was it who…”

Liu Fuguang shot him a stern look. Yan Huan shut his mouth, and turned his head to catch his breath, as he struggled to swallow his anger.

From the perspective of a true bystander, Jin Cuixu, had rescued the civilians, and now hid among the ruins like a little mouse as she peeked out, and was almost pulling out sunflower seeds and peanuts to snack on.

It was dazzling, truly spectacular…

After it was reprimanded, the thunder indeed fulfilled its mission. The Nine Sons Mother realized the situation was dire and intended to flee, but was swiftly caught by the thunder dragon. The dragon, clearing the countless blood demons and various ghost servants along the way, burned everything to the rubble. The once-magnificent and mysterious carriage was reduced to a pile of broken ruins, and crashed heavily to the ground and stirred up a dust storm.

As the thunderstorm completed its task, it crackled and dissipated, then the thunderclouds in the sky cleared to reveal a pristine night sky.

Liu Fuguang released Yan Huan’s wrist, sheathed his pine wood sword, and walked slowly toward the still-smoldering remnants of the carriage.

He moved through the lethal lightning flames as if he were wading through shallow water. As he reached the carriage’s remains, Liu Fuguang used the sword sheath to sweep away the quickly evaporating blood gauze. What he saw inside made his eyes widen in disbelief.

— There was no grotesque, bloated ghost mother, nor was there a robust “goddess” in labor. Instead, there was a frail, pitiful little ghost spirit.

The spirit retained the appearance it had in death. A large portion of its scalp smashed; its long hair wet, bloodied, and tangled with water plants and gravel. The hair obscured its face, which forced Liu Fuguang’s attention to its abdomen.

The abdomen resembled a deflated balloon or a tattered sack, and showed clear signs of a recent pregnancy. However, a massive gaping wound bled profusely, with the severed tentacles of an octopus lodged inside, its body stained a rotting black-red.

Liu Fuguang’s eyelashes fluttered as he processed the unexpected reality of the “Nine Sons Mother.” 

Should he continue?

While Liu Fuguang hesitated, he noticed something move behind the ghost mother. He focused his attention and saw a snow-white, perfectly clean baby, completely devoid of any ghostly aura!

He was startled as the baby struggled to crawl onto the ghost mother. It spread its tiny limbs like a dependent young creature, and clung tightly to its mother.

“Mama, Mama…” The baby, with its round, dark eyes, cried while it lay on the ghost mother’s chest. “Don’t kill Mama, don’t…”

Liu Fuguang suddenly froze.

At that moment, eight more identical babies emerged from behind the ghost mother, as they fearfully clung to their mother’s body parts, their cries stifled and intermittent.

They…should be referred to as “she,” as all of them were female infants.

Liu Fuguang stared in stunned silence, and lowered his hand.

He wanted to say something, but he was overwhelmed by a multitude of emotions, unable to find the words for his profound sadness.

While he was lost in thought, the rubble behind him shifted slightly. Yan Huan, with a cold sneer, instantly severed a blood-red tentacle that was trying a sneak attack. Liu Fuguang was startled and was quickly pulled several meters back by Yan Huan.

It seemed the ghost mother was determined to kill anyone who approached her daughters, regardless of the odds.

“Your husband is dead, but mine isn’t,” Yan Huan said coldly. “Do you want to be slaughtered too?”