After a round of exchanges, Yan Shouyi gained a new understanding of the pallbearer's strength.
This fellow was an expert with the staff. As the saying goes, "Fists fear the young, staves fear the old wolf." In unarmed combat, brute strength can offer a significant advantage, but it's different when wielding a staff. Staff techniques in combat don't advocate for head-on brute force; instead, they emphasize skill, method, and the interplay of hardness and softness.
Despite the pallbearer's staff being incredibly sturdy, in his hands, it often danced like a swimming dragon.
Even the seasoned Zhang Shanli often found it difficult to discern the pallbearer's moves, narrowly escaping trouble several times.
Yan Shouyi, relying on his status as a Heavenly Fiend Corpse Puppet, whose physical capabilities far surpassed ordinary humans, could barely hold his ground against the pallbearer!
After probing each other, Zhang Shanli unleashed his true power.
He drew a talisman from his sleeve. This talisman was unlike normal ones; not only was it a rare golden talisman, but it was also longer than ordinary talismans, even exceeding the length of an arm.
As the talisman was drawn out, it automatically wrapped around Zhang Shanli's right arm, and the runes on it began to glow.
Zhang Shanli's expression was more serious than ever.
The pallbearer glanced at it and knew this move was not to be trifled with. Without a word, he struck Yan Shouyi back with his staff, turned, and fled!
"Stop him!" Zhang Shanli shouted.
Yan Shouyi didn't need Zhang Shanli's reminder; he knew he couldn't let the pallbearer escape. He glanced left and right and then punched a nearby tree with his bare hands.
With a loud crash, the tree Yan Shouyi punched showed no reaction. Instead, three large trees near the pallbearer snapped and pressed down on him! Da Feng Novel Network.
"Through-the-body strike? Penetrating force? Or triple penetrating force!"
The pallbearer sneered, "It seems San Long has taught you his skills too."
Yan Shouyi was surprised that the pallbearer knew his Uncle San Long.
Judging by his age, if he knew Uncle San Long, he might also know the Dog Daoist and the Wonderful Chan Monk.
It was even possible that the pallbearer before him was once a member of the Old Xuan Mountain Sect!
There was no time for Yan Shouyi to ponder further. The pallbearer swung his staff upwards, and the falling trees not only failed to pin him down but flew outwards in all directions!
Seeing the pallbearer about to escape and Zhang Shanli not yet ready, Yan Shouyi stopped holding back. He charged forward with his sword, engaging the pallbearer in close combat.
Yan Shouyi's attack unleashed sixty years of sword intent, startling the pallbearer. Immediately after, Yan Shouyi stomped his foot, using the Eight Gates and Six Unions to summon one hundred and eight layers of a compass, controlling the surrounding trees and vines.
The vines snaked upwards, entangling the pallbearer's legs and body, rendering him immobile for the moment!
"Shouyi, move aside!" Zhang Shanli suddenly called out.
Yan Shouyi knew Zhang Shanli was ready and quickly retreated to the side.
Zhang Shanli leaped forward, unleashing his right palm. A vortex formed around him, snapping branches from trees ten meters away!
"Heavenly Overturning Palm Seal!"
With a mighty roar, Zhang Shanli struck the pallbearer's chest directly with his palm!
The pallbearer felt a heavy blow, his body stiffening as if he had lost consciousness.
This Heavenly Overturning Palm Seal was also one of Longhu Mountain's ultimate techniques. It was said that this palm could strike down righteous gods and evil spirits alike, bestowed by the Jade Emperor. Even if outsiders learned the skill and stole the golden talisman, they couldn't use it unless they were from Longhu Mountain!
Yan Shouyi could tell that Zhang Shanli's palm strike had hit the pallbearer's soul, causing him to freeze.
"What are you waiting for, hurry!" Zhang Shanli urged.
Yan Shouyi snapped back to reality, quickly leaping up and placing his feet on the pallbearer's shoulders.
He sheathed his Soul Reaping Blade, formed seals with his hands, and chanted:
"Heaven and Earth open wide, four directions as robes.
Mysterious water purifies, banishing ill fortune."
Following this, he performed an action that somewhat confused Zhang Shanli.
After much preparation, Yan Shouyi quietly spat a mouthful of saliva onto the pallbearer's head.
"That's it?!" Zhang Shanli was somewhat exasperated, "I used a Heavenly Overturning Palm Seal talisman, and you spat on his head?"
If he had known this would happen, Zhang Shanli felt it would have been better for him to act himself.
However, Yan Shouyi's action was not ineffective.
As the pallbearer regained consciousness, his eyes turned blood red, and the pallbearer's staff in his hand seemed to burn him, causing him to drop it directly onto the ground.
"What's going on?" Zhang Shanli didn't understand what had happened.
Yan Shouyi, standing on the pallbearer's shoulders, explained loudly:
"The pallbearer and his staff have been in contact with coffins and corpses for too long. He should have been covered in Yin energy and the stench of corpses like a corpse herder. But the pallbearer used a secret method to seal all the malevolent power within the staff, while relying on the Yang fire on his shoulders and head to resist the staff's erosion. I just extinguished the Yang fire on his head, so naturally, he can't hold the staff anymore!"
The pallbearer suddenly grabbed Yan Shouyi's legs and struggled violently, trying to shake him off his shoulders.
However, Yan Shouyi held onto his jaw tightly, refusing to dismount.
He shouted, "As long as his shoulder fire is extinguished, the pallbearer will enter at least a three-day weak period. At that time, let alone fighting us, even walking will be a problem!"
Zhang Shanli understood then that Yan Shouyi's method was the correct approach. If they could subdue this pallbearer, as the Hall Master of Discipline, he had myriad ways to interrogate the pallbearer for information.
So, Zhang Shanli quickly stepped forward to help.
Since the Heavenly Overturning Palm Seal had worked before, Zhang Shanli didn't fuss too much. He drew out two more golden talismans and, while Yan Shouyi was restraining the pallbearer, used them again.
Two consecutive palm strikes landed on the pallbearer, causing him to twitch. Yan Shouyi seized the opportunity to flip to the ground and firmly patted the pallbearer's shoulders with both hands!
"Extinguish!" Yan Shouyi shouted.
As soon as his voice fell, the pallbearer seemed to have all his strength drained, collapsing powerlessly onto the ground.
Looking at him, he was no different from being crippled.
Yan Shouyi breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
Dealing with the pallbearer was like an ordinary person fighting a ferocious wild bull bare-handed.
With the slightest carelessness, one could be mangled into pieces.
The three points of Yang fire on the pallbearer were also incredibly potent.
If an ordinary person encountered a ghost leading them astray on a night road, they only needed to turn around three times. If a ghost extinguished their Yang fire, their soul would be snatched away.
But the pallbearer's Yang fire was so vigorous that any ghost that dared to provoke him would be incinerated into soul fragments.
Even though Yan Shouyi spat on the pallbearer's head, it was actually a technique he used after chanting a spell specifically to extinguish the Yang fire on the pallbearer's head.
All in all, Yan Shouyi was immensely relieved to have defeated this pallbearer.
It was also fortunate to have Zhang Shanli's assistance. If he had encountered the pallbearer alone, he would have needed luck even to escape, let alone defeat him.