I had embraced death.
Surveying the surrounding demonic specters and wraiths, they howled and lunged at me once more.
Biting down hard, I raised my twin swords and charged.
"All of you, die!"
I slew with savage fury.
These specters were numerous, and among them were beings of considerable strength.
They were endless, an unending slaughter.
My sole aim was to carve out a safe space, a place where I could use the release talisman.
I killed with wild abandon.
Augmented by the Yin-Yang energies, I managed to kill seven ghosts and repel three fiends in a short span.
Carving out a small safe zone for myself.
Seeing the opportunity ripen, I no longer hesitated.
I plunged both swords into the ground, swiftly retrieving the release talisman I had prepared.
Release talismans, categorized according to individual attributes, were divided into five elemental types.
Possessing three spiritual roots, I could use three different release talismans.
However, I chose the Metal elemental talisman.
In the five elements, Metal was the strongest for offense and slaughter.
Since I was facing death, I naturally chose the most powerful offensive option.
Even in death, I wanted to take more demonic fiends with me.
I quickly produced the release talisman, a piece of yellow paper, an inch longer and wider than ordinary talismans.
Upon it, I had drawn runes with my blood.
In the center, the core of the rune, were two characters.
Metal and Release.
I glanced at it, took a deep breath.
Clasping my hands together, I prepared to chant.
At this moment, my uncle and the others saw my actions, saw the release talisman in my hands.
They all shouted:
"Xiao Qin, don't do anything rash."
"Lao Qin, what the hell are you doing?"
"Qin Ze, don't be impulsive!"
"..."
They all wanted to stop me.
But surrounded by the hordes of corpses and ghosts, they were struggling to protect themselves and could not reach me to intervene.
I smiled, offering no reply.
My hand seals shifted rapidly, my lips moved in a swift incantation, and I chanted loudly:
"Patriarch above, sixty-seventh generation disciple, Yin Ze.
Now facing peril, I implore the Patriarch to descend his Dharma.
To bestow the Golden Release Talisman, invoking the divine might of the Great Dao to vanquish demons and slay devils.
To purify the heavens and earth."
Though my pace was rapid, by the time I reached this point, three specters had already lunged at me.
I could not break my hand seals, as the incantation was not yet complete.
Without the completion of the ritual, it was difficult to unleash the full power of my body and the boost from the talisman's magic.
I watched the approaching specters, and with a swift movement, delivered two kicks.
With two sharp cracks, two specters were sent tumbling.
Another specter tried to bite me, but a flying knee sent it soaring away.
The surrounding corpses drew even closer.
I had to hurry.
Meanwhile, my uncle and the others were in a complete panic:
"Qin Ze, Uncle orders you to abandon the ritual."
"Lao Qin, damn it, stop!"
"..."
I paid no heed to their voices.
My hands shifted, then clasped together.
I continued the incantation:
"Golden Release Talisman; hasten as the law commands..."
As soon as I uttered the character "敕" (chì), the talisman would become effective.
My uncle and the others wore expressions of grief, knowing they could no longer stop me.
Their hearts were filled with unbearable sorrow.
However, man proposes, heaven disposes.
Just as I was about to utter the final word and unleash the release talisman,
A figure suddenly burst forth from the horde of corpses.
I didn't even get a clear look.
The figure was already before me. I felt a surge of protective energy envelop me, and the figure flickered.
A sharp pain shot through my neck.
The final character, "敕," I could not utter; it was forcefully choked back.
Looking up,
I found my neck caught in a grip.
The one who had acted against me was the tall, alluring woman from before.
She stood before me, her hand clamped around my neck.
A powerful aura enveloped me.
Her face was serene, tinged with a coldness.
She looked at me with such indifference.
I held my hands tightly clasped, trying several times to utter the final character "敕."
But I failed each time.
The woman let out a cold snort, and with a tightening of her arm, she lifted me slowly by the neck.
This demonic woman was tall, her figure well-proportioned, nearly six feet three inches in height.
Lifting me, she seemed to do so effortlessly.
Simultaneously, she spoke in a chilling tone:
"Trying to use a release talisman? Not so easy!"
As she spoke, I felt a strange power emanating from her hand.
That power instantly permeated my entire body, making me feel as if I had been injected with anesthetic.
My limbs lost all strength.
My clasped hands, against my will, drooped downwards.
The release talisman in the middle drifted to the ground.
The moment it touched the ground, it erupted in black fire with a boom, turning to ash.
Gone, the release talisman was gone, and so was hope.
I stared in terror at this tall, demonic woman.
Her cultivation was so profound.
My struggles to break free were futile in her presence.
"Let him go!"
"Demon woman, release my brother!"
"..."
My uncle and Lao Mo, seeing me choked and lifted into the air, shouted their demands.
They tried to charge towards us.
But they simply couldn't break through due to the sheer number of specters.
Now, the demon-dao practitioners had also joined the fray with the appearance of the demonic woman.
All of us were being comprehensively suppressed.
The tall demonic woman gazed at me coldly, completely ignoring the shouts of my uncle and the others.
After a moment or two, she spoke with a hint of curiosity:
"Miaonanzi, is this what you called the human medicine?"