Atavismo

Capítulo 28

"She's no longer human. Get out of my way and let me finish her off with one sword. Keeping her alive is just asking for trouble."

Gu Feng roared, "No, Grandpa, she is Shi Xin!"

Zhao Longteng remained expressionless: "I know, but she's been possessed by a vengeful ghost and has completely lost her humanity. You should stay away from her; if you get bitten, there's no cure."

"No, I know you want to lure me away and then hurt her, right? I'd rather die than let you do that," Gu Feng said resolutely.

The old Taoist priest frowned, but when he saw Shi Xin's deathly pale face gradually recovering behind his grandson, his desire to exorcise the demon surged.

Knowing it was impossible to persuade his grandfather to stop, Gu Feng picked up Shi Xin and tried to run away.

Why does the gate, which is only three or four meters away, seem so far away?

Gu Feng took three steps in despair, only to find his hand suddenly heavy as the old Taoist priest grabbed him.

A sudden, sharp pain shot through his left hand, making him shudder. Looking down, he saw that Shixin had bitten his wrist.

"Shixin, you didn't do it willingly, did you?"

Gu Feng could feel a slight tremor emanating from Shi Xin after he asked that question. Her expression remained calm, but Gu Feng seemed to see her bleeding heart...

Zhao Longteng roared, "You wretched demon, how dare you harm my grandson!" His golden sword pierced straight towards Shi Xin, who was still holding Gu Feng in his arms.

Shixin is still Shixin. She just couldn't control herself for a moment. I must save her and I can't let her get hurt again!

Thinking this to himself, but knowing that his grandfather's sword was absolutely unavoidable, Gu Feng took a deep breath and resolutely turned around. He was going to use his body to block this fatal sword strike for Shi Xin!

Zhao Longteng's speed in withdrawing his hand was undeniably fast, but he was still a step too slow. The sword had already pierced into Gu Feng's waist, more than an inch deep. If the Taoist hadn't withdrawn his hand in time, it would have pierced right through him.

Gu Feng groaned, but then he suddenly laughed. Two lines of clear tears streamed down Shi Xin's expressionless face...

Zhao Longteng and Sun He suddenly opened their mouths in surprise, not because of the old Taoist priest's mistake, nor because of Gu Feng's silly grin.

The blood gushing from Gu Feng's waist wound was completely absorbed by the Golden Dragon Demon-Slaying Sword and transformed into a vague, ethereal gaseous substance, which then flowed into Gu Feng's body...

Zhao Longteng stared in astonishment at this bizarre scene. He could hardly believe what he was seeing. If he wasn't mistaken, it was the "Dragon Yang Righteous Qi" recorded in the Taoist books. Why would Gu Feng's blood transform into Dragon Yang Righteous Qi?

The ancient style filled with that kind of atmosphere made him even more energetic, showing no signs of weakness despite his injury.

Sun He murmured, "My God, what did I just see?"

The ancient-style figure was surrounded by a layer of shimmering golden light? Just like the legendary Buddha's halo?

Possessed by a ghost

Gu Yuehan, May 9th, 13:42

()

Volume 2, Chapter 40: Demons and Monsters

Gu Feng felt Shi Xin's body convulsing and trembling. Looking into her eyes, he saw a strange light shining deep within them, as if she were very happy.

The old Taoist priest suddenly loosened his grip, and the Demon-Slaying Sword automatically slipped from Gu Feng's waist. Apart from a slight tear in his clothes, there wasn't a single scratch.

Gu Feng's body was once again filled with the righteous energy of Long Yang. If the vengeful ghost possessing Shi Xin lingered any longer, it would inevitably be destined to be annihilated.

So it thought of escaping...

After a violent tremor, a murky gas rose from every inch of Shixin's skin, rapidly dispersing and finally coalescing into a human-shaped black shadow in a place far from the ancient style.

Shi Xin's skin regained its original fair color, but her still pale face was filled with tears as she stared blankly at Gu Feng. After struggling, she finally regained control of her body and survived until now thanks to her survival instinct. Shi Xin looked at Gu Feng trustingly and then drifted off to sleep.

I'm so tired!

Gu Feng stroked her haggard face, then gently carried her to the bed beside him.

At the same time, the old Taoist priest understood what to do, and with a flash of light, he launched his Demon-Slaying Sword, cutting through the wind.

Sun He looked at the dark figure with a strange expression. Its features were gradually becoming more defined, though not very clear yet. But how could it look so much like Zhao Qiang?

No one could answer the question; only the old Taoist priest's loud shouts echoed in the room.

The dark shadow was ethereal and elusive, but under the slashing of the Demon-Slaying Sword, many gaps still appeared around it. When the ghost opened its mouth, it roared loudly. The old Taoist's expression changed, and he knew that something bad was about to happen.

Sure enough, the moment his thought crossed his mind, the entire room shook violently. With a deafening crash, all the doors and windows shattered, and the massive shockwave sent Sun Hezhen rolling three or four meters across the ground. He was in excruciating pain all over his body, but he was also cut in several places by shards of glass.

As the sudden change occurred, Gu Feng unhesitatingly shielded Shi Xin to his chest. The sounds of howling and wailing filled his ears. He felt waves of pain in his back, yet he never left Shi Xin's side.

Shixin was fast asleep, so much so that such a loud noise couldn't wake her. If he were awake, he would be surprised to find that the strange boy without a shadow was now standing in the middle of the room...

Zhao Longteng was completely unaffected by the turbulent ghost energy thanks to the golden light shield instantly generated by the Demon-Slaying Sword. When the dust settled, he saw a boy, a boy who looked kind and honest wearing black-rimmed glasses.

Sun He managed to move his head with great difficulty, letting out two soft groans before suddenly falling silent…

Why does this man look so familiar? Isn't he... isn't he... the person in the photo on the bulletin board?

A brilliant student died inexplicably in the toilet!?

...

The boy glanced around the room, then with a slight movement of his hand, the dark figure that resembled Zhao Qiang flashed before his eyes and slowly dissolved and disappeared.

The old Taoist priest stared intently at this scene. He understood that it wasn't that the shadowy figures had disappeared, but rather that they had merged. Ghosts could actually reach the level of merging with clones.

After the boy merged with the shadow, his glasses lit up for a moment, and then disappeared right before their eyes...?

Zhao Longteng cried out, "Oh no!"

He hastily drew his sword, pulled out a talisman from his chest, and used his blood to consecrate the weapon!

The Golden Dragon Sword, touched by the Taoist's blood, instantly shone with a golden light brighter than the setting sun, illuminating every corner of the room.

but……

Sun He felt something flowing down his back, but before he could even warn anyone, he realized he had vanished!

It was a very strange feeling; consciousness was still present, but there was no feeling at all. The "self" was suppressed in a hidden corner of the body.

He could sense the changes in the outside world, but he knew they weren't "seen." He only knew that there was a blurry image in his perception, a reality that he couldn't do anything about, just like watching a movie where you can't change the plot. Worse still, he realized that even this remaining sense of his was threatened by being replaced by something else. So he desperately guarded his only "territory," a feeling that couldn't be described in words.

The old Taoist priest noticed Sun He's unusual behavior, and his heart sank. He slowly stepped forward.

Sun He clearly saw two yellow talismans shooting towards him at a speed faster than the speed of light. Normally, he would have been hit squarely. He, who usually couldn't even pass the 100-meter dash, was surprised to find that "he" had "dodged" to the right like lightning? My God, how is this possible? Is this still my body?

The Taoist priest Huang Fu moved swiftly, faster than the wind, and kept calling out to "Sun He".

After dodging several talismans, "Sun He" suddenly planted his feet firmly and thrust out a palm with a bang. A howling ghostly aura erupted from his palm, and the talismans, meant to ward off evil, instantly burst into flames. Meanwhile, "Sun He's" true form lingered two meters away…

The old Taoist priest snorted, "Petty tricks!"

He then raised his sword with both hands, chanted an incantation, and a Tai Chi formation immediately condensed in front of him. As the incantation became more complex, it suddenly rushed down towards "Sun He" from all directions.

"Sun He" let out a ghostly scream and actually plunged his ten fingers into his own chest? With another even more shrill scream, ten streams of black blood gushed out from the wound, turning into mist upon contact with the formation and enveloping his true form.

The Tai Chi formation, though grand, could not gain any advantage in the face of this gloomy, ghostly mist. As its magical power waned, it gradually weakened.

Zhao Longteng shouted again, and just as the magic array was about to dissipate, he suddenly thrust his sword, intending to kill the ghost with one strike!

It felt like he'd been stabbed. The black mist dissipated, and lying sprawled on the ground was Sun He, bleeding softly and groaning weakly…

This is what ghosts are like. They are elusive and unpredictable. You may think they are here one moment, but they may be hundreds of meters away the next. You can't see through them or guess what they are. You can only wait for them to invade from an unknown place.

But who exactly is Zhao Longteng?

How could a mere ghost or demon possibly contend with the millennia-old Daoist arts of Zhenlongdao?

Zhao Longteng glanced expressionlessly at the struggling Sun He, then ruthlessly stabbed him in the chest again. He understood that all Sun He needed now was this final, liberating blow.

The room was filled with an eerie atmosphere once again, and the ghost had disappeared somewhere again.

Gu Feng stared blankly at Sun He lying on the ground and Shi Xin in his arms, a strange movement stirring within the warm aura emanating from her body…

Demons and monsters

Gu Yuehan, May 10, 13:28

()

Chapter 41 of Volume 2 of the main text: Zhengyangzi

Gu Feng suddenly stood up, his outstretched right hand flashing with a dazzling golden light, as if it were charged with electricity, standing out conspicuously in the dark room illuminated only by the faint light of the Yu Po Mo Sword.

The old Taoist priest looked at him strangely; he already had serious doubts about the "identity" of this grandson.

In a corner, a blurry black shadow appeared under the bright light. After struggling for a while, it finally revealed its true form.

The young man with glasses had his face contorted beyond recognition, exuding a sinister and eerie aura. He stared intently at Gu Feng for a few moments before finally shooting at him like an arrow released from a bow.

Gu Feng remained expressionless, but just as the ten fingers of that "thing" were about to pierce his chest, he swiftly made a hand gesture.

The spectacle and speed of a meteor piercing the night were nothing compared to this; the ghost was instantly pierced through the chest by the sharp, ancient-style hand.

His seemingly weightless body was pierced and torn to pieces, the wounds continuously oozing a malevolent black gas that still carried a faint stench. He truly had died in the toilet.

The old Taoist priest was stunned, his mouth agape, completely disregarding his composure. The move Gu Feng had just used wasn't some fleeting, lost technique from three hundred years ago.

"Yang Yi Divine Finger"?

Long ago, the ancestor Zhengyang created a hundred Taoist techniques to ward off evil spirits and subdue all demons. However, heaven was jealous of his genius. To subdue the monstrous ghosts that plagued the world, the ancestor was forced to retire to the Taoist ranks, and all those exquisite techniques turned to dust. Only the patriarch, Master Zhao Zun, with his fragmented memories, recorded some of the moves and their names. The move that Gu Feng is now using is precisely the one most meticulously recorded and said to be the most skillfully used by the ancestor Zhengyang... Yang Yi Divine Finger???

Connecting this to the strange events surrounding his grandson's involvement with the Demon-Slaying Sword and the refinement of blood and illusionary energy, Zhao Longteng made this assumption without hesitation... The reincarnation of Zhengyangzi!

If that's really the case, then wouldn't his grandson become the only savior in the impending calamity of the world? Is history about to repeat itself?

He looked at his expressionless grandson with a peculiar gaze, his face full of approval.

The ghost, supporting its wound, retreated several steps. Normally, it should have immediately become invisible. Judging from the current situation, it was probably because Gu Feng's radiant right hand had some special function that prevented it from hiding!

The ancient style of his tone had become very strange, not because it was devoid of any emotion, but because it felt fundamentally different, as if... it wasn't him speaking?

Shi Xin suddenly coughed twice, slowly rubbing his dizzy head to wake up. He shook his head three times before feeling a little more awake, and then quickly realized that the situation was unusual.

“Ancient style,” Shi Xin murmured.

Shi Xin was surprised that Gu Feng didn't react at all, just staring straight ahead, while something in front of him was blocked by him and she couldn't see it.

“Ancient style,” Shi Xin called out again.

There was still no response.

"Shh!" The Taoist priest beside her gestured for her to keep quiet.

Shi Xin was bewildered. Normally, even if something happened, Gu Feng would at least respond or turn around! And even with his back to her, she could feel a cold, oppressive atmosphere—the only feeling the cheerful Gu Feng had never given her before. It was strange. And what happened? Why was she sleeping here? She had just… been talking to that boy… Right, he didn't have a shadow. She thought she asked him some questions… Why did her head hurt so much? She couldn't remember anything. Her head hurt so much.

What exactly happened?

Suddenly, Gu Feng moved. He spread his hand, and a strange, almost imperceptible force pulled the Demon-Slaying Sword from the old Taoist's hand.