Chapter 42: Sealing Demons and Extinguishing Monsters, Scaring Away the Celestial Beings

The wind blew outside the window, with fallen leaves hitting the glass one by one, like a tired hand plucking dry strings of a lute—producing sound, yet more oppressive than silence. (Gu Long)
……
As dusk fell, the brightest star appeared high in the sky. It was the brightest, but also the loneliest and most desolate, for its brightness doomed it to solitude.
Liu Yi drank from Uncle Jiǔ’s wine and said, “It’s getting dark now. Those monsters should be coming out.”
Uncle Jiǔ nodded. “Yes, they should be. But they can’t enter the town for now. They’re probably causing trouble outside the formation…”
Liu Yi took a sip of wine, stood up, and said, “Let’s go check it out. If we succeed, we can restore peace to Sealing Demon Town tonight.” With that, he turned and headed outside.
Shui Er, A Jiu, and the others followed closely behind.
Uncle Jiǔ took a sip of wine and said, “This is just the beginning. What awaits you ahead isn’t just monsters…”
As Liu Yi and his group walked toward the outskirts of Sealing Demon Town, they heard shrill cries and smelled a foul stench even before reaching the town entrance. Liu Yi said, “It seems this ‘Demon Exclusion Formation’ really works. I wonder why that supreme deity didn’t subdue these monsters.”
Shui Er shook her head. “There’s no way to explain that.”
As they talked and walked, they soon reached the town entrance. At the sight before them, everyone’s expression froze… These monsters were truly disgusting. Their flesh was completely rotten, with maggots crawling on it, emitting a foul smell. The zombies were slightly better-looking, but their red eyes and long teeth made people feel disgusted and think of horror. The skeletons were amusing—just a few bones that kept jumping, possibly falling apart after a few jumps.
The five of them stood at the town entrance, watching these monsters. Yet these monsters couldn’t approach the town at all. They couldn’t move more than fifty meters away from it. Even if some tried to charge in, they were repelled by an invisible force.
Shui Er said, “If this formation were set around the monsters, it might be even more effective. I wonder why that sage placed it around the town.”
A Jiu stared at the monsters and cried, “It’s so disgusting! I can’t look anymore!” She quickly turned and buried her head in Shi Jieyi’s arms.
Shi Jieyi was stunned by this unexpected turn of events…
Liu Yi asked Shui Er, “Shui Er, can that ‘Qiankun Mirror’ subdue so many monsters?”
Shui Er nodded. “These monsters have no thinking ability at all. They’re just lifeless beings sustained by resentment left behind before death. As the resentment grows, so do they become more ferocious. The ‘Qiankun Mirror’ was created by my master using the purest and most yang elements in the world. He placed the concepts of heaven and earth within it, hence the name ‘Qiankun Mirror,’ which can absorb resentment from the netherworld.”
Liu Yi still had questions. “But the mirror is so small. Look… there are so many of them. How can it subdue them all?”

Shui Er took out a mirror and placed it on the ground, with its surface facing the monsters. She then took out eight small yellow flags and said, “Step back thirty feet.” Liu Yi and the others immediately stepped back. Shui Er glanced at the rising moon in the sky, spread her hands, and threw the eight small yellow flags outward. There was a small gap between each flag, forming a circle that surrounded the “Qiankun Mirror.” She stretched out her right index and middle fingers, holding a yellow talisman, and murmured something. Suddenly, the yellow talisman ignited with a whoosh, its yellow flames surrounding her two fingers. Gradually, the fire merged into her hand. She thrust her fingers forward, and a beam of yellow light shot toward one of the yellow flags. The flag emitted a strong yellow glow, and one by one, all eight flags began to glow. The light gradually rose higher and higher into the sky. Suddenly, the silver moon also emitted a beam of white light, which merged with the light from the eight flags. The light from the eight flags shot straight down and struck the yellow “Qiankun Mirror.” The mirror lit up violently, emitting light that shone upon the swarm of monsters… Strange things happened—as grayish-black auras were drawn into the mirror, the skeletons, zombies, and rotting corpses turned to dust at the slightest breeze and disappeared into the air. In just the time it took to drink a cup of tea, all the monsters had turned to dust and fallen at the entrance of Fengmo Town… Shui Er stretched out her hand, and as if by some force, the eight yellow flags returned to her hands. She knelt down, picked up the “Qiankun Mirror,” and saw it filled with wandering souls, which was quite terrifying. With a wave of her hand, the mirror returned to its normal state… Da Dao Wang, shaking his hedgehog-like head, ran over and said, “Amazing! I never thought Miss Shui Er had such skills.” Shui Er smiled and said, “Don’t overpraise me. These are also skills taught by my master.” Liu Yi waved his fan and said, “The person with the most power in Shenmen now is the elder Bo Cangqiong, who also has the highest martial skills. His top disciple shouldn’t be far behind, haha.” Shui Er placed the mirror on her body and said, “Enough, stop praising my master. While he does have some power, the one with the highest martial skills is the fourth elder, Yang Yunfeng.” Liu Yi asked, “By the way, are those monsters dead?” Shui Er shook her head and said, “I only destroyed their physical bodies. Their souls are still in the mirror. I didn’t expect the resentment here in Fengmo Town to be so strong—it must have persisted for thousands of years. Otherwise, the ‘Qiankun Mirror’ wouldn’t be unable to control it.” Liu Yi asked again, “What should we do then?” Shui Er shook her head and said, “I don’t know either. If this continues, I think… the ‘Qiankun Mirror’ can only temporarily suppress the resentment. But one day, it will surely burst out again.”

Liu Yi grew anxious, pacing back and forth. “What should we do? Even the ‘Qiankun Mirror’ of the Divine Gate can’t eliminate them. If these vengeful spirits really break free, they’ll be far more terrifying than the original monsters.”

Shui Er suddenly smiled and said, “I have an idea. If I’m not mistaken, Uncle Jiu must have something to tell us. I always feel he’s not an ordinary person.”

Liu Yi was puzzled. Wasn’t Uncle Jiu just an old man who liked drinking? What could he possibly have to say? But since Shui Er said so, maybe Uncle Jiu really did have something to say…

Shui Er said, “Let’s go find Uncle Jiu.” With that, she headed inside, and Liu Yi and the others hurried after her, unsure of what she had in mind.

The group quickly returned to Uncle Jiu’s door. The broken chair was still there, and the wine jars scattered on the ground hadn’t changed either. But strangely, after searching his entire house—and even all the nearby houses—they still couldn’t find him.

Shui Er exclaimed anxiously, “What’s going on? Where is Uncle Jiu?”

Liu Yi tried to calm her down. “Don’t worry. We’ll definitely find him.”

Shui Er replied, “How can I not worry? These vengeful spirits might bring even greater disasters. Even if we take them back to our master, he won’t be able to eliminate them—they’re too many.”

Suddenly, Shi Jieyi ran over and said, “Boss, look… a letter from Liu Yi himself.” Indeed, on the bed in the house, they found a letter.

Liu Yi quickly opened it and read:

“When you read this letter, Uncle Jiu will have already left for some reason. As for you, you must continue on your journey. I’ve only served as a guide to help you. From here on, it depends on you to move forward. Perhaps—we might meet again someday. That little girl, Shui Er, has bright and beautiful eyes. Hehe, I think she can eliminate those monsters, but she can’t get rid of the vengeful spirits born from their resentment. Uncle Jiu gives you his final answer: Head north from here. Thousands of miles away, in the Shu region, there’s a mountain called Emei. Within that mountain is another mountain called Leshan, which is part of the human world and the home of Buddhism. There, you can ask the monks to exorcise these vengeful spirits. Uncle Jiu is tired too and needs to rest. We may meet again if it’s fate.”

Liu Yi put the letter down and said, “You’ve all heard it.”

He looked at the group, then at A Jiu, and said, “Alright, A Jiu, go back to the palace with Shi Jieyi first. I, Da Dao Wang, and Shui Er will go to the Buddhist temple.”

A Jiu quickly shook his head. “No, I haven’t had enough fun yet. I want to go to the Buddhist temple too.”

Liu Yi said firmly, “No. If you had any sense of responsibility, you’d think about my family. Why are you so willful? Do you bear the lives of my entire family on your shoulders? Don’t you have a heart?”

A Jiu replied anxiously, “That’s not me…”

Liu Yi interrupted him, “If you consider me a friend and my family as human beings, then please go back to the palace.”

Angrily, A Jiu stamped his foot and said, “Hmph! You dead thing! Can’t I leave?” With that, he turned and walked into the darkness. At the moment he turned, Shui Er saw a single tear fall from his eye.

Liu Yi sighed and said, “Shi Yi, you must protect A Jiu well. You have to take her back to the palace. The lives of my entire family depend on you—make sure she doesn’t run around recklessly.”
Shi Jie nodded. “I’m off then, boss. Take care of yourself. I’ll take her back and then head to the Buddhist sect to meet up with you.”
Liu Yi nodded in return.
Shi Jie turned and rushed in the direction A Jiu was going…
Shui Er watched the two leave, wondering, “Is this also love? Selfish love… purely selfish, not even caring for their own family.”
Liu Yi turned and said, “We’ll spend the night here with Uncle Wine tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll head to Shu.”
Da Dao Wang picked up a jar of wine and took a sip. “Who exactly is this Uncle Wine? He seems even more powerful than Shui Er.”
Shui Er also picked up a small jar of wine. “If I’m not mistaken, he’s probably someone from the divine race who ran away. I guess he’s back in slumber now.”
Liu Yi grabbed a large jar of wine as well. “Who cares? Once we finish this task, everything will be fine. Come on, let’s drink heartily first.”
With that, he began drinking heavily.
Shui Er smiled and said, “Since Uncle Wine said this is your beginning, there must be some sign. So, don’t hold too many hopes. Remember, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.”
The three of them chatted among themselves, holding their wine, drinking heartily under the moonlight in the thatched cottage. Perhaps in ten years, this would become an unforgettable memory…