As he stepped inside—no, as his soul form drifted in—Lin Yu felt like he had fallen into a vat of stinky salted fish that had been left to ferment for three hundred years.

That sickly sweet, fishy stench hit him head-on, so thick it almost made his wispy, insubstantial soul sneeze.

Lin Yu grumbled inwardly, “Holy crap! This smell is way too overpowering! It’s like a biochemical weapon!”

The inside of the temple was even more dilapidated than it looked from outside.

Cobwebs hung thick as quilts from the collapsed beams and corners, coated in dust and the corpses of unknown tiny insects.

The statue in the center had collapsed on one side, its clay face so eroded it was unrecognizable, leaving only one hollow eye staring toward the doorway with a mixture of pity and eerie menace.

That faint orange glow came from a broken lantern on the offering table before the statue.

The lantern’s paper shade was painted with a distorted image of a beautiful woman, whose smile seemed to shift between charming and sinister as the flame flickered.

The lamp oil was clearly no ordinary substance—it burned without smoke, producing only that cloying, fishy-sweet scent strong enough to drive a soul right out of its body.

And beside the lantern, something hovered.

It was a mass of pure, twisted darkness, like a lump of ink carelessly kneaded, vaguely suggesting a humanoid shape yet constantly writhing and changing form.

“Click… click-click…”

A grinding, teeth-gnashing sound emanated from the black mass, brimming with greed and hunger for flesh and blood.

Its “gaze” was fixed intently on the temple doorway, locked onto Su Ming’s body, which radiated tempting, vibrant yang energy.

Lin Yu thought, “Alright, case closed. Judging by the look, this is either a vengeful female ghost or some mountain spirit or wild monster. Taste is terrible, interior design gets a negative score, user experience zero! Let’s wrap this up quick—my soul is about to get marinated in this stench!”

Lin Yu silently hid in the shadow of a relatively intact pillar behind the door, disguising himself as an ordinary patch of darkness.

His plan was simple.

If the enemy doesn’t move, I don’t move.

If the enemy moves… well, I’ll see how my disciple reacts first!

Just then, the black mass seemed to lose patience.

It was no longer content with absorbing the stray wisps of life energy—it wanted a feast!

The black shadow suddenly shuddered, transforming into a sharp, black wind that silently slipped through the door crack, shooting straight for Su Ming’s face!

Its speed was terrifyingly fast!

Su Ming’s pupils contracted sharply. All he saw was a black mass rushing toward him. Instinct made him want to retreat, but his feet felt as if they were filled with lead, unable to move!

At this critical moment!

Lin Yu had no time to think, and no room to worry about maintaining his lofty demeanor.

If he didn’t act now, his freshly acquired retirement plan would be scrapped on the spot!

“Hum—!”

The ring on Su Ming’s finger suddenly erupted with a circle of deep, dark light!

Another phantom shadow charged toward Su Ming!

It was no longer the outline of an ethereal, immortal elder.

Instead, it was a much more solid soul form!

Across the surface of this soul form, countless intricate, ancient sealing patterns, like thorns, appeared. Between these patterns, six eerie crimson lines flowed slowly as if alive, emitting a heart-palpitating aura of fierce, baleful energy!

At this moment, Lin Yu didn’t resemble a celestial being at all—he looked more like an ultimate demonic fiend that had crawled out from the deepest depths of hell!

“Master?!”

Su Ming saw the suddenly appearing, oppressive, terrifying soul form and cried out in shock.

The black shadow’s “click-click” laughter cut off abruptly, replaced by a piercing shriek!

It felt a fear rooted in the very hierarchy of life!

This thing that had suddenly appeared before it was a terrifying existence it could not comprehend at all!

It wanted to retreat!

But Lin Yu had already pounced!

No flashy spells, no intricate techniques—only the most primitive, most savage tearing!

Lin Yu’s soul form collided with the black shadow in an instant!

“Riiip—!”

It sounded like two pieces of ragged cloth tearing at each other.

The black shadow shrieked, countless streams of frigid energy transforming into sharp claws that raked viciously across Lin Yu’s soul form.

An excruciating, soul-rending pain instantly flooded Lin Yu’s consciousness!

Lin Yu thought inwardly, “It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts! Damn it! This hurts worse than having my soul scorched by the sun! This bastard has armor-piercing effects!”

At the same time, Su Ming, who was already horrified to the extreme, shuddered violently.

An equally soul-tearing pain exploded without warning from his chest. He let out a scream, his knees buckling, and he fell heavily to the ground.

“Argh!”

“Master…” Su Ming curled up on the ground, body convulsing. He felt as if his soul were being pulled apart by countless hands, about to be torn to shreds at any moment.

He finally understood viscerally what his master meant by “extremely perilous”!

Lin Yu’s situation was even worse.

After all, he was just a wisp of a remnant soul, while the other was an old ghost with deep cultivation and abundant yin energy.

After a few exchanges, Lin Yu’s soul form was torn so badly it flickered unsteadily, on the verge of dispersing.

Seeing this, the black shadow let out a triumphant shriek, its attacks growing even more frenzied!

Lin Yu grumbled inwardly, “No good! Can’t hold on! Five hundred years of cultivation about to be destroyed! I can’t die! My retirement life! My lazy, carefree existence! I haven’t even seen my disciple provide for me in my old age yet!”

At this life-or-death moment, an instinct from the deepest part of his soul was completely awakened by this agony and despair!

It was a feeling… of hunger!

A ravenous hunger for the frigid energy before him!

This thing, though toxic, seemed… edible?

And highly nourishing at that!

Let’s gamble!

“Come to me, you bastard!”

Lin Yu let out a beast-like roar in his heart.

His soul form no longer maintained a human shape. It abruptly contracted, then erupted violently!

A dark vortex appeared out of thin air!

The vortex’s center was an abyss-like darkness, while its edges swirled with those six ominous crimson lines. The sealing thorns flickered faintly, emitting a terrifying suction force that seemed capable of devouring everything!

The black shadow, which had been swaggering triumphantly, suddenly froze.

It felt that irresistible pulling force, as if its entire soul form were about to be dragged in and crushed!

Fear drowned its greed.

It let out an extremely shrill scream, turning to flee back into the depths of the temple.

But it was too late!

The vortex’s suction force suddenly increased tenfold!

“No—!”

The black shadow only had time for one despairing howl before it was violently yanked back. Its massive soul form was stretched, twisted, and torn into the purest fragments of yin energy mid-air, then, like countless rivers flowing into the sea, completely devoured by the dark vortex!

The entire process lasted no more than a snap of the fingers.

“Burp…”

Lin Yu’s soul form regained its outline, only now it was several times more solid than before—even somewhat… bloated.

He let out a belch. A stream of refined yin energy rampaged through his soul form, making him feel dizzy and stuffed.

Lin Yu thought inwardly, “Oh boy… I overate… This feels like someone who’s starved for three days suddenly downing ten bowls of braised pork belly—so greasy it’s sickening… But damn, it feels good!”

As the black shadow was devoured, the eerie lantern inside the temple went “puff,” its flame extinguishing.

The chilling cold and mist that had enveloped the entire forest rapidly dissolved.

The wind began to blow again, and the chirping of insects in the woods resumed.

Above the sky, a few sparse, bright stars became clearly visible.

The dilapidated temple now looked like nothing more than an ordinary, run-down shrine, devoid of any eeriness.

Su Ming gasped for breath, his entire body drenched in cold sweat, collapsed on the ground unable to move. Zhao Rui had even fainted.

Still shaken, he looked at his finger.

The archaic ring rested there quietly, as if everything that had just happened was merely an illusion.

“Master…” He mustered all his strength to call out weakly in his heart, “Are… are you alright?”

The ring’s glow dimmed. Lin Yu’s aura became extremely faint and chaotic. He only managed to transmit one last message: “Disciple… leave quickly… this place is not safe to linger… your master needs to enter deep sleep… to digest…” before falling completely silent.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep