Chapter Fifty: The Ashes of the Incense from the Sacrificial Rites

“Scatter!”
The Elder of Bone Burial lightly flicked his sleeve, attempting to disperse the ashes from the ceremonial incense.

Unfortunately, under the spiritual aura wielded by Xiang Yunqian, the ashes spread in the air like snowflakes drifting down, most swept away by the fierce wind. Yet a few specks clung to the Elder’s body.

“Heh heh heh, this is hilarious!”
“Ashes sticking to me, and nothing happens! You cultivators from Profound Azure Palace must be out of your minds!”
“Trying to use these ashes to affect me—better off simply uttering a few sharp words.”

The Elder of Bone Burial watched as the ashes clung to him, but nothing happened, prompting a mocking smile to appear on his face.

“Die, all of you!”

After his ridicule, he subconsciously began to channel his spiritual awareness, summoning ghosts and wraiths to utterly crush the spirits of Xiang Yunqian and the others.

Yet just as he activated his spiritual awareness, a faint glimmer of spiritual light flickered through the incense ashes.

Ah! Ah! Ah!

In the instant the light appeared, the Elder erupted in a blood-curdling scream. His entire body seemed to ignite, sparks bursting forth, until he was engulfed in roaring flames.

The wandering wraiths and ghosts nearby, as if encountering a treasure of purest yang, shrieked sharply under the blaze and swiftly dissipated.

“Damn it, what is this thing!”
“How did these flames suddenly appear to burn my spiritual awareness!”

The Elder’s face twisted in horror; he never imagined that these seemingly insignificant ashes could have such a shocking effect. No matter how he manipulated his spiritual energy, he couldn’t extinguish the flames. And whenever he tried to use his spiritual awareness, it was like pouring oil on the fire, making it blaze ever fiercer.

As time passed, the flames on the Elder’s body grew stronger, his spiritual awareness like a stream suffering the relentless heat, his expression contorted in agony as he rolled on the ground.

“The incense bestowed by the Exiled Immortal of the Ancient Heavenly Way possesses miraculous power to drive out evil spirits...”
“When it encounters evil, it naturally triggers purification...”
“Though the ashes are far weaker, they are still treasures granted by the Exiled Immortal; subduing a wicked cultivator is effortless...”

Watching the Elder writhing on the ground, Xiang Yunqian breathed a sigh of relief.

Her expectations had been correct.
This villain who seized the body of a Profound Azure Palace cultivator was indeed a practitioner of dark arts.
His methods inclined toward the sinister, easily provoking the purification of the ceremonial incense.

Seeing the ashes stick to the Elder but seemingly have no effect, in truth, Xiang Yunqian’s heart had leapt into her throat.
It wasn’t that the ashes lacked efficacy, but rather, they were like unkindled firewood, needing the Elder’s spiritual awareness to ignite them before they could burn fiercely.

“Ah! Put out these flames on me, quickly!”
“I’ll return the body of your sect’s cultivator to you!”
“Stop burning me!”

Consumed by the flames, the Elder howled in pain, pleading incessantly.

At this moment, terror filled his heart.
It terrified him that no matter what means he tried, he could not extinguish the flames consuming him.

One must remember—his cultivation in the past was unimaginably lofty.
He could wipe out a whole sect with a mere breath, but now, no spell or art could quench the fire in the slightest.

It was as if this truly were the fire of the Heavenly Way; for ordinary cultivators, especially those who practiced dark arts, once touched, death was inevitable.

The Elder’s pleas fell upon the ears of the Profound Azure Palace cultivators, provoking a chorus of scorn.

Recalling his earlier arrogance, his threat to annihilate them all, and now seeing his pitiful state, it seemed the wheel of fate had turned swiftly indeed.

“...”
“Damn wicked cultivator, only now do you beg for mercy—it’s far too late!”
“...”
“Indeed, daring to seize the body of one of our sect’s disciples—clearly courting death!”
“...”
“This wicked cultivator’s methods are formidable; sealed for so long yet surviving, and last time even eluding the detection of the Saintess and several elders—his true cultivation must be astonishingly high!”
“We must not let him off easily!”
“Or else he’ll be a calamity in the future!”
“...”
“Exactly, his methods are bizarre; in less than half a day, he reached Foundation Establishment by devouring beast spirits—his real cultivation must be very high, we cannot let him go!”
“...”

The cultivators of Profound Azure Palace were all roused, none having the intention to spare the Elder.

They saw him as a scourge, deserving immediate execution.

Xiang Yunqian stood aside, watching silently, equally without any intention of mercy.

She knew well the effect of the ceremonial incense:
It only drove out evil, purifying the dark spiritual awareness.
Therefore, it would not harm the burly man’s body.

In fact, as it burned away the Elder’s spiritual awareness, it might even awaken the original soul.

Of course, the likelihood was slim.

The most probable outcome was the man’s death, for having been possessed, his own soul was all but annihilated.

In such circumstances,
the hope for rebirth was exceedingly faint.

With this in mind, Xiang Yunqian’s gaze grew cold, her expression toward the Elder harsh and unforgiving.

It was all this old villain’s doing—
his sudden treachery cost the lives of Profound Azure Palace’s disciples.
This debt could not go unpaid.

As time passed,
about a quarter of an hour went by.

The Elder’s spiritual awareness seemed entirely burned away; he lay motionless, his spiritual energy rapidly dissipating, looking for all the world like a corpse.

“It’s over...”

Xiang Yunqian scrutinized him, sweeping her spiritual awareness over the Elder, confirming his soul had been utterly incinerated, and finally relaxed.

“Sadly, Chen Yan could not be saved...”
“Let’s take him back for burial...”

She waved her hand, signaling to the nearby cultivators to carry away the burly man’s body.

“Sigh...”

The others each let out a sigh, enveloping the body in their spiritual energy and turning back toward Profound Azure Palace.

Once the group departed,
in the original area,
a faint wisp of soul emerged from the earth.

It bore the likeness of the Elder of Bone Burial.

“Damn those Profound Azure Palace cultivators, who knows where they found such a treasure—they burned my soul to a single thread...”

The Elder’s last remnant of soul stared venomously in the direction Xiang Yunqian had gone.

But before he could even look again,
his soul began rapidly dissipating.

In a few breaths, it would vanish from the world.

“With only a sliver of soul left, I must find a vessel quickly!”

Sensing his dire state, the Elder hurriedly drifted about, spotting a tiny bamboo worm crawling along the ground and immediately attached himself to it.