Immortal of the Nine Realms-Chapter 843: The Return of the Soul

At the Wolong Sect, the Daoist priests of the Jing faction, led by Wang Fu, stood in the center of the courtyard in silence, their faces pale with fear. Surrounding them were the young, terrified disciples of the Wu faction, their expressions showing clear signs of panic.

The Wolong Sect, with over a hundred people, had gathered in the courtyard. All around them were soldiers from the Yue Empire, dressed in armor, each exuding an intimidating aura and considerable martial prowess.

Several hundred soldiers had completely surrounded the temple, cutting off any means of escape.

Wang Fu, summoning what little courage he had left, smiled ingratiatingly at a middle-aged man, who appeared to be a general.

"Great, sir," said Wang Fu, his voice trembling with uncertainty. "The Wolong Sect has always been peaceful and has never sought conflict. Now that the Hu Empire has fallen to the Yue Empire, we naturally recognize the Yue Empire as our ruler."

The middle-aged general was seated comfortably in a grand chair. This was the old master's favorite chair before he had passed away.

The general looked at Wang Fu with a calm, measured expression.

The general said coolly, "I've come here today because I heard that the former Crown Prince of the Hu Empire is hiding in your temple. It seems that your Wolong Sect also has some connection with the founding emperor of the Hu Empire. Is that true?"

Wang Fu's face fell, his heart filled with dread. He had never expected the Yue Empire to specifically target their sect over this matter.

Wang Fu hurriedly responded, "Lord, you must have been misinformed. While our temple did have a bit of connection with the founding emperor of the Hu empire, it was nothing but him visiting the sect once to pay his respects. The former Crown Prince is absolutely not hiding here. Please, General, investigate thoroughly!"

The middle-aged general smiled faintly. "Don't worry. I will definitely conduct a thorough investigation. I've already sent people to search every corner of this temple. As long as we don't find the prince hiding within your sect, no harm will befall you all."

"But if we do find him, it will mean that you have been harboring a traitor, and your sect will be deserving of punishment. If that happens, nothing will remain of the Wolong Sect."

The Daoist priests, never having faced such a situation, felt their hearts racing at the thought of their temple being utterly destroyed. Just imagining the scene of their sect reduced to ruins made their hearts pound uncontrollably.

Daoist Jingkong suddenly remembered that a child had been brought to the temple a few days ago, becoming a disciple of the Wu faction and joining as a nameless disciple.

Daoist Jingkong's face turned pale with shock.

He quickly scanned the crowd out of the corner of his eyes and noticed that the child was not among them, which brought him a sense of relief. He hoped the child had enough sense to run down the mountain, thus sparing himself and the temple from any danger.

At the same time, on the other side of the mountain, a group of people were watching the scene at Wolong Sect with grave expressions.

Young Master Zhao asked in a low voice, "Master Qing, if the Wolong Sect truly possesses some supernatural powers, these soldiers from the Yue Empire should not have a good end, but why is there no reaction?"

He hadn't been able to let go of the notion of obtaining the treasure the Hu Empire had hidden in the Wolong Sect. That was why he had been staying here for a while. Apart from the recent events, the only noteworthy occurrence at Wolong Sect was the death of the old blind Daoist priest.

Aside from that, everything had been calm until today, when soldiers of the Yue Empire appeared.

Master Qing's expression was grim. He said, "The general leading them is not to be underestimated. He is likely a Grandmaster, and I fear the experts in Wolong Sect... may not dare to reveal themselves."

Young Master Zhaoi's subordinates exchanged uneasy glances.

One of them whispered, "Young Master, should we leave the mountain for now? If these soldiers spot us, it will be difficult to explain why we're here. I heard they don't hesitate to kill. They might execute us without warning…."

Master Qing shook his head. "It's fine. They're here to find the former crown prince of the Hu Empire. We're far enough away that they won't notice us."

Young Master Zhao sighed lightly. "I hope that the former crown prince is hiding well and doesn't get found. If the treasure falls into the hands of the Yue Empire, we will have no chance to get our hands on it."

Young Master Zhao turned his attention back to the scene in the courtyard.

Meanwhile, the subordinates of the middle-aged general noticed something unusual.

A soldier reported, "General, there is a spirit hall here with a coffin inside. We feared there might be something amiss, so we haven't opened it yet,"

Wang Fu quickly responded, "General, that's just the coffin of our temple's blind old master who passed away. We've been too busy to bury him, but you're welcome to open it. There's nothing strange inside. It's just that the old man has been dead for a while, so it probably smells awful. When you open it, please be mindful of the stench, and cover your nose so it doesn't inconvenience you."

Wu Feng, the Daoist boy, looked nervous. He boldly said, "Master, there's nothing inside the coffin except the body of the solitary old Daoist. Please, don't disturb the deceased...."

Wang Fu snapped angrily, "When did it become your place to speak? If you want to die, don't drag us down with you!"

He stormed up to Wu Feng and slapped him hard, sending the boy crashing to the ground, unconscious.

Wang Fu plastered a fawning smile and looked at the middle-aged general. "My lord, would you like me to personally open the coffin for you?"

The middle-aged general glanced at Wu Feng with a smile that was not quite a smile. "Silly child. We have fought on the battlefield for many years. This talk of disturbing the dead means nothing to us. We do not believe in ghosts or gods; we only trust the blades in our hands."

The middle-aged general casually ordered his subordinates, "Bring the coffin over. Let Daoist Wang assist with opening it."

"Yes!"

A group of soldiers rushed toward the spirit hall. Soon after, they came out carrying a rather shabby-looking coffin. It hadn't been buried yet because the coffin had not been lacquered.

Wang Fu eagerly stepped forward to open the coffin, but the middle-aged general waved him off. His gaze shifted to a corner of the coffin, where there was a small footprint. A faint smile appeared on his face as he walked closer to the coffin.

The middle-aged general drew his sword and lightly tapped the coffin. "Daoist Wang, didn't you tell me that everyone from your sect was here? Is that really true? Should we count again?"

Inside the coffin, a small boy, tear-streaked and terrified, clutched his legs tightly. His head was buried between his knees. He trembled uncontrollably, huddled in a dark corner of the coffin.

Beside the boy, there lay a corpse.

A voice came from the corpse. "Youngster, if anyone dares to open this coffin, kill them."

"Do I even need you to say that?" another voice responded.

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Thud, thud, thud…

The knocking on the coffin grew louder and more frantic. The boy trembled even more, a look of despair spreading across his face.

Outside, the middle-aged general had already noticed the movements from within. A smile spread wider across his face as he tapped the coffin here and there, increasing the pressure with each strike.

Wang Fu, after counting the number of people again, suddenly froze in place, his face turning pale.

His reaction didn't escape the middle-aged general's eyes. He showed a smile that wasn't quite a smile, glancing at him. "What's the matter? Is there one less little disciple?"

Wang Fu suddenly knelt, crying and pleading with tears streaming down his face. "My lord, my lord, I am wrong! That little disciple was sent here by someone else, and they gave me some silver. I had no idea his identity was anything special!"

The Wolong Sect Daoists finally reacted, their faces showing terror.

That little disciple was the former crown prince of the Hu Empire?!

The middle-aged general sneered coldly, then swung his sword, striking the coffin with terrifying force.

The overwhelming energy shattered the coffin into pieces.

A corpse fell to the ground with a thud, and the little boy happened to land in the corpse's embrace.

The young boy, with great effort, suppressed his fear. He wiped his tears and looked at the middle-aged general. "I am the former prince of the Hu Empire. This matter has nothing to do with the Wolong Sect. If you must kill me, then do so. There is no need to implicate the innocent."

The Daoist disciples, including the boy named Wu Feng, were stunned. This junior brother really is the former prince of the Hu Empire?!

The middle-aged general let out a strange laugh. Just as he was about to speak, a cry of shock rang out.

"Why hasn't the old master's body decayed?"

Everyone turned to look at the corpse, their faces slowly filling with terror. How could a body that had been dead for so long still appear so lifelike?

The middle-aged general squinted, giving everyone a contemptuous glance. He chuckled lightly and said, "You Daoists are always playing with the supernatural. Undecayed body? Let me see if it's invulnerable to harm."

Raising his sword, he began walking toward the corpse.

However, just as he took a step, the corpse suddenly stood up straight in an eerie, stiff manner, moving in a way that sent a chill through everyone present. Even the middle-aged general instinctively halted in his tracks.

From a distant mountaintop, Young Master Zhao and the others watched this scene in shock, taking sharp breaths as looks of disbelief crossed their faces.

Fang Chen opened his murky eyes, gently patted the head of the terrified little boy beside him, and then stepped forward. His appearance instantly became several years younger. With another step, he grew even younger, looking as though he had shed years in moments.

This strange scene caused the middle-aged general to instinctively take several steps back.