Chapter 256: Chapter 251: Reversing Yin and Yang, a Bizarre and Ingenious Move
Song Ciwan waited silently, her breath fading until it was all but gone.
She didn’t just become a shadow in the corner of the courtyard; she became a mote of dust within that shadow, and the void beneath that dust.
The night was a boundless darkness. The waning moon, once high in the sky, had vanished behind a swathe of clouds. A wind swept through, cloaking the entire city in a vast, profound silence.
The Xin Family’s small courtyard in Erhu Lane.
Xin Mian’s residence was nestled at the very end of the lane.
As Song Ciwan concealed herself, the entire courtyard seemed to become lost in the interplay of light and shadow, a place where time itself ceased to flow.
From the distance came the sound of a Night Watchman striking his clapper.
"CLACK! CLACK! CLACK!"
"The air is dry, watch for fire and candle—"
"Midnight, third watch. People are settled, time to rest—"
The Night Watchman’s voice drifted, seeming both near and far. In the next instant, a faint, slender beam of light shot past him, and his call cut off abruptly.
Without any warning, the Night Watchman crumpled to the ground, dead.
Lv Yun, gliding past, murmured, "So noisy."
In the darkness, a Maid in purple robes chided in a low voice, "Why make things complicated, Lv Yun? Don’t forget our purpose for this trip. If you jeopardize the mission, how will you answer to Sister Qing Feng!"
Lv Yun scoffed. "I’m not a fool. Of course I understand. Zi Shan, don’t think you can lecture me just because I messed up the other day! When it comes to combat, you’ve never been able to beat me!"
As her voice faded, Lv Yun drifted past.
Her speed was incredible, as if she had transcended the bonds of gravity itself. In a flash, she left her two companions far behind.
A moment later, Lv Yun reached the end of the lane. She put away a Compass-like object and tossed a small, white jade-like bowl into the air. The Little Bowl Like White Jade grew with the wind, instantly becoming a massive, transparent dome that enveloped the courtyard.
This Magical Artifact was designed to block all sound and auras. It also served to trap whatever was inside.
Lv Yun’s group had located Xin Mian’s residence through a combination of sensing and Divination. They needed to retrieve the treasure, but they couldn’t risk letting any commotion spread.
The Second Young Master’s status was special, and no one in a small place like Pinglan City would dare disrespect him. However, Du Xingheng had recently arrived in town. The man was a lunatic. Lv Yun worried that if a true treasure was here, the commotion might attract Du Xingheng, which would be disastrous.
Lv Yun strode forward. With a flicker of her form, the courtyard gate swung open before her as if pushed by an unseen force.
Inside, the courtyard was utterly silent.
Lv Yun took the Compass from her Storage Pouch once more. She cradled it in her palm, but the needle just spun in a chaotic blur, as if it had gone haywire.
’I knew it!’ Lv Yun realized. ’The ultimate treasure Bai Qiu sensed must be in this courtyard! We must be so close that the Compass can’t handle it.’
Lv Yun scanned the area. She didn’t even need her eyes; by listening, sensing the air, and using her Spiritual Sense, she could confirm the courtyard was empty.
’But... is the courtyard really empty?’
’Would an unoccupied courtyard be this spotless, without a single speck of dust?’
Lv Yun sneered. "You filth hiding in the house, you’ve hidden yourself well. A pity. You can lie to yourself, but you can’t escape my sight."
She bellowed, "Come out! No more hiding! I know where you are. Show yourself now, and I might spare your life! Otherwise..."
Before the words were even out of her mouth, she gave a light stomp. Instantly, the earth and stone throughout the courtyard began to churn.
The ground surged as if it were liquid, RUMBLE-RUMBLE, rolling in wave after wave. The soil and stone burst upward, the courtyard’s foundation shuddered, and tiles rained down from the roof. It looked as though Lv Yun’s single strike was about to demolish the entire complex.
It was a simple, brutal, and efficient method—more effective than any search could ever be.
Just as the walls were about to collapse, in that critical instant, a soft white light materialized from nowhere. It moved like a shooting star chasing the moon, landing on Lv Yun in a single, fleeting moment.
The white light was so fast that even with Lv Yun’s level of Cultivation, she had no time to dodge.
She was startled, but not afraid. After her last humiliation at the hands of Du Xingheng, the Second Young Master had punished her, but he had also gifted her a Top Grade Magical Artifact for her protection.
’With this artifact, I’m of course... Of course, what good is a Top Grade Magical Artifact, anyway?’
With a soft *POOF*, a wisp of light smoke drifted up from Lv Yun’s body before she could even react.
When the smoke cleared, Lv Yun’s clothes, hairpins, and Magical Artifacts all dropped to the ground. From the center of the heap of clothing, with a *BUZZ*, a tiny, panicked insect wriggled out!
This tiny insect was, of course, the transformed Lv Yun. She could never have imagined that her Protective Magical Artifact would fail so completely. The bizarre Attack hadn’t physically harmed her; instead, it had turned her into a bug.
Lv Yun was shocked, furious, and terrified. She wanted to roar, to scream.
But she couldn’t make a sound. All she could do was flap her wings frantically, hoping to escape her strange predicament.
But at this point, how could she possibly escape?
A hand emerged from the darkness. With a deceptively light pinch, it closed around the insect that was Lv Yun.
Lv Yun only sensed a colossal shadow falling over her before she was crushed within an unyielding darkness.
She continued to scream silently, to struggle, her fury and terror a silent, maddened roar... but as before, it was all for naught.
Overwhelming despair enveloped her, leaving her utterly unable to break free.
In the courtyard, Song Ciwan held the insect that was Lv Yun in her palm, but she didn’t kill it right away.
After all, the Heaven and Earth Scale had materialized beside Song Ciwan. From the moment Lv Yun transformed, the essence it collected had not stopped flowing.
Human Desires: The shock, fury, and hatred of a Quasi-Deification Stage Cultivator. One jin and two taels. Exchangeable.
Human Desires: The hatred, fury, and fear of a Quasi-Deification Stage Cultivator. One jin and five taels. Exchangeable.
Human Desires: The hatred, fury, and terror of a Quasi-Deification Stage Cultivator. Two jin and one tael. Exchangeable.
Human Desires: The hatred, fury, and panic of a Quasi-Deification Stage Cultivator. Two jin and nine taels. Exchangeable.
...
The essence Lv Yun gave off billowed, and her panic grew in tandem.
She couldn’t fathom who—or what bizarre technique—had turned her into an insect. In the space of a few short breaths, her mind was a tempest, a roiling sea of hatred and shock.
Of course, Lv Yun couldn’t have known that Song Ciwan possessed a Marvel called the Yin Yang Inversion Mirror.
A single flash from this mirror could invert any living thing.
But the Yin Yang Inversion Mirror was not invincible. It came with many restrictions.
The Marvel could only be used three times in total, and the changes it wrought were influenced by the respective Cultivation levels of both caster and target.
Lv Yun’s Cultivation was higher than Song Ciwan’s. Logically, Song Ciwan shouldn’t be able to hold her for long!
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