Yin Yang wanted to soothe the guandao, but the distance between them was too great; he could only vaguely sense its presence.
Left with no other choice, he accelerated his escape, trying to put as much distance as possible between them.
He only hoped that by the time the guandao caught up, he would have shaken off that powerful expert, giving him enough time to hide himself or the weapon.
After a quick assessment of his direction, Yin Yang sprinted toward Wangnian City.
As he ran, he couldn’t help but reflect that the Shadow Lotus Church did have some talent—perhaps not for success, but they certainly had a knack for ruining everything!
If they hadn't been stirring up trouble here, the great war would have already begun.
By now, he should have been on the front lines, performing surgeries on soldiers while simultaneously collecting heroic spirits.
‘If I get the chance in the future, I’ll have to have a proper chat with the Shadow Lotus Church.’
...
Wangnian City.
“This is my identification. I am...”
“Zheng Yang!”
Yin Yang was showing his ID to the soldiers at the gate, but before he could finish, Liu Hong rushed over and threw his arms around Yin Yang’s shoulders, wailing loudly.
“Waaaah! I knew luck was on your side, I knew you’d be fine!”
“Where is Mr. Yuan? How are they?”
“Say something! Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Yin Yang patted his arm. Seeing this, Liu Hong thought Yin Yang was comforting him and cried even harder.
The soldiers standing nearby couldn't bear to watch any longer. One of them pointed at Liu Hong’s arm.
“If you don’t let go, you’re going to choke him to death.”
“Huh?”
Liu Hong finally realized what he was doing. He let go and saw Yin Yang’s eyes rolling back in his head.
“Zheng Yang, Zheng Yang, are you okay?”
Yin Yang took a deep breath.
“I didn’t die at the hands of an evil god, but I almost bit it right here because of you.”
“My bad, my bad. How are Mr. Yuan and the others?”
“I don’t know. I left right after I sent you off.”
“But since we both made it back, Teacher is a Demigod, after all. He should be fine.”
“Right, right.”
Liu Hong nodded repeatedly, then turned to introduce Yin Yang to the soldiers.
“This is Mr. Yuan’s student—the kind that’s always by his side.”
Upon hearing this and performing a quick identity check, the soldiers allowed them into the city.
Wangnian City was a medium-sized city, neither too large nor too small.
By now, the vast majority of the civilians had been evacuated, leaving only a few elderly or impoverished residents who intended to live or die with the city.
Liu Hong led Yin Yang to their temporary base.
“I heard when I arrived that the main army is about to get here.”
“Some experts heard about the evil god incident and have already gone to provide support. So don’t worry too much; Mr. Yuan will definitely be fine.”
“Mm,” Yin Yang grunted in agreement.
Liu Hong patted his shoulder. “Zheng Yang, words can’t express my gratitude. You saved my life this time. If you ever need anything in the future, just let me know!”
Yin Yang smiled and waved it off.
“I didn’t really do much.”
“No, I know my own limits. If I had been the only one there, I’d definitely be a pile of meat paste by now.”
As he spoke, he handed two sheets of paper to Yin Yang.
“It was fairly safe when I came back, so I didn’t need these two one-time transcendent items. Here, take them back.”
Yin Yang didn't stand on ceremony. After stowing the items, he asked, “Are there any soldiers here who need medical attention?”
“I haven't asked yet. Since I escaped back here, I’ve just been waiting for you guys.”
After this ordeal, Liu Hong’s attitude toward Yin Yang had clearly changed.
Including this time, the two of them had shared two life-and-death experiences, which had significantly closed the distance between them.
“Zheng Yang, we’ve been through too much lately. You should get some rest before you think about going out to help people.”
“Fair enough. I’ll go for a walk.”
“I’ll go with you!”
“No need. You stay here and wait for Teacher and the others. If the reinforcements you mentioned have already gone, they should be back before long.”
“Are you sure you’ll be okay on your own?”
“What kind of question is that? I’m not an idiot; I’m not going to get lost.”
Liu Hong thought about it and realized he was right. If someone could think clearly while facing an evil god, what trouble could they possibly get into inside a city?
...
After parting ways with Liu Hong, Yin Yang walked down the street alone.
Because the civilians had been moved out, there were very few pedestrians. At a glance, almost all the shops along the street were closed.
Yin Yang silently activated his Perception, heading toward a less populated area.
He needed a quiet place to awaken his fifth partner!
While Mr. Yuan and the others were away, this was his best opportunity.
With the great war looming, every bit of extra strength counted.
Before long, Yin Yang found a warehouse.
The warehouse wasn't particularly large, and the lock hanging on the door was rusted, indicating it hadn't been used in a long time.
He circled the building and found a broken window.
The window was about four or five meters off the ground, making it inaccessible to an ordinary person.
Yin Yang checked his surroundings. Seeing no one nearby, a black hand emerged beneath his feet and hoisted him directly inside.
He landed gracefully and looked around. The interior of the warehouse was relatively empty, with only a small amount of junk piled in the corners.
Buzz!
Buzz!
The blade-wielding ghost, lantern-carrying ghost, Red-Haired Ghost, and headless ghost emerged one after another.
As soon as the lantern-carrying ghost appeared, it opened its umbrella, isolating all surrounding auras. Under Yin Yang’s direction, the blade-wielding ghost used its zhanmadao to carve a formation diagram into the concrete floor.
Its abilities were unique; it could leave an imprint on a steel plate, let alone mere concrete.
Yin Yang then took out several candles and placed them around the formation.
Once the diagram was complete, Yin Yang looked at the lantern-carrying ghost. Only after it nodded did he begin to infuse spirituality into the formation.
With the war imminent, there were many experts in Wangnian City. To avoid detection, he relied entirely on the lantern-carrying ghost’s umbrella for concealment.
If he were discovered summoning ghosts, even Mr. Yuan might not be able to protect him.
As spirituality flowed in, the formation began to glow bit by bit, and the surrounding candles ignited instantly.
“Awaken!”
Yin Yang’s voice was low.
Wisps of black-red mist began to rise from the formation, though they were very faint.
Seeing this, Yin Yang decisively increased the output of his spirituality.
Since breaking through to Sequence 6, his spirituality had increased significantly.
Buzz!
The formation grew brighter, and the mist thickened.
The mist swirled together, forming a slowly rotating vortex.
A slender, skinless arm reached out from within.
The arm seemed weak, as if merely extending it had exhausted all its strength.
The headless ghost nearby looked anxious, but this was a trial no one could help with. It could only stand to the side, making cheering motions.
Finally, the other arm reached out as well.
Then came the head, the neck, and the body.
Without exception, the figure was entirely skinless; one could only see vivid red muscle, yellow fat, and stark white bone.
Finally.
It crawled completely out of the mist, staring at Yin Yang with a pair of eyelidless eyes.
This was Yin Yang’s fifth partner, his fifth ghost!
The Flayed Ghost!
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