Spirit Hunters of Maoshan Sect

Chapter 72

Chapter 72 The Dharma Staff

“No wonder they paved the floor with tiles; they did so to cover up the passage!” Xiao Ma had a somewhat lower IQ . He only understood the purpose of the tiles at this moment .

Ye Shaoyang squatted down . He checked around the gap between the tiles and said, “It is glued very firmly . ” Then, he reached out to the Soul Quelling Stake from his belt and slammed it against the tile . After he struck it a few times, the tile broke into pieces . The tile had been pressed firmly against a sheet of tarpaulin . After Ye Shaoyang removed the tarpaulin, he discovered a square-shaped passage . The passage had a similar size to the tile . It took up about a square-meter of space, and only one person could go through at a time .

The passage sloped vertically downward, and a series of metal rungs formed a ladder that descended into the darkness . Xie Yuqing shone her torch into the passage; it had a depth of almost five to six meters . At the end of the passage, she saw another passage perpendicular to the former one . This second passage extended toward the south-east .

“The passage heads in the direction of dormitory four,” Ye Shaoyang replied confidently . He felt relieved . Everything would be easier to deal with after they found this passage .

“Are we going down now?” Xie Yuqing asked as she glanced at the wound on Ye Shaoyang’s back again, “Are you sure that you are okay?”

“I’m fine . Let’s go now—a long delay means trouble . ” Then, Ye Shaoyang turned around and said, “You’d better wait here . I’m just going down to have a look at the terrain down there . I alone will do . ”

“No, I’m going down with you so that I can report to my superior later,” Xie Yuqing said .

Both of them used the rungs to climb down . Then, they entered the cement passageway . The passage had a height of about two meters, wide enough for three to four people to walk abreast .

Xie Yuqing switched on her torch . A powerful beam of light reached a distance of more than 10 meters, which surprised Ye Shaoyang, “What is this torch? Such a small torch can project such a powerful ray of light?” He wondered as he looked at the peculiar model of the torch in her hand .

“The tactical torch is a standard tool our police carry when on duty . If we shine this light into a person’s eyes, the light will temporarily blind them for three minutes . ”

“Such a powerful beam of light is sufficient to deal with those usual spirits,” Ye Shaoyang said .

The passage was perfectly straight . After they walked for about ten meters, multiple beehive-like holes a few meters wide appeared on both sides of the walls . Inside each hole, there sat a rusty iron cot that had drawers underneath them .

“These are most likely their shelters . ” Xie Yuqing made an intelligent guess as she shone the torch over each and every hole .

“I quite admire the design of these Japanese,” Ye Shaoyang said, “They built these shelters outside the ammunition depot . Once they encountered an attack, all of them can retreat here . Then, they can rearm themselves and go out from the other passage . They can quickly launch a counterattack when their enemies are off guard . ”

Xie Yuqing agreed, “Yes, this design is ingenious from a military perspective, but things didn’t go exactly as they planned . They were killed before they got to use it . "

Ye Shaoyang followed Xie Yuqing . He was lost in thought, so he was not aware that she had suddenly stopped and crashed into her back . She staggered and almost fell . Ye Shaoyang thought she would scold him, but Xie Yuqing grabbed his arm . She asked in a tremulous voice, “What is that in front of us?”

Her words stunned Ye Shaoyang . He looked over her shoulder . He spotted a few grey, human-like shadows . They seemed to wear long cloaks that draped onto the floor . Only their heads were visible . They had trapezium-shaped bodies . They had smaller upper parts but broader lower parts . They were flying toward Ye Shaoyang and Xie Yuqing .

“Lunar Specters!” Ye Shaoyang softly whispered and unsheathed his date wood sword .

“What is that?” asked Xie Yuqing as she shuddered .

“It is also a kind of specter . Ritual tools and incantations can only seal spirits and the undead . They are useless against specters, as a specter is transformed from a non-living object . ”

“Is it easy to deal with?” Xie Yuqing asked . She felt nervous as she backed off a few steps .

“Depends . For me, it is just a piece of cake . Just wait for me here . ” Ye Shaoyang sped toward the specters . In response, they immediately rushed toward him too .

Ye Shaoyang cut his middle finger, wrote a specter expelling rune on the date wood sword and chanted, “O'Mighty Heaven and Earth, with the Power of Yin Yang, Destroy!” He slashed his sword through one of the specters; it immediately turned into ashes and disappeared . Ye Shaoyang destroyed the rest of the specters in the same easy manner . One of the specters shattered into more than ten wisps of primordial spirits when Ye Shaoyang defeated it . Then, it flew toward the exit .

“This weak Lunar Specter even killed humans before and cultivated using their souls . ” Ye Shaoyang shook his head .

Xie Yuqing quickly walked toward Ye Shaoyang as it was no longer dangerous, “I can’t understand why these specters don’t go out and disturb people . Didn’t you say that ritual tools and seals do not bind them?”

“They belong to the Yin; they are cultivated from the Yin Qi in the spirit nest . As such, they can only wander near the spirit nest, within the area of the dormitory . Beyond this area, they can’t supply themselves with Yin Qi, and they will naturally disappear . ”

Xie Yuqing stared blankly into space and said, “So, the primordial spirits that came out from the specter belongs to the people who died in dormitory four?”

“Most likely . But there is no time to investigate this . ” Ye Shaoyang continued forward . Xie Yuqing followed behind him and continued to shine her torch . After about twenty meters of walking, they saw beams of golden rays within the coverage of the torch .

Ye Shaoyang hastened toward the golden rays and saw a Dharma staff embedded upright in the ground . The Dharma staff was different from a normal one . When he gave it a closer look, he discovered nine great metal rings on top of it, along with multiple small metal rings . The top parts of the Dharma staff were very large; it extended one to two meters along both sides . It also had a multitude of layers and looked like a large, blooming lotus . Ye Shaoyang took a deep breath . This staff was one of the supreme ritual tools in Buddhism . The passage had no light source, but the Dharma staff made itself the focal point . It softly glowed with golden rays and formed a circle of light three meters wide, just like a dome that covered the ground .

Xie Yuqing thought of approaching the staff to have a closer look, but Ye Shaoyang stopped her, “Don’t go near it; if not, you will break the incantation seal . ” He looked over the Dharma staff and saw a rusty, double-leaf door behind it .

“The ammunition depot should be behind this, which means there lies the location of the spirit nest,” said Ye Shaoyang as he looked at the double doors . Then, he looked around and said to Xie Yuqing, “Job done . Let’s go . ”

As they prepared to leave, they heard the sudden creak . Ye Shaoyang immediately turned around and saw that the iron door had opened slightly . A girl with hair that trailed over her shoulders walked out . “Feng Xinyu!” Xie Yuqing exclaimed as she saw the spirit’s face . It was indeed Feng Xinyu . She still had the attire of a student and had a lively appearance . However, she had bloody-red eyes and an evil smile plastered across the corner of her mouth, which created an extremely spooky atmosphere around her . Ye Shaoyang could feel the increased rate of Xie Yuqing’s breathing . He patted her hands and comforted her, “It’s okay, this is only her seven Po . She can’t gather her souls as her three Hun are still in the spirit nest . ”

“You killed the doll . ” Feng Xinyu spoke in a harsh tone . Her voice echoed as though she had spoken near their ears . However, her voice also sounded far away at the same time .

“Doll? You mean the specter doll?” Ye Shaoyang laughed and made a cutting gesture toward Feng Xinyu, “His souls was broken into pieces when I slashed him with my sword . ”

Feng Xinyu’s face instantly turned fierce with anger . A jet of black Qi surrounded her, which caused even the golden rays to dim .

“Want revenge? Come and kill me now . ” Ye Shaoyang tried to provoke her further . He even pouted his lips and made a kissing gesture toward her . However, his right hand quietly reached out to the Qixing Dragon Sword . Feng Xinyu only had her seven Po with her today so Ye Shaoyang was confident that he could kill her with the Qixing Dragon Sword if she dared to fight him now . Although she could still regenerate her seven Po, it would take her a few days time which was sufficient for Ye Shaoyang . He could grab this opportunity to destroy the spirit nest in one swoop with the assistance of Rui Lengyu and Qin Feng . Right now, they needed to risk their lives again if they followed their current plan .

However, Feng Xinyu had a much stronger mental fortitude than Ye Shaoyang had imagined . She remained calm and unresponsive toward his provocation . She looked at him and coldly said, “I will kill you to take revenge for my specter doll, but not now . ” She extended her hand and showed them her palm . A blurred circle of light suddenly appeared on her palm . They saw a distorted face with a mouth that gaped open from ear to ear, as it cried out in pain .