Chapter 100: Sacrifice of Life (1 / 2)

Yuan Beitang sighed deeply as he sat across from me, about to explain the events that had transpired during my unconsciousness. But just as he began, the door of the wooden hut creaked open, and a familiar figure walked in. It was Master Yi Cheng.

I stared, shocked. "Master Yi Cheng!" But then, I noticed something that made my heart sink—he was missing an arm!

This revelation hit me like a thunderclap. How could Yi Cheng, so strong and unscathed, be missing an arm? He had gone to the Wàn Zàng Kǒu (Ten Thousand Graves Mouth) with Jiang Shiyu. If he was injured, then what about Shiyu? How was she? What happened to her? The fear gnawed at me, and I couldn't bring myself to think of a life without her.

I had to yell, desperate to know. "Master Yi Cheng, what happened? What's going on? Tell me!" My voice cracked, my chest tightening. "Please! I'm losing my mind here!"

Yi Cheng slowly crossed his legs and sat down in front of me. Despite losing an arm, he still exuded strength. With one hand, he made a Buddhist seal and said calmly, "Amitabha. The story is…"

What he told me next made me want to lose my mind. From the moment they left the hospital and made their way to the Wàn Zàng Kǒu, Yi Cheng explained everything in painful detail.

It all started when they arrived at the Wàn Zàng Kǒu on a tricycle. Yuan Beitang had set up the Seven Killing Lock Soul formation, waiting for the White Tiger Star to appear, marking the moment the gates of the underworld would open. The Seven Killing formation, or Qi Sha, also known as the Seven Killers or Fierce Officers, was rooted in ancient beliefs about the five elements and yin-yang balance.

In the arrangement of the ten heavenly stems, such as Jia Wood, the seven following positions corresponded to Geng Metal, making it the Killing Star. This star was a symbol of power over life and death, signifying an ominous end. Ancient practitioners had long believed that the number 7 was a boundary—representing the dead's "seven days" and other intervals.

Yi Cheng explained that the Seven Killing Lock Soul formation was intended to trap and suppress vengeful spirits, to prevent them from escaping the Wàn Zàng Kǒu. When they arrived, the entire area was shrouded in a thick, eerie fog. The formation was already in motion, and they couldn't get close. They circled around White Tiger Hill, but couldn't enter.

Jiang Shiyu was frantic. She begged Yi Cheng to do something, anything.

Yi Cheng then told me, "I realized that day marked the opening of the Hell's Gate. If I tried to break it open, the consequences would be unimaginable."

Hearing this, I fell silent. Yi Cheng's compassion for Jiang Shiyu was overwhelming. He took out a Buddhist bead, which contained the relic of a revered monk. The Seven Killing Lock Soul formation was guarded by malevolent spirits, but the relic would be powerful enough to counter their influence.

Yi Cheng placed the relic into the ground and chanted a mantra. The earth trembled with a tremendous roar, and White Tiger Hill shook violently. The Seven Killing Lock Soul formation shattered, releasing a surge of dark energy so terrifying it felt like the end of the world. Yi Cheng urgently told Jiang Shiyu to leave quickly.

Jiang Shiyu was terrified but had no idea what was truly happening. Yi Cheng waited until she had safely passed through the formation before retrieving the relic from the ground. However, the sacred relic was now tainted with evil energy.

The formation was originally designed to prevent souls from escaping and harming the living. By burying the relic in the earth, Yi Cheng had purified the land, preventing the spirits from controlling the formation any longer. This meant no additional spiritual help would be provided to White Tiger Hill, and no matter the outcome of the battle, evil spirits would escape and wreak havoc on the living.

Yi Cheng had never intended for things to go this far. But, in order to repair the damage caused by the formation, he had made a difficult choice—to offer his body as sustenance to the evil spirits. In Buddhist teachings, the physical body of a monk was irresistible to malevolent entities, which were drawn to it. Initially, Yi Cheng had used his own soul to distract the evil spirits, but this time, the circumstances were different.

The Buddha had once said that the earth trembled and divine light fell when the Buddha's flesh was offered to the tiger, turning the tiger into a guardian deity. This demonstrated the immense value of a high monk's body.

To redeem the damage caused by the Seven Killing Lock Soul formation, Yi Cheng offered his own flesh to the evil spirits. His immense compassion and power guarded White Tiger Hill. As the malevolent entities devoured his arm, a divine light descended upon White Tiger Hill, enveloping it.

At that moment, the Hell's Gate opened. Yi Cheng gazed at the black fog, where countless legions of spirits were moving, their murderous roars filling the air. The scene above White Tiger Hill was a battlefield, with smoke and dust swirling, fierce horses charging forward.

The power of the Buddha's compassion mended the Seven Killing Lock Soul formation, but Yi Cheng had lost his arm in the process. When he finally arrived at the cave where Yuan Beitang was, he found Jiang Shiyu desperately pleading with him to save me.

Yuan Beitang, who had been a close friend of my grandfather, couldn't refuse. But by the time he arrived, the Wàn Zàng Kǒu had already opened. Outside, the sounds of violence were deafening, and the cave itself was the epicenter of the battle. The White Tiger Star had appeared in the sky, and the roar of tigers could be heard.