Chapter Seventy-Six: The Three Fiendish Positions

Staring at the elderly priest on the church pulpit, who was spitting as he preached, Li Yang silently chanted, “Clear heavens and bright earth, grant me divine insight: Borrowing the Method!” At his mental command, the golden toad at his cuff leapt out, seizing a moment when no one was watching to crawl toward the back of the church.

Borrowing the toad’s senses, Li Yang focused and attuned himself to the magnetic field enveloping the church, guiding the toad toward the place where the fluctuations were strongest.

With a faint creak, it took less than fifteen minutes for Li Yang to find the entrance to the church basement. Using the toad’s tongue, he pushed open the basement door. The dim and shadowy space did nothing to hinder the toad’s vision.

“What a heavy aura of death! No wonder Master Ninth said this is a place of utmost yin and evil,” he thought. “Wait… something’s not right. With such a rapid accumulation of this sinister energy, the evil within should have erupted by now, yet it’s tightly confined to this small basement!”

Ever since fusing with the Six-Winged Golden Centipede, Li Yang’s ability to sense energy had far surpassed that of ordinary people. This yin fiend energy was but one form of energy to him, and he could clearly feel it continuously gathering around.

“So this is the priest—half zombie, half vampire?” he mused, his expression grave as he sized up the basement. In one corner stood a pitch-black coffin. Li Yang directed the golden toad to leap atop it.

With a heavy bang, the coffin lid was pushed open. With a howl, the vampire priest sensed a living presence. He vaulted out, sniffing the air intently in the empty basement. Soon, his gaze fell upon the fist-sized golden toad crouched on the floor.

Before the vampire priest could react, the toad’s tongue whipped out, ensnaring him tightly and dragging him toward its mouth.

With a roar, the priest’s face contorted as he felt the force upon him. Instantly, his body dissolved into a cloud of black mist, transforming into a swarm of tiny black bats that flitted frantically around the cramped basement.

Several times he tried to escape, but each time the scorching sunlight outside drove him back.

Under Li Yang’s urging, the golden toad’s body swelled as it opened its mouth wide, inhaling deeply. In an instant, all the bats were sucked into its maw.

Having cultivated alongside Li Yang for so long and in an environment where resources were plentiful, the golden toad’s power was not what it used to be. Though it was still a bit inferior to the Six-Winged Golden Centipede or the Furious Clarity Chicken, dealing with a modestly powerful vampire priest posed no challenge.

“Don’t swallow him all the way—just keep him in the dimensional space. I’ll need this vampire later,” Li Yang instructed the toad mentally. Just as he was about to leave, a faint, familiar fluctuation rippled through the basement.

“What was that just now…” As he tried to investigate, the sensation vanished as quickly as it had appeared, as if it had been nothing but an illusion.

Li Yang thought little more of it. Glancing around the empty basement, feeling the continued convergence of sinister energy, he quickly hatched a plan.

“Father, your sermon today was truly enlightening. Unfortunately, I have pressing matters to attend to and must take my leave. If I have leisure in the future, I will gladly return for your guidance!” he said, retrieving the golden toad. With his goal accomplished, he had no intention of lingering. He stood and bid farewell to Father Wu and Anne.

“If you must go, I won’t detain you. The church is always open to you!” said the bald Father Wu from the pulpit, nodding to Li Yang.

“Mr. Li, where are you staying?” Anne called out, coming to her senses only as Li Yang’s figure was about to vanish. She stood and hurried after him, but Li Yang gave no reply and soon disappeared from sight.

“Miss Anne, I know where he’s staying!” Seeing Anne’s despondency, Ah Xing, though secretly jealous of Li Yang, immediately seized the opportunity to ingratiate himself.

“You really know where he’s staying?” Anne’s dim eyes brightened, grasping Ah Xing’s sleeve as if clinging to a lifeline.

“Yes, I do. He’s staying at my master’s training hall for now,” he blurted out, his bones melting from the nearness of Anne’s lovely face and faint fragrance. In his eagerness, he revealed all he knew of Li Yang’s connection to his master, though his knowledge was limited.

Meanwhile, at Master Ninth’s training hall.

“You’re back so soon, my friend! Did you find anything?” Master Ninth, sipping tea in the lounge, greeted Li Yang with anticipation.

“I did indeed. In the church basement, I discovered a strange corpse—no, rather, a being that is half zombie, half vampire.”

“Half zombie, half vampire? What sort of creature is that?” Master Ninth replied. “If evil is at work, then tonight we’ll head to the church and take care of it, lest it bring harm to the townsfolk!”

Though he was well-versed in zombies, Master Ninth had only heard of vampires and never encountered one. Still, his devotion to protecting the people made him rise at once to prepare his tools.

“No need to hurry, Master. I’ve already subdued the creature—it’s in my golden toad’s belly,” Li Yang said, pulling out the toad with a smile. “But that’s not the main harvest. The three Fiendish Spots are still continuously gathering the energies of yin, evil, and malice. We must find a way to sever their source, or in time, they’ll breed a demon of unimaginable power!”

“Do you have any suggestions?” Master Ninth asked with a knowing smile. He was well aware of Li Yang’s pragmatic nature; if he brought the matter up, he must already have a plan.

“Heh, I knew nothing would escape your notice, Master. I do have an idea,” Li Yang replied brightly, not bothering to be coy. “You’re aware of the state of my Furious Clarity Chicken. Though heavenly spirit fowl are of the purest yang, all things in creation are interrelated—they are adept at absorbing all manner of sinister energy. For my chicken, which is in the midst of transformation, the fiendish energy at those three spots is the perfect nourishment!”

“So, I’d like to ask you to use the innate Eight Trigrams to set up a formation and draw out the essence of these three fiendish spots. That way, we eliminate the hidden danger, and my spirit fowl can grow stronger—a perfect solution!”

“Setting up the formation is no issue. But drawing out the essence of the three fiendish spots will cause quite a stir. No living soul should remain in the church at the time. I worry the foreign priests there may not cooperate,” Master Ninth said after a moment’s thought, his brow furrowing. He could easily drive them out by force, but such overbearing methods ran counter to his steadfast principles of righteousness.

“Rest assured, Master. Leave that matter to me,” Li Yang replied, fully understanding Master Ninth’s concerns and already having a plan in mind.