Invincible Powers - Chapter 1: The Soul Returns!
Three hundred years later.
Land of Qianxuan, Silver Moon Empire, Dark Moon City, the Yu Clan1In Chinese tradition, large institutions based on kinship were very common, especially in ancient times. Clan members with the same last name (comes before the first name in Chinese) would often dominate a whole village or town. Members of the clan work together, to protect and develop their land, and they are usually led by the oldest son of the eldest generation. .
It was almost midnight.
The cold wind blew, swirling the dead leaves around the Yu medicine clan’s old house.
“Let the soul return, let the soul return!”
An old man in a gray robe shook a copper bell while walking around the ancestral hall. Along with the ringing of the bell, he let out a deep and gloomy sigh.
In each of the four corners of the hall stood a Soul Attracting Flag. Their banners fluttered in the wind and the various ghost drawings on the flags seemed ready to jump out and devour anyone in sight.
After a long time, the old man stopped and shook his head toward the grandfather of the Yu Clan to indicate that no more could be done.
The grandfather, Yu Can, whose legs had been broken many years ago, sat in a wooden wheelchair. With a long face, he asked, “Senior Ning, can my grandchild truly not be saved anymore?”
Ning Yue put away the bell and glanced at the hall before he said with hesitation, “A man is born with three souls: Heaven, Earth, and Human. The Soul of Earth hosts the memory, the Soul of Heaven is the source of wisdom, and the Human Soul controls the body. While all are crucial for one’s well-being, the Human Soul is the most important as, without it, one can not move, let alone cultivate.
“Your grandson Yu… is different from most. Like I said many years ago, Yu was born without his Souls of Earth and Heavens.”
“For so many years, he has always had difficulty remembering anything. Because his Soul of Earth is missing, his experiences can’t be put together to form his own thoughts or memories.”
“As for the way he acts, foolishly and randomly, that is because his Soul of Heaven is absent. His wisdom is, therefore… in perpetual chaos.”
“Although the Souls of Earth and Heavens are both important, the Human Soul is the key to life and death. It is also known as the Soul of Life, the Core. As long as the Soul of Life doesn’t disappear, one will not die.”
“Even with the confusion and memory loss, the young master was able to stay alive for seventeen years because his Soul of Life was healthy.”
“But now, even that is in great danger!”
Every word of Ning Ji pierced Yu Can’s heart like a sharp blade. Tears dripped down from his old eyes.
Since that incident happened to his son and daughter-in-law, both of Yu Can’s legs had been broken by his foes. The glory of Yu Clan was all but gone and all the old man wanted was to find a proper successor.
But now…
“Grandfather Yu, as you heard, all hope is lost. I suggest you arrange a funeral soon.”
A deep voice suddenly sounded and was followed by a stumpy old man who abruptly stepped into the yard without permission. He arrived in front of Yu Can’s wheelchair and took a slight bow. The man then looked down at him with disrespect in his eyes and said, “I do feel sorry for your loss. No one wished for your grandchild to be in danger, but now, for the future of the Yu Clan, an early decision will be most beneficial.”
As soon as the man arrived, the devils on the four flags all seemed to calm down and return to their original state, appearing no different than any other drawing.
Looking closely, the images were slowly fading away. Disappearing as if they were being washed away.
“You!”
Ning Ji shouted furiously. As he was about to accuse the newcomer, four strange streams of power rushed to him from the flags.
Puff!
Ning Ji couldn’t defend against those streams of power and his spirit was instantly defeated. He spat out a mouthful of blood while falling backward.
“Brother Ning!”
Yu Can pressed his two hands firmly on the wheelchair’s handles and shouted, “Yin Jue, what did you do?”
“Mr. Ning, with only the powers of the Yellow Hall realm, you want to use your weak little flags to recall souls? Ridiculous!” The stubby old man Yin Yue humphed coldly, and added, “Don’t try to do something that even I can’t accomplish!”
Shoo! Shoo, shoo!
Four light blue light streams zapped from his sleeves toward the four flags.
The flags broke apart into pieces and the ghosts inside them evaporated into the air.
Ning Ji slumped to the ground in a cold sweat, blood coming out of his eyes and ears. He looked like the terrifying ghosts on the flags.
“Grandfather Yu, you see that this Mr. Ning you’ve invited over cannot even withstand one blow from me.” Yin Jue gave a sigh and said, “I have tried all I could to save your grandchild already. If there was even the slightest hope, I would not have given up.”
“You are the one that killed our young master!”
Outside the courtyard, a childish purple-haired girl appeared and shouted loudly, “I saw you! You were the one that killed the young master!”
“How dare you!” Yin Jue snapped.
A cluster of cold green flames flew out of his fingertips. The flames spread their cold powers and floated on top of the maid’s head.
As the cold flames turned into smoke and swiftly seeped inside her body,the maid quickly began to freeze. In just a few seconds, the beautiful young girl had already turned into a statue, her life sealed firmly inside the ice.
Her angry facial expression seemed to be eternally paused.
“Yin Jue!”
Yu Can slammed his hands on the wheelchair attempting to stand up, but his legs had long been broken. Instead, he ended up throwing himself forward and crashed onto the hard stone floor. His head was bleeding.
After those two consecutive attacks, Yin Jue had not even moved one step from his spot, and Yu Can coincidently fell beside his feet.
“Old man.” Yin Jue crouched down, the fake smile on his face replaced by a cold and calculating look. He said, “You know exactly why my Lady agreed to marry your idiot grandson. My Lady solved all your clan’s external problems. If it wasn’t for my Lady, I’m afraid the Yu Clan would no longer exist.”
“The Lady has done so much for your clan for the past half-year, and you still refuse to give her what she wants. She is willing to wait, but we can’t!”
Two purple ghost flames quietly gathered within Yin Ju’s eyes.
The flames contained sparkling spirit symbols that seemed able to capture one’s soul and refine one’s heart.
Yu Can’s angry expression suddenly faded away. He felt like cold blades were stabbing his forehead and a gust of evil thoughts forced their way into his mind.
“If you don’t want to give up its location yourself. I’ll just take it directly from your head!”
With Yin Jue’s words, a small bright red vein formed in the center of Yu Can’s forehead and immediately started detaching itself from the skin!
Yu Can’s eyes were bloodshot, seemingly about to burst.
“Mr. Yin! Stop!”
A clear sharp voice came in from outside the mansion. It was like a cold sword that pierced into everyone’s chest.
A cloud of small birds, formed from pure spiritual power, flew into the Yu Clan’s house.
“Crack!”
The thick ice that covered the maid’s body was cracked open by the birds. One of them also entered her body and restored her vitality.
When the rest of the birds flew into the house, they transformed into various spiritual charms that filled the rooms, instantly setting up a mysterious formation, quickly suppressing the evil spirits.
Both Ning Yue and Yu Can suddenly felt their bodies become much more comfortable. The injuries they had just received were all gradually being healed.
Yin Jue lowered his head and sighed softly. He dispelled his technique and drifted away in a ghostly cloud.
“Grandfather Yu, I apologize for what just happened. As for the arranged marriage, I will inform my father about the death of Yu Yuan. I hope that we can meet again soon to discuss the situation.”
“During this time, I will continue to do my best to help your clan.”
The clear voice gradually faded. The speaker, however, never appeared.
After Yu Can, Ning Yue, and the purple robe maid had all recovered a bit, the spiritual formation turned back into a flock of birds that flew away.
“Grandpa, it was all because of Yin Jue!”
The maid and Ning Yue helped Yu Can back to his chair while cursing out loud, “If that evil old dog stays in the clan any longer, he will kill us all!”
“Be quiet! We can talk about that later.” Yu Can stared blankly toward the hall where his grandson lay and murmured to himself, “Will he never come back to us?”
“Yin Jue is right. My realm is still too weak to help. If there was someone who reached the Yin God Realm here, perhaps he would have a clue as to why the young master’s Soul of Life is fading, Ning Ji said helplessly.
“A Yin God! There aren’t many of those even in the whole Silver Moon Empire! They can walk on water and drift amongst the clouds. How could our pitiful clan even meet cultivators of that realm? Yu Can’s eyes dimmed and he said gloomily, “My grandson is gone. I will destroy that thing, at the risk of killing the entire Yu Clan, rather than give it to them!”
“Shhh! Be careful about your words. The walls have ears!” Ning Ji warned in a low voice and gave the maid a look.
“Grandfather, you should go have some rest first. The young master is still alive, maybe there is a chance for him to recover by himself.”
Without any other words, the maid hurriedly pushed the wheelchair out of the courtyard.
“Except there is no more hope…” After they left, Ning Ji was silent for a while and said sadly, “It is certain that he won’t live past today.” He shook his head and walked out.
The courtyard returned to silence.
Before sunrise, the sky above the old mansion suddenly twisted and churned. A deafening bolt of lightning crashed from the clouds as space was distorted!
Two bright cracks in the shape of an “X” appeared in thin air and, at their intersection, two fuzzy dark grey figures flew out and disappeared into the house.
……
Edited by He-Ka
- 1In Chinese tradition, large institutions based on kinship were very common, especially in ancient times. Clan members with the same last name (comes before the first name in Chinese) would often dominate a whole village or town. Members of the clan work together, to protect and develop their land, and they are usually led by the oldest son of the eldest generation.