At precisely ten o'clock, within the domain of the spectral night, the darkness was absolute.
Beside an altar atop a cemetery hill stood two figures.
A youth clad in black robes, his neck adorned with the emblem of three wolf heads, stood with a pool of pitch-black substance at his feet, flowing like ink.
It spread to Xu Mu's feet, seizing control of his body.
Xu Mu, meanwhile, his face ashen, was choking himself, on the verge of suffocation.
Clearly, he had fallen under Feng Tianzhu's psionic control.
Xu Mu had never imagined that all his shots, aimed precisely at the man's chest, with muzzles as large as his fist, would have no effect.
And yet, Feng Tianzhu was alive, capable of wielding his powers and attempting to kill him?
A deep bewilderment filled Xu Mu's mind. In truth, he wasn't truly controlled by the other's psionic abilities at all.
He was, but not entirely. He could break free at any moment.
But he hadn't.
Much like Feng Tianzhu had done moments before, Xu Mu knew all too well that his own strength was insufficient to defeat Feng Tianzhu head-on, for the latter was an 'Yi Ren' (异人 - psionic).
Therefore, he needed to make Feng Tianzhu let down his guard, to expose a weakness.
Charles drifted out of Xu Mu's body and, gazing at the shadow on the ground, sighed.
Feng Tianzhu likely didn't know that even the psychic psionics of his sect leader, Viritan, would be ineffective against Xu Mu.
Because of his and the being in the Celestial Palace's existence, anyone wishing to affect Xu Mu would first have to deal with both of them. Otherwise, Xu Mu's sea of consciousness remained in a state of absolute security.
How could mere Tier 2 psionics, incapable of even moving a single kilobyte of data within his chip, possibly control him?
“That thing behind you, is it a new type of weapon created by psionics?”
Feng Tianzhu remained vigilant, maintaining a distance of over fifty meters from Xu Mu. It was this 'thing' that had pierced his chest earlier.
Fortunately, his heart was located on the right side, saving him.
“Still quite resilient, my Shadow Stream couldn't kill you.”
Feng Tianzhu was somewhat surprised. Although he had been forcibly made a Tier 2 'Yi Ren' by Viritan using alchemical potions, rendering his abilities quite poor, his psionic ability, Shadow Stream, was undeniably Tier 2. Countless individuals had met their end to this very power.
Within the altar, darkness churned, and energy continuously flowed into Feng Tianzhu's body. The latter's aura grew stronger, and even the chest wound began to heal at a visible rate. Evidently, the altar provided him with a degree of replenishment.
He couldn't kill Xu Mu, but he didn't rashly charge forward. Instead, he was cautiously recovering.
“He’s not falling for it.”
Xu Mu frowned. He had feigned being controlled for so long, yet Feng Tianzhu showed no inclination to rush forward and kill him, opting instead to recover his injuries via the altar.
This was disadvantageous to him, so he needed to devise a plan.
Xu Mu's gaze sharpened slightly, and then he recalled a classic stratagem from Blue Star:
“Look, a flying saucer!”
Xu Mu put on a look of great surprise, gazing past Feng Tianzhu's shoulder.
“What’s a flying saucer?”
Almost instinctively, Feng Tianzhu followed Xu Mu's gaze towards the sky behind him.
It was hazy and dim, with nothing to be seen.
He had been tricked.
Feng Tianzhu spun around abruptly, only to find that Xu Mu had already broken free from his restraints.
Furthermore, in Xu Mu's hand was a dark, shiny object, resembling a miniature version of the weapon behind him.
Feng Tianzhu's pupils constricted, the hairs on his neck standing on end. His intuition screamed that this object was extremely dangerous.
And so, he began to run.
“Do you have a second heart?”
Xu Mu's eyes were sharp as a hawk's. Drawing his gun, raising it, and aiming, all happened in one fluid motion.
Bang, bang, bang!
All the bullets from the Browning were fired, and between each shot, visible air turbulence appeared around the muzzle.
“Pfft!”
Feng Tianzhu, his expression one of terror, dodged the bullet aimed at his right heart, but his other body parts were riddled with bullet holes.
Seven out of eight shots hit, incapacitating him.
Thump!
Stumbling, Feng Tianzhu collapsed to the ground, his face a mask of horror.
“Impossible! Even the Tier 3 peak Pope, Lord Viritan, cannot break free from my psionics at will, how can you!”
Receiving no answer, Xu Mu quietly reloaded his weapon.
He could see, on the altar directly behind Feng Tianzhu, several ‘Yi Gui’ (异鬼 - mutated spirits) already crawling out, each two meters tall.
“Skeleton Guards, bite him to death!”
Seeing the ‘Yi Gui’ charging from behind him, Feng Tianzhu's face lit up with a hopeful gleam. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he scrambled onto the altar, hiding behind these bone-white skeletons.
“Troublesome things!”
With Feng Tianzhu obscured by the ‘Yi Gui’, Xu Mu aimed his pistol but could not fire.
The youth sighed; he had missed the optimal moment to kill. Now, the bone skeletons were charging towards him, and he had to react.
However, Da Hong Deng Long (大红灯笼 - Big Red Lantern) and Tong Ling (铜铃 - Copper Bell) were nowhere near him. What was he to do?
Xu Mu pondered for a moment and suddenly recalled the Daoist scripture Charles had taught him.
According to Charles, there were no demons or psionic beings on Blue Star, so the Daoist scripture was naturally useless.
But now, if he didn't want to risk death wielding a blade against these ‘Yi Gui’, he had no choice but to try anything.
Xu Mu took a deep breath, recalling the contents of that scripture, and began to chant with a solemn expression:
“The myriad heavens are vast, the Dao prospers evermore. All ghosts and specters, be slain by gun and blade. Before the Eight Trigrams altar, depart from hence…”
Xu Mu’s voice boomed. As he recited the Daoist scripture, he felt an inexplicable, sacred power bolstering him. The skeletal ‘Yi Gui’ summoned by the altar were all affected; the darkness upon them seemed to weaken, and golden divine seals flashed on their bones, restricting their movements.
“…Hasten as per imperial decree.”
“Exorcise!”
Seeing the Daoist scripture's efficacy, Xu Mu quickly finished reciting the entire passage. The moment he uttered the word "Exorcise," all the 'Yi Gui' in the vicinity were struck as if by lightning.
Their bones blackened, their limbs began to decompose, and finally, bathed in a cascade of golden light, they all turned into piles of white bones, scattering across the ground.
Seeing this, Xu Mu wiped the sweat from his brow and looked resentfully at Charles:
“This is what you called a useless Daoist scripture?”
“And you said your Blue Star had no magic, that was all a lie!”
Charles was also at a loss. Although he was omniscient, this Daoist scripture belonged to thousands of years ago. Technology was not advanced in that era, and not much was recorded.
“Perhaps in ancient times. But by my era… with the iron tide dominating, what use is such a thing when a nuclear bomb could obliterate the underworld? Where would there be a need for this.”
“On the contrary, in your world, a faction under the Hundred Clans Alliance called Baiyun Dao Guan (白云道观 - White Cloud Taoist Temple) also recites Daoist scriptures. Perhaps it was merely a coincidence. Didn't you also recite their Daoist scriptures?”
“Perhaps.”
Xu Mu watched Feng Tianzhu retreat into the center of the altar, his expression stern. He had no inclination to dwell on these matters any longer.
There were obstacles there, making it impossible for his pistol to hit Feng Tianzhu, and he wasn't even sure if he could accurately throw a grenade.
And if he went over himself, he might be transformed into an ‘Yi Gui’.
After all, he was just an ordinary person; his body couldn't withstand excessive dark energy.
At most… he could last ninety seconds inside.
Hoo!
With that thought, Xu Mu exhaled heavily, then drew the hunting knife from his waist, his eyes sharp:
“Charles, time me!”