Chapter 376: Yin Wind, Yin Rain, Yin Lightning, Daoist Blood, Royal Drought Fiend
"I accept!"
Erza remained calm,
but even the ever-composed Kikyo showed a flicker of surprise—
clearly shocked by Daoist Qianhe's offer to take on a disciple.
In the land of Musashi, humans were at the bottom of the food chain.
There was no inheritance or tradition of spiritual power.
Only those born with immense spiritual energy—like Kikyo—could barely defend humankind.
Thus, having survived through the darkness,
Kikyo understood just how precious a top-tier inheritance was.
"Anya accepts!"
Anya nodded eagerly, eyes sparkling like stars.
She hadn't sensed any malice from Qianhe—only the righteousness and compassion of a true exorcist.
She was genuinely happy to be accepted as his disciple.
"Please forgive me, miss."
Only now did Qianhe realize that Kikyo seemed to be Anya's guardian.
Issuing an invitation without her consent was overstepping.
Kikyo shook her head.
"No problem. I'm glad this child can be your disciple."
They were teammates—nothing more.
She had no right to make decisions for Anya.
The [Personal Daoist Legacy] quest had thirteen parts in total:
slaying demons, subduing evil, banishing spirits, cultivating spells, tempering the body, honoring ancestors, undergoing purification…
If Anya completed it all, her strength would rise dramatically.
If she failed,
she could still join the Daoist faction—but only as a regular [Daoist Acolyte], not the rare [Maoshan Dao Heir].
The difference was like a [Knight] versus a [Temple Knight].
The Holy Church might have many knights,
but there were only five Temple Knights—legendary servants of the God of Light.
Naruto had to burn through millions of reward points to become a Temple Knight.
He nearly bled the Shinobi World dry.
That alone spoke volumes about how rare such roles were.
Just then—
The already chilly yin wind howled louder,
stirring dust and making the surroundings even gloomier.
They had only just entered the mountain forest,
but the fog thickened, visibility dropped, and the temperature plummeted.
This wasn't Esdeath's ice magic.
It was a strange cold that ignored clothing and fires,
piercing directly into bone and soul.
It was the sign of extreme yin energy.
Drip drip drip...
Rain pattered heavily on thick canopies.
Eventually, unable to bear the weight, the leaves released streams of water.
It looked like countless tiny rivers leaking from the green treetops.
"Yin rain?"
Daoist Qianhe's face paled.
This kind of environment was no ordinary occurrence.
"First the yin fog, now yin rain—what's going on?!"
In the world of Qing Kingdom Ghost Story,
everything followed the balance of yin and yang.
Dao represented yang; ghosts and spirits represented yin.
The power of Daoist spells—talismans, geomancy, exorcisms, peachwood, ghost-breaking formations—all came from channeling yang energy.
While demons, zombies, and vengeful spirits all fed off yin.
Even the infamous "dragonfly-on-water" geomantic formation that spawned the zombie ancestor of the Ren family
was originally a formation to bless descendants and attract yang.
It was only by reversing its polarity and turning it into a yin-gathering formation
that the evil Blood-Robed Daoist turned the corpse into a powerful zombie.
Heaven's signs (tian shi), earth's flow (di shi), and human presence (ren shi)—
all followed yin and yang.
Daoist texts recorded that:
—Yang-gathering heavenly signs included solar eclipses, twin moons, nine-star alignments.
—Yin-gathering included lunar eclipses, "heavenly dog devouring the sun," etc.
Changes in the sky and stars could tip the balance of yin and yang.
The same applied to geography and people.
Human-side yang objects included: black dog blood, rooster blood, butcher knives, Daoist blood, donkey hooves.
Yin objects included burial shrouds, zombie fungi, murder weapons…
Yin fog and yin rain alone weren't powerful—but together, they could form a potent yin terrain.
This was bad.
"East, South, West, North—get the rain tarps up!"
In the sudden downpour, Qianhe shouted orders.
The disciples sprang into action, skillfully setting up covers.
Unlike in the original legend, they hadn't removed the coffin's top for sun-drying—
but the rain was heavier now, lashing at the coffin from all sides.
"Watch the ink lines!"
Black dog blood–soaked ink cords—extremely yang objects—sizzled as the yin rain hit them, releasing white smoke.
Thump, thump, thump...
Ominous thudding echoed.
Heavy copper coffin lids bounced violently,
held down only by ropes soaked in black dog blood.
"Good... it hasn't broken free. The terrain's bad, but it's not enough to unseal this general's corpse."
Qianhe sighed and tightened the coffin with corpse-binding ropes.
Clang!
A spiritual arrow struck the coffin like a needle through paper.
Sealing energy burst forth, wrapping the entire casket in glowing chains.
"Thank you!"
Qianhe turned and bowed slightly to the beautiful girl lowering her short bow.
"Don't mention it. If this thing gets out, we'll all be in trouble."
Kikyo shook her head.
Musashi had similar cases—strong warlords turned into yokai after death.
If that could happen in a tiny country like hers,
then a royal general from a nation dozens of times larger…
Was probably worse than anything she'd ever seen.
"Qianhe, what's going on?"
"Hurry and remove the coffin's cover. The prince is getting soaked!"
"And move the tarp! Can't you see he's drenched?"
Chamberlain Wu still didn't grasp the gravity of the situation.
All he cared about was keeping the prince comfortable.
Just as Qianhe was about to refuse—
BOOM!
Thunder cracked.
A bolt of purple-black lightning split a towering tree, its canopy bursting into purple flames.
But the fire didn't feel hot.
Everyone felt their limbs turn icy cold.
The prince shivered uncontrollably.
Wu covered the boy protectively.
"Move! Are you rebelling?!"
Even if the general had been royalty, he was dead now.
It was clear who they owed loyalty to.
"Yin fire..."
Qianhe's face twisted.
He formed a hand seal and thrust it into the air.
A golden light rose like a dam,
trying to shield the entire coffin and the funeral procession from the incoming yin.
If the wind stopped and the rain ceased,
they could stabilize the terrain.
Unless—
Unless that lightning itself was yin lightning.
Then heaven and earth had aligned.
BOOM!
More bolts of dark purple lightning rained down,
striking the coffin dead-on.
The sheer force blew it open.
All protections—talismans, ropes, chains—vaporized in the blast.
A rotting zombie stood upright,
its limbs transforming at alarming speed. Sharp fangs and corpse fur emerged.
First white hair—sign of a basic white zombie.
Then green. Then black.
Then the hair fell off completely, revealing royal robes scorched by lightning—and underneath, ancient armor.
[Royal Drought Fiend Lv.26 (Dark Gold)]:
Formerly a royal general of Qing. After death, he absorbed corpse dragon energy in the royal tomb, gathered heaven's power (yin lightning), earth's force (yin fog and rain), and human energy (his own murderous aura), mutating into a zombie king.
"East—dodge!!"
Qianhe's face turned ashen.
As the monster lunged for his disciple, he screamed and charged in.
Yin lightning. Yin rain. Yin fog. A general's murderous qi...
It was as if fate itself had struck him with a funeral bell.
Daoists believed in destiny.
And it was hard not to believe that fate had come for Qianhe today.
To face such an alignment of rare yin forces—something seen only once in a thousand years…
Was it Heaven's will to take him?
"Daoist! Help me!"
"The zombie king is incomplete! He's got the aura of a killer, but it's nothing compared to ancient slaughter gods like Bai Qi.
His human energy isn't full—he hasn't fully become a Drought Fiend yet!"
"Do NOT let him drink a Daoist's yang-rich blood. If he does, and completes his transformation...
We're all dead!"
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