When Xu Zifan and the others returned to the Taoist temple, Luo Chen and Jiang Dong were already somewhat disoriented. Mo Jianni greeted them and took care of getting Luo Chen back to his room. Xu Zifan and Jiang Tianxin then helped Jiang Dong back to his room and settled him in. When Jiang Dong lay down and opened his eyes to see them, he muttered that his sister must be happy.
Xu Zifan shook his head with amusement, "I didn't realize your brother was such a siscon. How much does he care? He's still talking about it even when he's drunk."
Jiang Tianxin looked at her brother and gave him a gentle smile. "Some people used to say that I was a fool for standing up for my brother, but I don't think so. My brother is a really good person. He's just not that strong. It's impossible for everyone in this world to be strong. There are many strong people, but his pure heart is the most precious thing."
Xu Zifan bent down to block her view, feigning jealousy, and said, "Alright, alright, I know you're a brother-obsessed guy too. Now, shouldn't my dear girlfriend give me her time? Today is the day we officially become a couple, shouldn't we celebrate?"
Jiang Tianxin held her breath, her face burning again. "How are we going to celebrate?"
"Come with me." Xu Zifan grabbed her wrist through her clothes, went outside, and used his spiritual power to help her jump onto the roof.
The two sat side by side on the rooftop, where they could see a sky full of stars—it was incredibly beautiful!
Xu Zifan asked Jiang Tianxin softly, "Would you like to see something even better?"
"Yes." Jiang Tianxin nodded slightly, looking at him curiously, wondering what could be more beautiful than the scenery before her.
With a wave of his hand, Xu Zifan created a row of fireworks in the center of the courtyard. He threw out a talisman, and the fireworks were instantly ignited and shot into the sky!
Jiang Tianxin quickly looked up and saw the fireworks explode at the same time. So many colorful fireworks came together to form their names, and in the middle was a heart!
Jiang Tianxin's face lit up with a delighted smile. "So beautiful! Master, look, it's really beautiful!"
Xu Zifan pulled Jiang Tianxin into his arms, then waved and set off another row of fireworks, which, after ascending into the sky, formed the words "May you be forever united and grow old together." He whispered in her ear, "I like Xiao An's blessing. Shall we make it come true together?"
Jiang Tianxin looked at the fireworks in the sky, softened her body and leaned against his chest, reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist, and sweetly hummed in agreement.
The sound of fireworks woke up the young Taoist priests. They looked out the window and understood everything. Some were surprised, some were enlightened, and finally, their expressions turned into smiles. They silently offered their blessings and none of them went out to disturb them.
This was Xu Zifan and Jiang Tianxin's first day together. Both had put the previous drama behind them and were enjoying the sweetness of their relationship. Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Xu Xiaoxiao and Xu Zhe were undergoing a painful bone-setting procedure. Someone was using magic to forcibly connect their broken bones, a process that felt like being torn apart by a million insects.
But having endured that pain, they felt nothing but gratitude towards their savior. They had personally witnessed his abilities; they had never seen such a powerful person before, and he had recognized Xu Zifan as a jinx at a glance, which only strengthened their faith in him.
Xu Zhe wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, knelt down and kowtowed to his savior, "Gods, please save us! We are the only remaining relatives of that jinx; he will surely bring us to our deaths."
Xu Xiaoxiao also scrambled to her feet and knelt to the side, pleading, "Immortal, save us! We're in this mess because of Xu Zifan. He's won over those young masters and ladies; he definitely won't let us off the hook. Immortal, please have pity on us and save us! From now on, our whole family will serve you like slaves, doing whatever you command. Eliminating this jinx would be a great act of merit for you, wouldn't it? Please, Immortal, save us!"
The "immortal," draped in a black cloak, sighed upon hearing this, "Meeting is fate. I am destined to help you, but you will have to pay a price."
The brother and sister exchanged a glance, hesitant, but their hatred and fear of Xu Zifan prevailed, and they gritted their teeth and agreed, "A price is a price. As long as the immortal can save our lives, what does it matter if we pay a little price?!"
The "immortal" nodded in satisfaction. "I need to perform a ritual to deal with this calamity. It requires the blood of a loved one. Since you are willing, come with me to a secluded place so that we won't be discovered during the ritual and have all our efforts wasted."
The brother and sister instinctively pressed their hands to their hearts, somewhat frightened. Seeing this, the "immortal" turned to leave, saying, "If you haven't made up your minds yet, then let this matter rest. It is fate, and perhaps I shouldn't have saved you."
Upon hearing this, the two disregarded everything else and hurriedly stopped the "immortal" to beg for his help. The "immortal" used some kind of divine means to lead them through a series of turns until they entered an old courtyard house. However, they clearly remembered that there was no courtyard house near the bar. Where had they ended up?
They turned around and saw that the gate was closed, and they could not see the sky outside at all. It was as if the whole courtyard was shrouded in something, and they were immediately a little frightened.
However, the two were excited again after thinking about it, believing that this was a manifestation of the "immortal's" great abilities, and that this must be some kind of immortal's cave. They became even more obedient to the "immortal".
The "immortal" successfully began to collect the heart's blood from the two, immobilizing their bodies and preparing the items for his ritual.
The two watched helplessly as their heart's blood flowed into the porcelain bowl, a chilling fear suddenly rising within them—the scene was too horrifying! They wanted to stop, but they were unable to move or speak, and could only stand there watching in terror.
By the time the white porcelain bowl was completely filled, they were deathly pale, covered in cold sweat, and their bodies are so weak and have no strength at all.
The "immortal" carefully placed the porcelain bowl into the prepared array and removed the restrictions on the two. The two immediately collapsed to the ground. Xu Xiaoxiao weakly asked, "Your...your...name...is...is..."
The "immortal" removed his cloak, turned to look at them, and revealed a sinister smile. "This humble Taoist is Changsheng."
His smile gave the two a bad feeling. Xu Zhe stammered, "You're not...you're not here to save us. Who...who are you...?"
Chang Sheng got up and dragged them to two different positions in the formation, laughing, "I am the person most likely to gain immortality in the world, and also Xu Zifan's greatest enemy."
The two turned their heads to look at what was on either side, and asked in a panic, "What...what are you doing?"
"Kill Xu Zifan," Changsheng kindly explained to them, "He is a master of metaphysics, and it will take a lot of effort to kill him. But fortunately, you are all connected to him by blood. As long as you use your heart's blood as a catalyst and your bodies as a sacrifice, you can kill him through the puppet. I should thank you for your selfless dedication."
Xu Xiaoxiao's eyes widened in terror, and she screamed and struggled, "Let me go! You liar! You madman! You bastard!"
Xu Zhe also shouted angrily, "We disagree! We've changed our minds! We don't want to kill Xu Zifan anymore!"
Changsheng easily subdued them and sighed gently, "It's too late. When you willingly stepped into this courtyard with me, you had already entered into a contract with me. Now it's no use for you to go back on your word. Enjoy your last moments of life, for you will soon be leaving this world."
Xu Xiaoxiao and Xu Zhe were even more terrified by what he said. Unable to escape, they screamed at the top of their lungs, from cursing to crying and begging for mercy, but nothing worked. The two became more and more desperate, and at this moment they experienced the feeling of being worse than dead. If they had known, they would have preferred to have their legs broken rather than ask this madman for help!
After begging for mercy proved useless, they started cursing Xu Zifan again. They firmly believed that Xu Zifan could bring them bad luck and death. If it weren't for Xu Zifan's fate, how could they have become like this?
But blaming anyone was useless; Changsheng continued doing what he was doing, ignoring their words and only wanting to kill Xu Zifan and capture the people from Qingfeng Temple to interrogate them about their cultivation techniques. He wouldn't let go of any method that might lead to immortality or improve his cultivation.
He finally finished making the doll, wrote Xu Zifan's birth date and time on it, soaked it in the bowl of his heart's blood, and placed it in the center of the formation.
He sat cross-legged seven steps away, closed his eyes, made hand seals, and chanted incantations. Moments later, the bowl of heart's blood completely soaked into the puppet. Xu Xiaoxiao and Xu Zhe began to feel excruciating pain, screaming in agony. Starting from their feet, their bones shattered, their flesh torn apart. They fainted from the pain, then woke up again, their screams growing weaker and weaker until they were too weak to even utter a sound, looking as if they had just been pulled from the water.
Xu Zifan was attending his morning prayers at Qingfeng Temple when he suddenly felt a sweet taste in his throat. He abruptly opened his eyes and hurriedly stood up, saying, "I have important business to attend to. Don't let anyone follow me!"
Before he finished speaking, he had already leaped away, taking out a protective magic treasure from his spatial storage, which immediately developed cracks in the blink of an eye.
Xu Zifan took the opportunity to circulate his spiritual power, swallowed several pills to heal his internal injuries, and when the magic weapon developed a second crack, he took out an incense stick, spat a mouthful of blood on it, and then lit the incense.
There was no wind around, but the wisps of smoke from the incense were drifting in one direction. Xu Zifan's face turned cold, and he used his teleportation ability to move in that direction. He also made Shao Hua disable all the electronic devices they encountered along the way, and they arrived at the bar they had visited before in just a few minutes.
The protective magic item suddenly shattered, so Xu Zifan took out another magic item and put it on. He then followed the direction of the smoke and turned a corner. After that, the smoke rose straight up. Xu Zifan squinted and looked around, discovering a magic item that was being concealed by an illusion.
He was most proficient in Qimen Dunjia formations, and in just a few breaths, he had found the core of the formation, affixed a concealment talisman, and entered the formation.
Changsheng was focused on performing the ritual. The thought of getting revenge soon filled him with excitement and satisfaction. He didn't even notice Xu Zifan approaching from behind.
Xu Zifan stared coldly at the large formation inside the room, then took out several talismans and hurled them into the center of the formation! The talismans landed on the puppet, completely enveloping it, and in the blink of an eye, they turned bright red and dripped blood, actually drawing out all the heart blood from the puppet!
Changsheng suddenly opened his eyes, and upon seeing the scene before him, he flew into a rage, then rose in terror and turned around, shouting, "How did you get in? How could you have found me?!"
Xu Zifan made a hand seal, and the talismans immediately floated into the air and burned to ashes. The Xuan Iron Fan flew out and smashed the now ineffective puppet into pieces!
Xu Zifan walked towards him step by step with a cold face, "It's perfect that you've delivered yourself to my doorstep. Let's settle the score for the Taoist temple from back then as well."