In the blink of an eye Shi Pengpeng made a hand gesture, and two yellow talismans flew towards the boss.
The boss, already on guard, nimbly dodged to the side while opening his mouth wide and letting out a roar: “Roar!”
A surge of energy erupted, sending the two yellow talismans flying back.
Shi Pengpeng didn’t rush to pursue.
Instead, she seized the moment to leap forward, grabbing Xiao Lingshu by the shoulder and pulling him over.
Xiao Lingshu, now out of the boss’s control range, heaved a sigh of relief: “Senior sister, you’re amazing. The Two Forms Sect is lucky to have you…”
“Shut up, give me the money,” Shi Pengpeng said, reaching into his jacket pocket.
Xiao Lingshu’s eyes welled up with tears: “Senior sister, if you needed money, you could’ve just told me. I’d transfer it to you. Just name the amount, no need to get handsy. I still want to become a monk someday, this isn’t appropriate…”
As he spoke, Shi Pengpeng had already pulled out a square-holed copper coin from his pocket.
She pressed the coin against the duct tape binding his wrists, found the right angle, and with a sharp motion, the tape snapped.
Xiao Lingshu’s hands were free again, and he quickly rubbed his reddened wrists. “So it was for the coin. You should’ve said so earlier, I was feeling so awkward…”
Shi Pengpeng slapped the coin onto his lips: “Bite it.”
“?” Xiao Lingshu was baffled, holding the coin between his teeth as he mumbled,
“Senior sister, are you making me cosplay a toad? Is this some new spell of yours?”
“No,” Shi Pengpeng replied curtly.
“Just keeping your mouth shut.”
Xiao Lingshu: “…”
Senior sister’s words are so harsh.
On the other side, after dodging the talismans, the boss let out another roar.
His muscles bulged suddenly, especially around his shoulders and back, which swelled like small hills.
His already large frame grew even bigger.
Yang Ruilin, slumped by the door, stared wide-eyed: “You, you, he…”
Terrified, his nosebleed worsened, and he choked on the blood.
“Your mental fortitude is too weak. It’s just a demon,” Xiao Lingshu shook his head, then turned to tug at Shi Pengpeng’s shoulder.
“Senior sister, have you figured out what it is?”
Shi Pengpeng glanced at him sideways: “You haven’t?”
Xiao Lingshu shook his head honestly, launching into a rapid-fire complaint:
“I was planning to capture it first and then interrogate it, but I got careless and ended up in its grasp. But honestly, it’s not my fault. This demon’s skin is too thick-my copper coin sword couldn’t pierce it and ended up breaking. And let me tell you, it’s so perverse. It didn’t even kill me, just forced me to eat cake…”
Before he could finish, Shi Pengpeng pushed him aside.
A gust of wind brushed past as the boss lunged forward.
“How sneaky, ambushing us!” Xiao Lingshu exclaimed, pulling out a few copper coins from his pocket.
With a flick of his fingers, the coins shot through the air like projectiles, striking the boss.
The coins hit at tricky angles, cutting through the boss’s clothes but leaving his skin unscathed.
“Clink, clink, clink,” the coins fell to the ground.
“Damn it, I’m out of change!” Xiao Lingshu lamented.
“Senior sister, what do we do, what do we do, what do we do…”
Shi Pengpeng ignored his howls.
Seeing that the boss had an unusual aura and her talismans couldn’t get close, she decided to engage him in close combat herself.
The boss’s muscles were bulging, and each punch and palm strike carried astonishing force, almost creating a sonic boom.
However, Shi Pengpeng was agile, not only deflecting his attacks with ease but also seizing the opportunity to land a few palm strikes on his back.
Yang Ruilin watched in stunned silence, his lips trembling: “Shi… Shi… Miss Shi, she… she…”
The boss already looked terrifying enough, but with her innocent face, she was actually holding her own against him.
It was hard to say who was more frightening.
“Why are you so surprised?” Xiao Lingshu sneered, “Haven’t you seen such a strong woman before?”
Yang Ruilin:”…..”
Indeed, I haven’t.
At that moment, with a loud “bang,” Shi Pengpeng and the boss clashed palms directly, sending a surge of powerful energy rippling through the air.
Shi Pengpeng felt a numbness in her palm, her blood and qi churning uncontrollably, forcing her to retreat several steps.
The boss glared at Shi Pengpeng, his eyes bulging, and extended a crimson tongue to lick his teeth: “You’re stronger than that male mage, but still not enough…”
Xiao Lingshu felt offended and exclaimed, “Wow, you monster, why are you dragging others down? Although you’re right, it’s still so rude…”
“Is that so?” Shi Pengpeng coldly raised her eyes, her ten fingers forming a seal in front of her chest, “Begone!”
Suddenly, a burst of firelight erupted before their eyes.
The boss was shocked to find that a talisman had been unknowingly stuck to his palm.
Not only that, but his back also burned with the searing pain of talisman fire.
It turned out that Shi Pengpeng had secretly placed the talisman on him during their exchange.
Several talisman flames blazed fiercely, and black smoke began to rise from his palm and back.
“Roar “The boss let out a furious roar, spreading his arms like a wild beast and lunging at Shi Pengpeng,
“I’ll devour you—”
Before he could finish, four yellow talismans appeared at the four corners around him, the cinnabar glowing brightly, forming a Four Symbols Talisman Array that trapped him firmly.
The boss fell to the ground, but instead of getting up, he rolled over, his limbs pressed against the floor as he transformed into his true form.
It was a massive creature, resembling a tiger with black fur, a mane, four ears, and a bloodthirsty maw filled with cone-like fangs.
A sharp horn protruded from its head.
“Damn!” Xiao Lingshu’s eyes widened, “It’s the Nian beast!”
The Nian beast, also known as the Sui beast, is a legendary ancient ferocious creature that usually lives in remote, dense forests.
It emerges only once a year on New Year’s Eve, attacking villages, destroying crops, and even eating people.
Ancient texts record: “In the chaos of the beginning, there was a horned beast called Nian, which emerged once a year to devour people. At that time, humans only knew of day and night, not of the passage of years. When Nian appeared, they knew another year had passed.”
Thus, among the people, “celebrating the New Year” is also called “passing the Nian barrier.”
However, with the passage of time, this ferocious beast has disappeared, with the most recent records dating back a thousand years.
“Ahhh, no wonder its skin is so thick! My powerful copper coin sword was completely destroyed. I thought it was some old turtle spirit. Senior Sister, you need to be careful.”
“The books say the Nian is extremely fierce. It seems a bit tough to deal with. I’m out of copper coins now, so I’m just a pure mage. But you don’t need to worry too much, I chant well, so I can help…….”
The chanting wasn’t bad; it could add a buff.
“The Dao follows nature, the universe is boundless…” Xiao Lingshu muttered while swiftly forming hand seals in front of his chest.
His words were fast, and his hands were even faster.
In a moment, he completed an exorcism seal and shouted, “Command!”
An invisible force surged like a sudden gust of wind, sweeping toward the ferocious beast ahead.
The Nian beast didn’t even flinch.
It roared, its breath like a tidal wave, instantly overwhelming the cosmic force and extinguishing the talisman flames on its body.
With a leap, it opened its massive maw and devoured one of the talismans from the corner of the Four Symbols Array.
“Just a few lousy talismans, and you think you can subdue me?” The Nian beast’s eyes glowed red, a low growl rumbling in its throat as it chewed on the talisman and spoke in human words.
“Back in the day, even the heavenly soldiers and generals would retreat at the sight of me…”
“Stop bragging,” Shi Pengpeng said with disdain.
“Who doesn’t know that when you were in the heavens, you were chained to a pillar in some forgotten corner?”
Ancient records state that the Nian beast, known for devouring humans and causing havoc, was chained to a pillar under the watch of the Purple Star, preventing it from descending to wreak havoc on the mortal realm.
Monsters are often eccentric, prone to exaggeration, and the Nian beast was no exception.
The Nian beast choked on its words, then roared in fury, “Today, I’ll devour all of you!”
With the Four Symbols Array broken, the Nian beast lunged at them.
Shi Pengpeng and Xiao Lingshu nimbly dodged to the sides.
Before Xiao Lingshu moved, he even gave Yang Ruilin a kick, sending him tumbling into a corner.
With a loud crash, Yang Ruilin and the Nian beast landed simultaneously.
Yang Ruilin, already dizzy, spat out a mouthful of blood from the impact, his consciousness fading.
“Monster… monster…”
The Nian beast’s momentum was fierce.
With its strength, breaking through the wooden door of the shop would have been effortless.
But it clearly didn’t want to attract attention, so it skidded to a halt just before the door, then turned to pounce at Shi Pengpeng again.
In that split second, Shi Pengpeng had already drawn a new talisman with portable cinnabar and hurled it at the beast.
This talisman wasn’t as forceful as the previous ones, floating lightly in the air.
“Still trying to use talismans against me?” The Nian beast showed no fear, opening its mouth to swallow the talisman.
“Looks like this little mage is out of tricks.”
Shi Pengpeng shouted, “Command!”
In an instant, a terrifying aura descended from the heavens, accompanied by a roaring tide of power, crashing down on the Nian beast.
The Nian beast’s face twisted in agony, its eyes bulging, its teeth grinding.
“The… the power of the Qilin!”
Even Xiao Lingshu couldn’t help but exclaim, “Senior Sister, am I seeing this right? Is that really the Qilin? When did you improve so much behind my back?”
“Didn’t you say you couldn’t draw Qilin talismans well? Is this how you top students define ‘not good’? I’m going to throw a fit…”
Drawing talismans isn’t hard, but drawing them well requires exceptional talent.
The “Qilin Arrives” talisman is a common auspicious talisman, often used in folk practices to ward off evil.
But truly invoking the power of the Qilin is no easy feat.
The Qilin is the epitome of strength and majesty, a sacred omen of the sage kings.
Drawing a Qilin talisman demands immense mental energy, not just talent but also deep cultivation.
Shi Pengpeng’s talent in talismanic arts was undeniable, but whether due to her youth, limited experience, or some other reason, she had always struggled with…
Lin Fu’s mastery had always been slightly lacking.
But now, it seemed she had made a breakthrough.
“Recently, I’ve encountered some things and gained new insights,” Shi Pengpeng said succinctly.
“Did you bring the ink marker?”
The ink marker, invented by Lu Ban, was a carpenter’s tool used to draw long straight lines.
It symbolized precision and was also used by Taoists as a ritual instrument.
“Yes, yes…” Xiao Lingshu replied, taking advantage of the Qilin’s magic to firmly suppress the Nian beast.
She quickly ran behind an overturned table and picked up a palm-sized black and gold ink marker and said,
“I accidentally dropped it when the beast attacked earlier, but luckily it’s not damaged…”
“Hand it over,” Shi Pengpeng reached out and took it.
Upon inspection, she saw that the ink marker was made of ancient bronze, adorned with dragon patterns.
“Did you change your ink marker again?”
Xiao Lingshu was known for her extravagant habits, often going through ritual instruments at a rapid pace.
She had previously used wooden ink markers, but this one was made of pure bronze, shaped like a dragon.
Xiao Lingshu chuckled, “Hehe, I got this at an auction recently. They said it’s a relic from the Song Dynasty. Isn’t it impressive? I was thinking, given its history, it might have been used by a Taoist master from Longhu Mountain…”
Shi Pengpeng thought to herself, “Damn rich people!”
She didn’t have time to dwell on it.
She pulled out the ink line, dipped it in cinnabar, and swiftly bound the Nian beast.
The ink marker’s line was straight and true, embodying the righteousness of heaven and earth, and had a strong restraining effect on evil spirits.
The Nian beast, already controlled by the Qilin’s magic, was further immobilized by the ink line.
It lay on the ground, its eyes blood-red, panting heavily, but still let out a defiant laugh, “Too bad, your Lin Fu is still a bit lacking. You can only trap me for a while. Once your magic runs out, just wait and see…”
“Don’t wait for me,” Shi Pengpeng said with a smile.
“Wait for this instead.”
She then took out a cardboard box she had been carrying with her.
She had found time in the afternoon to have it delivered from a local ancestral incense shop.
She opened the box and pulled out two large bundles of firecrackers and several red firework tubes the size of grenades.
“Hehe,” she laughed, “These are the ritual instruments I prepared for you.”
The Nian, as an ancient beast of evil, was not like ordinary malevolent spirits.
Common exorcism talismans would only have half their usual effect on it.
From the beginning, Shi Pengpeng had not planned to use talismans to subdue it.
The Nian’s true weakness was its aversion to the color red, fire, and loud noises.
Thus, in ancient times, during the New Year, every household would paste red couplets and set off firecrackers.
Homes would be brightly lit, and people would stay up all night to ward off the Nian, a tradition that has persisted to this day.
Among these, the Nian feared firecrackers the most.
Beyond the loud noise, the gunpowder used in firecrackers was originally produced by Taoist alchemists and contained the essence of yang fire, which would disrupt the Nian’s energy, acting like a debuff and greatly weakening its power.
Shi Pengpeng had previously suspected the true nature of the “Year of Plenty” boss and had prepared accordingly.
Now, seeing the Nian’s true form, she was fully convinced.
She hadn’t brought out the firecrackers earlier because she was afraid the Nian would flee immediately.
Now that it was bound, she could scare it as much as she wanted.
Finally, Shi Pengpeng took out two thick tubes, each about forty centimeters long, resembling rocket launchers.
Xiao Lingshu read the words printed on the tubes: “Gatling Fireworks!!”
He swallowed hard, unusually hesitant to speak. “Wait, Senior Sister, did you report this?”
This could practically be considered a small arsenal…
“It’s the New Year, of course we should celebrate a bit,” Shi Pengpeng said with a giggle, calmly glancing at the immobilized beast.
“Nian, if I call your name, would you dare to answer?”
Nian:”….”
Nian was utterly terrified, letting out a panicked howl: “Awooo-you can’t do this to me!!!!!!”
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