The Exorcist

Book 8: Chapter 32: The Death of Ruan Zhan (2)

Father Ruan calmed his mind and focused, and indeed felt a strong sense of oppression coming from behind, indicating that the formation had already closed. He didn’t know these people and didn’t remember anything. Yet they had shut him within a barrier. After coming out, he had first been trapped by the Bindings of Heaven and Earth, and was now sealed inside this formation. All these things made the anger in his chest burn even more fiercely, and he grew determined to kill Ruan Zhan.

Like an eagle, Father Ruan soared into the sky, taking the high ground. He couldn’t leave the formation but neither could that kid. As long as he had the high ground, the kid would be in his attack range no matter where he teleported.

However, when he struck with his palm, Ruan Zhan did not move. Wielding the Bloodwood Sword in his left hand, he deflected wind blades attacking from all directions to the ground.

Ruan Tian Yi was startled. He struck out with all his might again, but the situation remained the same. Although Ruan Zhan seemed a bit strained, he still managed to block his attack. He looked at his hand, then looked up at the moon that was already mostly covered, full of doubt. Although his strength was at its weakest, why had the kid suddenly become so strong?

“It’s my turn to attack, right?” On the ground, Ruan Zhan suddenly let out a loud shout and casually struck with a lightning palm.

Ever since they started fighting, the two had used the same moves. Their innate spirit power and cultivated spells all seemed to come from the same source. Having fought to this point, neither side held anything back and competed purely based on power. Therefore, Ruan Zhan’s lightning palm didn’t scare Ruan Tian Yi, but this time it was exceptionally strong. Although Ruan Tian Yi responded with the same move, he was almost struck down. But before he could think about it, Ruan Zhan’s wind blade arrived again. This time, he could no longer stay in mid-air and floated down.

“Worthy of calling myself your son, right?” Ruan Zhan asked half-jokingly, feeling extremely sad. As he spoke, he shot out a flaming handprint.

Two flaming handprints met, but since Ruan Zhan was human while Ruan Tian Yi was a spirit, the flames were different. One was yang and one was yin. He wasn’t able to withstand his father’s yin fire, and his father would have a hard time enduring his yang fire. While his father had yet to adapt to his sudden increase in strength, the clash between flames actually resulted in the yin flames being wiped out. Screams rang out repeatedly as the yang flames burned.

Ruan Zhan saw all this, and instead of feeling any joy, it was extremely unbearable and he was filled with doubts. If he was already in such a state now, how was he supposed to go through with taking his life? But he also had no choice! Throughout the long battle, he had continued to search for a way to remove the evil aura from his father’s soul. However, to his despair, he discovered it wasn’t possible. This meant that ultimately, his father’s soul had to be destroyed to fully remove the possibility of him demonizing.

It was as if his father suffered from an incurable and painful illness and he, as the son, had to put him out of his misery. No matter how much his father was suffering, it would still be hard to act. Even if it meant granting him peace, it would still leave lasting pain and regret. Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, he didn’t want to take that step.

The reason his powers suddenly increased, apart from the eclipse weakening his father while strengthening him, was also because of this formation that was set up outside the ultimate formation. This was a formation that doubled his power. Using it allowed him to seize the upper hand. He had schemed meticulously to arrange this outcome. By provoking his father’s ferocity, he would imbue his attacks with the evil aura. That would give him an opportunity.

As expected, the burning yang flames drove Ruan Tian Yi mad. His pride, strength, and the malice formed by evil aura did not permit him to suffer such harm and humiliation. He let out a loud roar, and his body suddenly grew to twice its size, charging towards Ruan Zhan like a giant from mythology.

Ruan Zhan wasn’t flustered and remained in place. He could tell his father’s enlarged form was an illusion formed by dark energy. He was hoping all the evil aura would be vented out. That would be the best timing to make his move. Therefore, he merely dodged and evaded, provoking his father into growing increasingly angrier while his own situation grew more perilous.

A few minutes felt like several years. While Ruan Zhan dodged desperately, he snuck a glance at his father and saw the dark energy around him growing ever larger. It seemed to have all been expelled. The time of the full eclipse was also at hand. He could no longer wait and had to act. Hopefully, all the evil aura was present without any trace remaining in his body. Hopefully he could sever it all while the moon was fully covered!

With a flick of his wrist, he threw the Bloodwood Sword at his father. The Bloodwood Sword pierced through the surrounding black mist like a red dragon and landed behind his father, vibrating all the while. He knew it wouldn’t hurt him despite his wariness towards it. The evil aura around him was too heavy and blocked the Bloodwood Sword’s suppressive effect. He just wanted to distract his father for a moment. A single step brought him next to an inconspicuous rock, from which he pulled out the crystal dagger.

The crystal dagger also emitted spirit power. TO avoid drawing his father’s attention, he had placed it here and set up a barrier that prevented the spirit power from leaking. The moment he had been waiting for had finally arrived. He lunged at his father with the dagger in hand, forcing his right arm, which was wounded to the bone, to draw glyphs. He leapt into the black mist that enveloped him like a viscous liquid.

Without any skills or defensive measures, leaving himself wide open to his father’s counterattack, Ruan Zhan swung wildly with the dagger. Since the crystal dagger was sharp enough to sever everything, and its cuts could never be healed, his plan was to lure out all the evil aura and cut it into pieces, preventing it from reforming. That way he could save his father. It was his plan all along!

Father Ruan obviously didn’t expect this move from him. He charged to and fro within the black mist, feeling intense pain across his body as if he was being dismembered. The one carving his flesh piece by piece was the young man before him.

He raised his hand, wanting to kill him with one strike, but the pain prevented him from doing so. He wanted to dodge, but this kid had entered his evil aura. It was as if he were inside his body, and he wasn’t able to shake him off!

Piece by piece, the black mist formed by the evil aura dropped to the ground like a light veil. However, it didn’t vanish, and instead shrank into small black beads that rolled around as if alive. Ruan Zhan ignored this as he gathered his breath and gritted his teeth. He couldn’t see or hear anything, and relied on brute force and speed in this race against time. He had to cut the evil aura to pieces before the total eclipse!

Father Ruan screamed and evaded within the formation while Ruan Zhan mercilessly pursued. The moon’s light grew ever fainter. Finally, the last ray of moonlight disappeared, and the world was plunged into darkness. Everyone felt as if they had fallen into the deepest part of hell.

 Silence accompanied the darkness, as if even the air had suddenly congealed. Outside the barrier, the evil belonging to the realm of the yin and the dark took the opportunity to emerge. Their auras could be felt even through the barrier. They pressed against the barrier wall, attempting to reach the power within and seize a share of the loot.

Bao Da Tong didn’t need to use an illumination talisman. He could see with his naked eyes the various green, dark and blue glows that flickered with ill intent. He wanted to take care of things outside quickly before going to help Ah Zhan and his old man. Therefore, he no longer tried to persuade these spirits to leave. He flicked the tattered banner and had it conjure up a strong gale, absorbing the evil spirits from every direction. At the same time, he swung his father’s pride and joy, the rainbow sword. He moved swiftly around the barrier, cutting down the lingering evil spirits like chopping vegetables, maintaining the barrier’s stability.

Inside the barrier, everyone hiding in the darkness was extremely nervous, carefully sensing the situation on the other side of the formation. The destined moment had arrived, but they didn’t know if Ruan Zhan’s plan had succeeded. Although the two of them were within the formation, those outside had no way to tell. They could only wait.

As for Ruan Zhan who was in the midst of battle, he couldn’t see his own hands within the darkness. Apart from the crystal dagger’s glow, there was only his heavy breathing. There was only silence across from him. It was as if his father never existed. At that moment, he even wondered if this whole thing had just been a nightmare.

The lunar eclipse was a brief moment, but it felt like a deep and terrifying dream to him. Suddenly, he had a very bad premonition, and the hairs on his body stood on end. Two dark red lights appeared at a height equal to his, blinking like the eyes of a sleeping demon opening. At the same time, a contemptuous, disdainful yet ferocious laugh entered his heart through his ears.

He had failed!

He risked death to try and drive out all the evil aura that had merged with his father’s soul. Only then could he use the magical crystal dagger to cut and disperse it. Since the cuts would be permanent, he could figure out a way to deal with the pieces later. He knew it would cause his father immense pain, like cutting flesh and shaving bones, but it was the only way. His only worry was that there hadn’t been enough time for all the evil aura to be expelled, and it seemed his fears were justified.

Now, he had no choice but to lure his father into the ultimate formation. He had sworn to himself he wouldn’t allow his father to leave as a demon. He knew how cruel that would be.

The formation was a one-way street that would lead to mutual destruction. Neither human nor ghost could leave after it was activated. The crystal dagger would also be instantly destroyed. He hadn’t wanted to use the formation, but now he had no choice.

Faced with his demonizing father in the darkness, Ruan Zhan firmed his heart and surreptitiously stepped back a few steps towards his foretold demise. At that moment, a sliver of light appeared as an edge of the moon revealed itself. The land was immediately bathed in beautiful moonlight. Although it was only a trace, it was enough to sweep away the gloom of the mortal realm.

Ruan Zhan stared at the person before him, and realized there was no trace of his father’s soul remaining. His body had become strong and bestial, with horns protruding from his forehead. His hair and eyes were crimson, his face marked with sinister patterns. Two fangs grew from his mouth.

Complete demonization!

Not waiting for the demon to move, Ruan Zhan suddenly leapt backwards. As the demon grabbed for him with its only arm, he turned nimbly in the air and stepped through the gate of the absolute formation. He reached out at the same time and the Bloodwood Sword flew by itself into his hand. With his left hand, he flung out a glyph with a long tail onto the demon’s leg, causing it to stumble. Enraged, it didn’t have time to discover the formation within the formation.

Seeing that the demon had also followed in, he used a teleport to send himself to the dead locust tree without hesitation and inserted the crystal knife into the tree hole. That was the formation’s core he had meticulously arranged. It was filled with the required objects to activate the formation, and the dagger was the key.

“What are you doing?” The demon sensed something was wrong.

This place was filled with an air of finality, uncomfortably empty and startlingly frightening. Despite his demonic powers being invincible, he still felt a sense of helplessness.

“This is the burial place for us, father and son.” Ruan Zhan said calmly, “Who would have thought our bond was so fated that we’d perish at the same time. No matter how strong you are, you cannot break out of this ultimate formation. Even if you kill me, you cannot survive. Why not save yourself the effort?”

The demon who used to be Father Ruan didn’t believe him. However, the formation did feel like an impenetrable grave. Looking up, he saw half the moon exposed once more, but he felt his own darkness had just descended. When he tried to use his demonic energy, his legs felt heavy and even his blood seemed to have congealed.

“The formation’s been activated but it takes a while to get going. The two of us will have to wait a bit.” Ruan Zhan gave a desolate smile, and for a moment, the demon actually thought that this kid’s smile was very precious and very beautiful. “Master Long was truly smart. No matter how strong someone is, they can’t be stronger than a formation. Even against demons and immortals, there are formations that can deal with them. When I was young, I often heard you reading ‘Investiture of the Gods’ out loud while ignoring me. Thinking back, that was probably your way of reading me a bedtime story!”

The demon was stunned for a moment. He wanted to raise his hand but it seemed to be filled with lead. Frustrated, his demonic energy surged.

“Stop trying to scare me. Even if the situation is dire, I can still have you die before me. Let me out!” He roared and struck out.

Ruan Zhan raised the Bloodwood Sword and made a strange move. No matter how you looked at it, it didn’t seem like he was defending himself. Instead, he seemed to be allowing himself to be killed. The demon was startled, expecting some sort of trick. He actually withdrew the demonic energy that was about to hit Ruan Zhan.

However, he heard Ruan Zhan continue: “When I was a child, I wanted to make you angry, to make you chase and scold me like the other fathers. So whatever you taught me, I deliberately messed up.” He sent out a few attacks as he spoke.

Despite losing its humanity, the demon still retained some of its memories. He could immediately tell Ruan Zhan was using the techniques. He used the flaming handprint gesture to shoot a lightning palm. He used the lightning palm’s strike to send out a wind blade. He then used a wind blades slash to shoot a flaming handprint. It was all completely twisted. Somehow, his heart actually softened when seeing the mess, and he wanted to smile.

“I always thought you didn’t love me throughout our relationship. Yet now, I understand. Therefore, even though I’m dying because of you today, I will still say that you are a good father.”

The sound of the wind inside the formation was like the beating of drums, and it grew more urgent with each beat. The demon was stunned, momentarily dazed, feeling something surfacing from the depths of his heart. But Ruan Zhan stopped talking. He turned his head and found the large boulder. The people hiding behind it had all come out. Wan Li and Uncle Bao were saying something urgently, but Xiao Xia stood silently in place, watching him.

He looked into Xiao Xia’s eyes, his gaze filled with infinite tenderness. His lips moved.

So far away, in the faded moonlight, Xiao Xia understood what Ruan Zhan was saying.

He repeated what he had told her last night, before he fell asleep: I will always love you!