The excitement of the master and disciple pair finally drew Ying Chen's attention.
Ying Chen frowned, displeased that his thoughts were interrupted.
He also felt a sliver of curiosity about the Yin Ke Shi mentioned by the two.
"Yin Ke Shi? What is that?"
Ying Chen's casual question instantly infuriated Ti Zhenyi.
"What are *you*? What is your whole family?"
"The Yin Ke Shi is one of the most revered professions in our Dongyang! Even the Great Priest of Ise Jingu would treat a Yin Ke Shi with courtesy!"
"Not only because this profession is extremely rare, but also because it is the nemesis of all Shinto cultivators!"
"A Yin Ke Shi who has just begun, as long as they master the most basic Yin Ke skill, can toy with a seasoned Shinto expert who has cultivated for a long time!"
"Let me put it this way, Yin Ke Shi are the nightmares of people like you! From the moment you see a Yin Ke Shi, your death is already sealed!"
Hearing Ti Zhenyi's explanation, Ying Chen let out a soft "Oh," then retorted, "Then why am I not dead yet?"
"..." Ti Zhenyi's face immediately darkened.
Don't hit a person's face when you hit them, don't expose their shortcomings!
Someone like Ying Chen must have no friends!
"And, you’ve been rambling so much, yet you still haven’t explained what exactly a Yin Ke Shi is?"
Ying Chen's follow-up question further confirmed for Ti Zhenyi: Ying Chen definitely had no friends!
Enraged, Ti Zhenyi sneered, "Since you're so eager to know what a Yin Ke Shi is, then experience it for yourself!"
With that, Ti Zhenyi suddenly formed hand seals.
His fingers moved at lightning speed.
As he completed the seals, the surrounding temperature plummeted.
Ice crystals even began to form on the tips of his hair and eyelashes.
Heaven and earth fell into a deathly silence.
And from behind Ti Zhenyi, someone emerged, indistinct and shadowy.
A woman.
The woman wore traditional Dongyang attire, her hair styled high on her head, and she wore geta on her feet.
Her head was lowered from beginning to end, her appearance hidden.
She appeared frail, respectful, and docile.
Resembling the ultimate fantasy that otaku have of Dongyang women.
However, as the woman appeared, Han Shixi recoiled several steps in fear.
As if this woman were some terrifying entity!
"By my name, I bestow upon you this power!"
"Ying Ji!"
Ti Zhenyi's voice was icy as he shouted.
Only then did the woman raise her head.
Revealing a terrifying face covered in blood-red scars!
"Carve his soul into your Ming He! Let him sink into your Ming He forever, unable to escape!"
The woman, named Ying Ji, bowed respectfully and uttered a "Hai."
The next second, she looked at Ying Chen.
A sinister smile spread across her ferocious and terrifying face.
And with this smile, the blood-red scars on Ying Ji's face began to grow!
As if countless gaping mouths, they expanded and spread across her face until the entire face could no longer contain these fissures, and they extended into the void!
Simultaneously, the void began to ripple.
A powerful suction force emerged from nowhere, surging towards Ying Chen like a vortex.
Ying Chen's divine soul, under this suction, faltered slightly.
Even a slight, almost imperceptible faltering, made Ying Chen raise an eyebrow in surprise.
After all, Ying Chen had spanned two thousand years. His cultivation might have been suppressed by the era, but his divine soul had become incredibly refined during these two millennia!
Just as graphite turns into diamond under the tempering of time, Ying Chen's divine soul was now as brilliant and hard as a diamond.
Let alone Ti Zhenyi, even someone ten times more powerful than Ti Zhenyi would be unable to cause any disturbance to Ying Chen's divine soul!
Yet, Ying Chen's divine soul had actually wavered.
This was quite preposterous.
"Heh heh, scared?"
"Good! You should be!"
"But it's too late! You wanted to know the secret of the Yin Ke Shi, didn't you? This is the secret of the Yin Ke Shi!"
"Yin Ke Shi can easily transcend realms and carve their opponent's divine soul into their Ming He! Once one falls into the Ming He, they can never escape, ultimately becoming a part of the Ming He!"
Ti Zhenyi laughed triumphantly.
Hearing this, Ying Chen suddenly understood.
So, the so-called Yin Ke Shi were cultivators who possessed innate soul-devouring abilities!
It was just that the Yin Ke Shi's soul-devouring abilities required the assistance of summoned shikigami like Ying Ji.
For anyone else, Ti Zhenyi's words might have been correct; Yin Ke Shi were indeed their natural enemies.
But for Ying Chen, Ti Zhenyi's words were utterly wrong.
Ying Chen might have enemies, but they were certainly not Ti Zhenyi!
And certainly not anyone from this era!
"Are you done talking?"
Ying Chen slightly lifted his eyelids and looked at Ti Zhenyi.
Then, Ying Chen spread his right hand, fingers splayed, and grabbed at the air!
*Screeech!*
The huge fissures that were extending towards Ying Chen were instantly compressed together by an invisible force!
They coalesced into a writhing, wailing, bizarre entity!
"Incinerate!"
Ying Chen coldly spat out a word.
The next second, a cluster of flames erupted on the surface of that entity.
The flames were blue-green, and though they felt no heat, they burned with extreme speed.
In the blink of an eye, they reduced the thing formed by the fissures into ashes!
"How... impossible!"
Seeing this, Ti Zhenyi was utterly stunned.
"No, no, no, this is absolutely not real! Ying Ji's Ming He can counter sorcery and divine abilities! In the face of Ying Ji's Ming He, no one can mobilize their divine soul to cast spells!"
"This must be an illusion!"
Ti Zhenyi seemed fond of attributing things he refused to believe to "illusions."
"No one?" Hearing these three words, Ying Chen chuckled.
"From today onwards, your phrasing needs to be revised. Because your 'no one' does not include me!"
With that, Ying Chen grabbed forward again!
Having lost its fissures, Ying Ji let out a scream of utter terror.
She struggled desperately, trying to flee towards Ti Zhenyi.
But it was to no avail.
She was like a small boat caught in a deep-sea vortex, utterly incapable of resisting the terrifying force of nature!
She could only slowly sink into the depths of the vortex.
*Screeech!*
A flame leaped onto Ying Ji's body.
Initially no larger than a finger, a gust of wind caused it to expand a hundredfold in an instant, engulfing Ying Ji completely!
Ying Chen said faintly, "Coincidentally, my 'Zi Zhu Ming Huo' also specializes in devouring divine souls. How about we let them have a little contest, to see who is more formidable?"
Ti Zhenyi remained silent.
His expression became increasingly terrified.
Because there was no need to compare; from Ying Ji's look of abject despair, it was clear that Ying Ji was no match for this Zi Zhu Ming Huo at all!
This forcibly matched contest was not even on the same level!
The Zi Zhu Ming Huo flickered ceaselessly, while Ying Ji struggled incessantly. The world was filled with Ying Ji's screams and the crackling of the candle flames.
Ying Ji's body was quickly burned down to half its size. She looked towards Ti Zhenyi for help.
But Ti Zhenyi at this moment seemed as if his soul had been lost, standing motionless.
His eyes held only despair!