The Life-catcher General spotted Jiao Tu's Yin God and stopped at a distance, whistling like a bird to strategize with each other, reluctant to approach rashly for the moment.

In the darkness, black mist billowed around Jiao Tu's Yin God. Xiao Man was no stranger to these "Yin Gods," but seeing it up close for the first time, she noticed a small, golden silhouette within the swirling dark smoke.

It flickered in and out of view, as if it were a golden body about to be reborn, or perhaps it concealed a scorching sun.

Princess Liyang, worldly and knowledgeable, assessed, "A Yang God is forming... Are you subordinates of Chen Ji?"

Jiao Tu smiled mischievously, "Not just subordinates, oh no, I almost drank a marriage toast with Mr. Chen."

Xiao Man, clutching the wound on her shoulder, spoke sternly, "Don't go tarnishing my young master's reputation out here!"

Jiao Tu cast a sidelong glance at her, "Alright, alright, I know."

Xiao Man was puzzled, "How did you end up here?"

At that moment, five of the Life-catcher General's men stepped forward to probe Jiao Tu's intentions.

Jiao Tu flipped her Yanyue Blade upside down and advanced towards the Life-catcher General, "Your young master, on the third day of the fourth month, specifically instructed the two of us to wait here outside the Chongli Pass Military Market to support him. We've been waiting more than twenty days, almost growing lice from waiting, yet it wasn't him who showed up but you. No matter, your young master is loyal and righteous; he would save anyone. This time, for the merit of reclaiming our zodiac positions, we're determined to succeed."

Xiao Man turned to her, "There are many Life-catcher Generals, over thirty of them, you..."

Jiao Tu looked back, her shadow whispering playfully, "Xiao Man, surely you didn't think we became Zodiacs by luck, did you? Let me show you my skills."

As soon as she finished speaking, Jiao Tu leaped into action with her Yanyue Blade held upside down.

Her body was light as a feather, soaring several yards into the air.

The Yanyue Blade, longer than Jiao Tu's own body, cleaved down on the Life-catcher Generals, like a black banner swinging through the air, creating a droning hum as it cut through.

The Life-catcher General, first to bear the brunt, did not dodge; instead, he raised his hand and loosed three arrows, hoping to trade his life to remove this bizarre black shadow.

The three arrows shot toward Jiao Tu's head, heart, and lungs in a triangular formation, but Jiao Tu didn't dodge. Her Yanyue Blade swirled with air currents, wrapping the arrows around it like planets orbiting the sun.

In an instant, Jiao Tu's blade struck the Life-catcher General on the shoulder.

The domineering Yanyue Blade, unstoppable and unmatched, sliced through the tough, rough black leather armor, cutting his chest open, spilling blood onto the ground like a torrential rain.

Jiao Tu pulled the Yanyue Blade from the man's shoulder and continued her assault towards the Life-catcher Generals' battle formation.

Princess Liyang watched the slaughter from a distance, "Her Yin God won't last long, it's not enough to handle over thirty Life-catcher Generals."

The next moment, Yun Yang passed by her, smiling lightly, "Isn't there me too?"

He pulled a shadow puppet from his bosom, a majestic Door God adorned in red armor and a red helmet.

Yun Yang squatted by the fallen Life-catcher General, reached into his chest cavity, and pulled out a heart.

He held the heart in his hand and turned to smile at Princess Liyang, "The official door of the shadow puppet technique is no secret; the Jing Dynasty has the Wei Pu Sect, also called the small shadow puppet. What I practice is the Ning Dynasty's Door God Script, also known as the large shadow puppet. I wonder if Her Highness has ever seen this?"

Yun Yang took out a silver needle, extracted two drops of blood from the heart, and dripped them onto the shadow puppet's eyes, "Some call this adding color, others call it dotting the eyes, but it doesn't matter what it's called, as long as it works."

He placed the puppet imbued with blood behind the corpse, and the wound inflicted by the Yanyue Blade on the Life-catcher General suddenly closed up. The body stood up expressionlessly.

Yun Yang also stood up, patting the Life-catcher General on the shoulder, "Go protect Jiao Tu."

The Life-catcher General, holding his bow, walked expressionlessly to where Jiao Tu's original body was seated, his gaze hawk-like as he surveyed the surroundings.

Yun Yang, half-smiling, warned, "Don't get too close to Jiao Tu, the shadow puppets recognize no kin, they'll kill you too."

Having said that, he moved on to another Life-catcher General's corpse, repeating the process.

This time, as soon as the Life-catcher General stood up, he immediately drew his bow and shot arrows, protecting Jiao Tu's Yin God and attacking the other Life-catcher Generals. The Life-catcher General was of the Innate Realm in life, and Yun Yang's shadow puppet was also of the Innate Realm, its archery skills just as keen as in life.

When the Life-catcher Generals shot arrows at the shadow puppets, the puppets neither dodged nor hid, letting the arrows hit them without pain or harm.

The Life-catcher Generals exchanged looks, unsure how to deal with these "living dead."

Yun Yang followed behind the Life-catcher Generals and Jiao Tu. Each time Jiao Tu or the Generals killed someone, he repeated the process.

In just a few dozen breaths, Jiao Tu had slain thirteen, and Yun Yang had created thirteen shadow puppets. One shadow puppet guarded Jiao Tu's original body, while the remaining twelve enclosed Yun Yang tightly within their protection.

The number of shadow puppets kept increasing.

A Life-catcher General aimed his bow at Yun Yang, but before the arrow could reach him, a shadow puppet blocked it with their body.

In the next moment, twelve shadow puppets turned their heads in unison to look in the direction the arrow had come from.

The twelve shadow puppets simultaneously drew their bows and shot, the twelve arrows sealing off all angles of escape. The Life-catcher General dived to the left, only to be hit by three arrows simultaneously and blown away.

By this time, Yun Yang no longer needed Jiao Tu. He, like a noble gentleman, traversed leisurely through the forest amidst the Life-catcher Generals.

Throughout his path, more than ten arrows were shot at him, forcing the Life-catcher General to retreat step by step.

Princess Liyang praised, "If this man fought alone, with his skills, he couldn't even kill a single Life-catcher General. But paired with this woman who has cultivated the Yang God Path, it turns rotten into miraculous. Two Executive Officers at the Innate Realm can completely overpower thirty or more Life-catcher Generals... Are they really Chen Ji's subordinates?"

At this moment, the little monk climbed down from Taotie, worriedly approached Xiao Man, and looked at her shoulder pierced by an arrow: "You..."

Xiao Man's face was pale: "Don't worry, I'm not drinking your blood."

"I'm not afraid of that," the little monk said, placing his palm on her shoulder, softly reciting scriptures. "...Accumulate goodness from compassion, vow to save all sentient beings. The golden staff in hand, opening the gates of hell. Pearls in the palm, illuminating the vast universe. Within wisdom's voice, amidst auspicious clouds. For the suffering of Jambudvipa's beings, serving as a great agent of merit. Great compassion, great vows, great saints, great kindness. Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Mahasattva..."

The Ksitigarbha's Vows were recited over and over, and Xiao Man looked down at the hand covering her shoulder, feeling a warm breath emanating from the palm, greatly reducing her pain.

Xiao Man raised her head to look.

But this time, the little monk instinctively avoided her eyes.

Xiao Man said in surprise: "It turns out your Cultivation Path can heal and save people... but it's too slow. When you return, recite the scriptures properly, if you slack off again, I'll hang you from the beam."

The little monk ignored her, continuing to recite softly. Only after reciting the Ksitigarbha's Vows twelve times did the bleeding at Xiao Man's wound stop.

The little monk stopped chanting, looked at the bite marks on his wrist, hesitated for a moment before offering it to Xiao Man: "...Would you like to drink another couple of sips? I'm not stingy, just a bit afraid of pain."

Xiao Man slapped away his wrist impatiently: "Forget it, I won't die."

At this time, Jiao Tu's Yin God had exhausted its power, after delivering the final blow, it disappeared like smoke.

Her true self opened her eyes, the remaining ten or so Life-catcher Generals no longer needed her concern, Yun Yang naturally cleared the battlefield.

Jiao Tu patted her backside and stood up, smilingly said to Xiao Man: "Miss Xiao Man, hurry back to Chongli Pass, you can't have anything happen, otherwise who will prove our achievements to your master?"

"I'll honestly report everything that happened today to the master," Xiao Man said, pulling the little monk and Princess Liyang, turning to run south.

Jiao Tu stood at the mountain peak watching them leave, Yun Yang came to her side and quietly asked: "The remaining nine Life-catcher Generals ran away, what should we do?"

Jiao Tu looked up at the moon's position: "It's midnight now, your shadow puppets won't last much longer, escort us back to Chongli Pass."

Yun Yang, wearing a black robe, hands tucked in sleeves, turned to look at her: "Will that kid honor his promise?"

Jiao Tu smiled slightly: "Naturally he will. Mr. Chen is very clever, what he wants to do definitely can't be done without us, these two loyal subordinates. This time, we can finally return to the Top Three Zodiacs."

Yun Yang curiously asked: "After returning to the Zodiac, should we continue cooperating with him?"

Jiao Tu pondered for a moment: "Yes, cooperate."

Yun Yang was puzzled: "He's just a Hai Dongqing, we've returned to the Zodiac, why still listen to him?"

Jiao Tu chuckled: "After Binghu's position became vacant, Xuan Snake and Treasure Monkey crazily fought for credit, thinking it was theirs for the taking. But the Lord Prime Minister left the Top Three positions vacant for so long, not choosing either Xuan Snake or Treasure Monkey, indicating neither fit his criteria. If they did, why wait so long?"

Yun Yang raised his eyebrows: "You don't think that Chen Ji kid is suitable, do you?"

Jiao Tu removed the hairpin and tied up her messy hair: "Yun Yang, I don't want to return to Wunian Mountain ever again in my life, I need to find a big tree to take shelter under, but you are not that tree. Although Bai Long is strong, he's been acting strangely... Moreover, under his command, there's already Xuan Snake and Treasure Monkey, if we join, it's just adding icing on the cake, but we'll have to be squeezed out by that sinister Xuan Snake. The Prime Minister taught us, anyone can add icing, but helping in times of need is true skill."

Yun Yang frowned: "But he's only eighteen."

"What's wrong with eighteen, you and I at eighteen killed more people than he did by far. He, just looks kind, causing many to overlook how many he's actually killed..." Jiao Tu reinserted the hairpin, heading towards Chongli Pass: "Moreover, the Prime Minister is clear in rewards and punishments. When you achieve a great merit, you get a wish fulfilled, be it gold or a Cultivation Path reward, he absolutely makes you feel grateful and loyal. When you make a big mistake, the Prime Minister definitely makes you suffer sleepless pain, pain down to the bone."

Jiao Tu turned back to look at Yun Yang: "But after Chen Ji became Hai Dongqing, despite repeatedly achieving great merits, did the Prime Minister ever reward him? His position didn't change a bit, nor received any reward. This goes against the rules of our Spy Department, it's not the personality of the Prime Minister."

Yun Yang mused: "It seems like that, it's as if the Prime Minister forgot his merits."

Jiao Tu smiled: "What do you think the Prime Minister is waiting for?"

Yun Yang was astonished.

Jiao Tu said meaningfully: "The Prime Minister is waiting for him to reach the Seeking Dao Realm, waiting for him to be fearless of Xuan Snake and Treasure Monkey, to give him a Top Three Zodiac position."