Chapter 4961: Hard to live She immediately turned to look and saw the middle-aged man convulsing on the ground, a dark, malevolent aura coiling around him. “Uncle Master!” The young cultivator cried out in alarm but dared not approach. Instead, he stumbled backward, turned, and fled into the storm with a startled cry. Feng Jiu glanced at the fleeing cultivator, her brows furrowing slightly. In the next instant, a flame coalesced in her palm. Whoosh! It shot from her hand, streaking toward the convulsing middle-aged man on the ground. “Ah!” A piercing, shrill scream echoed faintly. The moment the flame struck, the sinister aura coiled around the middle-aged cultivator retreated as if encountering something dreadful, vanishing without a trace. Feng Jiu stepped forward. With a flick of her intent, the flame enveloping the middle-aged cultivator split into three. One cluster hovered above his head, while two smaller ones settled beneath his feet. As the flames burned, the middle-aged cultivator’s hair was reduced to ash. The intense heat radiating from the flames beneath his feet forced the last trace of Yin-Shadow Qi within him to retreat. A visible wisp of Yin-Shadow Qi rose from his now-bald head, only to be consumed entirely by the flames. “CRACK!” A thunderbolt suddenly struck from the sky, landing precisely at the willow tree behind the dilapidated temple. Sensing this was no ordinary storm lightning but calamity lightning, she swiftly rotated her palm. Several clusters of flame floated and hovered in the corners of the dilapidated temple. Simultaneously, she stepped out of the temple and headed toward its rear. The middle-aged cultivator on the ground awoke shortly after Feng Jiu departed. Still shaken, he scrambled up and glanced around frantically. Seeing only himself, his face paled further. Recalling that earlier feeling of being utterly powerless, he disregarded the storm outside and rushed toward the exit. But as he reached the temple entrance, he was violently repelled, as if an invisible barrier held him back, preventing his escape. “Help! Help! Let me out! Let me out!” He shouted, trying to break through the barrier of Yin energy with sheer force. But the storm raged outside, thunder boomed louder still, and the Yin energy within seemed to stir, howling and roaring through the dilapidated temple. Yet it too appeared trapped, unable to escape. Behind the temple, Feng Jiu stood in the storm. Her protective aura of spiritual energy caused the rain to automatically avoid her. Her gaze fell upon the willow tree struck by lightning, observing the dense, sinister aura spreading out from it as its focal point. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞 She had already sensed something amiss about this storm. Now it became clear: the source of the gathering Yin energy within the temple lay beneath this willow, and this Yin energy sought to take shape through the tree. Willows themselves possess the power to ward off evil spirits. Yet, the fact that this Yin energy could entwine itself around the willow revealed its extraordinary nature. In the small grove, the middle-aged man who had paused at the sound of thunder had been resting inside the carriage. Now, he leaned out once more, gazing toward the dilapidated temple, a sigh escaping his lips. That disturbance could be felt even here. The few people inside that ruined temple… they likely wouldn’t survive. “Help me up,” the old man who had been lying in the carriage spoke.