Mountain Ghost

After Old Hai stopped, he didn't care about the muddy ground and sat right down on it. Lin Feiyu's eyelids twitched.

I didn't understand why, but I could feel the gathering Yin energy around us.

"Little Lin, you guard me. Zhao Qian, Zhao Yi, get behind me." Old Hai quickly spread out a red cloth, placed five paper figures on the ground, took out a brush, and opened the lid behind it, revealing a stinger. He pricked his finger and began scribbling on the paper figures like a madman.

Zhao Yi was a bit flustered and immediately ran behind Old Hai. Zhao Qian was also obedient and ran back.

Although I could feel the biting Yin energy, I looked around and couldn't see any sign of the Mountain Ghost. But soon, Sister Wife's warning came. It was as if a gust of wind blew past my ear. I turned around abruptly and saw a grayish-white woman appear in the woods at some point, with several blurry spirit bodies that looked like wild beasts standing beside her.

Is this the Mountain Ghost? It feels similar to a fierce ghost. What are those spirit beast things?

"They're here!" Lin Feiyu shouted. He immediately took out the coffin nails from before and held a scalpel in his right hand. After forming a hand seal, he cut his middle finger. He forcefully gripped the dozen or so bloody nails.

Those strange spirit beast creatures suddenly pounced. The soul urn in my pocket vibrated violently. It seemed Xijun sensed the situation outside. Looking at these spirit beasts, they should be similar to fierce ghosts, and they are probably her most nourishing food. However, I didn't dare to let her out right now.

The spirit beasts lunged at us. I could feel the boiling Yin energy around us. If we were hit by them, the consequences would be unimaginable. It's truly inconceivable that Wu Zhenghua could summon such powerful fierce ghosts.

Lin Feiyu's coffin nails were incredibly potent. When they hit the spirit beasts, they emitted bursts of green smoke. The spirit beasts roared and finally disappeared.

Lin Feiyu will remain unmarried his entire life. The virgin boy's essence blood contains pure essence and energy, which will cause any filth or evil spirits that touch it to vanish into smoke.

Old Hai drew the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams and began chanting: "Qian, Kun, Gen, Dui, Li, Kan, Xun, Zhen! Borrowing metal, borrowing wood, borrowing water, borrowing fire, borrowing earth, with the waxing and waning of Yin and Yang, let the Five Elements shift."

His last stroke connected to the end. After starting, his hand seal turned into a palm, and he pushed forward. The five paper figures seemed to borrow the attributes of the Five Elements and flew out. Instantly, as the paper figures landed, the spirit beasts seemed startled and crashed into the woods, or into the mud and stones, disappearing.

The Mountain Ghost cackled and also disappeared into the woods.

"Did you kill the Mountain Ghost? Why didn't I see any phenomenon?" Lin Feiyu asked in surprise. Those five paper figures looked ordinary. When they were struck by palm wind, there was no anomaly, so why did the Mountain Ghost run away?

"What our Yin Yang practitioners borrow, you cannot see, just like ordinary people cannot see Lingering Spirit. Besides, Mountain Ghosts are not that easy to kill. Do you think I am Zhou Xian? She can even summon a Ghost King. What are Mountain Ghosts and Mountain Gods? Of course, they are just snacks when caught," Old Hai said mysteriously.

Old Hai had witnessed Grandma's great battle, and he was probably greatly stimulated. He often mentioned Grandma's techniques. I, for one, didn't know how powerful they were, but if she could even summon a Ghost King, she must have been unbelievably powerful.

"Mm, that makes sense." Lin Feiyu didn't dwell on it and put the coffin nails back into the safe.

Mountain Ghosts are a type of earth-bound spirit, which are fierce ghosts. However, they have cultivated to a certain level and possess intelligence. After taking in the evil beasts that died in mountain traps as their dependents, they formed their own faction, managing the Yin energy of the entire mountain and becoming exceptionally powerful. But they have no official duties and are likely a type of powerful ghost that is easily controlled. Even moderately skilled Maoshan practitioners can control them.

However, the Mountain Ghost summoned at this time and weather is much more powerful. It would be best if it could be controlled. If there's a backlash, Wu Zhenghua will probably have a tough time.

This Mountain Ghost is now very intelligent. Since the ghost beasts were destroyed, she ran away immediately, showing she is smarter than humans.

"We're almost at the mountain top. Look at the dark clouds in the sky. That old guy is getting a bit anxious too," Lin Feiyu smiled again.

"It seems so. It looks like he's about to summon lightning. But can his body withstand it?" This reminder made Old Hai slowly look at the sky and shake his head. He was counting with strange calculations, but his face suddenly turned pale. He looked at us, and finally his gaze settled on Zhao Yi.

Zhao Yi was startled and thought Old Hai was looking behind him. He also looked behind him and, finding nothing, breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at Old Hai with confusion and fear: "Uncle Hai, why are you looking at me?"

Old Hai frowned, took out another blue paper figure, wrote an incantation on it with his finger, and handed it to Zhao Yi: "Take this and go back. We're almost at the mountain. You're not needed here anymore."

Zhao Yi hesitated to take it, but seeing us all looking at him, he said, "Why? Why should I go down the mountain alone?"

"If you don't go down, you'll die. Remember, when you go down, don't look back for no reason. If someone calls you, don't pay attention. Pretend you can't hear. Otherwise..." Old Hai glared at him.

"Do I really have to leave?" Zhao Yi was startled and quickly took the blue paper figure.

"Yes, I calculated that you will die if you go up the mountain. Do you believe me?" Old Hai said.

"Ah? I believe you! Of course, I believe you!" Zhao Yi's face turned pale. Although he had to go down the mountain alone, it was much better than dying. He ran down the mountain for his life.

The rest of us, Zhao Qian, and Lin Feiyu looked at Old Hai with some strangeness. Old Hai shook his head and said, "I don't trust this kid. He might have a curse placed on him by Wu Zhenghua. He might even drag us down to die with him later."

"What? You calculated that too? Then what else did you calculate?" Lin Feiyu asked in shock.

I was also startled. This Old Hai is too amazing.

"Hmph, in any case, Zhao Yi is definitely problematic. His aura has been out of sync with ours since the Mountain Ghost arrived. If he's manipulated by something later and does something we can't imagine, it wouldn't be strange at all," Old Hai said coldly and continued walking up the mountain.

"Then what is that blue paper figure you gave him?" Lin Feiyu still couldn't quite understand as he watched Zhao Yi's retreating back disappear.

"Of course, it's a protective paper figure. If the Mountain Ghost didn't fight us to the death, she would have a backup plan. Zhao Yi isn't a bad kid. I can't let him die in vain, can I? Besides, having one less person will be beneficial to us," Old Hai explained.

"That's true. He brought us here. Even if he didn't contribute, he at least went through some trouble," Lin Feiyu also expressed his support.

In terms of combat, Old Hai was a senior expert. Lin Feiyu had no objections, and I had nothing to say.

We continued to walk up the mountain. Along the way, the light drizzle began to intensify. When we reached the mountain, it was foggy. Thunder rumbled from unseen locations, suggesting that somewhere was being ravaged by thunderclouds.

Old Hai kept chanting spells and throwing paper figures. Each time, exactly four. He used up most of a bag full of paper figures. The consumption increased as we got closer to the mountain peak.

By the end, Old Hai's face was pale and drawn.

"Old man, when I get to the top, you better still be alive!" Old Hai said, panting. His voice was much weaker when he cursed.

I looked at the paper figures along the way, not understanding the reason.

"I say, Brother Hai, are these paper figures meant to confuse that old guy?" Lin Feiyu couldn't help but ask.

"Isn't it obvious? Look, without Zhao Yi, he can't find our location anymore. Look at the cloud layer in the sky. Because of my paper talismans, it has spread out and is unstable. He wants to hold back the lightning curse and fight me to the death. Before I run out of paper figures, he can't do anything to me. He's probably spitting blood from holding back," Old Hai said resentfully. The paper figures along the way were his life's work, all imbued with human energy, to summon lightning.

"Brother Hai, I say, isn't your method a direct confrontation? What if you get to the top and he's still bouncing around?" Lin Feiyu was anxious.

"What can I do? Is the lightning curse that easy to dodge? I can dodge it, you can dodge it, and Xiaoxiongdi should have no problem either. But what about Zhao Qian? I can't let anyone have an accident. Also, Little Lin, I won't say much more. You'd better hope I can hold on until the top, and that old guy dies by the time we get there. Otherwise, it'll be your turn... That will be much more interesting," Old Hai said with a bitter smile, his face frighteningly pale.

"What are you talking about, Brother Hai? If you can't do it, I will. Do you need to deal with that half-dead old man?" Lin Feiyu patted his safe, looking at Old Hai with confidence.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Hai... It's all because Qian was willful and followed... " Zhao Qian's face was very embarrassed. She finally understood that Old Hai knew her purpose for following him. It turned out that he used this desperate method to protect her.

"Alas, he attacked your grandfather, and when your grandfather died, you'd want revenge. If you, Zhao Qian, can't get revenge, your brother Zhao He will come. This is simply the cycle of karma, retribution is unavoidable. I'm just protecting you to the best of my ability. As for how far it goes, that's up to heaven. If this rain continues, Wu Zhenghua, who can drive away ghosts, will become even more powerful." Old Hai shook his head, sighing heavily, his face completely devoid of color.

Lin Feiyu realized something was wrong and reached out to touch Old Hai's trembling hand. It was fine not to touch him, but the moment he did, his face turned grim. "Brother Hai! You..."

"Used too much, it's backfiring," Old Hai said with a hint of helplessness.

After losing so many paper figures, even if he couldn't understand, he could see what was happening. Backfiring meant he was on the verge of suffering a backlash.

"Then what do we do? Why don't you rest? I'll go up myself!" Lin Feiyu was out of options. He turned to me and Zhao Qian and said, "You two take your Uncle Hai back. I'll go up and kill this old bastard!"

"You can't deal with him. If you go up without me, won't the lightning curse kill you? This old bastard hasn't just improved a little bit over the past few decades. We used to be equals in strength, but now he's surpassed me! How could I not have realized that if he dared to return so brazenly, he must have had something to rely on?" Old Hai angrily stopped Lin Feiyu, took a deep breath, and started walking up the mountain.

"This won't work, that won't work! Then at least let Brother Xia take Zhao Qian down, right? It's definitely dangerous up there!" Lin Feiyu said urgently. The mountain was only tens of meters away, and a lightning curse would turn them to ash.

Ahhhh!

Just as Lin Feiyu was speaking, Zhao Yi's screams, mixed with thunder, came from below! Old Hai also gave Lin Feiyu a "See?" look.