The night was deep.
The mountain wind swept past.
The howling of dead branches made one's heart tremble.
The ground was covered with numerous changgui, their forms illusory, and they made the surroundings all the more terrifying.
Yet the one trembling at this moment was not Lin Yan, who held incense and candles, but the changgui around him.
Lin Yan came toward them, a knife in one hand and incense and candles in the other.
The blazing light made the girl shudder, but unlike the other changgui, she did not flee. Instead, she hid beneath Lin Lei's shadow.
Using Lin Lei's body as cover, she avoided the candlelight.
At the same time, however, a slender hand closed around Lin Lei's neck.
"No... Don't come over..."
The trembling girl's voice was filled with fear. "Or I'll strangle him!"
"Ghosts and evil entities have no physical form. How could you strangle someone to death?"
Lin Yan's voice was cold. He had already arrived beside Second Brother.
He raised his head for a look, then let out a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, he had made it in time. Second Brother was still alive, merely trapped in an illusion.
He did not rush to wake Second Brother, though. Instead, he looked at the girl beneath the shadow and said flatly, "Weren't you going to discuss our marriage? I came by myself!"
Suddenly, he slashed!
His blade swept out!
He knew that his narrow iron blade could not cut a ghost without physical form!
But with the Demon Quelling Divine Ability, the intense killing intent and Fierce and Malevolent Energy on his blade could scatter these evil spirits and sinister ghosts!
Yet in the next moment, blood sprayed into the air!
She was not a ghost!
She was human!
"Hm?"
Lin Yan's pupils abruptly contracted, and his heart shook. "No life force, no breathing, no heartbeat, no warmth, and her feet haven't even touched the ground... How could she be human?"
He had killed many people in recent years and was rich in experience. Whether someone was human or a ghost, he could tell with one slash!
This woman was not human at all!
More precisely, it was impossible for her to be alive!
Yet she was not a ghost without physical form. She possessed the body of a dead person!
But if she had a physical body, why did she float like a ghost, her feet never touching the ground?
While his heart trembled, a low growl came from within the temple.
In an instant, even Lin Yan's heart quaked.
The many ghosts and Lingering Souls that had retreated from the incense-and-candle light trembled even harder, their terror growing more pronounced.
Yet at that very moment, they all howled and pounced forward!
Changgui had no physical form and could not harm the fleshly body!
But ghosts and such entities could invade the souls of the living!
Their furious howls shook the heart and stunned the mind, filling people with boundless fear!
And when facing ghosts, once fear arose in the heart, one would be devoured utterly!
If one's will was not firm, then even at the peak of Internal Tempering, one would still be utterly helpless in the situation before them!
"..."
Lin Yan's eyes remained cold, without a trace of panic. He merely stepped forward half a pace and placed the incense and candles in his hand into Second Brother's hands.
He raised Second Brother's arm and held it over his head.
The candlelight illuminated the surroundings.
Within a radius of fifteen feet, the fire burned fiercely, like the scorching sun, making the changgui dare not approach.
But at that moment, Lin Yan walked out of the candlelight's protection with his knife in hand.
Beyond fifteen feet, a faint glow from the candles still reached, but it was no longer enough to intimidate the changgui.
The ghosts pounced forward in a swarm, baring their fangs and claws, their faces hideous.
"..."
Lin Yan drew a deep breath.
Suddenly, a chill surfaced around his body.
A Fierce Ghost appeared at his left shoulder.
Its face was blue, its fangs bared, and its hands were like claws. It was sinister and terrifying.
Whoosh!
A flash of saber light suddenly swept past!
Lin Yan only felt that his slash had struck empty air, without the sensation of cutting flesh.
But his expression remained unchanged, and he heard the Fierce Ghost let out a miserable scream.
The Killing Intent accompanying the blade was like a breeze brushing across the surface of the water, raising ripples... As those ripples churned, the Fierce Ghost's Lingering Soul vanished into thin air.
Even ghosts that Internal Tempering martial artists had to treat with caution were utterly helpless before his abundant Fierce and Malevolent Energy!
The Demon Quelling Divine Ability made his Fierce and Malevolent Energy seem to surge in power by a thousand or ten thousand times!
"Chen Jiangbao!"
Lin Yan suddenly strode forward, covering three steps before bringing his blade down.
The figure screamed and begged for mercy, but when the saber light passed through it, it dispersed like smoke blown away by the wind, vanishing completely and scattering into ash.
"When alive, you were a despicable wretch. In death, you're still an ungrateful Fierce Ghost."
"I'm giving you a quick death today. Consider yourself lucky."
Lin Yan turned and slashed again, destroying another ghost.
To the martial artists of this world, evil spirits and Fierce Ghosts were often more frightening than demonized beasts and monsters.
Though monsters were powerful, they still possessed flesh and blood. Blades and swords could resist them.
But evil entities had no physical form, so blades, fists, and feet could not harm them in the slightest.
Today, however, Lin Yan's body was filled with Fierce and Malevolent Energy, and with the Demon Quelling Divine Ability, his blade could cut ghosts.
In his eyes, these Lingering Souls and ghosts were nothing more than dust that could be blown away with a casual wave.
Less than twenty breaths later.
The ground was silent. The figures had vanished, and not a ghost remained.
The wild grass and withered trees were still there, but not a corpse could be seen. The entire place had been swept clean.
Yet Lin Yan's eyes remained extraordinarily solemn.
He glanced toward the temple, then hurried to Second Brother.
He extended his index finger and tapped Second Brother between the brows.
Second Brother, Lin Lei, shuddered all over. Clarity gradually returned to his dazed eyes.
Then he saw an utterly cold, unfamiliar face before him and was terribly startled.
He fell backward in fright, and the candle in his hand dropped.
But the unfamiliar man suddenly reached out and caught him.
At the same time, the unfamiliar man caught the fallen incense and candles with his other hand and handed them back to him.
"Hold the incense and candles tightly."
The unfamiliar voice was somewhat low. He reached into his robes, took out another unlit incense stick and candle, and handed it over.
"Don't let the candle go out before dawn. Remember to light this one when it burns down!"
"..."
Lin Lei accepted it blankly. Though he was still somewhat dazed, he understood that the other man had come with good intentions.
"Listen carefully. Hold the candle above your head and head east. Three li from here, there's a cavern. It lies within the boundary of a 'Pure Land.'"
"There will be beasts inside seeking refuge from disaster, but they cannot hunt within the Pure Land, so don't be afraid."
"When dawn comes, before the beasts awaken, immediately go down the mountain and return to Gao Liu City!"
The unfamiliar man stood with his back to him, staring straight at the ruined temple as he spoke at great speed.
Lin Lei felt a ghostly light flickering within the ruined temple, filling him with deep unease.
He now fully understood what had happened.
Ghosts covered the ground!
And there was probably something even more terrifying inside the temple ahead!
Lin Lei shuddered all over and seemed to find it hard to breathe. Trembling, he asked, "Aren't you leaving?"
"The thing in the temple is coming out."
The unfamiliar man's tone was grave and low. "I have to hold it back, or you won't get away! Hurry and leave. I won't be able to look after you from here on..."
"Okay... Then I'm leaving..."
Lin Lei swallowed, his mouth dry and parched, and hurriedly backed away.
Just as he was about to flee for his life, he saw half a roast chicken on the ground. He quickly picked it up as well and backed away in a panic, saying tremulously, "Then you... Be careful..."
"Got it!"
Lin Yan drew a deep breath, tightened his grip on the long saber, and looked toward the temple.
The temple was dim. Only two ghostly lights could be seen, cold and eerie, filled with a savage intent.
They were a pair of eyes as large as copper bells!
It slowly walked out of the temple.
Lin Yan gradually made out its body.
It was a gigantic tiger.
An aged, twilight-stricken tiger, like a guttering candle in the wind.
It had grown old—so old that it was unwilling to move, and thus relied on changgui to lure prey to the temple and deliver it to its mouth.
Even its breathing was thick and labored, as if every breath took tremendous effort.
But facing this tiger that was old beyond measure, Lin Yan still did not dare underestimate it in the slightest.
Because this tiger had already become a demonized beast.
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