Trapped in the Barrier! Great Omen of Disaster Attacks!

Xie Jiuyi hurriedly looked up at the sky. He remembered that before, while chasing the Heavenly Mechanism Coffin... the night sky was still dotted with stars, and the moon was very bright.

But the problem was... the current night sky was pitch black, and nothing could be seen.

The surroundings were also excessively quiet.

No cicadas chirping.

No dogs barking.

Nor the sound of conversations from the surrounding households.

The entire inn seemed to be isolated, the dark night like a vast ocean.

And this inn was the only small boat in the vast ocean.

This scene held no beauty.

It only made one's hair stand on end!

Every hair on his body was standing up!

An ominous premonition loomed in his heart. Xie Jiuyi had already taken out all the tools he carried.

His expression was solemn and grim: "This chase of the Heavenly Mechanism Coffin was too hasty. I didn't bring too many talismans and magical artifacts. I was careless."

Even though he hadn't seen the enemy, nor sensed much movement, Xie Jiuyi was still so nervous he was sweating profusely.

His palms were slick with sweat.

The few talismans he held in his hand were slightly dampened.

Beside him, Shen Jiyue had her eyes closed, sensing something.

Soon, she opened her eyes.

Her complexion wasn't much better than Xie Jiuyi's.

Shen Jiyue gripped the Xuanhua Axe tightly, her vigilant gaze sweeping around the willow alley, and said, "It's like we've been forcibly pulled into a special treacherous formation. We can't communicate with the outside world from within. I can't call for reinforcements from the Imperial Astronomy Bureau for now."

"In the shadows, that unknown enemy... their target this time is most likely the Heavenly Mechanism Coffin! The Heavenly Mechanism Coffin cannot afford any mishap. Both you and I must give our all, even at the cost of our lives!"

Xie Jiuyi nodded. He wasn't afraid of death. He was an orphan adopted by the Imperial Astronomy Bureau.

If he were asked to repay the Imperial Astronomy Bureau with his life right then, he could snap his own throat!

Just as he was about to say something...

An anomaly occurred!

The candlelight, which had inexplicably extinguished, suddenly reignited. However, the candlelight was no longer orange-yellow, but a somewhat festive deep red.

A gust of cold wind suddenly rose, making the less cultivated Xie Jiuyi unsteady on his feet.

Xie Jiuyi quickly steadied himself, as if sensing something, and looked towards one side of the willow alley.

Suddenly!

His pupils contracted!

A joyous wedding procession had, at some unknown time, appeared out of thin air at one end of the willow alley.

"People" with paper-white faces held upright long poles, each topped with a large red lantern.

On the red lanterns, "people" had used paper cuttings to create a "double happiness" character and pasted it on.

Several "palanquin bearers" carried a grand eight-bearer palanquin, entirely decorated in festive red. They chanted a chilling tune in unison.

What made one's scalp tingle was that the eight-bearer palanquin carried by the "palanquin bearers" was actually a coffin that looked exactly like a grand palanquin!

The coffin was wrapped with festive embroidered red flowers.

Just like a real wedding procession.

They weren't walking, but "floating" towards the inn, slowly advancing.

Eerily strange!!

"Hiss!!!"

"Great Omen of Disaster!!"

Xie Jiuyi gasped and immediately thought of something, about to turn around and look.

However, his movement to turn was interrupted by Shen Jiyue's voice beside him.

"No need to look back, there's one on the other side too. This one is the bride picking up the groom, or rather..." Shen Jiyue said in a deep voice, "This one... is the ghost bride picking up the groom."

The direction Shen Jiyue was looking also had a group of "people" with very pale faces.

They stood on the left and right sides of the willow alley.

In the middle was a large red palanquin.

The curtains of the red palanquin were drawn, but a flickering figure could vaguely be seen inside, emitting a chilling aura.

Terrifying!

Bone-chilling!

The welcoming procession, seemingly spurred by the arrival of the wedding party, began to move.

The pale-faced "people" on both sides lifted the large red sedan chair, heading towards the welcoming procession.

The inn behind Xie Jiuyi and Shen Jiyue happened to be right where the two groups were about to meet!

"I am Shen Jiyue, Squad Leader of the Imperial Astronomy Bureau!"

Shen Jiyue swept away the distracting thoughts, her eyes becoming incredibly sharp.

She tightly gripped the Xuanhua Axe and shouted sternly, "The Heavenly Mechanism Coffin belongs to the Imperial Astronomy Bureau! Anyone who dares to lay a hand on it will have their soul scattered!"

Her warning seemed to have no effect.

The intersections on both sides of Willow Lane were completely blocked, and two groups of evil ghosts, exuding dense Yin energy, surged forward.

Their objective was clear!

And they were not deterred by warnings!

"...Damn it!"

Seeing that invoking the name of the Imperial Astronomy Bureau was still useless, Shen Jiyue said to Xie Jiuyi beside her, her voice solemn, "You block the ghost groom, and I'll block the ghost bride!"

"Okay." Although Xie Jiuyi knew that today was likely to end badly, he could only brace himself and step forward.

Since the other party knew the name of the Imperial Astronomy Bureau and still showed no intention of retreating... it meant that this battle tonight was unavoidable!

As a large group of evil ghosts rushed towards them, Xie Jiuyi didn't hesitate and struck first!

When in a disadvantaged position, if you don't strike first to gain the upper hand...

You might not get another chance to act!

Xie Jiuyi clenched a stack of talismans and immediately formed a hand seal. As his hands moved, a crisp bell sound was clearly audible in the quiet night.

This was because a simple bronze bell was tied to the little finger of his right hand. Whenever his finger moved, the bell would ring.

With the ringing of the bell, Xie Jiuyi's state of mind became even clearer than before.

The magical power within him became more active.

His fingertips were already surrounded by faint fluctuations of magical power.

This was clearly a magical artifact!

"Taishang Laojun taught me to kill ghosts!" Xie Jiuyi whispered the incantation, shouting only this one sentence loudly.

The next moment!

The stack of talismans in his hand ignited, simultaneously erupting with an astonishing and blinding golden light! The golden light seemed to carry a destructive force, flying towards the group of evil ghosts!

The evil ghosts, which had been approaching silently, finally made a move.

Several evil ghosts holding large red lanterns immediately flew to the front of the eight-bearer sedan chair.

Together, they raised the large red lanterns in their hands.

The large red lanterns instantly lit up with a ghostly green candlelight, and rolling Yin energy condensed into a thick wall of mist, like a giant shield, blocking the front of the eight-bearer sedan chair.

The golden light struck the mist wall of Yin energy!

Instantly!

The wall of Yin energy mist was like butter being melted by hot oil, rapidly dissolving with a "sizzling" sound!

The golden light also quickly dimmed.

When the golden light finally broke through the mist wall of Yin energy and was about to strike the eight-bearer sedan chair...

"Disperse!"

A voice that sent chills down one's spine rang out.

With just a single word, the already dimmed golden light completely scattered!

Seeing this, Xie Jiuyi immediately bit the tip of his tongue, which had just healed, and sprayed out a mouthful of tongue-blood filled with Yang energy.

He dipped the index and middle fingers of his right hand into the tongue-blood.

Using his own tongue-blood as ink, Xie Jiuyi made a series of swift movements in the air!

He immediately formed a hand seal: "Hundred Killings of the Divine Path -- As the Law Commands!"

"Chih!!!"