Autumnwater Town had originally been nothing more than an ordinary little town among mundane mortals. Now, however, it was teeming with people. The tents and military equipment set up everywhere also revealed the chaos and turmoil of war that had engulfed the town.
Lu Xiaotian stood in the wilderness, gazing at the streak of spiritual light shooting into the sky in the distance, along with traces of chaotic ghostly and demonic energy.
Suddenly, a ringing of bells arose from the northwest. In an instant, a tide of people surged through Autumnwater Town.
"The vengeful spirits of the Ghost Race are here!"
"Brave Martial Guards, prepare to repel the enemy!" A voice like a thunderclap rang out. A burly man with a face covered in bristle-like whiskers and a back broad as a tiger's, wielding a twelve-foot saber and riding astride a tiger, led the surrounding soldiers into motion.
As for the ordinary townsfolk, they also began bustling about.
"Quick, bring over the soul-attracting banners and sprinkle black-dog blood!"
The soldiers hurried about. Under the guidance of several Daoists, they raised soul poles hung with white paper. Dozens of bells, large and small, hung from them, bearing a few crude runes. They could not even be considered spirit artifacts, but they possessed a trace of spirituality.
Whenever low-level vengeful spirits passed by, the bells would ring. A basin of black-dog blood was flung out, and more than a dozen low-level vengeful spirits shrieked incessantly. The baleful power in black-dog blood was considerably stronger than that in ordinary people's blood, allowing these vengeful spirits—which were not particularly powerful by mortal standards—to reveal themselves.
"Fire!" At that moment, the tiger-riding man arrived with his troops. The soldiers drew their bows and nocked their arrows. The arrows were not ordinary ones, but had been