Red Talisman Paper, Smoke Without Fire

My sword strike was accurate and swift.

With a loud bang, it slashed across the back of the black-mist paper effigy ghost girl.

"Ah!"

She let out a miserable scream, and then her entire body exploded with a boom.

This time, however, she did not turn into roiling black mist.

Instead, she exploded outright, scattering into black mist that filled the air. No ghost flames appeared...

Yet two pieces of red paper drifted down from the black-mist ghost.

Looking closely, I saw that it was a paper effigy I had split in half with my sword.

"A paper effigy?"

I was filled with doubt.

The two halves floated down, and the instant they touched the ground, they spontaneously ignited with a boom, turning to ash in the blink of an eye.

What was going on? Did this black-mist paper effigy ghost possess some kind of evil technique?

I was puzzled. This did not seem simple.

But Zhang Yuchen was still fighting the black-mist dog spirit, so I did not hesitate any longer.

I turned and rushed over to help.

The black-mist dog spirit was actually being beaten down by Zhang Yuchen. Zhang Yuchen's greatest strength was his power.

His body was packed with solid muscles, and his explosive strength was astonishing.

Close-quarters combat was what he liked best.

By the time I approached, Zhang Yuchen had grabbed the black spirit's hind legs and started swinging it around.

He slammed it into the ground with repeated bangs.

The black-mist dog whimpered, "Yip, yip, yip..."

Finally, he threw it to the ground and stomped hard on its head.

With a bang, the black-mist dog spirit exploded, turning into surging black mist.

It quickly gathered again beside him.

During that process, I once again saw that faint flicker of red light on the