Ghost-Exorcising Taoist, All-Out War

Crime scene.

Huang Yaozu smoked a cigarette, his brows tightly furrowed.

"Confirmed possession by a vicious ghost. Check who she met before she died."

A vicious ghost needed contact to possess someone, so the possessed person was most likely someone the host knew.

Li Guoqiang searched through the woman's belongings and found a group photo with her in it.

He immediately notified his colleagues at the police station to help locate the others.

"Found them. They're at Chengli."

The two exchanged glances, each seeing the shock in the other's eyes.

Judging from the two teenage girl suicide cases, this vicious ghost clearly harbored a strong desire for revenge against society.

The two rushed to the school without delay and contacted Huang Bai on the way.

Upon receiving the message, Huang Bai picked up his ritual sword and walked out of the Taoist temple.

"Where are you going now?" Taoist Zhi Gang lazily opened his eyes. He had no idea what was going on—Huang Bai had been so busy lately.

"Performing a rite."

Students streamed through the school corridor.

"Li Guoqiang, long time no see." A female student wore a vicious expression as a man's voice came from her mouth. "The game has only just begun. Next, I'll destroy your life bit by bit."

"Chen Fulai?"

Hearing that vicious voice, Li Guoqiang instantly remembered something. That voice... wasn't it the murderer from before?

Li Guoqiang instinctively drew his gun. Chen Fulai vanished into the crowd, and fearing they would accidentally hurt innocent civilians, the two ultimately let the murderer escape.

"Chase him!"

Clutching a Gold-Seeking Talisman, Huang Yaozu immediately chased after where the murderer had disappeared.

According to recent tests, the Gold-Seeking Talisman really could prevent ghost possession.

The figure disappeared into a classroom. The two blocked the entrance, but the sight before them left them utterly dumbfounded.

A group of female students huddled trembling inside the classroom. They had completely lost their target.

"Don't move! Nobody move!"

For now, all they could do was wait for Huang Bai to arrive.

Huang Bai soon arrived.

He scanned the surroundings, his green-tinged eyes carrying a faint gray haze.

The Brightsight Curse precisely identified where the vicious ghost was.

Whoosh!

Almost at the same instant, golden light pierced through the person possessed by the vicious ghost.

"It's over."

Bang!

The corpse crashed to the floor, and the female students screamed as they fled in every direction.

"Murder!"

"The police killed someone!"

The entire school descended into chaos.

"Don't move!"

Another group of police officers rushed in from outside, aiming their guns at Huang Yaozu and the others.

"Huang Yaozu, chief of the Miscellaneous Affairs Bureau. Old Yang, long time no see. Help deal with this."

Old Yang was also one of Liu's men and had experience cleaning up after Huang Yaozu. Hearing that, he muttered, "You're causing me trouble again."

Old Yang noticed Huang Bai beside them and asked curiously, "And this is?"

Before Huang Yaozu could answer, Huang Bai spoke first.

"Ghost-exorcising Taoist, Huang Bai."

Huang Bai's eyes never left Old Yang. Clearly, Old Yang was also a vicious ghost.

That further confirmed his suspicion. Huang Yaozu's superior was a ghost—perhaps even the Ghost King from the Heavenly Dao Talisman Edict.

"A ghost-exorcising Taoist?" A trace of surprise flashed through Old Yang's eyes. "Forget it. Let's return to the station and make our report first."

The three got into Old Yang's police car. On the way, Old Yang probed, "Taoist Huang, you must be quite capable?"

Although Huang Yaozu did not know why Huang Bai had revealed his identity, he went along with it.

"Taoist Huang is a hidden master. His ability to kill ghosts is heaven-defying. He recognized the target at first glance."

Their conversation was transmitted through a listening device to their superior's office.

Inside the office, Liu was eating a large crab beside him. He ate the shell along with the crab, crushing the hard shell between his teeth with a grating sound that made one's teeth ache.

"Hmph. Ghost exorcism, Taoists, magic..."

A mocking smile curled across Liu's lips.

Magic? Ridiculous.

How could there be magic in this world? In his view, Huang Bai was perhaps merely an experienced folk ghost hunter.

"Looks like I'll have to deal with you here."

Liu murmured softly. Suddenly, his mouth opened to an unbelievable extent, swallowing the plate and crab whole.

That was right—he too was a vicious ghost, one that had survived for forty-nine years.

Once a ghost exceeded that yin lifespan, it would gain an ability. Liu's ability was "Devour."

He only had to wait for the three to enter, and he would swallow them at once.

The department he maintained essentially existed to gather talented ghost hunters, while incidentally dealing with vicious ghosts that disrupted order.

If a ghost hunter's talent exceeded a certain threshold, he would activate the "retirement" mechanism.

Nearly every generation of exceptionally gifted bureau chiefs had been killed by their superior. Only a few crippled, broken-down failures had successfully escaped their reckoning.

"Old Yang, take them to the warehouse."

Liu sent Old Yang a message.

Creak!

The warehouse doors swung open as Old Yang led Huang Bai and the others into the secluded warehouse.

The warehouse lighting was dim. Liu's figure was half-hidden in the darkness, looking thoroughly sinister.

"You must be Taoist Huang. I heard you have—" Liu's eyes held faint mockery.

Before he could finish speaking—

Huang Bai had already struck.

Bang!

Golden light erupted.

The first streak of golden light punched directly through Old Yang's forehead.

Old Yang did not even have time to groan. His body swayed backward before he collapsed with a thud.

The second streak of golden light shot straight at Liu's face.

Liu reacted incredibly quickly, twisting his shoulder and forcibly shifting half an inch aside.

The golden light grazed his chest, yet still blasted a bloody hole through him. Smoke rose from its charred edges.

"Magic?!"

Liu clutched his chest, his face full of disbelief.

That scorching force bored into his soul body, burning him until he trembled all over.

Only then did he truly feel fear.

For all these years, he had never encountered a worthy natural enemy. But the person before him was different. These were not methods an ordinary ghost hunter could compare with.

Liu's face suddenly twisted into a savage expression, his eyes filled with frenzied hatred.

"You're dead."

"Even if you don't die today, every ghost in the world will hunt you down and tear into you. There's nowhere you can hide!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly opened his mouth and inhaled.

Whoosh!

A violent gale instantly rose inside the warehouse.

Cardboard boxes, iron racks, clutter, broken chairs—all were swept up by an overbearing, monstrous force and hurled toward Huang Bai. Huge shadows flew wildly through the air, crashing into the shelves with loud clangs. The entire warehouse looked as though a storm had torn through it.

Huang Bai pushed off the ground, his figure shooting forward.

The Wall-Piercing Curse and Brightsight Curse activated at the same time. He darted back and forth through gaps in the flying debris, moving so fast that only afterimages remained.

Liu retreated and dodged, the viciousness on his face growing heavier.

After taking a Solar Curse to the chest, he still held himself together. Instead, he kept using Devour to whip up debris, making the entire warehouse rumble.

But Huang Bai was no longer the same as when he had first arrived in this world.

With the inner elixir in his stomach, and after repeatedly tempering his body with medicinal power by killing ghosts to nurture the elixir, his strength, speed, and reactions had all steadily surpassed those of ordinary people.

Now that he unleashed his full power, his feet rattled the iron racks as his figure shifted left and right like a fierce beast pouncing into the night.

In the blink of an eye, man and ghost had clashed.

Sword light crisscrossed as golden rays shot wildly.

They fought from the entrance to the shelves, then from the shelves into the depths of the warehouse. Iron racks toppled, wooden crates burst apart, and the walls were left with large scorched marks and cracks.

Liu tried several times to close in, but Huang Bai's ritual sword forced him back each time.

Huang Bai only became fiercer as the battle went on. His movements were swift as the wind. He vaulted off the shelves, stepped on a crossbeam, flipped down, and brought his blade down directly on Liu's head.

Liu raised an arm to block. Half his arm was immediately cut open by the blade. Black qi surged out, and his scream pierced the eardrums.

"That bastard Liu really is a ghost." Huang Yaozu gritted his teeth and cursed.

Li Guoqiang's scalp tingled as he watched, and even his voice drifted weakly. "Chief Huang, what do we do?"

At this level of battle, let alone helping, he could barely keep up with it using his eyes.

"Take your guns and guard the door." Huang Yaozu gripped his gun tightly, his eyes fierce. "Shoot anyone who dares come in."

"Even our colleagues?"

"Shoot."

"Even our superiors?"

"Shoot. Even if the Governor came, shoot him. If Maggie Cheung or Cherie Chung charged in, they'd still have to eat a bullet first."

Li Guoqiang took a deep breath, nodded, and guarded the entrance alongside him.

The warehouse was still shaking.

The shelves collapsed with a thunderous crash.

Golden light erupted again.

Bang!

This time, the Solar Curse struck Liu squarely in the chest.

Flesh and yin qi exploded at the same time. A fist-sized hole appeared in his chest, piercing straight through him. Its edges were charred black, still bearing traces of golden light's burning.

Liu staggered two steps before finally being unable to hold on any longer. He dropped to one knee, black blood continuously spilling from his mouth.

Yet he was still smiling.

That smile was dark and vicious, making one's spine turn cold.

"It's useless." Liu gasped, staring fixedly at Huang Bai. "Kill me, and you ghost hunters won't be able to stay hidden either."

"From today onward, every ghost will know about you."

"For the rest of your lives, you can forget about living in peace."

Huang Bai ignored him and first looked down at his left arm.

The Heavenly Dao Talisman Edict showed no reaction.

As expected, this guy was not the Ghost King either.

Since he was not, there was nothing more to say.

Huang Bai held his sword and walked before him, his tone calm.

"Hunt me down?"

"Fine. I'll be waiting."

With that, the sword light fell.

From that point on, the battle between Huang Bai, the ghost-exorcising Taoist, and the vicious ghosts was completely brought into the open.