Ghost Constable Register, This Matter Is Settled

Within the Five Elements Barrier, yin winds howled wildly.

The zombie Zhong Jiu had turned into was trapped within the "Water Formation." Mud churned beneath his feet, finally slowing him down.

But only for an instant.

"Roar!"

The zombie threw back its head with a roar. As it shook both arms, grayish-brown corpse qi exploded from its body, violently blasting mud and water in every direction.

Bang!

With a sweep of his hand, Zhong Jiu sent the three-headed cobra flying. Its body slammed into the wall and burst into a cloud of blood mist.

Had the Belt-to-Snake Technique not been a living creature, that blow would have completely ruined it.

"What tremendous strength."

Qian Hao's eyelids twitched, but his five fingers remained locked tightly around the formation disk. He did not dare slacken in the slightest.

A-You stood on the other side of the formation disk and shouted sharply, "Hold it steady! Don't let it break out of the Water Formation!"

"I know!"

Qian Hao gritted his teeth as blood from his palm continued to spread along the patterns of the formation disk.

The Five Elements Compass slowly turned. As the water position passed, the wood position began to rise.

"Switch to the Wood Formation!"

Buzzz!

The formation disk gave a deep hum.

The next instant, the muddy, slippery ground began to heave wildly. Bluish-black vines shot forth at once from the cracks between bricks, the soil, the bases of the walls, and beneath the eaves.

The Wood Formation had risen!

Those vines were no ordinary plants, but wood-element power born within the barrier.

Swish!

One vine wrapped around the zombie's left leg.

Swish, swish, swish!

Dozens more followed immediately.

In the blink of an eye, half of Zhong Jiu's body was tightly bound by dark-green vines. Dense barbs lined the vines, viciously piercing into his corpse flesh.

"Now!"

Huang Bai was even faster.

Golden light ripped through the air first, striking the zombie squarely between the brows and snapping Zhong Jiu's head back.

Then Huang Bai closed in. His ritual sword flared with light, golden radiance flowing along its blade as he slashed at the zombie's shoulder.

Clang!

Metal struck metal, sending sparks flying.

Zhong Jiu's corpse body had been refined by evil arts until it was harder than tempered steel. Huang Bai's sword broke through the outer layer of yin qi and corpse skin, but could not take the entire arm off in one stroke.

"What a hard corpse body." Huang Bai's brows twitched. Elsewhere, the others had also been knocked back by the zombie.

"Switch to the Fire Formation!!"

"Ah! Damn it!" Qian Hao screamed frantically, his arm twisted into a spiral.

The Five Elements Compass spun madly. As the wood position passed, the fire position suddenly blazed brilliantly.

In an instant, heaven and earth lit up.

The heavy dark clouds seemed to be torn apart by an invisible giant hand, while crimson flames rose from every side of the barrier.

The fires did not burn up from the ground. They floated directly in midair, like clusters of crimson-gold lantern flames.

Then the flames linked together, gathering and swelling until they finally condensed into an incomparably blazing fiery sun above the barrier.

The Fire Formation: Great Sun Suspended in the Sky!

"Aaaah!!!"

Zhong Jiu let out a miserable scream, his eyes instantly turning blood-red.

He feared yang fire and lightning arts most.

Now that the Fire Formation had taken shape, it was as though his entire zombie body had been thrown into a corpse-refining furnace.

A-You was greatly invigorated by the sight and could not help shouting, "Good! Burn him to death just like this!"

"You want to kill me? Then we'll die together!!"

Zhong Jiu's face twisted. He opened his mouth and inhaled. The gunmen's corpses, the shadows by the street, the dark corners of the corridors, even the resentment within the distant public housing—all of it surged madly toward him.

He was forcibly borrowing the death qi and yin qi around him to break through the Fire Formation!

"That's enough."

Huang Bai stepped forward, the pattern of the White Crane Boy's Death Summons Writ lighting up on his arm.

Whoosh!

A Immobilization Talisman froze the zombie in place.

The next instant, Huang Bai's gaze turned cold, and lightning crashed down from his palm.

"Execution!"

Boom!!!

Thunder exploded throughout the entire public housing complex.

Azure lightning shot from Huang Bai's palm and pierced straight into Zhong Jiu's chest, where it detonated completely within his body.

"Impossible!" Zhong Jiu cried out.

Corpse qi, resentment, yin qi, lightning, the great sun, and golden light all exploded at once.

Zhong Jiu's entire zombie body jerked backward, then began to split apart inch by inch from the chest.

Cracks spread madly like a spiderweb, covering his entire body in an instant. At last, with a loud bang, he exploded into gray-black corpse ash that filled the sky.

The moment the zombie died, Qian Hao let go and collapsed onto the ground, his right arm twisted into a bizarre shape.

Leaning on his peachwood sword, A-You stared blankly at the dispersing corpse ash for a long while without saying a word.

A layer of black mist lingered around the corpse ash, as though something was within it.

Just as Huang Bai was about to step forward and investigate, his heart stirred, and he looked toward the depths of the public housing complex.

There, black mist churned. A group of strange figures slowly emerged, tall in stature, wearing bamboo hats and holding paper umbrellas.

Wherever they walked, the air was suffused with a faint scent of incense offerings.

"Those are ghost constables. Let's step aside, or they might seize us along with him," A-You said quietly. "They should be here to capture Zhong Jiu's soul."

Zhong Jiu's allotted lifespan should have run out long ago, yet he had lingered in the mortal world. The ghost constables had come this time to seize Zhong Jiu's soul.

Even if only a wisp remained, they had to take it into custody.

"Ghost constables..."

Just as Huang Bai was about to make way, the leading ghost constable suddenly stopped. Seemingly catching a certain scent, it cupped its hands in salute and bowed to Huang Bai.

Did it smell the aura of ghosts and gods on me? Huang Bai wondered.

The White Crane Boy's aura? Or the Corpse-Release Immortal's aura? So it took me for some great power?

Most likely, it was both.

On one hand, he had cultivated the Corpse-Release Immortal art, and his soul had long differed from that of ordinary cultivators. On the other, the Death Summons Writ bestowed by the White Crane Boy carried a trace of the lineage aura of an Orthodox God.

Ghost constables were especially adept at discerning rank and status. Upon seeing him, they had likely mistaken him for some important figure who straddled the realms of yin and yang.

A-You was secretly astonished. He had not expected even ghosts and gods to show Huang Bai such respect.

He truly had the air of an ancient Daoist who summoned gods and rebuked ghosts.

Seeing this, Huang Bai smiled. "You really know how to pick your timing. You didn't come while the fighting was going on, but now you have the time to show up."

The leading ghost constable's voice was hoarse, as unpleasant as dead wood grinding together.

"Ghost constables of the underworld only handle matters of the netherworld. We cannot seize those whose allotted lifespan has not yet ended. This man used evil arts to prolong his life. Before his corpse body was destroyed, we could only wait outside and could not rashly enter the fray."

After hearing this, Huang Bai understood somewhat.

It seemed the underworld could not simply arrest whoever it pleased. It too had to act according to the rules.

With that, the ghost constable walked up to the ashes and raised a hand, drawing away the black qi.

Then it spread open its palm, where a golden talisman register condensed.

A talisman register differed from a talisman. A talisman register was equivalent to a Daoist priest's identification.

The ghost constable extracted Zhong Jiu's talisman register.

"A small gift. Please accept it as a token of regard."

"So it was here..." Huang Bai paused, then suddenly understood.

At last, the Heavenly Dao Talisman Edict mission in this world had been completed.

"Thank you."

Huang Bai accepted the yellow talisman register.

The ghost constable bowed, then vanished into the night.

Huang Bai let out a long breath.

With this, killing the zombie and obtaining the talisman register in this world were complete.

In the void unseen by the others, the Heavenly Dao Talisman Edict slowly condensed, and all the words in its center lit up.

[Go to the zombie's seven-day resurrection, kill the zombie, obtain the Mount Mao Talisman Register]

The gains from this world had been fairly good: the Mount Mao Talisman Register and Mount Mao's knowledge, the Five Elements formation disk barrier artifact, and the twin female ghosts.

The Heavenly Dao Talisman Edict would not grant him rewards, nor did it impose corresponding punishments. Everything had to be obtained by himself.

Perhaps that was the essence of how the Heavenly Dao operated. There were certain rules, but it did not interfere too much.

"A-Hao, bring me the formation disk."

"Okay." Enduring the pain, Qian Hao handed over the formation disk.

"I'm leaving the Heavenly Dao Temple to you. You must practice your talismans diligently. Little Bai has good talent, so help look after him."

The Heavenly Dao Temple itself was blessed by incense offerings. If Qian Hao truly settled down and put his mind to it, he might not fail to draw several genuinely useful talismans.

Standing to one side, A-You had already sensed that something was wrong.

"A-Bai, what do you mean by that?"

Just as he was about to press further, Huang Bai's figure had already begun to fade, turning into golden light that scattered across the sky.

"A-Bai!"

His voice echoed through the darkness until night gave way to dawn.

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