Slaying a Ghost

A thousand calculations, ten thousand preparations—all for this moment.

Chen Shaojun maintained the Spirit Eye Technique while simultaneously casting the Divine Gaze Technique.

Only because his spiritual power had greatly increased could he withstand the expenditure of casting two spells at once.

As the Divine Gaze Technique was unleashed, a beam of divine light, almost tangible, shone onto the Jade Ruyi.

Buzzz~!

In an instant.

Their auras were drawn together.

The dense Yin energy hanging overhead surged out like a beast king whose territory had been invaded, lunging straight at Chen Shaojun.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...

Chen Shaojun's spiritual will collided with the Yin Baleful Intent, grinding against each other like two opposing millstones.

Ten wisps, twenty wisps, thirty wisps...

The Yin Baleful Intent was gradually worn away.

Yet Chen Shaojun's razor-sharp spiritual will was also battered into growing muddier.

The two had always stood in opposition.

Either the east wind overwhelmed the west wind, or the west wind overwhelmed the east wind.

If he won, the Killing Intent would be ground away and vanish without a trace.

If he lost, the Killing Intent would enter his body, and the consequences would be impossible to predict.

Gradually, Chen Shaojun began to feel overwhelmed.

His spiritual power had never been particularly strong to begin with, no different from that of an ordinary person. Though it had improved somewhat during this period, and the Spirit-Nurturing Pill had greatly boosted it, it was at most a little more than twice that of an ordinary person.

Twice an ordinary person was still an ordinary person.

Faced with ten or several dozen wisps of Baleful Intent, he could still handle them with the proficient-level Divine Gaze Technique.

But with Yin energy covering his head and more than a hundred wisps of Baleful Intent, he was beginning to fall short.

Not to mention, this was only the Baleful Intent.

That ghost had not even made a move yet.

Just as he was pondering this.

Suddenly.

Chen Shaojun felt the temperature around him plummet. Waves of icy cold aura continuously spread from all around him.

"Finally couldn't hold back?"

Chen Shaojun had kept his attention fixed on the ghostly shadow lurking within the Yin energy.

After realizing that the Yin Baleful Intent was being continuously consumed, it finally could not sit still and charged directly out of the Jade Ruyi.

It was a ghost dressed in a scholar's long robe, appearing to be around thirty or forty years old. His hair was disheveled, his face deathly pale, and a trace of viciousness lurked in his seemingly hollow eyes.

What drew the most attention, however, was his neck.

A massive gash had nearly severed his neck entirely.

Under the Spirit Eye Technique, Chen Shaojun could even see the flesh and windpipe at the wound constantly opening and closing...

However.

At the very instant the ghost rushed out, Chen Shaojun immediately discovered that his surroundings had changed completely.

He was now in a desolate mountain forest devoid of human life. Dense grass and trees filled every direction, scattered graves lay faintly visible all around, and only in the distance did candlelight seem to shine from some household.

"Is this a Ghost Wall?"

Chen Shaojun's expression shifted slightly.

Though he did not understand the ghosts of this world, he had heard plenty of folk tales.

He quickly recognized this as a common ghostly trick: a Ghost Wall.

This method was not particularly deadly, but it was exceptionally good at confusing one's sense of direction. One careless step, and one would fall into the trap laid by the other party and face danger.

"Break for me!"

Though Chen Shaojun was alarmed by the scene before him, he had come prepared.

He swiftly reached out and opened a bamboo tube.

Although everything had happened abruptly, Chen Shaojun had still made timely preparations for this appraisal.

Aside from the wood carving needed for the Plum-for-Peach Substitution Technique, he had also prepared two bamboo tubes.

One contained virgin boy's urine, while the other held black dog blood.

Both were well-known yang items in folk legends, said to ward off evil and drive away ghosts.

He did not know whether they would truly work.

But if there was even a chance, he naturally would not begrudge making extra preparations.

The bamboo tube Chen Shaojun opened now contained black dog blood.

After plucking Liu Two-Leg's black dog's fur, Chen Shaojun had taken some from it while he was at it.

To prevent the Plum-for-Peach Substitution Technique from failing, Chen Shaojun had not dared draw too much blood, but he had still managed to collect nearly half a cup.

As he opened the bamboo tube, the thick, fishy stench of black dog blood assaulted his nostrils.

Without a second thought, Chen Shaojun flung it straight ahead.

Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!

A burst of piercing corrosion sounds rang out. The mountain forest, the graves, and the household—all of it vanished completely.

He was still standing in the room, and even his feet had not moved an inch.

His spiritual power was likewise constantly being expended, clashing against the Yin Baleful Intent within the Jade Ruyi.

The Ghost Wall had been broken!

The ghostly shadow flew backward, retreating beyond the range of the black dog blood, its face revealing uncertainty and alarm.

"It really works."

Chen Shaojun was overjoyed. Striking while the iron was hot, he hurriedly opened the other bamboo tube.

Compared to the small amount of black dog blood, there was naturally much more virgin boy's urine.

Not only had he contributed some himself, but every apprentice was an untouched young rooster who had never known meat or women.

He flung it out in one sweep.

"Ah..."

A world-shaking ghostly howl rang out. Yin wind howled wildly throughout the room. Drenched in virgin boy's urine, the ghost's soul body was corroded with hole after hole, as though sulfuric acid had scarred his face, turning his already ugly visage into a pockmarked ruin, terrifying to behold.

"Shriek!"

The ghostly shadow flew into a rage, opening his mouth in a soundless howl. His eyes were fierce and venomous, as if Chen Shaojun were an enemy beneath the same sky. The surroundings transformed into dense ghostly qi, as though hell itself had descended.

Then the ghostly shadow flashed forward, charging rapidly toward Chen Shaojun.

At this moment, he was about to use one of a ghost's unique methods: the Possession Technique.

Once he successfully possessed Chen Shaojun, Chen Shaojun's entire body would fall under his control.

Gouging out his eyes, shoving fingers into his nose, strangling himself to death... unable to control his own body, he would be better off dead.

"Now."

Chen Shaojun's face tightened. He naturally knew this was the critical moment.

Without the slightest hesitation, he directly unleashed the Plum-for-Peach Substitution Technique.

Buzzz!

A dim light flashed across the Black Dog Wood Carving.

Then Chen Shaojun felt a chill run through his body. The ghostly shadow entered his body directly, only to appear within the Black Dog Wood Carving in the next instant.

The surging Yin Baleful Intent that had been opposing Chen Shaojun was likewise drawn by a special force and poured into the Black Dog Wood Carving instead.

At the same time.

Far away in the rear courtyard, the listless black dog suddenly felt deeply unsettled. He quickly rose to his feet and looked around in uncertainty.

Yet in the blink of an eye, his eyes bulged wide. Amid a howl, he let out a shrill, mournful bark.

The sound was so loud and so desolate that it was like snow falling in the sixth month, filled with boundless grievance and injustice.

Chen Shaojun had no time to care about the faint barking drifting from afar. His eyes remained fixed on the Black Dog Wood Carving. Seeing it creak and crack, on the verge of splitting apart, he knew that the ghost was even more vicious than he had imagined. Having sensed something wrong, it was about to break free from the black dog's body.

Daring not hesitate, he pulled out a kitchen knife and viciously chopped down on the Black Dog Wood Carving.

Crack!

The wood carving split in two.

A plume of black smoke drifted out.

"Is it over?"

Chen Shaojun was filled with uncertainty. In a daze, he saw an Eight-Sided Rhombus Mirror emerge within his mind.

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