Chapter 58: Shadows Everywhere

The old man immediately flung a ghost-banishing talisman.

The wandering shade suddenly reacted — its empty eyes turned blood-red as it shrieked and lunged toward them, claws slashing.

Shao Xian quickly chanted a binding curse, freezing the spirit midair while drawing his peachwood sword and charging forward. The old man tossed a ghost-capturing talisman — with a hiss the transparent figure dissolved into smoke and was sucked neatly into the charm.

“Girl, one lone ghost — taken care of!”

The old man’s fear vanished; he held the talisman aloft, looking rather smug.

Yun Jiao frowned faintly.

“Wasn’t… that a little too easy?”

The ghosts she’d seen before hadn’t been this fragile.

“Those were vengeful spirits. This is just a wandering soul — not the same thing.”

The old man waved it off.

“Normally you just toss enough charms and they go quietly. We were just unlucky before to hit big ones. Come on, let’s find the next.”

Yun Jiao didn’t argue and they pressed deeper.

Sure enough, as the old man said, every ghost they met was weak and half-faded, easy to seal.

Aside from the old man twisting his ankle once, everything was smooth — until they stumbled onto a field of shadows.

“Whoa! There’s got to be a hundred of them!”

The clearing ahead was packed — faint, translucent figures drifting aimlessly like a silent gathering.

The old man counted his remaining talismans; his face went pale.

“I’m short on banishing charms. Can you two handle this many?”

Old Zhou and Shao Xian checked their bags.

“I’ve ten left,”

“And I’ve seven. With Old Bai’s, we might handle forty or fifty — tops.”

Far from enough.

The old man grimaced and instinctively looked at the one person still calm — Yun Jiao.

“Girl… what now?”

Yun Jiao surveyed the area, then said evenly:

“Let’s set a Purification Array.”

The old man’s eyes lit.

Right! Purge their evil aura first, then seal them.

“Good call!”

He handed out array flags, waiting for instructions.

Yun Jiao studied the terrain, pointed where each flag should go, and soon a white glow spread across the clearing.

The hundreds of ghosts began to shed their malevolent aura, fading toward harmless wandering souls.

The old man grinned, excitement returning.

“I’ll start collecting!”

“Wait!”

Yun Jiao suddenly grabbed his sleeve. Something felt wrong.

The old man froze — then saw it:

The “purified” ghosts were not calming down.

Instead, they turned violently feral, thrashing at the array’s edge.

“Wha… what’s happening?!”

Old Bai gaped. Old Zhou and Shao Xian were equally confused.

Yun Jiao’s eyes narrowed.

“They’re still mindless — this isn’t free will. It’s like… something is controlling them.”

“What?”

Old Bai blinked, uncomprehending.

Before anyone could react, a shrill ghost wail tore through the night.

A gust of freezing wind slashed toward them like invisible blades.

“Shield talisman — now!”

Yun Jiao barked.

The old man reflexively triggered a defense charm.

A translucent barrier wrapped the group just as the gale hit — clang, clang, clang!

Around them, trees snapped cleanly in half; earth churned like it was plowed.

Their array shattered instantly.

Everything outside their barrier was a wasteland.

The four stood stunned.

“W-what was that?!”

Shao Xian yelped.

They looked up — and froze.

At the clearing’s center, a pitch-black figure had materialized, red eyes gleaming malevolently.

A vengeful spirit.

The old man’s stomach dropped.

Why do I keep running into these?!

But… something was odd.

Though drenched in yin energy, it lacked the dense blood malice true fiends carried.

“It’s a ghost on the verge of turning vengeful,”

the old man said quickly.

“We must disperse its yin before it fully transforms!”

Old Zhou and Shao Xian nodded and charged with weapons drawn.

But the ghost shrieked again — and commanded the other shades to swarm.

The trio fought to advance, dodging attacks, but the sheer number bogged them down.

Yun Jiao knelt, hurriedly repairing the broken Purification Array.

Yet the mob was endless.

Individually weak, but in numbers enough to bloody the three men and keep them from reaching the central threat.

Meanwhile, the dark ghost’s aura thickened ominously — readying another blast.

Old Bai’s face went white.

“Girl…”

he cried helplessly.

No more defensive charms left.

Yun Jiao lifted her gaze calmly.

“Xuanxin Manual — Chapter Six, Section Four.”

Old Bai blinked.

Section Six-Four…?

Realization struck — Lightning Summoning!

He snapped into action, weaving seals and chanting.

A deafening crack split the night — a bolt of white lightning blasted past the minor shades and struck the central ghost dead-on.

It screamed, aura shattering, form turning translucent.

The old man hurled a ghost-capturing talisman.

Seal—!

…Nothing happened.

Old Bai: “……”

The talisman hit — but stayed inert.

“Impossible! My charms never fail — not since the girl fixed my training!”

he sputtered.

“Let me try!”

Shao Xian threw one too.

It fell like useless paper.

“How—?!”

Shao Xian stared in shock — and then several minor ghosts lunged straight for him.

“Watch out!”

Old Zhou shouted — too late.

Claws swept toward Shao Xian’s chest—

Suddenly white light flared.

Yun Jiao had finished mending the Purification Array, freezing the lesser spirits midair.

Then — whoosh whoosh whoosh! — sharp blue wind blades slashed in, scattering the attackers.

A figure in blue robes stepped from the trees.

“Senior Brother Tang!”

Shao Xian exclaimed — it was the reluctant Tang Chen.

Tang Chen shot him a withering glare.

“Hmph. Four people can’t handle a few stray ghosts?”

His eyes slid to Yun Jiao, openly mocking — So this is the ‘first place’? Pathetic.

Yun Jiao: “……”

Tang Chen didn’t stop.

He flung a talisman — it exploded into a roaring firestorm that engulfed the central ghost.

“Wait—!”

Yun Jiao tried to warn, but too late.

The half-formed fiend shrieked as flames consumed it, vanishing within moments.

Tang Chen calmly drew several ghost charms, glancing back coldly.

“What are you standing there for? Collect them before I do.”

Snapping out of their daze, the trio rushed to seal the immobilized souls before Tang Chen snatched them all.

Only Yun Jiao lingered, staring at the scorched center where the ghost had burned.

Amid the blackened earth was a perfectly round, dark hole, impossible to see into.

“Girl, what’re you staring at? Quick, before the brat grabs everything!”

Yun Jiao didn’t move.

“Old man… why didn’t that ghost try to dodge?”

“Huh?”

He blinked, not following.

Before he could ask more, a distant male scream tore through the night.

Everyone froze.

Tang Chen’s face darkened.

He turned sharply toward the sound.

“Someone’s in trouble!”

(End of Chapter)