Chapter 148: Exorcising Ghosts and Dispelling Evil! Summoning Spirits Once More, the Hanged Ghost Submits

“Grievance? What grievance?” Chen Yushu was momentarily taken aback and asked casually.

“I was once a singer on the pleasure boats of the Red Lantern House. Because I admired Xu Wenlong of Wujiao Village for his talent, I spent hundreds of taels of silver to support his studies.

Xu Wenlong did show some talent and passed the imperial examination to become a scholar. Not long after, he called me to Wujiao Village to discuss redeeming my freedom and marriage. But to my shock, he pushed me into a well.

Later I learned that after becoming a scholar, he was sought after by a wealthy patron and married that patron’s daughter.

I was unwilling to accept this and, unable to leave the ancient well, my resentment only deepened, yet I was powerless against him.

I only wish to ascend and gain my freedom so I may avenge this great wrong.”

The well ghost hurriedly recounted her plight.

“Freedom? You are a ground-bound spirit; it is nearly impossible for you to become free. At best, I can help you leave the well, but whether you can exact revenge depends on your own abilities.

Of course, this all depends on your serving me. Otherwise, forget it,” Chen Yushu replied quickly.

“I obey!” The well ghost nodded immediately.

She had always held Chen Yushu in profound awe and dared not disobey even if he refused. Now that he had promised, she was overjoyed and willing to exert herself.

“Good! Don’t resist—let me empower you!” Chen Yushu nodded and extended his hand.

Boom!

Instantly, energy surged from the Bone of Sin and various magical artifacts, pouring into the well ghost.

Her aura soared—doubling, tripling, quadrupling, quintupling…

Her aura alone increased more than sixfold, nearly seven times its original strength, and her power soared six to seven times.

Every movement seemed imbued with immense potency.

She even felt her form swell from a humanlike size to that of a towering giant.

“So strong! I am so strong now! Thank you, Immortal, for granting me power!”

The well ghost felt her newfound might clearly.

Every gesture radiated tremendous energy.

At that moment, she felt as though one palm strike could crush her former self without effort.

She was overwhelmed by the overwhelming strength.

Chen Yushu’s expression remained calm.

This was all thanks to the ritual’s power—the opening of the altar—and such a state was temporary.

Like summoning a deity, it could only last about a third of the incense burn—approximately five minutes.

Moreover, this power was consumed continuously; heavy expenditure might shorten its duration to three minutes or even one.

And compared to the ghost’s inherent strength, this power was somewhat illusory.

For example, by aura alone, the well ghost now roughly matched a mid-level evil spirit.

But if a true mid-level evil spirit appeared, she would be no match.

In other words, she was certainly no match for the stonefish at the level of a powerful spirit, whose aura had reached a threatening peak.

Still, she could at least harass it somewhat.

“Go! Attack it!” Chen Yushu pointed beneath the riverbed at the stonefish leaping about and commanded sharply.

“Yes, Immortal!” The well ghost saluted and charged forward.

At that moment, she felt immensely powerful.

Leaping four or five zhang in one bound, she quickly reached the stonefish.

Though sensing the stonefish’s terrifying aura, her confidence remained as she swiped her claw fiercely the moment the stonefish leapt.

Squeak, squeak, squeak…

Like nails scratching plaster, the sound grated sharply.

Despite her full strength, she couldn’t even dislodge a single scale.

However, her strike did slow the stonefish’s momentum, preventing the chains from tightening further.

Roar!

Seeing this, the stonefish grew furious.

It struggled desperately to break free from the chains, disturbed by the small creature daring to attack.

A mighty roar shook the void.

Though the sound was muffled by the soundproof formation, countless beings within tens of miles felt an inexplicable dread; all creatures fell silent.

The region became so still one could hear a pin drop.

Suddenly, the stonefish thrashed its tail violently, striking the well ghost and sending her flying five or six zhang.

Her soul and body scattered briefly.

She was stunned.

So strong?

Only now did she fully realize the nature of her adversary and was seized by fear.

Yet bound by Chen Yushu’s order, she dared not resist.

She noticed the chains at both ends of the stonefish’s body limited its movement.

Seizing this advantage, she maneuvered to harass and attack it.

She charged again, approaching the stonefish, then suddenly retreated and struck from another angle with a fierce claw swipe.

Squeak, squeak, squeak—

This time, she tore off two scales, leaving two bloody marks.

The stonefish reacted swiftly, its tail missing her but pushing its body forward and spitting a black aura.

Pfft!

The shadowy energy struck the well ghost’s body, scattering a mass of sinister energy.

Fear flickered across her ghostly face, but she gritted her teeth and pressed on.

Squeak, squeak, squeak…

Puff, puff, puff…

The stonefish held a decisive advantage; its aura and power far exceeded the well ghost’s.

Yet, using the terrain and the three chains piercing its body, the well ghost darted around, landing occasional attacks that inflicted real damage.

Crucially, she disrupted the stonefish’s movements, preventing it from fully thrashing to break the chains.

Chen Yushu finally exhaled in relief.

The well ghost at least restrained the stonefish, buying time against its attempts to sever its bonds.

“But it’s still not enough.”

Chen Yushu glanced at Liu Qiao’er below, who was diligently repairing the formation.

The sealing array holding the stonefish was complex; though Liu Qiao’er worked as fast as she could, she had only repaired a tenth of it.

Moreover, repairing the array did not immediately increase its sealing power, only reinforced the chains’ strength.

To fully thread all twelve chains through the fish’s body required someone like Old Lady Liu, a seasoned spirit walker with decades of experience—far beyond Liu Qiao’er’s novice level.

“So, I must make other plans.”

Chen Yushu pondered, looking behind him.

Xiao Yin and Xiao Hong stood obediently.

Xiao Yin was a ferocious spirit at the late stage, nearly a fierce ghost, but still not quite; if summoned, she could only manifest mid-to-late fierce ghost strength.

Facing the stonefish, she might be killed with a single tail strike.

Xiao Hong was stronger, an early fierce ghost, slightly weaker than the well ghost, but with a grandfather at the peak spirit level, giving her more diverse skills.

She might even surpass the well ghost in combat.

Yet summoning her would not change the outcome.

The stonefish’s power was simply too great.

Despite being bound by three chains, it was a formidable spirit-level existence, far beyond fierce ghost level.

“Then, we’ll continue to bind spirits.”

Chen Yushu made his decision swiftly.

“Three wonders of heaven—sun, moon, and stars; connecting earth and sky, terrifying ghosts and gods. Now I, Chen Yushu, open the altar, invoking the spirit of Jiangpo, the executioner of Jianghuan Town, to punish and exorcise evil! Come forth swiftly, by the sacred decree!”

He held his ancient sword and, with a flourish, tapped the blood of chicken, goose, and black dog, lifting them slightly.

Instantly, thirty thousand drops of blood rose and were cast into the fire basin.

Boom!

The flames roared higher, reaching over a person’s height.

Two auras entwined around the two soldier armors formed by the talismans.

Sizzling sounds followed as the two armors transformed into towering ghost soldiers, their auras profound and mysterious, imbued with special power.

Driven by unseen forces, the ghost soldiers stepped forward, saluted Chen Yushu, and marched toward Jianghuan Town.

Their forms soon blurred and vanished.

At the same time, a chilling wind swept through the area, dropping the temperature rapidly.

One breath, two breaths, three…

After fifteen breaths, Chen Yushu saw three figures approaching swiftly.

Two were the ghost soldiers he had dispatched, and the third was the hanging ghost spirit that had fled from Liu Qiao’er’s trap.

The ghost soldiers pinned her beneath the altar.

“What spirit lies below? State your name!”

Though Chen Yushu could see the hanging ghost, she could not see him clearly.

The flames in the fire basin burned too high, and the incense smoke was thick, obscuring her ghostly eyes.

She could only faintly perceive a towering presence radiating immense authority, as if a god of heaven and earth—each movement commanding mountains and rivers, holding dominion over all.

Instantly, fear gripped her heart.

Ghosts are timid by nature.

There is a saying: people fear ghosts a little, but ghosts fear people greatly.

Any aura stronger than their own fills them with dread and compels submission.

Though this hanging ghost was a peak early-stage evil spirit nearing mid-stage, she instinctively bowed slightly.

After hesitating, she spoke, “My lord, I am the evil spirit under Jiangpo, the executioner of Jianghuan Town. I do not know why you summoned me.”

“Impudent! Before me, do you not kneel?”

Chen Yushu raised an eyebrow.

Knowing she considered herself an agent of the divine Jiangpo, his tone carried a measure of arrogance and defiance.

But who could tolerate such insolence?

He was a god—the supreme ruler above all.

His words were commands, imperial edicts controlling the life and death of any spirit.

She must be utterly subdued.

As soon as she finished speaking, the two ghost soldiers behind her swept their spears at her legs, forcing her to her knees.

“My lord, on my way here I received a summons from Lady Jiangpo. If she waited too long without seeing me, she would surely be anxious…”

The hanging ghost struggled, attempting once more to invoke Lady Jiangpo’s name.

“Little emissary, then let her be anxious.

Not only you, but if I summon her, Lady Jiangpo herself must come and kneel in submission.”

Chen Yushu snorted coldly.

Inwardly, he marveled at how much harder evil spirits were to deceive than fierce ghosts.

The well ghost obeyed his call immediately and had been fighting the stonefish, though weakening, without giving up.

But this evil spirit kept invoking Lady Jiangpo as her backing.

“Seems you lack reverence.”

Chen Yushu shouted sharply and glanced sideways.

Boom, boom!

Eight talismans ignited simultaneously, summoning eight sets of soldier armor.

He then drew the remaining power of the three-animal blood into the armors, transforming them into ghost soldiers.

With the previous two, ten ghost soldiers pressed in, their terrifying aura settling heavily on the hanging ghost.

Chen Yushu silently pressed down with his hand.

Boom!

The hanging ghost, previously only slightly bent, was forced flat to the ground, motionless.

At this moment, Chen Yushu unleashed the Conceal Spirit Art.

With his power over three incense burns, he cast the perfected form of the art, whose terrifying strength far exceeded that of Liu Qiao’er, even at her threshold level.

Moreover, he was in the state of opening the altar.

Opening the altar meant he controlled everything within; all techniques and spells were greatly enhanced.

The Conceal Spirit Art’s power was doubled, though it consumed more incense power—equivalent to casting it four or five times in succession.

But the effect was remarkable.

The peak early-stage evil spirit was pinned utterly immobile.

Key was that, in her eyes, it was not Chen Yushu restraining her, but the ten ghost soldiers.

Their overwhelming aura crushed any will to resist.

Terrified, she hunched her body and trembled in voice, “Please spare me, my lord! I am willing to submit. Give any orders, and I will obey to death…”

Submissive?

Chen Yushu’s heart leapt with joy, truly sensing the power of opening the altar.

He felt mastery over all things.

Yet he did not revel, noticing the fire’s height in the basin slowly diminishing.

The power of the three-animal blood was greatly depleted after empowering the eight ghost soldiers, making it harder to maintain such a high flame.

Also, the incense had nearly burned out after long use.

Without hesitation, he said, “Good, I have a task for you.

Soon, I will infuse you with power to help me subdue a demon.

You must obey and not resist.”

“Yes, my lord!”

The hanging ghost bowed her head, responding.

Had she looked up, she would see the fire’s height lowering and the incense mist dispersing, revealing Chen Yushu standing before the altar.

But she did not look.

Nor did Chen Yushu give her the chance.

He immediately made a sealing gesture, pressing his hand against her.

Boom!

Endless power surged into her body, rapidly amplifying her aura.

Onefold, twofold, threefold…

Fivefold!

Her entire soul body expanded, seeming like a colossal ghost god, each move filled with terrifying, overwhelming force.

Spirit level! Spirit level!

At this moment, the hanging ghost’s aura had undoubtedly reached the spirit tier.

…

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