Chapter Twenty-Five: The Lonely Ghost of a Thousand Years

  Because I was a beat too slow, by the time I caught up to the entrance of that abandoned school, I had already lost him.

  I steadied my footsteps. Under the faint moonlight, I sized up this school. The school wasn't big, only a few rows of classrooms, with the entrance facing south. Since it had been abandoned, the doors and windows no longer existed. Only the dark window frames remained, looking eerily ominous in the night.

  "Alright, since I'm here, I'll just have to grit my teeth and bear it." I pinched the Jing Shen Jue and quickly searched for any sensations. Who knew that this search would actually scare me out of my wits? "The soul energy in this small school is not just one strand!"

  "Old Yu, where are you?" Jin Gang Pao just ran over at this moment.

  I held up a hand to stop Jin Gang Pao's shouting and placed my left middle finger on his temple, signaling him to sense it.

  Jīn gāng pào huì yì de bì shàng yǎn niē qǐ le fǎ jué, yóu yú jīn gāng pào xiū xí guān qì shù de shí jiān bǐ wǒ yào duǎn, dìng lì hé xiū wèi dōu ruò wǒ ruò xǔ le bù shǎo, suǒ yǐ gǎn hún qì shí xū yào bì shàng yǎn jiān xīn zhì zhì.

  After a while, Jin Gang Cannon finally opened his eyes, stretched out his right hand index finger and middle finger with a trembling voice and asked me "Two?"

  I smiled wryly and nodded, "This time we really did hit the jackpot."

  "What should we do?" Jin Gang asked for my opinion.

  "What to do? I'll take care of it!" I quoted what he had said before. Pointed to the right side of the school. According to my perception, there should be one over there.

  The two of us went to the right along a road that was almost indistinguishable, bypassing a classroom and arriving at an open area similar to a playground. I pinched my fingers again to confirm, and indeed it was here. But it was very quiet here, and there was no sign of the girl. In other words, this soul energy here was not what we were looking for.

  Forget it, one less thing is better than one more thing, I waved my hand and signaled the Diamond Cannon to retreat.

  The two of us turned around and left the desolate playground, walking towards the soul energy in the west. Originally a small school, we walked for a few steps and got lost, walking back and forth again to that empty space like a playground.

  "Lao Yu, what's going on? Have we turned around?" Jin Gang Pao asked me, looking around.

  "It doesn't feel right." I glanced at the compass on my watch and pinched the talisman again, and surprisingly sensed that the soul energy was lingering around me and the Golden Gun's body, and the soul energy even carried a strong sense of violence.

  "M, I didn't provoke you, yet you came after me." I was furious and shouted loudly. The Golden Gun, who had closed his eyes to prepare for the decisive moment, suddenly shuddered.

  "What's wrong, Lao Yu?"

  I didn't care about the Golden Cannon, my left hand pinched out the "Observing Qi and Searching Soul" technique. For the first time in my life, I recited the true incantation of "Searching Soul": "Mysterious and obscure, yin and yang are born together. When born, they take shape; when dead, they become energy. The nine underworlds' souls show their true form. The Great Supreme Way is urgent, like a law. Come out for me!"

  As soon as I finished speaking, a gust of dark wind suddenly rose from the ground, blowing stronger and stronger, until it almost blew our eyes shut. I stood tall in the midst of the dark wind, with an air of confidence. But little did anyone know that at this moment, my heart was actually completely uncertain, heaven knows what kind of thing this half-baked soul-searching technique of mine would bring out.

  Soon, a vague silhouette emerged from the gloomy wind, and as the wind subsided, the silhouette became increasingly clear, until it finally transformed into an ancient woman with a long gown and black hair, dressed in a traditional style.

  "It's fine as long as it materializes." I thought to myself, pinching my fingers and gazing into the dark air with a hint of pale blue. Judging from the aura it emitted, it didn't seem too difficult to deal with.

  "What are you waiting for?" The ancient-costumed female ghost spoke in a voice that was as gentle as before, but with a hint of anger.

  "What does it mean?" Jin Gang Pao asked me with a bewildered expression.

  "She asked what I wanted to do?" I stared at that mass of human-shaped black air and tore open the newspaper wrapping in my hand.

  "Grandma, you're asking me what I want to do? I'd like to ask you instead, quickly tell me who you really are!" Before I could even speak, Jin Gang Pao rushed forward and started yelling at the female ghost.

  "You and others secretly brought sharp objects, sneaked into Xu Fei's bedroom, and left early. The crime will not be punished for three generations." The female ghost shouted threateningly.

  "What's the meaning of this?" Jin Gang Pao stared at me again. This time, I ignored him and took out Gu Jian Fu Chen. After my Qi observation technique reached the level of observing Ling Qi, I had observed Gu Jian and Fu Chen more than ten times, both of which were pure Yang objects, perfect for restraining this kind of Yin energy ghost.

  "What do you want?" I asked.

  "Mine's the sword!" Jin Gang Pao shouted. Actually, I had also guessed that this guy wouldn't want this short duster.

  I threw the ancient sword to the Gatling gun a few steps away from me. Who knew that this action would suddenly enrage the female ghost, and she pounced on the Gatling gun with a fierce and chilly aura. The female ghost's sudden attack made me stunned for a moment, how could this happen? After thinking about it, I realized that we were already in a state of confrontation, and it was obvious that they wanted to take action against us. Even a fool wouldn't just stand there waiting to be attacked. As for why the female ghost chose to attack the Gatling gun instead of me, it's probably because she sensed that the Gatling gun's aura was much weaker than mine. We know how to concentrate our forces and attack separately, and it seems that the ghost understands this principle too.

  Just as I was stunned, Jīn Gāng Pào had already entangled with that female ghost. However, it's clear that Jīn Gāng Pào is no match for her. This is a battle of magical skills, not brute strength, you damn luckless thing! As I watched Jīn Gāng Pào's arm bulging with veins, I cursed under my breath.

  The principle of hard qigong is to strengthen oneself with internal energy, and the breath is limited to the body and cannot be extended externally. On the other hand, magic relies entirely on extending one's breath outside the body. Since ghosts are also a kind of evil energy, they can only be controlled by using energy against energy, rather than fighting energy with force.

  I cursed as I naturally couldn't stay idle. This wasn't the time to be particular about one-on-one battles. With my left hand, I pinched a spell, and with my right hand, I swung up the Jiuyang Brush of Dust, sweeping away the black air entwined around the Golden Cannon's body. In the chaos, I accidentally pinched the wrong spell; instead of the Air-Purifying Demon-Expelling Spell, I pinched the Mind-Focusing Spell from the Observing Air Technique. Suddenly, the female ghost's blurry face became incredibly clear in my eyes. Originally, I could only make out a rough outline, but now, due to the shortened distance and the spell, I saw her even more clearly. This female ghost was about thirty years old, with a slender yet full figure. However, because of her surging anger, her facial features looked quite ferocious. In reality, ghosts weren't ugly; they didn't look as terrifying as people said.

  Although I made a mistake with the trick, Jiuyang's magic broom is not an ordinary object. With one sweep, the ancient female ghost's face showed pain, her body rose with the wind, and along with the golden cannon, she fell to the northeast corner of the playground dozens of steps away from me. The golden cannon has finally experienced the thrill of flying in its lifetime.

  The Wind Chant is done with which fingers? My soul still in shock, I actually forgot the finger placement of the chant. Forget it, I'll just run instead, and I took off towards the Diamond Cannon.

  "Lao Yu, my sword won't come out!" Jin Gang Pao saw that the method was effective and tried to pull out his sword, but it wouldn't budge. He angrily shouted at me, his voice shrill because the female ghost had him by the throat.

  "Watch out for those two eyes!" I shouted as I ran. It was only then that I remembered I hadn't told Jin Gang Pao how to draw his sword.

  "Whose eyes?" Jin Gang was so angry that he couldn't even breathe.

  "While speaking, I had already run to his side and without saying another word, picked up the duster and swung it at the female ghost. Unfortunately, she was prepared this time. The duster had just been raised and hadn't even swept down yet when a shoe made of condensed yin energy appeared before my eyes."

  "Ah!" I shouted and fell out far away. Damn it, who said ghosts could only affect the brain nerves to make people hallucinate?

  Lao Yu, with a pale face, coughed and said: "Jin Gang, your face is all purple, you're struggling to rush towards me for help, and in your hand, you're still tightly grasping that unsheathed Gan Jiang ancient sword."

  I touched my sore left eye, a black dragon pillar rose up, waving its duster and charged forward again.

  A loud "thud". He flew out again. "Can't you just kick with a different eye?" This time, he fell to the ground for a long time before coming back to his senses, struggling to get up. The female ghost's face looked even more ferocious, and the black hand formed by the yin energy was still tightly grasping Jin Gang Cannon's neck. Jin Gang Cannon's big cow eyes were staring at me with a pleading expression, already exhaling more than inhaling.

  "You TMD go die yourself, don't blame me!" I howled, seeing my sworn brother about to meet his demise at the hands of another. I couldn't care less anymore. Immediately, I switched the duster to my left hand and raised it to the sky, unleashing the "Yu Qi Yu Lei" technique. As its name suggests, the "Yu Qi Yu Lei" is a technique for controlling thunderbolts. Among the thirteen techniques of "Yu Qi", this one is second only to the "Ni Tian" and "Wu Di" techniques in terms of its overbearing power, capable of thoroughly annihilating ghosts, spirits, and beasts that have gained intelligence. In the art of observing energy, "Yu" and "Yu" are two completely different concepts. "Yu" refers to having sufficient ability within oneself to dominate others with a strong stance, essentially without any danger. On the other hand, "Yu" is about forcefully controlling unknown entities, with unpredictable consequences. For me, this overbearing technique was far beyond my current abilities. However, at this critical juncture of life and death, I had no choice but to attempt it with the Nine Yang Duster.

  Although I had mentally prepared myself beforehand, when the spiritual energy in my body suddenly surged out through the raised duster, I couldn't help but curse silently. Now that things have come to this point, it's hard to get off the tiger's back. I forcibly stabilized my body, which had already begun to extract its own true essence due to the discontinuation of spiritual energy. With a clear mind, I recited the Thunder Command: "Inform Ling Xiao, evil spirits are rampant in the world, the truth is clear and obvious, the Thunder God will punish the wicked, Chen Wenyu quickly take orders, the Great Supreme Lord's decree is urgent like a law."

  I barely recited the incantation, waited for a while without any response, but that bit of true yuan within me was still surging out of control.

  What's wrong with you, TMD? You're still sucking my energy away. This thought suddenly popped up in my already somewhat muddled brain. No wonder others don't come, this remark not only shows no respect for Leigong, but also sounds like an order, if I were him, I wouldn't buy it either.

  Just as I was about to shout loudly, the unexpected thing finally happened. A faint thunderclap sounded from the eastern horizon. It's said that it's slow at first but quick later, and in an instant, the thunderclap reached my ears. The female ghost also seemed to have sensed something, raising her head cautiously and looking up with a startled expression! Suddenly she turned around, stretched out her arm, and pointed at me "Are you Fengchen Zhenren?"

  At this moment, a deafening roar shook the air, and a blinding light struck that raven-haired female ghost. The ghost's body, condensed from dark energy, instantly dissipated into nothingness, leaving only the Golden Cannon, who was still coughing loudly in shock.

  "Hmph, thinking of flattering at the moment of death, too late." I muttered under my breath.

  "Riding the wind, why did you harm Snowy Aunt?" Just as I was about to withdraw my spell, Wang Lao's daughter, Xiao Pei, suddenly rushed towards me with a look of surprise on her face. I gritted my teeth and focused my mind, despite my body feeling heavy-headed and light-footed due to the loss of my vital energy, and saw that Xiao Pei was still surrounded by the eerie aura of ghosts.

  At this moment, I couldn't hold back any longer. I forcibly suppressed the sweetness that had risen to my throat and frantically drew out the nearly depleted True Essence from my Dantian. "Boom!" Another thunderbolt struck the soul attached to Xiao Pei's body. The dark energy dimmed significantly but still lingered. Xiao Pei looked at me with a shocked expression, "Cheng Feng, I am Zhao Pei. Have you forgotten?"

  "TMD, I know you're Xiao Pei, what's it to me?!" Gnashing my teeth and gathering my energy, the thunderous voice rang out again. Unexpectedly, this stubborn soul hadn't been dispersed yet, struggling to control Xiao Pei's body, pounced on me with tears in her eyes "Cheng Feng, why have you abandoned our promise of three lifetimes?"

  The Buddhist scriptures use "a snap of the fingers" to describe the brevity of time, and it was in that brief moment that my mind became clear and memories of past lives flooded back. "Are you Xu Zhaopei?" I exclaimed, involuntarily withdrawing my Dharma formula and embracing the person in my arms.

  "You will not forget me, nor will you humiliate this humble concubine who has endured a thousand hardships." The faint black shadow was about to dissipate.

  What the hell have I done?! A soulmate who had been waiting for me for a thousand years was, by some freak of fate, struck down by my own hand with heavenly thunder and scattered to the winds!

  Staring at the black shadow that was about to dissipate, I let out a furious roar: "This life, I won't let you leave me again! Seal the soul with imperial energy!" Along with the blood gushing out of my mouth, my left hand slapped towards the faint, almost imperceptible dark aura. Immediately after, everything went black and I fell to the ground with a thud.

  The empty playground was left with only the sound of Jin Gang Pao's crying voice shouting "Come on, people..."