Between the ghost town, all was silent. The buildings stood closely packed, their shadows stretching out under the faint pale light, resembling sharp claws.

It was eerily quiet, with all the doors and windows tightly shut.

In the distant valley, fierce winds stirred, and amidst the blackness, something seemed to shift repeatedly.

Yin Weiyin studied the houses on both sides, understanding that within each building, malevolent spirits lay hidden.

Perhaps Chen Yi mentioned Min Ning too many times, for the female crown now mused whether the gallant Min Ning, if here, would draw her sword and knife, drag out those evil spirits one by one, and slay them.

As she imagined this, a vision of chivalrous ghost-slaying emerged—a painting where rubble lay scattered everywhere, Min Ning likely treading over ghostly corpses, her skirts flowing as she raised her head to drink wine.

Yin Weiyin sighed lightly and shook her head.

Once she ascended to immortality, would she not also act to slay demons and banish ghosts?

I too would rise with a sword, spanning the fourteen states of Qian-Du.

The light in Yin Weiyin's eyes dimmed as a vision passed: her figure drifting among the clouds, regal and boundless, wielding sword after sword in the face of ten thousand demons and undead.

The group had not walked far beyond the ghost town when the surroundings suddenly darkened, rendering a deathly stillness.

Between the valley, a vast, ancient stone gate loomed in the pitch-black. At first glance, it seemed to weigh several zhang; its surface was carved with intricate and obscure patterns, like a depiction of a venerable ghost-capturing map. Its thickness was measured by zhang, and even gazing upon it brought a bone-chilling sensation.

Between the carvings, a blood-colored radiance glimmered.

"There… there it is..."

Dong Guifei's voice trembled lightly.

The smooth legs beneath her emerald skirt pressed slightly together, leaving a small gap.

But Chen Yi didn't look at her; his gaze fixed upon the formation in the distance where Du Wei, the Director of the Virtue-Rewarding Office, stood like an immovable mountain.

Cloaked in a pitch-black Judge's robe, assisted by the suspended Judge's Pen in midair, he appeared surrounded by heavy malevolent energy, yet exuded the aura of someone pursuing virtue and justice across the world.

In his previous life, this Director had been imprisoned in the netherworld by King Chujiang, a former emperor who usurped his body.

Thus, Chen Yi's impression of him neither leaned towards good nor bad, but was largely indifferent.

Now, as Du Wei planned to unlock chaos with a blood sacrifice.

Chen Yi had only one course of action: to draw his blade.

The moment the thought settled, Chen Yi's figure vanished from his place.

In the next instant, he tore through layers of pale mist, his blade carving out a white streak, slashing directly downward!

His speed was so swift that even the crazed Sutra Master could not react, his chant coming to an abrupt halt.

Focused on the formation, Du Wei suddenly became acutely aware of a killing intent. Raising his head slightly, he instantly saw a white streak bearing down on him, threatening to split him in two.

"Who goes there?!"

Du Wei shouted, his floating Judge's Pen stirring as ink-like malevolent energy condensed before him, forming a towering barrier.

Seven layers in total.

With Buddha's radiance enhancing the blade's unstoppable force, it struck directly against the malevolent energy barrier.

The first layer shattered like cutting through tofu.

The second layer slowed slightly, akin to slicing through dry leaves.

The third layer slowed even more, akin to hacking at a massive hunk of flesh…

And so it went until the seventh layer, where the blade's once overwhelming momentum halted.

From the malevolent energy, dozens of dark hands emerged to seize Chen Yi and drag him into captivity.

This strike having failed, Chen Yi retreated swiftly, his understanding of the Virtue-Rewarding Director rising several notches.

He now saw Du Wei in a loftier light.

Du Wei, on the other hand, stared at Chen Yi with a tempest raging in his heart.

Not only was the Buddha's radiance on this man unusually flourishing, but that blade had come terrifyingly close to cleaving him in two—its might was indeed fearsome!

Now at the crucial moment of unlocking the seal, any mistake could not be tolerated. Du Wei made his decision without hesitation, gathering energy within his chest and commanding loudly:

"Horse Face, General He, come assist me!"

From the direction of the ghost city, two armored figures came charging furiously.

The crazed Sutra Master didn't hesitate, yelling towards the two approaching figures:

"We'll hold them back!"

Without waiting for their response, he grabbed them each by an arm, chanting Buddhist scripture as he stormed through the mist.

As for Yin Weiyin, she employed a spell, focusing on the thousands of wandering souls drifting down from the heavens, hunting for the formation's death gate.

Formations possess both life gates and death gates: the life gate, often the array core, sustains the formation indefinitely, while the death gate represents the formation's weakest point. If destroyed, the formation would collapse entirely.

Seeing Yin Weiyin searching for the array core, Du Wei's expression grew tense. His sleeves billowed as he directed the Judge's Pen, its ink materializing into dozens of iron cavalry charging towards Yin Weiyin in a battle formation.

Their hooves stomped through the air, emitting sharp breaking sounds.

Each cavalryman bore souls—spirits of those slain in battlefield ensanguined long ago. Their emergence alone brought an aura of ferocious slaughter.

Chen Yi raised his blade and slashed, following up with the Hou Kang Sword to intercept. Despite his efforts, ten or so cavalrymen slipped through like fish through a net.

Yin Weiyin tossed out a paper ball, blowing upon it lightly. Ten or so armed handmaidens appeared out of thin air to confront the cavalry.

You have ghost soldiers; I have paper figures.

The female crown remained unscathed, allowing Chen Yi to turn back, advancing again with knife in his right hand and sword in his left to attack Du Wei.

As the Director of the Virtue-Rewarding Office, Du Wei's cultivation was in the Spirit Refining stage, which theoretically meant he could face Fourth Rank Martial Artists head-to-head. Moreover, his position afforded him innumerable secret techniques.

However, as he had to oversee the array's core, many spells were unavailable to him. Coupled with the Buddha's radiance on Chen Yi's golden Shariputra, this imbalance placed him at a distinct disadvantage.

Du Wei, known for his decisiveness, suddenly bit off his tongue.

Sinister black blood spilled forth, drawn from a pale heart that likely hadn't stirred for countless ages. From this blood emerged nine drops of essence blood.

The essence blood fell to the ground, pooling together before coagulating into another Du Wei!

However, this Du Wei was clad in ink-black armor, wielding an enormous halberd, exuding an aura far more fearsome than any Ghost General!

The Ink-armored Du Wei and Du Wei overseeing the array core—a warrior and a judge, one wielding martial prowess, the other commanding spiritual authority—were an impeccable pair.

The Ink-armored Du Wei swept his halberd through the air at Chen Yi, generating winds so fierce that distant stalagmites moaned under their pressure, producing eerie cries.

Chen Yi clashed his blade against the halberd, the blade quivering under the impact. Using the recoil, he leapt upward, planting a foot atop the opponent's head while aiming the Destruction Zen Sword at Judge Du Wei.

The Judge's Pen raised high, conjuring seven towering barriers once again.

Chen Yi's movements, initially swift, grew increasingly sluggish under the weight of the Destruction Zen Sword.

The Ink-armored Du Wei twisted his body into a grotesque position, reaching out a massive hand to grip Chen Yi's calf tightly.

Suspended mid-air with no means of leverage, Chen Yi was dragged back forcefully.

Though the Buddha's radiance from the golden Shariputra continued to scorch the malevolent energy, the Ink-armored Du Wei remained steadfast, swinging Chen Yi upwards, hurling him into the air, and stabbing with his halberd!

The mist shattered as the halberd tip collided with Chen Yi's blade, producing a resounding metallic crash, the resulting malevolent energy digging deep grooves into the earth.

Conversely, the paper handmaidens had gained the upper hand, gradually finishing off the ghost soldiers. Before Yin Weiyin burned talismans, scattering glowing ashes that illuminated each pattern of the array.

Seeing the female crown accelerate her search for the core, Judge Du Wei broke into a sweat, unwilling to allow the Ink-armored Du Wei to continue his onslaught. He strode forward, rushing at the female crown.

Humming!

In one sweeping attack, the paper handmaidens before him disintegrated instantly, crumbling into scattered fragments of paper resembling a shredded curtain. Beyond, the Ink-armored Du Wei burst through, leaving a massive void.

Yin Weiyin, truly befitting the title of Taichua Goddess, persisted unfalteringly. Though her face paled, her hands remained unwavering, causing ash to fall incessantly.

Meanwhile, Chen Yi had already slashed once from behind the Ink-armored Du Wei.

The Ink-armored Du Wei twisted too late, his figure splitting open where the blade fell, venomous malevolent energy flooding forth, only to retreat swiftly under the pressure of the Buddha's radiance.

At this moment, Judge Du Wei shifted his attention, and with a stroke of the Judge's Pen, conjured a flying sword.

Just as the flying sword finished materializing, Chen Yi hurled the Hou Kang Sword.

Judge Du Wei rapidly conjured barriers with the Judge's Pen. This time, he managed only five before the attack struck.

The sword pierced through all five layers, driving straight toward Du Wei.

The Judge's robe split apart with ragged tears, dissipating much of the sword's force and slowing its advance.

Ultimately, Du Wei sustained a deep wound, while the Hou Kang Sword returned to Chen Yi's grasp.

At that moment, Du Wei realized that trying to block the female crown's search for the array core while simultaneously countering Chen Yi had stretched him too thin.

Even with the overwhelming ferocity of the Ink-armored Du Wei—his halberd slicing, sweeping, hooking, and stabbing like that of a war deity—it wasn't enough to overcome Chen Yi decisively.

In his moment of crisis, Du Wei heard something.

"I am late!"

In an instant, Du Wei's face lit up with joy.

He poured all his energy into the formation, bellowing:

"Jueyin, act quickly! Stall for time—this array is almost complete!"

Simultaneously, the Ink-armored Du Wei gained sudden momentum, his halberd crashing down with renewed vigor. Chen Yi narrowly dodged, as the blow cratered the earth beneath him.

A hint of exhaustion flickered across Chen Yi's face, which Du Wei took note of.

Just as Du Wei fully concentrated on the formation:

Whoosh!

A戒刀 burst forth with icy brilliance, cascading straight toward Du Wei's head.

Du Wei's face turned pale with horror as the Judge's Pen reacted.

Only four layers materialized.

Those four should have been sufficient to deflect a戒刀 attack.

However, strands of black hair descended like blades amidst a gale, forcing one barrier after another to collapse.

Boom!

Finally, the戒刀 pierced Du Wei's skull.

Malevolent energy surged, roaring madly.

Du Wei's soul and Seven Spirits burst out from his ghostly vessel—not to attack Dong Guifei, but to continue operating the array.

Dong Guifei chanted Guanyin prayers while pressing the戒刀 to obliterate the soul fragments.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Under the sound of tearing wind, Du Wei's soul fragmented beneath the戒刀's relentless carnage. However…

The ancient stone gate had already opened a crack.

Dong Guifei felt a chilling terror creep under her skin. The scene seemed to momentarily freeze.

It was as though the abyss had been laid bare.

From within emerged a chaos beast—a monstrous colossus whose bounds extended into infinity.

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