Chapter Thirty-Five: The Ghosts Surround

  Seeing the big brother's tense face, I raised an eyebrow and tried to relax my mood, squeezing out a smile: "Big brother, you don't have to be afraid. In fact, ghosts only truly appear after 11 o'clock. At this time, even if the ghost comes out, it doesn't have much energy, and it's not easy to harm people. Moreover, the more you fear the ghost, the easier it is for the ghost to take advantage of you. Most evil spirits don't have any real abilities, at most they can only confuse people and make them hallucinate. So let's just ignore this ghost, what can it do?"

  Listen to me, big brother also forced a smile, but it's not much better than crying. He's worried that he'll regret staying here, but at the same time, he doesn't dare leave now. Or maybe he just can't save face by saying anything. But for now, there's one problem - we still need to eat dinner tonight. There's nothing here, so after hesitating for a moment: "Why don't we go out and buy some food? Otherwise, we'll be too hungry to have any energy by nightfall."

  Big brother naturally agreed, didn't want to stay here for a moment longer. I also saw this point, led big brother downstairs, and turned on all the lights along the way. Having light always makes people feel more at ease. It wasn't until we got outside that big brother finally let out a long sigh, looked back and was still spitting saliva, which made me laugh: "Forget it, I'll go myself. You should head back, after all, this place is pretty dangerous."

  I don't know if it was my words that stimulated Big Brother, but his face changed and he just patted his chest: "Look what you said, I'm Sun Chuanming, if I left now that would be too ungrateful. Wait for me, High Man, I'll go buy some food."

  Actually, Sun Chuanming regretted it as soon as he said it, but he couldn't put down his face, so he went to the restaurant and ordered a few dishes, bought a few bottles of wine, and got drunk at night, so he wouldn't be afraid. He also sent that woman back home by herself, only then did she follow me back, but I didn't know, on the way back, my legs started cramping, and my footsteps became heavier and heavier.

  When I returned to the building, the sky had already completely darkened. Although the streetlights in the community were on, the dim lights not only failed to reassure people but made Sun Chuanming even more afraid. The faint and intermittent emergence of yin energy made one shiver, especially around the pond, which seemed eerily cold, with ghostly spirits emerging from it, visible to the naked eye.

  As soon as we entered the room, something unexpected happened. We hadn't even had time to put down our things when the lights suddenly went out, and everything in front of us was pitch black. Sun Chuanming let out a startled cry, and I thought he had seen something. But then Sun Chuanming trembled with rage and said: "How come the power's out at this time? It's really damn annoying!"

  "There was no blackout, this is the ghost's trick to deceive our eyes, in fact, the lights are still on. We're just being misled by the ghost now." Slowly closing his eyes, his consciousness surged, and his heavenly eye opened. The room had become very bright, but there were always ghosts lurking in the corners, as if countless pairs of eyes were peeking at us.

  "What's going to happen?" Sun Chuanming's voice trembled, one hand grasping mine, only then could he feel a little more at ease.

  "Hmm, I took a deep breath, pulled out the Five Elements Talisman given to me by my master from my bosom, and stuck it on according to the five elements' positions. Then, I let out a low growl: 'Xuanling Jie Rong, forever preserve longevity, Tai Xuan San Yi, guard its true form, Wu Zang Shen Jun, each keep peace, Five Elements Formation, transmit my order, rise——'"

  As my voice fell, the five-element spiritual symbols burst into a five-colored glow, but it was just a flash and disappeared. The yin souls let out a shrill cry and retreated, and the lights in the room suddenly became bright again. However, outside this room, everything still looked dark and gloomy. With the protection of the five-element spiritual symbols, we should be able to get through tonight safely. I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and Sun Chuanming almost cried, originally light was so good.

  Sun Chuanming also knew that he was temporarily safe, and knew that I had set up a formation, so he didn't think about being scared like before. He sat on the ground with a thud, panting heavily, and after a while, he swallowed his saliva: "Master, let's have a drink."

  He opened a bottle and, without even asking me, downed the whole thing in one gulp. He seemed to calm down a bit after that. I guess the saying "courage in a bottle" is true. The two of us clinked bottles and started drinking beer while eating roasted chicken. Before we knew it, we had finished an entire case of beer. Sun Chuanming's capacity for alcohol was impressive - he drank eight bottles by himself. Even though I only had four bottles, I was still feeling a bit tipsy. Sun Chuanming was also getting pretty drunk, his words slurring together. He looked like he wasn't afraid of anything anymore, his eyes wide and unfocused. It's likely that at this point, he didn't even remember what fear felt like.

  Not long after, I actually heard Sun Chuanming's snoring sound. This guy had drunk too much and fallen asleep. Looking at him, I shook my head, but it was also good this way, saving him from startling me with his sudden movements, which would have made my heart flutter as well. But I didn't know if Zhang Jianhua had found Master yet. A moment later, I thought of Xiaoxue again, and my mind became a jumbled mess, thinking wildly and randomly. As I drifted off to sleep in a daze...

  It's been a while, and my body instinctively feels very cold. I finally woke up with a start after dozing off for a bit, and when I looked at my phone, it was already past 2 in the morning. Outside the window, there were no lights to be seen, only our room had some light on, making me feel like a lonely boat in the middle of the ocean on a autumn night that's really cold. The scorching heat from daytime has disappeared, and I wrapped my arms around myself, but maybe it's just a bit too cold?

  My mind was preoccupied, but suddenly I felt a thrill, as if something was about to happen. Before I could even process it, the Water Symbol of the Five Elements Spirit Symbols suddenly shone brightly, and I couldn't help but be shocked. Even before I could react, after the light from the Water Symbol faded, it suddenly burst into flames. My heart skipped a beat, and with rapt attention, I looked over to see a dark mist surging in, vaguely resembling human figures inside, but not just one - many, lined up in a row, like the vanguard of the underworld army I had seen before. But this was impossible; the vanguard wouldn't do something like that.

  But I didn't have time to think, I retreated two steps and arrived at Sun Chuanming's side. At this moment, Sun Chuanming also opened his eyes dazedly and muttered: "Why is it so cold?"

  I ignored Sun Chuanming, carefully paying attention to the fog, and took out the Bagua mirror from my pocket. I deeply inhaled, bit my index finger, and dripped fresh blood onto the Bagua mirror. Then, holding the mirror in my hand, I began reciting the Golden Light Incantation: "Heaven and Earth's mysterious ancestor, the root of all energies, cultivating for billions of kalpas, verifying my divine powers. Within and outside the Three Realms, only the Tao is revered, with a golden light on my body, reflecting onto myself. Unseen when looked at, unheard when listened to, embracing Heaven and Earth, nurturing all living things. Reciting once, my body shines with light, the Three Realms' guardians attend to me, the Five Emperors welcome me."

  Ten thousand gods worship in the morning, using thunder and lightning as their messengers. Ghosts and monsters are annihilated, spirits and demons lose their forms. Within is the sound of thunder, the hidden name of the Thunder God, with wisdom and cleverness intertwined, the five elements rising rapidly, golden light appearing swiftly, protecting the true person, urgently like the Jade Emperor's decree descending to govern.

  As the voice fell, the Bagua mirror suddenly burst into a brilliant golden light, and the remaining five elements spirit symbols responded in unison. Suddenly, those ghostly objects did not dare to advance further, and even retreated a lot. As the golden light grew stronger, it finally drove the ghostly objects out of the room, and temporarily calmed down. However, as the golden light lit up, the surrounding rooms were filled with a strong gust of yin wind, and for a moment, the wailing of ghosts and howling of wolves was terrifying.

  Sun Chuanming didn't make a sound, not because he didn't want to speak, but because he was really scared. At this moment, it seemed that all around were ghosts and monsters gathering, countless evil spirits churning in the dark fog, rising and falling unpredictably. It was simply the arrival of the apocalypse. Not to mention Sun Chuanming, even I was panicked when I saw such an array, my heart racing non-stop. If it weren't for the fact that the Five Elements Array still had some effect, I'm afraid I wouldn't know what to do now. Now thinking about those decoration workers being able to leave alive is already a blessing - wait, no, looking at this situation, it's impossible for them to return alive. To cause such a gaze, even if it's visible to the naked eye, taking lives would be normal too... Is there something fishy going on here?

  My heart skipped a beat as I began to think wildly, but before I could make sense of it, I heard the sound of "crashing" and saw that the window glass had been shattered by the dark wind. Several bricks were thrown in, carried by the dark energy. The gaze of the dark energy was already strong enough to move physical objects, which made my face change color. I'm not afraid of the dark wind, nor am I afraid of illusions, but these bricks... I've never heard of a brick being able to kill anyone! Luckily, I dodged quickly and avoided being hit by the bricks. However, I soon heard a pained cry from behind me. Turning around, I saw that Sun Chuanming was sitting on the ground, clutching his head, with fresh blood flowing out from between his fingers.

  Swallowed hard and spat out saliva. Carefully observed the surroundings, only whispered: "Big brother, how is it?"

  "I-I-" Sun Chuanming wanted to say something, but his voice trembled violently and he couldn't get the words out.

  It won't do to go on like this, thinking of a countermeasure in my heart. It seems that if I want to be safe, I can only send Sun Chuanming away. Otherwise, if we continue to toss and turn like this, Sun Chuanming will not be scared to death, but he may be smashed to death by something. However, it's not easy to get out either. After hesitating for a moment in my heart, the entire residential area is surrounded by a pond. If I can suppress the pond, then the yin energy will weaken, and as long as I run fast, Sun Chuanming can still be sent away.

  I have to say I'm a reckless person who dares to think of anything, and later my master said I'm not like normal people. But now I've become hesitant, if I want to protect Sun Chuanming's safety, I can only leave the Wu Xing Ling symbol and the Bagua mirror behind. What else do I have? After thinking about it, it's just the Jiuzi Zhenyan chant and the Wulei symbol in my pocket. There's also that Aggregating Spirit Symbol I drew myself, unfortunately, I still don't know its effect.

  Taking a deep breath, gritting his teeth, he steeled himself, because this time the ghost outside was wrapped in a large chunk of concrete, not small at all. If hit, it would be fatal, or at least crippling. No more hesitation, dodging the concrete, he swiftly moved to Sun Chuanming's side, took down the Wu Xing Ling symbol and stuck it on Sun Chuanming's body, then handed over the Bagua mirror into his hands. Only then did he say in a low voice: "When I shout for you, you rush out. If there's no movement from me..."