My words have become law; I truly have no desire to display my divine power before others.

The night grew deeper.

It was pitch black all around, with only a few rays of moonlight occasionally filtering through the clouds overhead, illuminating the indistinct outline of the mountain path.

The moonlight fell on the roadside bushes, casting strange shadows that looked like twisted hands or grotesque faces.

Lü Yang left with a pounding heart.

He couldn't help but move closer to Miao Gui and lower his voice:

"Hey, can you light a torch? It's pitch black here, we can't see anything, what if we slip and fall..."

Miao Gui gave him a disgruntled look:

"A torch? You've got a death wish?"

Lü Yang was taken aback:

"What do you mean?"

Miao Gui said in a low voice as he walked:

"In the nights of these mountains, those things are everywhere. If you light a torch, you're telling them, 'I'm here, come and eat me.' If you don't want to provoke those filthy creatures, don't light a torch."

Lu Yang opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something.

Ye Qingfeng suddenly spoke:

"Listen to the director."

The sound wasn't loud, but it reached Lü Yang's ears clearly.

Lü Yang immediately shut his mouth.

Miao Gui glanced back at Ye Qingfeng, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, before he forced a smile:

"Immortal Master is wise! Rest assured, I've walked this path countless times; I could walk it with my eyes closed. Follow me, and you're guaranteed to be safe."

As he spoke, he continued to add more corpse oil to the lamp that was emitting a green flame.

......

The night grew deeper.

The woods on both sides of the mountain path grew denser and denser, and the moonlight could hardly penetrate them.

The surroundings were as black as ink, with only Miao Gui's corpse oil lamp casting a pale green glow.

Lu Yang followed closely behind Ye Qingfeng, not daring to fall behind.

He suddenly realized that he had stopped talking.

It's not that I don't want to say it, it's that I'm afraid to say it.

The surroundings were really too eerie.

Deep within those dense forests, one can occasionally see pairs of eyes glowing green.

Those eyes, hidden in the darkness, stared at them, moving with their every step.

Some are far away, some are near, some are just a pair, some are a dense, large patch.

Lu Yang couldn't see who those eyes belonged to, but he could sense their gaze—cold, greedy, and malicious.

He took a deep breath and silently prayed: It's alright, the immortal master is here, the immortal master is here...

After walking for a while, a tall, dark figure suddenly appeared on the mountain path ahead.

The dark figure stood in the middle of the road, more than two zhang tall, like a withered old tree or a crooked stone tablet.

It stood there motionless, its face obscured, only its outline visible—a slender body and slender limbs.

Lü Yang's legs went weak.

Miao Gui also stopped.

He stared at the dark figure, his compass spinning wildly, the needle jumping incessantly.

His expression was grave as he said in a low voice:

"Don't make a sound, walk slowly."

He picked up the oil lamp and let its eerie green light shine further.

The dark figure remained motionless, like a statue.

The group held their breath and moved forward step by step, clinging to the edge of the mountain path.

The dark figure drew closer and closer.

Three zhang (approximately 10 meters).

Two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters).

One zhang (approximately 3.3 meters).

Lu Yang finally saw it clearly—it wasn't a tree or a stone tablet at all, but something else entirely…

ghost.

It was a huge ghostly figure, shrouded in black mist, its exact shape obscured.

All that could be seen were two blood-red eyes, peering through the mist, staring straight ahead.

It stood there, motionless, as if waiting for something, or as if guarding this road.

Lu Yang's heart was pounding in his chest.

Just then, the ghostly figure suddenly moved.

It tilted its head slightly, and its two blood-red eyes slowly turned and landed on them.

Miao Gui froze.

He suddenly raised the compass in his hand, and with his other hand he quickly made several hand gestures while muttering incantations.

The corpses suddenly came to life, lined up, and blocked the way for everyone.

The ghostly figure stared at the corpses for a moment, and the red light in its eyes seemed to dim slightly.

It slowly turned its head and looked elsewhere.

Miao Gui breathed a sigh of relief and said in a low voice:

"Hurry up..."

Before he could finish speaking, a gentle breeze suddenly blew by, dispersing some of the strong smell of corpses.

But at that moment, the ghostly figure suddenly turned its head again.

It sniffed, as if it were smelling something.

Then, it looked in the direction where Ye Qingfeng and the others were.

A glint of light suddenly flashed in those two blood-red eyes.

"Living...person..."

A deep voice came from the black mist, as if it were surging from the depths of the earth.

Miao Gui's expression changed drastically:

"Oh no!"

The ghostly figure moved.

It started walking and came this way.

It walked slowly, but each step made the ground tremble slightly.

The black mist that enveloped it began to surge, like countless tentacles dancing.

Miao Gui gritted his teeth and said sternly:

"Stop it!"

He suddenly made a hand seal, and the seven corpses jumped out in unison, blocking the ghostly figure.

The ghostly figure didn't even glance at them. With a casual wave of its hand, a corpse was sent flying, crashing into a nearby tree and snapping in two.

Miao Gui's face turned pale, and he turned to call for everyone to run:

"Run! That's an old ghost! At least fifty years of cultivation! I can't stop him—"

Before he could finish speaking, a figure rushed past him.

It's Shen Zhaoyue.

Miao Gui's eyes widened:

"Are you crazy?!"

He subconsciously turned to look at Ye Qingfeng—the Taoist priest stood there, hands behind his back, expression unchanged, showing no intention of making a move.

Miao Gui felt a chill in his heart: Was this Taoist priest sending this woman to her death?

Without thinking, he muttered curses and made several hand seals, desperately trying to control the corpses to entangle the ghostly figure.

Although he knew it was useless, he wanted to buy time as much as possible.

"I must have had the worst luck imaginable! To run into a bunch of lunatics like you!"

The ghostly figure saw someone rushing towards it and a hint of disdain flashed in its eyes.

It raised a hand formed of mist and reached out to grab Shen Zhaoyue—

Shen Zhaoyue drew her sword.

In that instant, Ye Qingfeng saw the tall figure of the ghostly shadow make a movement.

He gently blew a breath towards that direction.

The moment the sword was drawn, a burst of fire erupted from its blade.

The flames were golden-red, intense and pure, instantly enveloping the entire knife.

The firelight reflected on Shen Zhaoyue's face, revealing her cold eyes.

A flash of light.

The ghostly figure didn't even have time to react before it was struck by the blade.

The mocking look on his face froze, and his entire body was neatly split in two from the middle.

Those two blood-red eyes were wide open, filled with resentment and fear.

It opened its mouth as if to say something, but only let out a mournful howl.

Then, the black mist began to disintegrate, melting away rapidly like ice and snow under the scorching sun.

In the blink of an eye, the old ghost turned into wisps of black smoke and completely dissipated in the night wind.

Not even ashes remained.

......