How did I, who just ascended to heaven, become an evil spirit?

Zong Shanyue reached out and took it, grinned, glanced at Li Hu, and then looked at the bell in his hand.

"Thank you for your trouble, my dear brother," Zong Shanyue said, nodding.

Immediately, he slapped off the mud seal on the bell, raised it above his head, and began to shake it violently.

Immediately, a piercing bell rang out from his hand. Strangely, Li Hu and his group did not experience the dizziness and unsteady gait they had previously suffered from. Instead, the monks and arhats dressed in gold suddenly staggered on the spot.

At the same time, the golden scriptures that were tracking Li Hu gradually became distorted, quickly weakened, and slowly dissipated into the air.

The monks' expressions changed drastically. They hurriedly gathered together, formed a formation, and chanted Buddhist scriptures at the same time.

"Thus have I heard. At one time the Buddha was staying at the Jetavana Monastery in Shravasti, with a great assembly of monks..."

The loud chanting hummed and seemed to rival the sound of the bells.

However, Li Hu soon noticed...

Suddenly, many earthworms crawled out of the ground in the alley, densely packed, which evoked some unpleasant memories for everyone.

However, logically speaking, this alley is a place where people often walk, and the soil is firm, so it is unlikely that earthworms live in the soil. Li Hu did not know where these earthworms came from.

Zong Shanyue chuckled; he was noticeably happier when he received the bell.

With a flick of his sleeve, he suddenly began to dance a Nuo dance on his own, his whole body gesturing wildly.

He made a show of baring his teeth and brandishing his claws, looking completely deranged. Combined with his distinctive red hair and beard, he exuded a kind of savage divinity.

At the same time, the earthworms on the ground also did something strange. They all straightened up and stood up from the ground, and began to twist and turn in rhythm with Zong Shanyue's movements.

Gradually, all the earthworms began to move in unison, and from a distance, Li Hu saw a magnificent sight.

As the earthworms danced, they gathered from the ground, slowly twisting into a thick, fleshy pillar, almost as tall as a person.

The fleshy pillar moved in sync with Zong Shanyue's movements.

He twisted his waist to the left, and the fleshy pillar twisted to the left at the same time. He waved his hand to the right, and a small fleshy pillar about the thickness of an arm split off from the right side of the fleshy pillar, imitating Zong Shanyue's Nuo dance.

As Zong Shanyue moved, the fleshy pillar gradually became more flexible, with a large number of earthworms crawling up and down. While falling off the pillar, they continued to twist and wriggle upwards, constantly modifying their composition and structure.

Soon, the large clumps of earthworms transformed into several clones that resembled his own size.

After Zong Shanyue finished his dance, he stomped his foot and shouted, "Change!"

Immediately, black mist rose from the earthworm-like structures, obscuring their forms. When the black mist dissipated, the earthworms transformed into the likeness of Zong Shanyue, only without the same clothing.

As soon as the seven or eight Zong Shanyues, who possessed nothing of value, were conjured up, they immediately rushed forward and began to strike the monks and arhats.

Without any weapons, they simply raised their fists and began fighting the bald men.

"Perfect! Excellent!" Zong Shanyue laughed heartily. "In this way, I will definitely be able to escort my worthy brother out."

Li Hu clicked his tongue in amazement. When he shook the bell, he could only summon evil spirits, but the bell was very obedient in Zong Shanyue's hands.

I don't know how he did it.

Fortunately, there were now seven or eight powerful monks protecting them, each one of whom was as strong as the Red-Haired Taoist in battle. They charged into the group of monks naked and beat them so badly that they had no chance to fight back.

"Let's go quickly."

Zong Shanyue grinned, gave Li Hu a shove, and the group continued their escape eastward.

Not long after they ran, the red-haired Taoist priest who had been lingering behind and fighting with the monks caught up with them. There were still all the monks, so it seemed that the group of monks had been dealt with.

"The official's methods are truly remarkable!" Li Hu couldn't help but praise.

With Zong Shanyue by his side during this crisis, Li Hu was truly empowered.

"You flatter me, my dear brother. It's nothing to mention," Zong Shanyue said modestly, but his face was still full of smiles.

Taking the opportunity, Yuan Sou asked curiously, "May I ask, Officer Ta Dou, what is the name of this martial art? It is truly wondrous!"

"Haha, I learned the art of Qimen Dunjia from the generations of the Zhen Gui Si (a powerful military organization)," Zong Shanyue replied simply.

A few flattering words were exchanged, but the pace of their steps did not slow down.

About ten minutes later, Li Hu and the others had completely left the most populated area of ​​Qingyuan County, and the road they were walking on gradually changed from the stone-paved road and rammed earth road in the city to the muddy country road.

Li Hu remained highly focused, listening intently to any movement or disturbance in his surroundings.

Suddenly, he noticed a man with a similar build to himself standing right in front of him on the road. He was dressed in black, with his hands clasped, and was standing in the middle of the road.

Li Hu took a closer look and saw that the person looked exactly like him, but had a completely different temperament.

Li Hu recognized who it was almost immediately.

That very night, the mirror demon was distributing food and bestowing small favors on behalf of the Queen Mother of the West.

"Are you going to stop me too?" Li Hu frowned, asking with some displeasure.

He had just encountered a group of monks from Ganyang Temple, and he already regretted not having gone on a killing spree earlier, but instead letting those monks go.

Now that the Mirror Demon has also jumped out to block the way, Li Hu really can't bear it anymore. He didn't kill it back then because he admired its chivalry. Could it be that he has left another hidden danger?

"I was very dissatisfied with my defeat last time," the mirror demon said, slowly walking over with its head held high.

"But I'm not here to compete with you today. Once you leave Qingyuan County, head east towards the main city of Dengzhou. There's an Exorcism Bureau there, where there are fewer evil spirits. You might be able to save your life."

Li Hu was slightly surprised, not expecting that the Mirror Demon had come to guide him.

"You spared my life last time, so this time I'll show you a glimmer of hope. If we meet again, I'd like to try my luck at ascension."

The mirror demon turned its head away, shifted its feet, and silently made way for the group.

Li Hu chuckled, then cupped his hands in a fist salute and continued on his hurried journey.

Now that they knew a relatively safe location and had a clear direction, Li Hu led his group forward after assessing their position.

Dengzhou's main city is not far away; it is the closest and also the largest city.

The group dared not rest for a moment, but as they drew closer to Dengzhou City, Li Hu gradually began to relax.

"Wait a minute, something's not right."

When they were only about fifty li away from Dengzhou City, Zong Shanyue suddenly reached out and blocked their path.

"Brother, are we lost?" Zong Shanyue asked suspiciously.

"Dengzhou City is in this direction. I rarely travel this road, but the direction is definitely right. How could I possibly get lost?" Li Hu replied.

"We walked this road half an incense stick ago. You may not have noticed, but the clones I summoned with these bells definitely passed through here once."

After saying that, Zong Shanyue squatted down, picked up half an earthworm from the ground, and sniffed it.

"See? How could this be fake?"

Zong Shanyue's expression changed at this moment, and he was completely astonished.

"How strange! I practice the art of Qimen Dunjia, yet there are illusionary formations in this world that can bewitch me?"

Seeing Zong Shanyue's certainty, Li Hu also drew his sword. He pricked up his ears and slowly heard a dense sound of horses' hooves.

The sound was like ten thousand horses galloping, thundering and booming.

Old Yuan's expression immediately changed, and he exclaimed in horror, "This...this number...it seems there's an army in the vicinity!"

But no one around dared to answer.

They all held their breath and listened intently, afraid that any sound they made would disturb the cavalry that existed within the illusionary formation.

But the sound of hooves grew louder and louder, almost deafening. Li Hu felt a chill run down his spine and looked around, trying to find the location of the army.

But in Li Hu's sight, besides his own group and the dim mist of the eternal night, there was nothing else.

But the sound kept getting closer and closer, and judging from the distance, it seemed to be right next to them.

The fact that they could only hear the voice but not see the person sent a chill down everyone's spine.

Where are these people?!

Zong Shanyue panicked and hurriedly summoned his earthworm clones, arranged them into formation, and prepared to fight the enemy.

Suddenly, Li Hu noticed a series of hoof prints at his feet. They had clearly just appeared, and he had checked them before, so it was impossible that he hadn't noticed them before.

When?

Could it be that these cavalrymen were not in the same space as our group? They only left hoofprints in the same place, but there was no sign of any human presence.

Li Hu could only speculate this far.

But the thunderous, almost deafening sound of hooves around them didn't gradually disappear; instead, they stopped, the warhorses neighed, and began to circle around Li Hu.

The sound came from all directions, in circles, and Li Hu couldn't even see them; it seemed they were already surrounded by the cavalry.

As he realized he was trapped in an illusion array, many unpleasant thoughts flashed through Li Hu's mind.

Suddenly, a dark, black lance emerged from behind Li Hu's neck.

Sharp, keen, swift, and well-trained.

When Li Hu felt the chill, he instinctively shrank his neck and narrowly avoided the shot, only getting a slight scratch.

The owner of the gun, riding his horse, galloped up to Li Hu.

Only then did Li Hu see clearly who the person who had just attacked him was. He was riding a black horse, wearing black armor, and even his weapons were black. His face was hidden behind a mask, leaving only a pair of eyes that shone with a bright green glow.

He was shrouded in a thick black mist that was impossible to shake off, making it extremely difficult to discern his physical outline even when he was running.

Having missed his first attack, he showed no intention of turning back to fight again, but instead continued charging forward.

There was a Wong Tai Sin statue in front of him, but he didn't seem to care much for it.

He raised his spear, and just as it was about to touch Wong Tai Sin, it transformed into a cloud of black mist and vanished without a trace.

But the sound of horses' hooves did not disappear.

Huang Daxian was so scared that he covered his face with his hands, but nothing hit him for a long time. He only heard the sound pass through him, but nothing happened. So he suspiciously put his hands down.

The man appeared out of nowhere behind Li Hu, thrust his spear, and then vanished in an instant in front of Huang Daxian. It all happened in the blink of an eye.

Only after everyone around realized what had just happened did they belatedly show expressions of horror.

A string of fresh hoof prints appeared on the ground between the group.

Li Hu swallowed hard, and could only guess, "Could it be that they're not in the same space as us? Did they just suddenly appear to launch an attack and then escape to a space we can't see?"

"Ghost soldiers, ghost soldiers!"

Zong Shanyue frowned. "These things are ghost soldiers, hordes of evil spirits. This is exactly what I read in the books!"

"Is there any way to deal with this?" Li Hu asked hurriedly.

However, the ghost soldiers carrying lances did not give Li Hu and the others time to talk. The cavalryman who had just appeared was just testing them. Suddenly, three or five more appeared around them and launched a surprise attack from their blind spots.

Qi Yuehong was caught off guard by a horse that suddenly appeared in front of her. Zong Shanyue used the Su Qin Back Sword technique in time to barely block a horse spear that was thrust at him.

In a panic, Chi Yue transformed into a weasel and used her agility to evade the black horse that was attacking her.

In an instant, all three were attacked suddenly.

The next instant, the three ghostly soldiers who had suddenly appeared vanished, turning into a series of clattering footprints and sounds, and began to circle around the group together with the main force.

These cavalrymen launched attacks independently, appearing and disappearing repeatedly, completely seizing the initiative in the battle.

Li Hu swung his sword, unleashing a burst of sword energy in the direction from which the sounds came. However, the sword energy only passed through the unseen Yin soldiers and struck the distant woods without any sign of hitting anything.

"The book only mentions four words," Zong Shanyue interjected during a lull in the Yin soldiers' attack, "Those who encounter it will surely die."

Li Hu felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing this, and the others also gasped in shock.

The ghostly soldiers seemed to know they had victory in the bag, and as soon as Zong Shanyue finished speaking, they all revealed themselves.

The shadowy figures and mist formed a large circle around the group, and as they rode their horses around them, they had already completely surrounded them.

Li Hu even saw one of the men hoist a corpse onto his spear. The corpse had his own face on it, but its eyes had rolled back, and it was no longer dead.

Judging from the corpse's clothing, Li Hu knew it was a mirror demon.

Perhaps because of his earlier tip-off, he was chased down by this group of ghost soldiers from the direction of Qingyuan County and killed with a single spear thrust, without even a chance to resist.

The cavalrymen in the black fog didn't say a word, they just kept running, panting heavily.

Before long, they dispersed, and all the cavalrymen raised their lances and charged toward the group's position in a massive wave.

Those pairs of green eyes rose and fell with the horse's saddle, like will-o'-the-wisps flickering in the night, drawing ever closer.

Seeing this, Yan Yang stood back to back with Chi Yue on guard. Huang Daxian also silently drew his fish-killing knife and scattered a circle of black beans around him. Yuan Sou transformed into its original form, crawling on all fours, scratching its ears and cheeks.

"Let's see whose birth chart is stronger. Come on," Zong Shanyue said, his hands forming the Spirit Official Seal, his long sword pointing to the sky.