Demon, come and cultivate for me.

Chen Xiangzi addressed the crowd:

"Please retreat into the valley and witness my skills."

Xie Qi waved his hand, and everyone withdrew.

"Brother Zhou Chu, please wait." Chen Xiangzi called out to Zhou Chu, "I will have to trouble you to activate the formation so that I can enter."

After saying that, he took out a writing brush from his satchel. The brush handle was made of light green jade, and the whole thing was crystal clear, with golden hairs at the tip.

With his other hand, he took out a stack of yellow paper, picked up a pen, and wrote a string of runes on it in a flowing, elegant style.

The pen in Chen Xiangzi's hand was quite magical; it could write characters without being dipped in ink, which amazed Zhou Chu, who was standing to the side.

In a short while, Chen Xiangzi wrote several paper talismans with red characters on yellow paper and said to Zhou Chu:

"Activate the formation."

Zhou Chu did as instructed, opening up a corner to allow Chen Xiangzi to enter the formation.

The Nine Palaces Formation he set up was only about ten steps in diameter, barely enough to trap a few ghouls.

If Chen Xiangzi enters the formation and fails to kill the changgui, he will have nowhere to hide and will eventually be surrounded and killed by the changgui.

As it turned out, Zhou Chu's worries were unnecessary.

Chen Xiangzi affixed a talisman to his chest and entered the formation.

The demons in the formation remained completely still, ignoring Chen Xiangzi who had barged in.

Chen Xiangzi swiftly and decisively affixed the paper talismans to the foreheads of several ghostly beings, then slipped out of the formation.

He made a hand seal, muttered some incantations, then suddenly pointed into the formation and shouted:

"break!"

Several of the demons in the formation fell to the ground simultaneously.

"He...died?" Zhou Chu stared in disbelief. "What kind of mysterious immortal technique is this?"

Chen Xiangzi waved the remaining yellow paper talismans in front of Zhou Chu:

"Soul-Suppressing Talisman".

After saying that, he put the yellow paper talisman back into his satchel, picked up the wine gourd hanging at his waist, took a big gulp, and showed a satisfied expression on his face.

"Thank you for your help, fellow Daoist. Farewell." Zhou Chu cupped his hands to Chen Xiangzi and turned to descend the mountain.

"Wait a minute," Chen Xiangzi called out to Zhou Chu, "Are you heading to the capital?"

"Exactly."

"I happen to be heading to the capital soon. I wonder if I could share a ride with you? It would be good to have someone to look after you on the journey."

Zhou Chu was naturally indifferent to his request to partner with him.

But Xie Qi is the team leader, so we need his permission.

The two went down the mountain together and asked Xie Qi.

Seeing that Chen Xiangzi had some ability, Xie Qi readily agreed.

Without the interference of the demons, the soldiers quickly cleared away the tree trunks blocking the road.

After a short rest, the convoy continued its journey.

During their conversation on the way, Zhou Chu learned that Chen Xiangzi, like him and Xu Yuan, was also a martial artist summoned to the capital by the Crown Prince, and presented a silk scroll with the Crown Prince's edict written on it.

Zhou Chu had initially suspected that he was in cahoots with the ghosts and was wary of him.

Zhou Chu was relieved to learn that he was also a martial artist.

Black Wind Valley is over fifty miles long. If Zhou Chu were to travel alone, he could get out of there in less than an hour.

However, the group was hampered by its baggage, which slowed its progress. It wasn't until evening that it had covered half the distance.

As darkness fell, Xie Qi instructed everyone to set up camp, cook, and spend the night in the valley.

To prevent encountering the evil spirits again, Xie Qi instructed everyone not to act alone.

Those who go up the mountain to collect firewood must be in groups of five or more.

If any situation arises, immediately fire a warning siren and retreat to the camp.

Fortunately, the two groups that went out to collect firewood encountered no accidents and even brought back a wild rabbit and a wild boar.

The bright moon hangs high, illuminating Blackwind Valley.

Three large pots were set up at the campsite, filled with meat and wild vegetables picked from the mountain, and billowing smoke rose into the air.

Logically speaking, cooking meat in such a dangerous wilderness should be a risky thing.

The aroma of the meat would attract wild beasts from the mountains.

However, Xie Qi was not afraid. Most of the martial artists in the team were at the second level, and ordinary beasts would only become their food.

Moreover, he himself, Zhou Chu, and Chen Xiangzi are all at the peak of the realm. Even if some demon dares to offend him, it will only be to deliver resources.

Xie Ning carried two large porcelain bowls filled with meat and carefully walked to Xie Qi's side, saying, "The meat smells so good, try some."

Xie Qi put away the map and reached out to take it, but saw Xie Ning hand the bowl to Zhou Chu.

He casually stretched out his other arm, pretending to extend it, while glaring fiercely at Xie Ning.

Xie Ning didn't look at her brother; her gaze was entirely on Zhou Chu.

"Thank you." Zhou Chu took the still-hot bowl and chopsticks.

Upon seeing this, Chen Xiangzi exclaimed, "What a perfect couple! Brother Zhou Chu is truly fortunate to have such a beautiful woman..."

"Shut up! This is my sister!" Xie Qi interrupted.

Chen Xiangzi turned his head and said, "I see. Young Master Xie, having such a brother-in-law is truly..."

"He's not my brother-in-law!" Xie Qi's forehead veins bulged slightly.

Seeing Xu Yuan trying hard to suppress his laughter, Chen Xiangzi realized he had said the wrong thing and immediately corrected himself:

"I wonder who has such skill. The meat soup is fresh and delicious. Brother Xu, please come with me to try it."

Having said that, he turned and left.

Xu Yuan also felt the atmosphere was a bit awkward, so he went with Chen Xiangzi to serve the meat.

"Young Master Xie, why aren't you eating?" Zhou Chu stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth, which was so hot that he hissed and gasped for breath.

"I'm not hungry." Xie Qi stared at Zhou Chu with an unfriendly look.

Zhou Chu didn't care at all, and chewed heartily with his jaw agape.

Xie Ning then said, "Eat slowly, this bowl is yours too."

"Aren't you afraid he'll overeat and die?" Xie Qi snatched the bowl of meat from Xie Ning's hand.

Zhou Chu suddenly stopped chewing, his eyes fixed on the outside of the camp: "That's..."

Xie Qi followed Zhou Chu's gaze and saw shadowy figures outside the camp, as if many people were walking towards the camp.

On the other side of the camp, the valley was also densely packed with people, completely blocking the way in and out of the valley.

Xie Qi drew his sword and said to the soldiers beside him, "Order them to prepare for battle! Engage the enemy!"

The soldiers immediately put down their bowls and chopsticks, picked up their weapons, and ran outside the camp to form ranks.

Two groups of people, whose origins were unknown, rapidly approached the camp from both sides, their advance menacing. The crowd consisted of men, women, children, and the elderly, mostly dressed as farmers from the village, carrying hoes, rakes, and other farming tools.

"It's a changgui!" Xie Qi sensed the aura emanating from them, which was exactly the same as the changgui he had encountered during the day.

His warning came too late; the demon raised its "weapon" and charged towards the camp.

The warriors guarding outside the camp did not hesitate at all, and bravely resisted the attack with their swords drawn.

But it was all in vain.

Although these ghouls were not as powerful as the ones from earlier in the day, they could also be resurrected, and their numbers were extremely large.

Soon, the warriors were unable to withstand the attack of the demons and retreated while fighting.

Currently, only Chen Xiangzi in the camp can use talismans to eliminate the ghouls, but no matter how skilled he is, he cannot deal with such a large number of ghouls.

Zhou Chu saw Chen Xiangzi standing there, stunned, as if he had been frightened by the ghost.

He immediately set up the Nine Palaces Formation to protect the camp, and then shouted to Chen Xiangzi:

"Fellow Daoist, why don't you make a move?"

Chen Xiangzi did not respond and remained motionless in the same spot.

Zhou Chu walked quickly to Chen Xiangzi's side, only to find that his eyes were red and his hand holding the pen was trembling slightly.