After the ghost-hunting master descended the mountain, his fame spread throughout the capital.

The two men let out a miserable groan, spitting out blood, and were thrown backward like kites with broken strings, crashing heavily to the ground, struggling to get up.

Xie Jinchen suffered several more deep, bone-revealing wounds, and blood instantly soaked half of his clothes, but his eyes remained sharp as ever, and he didn't care at all.

With this attack, he finally managed to tear a hole in the Buddhist formation formed by the combined efforts of the ten people and break free.

"Oh my goodness!"

Wang Dazhuang, who had already cleverly retreated to a safe distance, exaggeratedly patted his chest, as if he was still shaken.

But there was no fear on his face. Instead, he reverted to his original rough and deep male voice, shouting at Xie Jinchen:

"Thank you, Your Highness. I've sacrificed so much to create this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you, even going so far as to smear myself with men's oil! Please remember this when you get back, and make sure to burn plenty for me..."

"Oh no, I mean, I want to buy some good food to replenish our energy! We need the best banquet at Zuixianlou Restaurant in Changling City; not a single dish can be missing!"

Huixin finally came to her senses.

He was first stunned by Wang Dazhuang's rough and loud voice, but when he saw "her" patting her chest and speaking with such a carefree and uninhibited manner, he instantly understood what was going on.

Huixin was shocked and furious, her face flushed with shame and indignation. Her complexion turned from red to green, then from green to white. She pointed at Wang Dazhuang:

"You...you're not human! You're possessed by a ghost!"

Overwhelmed with shame and indignation, Huixin disregarded her injuries and forcefully activated her Buddhist power, striking Wang Dazhuang, who was still grinning, with a palm strike surging with Buddhist light.

"Demon! Reveal yourself!"

Wang Dazhuang cried out, "Damn it!" The paper figure nimbly rolled over like a lazy donkey, narrowly avoiding most of the Buddha's light, but it was still grazed on the shoulder, and a piece of paper was charred and emitted blue smoke.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! I'm on fire!"

Wang Dazhuang manipulated the paper figure to grin and shout exaggeratedly in a male voice, while frantically trying to pat non-existent flames on its shoulder.

"You little monk, how could you repay kindness with enmity? Just a moment ago you were blushing and your heart was pounding in my face, and now you've struck me so hard. Aren't monks supposed to be compassionate?!"

These hurtful words, combined with the paper figure's bizarre appearance—half charred and half alluring—and the rough male voice, created an absurd and impactful effect.

"You... pfft!"

Huixin was so angry at his words that her vision blurred. The blood and qi that had been disordered due to the forced activation of Buddhist power could no longer be suppressed, and she felt a sweet taste in her throat.

With a "whoosh," he spat out another mouthful of blood, his face instantly turning ashen and his breath becoming weak.

"wisdom!"

Huitong was both shocked and furious. Looking at his fellow disciple who had been injured and fallen to the ground, and Wang Dazhuang who was still grinning, he was consumed by rage.

Immediately, suppressing his anger, he shouted sharply, "Calm your mind! Don't be misled by the demon! Form the Lesser Arhat Formation to trap Xie Jinchen! He has been fighting fiercely for so long that he is exhausted and cannot hold on for much longer!"

The remaining seven monks quickly changed formation, attempting to encircle the group again.

However, Xie Jinchen, who had broken through the formation, was now like a ferocious beast that had broken free of its shackles, and could no longer be contained.

He ignored the monks who had formed a battle formation and instead focused his gaze on Jiang Dusheng and Abbot Hong'an.

The aftershocks of the collision between Jiang Dusheng and Abbot Hong'an plowed the ground within a radius of several dozen feet into a mess.

Abbot Hong'an was surrounded by golden light, and a faint phantom of an angry Vajra was gathering behind him, radiating a terrifying pressure.

Although Jiang Dusheng's face was slightly pale, the cinnabar on his forehead was eerily red, and the bone flute in his hand was intertwined with blue light and lightning.

"Stop him!"

Huitong saw through Xie Jinchen's intentions and roared angrily. The Arhat Formation, composed of seven monks, rushed forward like a moving city wall.

Xie Jinchen's eyes turned cold, and his killing intent was no longer held back.

Without dodging or evading, he poured all his remaining killing intent into the longsword in his hand. The sword emitted a hum that seemed unable to bear the weight, and the blood-red sword light surged three feet.

"Get out of here!"

With a roar, he moved with his sword, becoming one with it, transforming into a fierce, blood-red rainbow. He abandoned all fancy techniques and swung his sword forcefully towards the weakest point of the Arhat Formation.

The sounds of bones cracking and vomiting blood rang out almost simultaneously.

The staffs held by the seven monks who were blocking him snapped in two, and they were sent flying backward, coughing up blood.

Xie Jinchen's momentum did not diminish, but his face grew even paler, and blood flowed from his sword-wielding hand, trickling down the hilt.

Abbot Hong'an was locked in a fierce battle with Jiang Dusheng when he suddenly heard his disciples screaming in agony behind him.

He glanced at it out of the corner of his eye and his heart sank.

The ten disciples he had carefully trained were now completely routed.

Huixin coughed up blood and became weak; the two were seriously injured and collapsed to the ground; the rest of them were also in a sorry state, their breathing disordered.

In the blink of an eye, Chu Jingyu's long sword had pierced Ling Han's heart. Ling Han's eyes were wide open, and his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but only a large amount of blood gushed out.

His body stiffened instantly, and he slowly fell backward, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Meanwhile, the Imperial Guards behind Chu Jingyu were quickly bringing the situation under control.

The defeat is set.

Years of planning, ruined in a single day; disciples severely wounded, and himself trapped in a fierce encirclement…

All of this is due to these two variables!

"Monsters! You all deserve to go to the deepest hell!"

Abbot Hong'an's eyes were bloodshot, his heart filled with shock and anger, and a sense of despair and madness at the thought that his years of planning had come to naught.

He suddenly roared and ignored the lightning attack from Jiang Dusheng, forcefully using his protective Buddhist light to withstand the blow.

As blood trickled from the corner of Abbot Hong'an's mouth, he suddenly bit the tip of his right index finger, drawing out a bead of crimson blood. Without hesitation, he pressed the bloody finger hard against the cinnabar mole between his eyebrows.

He rapidly began chanting mantras, his voice distorted:

"Mahakaraya! Bhasaha!"

"With my lifeblood, I invoke the Vajra!"

"Wrathful Wisdom King, descending in this form!"

"Slay evil and destroy obstacles, may karmic fire consume you!"

As the incantation was finished, the solemn and majestic golden Buddhist light around him suddenly became violent and dazzling, and his aura rose wildly at an alarming speed.

The monk's robes fluttered in the wind, making a whooshing sound, and a distorted yet intense halo even faintly appeared behind his head.

An overwhelming pressure, far exceeding that of before, spread out.

Jiang Dusheng's expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed urgently, "This is bad! He's burning his life essence and lifespan, sacrificing himself to summon the wrathful phantom image of the Buddhist guardian Vajra!"

As Abbot Hong'an's aura reached its peak, the bright red cinnabar mole between his eyebrows suddenly vanished as if erased by an invisible force.

At the same time, a dense black aura suddenly erupted from between his eyebrows.

This malevolent aura, though originating from the same source as Xie Jinchen's, was far more chaotic, as if it contained countless resentments.

Golden Buddhist light and dark red malevolent energy, one righteous and one evil, one holy and one filthy, appeared simultaneously on Abbot Hong'an, intertwining with each other and making him look like an evil Buddha crawling out of hell, with a ferocious and terrifying face.