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

Xie Jinchen's pupils contracted slightly, and his hand holding the sword unconsciously tightened its grip. He said in a deep voice, "Such a massive amount of malevolent energy is sealed within him!"

This explains why Abbot Hong'an was willing to assist the emperor in plotting and framing the emperor, even at the cost of committing murder.

He may have been secretly practicing some kind of evil magic, absorbing malevolent energy to enhance the power of his spells.

At this moment, behind Abbot Hong'an, amidst the interwoven black and gold light, a gigantic phantom was rapidly taking shape.

The phantom was vaguely the form of a Vajra protector in Buddhism, with three heads and six arms, and wide-open, angry eyes; it should have been majestic and sacred.

However, the Dharma form that was formed at this moment had a ferocious and twisted appearance, and the six arms held not Buddhist Dharma implements, but fierce weapons formed from evil energy.

Golden light and black malevolent energy intertwined wildly around him, emanating an eerie aura.

"The Vajra's wrathful gaze... has already fallen into demonic possession!" Jiang Dusheng's expression was more solemn than ever before.

She could sense that although the phantom image of the Dharma was slightly blurred due to the incomplete sacrifice, the power it contained was already terrifying.

"roar!"

The illusory image of the Dharma image roared as Abbot Hong'an pushed his hands forward with all his might.

With all six arms raised, murderous swords and twisted golden light poured down on Jiang Dusheng and Xie Jinchen.

Before the attack even arrived, the immense power had already cracked the ground and sent sand and stones flying.

Upon seeing this, Xie Jinchen and Jiang Dusheng immediately attacked from two different angles.

Jiang Dusheng held the bone flute to his lips, and a clear, melodious sound rang out, attempting to disrupt the chaotic will and malevolent energy within the illusory image of the Dharma.

As the flute music reached it, the phantom's movements seemed to slow slightly, and the golden light and baleful aura that were frantically entangled around it also fluctuated more noticeably.

Xie Jinchen pushed his movement technique to its limit, transforming into a series of afterimages that were difficult to distinguish from reality, rapidly weaving through the gaps between the murderous swords and golden blades that poured down from the sky.

The longsword in his hand hummed, condensing its killing intent at the tip, using it to pierce through the enemy's defenses with a hissing sound, constantly weakening their attacks.

The sounds of violent explosions and the clanging of metal clashing mingled together.

Jiang Dusheng's flute music barely withstood most of the attack, but he was still shaken so badly that his blood and qi surged, and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

Xie Jinchen was in grave danger as a blade of murderous aura grazed his left rib, leaving a deep, bone-revealing wound.

Although his counterattack pierced through the phantom of one of the Dharma Image's arms, the recoil sent Xie Jinchen flying, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

The longsword hummed incessantly and nearly flew out of my hand.

Xie Jinchen crashed heavily to the ground, then slid several feet before finally managing to kneel up on one knee, using his sword for support. He was clearly severely injured.

The illusory image of the Dharma was injured, and its attacks became even more ferocious.

The remaining five arms swung so tightly they were impenetrable.

Abbot Hong'an, in his true form, also attacked Jiang Dusheng fiercely with his staff, the staff whistling through the air, the Buddhist light mixed with wisps of black energy, its power astonishing.

Jiang Dusheng had to distract himself, and the flute music became slightly disordered.

This slight disruption gave the Dharma Image an even greater opportunity to attack, causing the pressure to increase dramatically.

Seeing blood continuously spilling from Jiang Dusheng's mouth, Xie Jinchen mustered his inner energy, ignoring the tearing pain in his ribs, and poured all the murderous energy around him into his longsword.

The person and the sword seemed to become one, thrusting straight at the chest of the illusory image of the Dharma.

"Break it!"

Almost at the same moment, Jiang Dusheng also gritted his teeth and activated all his magic power.

She abruptly removed the bone flute from her lips, rapidly forming hand seals, and spat a mouthful of blood onto the flute.

The bone flute suddenly burst forth with a blinding light:

"The majestic power of Heaven, let it be proclaimed with a flute!"

"Destroy the evil!"

She let out a sharp cry and poured all her remaining magical power into the bone flute without reservation.

A solid golden beam of light, along with Xie Jinchen's blood-red sword light, struck the chest of the illusory Dharma image.

Abbot Hong'an's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly activated all of his power, including his Dharma Image, to defend against the attack. He swung out his staff and the remaining five arms of the Dharma Image simultaneously.

"Boom!"

An unprecedented explosion resounded in the mountain valley.

The dazzling light instantly engulfed the scene before them, and the shockwave knocked over a group of Imperial Guards who were engaged in a chaotic battle not far away.

The light slowly faded, revealing a horrific scene.

At the edge of the deep pit, Xie Jinchen knelt on one knee, his long sword deeply embedded in the scorched ground, barely supporting his swaying body.

His chest was a bloody mess, and blood kept spilling from his mouth.

Jiang Dusheng was in slightly better condition, but still looked a bit disheveled.

She knelt beside Xie Jinchen, her dark dress stained with dust and blood, her once beautiful face as pale as paper, devoid of any color.

She pressed one hand tightly against her ribs, while the other hand supported Xie Jinchen's trembling arm, her fingertips icy cold.

The abbot of Hong'an opposite them looked as if he had been pulled out of a pool of blood.

The sinister Vajra image behind him had completely dissipated, leaving only specks of light fading into the air.

His staff was broken in two, and his monk's robe was almost soaked with blood.

Abbot Hong'an staggered back several steps, then suddenly spat out a mouthful of foul blood mixed with black smoke. His previously crazed eyes became unfocused, and his body began to tremble violently.

He suddenly let out a painful scream, clutching his head tightly with both hands.

"Aaaaaah!"

At the location of Abbot Hong'an's cinnabar mole between his eyebrows, something seemed to be writhing wildly beneath the skin.

Uncontrollably, streams of malevolent energy erupted from his seven orifices, creating a backlash against the remaining golden Buddhist light within his body.

Forcibly fusing Buddhist power with malevolent energy, and burning his essence and blood to summon an evil dharma form, the massive malevolent energy that had been forcibly sealed and suppressed has now completely gone out of control, now that he is severely injured and his mind is in disarray.

They surged wildly within Abbot Hong'an's body like a burst dam, turning against their master.

The veins under Abbot Hong'an's skin bulged out, as if countless small snakes were wriggling around. His face was distorted beyond recognition, sometimes as ferocious as a demon, and sometimes a moment of painful clarity would appear.

Despite the excruciating pain, Jiang Dusheng and Xie Jinchen quickly exchanged a glance.

"Take advantage of his conflict between Buddhist and demonic forces, now that his foundation is destroyed, and attack his very soul!"

"Alright!" Xie Jinchen nodded despite the pain, his fingers gripping the sword hilt bleeding again from the force.

Jiang Dusheng took a deep breath, mustered the last of his remaining magical power, and straightened his swaying body.

She closed her eyes and rapidly formed hand seals in front of her chest, golden light transforming into golden chains that wrapped around Abbot Hong'an's limbs.

Then, she opened her eyes, bit her fingertip, and using her blood as ink and her finger as a brush, rapidly drew a crimson talisman in the void, shouting sharply:

"Heaven and earth were dark and yellow, the soul and spirit departed from their form!"

"With the blood oath as the guide, the decree commands separation!"

In an instant, the talisman transformed into a streak of blood and entered Abbot Hong'an's brow.

Xie Jinchen, who had been poised to strike, released the longsword that was supporting his body, pouring all his murderous aura into the sword. The blade emitted an eerie dark red light as he stabbed towards Abbot Hong'an's heart.

"Aaaaaah!"

Abbot Hong'an let out a mournful howl.

A distorted and uncertain soul shadow was forced out from above his head, with most of it being forced out.

As his soul left his body, Abbot Hong'an's physical movements froze instantly, and the light in his eyes dimmed rapidly.