Chapter 478: Ancient Formation, Black Shadow, Wedding Procession! A Glance in the Crowd!

“Bastard! How did you escape from that inn? Why has this town suddenly become such a mess?!” The shadow roared incessantly inside the Eight Trigrams Tower.

Perhaps this was what one might call helpless rage.

“This won’t do! I can’t just let this thing grow. If it keeps evolving, it will devour the entire Liu ancestral hall sooner or later!”

The shadow made up its mind. Once this giant ghost grew further, it would not only consume the Liu ancestral hall, but the Eight Trigrams Tower itself would likely fall prey as well. It couldn’t allow this mindless entity to devour it!

The shadow decided to mobilize the power within the Eight Trigrams Tower, taking control of all the ghosts in the Liu ancestral hall, determined to slay the giant ghost before it could fully grow. Although doing so would inflict irreversible damage on the shadow, possibly plunging it into a deep slumber, it was a necessary risk.

Chanting a set of obscure, ancient incantations, the shadow’s voice was deep and complex, like whispers from the Abyss of the Nine Hells, like a malicious spirit speaking in your ear, chilling and eerie. The incantations themselves carried a magical force capable of seizing one’s soul.

As the shadow recited these words, the Eight Trigrams Tower suddenly shone with a strange, eerie light.

From the foundation of the Eight Trigrams Tower, a massive formation extended outward, rapidly spreading across the entire floor of the Liu ancestral hall. The formation was ancient and eerie, exuding a chilling, sinister aura.

As the final stroke of the formation was completed and connected, the shadow instantly became transparent. If it weren’t for the fact that one of its clones had just been slain by the young Daoist, the shadow might not have struggled so much. Forcibly manipulating this ancient formation cost the shadow far more than it had anticipated.

However, in the next moment, all the bizarre entities inside the Liu ancestral hall were immediately controlled by the formation. There were youths with missing limbs, elderly men on the brink of death, dark-skinned children, even pregnant women, all appearing as ordinary people.

If Li Yanchu had been there, he might have guessed that these were the souls of the Liu family members.

And indeed they were. The souls of the Liu family had been absorbed and refined by the strange ancestral hall, transforming into a special existence which was part ghost, part spirit artifact. Each of these ghosts possessed immense strength, far beyond ordinary lost souls.

In the next moment, under the control of the shadow, these men, women, young, and old, with their limb-missing and expressionless, rushed toward the giant ghost to attack it. The earth shook with surging yin qi, chilling winds blowing relentlessly. Even those outside the hall, including Li Yanchu, could sense the strange, oppressive aura.

“Good grief, this is the Hundred-Ghost Procession!” Zhang Wei exclaimed.

Because much of the walls inside the ancestral hall had already been smashed by the giant ghost, their view was relatively clear. The terrifying giant ghost now stood over four meters tall, extremely imposing. They could clearly see the expressionless men, women, and children rushing at the giant ghost.

At first, the ghost grabbed and devoured these fierce spirits without hesitation, its chest-mouth continuously sucking in the ghosts. However, there were simply too many of them, and each one was extremely troublesome. Each ghost seemed to possess different abilities.

The chest-mouthed ghost gradually struggled to keep up, constantly being assaulted by the Liu family ghosts. Thus, a strange balance began to form. The giant ghost continuously devoured the attacking men, women, and children, growing stronger. Meanwhile, the other Liu family ghosts were constantly devouring the giant ghost, weakening its aura.

Now, it was a matter of seeing which side could devour faster. Normally, even if a balance is maintained temporarily, eventually the giant ghost would likely consume all the attacking spirits.

However, the ghosts within the Liu ancestral hall were exceptionally powerful. The giant ghost’s devouring slowed, and its body began to deteriorate.

At this point, Li Yanchu decided not to intervene further. This giant ghost was highly adaptable and would be troublesome to handle. If he could use this battle to severely injure or even destroy it, it would be advantageous. After all, it wasn’t one of his trump cards. Even if it died, it was fine. He prepared to watch from the sidelines, waiting for the fight to reach a conclusion before cleaning up the remainder and ultimately securing the Liu ancestral hall.

Just as the battle reached this strange balance, a sudden sound of drums and gongs echoed down the street where the ancestral hall stood. A wedding procession was approaching the Liu ancestral hall from afar.

This scene made even in broad daylight, the onlookers shiver with fear, feeling a chill run through their hands and feet.

“People are still getting married in this town?!” Li Yanchu was momentarily stunned.

A bright red bridal litter appeared in their view, while eight litter bearers, with their waist-bound with red satin sashes, hopped and jostled joyfully in celebration.

There were eight litters! The sight was truly shocking. The bearers’ skin was pale; at a glance, it was clear they were not alive.

A gust of wind blew through, and the door curtains of the bright red litter gently lifted, revealing the bride inside.

“It’s her!” Master Zhiqing exclaimed in shock. “This is strange... This bride is the same palace-attired beauty I saw earlier! Her appearance is identical... but how? Wasn’t she inside the Liu ancestral hall?” Master Zhiqing’s mind was filled with confusion.

At that moment, the bride slightly raised her head and made eye contact with Master Zhiqing. Then, Master Zhiqing screamed and collapsed to the ground. This turn of events was far beyond everyone’s expectations.

Li Yanchu also froze for a moment. But there was no time to ponder. His eyes glimmered with Daoist light as he activated Spirit Eyes to investigate. He saw that a soul had left Zhìxíng Monk’s body. It floated with a blank, dazed expression, as if frightened out of its wits. The soul then flew straight toward the red bridal litter.

At that moment, the litter itself transformed in Li Yanchu’s eyes; it was now stitched together from bloody human skin, grotesque and horrifying. On top of the human-skin litter stood a malevolent night owl. Meanwhile, the bride’s aura was conflicted; she appeared alive, yet her body was suffused with deathly energy. It was as if a malicious spirit had possessed a living body, animating it like a form of corpse resurrection.

Seeing Master Zhiqing’s soul drifting farther away, Li Yanchu acted immediately. A surging force appeared in his palm.

Daoist art: Soul Snare!

This powerful technique could extract an enemy’s soul, and naturally, it could also rescue Master Zhiqing’s soul. He grabbed Master Zhiqing’s soul, which became a semi-transparent energy orb in his hand, and then pressed it back into the monk’s body.

Master Zhiqing slowly opened his eyes, his expression filled with horror.

“Thank you, Daoist Master Li!” Master Zhiqing said sincerely, grateful from the bottom of his heart.