Chapter 37: Cleaving the Fierce Ghost with a Sword!

The so-called plan was nothing more than a few ideas that Wang Sheng had come up with on the spot. The Li family, led by Li Shishan, was wealthy and influential. Nearly twenty people worked at their residence daily—including maids, security guards, drivers, and chefs. With so many people coming and going, everyone was a suspect. It was also possible that the culprit had methods to conceal their cultivation.

Some of the seventy to eighty wandering spirits that they had found were on the verge of dissipating, while others still had dense yin energy. From that information, it could be inferred that they hadn't been released all at once but over the course of a few days, gradually accumulating over time.

Since the Li residence housed a vast collection of valuable items, it had a complete security system, with surveillance cameras covering every angle. Sneaking in at night multiple times to release that many wandering spirits would have been nearly impossible without leaving any traces or even completely exposing themselves. The most likely possibility was that someone had been raising and releasing ghosts from within the Li residence.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

The culprit was undeniably malicious. Outright killing someone was one thing, but using wandering spirits to deplete a person's Yang qi, make them lose their appetite, suffer from nightmares, and eventually die from "illness" after prolonged torment...

However, the number of wandering spirits alone wasn't enough to determine whether the culprit had truly taken many lives. In today's society, where law and order prevailed, every missing-person case was a serious matter.

Wang Sheng suspected that the ghosts had been gathered from hospitals, crematoriums, cemeteries, and similar places before being refined and cultivated.

The Li family naturally wasn't foolish enough to sit around and await their doom in their "haunted house." Hence, they sought help from Li Shiwu as a countermeasure.

They had made a relatively prudent decision. A large-scale relocation could have provoked the culprit into resorting to straight-up murder.

Wang Sheng believed this incident was not merely a case of a corrupt cultivator harming people. Everything had a motive. Perhaps an insider coveted the Li family's wealth or someone was seeking revenge against them.

But that had little to do with him. His task was to exorcise ghosts and uncover the corrupt cultivator behind the scenes and nothing more.

No matter the reason, in Wang Sheng's eyes, using wandering spirits to harm others was a malicious act, and committing mass murder was an act that defied the laws of heaven!

Everything was going as he had planned.

Li Shiwu drove onto the highway, heading straight for the Wudang Mountains, while Wang Sheng and Zhou Yinglong successfully checked into the hot spring resort.

To avoid drawing attention, they deliberately purchased a premium package and carried their suitcases into a bamboo lodge near the forest—a convenient location for their nighttime activities. The Li family had paid them quite heftily, so they weren't afraid to spend a little.

With evening approaching, the sun began to linger on the horizon.

Wang Sheng and Zhou Yinglong changed into Daoist robes, took out their treasured swords and alchemy pills, and quietly approached the Li residence.

Carefully avoiding the surveillance cameras' range, they hid behind two large trees. They then leaned against the trunks and prepared to meditate.

"Junior Brother, how long do we have to wait?" Zhou Yinglong asked in a hushed tone.

"Probably until midnight. At that hour, the world's Yang qi is at its weakest, allowing the ghosts to be at their most active. Hence, the corrupt cultivator raising them should be most confident around that time."

Zhou Yinglong sighed. He then shifted slightly to look at Wang Sheng. "Aren't you afraid of this stuff at all? When we were exorcising ghosts today, I couldn't help but tense up a little. I thought they'd look like the ones in TV dramas. Fortunately, they just turned out to be little blobs of spiritual consciousness."

Little blobs of spiritual consciousness...?

That was quite an accurate description.

"Do you think this could be the work of someone from the Li family? Maybe Li Shishan's two sons and daughters-in-law?"

"It doesn't seem like it, but we shouldn't discuss things like that here," Wang Sheng said. "Let's wait. If the culprit is impatient, we'll see results tonight."

"What if they're patient?"

"Then we'll just have to keep waiting. A promise is a promise—we gave our word to our martial uncle." Wang Sheng slowly closed his eyes. "For now, let's just focus on our cultivation, Senior Brother. "The spiritual energy here luckily isn't murky enough to hinder our cultivation."

Zhou Yinglong nodded. "Alright, I'll meditate for a while too."

The two fell silent as they entered meditation. However, they remained alert. Their spiritual consciousness would pick up on any movement around them.

As night fell, darkness gradually swallowed the forest. Turning slightly, they saw lights illuminating various parts of the Li residence.

Wang Sheng's spiritual consciousness spread across the estate. Fortunately, his late-stage Spirit Convergence Realm spiritual consciousness was strong enough to envelop the entire Li residence, albeit barely.

Zhou Yinglong's cultivation was lower, so his spiritual consciousness couldn't extend as far. Instead, he focused on surveilling their surroundings.

Time ticked by. Zhou Yinglong opened his eyes several times, wanting to strike up a conversation, but Wang Sheng was truly immersed in meditation.

The night grew even darker. Soon, the lingering clouds in the sky and the wind began to carry over a faint, mournful wail.

Wang Sheng opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing through them.

"It's coming."

Zhou Yinglong immediately tensed up, gripping his sword and preparing to stand. However, Wang Sheng moved faster. He leaped up from his seated position, pushed off the tree trunk, and shot into the darkness, swiftly and silently dashing toward the Li residence's outer wall dozens of meters away.

"You're seriously just going to go off on your own? We were supposed to move together."

Zhou Yinglong shook his head, sighed, and followed with his sword in hand. He tried to suppress the fluctuations of his true essence as best as he could, ensuring his movements remained as silent as possible.

***

The layout of the Li residence was designed so that each building stood relatively independent due to the influence of the feng shui formation.

In the backyard of the Li residence was a side gate, which was the regular entry and exit point for the maids, housekeepers, and other staff working for the Li family. They had also employed six security guards, who were living in a small courtyard that the Li family had rented in a nearby village.

Every night, the guards would pair up and take turns monitoring the estate from the security room beside the side gate. Inside the security room, several computer screens displayed surveillance footage from various parts of the Li residence. The immense value of Li Shishan's collection of antiques and treasures necessitated this level of security.

Only one guard was initially assigned to the night shift, but due to the recent supernatural disturbances, Li Shishan had ordered an additional guard on duty to ensure his family's safety. It was just a matter of paying a bit more for night shifts.

A few minutes before Wang Sheng rushed toward the Li residence, two guards chatted idly in the security room, discussing the ritual performed earlier that day. One was a middle-aged man with a slightly bulging belly. The other was younger, shorter in stature, and had noticeably bright eyes.

"Brother Zhang, it's almost midnight. Time for a patrol," the younger guard reminded as he picked up a flashlight and a short baton.

"Alright, let's go." The middle-aged guard patted his stomach and grabbed his gear. As if to comfort himself, he muttered, "This is the job we signed up for—the job we get paid to do. They get to sleep while we keep watch and make rounds."

After a few complaints, the older guard locked the security room. The pair then checked the side gate before starting their patrol along the predetermined route around the estate.

They swept their bright flashlights around them. As long as they didn't intentionally shine them at the windows of Li Shishan and his sons' lofts, their wages wouldn't get docked.

"Little Jiang, do you think that Daoist master who performed the ritual today really has mystical powers?" Zhang asked curiously, then clicked his tongue. "Tonight's a lot quieter than usual. That eerie presence we always felt seems to be gone."

"They're just Jianghu scammers," Jiang replied with a smile. However, a flicker of complex emotion flashed in his eyes.

Their patrol focused mainly on Li Shishan's loft, which was essentially a treasure vault filled with priceless artifacts. Tonight was no exception. As usual, they first reached the small bamboo grove behind the loft, shining their flashlights along the pathway and into the trees on either side. Afterward, as per their habit, they began their usual conversations.

"How much do you think all the treasures in our boss's collection are worth?" Zhang asked.

"Probably a few tens of millions." Jiang chuckled faintly as he fell half a step behind Zhang.

He then reached into his pocket, fingers closing around something. A glint of cold determination flashed in his eyes as he softly called, "Brother Zhang?"

"Hm?"

Puff...

Jiang pressed against Zhang's nape with his left hand. A needle at his fingertips glimmered briefly before piercing into Zhang, causing the middle-aged man to shudder and fall backward.

Jiang swiftly supported Zhang as effortlessly as lifting an empty sack. He carried him into the small bamboo grove and untied a cloth bundle wrapped around his waist. Carefully, he pulled out a fist-sized jade-green cauldron and removed its lid, revealing something writhing.

"Sorry, Brother Zhang. I won't take your life, at least. I never intended to expose myself, but I have no choice now. The people from the Wudang Mountains could return tomorrow," Jiang muttered under his breath before drawing a small knife.

Pressing his lips together, he made a shallow cut on Zhang's hand and let his blood drip into the cauldron. Thick green smoke curled up from it.

Sitting cross-legged, Jiang formed a hand seal and pressed it onto the cauldron, making Zhang's blood seep into the pot completely.

"When yin ghosts are restless, disorder follows. But the laws of Heaven remain bright and clear, and retribution will be delivered."

The smoke surged out and turned into a monstrous, ghostly figure that was over two meters tall. Its swollen body was covered in a ghastly green hue!

"Go!" Jiang commanded in a hushed tone.

In response, the fierce ghost charged toward the loft's window, its gaping maw opening wide as if to devour the entire frame.

However, just as the ghost lunged forward, a golden light flickered at the center of the wooden window panes. A talisman affixed to the inner side of the window glowed brightly, repelling the fierce ghost with a powerful force!

Little Jiang's eyes turned ice-cold. Without hesitation, he quickly tried to pry open the window. Talismanic seals could block ghosts, but they could not stop the living!

Just as he leaped forward, a flash of sword radiance cut through the air from the other side of the bamboo grove, instantly slicing apart over a dozen decorative bamboo stalks. A figure then emerged from the darkness, charging straight toward him.

"Stop!"

The disciple of the Wudang Mountains?

"Damn it!" Jiang's face turned pale, yet his eyes still showed no hesitation. There was only madness.

Instead of facing the rapidly approaching Wang Sheng, he grabbed the jade-green cauldron and hurled himself toward the loft's wooden window. The fierce ghost followed closely behind!

At that moment, another dazzling sword radiance flashed, cleaving straight toward the green malevolent ghost's neck.