At the end of the long corridor, the lights were dim. Lin Yuan fell to the ground with a bang, his mind not yet able to react to what had happened, but a chilling coldness like ghost fire had already leaped from his heart. He instinctively wanted to scream, but suddenly saw a shadow flicker before him, and unexpectedly a gray-blue cold light came shooting directly toward the center of Lin Yuan’s brows. Official source ıs 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵※𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮※𝓷𝓮𝓽 Following it was a strange spear shadow, like a venomous dragon emerging from the sea. Seeing that Lin Yuan’s forehead was about to be penetrated, a flash of golden light suddenly burst from his chest. This was the Exorcism Armor Talisman that Lin’s father had obtained from the Qiyun Taoist Temple, worth ten gold pieces each, and one must have fate to acquire it. The golden light scattered in all directions, and Lin Yuan finally broke free from the grip of terror, shouting angrily, "Celestial Venerable save me, Exorcism Armor, protect me completely! Ah—" Before the shout was finished, he saw the spear shadow indeed pause for a moment, seemingly unable to break through the golden light’s protection. And it was in this moment of pause that Lin Yuan finally saw clearly what had ambushed him— What on earth is this? A tiny figure, about a foot tall, wielding a small spear two feet long, its features somewhat indistinct, yet carrying an imposing air of divinity in its small frame. Lin Yuan was utterly terrified, having never encountered such a strange thing in his life. Not to mention seeing it, he couldn’t even imagine that such a thing could exist in the world! "Who are you?" he asked hastily. The figure did not answer, but the spear pressed against the golden light, like a divine artifact about to pierce through the Celestial Light, aggressively advancing. The golden light of the Exorcism Armor Talisman seemed to be retreating. The exorcising golden light seemed ineffective on this being? Only the armor had some effect, but even its power was limited. Lin Yuan’s heart was pounding, his mind seemingly exploding with white light, and in his state, he babbled: "Your Excellency is unaffected by the exorcising golden light, you must be no evil entity, perhaps a Divine General visiting the mortal realm. Divine General, spare my life; though I am born into wealth, I have never committed evil acts. I am kind and respectful to both those below and above me, I, I honor my parents... I already have one brother dead, if I perish too, what will become of my aging parents? Divine General, have mercy, I beg you to spare me!" The tiny figure with the spear offered no response, only continuing to push the spear forward. The golden light grew thinner, Lin Yuan lay on the ground, utterly subdued by the figure’s inexplicable presence, unable to move. Seeing that begging was futile, he couldn’t help but ask, "May I ask your Excellency, what is your origin? What grudge is there between us? If I have done anything wrong, may I apologize to you? I, I am willing to offer ten gold... no, a hundred gold, I am willing to offer a hundred gold to beg your Excellency to spare my life..." The spear was about to completely pierce the last thin golden light, its cold tip nearly touching Lin Yuan’s forehead. Lin Yuan’s right hand, placed at his waist, finally moved. In a flash, Lin Yuan broke free from the suppression and shook the small bronze bell at his waist. He shouted, "Ghostly wraith, heed my command, seize its soul, smite its life!" As the bell rang, a hazy black mist flew out like smoke. The black mist touched the golden light on Lin Yuan, instantly sizzling as if it were being roasted by a fierce fire. Yet, Lin Yuan forcibly continued his summoning, ignoring the clash between the golden light and the black mist on his body. Among the black mist floated several silhouettes dressed as scholar’s attendants, these small figures struggled and silently screamed, with watery black mist streaming from their faces, breaking through the barrier of golden light, rushing toward the spear-wielding figure. Lin Yuan shouted in anger. His fierce and agitated expression finally froze on his face. As the black shadows rushed at the spear-wielding figure, they seemed to pounce on nothing more than air. They couldn’t touch anything, let alone destroy the enemy’s soul, it was all in vain. "No, it can’t be!" Lin Yuan let out one last muffled cry, "How is it possible? Even if you are a Divine General... no, even if you are a puppet, the one controlling you must have a soul! How could my Soul-Losing Bell be useless? Who exactly are you? Are you... Chen?" The shadows missed, passing through the spear-wielding figure. At that moment, the figure’s spear finally broke through the last bit of golden light and pierced Lin Yuan’s forehead. With a thrust of the spear, the supernatural force erupted, piercing through human skull like piercing tofu, splat! A splash of blood sprayed out. Lin Yuan’s eyes widened, staring unseeingly in death. But this wasn’t the end; at the moment Lin Yuan’s physical body perished, the twisted shadows he had summoned trembled in unison, as if electrified, shaking for a moment where they stood. Subsequently, all the shadows turned around simultaneously. They opened their vague eyes wide, silently screaming. Among them, only one shadow was vaguely clearer in form, if there were a familiar figure nearby, they would recognize from its features that this shadow bore the likeness of Lin Qi’s close servant, Song Yan. At Shengyu Square, Chen Xu was not familiar with Song Yan’s appearance, so when viewing through the perspective of the Mud Ball Daoist Soldier, Chen Xu did not immediately recognize Song Yan. But at this moment, as the shadows silently screamed, Chen Xu comprehended through the ears of the Daoist Soldier, the quiet words that ordinary people could not understand. They were speaking the language of ghosts. "Young Master, you are dead..." "Young Master, you actually died, so it’s our turn now." "Young Master, your soul is so dark, I really like to devour it." "Young Master, I’m Song Yan, I’ve detailed all of my master’s actions to you while he was alive, why did you still kill me?" "I didn’t hide anything..." "I only broke a teacup, yet you said I disrespected you by comparing you to the cup. You wanted to gouge my eyes and skin me to make this wicked artifact..." "Now it’s your turn." The ghostly wails and cries, twisted and clinging, they howled towards Lin Yuan’s corpse. He still had that soul, not yet fully turned into a ghost. The remnant soul let out inaudible cries of anguish. "Tee hee hee, the arm is mine!" "Leg, give me the leg..." "Master, your eyes are mine..." The ghostly cries were silent. In the corridor below, the angered wind lantern swayed in the night, casting heavy shadows on the nearby plants. Two streets away, the young Daoist, holding a compass, walked through the alleyway, his expression suddenly changing as he exclaimed, "Such thick ghost qi and evil qi, what has happened? Oh no, fear that a powerful ghost is about to emerge, hurry away!" A short gray donkey stood beside the young Daoist. The Daoist wanted to lead the donkey forward, but the stubborn beast bucked just then, retreating instead. It took the Daoist great effort to finally drag the donkey along.