Chapter 54

At midnight, the entire Riverside County had fallen into complete silence, enveloped in darkness.

Occasionally, a night breeze swept through the streets, rustling the signs of the shops, making a creaking sound that only emphasized the stillness of the night. At such times, the beggars huddled in the corners would curl up even tighter, seemingly from the cold, or perhaps from fear.

Suddenly, two figures, their bodies faintly glowing with a golden light, appeared on the street, their footsteps clearly echoing throughout the entire street.

As they passed, the homeless people sleeping on the streets were startled awake, but they did not dare to move, fearing to draw attention. They only squinted their eyes, watching in fear as the two strange figures walked past them.

Of course, these strange figures were Sun Ran and Bai Tingxuan, who had activated their protective spells. As they walked, a murmur of whispers followed them.

"They are heading towards the haunted house."

"These two are emitting a golden Buddhist light; could they be great monks who exorcise demons?"

"Get lost, are there female monks? I think they look ragged and unkempt, they must be high-ranking wanderers from beyond the world, here to exorcise demons in our Riverside County."

"Why don't we follow and see?"

"If you're not afraid of dying, go ahead."

"I have nothing to lose, what's there to fear?"

Sure enough, a few fearless homeless people got up and followed Sun Ran from a distance.

Sun Ran ignored them, maintaining the appearance of a dignified and transcendent master as he walked down the street.

Bai Tingxuan hesitated, "Someone saw us, will it be okay?"

She had always been cautious of the rules as a maintainer, rarely showing her strength in front of ordinary players, so she was not used to this.

"Having someone see us is good for our reputation; the county magistrate will know. Lei Feng even wrote a diary about his good deeds," Sun Ran said softly, his expression unchanged.

"Oh," Bai Tingxuan understood and quickened her pace to keep up with Sun Ran.

Riverside County was not large; after walking for about ten minutes, they reached the outskirts of the haunted house.

The place was filled with a sinister aura, the night as dark as ink, even the stars and moon in the sky were obscured, and the temperature dropped sharply. It was so cold that even in late summer, people were shivering. From a distance, the street ahead looked like a path to the underworld.

Sun Ran's eyes flickered, emitting a faint golden light, activating his Fire Eye. Bai Tingxuan naturally did the same. With the Dharma Eye, the illusions were dispelled, turning into a faint black mist.

"Stay close to me and be careful," Sun Ran instructed.

"Okay," Bai Tingxuan nodded. Even with the Dharma Eye, the environment was still somewhat eerie, and she couldn't help but move closer to Sun Ran.

The two continued forward, their figures merging into the sinister aura, and the golden light they emitted was soon obscured.

The homeless people who had been following them did not dare to follow any further. They watched from a distance, torn between wanting to stay and see the outcome and being afraid, and wanting to leave but not wanting to miss the show.

As soon as the two entered the mist, the saboteur in the haunted house noticed them and took action.

A mournful cry suddenly echoed from the haunted house, faint and thin, as if it came from the depths of the underworld.

Bai Tingxuan was worried and wanted to release some paper puppets for protection, but Sun Ran stopped her, "They are just some small ghosts trying to scare us; there's no need to use all your tricks."

"I'm a bit scared," Bai Tingxuan whispered. Even with the Dharma Eye, everything was still too eerie, and it still affected her. She couldn't see through the illusions like Sun Ran.

The allure of the senses can bewitch the heart; everyone knows this, but how many can truly see through it and break free?

Sun Ran smiled slightly, recited a spell, and waved his staff. A white light ball floated out and stuck to the wall like a spider web, becoming a lamp.

Level 0 Light Magic: Magic Light. It shoots a ball of light at the target, which can stick to the target and last for ten minutes.

Sun Ran walked along, casting Magic Light, hanging 'lanterns' on both sides of the street. The originally sinister street was suddenly as bright as daylight, and all the dark things had nowhere to hide.

A few homeless people who hadn't left saw the street ahead light up, swallowing their saliva in amazement.

"In the past, those monks and Taoists who went in never came out. These two can actually break through the ghostly aura; they are truly impressive."

"High-ranking masters, the ghosts in the house will be caught this time."

"Finally, we can sleep soundly."

Ordinary people are easily dazzled by such spectacular things, but in fact, the Magic Light only served to illuminate, with no other effects.

With the surroundings bright and Sun Ran always calm, Bai Tingxuan's fear finally dissipated.

The saboteur in the haunted house, sensing something was wrong, used the second move: a gust of cold wind.

The night wind suddenly intensified, howling from the direction of the haunted house, trying to blow out the light balls.

"It's just a small wind-summoning spell," Sun Ran said with a smile, not taking action, but looking at Bai Tingxuan.

Bai Tingxuan understood, her internal magic power flowing, a faint white light at her fingertips, quickly drawing a talisman in the air. An ancient seal formed, the character 'Ding' (定).

As soon as the 'Ding' character appeared, it rapidly grew larger, becoming a faint shadow, standing on the street, and the cold wind immediately stopped.

Level 0 Taoist Spell: Wind-Stopping Spell, to calm the wind and stop the ghostly aura.

The two continued forward, Sun Ran still only casting Magic Light, the street brightening as they approached the haunted house, less than fifty meters away.

The second move failed, and the saboteur used the third move. The door of the haunted house suddenly opened, and ghosts rushed out.

These ghosts had green faces and fangs, black-clothed men, red-clothed women, and even a child with blood dripping from its eyes, all the family members of Hu Guangyong who had been killed.

"It's a corpse-controlling spell," Sun Ran immediately identified the spell. It was similar to the necromancy of the West, but it was powered by magic, and because of the high controllability of Taoist magic, the corpses moved more flexibly, almost indistinguishable from real people.

"Use paper soldiers?" Bai Tingxuan took out a paper talisman, ready to activate it.

"No need. Open your mind and listen to my teachings," Sun Ran ignored the approaching corpse ghosts, softly reciting the Taoist text, teaching her in the midst of battle.

Strangely, as Sun Ran recited the text, which sounded like a poem or a scripture, Bai Tingxuan felt her internal magic power flowing in a unique pattern and flowing out of her body.

At the same time, a pure magic sword formed in the air in front of her. The sword was sharp, with complex ancient seals etched on its surface, a pale blue color, floating in the air, trembling as if eager to fly out and attack.

Forming a magic sword required great power, something the former Bai Tingxuan could never have imagined.

As the corpse ghosts were about to reach within ten meters, the magic sword finally flew out, whistling as it darted around, moving like lightning, with a cold, frosty aura. It easily pierced the bodies of the corpse ghosts, either in the forehead or the chest, with perfect accuracy, and none escaped.

When the corpse ghosts were pierced by the magic sword, they froze in place, motionless, without any wounds, as if they had been hit by a paralyzing spell.

Seeing Bai Tingxuan's puzzled look, Sun Ran smiled, "This is a magic sword, named Qingping, which can cut off the life force of humans and extinguish the obsession of ghosts. Do you remember how to use it?"

Qingping Sword, Level 2 Taoist Spell. The wind starts at the tip of the Qingping grass, grows fierce at the mouth of the earth bag, dances under the pines and cypresses, and swirls with great force!

The magic sword is not a physical form; after piercing the body, it appears undamaged from the outside, like a gentle breeze, but the internal body is destroyed by the raging magic power.

If used well, even a Level 3 saboteur, if caught off guard, would suffer greatly from the magic power penetrating their body.

Bai Tingxuan closed her eyes and silently recalled, finding that the process of magic power flow was almost imprinted in her mind, very clear and profound. She followed this path to re-channel her magic power, and immediately a humming sound came from in front of her. Opening her eyes, she saw the Qingping Sword reappear, and with a thought, the magic sword moved as she wished, like an extension of her arm.

She was delighted and smiled, "I remember."

"Good. Let's use the sword to clear the way and enter the house," Sun Ran said with a smile.

Bai Tingxuan happily agreed, feeling more confident with the powerful Qingping Sword leading the way, and dared to walk in front of Sun Ran.

As they entered the house, the place where the ghostly aura was originally the strongest, the situation had changed. The ghostly aura was rapidly dispersing, seemingly out of control.

"What's happening?" Bai Tingxuan was puzzled.

Sun Ran smiled, "The saboteur is very alert. Seeing the situation was wrong, he ran away. As I suspected, this saboteur only knows how to play tricks, with no real power."

Those with real power, like the wild boar demon and the water monster, would directly kill, not use such confusing mind tricks.

Since the saboteur had left, the haunted house was broken, but ordinary players didn't know this, so they needed to create some external signs.

"Here, put some talismans in various places in the house, like cold-dispelling talismans, just for show. The county magistrate will definitely come to check tomorrow. Seeing that it's warm and comfortable inside, without any ghostly aura, he will believe in our abilities."

"Okay, I'll do it right away," Bai Tingxuan immediately got to work.

After a busy session, the entire haunted house underwent a significant change. The original foul smell was completely eliminated, and it became warm and comfortable, with no trace of ghostly aura.

The two found some clean clothes to change out of their beggar outfits, and their appearance was refreshed, exuding the transcendent aura of cultivators.

"Xuanxuan, let's get our stories straight. In this mission, my name is Xu Changqing, and my Taoist name is Changqingzi, your senior brother."

"Then I'll be Bai Xuanyi, and my Taoist name will be Xuanyizhi."

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