Chapter 24

Many people had gathered from the ghost market, including Old Man Gou, the Luo sisters who stayed behind, Old Liu who went up the mountain to look for the bird's eye, and Cui Deyuan who had difficulty moving. The rest, including Eighth Master, Cheng San, Lu Pizi, Fox Lady, and Witch Magan, had all come.

The eyes of the Red Lotus Celestial Master swept over everyone's faces. Zunzhibao, judging by the duration of his gaze, recognized at least three people, which was why he sternly dismissed his followers, looking as if he were facing a great enemy.

The ghost market was originally a hidden market, and the people here were unwilling to get involved in worldly affairs. Therefore, everyone stood silently around, waiting for his move. Sure enough, after a moment, he finally spoke slowly:

"Hmph! Hmph! No wonder a mere child dares to meddle in the affairs of the White Lotus Sect. It turns out you have a few old fellows backing you up. Tsk tsk, let me see... Oh, there's a Ghost Master Wang Bayue from the Five Wheels Sect, an elder from the Hundred Ghosts Market, a great bandit who has killed a thousand people, and two internal martial artists with some foundation... Not bad, not bad, quite interesting!"

Elder from the Hundred Ghosts Market and a great bandit who has killed a thousand people?

Zunzhibao followed his finger and saw the skinny Witch Mangan and the honest Cheng San. He almost burst out laughing... How could this be? Their faces were black, wasn't this nonsense?

He chuckled to himself, while the other side continued:

"Enough talk!" Old Man Bayue interrupted rudely, "Since we dared to come, it was expected that you would recognize us, and there's nothing to say about it. Summoning ghost officials and inviting yin spirits here is a great taboo. If it were anyone else, they would never let you leave, but since we are in seclusion, we don't want to cause trouble. We don't care about your purpose here—just release the ghosts you've locked and leave, and we won't pursue it further, okay?"

Upon hearing this, the Red Lotus Celestial Master's heart pounded like a drum!

Originally, this person was a petty thief on the road. Before the rise of the White Lotus Sect, he followed an old Taoist to learn some petty tricks. He often disguised himself as a woman and roamed the world. Whenever he encountered a pregnant woman who was three to five months along, he would use the 'Five Drum Soul-Bewitching Smoke' to knock her out and steal the fetus to refine elixirs. For a time, this caused great fear and panic in the area.

Heaven has its own order and cause and effect. Red Lotus's evil deeds could not last long. One day, while committing a crime, he encountered the young Bayue. Bayue, with his fiery temper, could not tolerate such evil deeds and immediately captured him, intending to send him to his master...

But fate had other plans. On the way, Bayue encountered an enemy. Taking advantage of their fight, Red Lotus jumped into the river and saved his life.

When he returned to the Taoist temple, the old Taoist beat and scolded him for not bringing back the fetus. In a fit of anger, Red Lotus's evil nature took over. He got the old Taoist drunk and killed him with a knife, then found the old Taoist's scriptures and learned a great deal of skill.

If it were any other time, Red Lotus might have backed down, but this time it was a matter of great importance, and his old enemy was also present. Red Lotus felt quite resentful and wanted to settle both old and new grudges. Thinking of this, Red Lotus's face turned fierce, and he said in a menacing voice:

"This matter today is of great importance, not just for me but for the entire White Lotus Sect. If I back down, the Holy Mother will hold me accountable, and I won't be able to convince my subordinates. How can I comply with you?"

"Are you asking for death?" Cheng San shouted first, his temper flaring as he interrupted Eighth Master. "Do you really think we're afraid of you? We just don't want to kill you. Now you're still talking nonsense and making demands—Eighth Master, you don't need to act, I'll take care of this guy myself!"

As he spoke, his fists clenched and unclenched, the joints cracking, and his muscles bulged.

"Cheng San!" Old Man Bayue smiled and waved his hand. "Don't fall for his trick. He's just testing you, knowing about your Thousand Killers' Blood Curse and our taboo of living in seclusion. If you kill recklessly, he'll run away immediately..."

"Exactly!" Fox Lady cackled. "Look at his hands, holding the soul-locking incense of two ghosts, and his feet in the Six Directions stance. As Eighth Master said, you can only kill his subordinates, but it will be hard to kill him."

"Fine then!" Cheng San shook his head. "I'll kill as many as I can, and if I have to, I'll go all out..." His eyes turned sharp and fierce, and a wild aura spread from his body, making everyone in the field feel a sudden jolt.

The feeling was like facing a hungry tiger about to pounce!

"Enough, killing a couple of small fry won't mean much and will only add to your troubles," Witch Mangan coldly advised. "From his words, he just wants to discuss techniques. Let him have his way—why risk an arm to kill a stray dog?"

A few words from everyone revealed Red Lotus's thoughts, and his face turned extremely difficult. He didn't speak, just laughed coldly... But the laughter sounded weak to Zunzhibao, indicating that he was somewhat panicked.

Old Man Bayue understood Witch Mangan's meaning: killing these people was simple, and even killing Red Lotus wouldn't be too difficult. Everyone in the ghost market understood this, except Red Lotus himself, who was overconfident. But releasing the ghosts he had locked was much harder, and they didn't know what kind of spell the White Lotus Sect had used, making it difficult to counter.

The best solution was to convince Red Lotus to release the spell himself.

Eighth Master smiled and continued, "Fine! Red Lotus Celestial Master, why don't you choose? How can we avoid a lose-lose situation? Draw a line, and I'll accept it."

This statement hit Red Lotus's sweet spot. He had always felt that a group fight had no chance of winning, and a one-on-one fight had a better chance. He had been pushing to challenge Old Man Bayue, so he quickly responded:

"Since we are all practitioners of the Way, what other choice is there? Let's have a simple competition of our cultivation. If I lose, I'll release the ghosts and return to the sect to face punishment. If you lose, you and your people can't interfere with my business here!"

"Agreed!"

※

Red Lotus Celestial Master held a small black banner in his left hand, with the red characters 'Yin-Yang Banner' written on it. His right hand was hidden behind his back, and his eyes were fixed on Eighth Master. Eighth Master, seemingly unconcerned, walked to the opposite side, took out his pipe, lit it, and puffed a few times with his eyes half-closed:

"Come on!"

"Hmph!" Without further ado, Red Lotus threw the black banner between them.

Then, he formed a lotus finger with his left hand in front of his chest, muttered a few prayers, and then changed his finger to a palm, flicking it outward—

A blood droplet appeared out of nowhere and hit the top of the black banner!

Rustle... Rustle...

The black banner started to spin on its own!

A faint pressure spread from the black banner, swirling like a stream in the field, growing stronger and faster, as if trying to envelop Eighth Master!

At this moment, Eighth Master's eyes suddenly opened. He showed a look of disdain and said coldly, "Dare to show off such petty tricks?" As he spoke, he extended one hand.

You use one hand, I use one hand, not giving you an advantage.

Eighth Master's hand moved continuously, forming various seals in a fluid motion, completing thirty-three seals, and finally stopping at the Sun Wheel Seal. He shouted:

"Barrier! Dissolve! Yin-Yang! Purify!—Break!"

He placed his right hand on the pipe in his left hand, and the pipe flew out with a whoosh!

"Clap!—Crack, crack, crack...!"

The pipe paused in mid-air, and then there was a sudden crackling sound, like popping beans!

Countless gray and black ashes fell from the sky.

Red Lotus's face changed, not expecting his spell to be so easily broken. He knew that Eighth Master's cultivation was not simple, and simple moves might be useless. Thinking of this, he decided to use his ultimate move.

He shouted, "Eternal rebirth, lend me your soul, the unworthy one, save the suffering—Heavenly soldiers, come! Guide the path of heaven and earth, the Unborn Mother, the Holy Buddha Maitreya, descend! Go! Divine soldiers, come! Return! Follow the command!"

He threw something from his hidden right hand, and with a roar, "Soldiers, come!"

The object fell to the ground, and it turned out to be... a handful of beans?

Although they were just simple beans, Eighth Master's face changed! He clearly saw them rolling and twisting on the ground, constantly changing!

"Could this be the White Lotus Sect's supreme spell... the Bean-to-Soldier technique?"

Throughout history, there were eight great spells, said to be used to assist rulers: turning grass into horses, turning beans into soldiers, summoning wind and rain, moving stars and constellations, riding clouds and mist, turning day into night, turning swords into rivers, and being impervious to blades and bullets.

Master these eight spells, and one could lead an army and conquer cities. However, no one in history had mastered all of them—Master Jiang Shang, for example, only mastered five, but he still established the vast Western Zhou dynasty. Could you say his skills were not divine?

Who would have thought that the White Lotus Sect had really found the Bean-to-Soldier technique?

Before Eighth Master could think further, the bean soldiers stood up, holding weapons made of unknown materials, forming a sixteen-man square formation.

Red Lotus laughed and said, "Wang Bayue, even if you are a Ghost Master of the Five Wheels Sect, you can't withstand these sharp blades... Did you ever think of this day when you bullied me in the past?" He then threw his right hand outward and shouted:

"Take his life, and return with the order!"

His hand, which had an unknown bloody wound, flung the blood out as he threw his hand.