Chapter 87

Lin Fan said, "According to the records, only the realm of Lesser Vehicle can create a repository." Creating a repository is a Daoist term. If Yu Fenglong has reached the Lesser Vehicle, everyone doesn’t need to fight; they just need to disarm him.

Xie Fengzi looked around and said, "It’s completely different. Creating a repository to trap enemies makes them untraceable. This should be a combination of a magical treasure and an array. Since it’s an array, there must be an array eye, and it can be broken. Yu Fenglong seems extremely angry, fearing that we might escape, so he set up such an array to trap us. A two-thousand-year-old demon beast, isn’t he overestimating himself?"

As he finished speaking, Xie Fengzi flew up, his whole body enveloped in fierce flames. He waved his arm, and the flames covered the entire Lei Yin Temple. Xie Fengzi activated his technique, and a whirlwind formed within the flames, making the fire even more intense.

Lin Fan thought to himself: So skilled at setting fires, the fire at the Purple Flute Hall and the Book Hall was probably set by your Fire Sect.

Just as he thought this, a faint woman’s singing voice came from the sea of flames at Lei Yin Temple. A stream of black gas rose up. Juesai, with a look of surprise, said, "This Lei Yin Temple actually has countless souls of the wronged dead." A stream of black gas floated over, and Juesai placed his hand in front of his mouth, softly chanting Buddhist scriptures. His other hand touched the black gas, which struggled, first showing a fierce appearance, then gradually calming down, and finally turning into a beam of golden light that flew away.

A stream of black gas flew to Xie Fengzi’s side, and Xie Fengzi coldly snorted, "Looking for death!" He directly struck the black gas with a palm thunder, causing it to shudder violently and then dissipate.

Seeing this, Juesai became furious, "Xie Fengzi, be careful, or the Buddha will send you to the afterlife."

Xie Fengzi calmly said, "As long as you don’t provoke me, you won’t die. Those who provoke me will die."

"The souls of the wronged are driven by external forces and have been trapped here for many years. By dispersing their souls, you only turn them into wandering spirits. They will have to endure many more years before they can return to the Underworld." Because the dead lack the soul of heaven and earth, they only have the human soul, so they are called wandering spirits. Generally, wandering spirits will go to the Underworld, but if their souls are dispersed, they will become ghosts. Without guidance or deliverance, they may never be reborn.

"None of my business!" Xie Fengzi replied. Seeing a stream of black gas approaching, he activated his palm thunder, but Juesai chanted a Buddhist mantra to block it. Xie Fengzi became furious. A fire dragon swept towards Juesai, who, without hesitation, emitted a bright light from his body and chanted the Great Brightness Mantra, causing the flames to reverse and sweep back towards Xie Fengzi.

Lin Fan said, "They just released a few wandering spirits, which can’t hurt us, and you two start fighting each other."

Xie Fengzi and Juesai were taken aback and retracted their attacks. Lin Fan was right; these were just souls of the wronged, with souls but no bodies, not fierce ghosts. If they had both souls and bodies, they would become ghosts due to the accumulation of grievances. Ghosts can be divided into fierce ghosts and harmless ones. Fierce ghosts are violent and attack people, while the ability to become a fierce ghost depends on the person’s soul, their original character, and the intensity of their grievances.

"Hmph!" Xie Fengzi waved his hand, blowing a stream of black gas towards Juesai.

Juesai silently chanted the scriptures and delivered the soul. However, there were many more streams of black gas than expected, and most were women. Juesai said, "It seems the array eye has been found."

Lin Fan nodded, "This Lei Yin Temple is likely a place where countless virtuous women have been harmed. Yu Fenglong used this place to set up the array. But how to break it?" As he spoke, Lin Fan drew a Bagua in the air, trapping a stream of black gas within it, then slowly purifying its malevolent energy before releasing it, allowing it to gradually dissipate. The two had different techniques; clearly, the Buddhist method was more efficient in delivering souls. Lin Fan had to first purify the malevolent energy before delivering the soul, while Juesai could directly deliver it.

Xie Fengzi didn’t know these things. When the souls of the wronged approached, he simply pushed them towards the two: "Is the array eye supposed to deliver all the souls of the wronged?"

Lin Fan said, "It’s not that simple. I wonder if Yu Fenglong is playing cat and mouse or has some other intention."

Xie Fengzi coldly snorted, "Why are you Cloud Clearing Sect so lacking in ambition? Yu Fenglong is not necessarily our match." There are many types of demon beasts. For example, a thousand-year-old dragon cannot be measured by the strength of a thousand-year-old demon beast, while a thousand-year-old rat is much weaker than many thousand-year-old demon beasts. Last time, when Lin Fan faced the demon fox, the demon fox’s cultivation was not high, but it was skilled in bewitching and seduction. Even a thousand-year-old demon fox would be helpless against the Buddhist sect, which specializes in breaking bewitching and illusionary techniques. So Xie Fengzi’s words were not out of arrogance but had some basis.

Due to the fierce flames, the main hall of Lei Yin Temple collapsed, and the flames covered five acres of land, continuing to burn. Xie Fengzi, amidst the flames, chanted, "The great fire burns away all injustice. What joy in life, what pain in death?"

"Be careful!" Lin Fan’s eyebrows tightened as a golden thunderbolt struck the black gas approaching Xie Fengzi. He quickly formed a palm thunder with his left hand and struck the black gas.

The black gas let out a mournful cry and dissipated, then reformed ten feet away, taking the shape of a woman in a red bridal headdress, red bridal dress, and red embroidered shoes. Lin Fan and Juesai gasped, "Ghost Bride."

Xie Fengzi, who had never dealt with ghosts, asked, "What’s the problem?"

"A fierce ghost among fierce ghosts." Lin Fan was on guard, his protective true energy rising: "Be careful, don’t let it get close, or it will break your protective energy and take your life."

Juesai added, "This Lei Yin Temple has probably been abandoned for a hundred years. A ghost bride who has cultivated for a hundred years... is not ordinary."

The ghost bride floated towards Xie Fengzi, neither fast nor slow. Xie Fengzi frowned and shouted, "Three Pure Fires!" The Three Pure Fires are derived from wood, stone, and air, and are refined using essence, energy, and spirit, specifically to break through miasma and plagues.

The Three Pure Fires formed a hand that enveloped the ghost bride, who screamed in agony in the sea of fire and then turned into black gas and fled. The black gas reformed ten feet away, again taking the shape of the ghost bride. Xie Fengzi was puzzled, "Why is this happening?"

"Which is why the ghost bride is hard to deal with." Lin Fan said, "To deliver the souls of the wronged in Daoism, one must first dispel their malevolent energy. But the ghost bride is different. Using brute force to trap it only increases its malevolent energy. Simply delivering it is useless. If its malevolent energy is not dispelled, its soul will not dissipate. Only by using heavenly thunder to shatter its soul can it be destroyed. Monk, does your Buddhist sect have any special techniques to deal with the ghost bride?"

"First, we need to confine the ghost bride, then use the Rebirth Mantra to cleanse her soul repeatedly. I’ll give it a try!" Juesai slowly approached the floating ghost bride. As soon as they touched, the ghost bride immediately tried to possess Juesai’s body. A bright light appeared behind Juesai, enveloping both of them. The ghost bride let out a painful cry and tried to escape, but Juesai silently chanted the mantras, and layers of light moved from the ghost bride’s head to her feet. Initially, the ghost bride still screamed and struggled, but gradually she became more peaceful. Lin Fan sighed in relief; it was almost done.

Suddenly, a black dot flew out from deep in the forest at incredible speed, directly striking Juesai’s body. Juesai cursed, "You two bastards, protect me!"

Another black dot appeared, and Xie Fengzi’s fire whip turned, grabbing it and bringing it to his face. It was a scorpion’s tail. Lin Fan also saw it clearly and turned to look at Juesai, who was still delivering the soul. Lin Fan said, "Monk, you’d better stop; you’re poisoned."

"The Buddha knows." Juesai replied. The fabric on his left shoulder was corroded by the poison, leaving a black hole on his left chest, with blackness spreading in all directions. Juesai used his Buddhist techniques to protect his mind, and the blackness slowly spread to his left arm. If he stopped now, the ghost bride might be doomed. Juesai was not the type to sacrifice himself and then others; he was confident he could handle both. Of course, that was on the condition that Lin Fan and Xie Fengzi could hold their ground.

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