Chapter 987: Accidentally Bumping into Evil Spirits

"Within the city resides the household of Benevolent Master Cui. According to descriptions, a three-eyed ghost child, yet to reach its full malicious maturity, haunts their home. Its yin energy is faint, allowing it to emerge only under the cover of night, taking pleasure in frightening souls. It has thrown Master Cui's household into a state of panic, and as word spread through the neighborhood, the commotion it caused was far from minor."

"That ghost child possess a fair measure of cunning; whenever a monk arrives to exorcise the demon, it conceals itself so thoroughly that not a trace can be found."

"I wonder if I might trouble you two benefactors to go forth and eradicate this ghost child?"

Originally, Master Duanchen had intended to dispatch one of his disciples tonight. The three-eyed ghost child was by no means a formidable spirit; any Qi-refining cultivator wielding a magical treasure could easily dispose of it.

The sole difficulty lay in its elusive nature.

The present moment offered the perfect opportunity, making it quite fitting to invite Benefactor Lu and Benefactor Meng to undertake the task.

"This matter poses no great difficulty."

"Furthermore, it would be best if the commotion you two raise while eradicating the three-eyed ghost child is somewhat grand, so that the surrounding households may witness it. Mortals do not comprehend the intricacies of spells; they believe that those who command a thunderous presence are the truly powerful ones," Master Duanchen reminded them.

"This matter is likewise of no great difficulty."

...

"Excuse me, is this the residence of Benevolent Master Cui?"

The servant opened the door, looking with doubt at the two individuals whose attire bore no resemblance to that of the Buddhist Kingdom: "And you two are?"

"I am Lu Jingzhou, and this is my junior brother, Meng Yang. The two of us happened to be passing through this region when we heard that a ghost was causing mischief in the household of Benevolent Master Cui. We wish to seek lodging for the night, and in passing, eradicate this specter."

The servant rejoiced upon hearing these words; it would be nothing short of wonderful if these two could eliminate the ghost, for he had spent every single night sleeping in constant dread.

"Please wait while I report this to the master of the house." The servant ran off to inform Master Cui.

Master Cui was a pot-bellied, middle-aged man. Upon hearing that there were cultivators willing to come forward to eradicate the ghost, he was naturally overcome with joy.

After verifying the forged credentials of their identities, Master Cui politely invited the two into the Cui manor.

"Grandmasters, you must absolutely eradicate that ghost. Our household is so terrified that we cannot catch a wink of sleep the entire night."

"We shall naturally exert our utmost efforts." Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou sat squarely as they sipped their tea, their backs perfectly straight, occupying a mere third of the chairs' surface, fully embodying the demeanor of lofty experts.

"Father, look at what I managed to buy." A young maiden ran into the main hall with a beaming smile. Noticing the presence of guests, her run slowed to a proper stride, and she asked rather sheepishly, "Who might these two be?"

Master Cui shot the maiden a stern glare before shifting into a smiling countenance to introduce them: "These two are cultivators hailing from the Ask-the-Way Sect of the Great Xia. This is Grandmaster Lu Jingzhou, and this is Grandmaster Meng Yang. Both are great cultivators at the half-step Core Formation stage."

"Grandmasters, this is my daughter, Cui Que'er."

"So it is Miss Cui."

"From the Great Xia?" Cui Que'er blinked her eyes as she looked at the two, bringing forth a lamp from behind her back.

"Then you two must surely recognize this, right?"

"Is this a solar lamp?" Lu Yang thought to himself, how could he possibly not recognize it when he held a share of the profits within it.

"Mm, I just bought it from a traveling merchant. It is said that it can illuminate without needing to be lit by fire."

Lu Yang nodded, offering a clean smile characteristic of a young hero: "Indeed it is. This object is quite prevalent in the Great Xia; even over in the Demon Realm, many of the demon race are utilizing it. Candles, on the other hand, have become a rare sight."

"Father, then I shall take my leave first."

Cui Que'er could hardly wait to return to her room to test this miraculous lamp, hurrying away in haste.

"I apologize for my daughter's childish behavior before you two grandmasters."

"Think nothing of it, Master Cui. Miss Cui is playful by nature, which ought to be considered a blessing."

"By the way, information gleaned from others is bound to be somewhat imprecise. Could Master Cui describe these ghostly occurrences so that the two of us may make proper preparations?"

At the mention of the ghostly disturbances, Master Cui could not stop sighing.

"I know not how long that ghost has been in my home. A fortnight ago during the night, I woke to relieve myself. At that time, the room was pitch black, with only a tiny speck of moonlight filtering in."

"By chance, I glanced at the bronze mirror hanging on the wall, and discovered that the mirror actually reflected two silhouettes!"

"I turned my head abruptly, yet saw absolutely nothing. When I looked back at the bronze mirror, the other silhouette within it had also vanished."

"At that time, I merely dismissed it as an illusion and thought no more of it."

"But later, my wife also encountered a bizarre event. Ten days ago, unable to sleep, she wished to sit in the courtyard. When she arrived there, she suddenly discovered a person crouching by the edge of the wall, craning their neck to look at her. That person possessed three eyes."

"Yet that was not the strangest part; the strangest part is that the wall of our home stands three meters high."

"My wife let out a shriek, bringing everyone rushing out, but that person suddenly vanished from the wall's edge. When a servant climbed a ladder to inspect the wall, he discovered two large, black handprints upon the crest of the wall."

"Since then, members of our household have frequently spotted the evil entity during the night. We are so terrified that even if we awaken at night, we dare not open our eyes, for fear of seeing something we ought not to see. We beg the two grandmasters to strike and save our family from this fiery torment!"

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou exchanged a glance. According to records, three-eyed ghost children frequently manifest within mirrors and along the edges of walls, possessing a fondness for transforming into various guises to frighten people, feeding upon fear. Every detail aligned perfectly.

"Rest assured, Benevolent Master. We two brothers are seasoned hands at subduing demons and expelling monsters. Tonight, we shall certainly eradicate this evil entity and restore peace to your household!"

Master Cui was deeply moved by this; he stood up and bowed deeply: "Cui expresses his profound gratitude to the two grandmasters!"

Lu Yang supported Master Cui's arms to lift him up: "Tonight at the hour of the rat, the two of us shall perform our rituals in the courtyard. I must ask Master Cui to clear out an open space."

"I shall immediately dispatch servants to clear the courtyard."

Master Cui hastily ordered the servants to sweep the courtyard, and in no time at all, it was cleared pristine.

Following this, Master Cui hosted a grand banquet to entertain the two grandmasters. These two were, after all, great cultivators of the half-step Golden Core stage; what evil entity would not be easily vanquished by their hands?

As night descended and the hour of the rat arrived, Master Cui waited anxiously within his room for the outcome.

Lu Yang proceeded to plunge spiritual swords into the courtyard one by one, following the sequence of the Later Heaven Eight Trigrams. These were all ordinary spiritual swords utilized to arrange the Langya Sword Formation. The power of such a sword formation was mediocre, far inferior to the Immortal-Destroying Sword Formation, yet its execution was exceedingly magnificent.

Meng Jingzhou, on the other hand, was putting on a grand show of performing rituals in the courtyard, while in truth, he was releasing a dense and potent energy of blood and qi.

"Rise!"

Beneath the night sky, Lu Yang bellowed. The sword formation activated, transforming into a sheet of azure light that enveloped the entire Cui estate. Meng Jingzhou's blood and qi manifested in a crimson hue, drifting toward the heavens in silken strands.

The azure and crimson colors raged wildly, illuminating the Cui manor as bright as day.

"Ah, what agonizing sword qi!"

A three-eyed monk erupted from the earth, glaring menacingly at the sword formation: "From whence come these wild cultivators, daring to meddle in the affairs of this seat!"

The monk's neck was exceedingly long, and his entire being exuded an ominous aura, exceptionally eerie.

"Whose blood and qi is so vigorously abundant!"

Shadows on the ground writhed, transforming into a pitch-black silhouette, with nothing but hollow voids where the eyes should be.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou stared at the three-eyed monk and the hollow shadow, rendered somewhat dazed.

Who on earth are you people? What happened to the agreed-upon three-eyed ghost child?

Hearing the clamor outside, Cui Que'er rubbed her eyes, wishing to see what was transviring in the courtyard.

Little did she know, a child bearing three eyes was floating directly in front of her, practically pressed against her face, wearing a bizarre smile, simply waiting for Cui Que'er to open her eyes!

"Where is the lamp?" Cui Que'er fumbled around for the solar lamp, finally brushing against the switch.

Snap.

The solar lamp flared to life, and the three-eyed child let out a wretched shriek, reducing to ashes.

Cui Que'er forced her eyes open but saw absolutely nothing, feeling somewhat perplexed: "Why did it feel like I heard a wretched shriek just now?"