Chapter 132 – Ambush

Unable to reach anyone, Zhang Xiuqi’s expression immediately changed. “Something’s wrong with Uncle’s side!”

Wei Yang, however, shook his head. “I’m not so sure, Brother Qi. The GPS screen on the walkie-talkie is acting up. It might just be interference with the signal.”

Only then did Zhang Xiuqi notice that the electronic screen on the walkie-talkie was flickering, as if it were glitching. Wei Yang took the walkie-talkie and examined it for a while before looking up at the stars in the sky. Finally, he spoke, “The walkie-talkie uses radio waves, but the GPS relies on satellite signals. We’re still on the mountain, and there’s nothing blocking the signal here, so the GPS itself shouldn’t be the problem. But the screen is flickering like this—I think it’s likely being interfered with by some kind of electromagnetic or magnetic field, like in those ghost movies.”

Zhang Xiuqi wasn’t very familiar with satellite positioning systems, but he knew a lot about yin energy interference. In places where yin energy was too concentrated, not only would electronic devices like lights and phones be affected, but even compasses could fail. That’s why those who practiced sorcery rarely carried modern equipment, relying instead on basic methods like stargazing for navigation and candles for lighting. Sometimes, they didn’t even use a compass.

However, realizing this didn’t ease Zhang Xiuqi’s expression. Instead, his face darkened. “The locations where the three ritual instruments were buried were specifically chosen—places with minimal yin energy. Even if there was some, it would have been suppressed by the instruments. If the Water Position is like this, let alone the harsh Metal Position. So where is this yin energy that’s cutting off communication coming from?”

Wei Yang’s reaction was swift, and he immediately became alert. “Are you saying the Jiangtou Masters have made their move?”

Zhang Xiuqi’s gaze turned toward the direction they had come from, his voice cold. “That Nightmare Wood Formation must have been integrated with the Soul Stealing Grand Formation. Now that the formation has been broken, they would naturally sense it. They’ve probably already started taking action.”

To maintain the Soul Stealing Grand Formation, there must be more than one formation in this mountain forest. Only if other formations were activated would such concentrated yin energy be generated. In other words, the enemy had likely already discovered their whereabouts.

Wei Yang’s heart sank, and he quickly asked, “What do we do now? Should we go back the way we came to find Master Zeng, or should we continue toward the Spiritual Aperture as planned?”

Without communication devices, coordinating their movements would be difficult. This was a dangerous mountain, and there was no room for mistakes.

“Let’s go back first!” Zhang Xiuqi answered decisively. “There can’t be too many of them. If they’ve split up to come after us, the number of people left at the Soul Stealing Formation will definitely be reduced. Taking them out one by one would be more effective. Besides, we don’t know what’s happening on Uncle’s side—we can’t just charge into the inner mountains recklessly.”

If it had been the Little Celestial Master who had lost his soul before, he would never have been able to say something like this. He had become much more composed now. Wei Yang chuckled lightly and replied promptly, “Whatever you say, Brother Qi.”

With that, Wei Yang turned and picked up Lao Ye, asking with a hint of concern, “Master, can you still hold on?”

It seemed that after all the effort of breaking through the formation and fighting the Mirage Dragon, Lao Ye wasn’t in the best condition. When picked up, it didn’t struggle but instead let its four limbs hang limply by its sides. The turtle looked listless, barely glancing at its caretaker before tucking its head into its shell.

Seeing that Lao Ye seemed mostly fine, Wei Yang felt a little relieved. He didn’t put away the compass on the turtle’s back and instead carried it over to Zhang Xiuqi. “At least we still have one compass we can use. Brother Qi, lead the way.”

Zhang Xiuqi nodded, quickly orienting himself in the direction they had come from, and led Wei Yang swiftly toward the southwest.

&&&

Zeng Jingxuan spoke rapidly, his voice tinged with a barely noticeable tremor. Yao Wei, however, grabbed his arm and said in a calm voice, “Brother Xuan, don’t panic. There are too many reasons for poor communication in the mountains—it doesn’t necessarily mean something’s happened to Xiao Qi. We’ll definitely look for him, but we need to prepare ourselves first.”

Zeng Jingxuan furrowed his brow, as if remembering something. “Are you saying those people might have made their move?”

“Possibly,” Yao Wei replied bluntly. “You said that Nightmare Wood Formation was connected to the grand formation. Now that we’ve destroyed such a crucial part of it, wouldn’t they come looking? It’s been an hour and a half since we left that area. In that time, they might have already found the place and set up an ambush around it. That’s why we need to be extra careful on our way back.”

They were clearly closer to the Nightmare Wood Formation. If they charged in recklessly, they might well walk right into the enemy’s trap. Zeng Jingxuan quickly calmed down and thought for a moment before letting out a cold snort. “Since they’re using Yin Soldiers, and they’ve set up a Nightmare Wood Formation, we can naturally use the Tiger Tally to set up our own formations!”

Yao Wei grinned. “Great minds think alike. What we’re best at isn’t brute force—that’s more Xiao Qi’s style as a Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain. Since that’s the case, let’s just use what we have on hand to set up our own formations and ambushes. It’s not like we don’t know how to do that.”

The Sanliao Village was most skilled in Feng Shui formations, while the Laoshan Sect excelled in minor sorcery. Now that they had the Tiger Tally and the Black Bird Mirror, how could they be afraid of those amateurs?

Ignoring the cuts and bruises on his body, Yao Wei chuckled and pulled out a handful of beans from his damp pocket. This time, instead of rats, they transformed into small sparrows that fluttered away into the distance. Watching the birds fly off, Yao Wei winked at Zeng Jingxuan. “Let’s go and wipe out the enemy’s forces!”

&&&

In the pitch-black night, a figure darted through the forest. His speed was astonishingly fast for someone with white hair. As he passed by a luxuriant camphor tree, he suddenly stopped and took out a dark brown wooden doll from his robes, placing it in a shallow hole at the base of the tree.

This was the fifth time he had stopped. Each time, he placed a similar doll and then pricked his fingertip, smearing a drop of blood on the doll’s forehead. The five dolls were carved from poplar, mulberry, willow, locust, and cassia wood—a variation of the Laoshan Five Ghosts Technique. However, while the Five Ghosts of Laoshan were usually used for tasks like moving objects or stealing wealth, this Five Mourning Formation was something else entirely.

As the last doll was placed, a green mist began to seep out of the tiny figure, gradually turning black and forming a sinister ghostly face. As the apparition appeared, a pale green mist spread from behind it, like an impenetrable curtain, enveloping the surrounding forest.

Luo Jin sneered as he watched the formation take shape. No matter who came, or how many of them there were, the fact that they had broken the Nightmare Wood Formation proved they were no ordinary opponents. Leaving such a threat unchecked was out of the question. However, this time, aside from the three junior brothers overseeing the Soul Stealing Formation, they only had a few new disciples and two Jiangtou from Vietnam. As for the bodyguards, they had already been sacrificed, so there weren’t many hands to spare. That’s why his master had sent him to investigate. With him here, those people wouldn’t be able to cause any trouble.

It was also fortunate that their opponents had been careless. After destroying the Nightmare Wood Formation, they had left without even covering their tracks, giving him the opportunity to use the Soul Curse Technique. By now, the blood shadow should have found its target. How much damage would it cause? Even if the target managed to withstand it, there were still more traps waiting for them.

After glancing once more in the direction where the blood shadow had disappeared, Luo Jin slowed his pace, casually clasping his hands behind his back as he walked into the pale green mist.

&&&

The return journey was much smoother than the trip out, but Zhang Xiuqi and Wei Yang didn’t move quickly. Instead, they maintained a cautious pace. Knowing there might be an ambush ahead, charging forward recklessly wasn’t bravery—it was foolishness.

Sure enough, the further they went, the thicker the mist in the forest became. It was as if someone had opened a valve, releasing the yin energy that had accumulated over millennia. The compass needle, which had been steady before, began to waver. Perhaps without the Great Derivative True Technique from Lao Ye, even the compass left by Master Lai was being affected.

Just then, Zhang Xiuqi suddenly stopped in his tracks, clenching his teeth as if he had been struck by a heavy blow to the chest. Wei Yang’s heart tightened, and he quickly stepped forward, asking in a low voice, “Brother Qi, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Zhang Xiuqi said through gritted teeth. “Someone just used a Soul Chasing Formation. They must have found the blood I left behind and used it as a medium to cast a curse. It’s not very strong, but I need to block it.”

As he spoke, his hands moved swiftly, throwing out nine copper coins. Nine was the ultimate number, and the coins were from the Hongwu era, stained with blood. They were more than enough to block ordinary evil spirits. However, just as he finished, a blood shadow shot toward them from the distance. The shadow was as fast as an arrow, crashing into the formation with a whoosh. The high-level defensive formation shattered instantly, and the nine coins were sent flying!

The blood shadow didn’t slow down, charging directly toward Zhang Xiuqi’s face!

But a faint golden light blocked its path. Lao Ye had been thrown to the ground at some point, and in the nick of time, Wei Yang had pulled out a Three Officials Immortal Invocation Talisman and placed it on the Bone Formation. As the talisman’s power activated, the Bone Formation’s strength surged, blocking the blood shadow’s attack.

However, even though the blood shadow dissipated, Zhang Xiuqi’s expression didn’t improve. He now knew that the enemy had used a Soul Curse Technique, one of the most sinister types of curses. It was essentially an attack on oneself—even if the blood shadow was dispelled, there would still be residual damage. Fortunately, Wei Yang had used the Witch Bone to neutralize the curse’s power. If they had used any other offensive spell to counter it, the injury would have been much worse.

“The enemy is strong! Be careful!” Zhang Xiuqi said quickly to Wei Yang, ignoring his own discomfort.

But Wei Yang’s eyes widened as he looked ahead, his hands trembling slightly. “Brother Qi, I think I see a ghostly figure… There’s a ghostly figure in the mist…”