Volume Three - The Fox Spirit's Tomb Chapter Sixteen - The Might of the Ghost Lantern Daoist

I led the way, with the two elder Taoists, Thousand Venoms and Ghost Lantern, following behind me. As they walked, the two elders chatted quietly to each other, but with the lively chorus of insects and birds filling the dusk forest, and the distance of several meters between us, I couldn’t catch their words clearly. Judging by their tone, it must have been something related to that Zhong Teng Gaoxiong.

When we reached halfway up the mountain, Gaofeng had already regained consciousness. She was talking with Tian Tian and Li Kun, her expression tinged with nervousness. Behind them stood a three-story pavilion, mysterious and imposing, especially the innermost shrine room on the third floor.

Seeing the three of us approaching slowly, Li Kun hurried over and, upon noticing the two elders behind me, bowed slightly and greeted them. Ghost Lantern nodded approvingly, eyes full of praise, while Thousand Venoms stepped forward and patted Li Kun on the shoulder. Li Kun smiled faintly in response. Both Gaofeng and Tian Tian had met the two elders before. Though their interactions were limited, they recognized these men as extraordinary individuals—figures who would have been renowned throughout the ancient world.

After the two women greeted the elders, the elders raised their heads to gaze upon the three-story pavilion. Exchanging a glance, Thousand Venoms said to the two women, “Girls, wait down here for us. Liu Jie and Li Kun, you two come up with us.”

Gaofeng tried to say something, but Tian Tian grasped Thousand Venoms’ meaning immediately. It was clear the elders had something to discuss with us that was not suitable for their presence.

Tian Tian pulled Gaofeng’s arm and said, “Alright, elders, please take care of yourselves.”

Thousand Venoms waved his hand dismissively. “There’s nothing to worry about. This small matter is easy for us to handle. We’ll be down in about ten minutes. Wait here quietly.”

With that, Thousand Venoms turned to Li Kun and me. “Let’s go. You two come up with us. There’s some work waiting for you upstairs. Our bodies aren’t fit for hard labor anymore.”

Li Kun and I nodded. I then glanced back at Gaofeng. “You two stay here. We’ll be down shortly.”

Gaofeng nodded after hearing me, pinching my arm gently. He seemed to want to say something but said nothing and then slowly released my arm.

I understood his concern and patted his arm reassuringly. “Don’t worry.”

With that, the two elders strode into the pavilion, and Li Kun and I followed directly to the third floor.

Upon reaching the third floor, the two elders gazed intently at the shrine room at the far end. Their eyes sparkled with sharp clarity as they looked at the two bronze basins on the floor, filled with flesh and blood. Exchanging glances again, Thousand Venoms said, “It really is a soul-exchange ritual. But this Japanese yin-yang master’s skill is not high. The ritual is done rather noisily. I’d estimate only a forty to fifty percent chance of success.”

Ghost Lantern nodded, then waved his hand. The four talisman flags surrounding the shrine flew up and returned to his hand. Holding the flags, he said, “That’s right. Even if this soul-exchange ritual succeeds, this yin-yang master will be utterly destroyed—his soul shattered beyond repair.”

I asked, “Elders, what exactly is this soul-exchange ritual? Is there really such a strange art in the mortal world?”

Ghost Lantern nodded. “This soul-exchange ritual extracts the essence and blood from six women’s bodies—including their flesh, bones, and blood—and through the array transforms them to form the ritual. Once the ritual starts, it cannot be interrupted. If it is, all preparations are wasted, and it must be started anew.”

He then turned to me and asked, “Kid, did that Japanese yin-yang master borrow power from these spirit tablets to deal with you?”

I lowered my head, recalling the scene in the shrine—how within minutes, the corpse-like undead transformed into a living person. I nodded. “Yes, that yin-yang master was indeed borrowing power to attack us.”

Ghost Lantern nodded. “If you had interrupted his borrowed power then, he would have become a lamb to the slaughter, at your mercy.”

Hearing that, Li Kun and I felt bitter. At that moment, we dared not move for fear the yin-yang master would explode and kill us outright. Had we known this, we surely would have charged forward and riddled him with hundreds of invisible holes.

Thousand Venoms looked up at the tablets above. Upon seeing the large tablet in the center, he said to Ghost Lantern, “Old fellow, look. It really is that scoundrel Zhong Teng Gaoxiong.”

Upon hearing this, Ghost Lantern, Li Kun, and I all turned to look. Ghost Lantern’s eyes curved into crescent moons as he said, “I didn’t expect that guy and his men, half dead after we beat them, would escape here. But he never expected we’d find him again.”

Thousand Venoms sneered. “What mischief could a few Japanese devils stir up? They dared to provoke us, thinking their insect-controlling magic was enough. Foolish to the end. But that little bastard has been found. Even if he’s turned into a ghost, we’ll make him live again so he can die once more.”

He then said to Ghost Lantern, “Old fellow, it’s up to you now.”

Ghost Lantern smiled. “Give me five minutes and I’ll bring him back to life. Get ready. I’ll have some fun with him first, then you take him down.”

Thousand Venoms nodded and pulled a small ceramic jar from his robe’s sleeve. It was about the size of a child’s palm, dark gray-black in color, covered with countless intricate symbols.

Watching the jar, I thought to myself—could these be all incantations? Perhaps this was a specialized ghost-catching tool.

Before I could examine it further, Ghost Lantern raised his right hand and flicked his palm. The kerosene lamp I had seen before suddenly appeared in his hand.

I was amazed. I had no idea how Ghost Lantern could conjure a lamp from thin air.

Holding the lamp in his right hand, Ghost Lantern gently stroked it with his left. The dim lamp brightened instantly, illuminating the room as if it were broad daylight. Li Kun and I frowned deeply, wary to look directly at the lamp’s brilliant light.

I thought silently to myself—the lamp must be Ghost Lantern’s magical artifact. No wonder he was named after it.

Ghost Lantern, holding the lamp, approached the tablets and murmured incantations. I listened carefully but could not understand the words—they sounded like scriptures. However, the last four words were clear: “Return, soul.”

After uttering these words, Ghost Lantern stepped aside, and all the tablets in the shrine lit up simultaneously. But in an instant, except for the large central tablet, the others dimmed.

Looking at these smaller tablets, they appeared no more than ordinary pieces of wood, no longer possessing the imposing aura we had seen earlier.

Then, an astonishing scene unfolded. The central tablet suddenly blazed with intense light and rose into the air. Li Kun and I heard a harsh voice around us: “Why did you summon me back? I will kill you!”

At this, Ghost Lantern chuckled and said, “You little bastard, when alive you and your hundreds of men were no match for either of us. Even dead, you still have such a temper. Do you want to die again?”

After speaking, Ghost Lantern looked behind Li Kun and me, frowning slightly. “And those trying to ambush us from behind? You really want to die.”

At that moment, Li Kun and I felt a chill down our backs. Seeing both elders glance behind us, we realized Zhong Teng Gaoxiong must be right there.

Thinking this, we hurried over to Thousand Venoms’ side. Ghost Lantern raised the kerosene lamp with one hand and shouted, “Quake!”

At once, Li Kun and I felt as if something lightly struck our brains. The sensation was faint, barely affecting us.

But immediately after, a heart-wrenching scream echoed behind us—agonizing beyond words, with cries of “I’ll kill you!” interspersed.

Curious, Li Kun and I looked around sharply but saw nothing, only turning our heads back and forth.

Thousand Venoms said to Ghost Lantern, “Old fellow, torment him a while, then I’ll capture him. It’s his fault for doing what he shouldn’t have.”

Ghost Lantern’s face darkened as memories of decades past surfaced. He said grimly, “Of course. Now that we’ve found him again, he won’t die so easily.”