The Invincible Female Ghost Is A Bit Of A Hopeless Romantic Chapter 255: [Ding, Congratulations on Successfully Vanquish

The three characters fell, and the salt-lines at all four corners around the ritual spirit's body trembled simultaneously.

The residual thunder, broken banners, shredded paper, and the cold light of the sealing plate on the ground were all pulled up by the suppressing presence of that one breath, like four iron chains that had long been waiting, simultaneously cinching its body from all directions.

The ritual spirit let out one final, desperate struggle. Its black aura surged, trying to blast the paper face, seat shadow, and wicks all outward in a last-ditch attempt at mutual destruction. But Lu Yuan had already seen through this move.

He violently stomped his foot down on the outer edge of the salt circle, sinking the Town Pass Seven Stars Sword in his hand, its tip aid directly at the mortal gate cracked open on its chest. He growled in a low voice: "You can't explode anymore."

These words hit like a sledgehamr smashing onto ice.

The ritual spirit's movent instantly slowed by half a beat.

That half a beat was more than enough to seal its fate.

Zhou Heng lunged forward fiercely, his short blade sweeping horizontally, forcibly cutting down the last banner bone. Lin Zhaoxuan gritted his teeth and slamd the Thunderclap Token onto the ground. The residual thunder shot along the Earth Veins and exploded beneath the ritual spirit's feet into a dense net of electricity.

Song Qinghe's sealing plate in her hand finally shone to its limit. The faint light at the plate's center turned into an extrely cold white line, shooting straight down to cover the top of the ritual spirit's head.

Lu Yuan watched all of this, his eyes devoid of any fluctuation. He only pushed the sword half an inch further forward.

Just half an inch.

But that half an inch precisely pierced the core of the ritual spirit's final breath of malevolent energy.

The ritual spirit's piercing shriek stopped abruptly.

Its entire body trembled violently, as if its bone and blood had been drained. Black aura dispersed from its forehead, chest, and limbs simultaneously, like an old robe that had been burned through, turning to ash inch by inch.

Its eyes first went black, then empty, and finally even the emptiness was gone, leaving only two extrely faint wisps of smoke and shadow. In the wind, they swayed lightly and dissipated into fine dust.

At that mont, all the paper banners on the stone path burst into flas without fire. But the fire was not red, but gray-white, burning extrely slowly, like paper money dissolving on its own in a shaded, gloomy place. The wick inside the overturned-seat lamp was completely extinguished. The lamp shell fell to the ground, letting out a faint, crisp sound, and then shattered into several pieces.

The ritual spirit's form began to collapse. First the shoulders, then the back, then the legs. Finally, the entire mass of black shadow, as if its main support bone had been pulled out from within, scattered with a roar. The paper faces, seat shadows, black silk, and residual ashes that could barely hold together lost their attachnt, drifting wildly in the air. Under the cold radiance pressed down by the Town Pass Seven Stars Sword, they shrank bit by bit into ash.

Lu Yuan did not imdiately sheathe the sword.

He stood in place, maintaining the steadiest suppressing position, until the very last wisp of black aura from the ritual spirit was crushed by the salt circle and starlight, turning into a faint wisp of smoke that was barely visible. It completely burrowed into the ground crevice, not even leaving a trace of yin aura behind.

The wind suddenly changed.

The yin cold that had been pressing down on everyone's breath loosened by more than half. The paper banners on both sides of the stone path drooped, looking like a few ordinary old sheets of paper, no longer brandishing their claws. The overturned-seat lamp was just an empty shell, quietly lying on the ground.

The malevolent energy within the white salt circle slowly sank. The residual thunder no longer ran wild. The faint light on the sealing plate finally extinguished, returning to stillness.

Only then did everyone feel like they could breathe again after a nightmare.

Zhou Heng loosened his grip. His short blade clattered onto the stone path. He leaned against the wall, gasping heavily, as if he had just crawled out of an icy river.

Lin Zhaoxuan knelt on one knee, the Thunderclap Token still stuck in the earth. He raised his head to look at the dissipated black shadow, and his eyes were actually a bit dazed, as if he couldn't quite believe they had really won.

Song Qinghe slowly tucked the sealing plate back into her bosom, her fingertips still trembling, but she finally let out a long, deep breath.

Wang Cheng'an and Xu Erxiao directly collapsed onto the ground, their whole bodies seeming to have lost all strength, leaving only the empty shells of survivors.

Only then did Lu Yuan slowly lower the Town Pass Seven Stars Sword.

The residual glow of the seventh star on the sword blade gradually faded. The sixth star and the fifth star also slowly disappeared. Finally, only a calm, cold piece of iron remained, as if nothing had ever happened.

But the spot where the sword guard touched Lu Yuan's palm had been stained dark by his blood.

His arm trembled. He finally dropped to one knee. A sweet taste rushed up his throat, but he forcibly swallowed the surging blood back down.

"Lu Yuan!" Song Qinghe hurried forward.

Lu Yuan raised his hand, signaling that he was fine. Then he slowly lifted his eyes to look at the now-empty stone path. He didn't smile, nor did he speak. He just quietly caught his breath for a few monts, as if confirming that the altar's malevolent energy had truly dispersed. Only after confirming there were no further anomalies did he slowly sheathe the Town Pass Seven Stars Sword. Yet his fingers still tightly gripped the hilt, not letting go.

Because he knew that although this round was over, the price everyone had paid was also considerable.

Their shirt fronts were all soaked through with cold sweat. Their hands, faces, and sleeves were covered in blood, ash, salt, and paper scraps. The evil intent that had been pressing down so heavily on both sides of the stone path, almost suffocating everyone, had finally been flattened like silent heavenly snow, leaving only the wind blowing in from the wasteland beyond the Great Wall, carrying a dry, slightly cold, but finally no longer evil scent.

Zhou Heng panted for a long ti before asking in a hoarse voice: "Is it... really over?"

Lu Yuan was silent for a mont, his gaze sweeping across the burnt paper ash, broken banner bones, and extinguished lamp shells on the ground. Finally, he said calmly: "It's over." "The ritual spirit has dissipated." "This seat-annihilation altar has been completely uprooted."

After he finished speaking, he slowly stood up.

The wind blew from the end of the stone path, stirring the blood-stained hem of his robe.

The sky beyond the Great Wall had already darkened. The distant mountains were like layers of pressing gray-black shadows. The snow hadn't arrived yet, but the cold had already co first. However, the evil aura that had been everywhere was finally gone.

This Dharma battle was so perilous it felt like forcibly snatching their lives back from the King of Hell's hands. But in the end, they had won.

After the ritual spirit dispersed, Savage Valley actually beca so quiet it was unsettling.

The evil aura that had chilled people to the bone had been pulled out by the roots. The old trees that had been rustling on both sides of the valley path rely swayed their branches gently in the wind. The stone path was littered with the remains of burnt paper ash, broken banner bones, and scattered white salt. Lamp shells, black threads, and broken talismans were mixed together, carried by the night wind, slowly drifting towards the mouth of the valley.

No one spoke.

The fierce battle just now had been too urgent, too violent. Everyone's mind and spirit were still taut, like a string just pulled from ice. A single touch would still cause residual vibrations.

Only when Lu Yuan sheathed the Town Pass Seven Stars Sword and pointed towards the side of the stone path did everyone truly co back to their senses.

"Rest here for a bit," he said. His voice was a bit hoarse, but his tone was still steady. "Don't rush to leave. The yin energy in the valley disperses slowly. Get your breath back first."

Zhou Heng sat down heavily on a bluestone half-buried in the earth. First, he let out a long sigh. Then, placing the short blade he'd been clutching onto his knee, he let out a bitter laugh. "In all my life, this is the first ti I've seen paper faces fly like that." He wiped his face with his sleeve; it was covered in ash. "If you hadn't held it down so tight, that thing really would have scared the breath right out of a person."

Lin Zhaoxuan leaned against an old elm tree as he sat down, the Thunderclap Token resting across his leg, his fingertips still bearing the faint greenish-white marks of a burn. He looked at the extinguished remains of the overturned-seat lamp at the end of the valley path and said in a low voice: "It wasn't just scaring, it was pressing on one's mind and spirit." "These types of seat-annihilation formations are all about the character 'suppress.'" "Whoever panics first, loses first." "We managed to hold it off this ti."

Song Qinghe didn't speak. She just lowered her head to inspect the sealing plate. The plate was badly cracked. Several thin lines around its edge had turned white, clearly from being pushed to its limit. She flipped the plate over, gently tracing the cracks with her fingertip, then sighed. Yet, she couldn't help but show a glimr of relief after the fear.

Beside her, Xu Erxiao let out a long breath and said: "Good thing Brother Lu reacted so fast." "If we had been even half a tea ceremony later, when the ritual spirit connected the vents of the seat nail and the overturned-seat lamp, we probably wouldn't have escaped so easily."

Wang Cheng'an, upon hearing this, imdiately shook his head like a rattle-drum, as if afraid the words might summon sothing unclean. "Don't ntion it, don't ntion it." "When I was standing there, my legs didn't feel like my own anymore." "When those paper faces surrounded us, I thought my number was up today."

The few of them talked back and forth, their nerves, which had been stretched almost to breaking point, slowly loosening with the banter. But their laughter wasn't loud, as if afraid of disturbing the remaining energy still undispersed in the valley.

Lu Yuan didn't sit down imdiately.

He walked to the valley's edge, stood by a wind-sheltering rock, placed the Town Pass Seven Stars Sword horizontally across his knees, and lowered his head to slowly wipe the blood and ash stains from the blade. Under the faint firelight, the blade shone with a calm, cold color. The oppressive sharpness from before had subsided, leaving only the steady composure of an old artifact.

Song Qinghe saw his movents and asked softly: "Is your wound okay?"

Lu Yuan glanced at her, his tone flat: "It's nothing." "My shoulder took two hits from the yin energy backlash. It's not a serious injury." "I'll wash it with hot water later and put so dicine on it. It'll be fine."

He said it dismissively, but Song Qinghe still saw the fabric at his right shoulder was torn with a gash, faintly revealing a blue-purple bruise beneath. It really wasn't serious, just a scratch from the yin wind, barely breaking the skin, but it looked a bit alarming.

She felt slightly relieved, and turned to gather the scattered talisman papers and tools.

After wiping the sword, Lu Yuan sheathed it again, and finally sat down by the rock.

The night wind in Savage Valley blew in obliquely from the valley mouth, carrying a trace of residual heat from the rocks that had been baked by the sun during the day, mixed with the night's chill. It felt quite comfortable on the face. The shadows of a few old trees in the valley stretched long. Occasionally, the chirping of an unknown insect could be heard from under the trees, but it no longer had the gloomy, oppressive sound from before.

Lin Zhaoxuan added two dry branches to the fire. Sparks flew up, illuminating the weariness on everyone's faces. "This place sure knows how to pick its spot," he said, looking into the depths of the valley path, his voice still carrying so lingering fear. "During the day, it just looks like a barren valley. But once you're in the formation, you realize how many tricks and techniques were hidden inside." "Paper banners, overturned-seat lamps, seat nails, paper faces... one after another, as if they were all laid out long ago."

Zhou Heng twisted his neck and couldn't help but exclaim: "Good thing Daoist Priest Lu held it together..." "Otherwise, today... it would have been tough..."

That was no lie. If it hadn't been for Lu Yuan stabilizing the situation from the start, and then suppressing the formation twice during the ritual spirit's successive counterattacks, everyone would probably have had their spirit broken by this seat-annihilation altar. Especially that final move, where the Town Pass Seven Stars Sword forcibly crushed the ritual spirit's altar bone, finally bringing this evil ga to a complete end.

Lu Yuan heard this but didn't respond.

He looked up at the top of the valley. Night had already settled in. A waning crescent moon in the sky slowly revealed half its face from behind the clouds. The moonlight wasn't strong, but it was enough to cast a cold white glow on the stone path in the valley. The distant mountain ridge looked like a crouching black spine, utterly silent, without a sound.

"Let's not rush to travel tonight," Lu Yuan said. "We'll rest and recover in the valley for the night. We'll check the road when it's light."

No one had any objections, of course.

Wang Cheng'an and Xu Erxiao's legs were already weak. They wished they could find a place to lie down imdiately. Upon hearing this, they hurried to gather a few pieces of dry wood to help build up the fire. Zhou Heng carefully checked the side of the stone path, moving the incompletely burnt banner bones and paper ash into one pile to prevent any mishaps during the night. Lin Zhaoxuan casually placed the Thunderclap Token on a flat stone to slowly dry the dampness from it with the fire's warmth.

After wrapping up the sealing plate, Song Qinghe also walked over and sat by the fire, stretching out her hands to warm them. The color slowly began to return to her face.

The fire crackled, its light reflecting on everyone's faces, which were much more relaxed than before.

Soon, Zhou Heng found a relatively straight piece of deadwood by the valley's edge, trimd the edges a bit, and hastily built a simple backrest for Lu Yuan. He also took a cleaner outer garnt from his own and the others' bags and handed it over. "Put this on first." "It gets deep in the valley at night. Don't let the cold air seep into your wound."

Lu Yuan took it, put it on, and nodded in thanks.

Everyone gathered around the fire and began to quietly recap the battle just past.

"That ritual spirit's most insidious trick wasn't the paper faces or the lamp," Lin Zhaoxuan thought for a mont and said. "It was its ability to use the seat root to exchange altars." "If Fellow Cultivator Lu hadn't intercepted that change of phase, it really might have turned the situation around."

Song Qinghe added: "And that seat nail. It was hidden too deep. If we hadn't overturned the altar robe at the end, no one would have guessed the real altar's heart was actually there." "These old seats and altars beyond the Great Wall... the thing to fear most is soone using malevolent thods to twist them into a single force." "They look ssy, but it's all structure and bone."

Zhou Heng nodded: "At the end of the day, it's still our lack of experience." "We used to think evil entities just ca at people directly. Who knew they could borrow altars, seats, lamps, and paper to turn a complete funeral setup into a harmful sche?"

The group spoke in low voices, the atmosphere gradually stabilizing. The wind in the mountain valley wasn't strong, but the firelight was bright. The few of them gathered together really did look like travelers from the Republic of China era spending the night in a desolate valley beyond the Great Wall. Although they had nearly perished here earlier, sitting by the fire now, alive, even a mouthful of warm air felt precious.

Lu Yuan didn't say much.

He just leaned against the rock, closed his eyes to rest for a while, waiting for the breath disrupted by the yin wind inside him to slowly settle down, before letting out a long sigh.

The fire gradually died down a bit, and the temperature in the valley dropped accordingly. Seeing this, Song Qinghe stood up, took out a few dry flatbreads and a small bag of fried flour from her pack, and distributed them to everyone. Although none of it was hot food, having so dry rations to fill their stomachs in a place like this was already a luxury.

As the night deepened, the valley fell completely silent. By the fire, only the faint crackling of firewood remained. Occasionally, a gust of wind swept past the valley mouth, gently swaying the tree shadows. The mountain path in the distance was pitch black, showing no sign of anything unusual.

After the ritual spirit dissipated, the oppressive yin aura in the valley also receded completely, leaving only the mountain wilderness's night dew and the cold light of the frosty moon. Lu Yuan leaned against the rock, his expression calm, as if waiting for sothing.

This night was finally over.

The ritual spirit was dead, and the seat-annihilation altar had been overturned. Everyone could finally catch their breath in Savage Valley. Although the road ahead might not be entirely smooth, at least for now, the most vicious formation had been suppressed by their own hands.

The firelight flickered gently, reflecting everyone's faces, tired but finally calm. Deep in Savage Valley, only the wind moved slowly.

And at that very mont, a clear, cold voice appeared at Lu Yuan's ear.

[Ding, congratulations on successfully vanquishing demons and exorcising evil]

[Reward: Cultivation]