As soon as Ming Zhuo stepped into the unfinished residential area next door, a golden light rose from the ground.

This was a pre-arranged magic array, designed to trap and kill her.

Mingzhuo watched with interest for a while, then realized the formation looked familiar. "The Vajra Subduing Demon Formation?"

"This is the Vajra Four Symbols Formation, specifically designed to slay demons and evil spirits. Even if you were to escape now, you wouldn't be able to get out." The four monks formed the formation, their expressions solemn.

The so-called "fierce-looking Vajra" is at least intimidating in terms of its imposing presence.

A giant Buddha's palm formed of golden light descended from above, its extremely powerful and yang aura, accompanied by the sound of Buddhist scriptures, rushing towards us.

Mingzhuo wasn't possessed by an old ghost, so of course he wasn't afraid of these things, but the puppet in his pocket clearly couldn't stand it.

Fighting is fine, but damaging personal property is absolutely unacceptable.

A shadow puppet as clever as Xiao Mumu requires a lot of effort and energy to create, and Ming Zhuo couldn't bear to destroy it like that.

She leaped into the air, using her peach wood sword to deflect the Buddha's hand seal. "Little Mumu, let's go!"

The puppet clearly didn't want to leave. It blinked its dark eyes, wondering how it could abandon Ah Yin...

Strands of light and golden handprints are about to fall again.

Even though the puppet dodged quickly, some light still pierced through its sleeve, instantly scorching a black hole in it.

The puppet suddenly got angry. Its body and even its sleeves were made of a special type of ebony wood, and it had already been torn in two places tonight.

Under the dim moonlight, wisps of black mist began to emanate from its body.

These black energies are all formed from yin energy, and their bodies also store various "techniques." If one fights with all one's might, there is still hope of breaking the formation...

"Ding-a-ling," a faint bell sound suddenly came from the darkness.

The sound seemed to exist outside this space, ethereal and melodious, making one unable to help but concentrate and listen carefully.

But soon, the two old men wielding swords changed their expressions: "Oh no, this is a soul-summoning bell! Everyone, quickly concentrate your minds and focus your energy!"

The bell continued to ring at a leisurely pace, as if carried by the wind or the swaying of the water, reaching the depths of everyone's soul.

Although the group put up a fight after being reminded by the old man with the sword, it was to no avail.

Most people were struggling to hold on, and Shen Boyuan was worried that Cheng Jingru, whose cultivation was the weakest, would not be able to withstand it. However, he was surprised to find that Cheng Jingru's face was only slightly pale and she could still barely hold on.

He disregarded everything else and shoved a soundproof sheet into Cheng Jingru's hand, saying, "Don't listen."

Cheng Jingru shook her head. If she used the soundproof talisman, she would completely lose her ability to act and would be no different from a useless person. How could she catch Mingzhuo then?

She bit her tongue until it bled, struggling to stay awake, saying, "I'm fine."

The four eminent monks and the two old men wielding swords will surely have a way to break the bell; I just need to wait for my opportunity.

Mingzhuo listened to the ringing for a while, then suddenly said, "That's enough."

She realized that Shen Ruodi's abilities had increased since he climbed back from hell, and the summoning bell was now even more powerful than before.

If the people of Xuanmen hadn't set up a barrier in advance in this unfinished residential area, many of the nearby residents would probably have lost their souls.

Even so, the Xuan Masters present, those with lower cultivation levels, had already bitten their lips until they bled. If this continued, their souls would truly be separated, resulting in either death or serious injury.

As soon as she said that, it was as if something had been broken open, and the ethereal bell stopped ringing.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and quickly stabilized their mental state.

The four eminent monks and the old man wielding the sword did not look relaxed; instead, they suddenly looked up and stared at a certain spot.

The surrounding air seemed to turn cold instantly, and a sinister and terrifying atmosphere filled the air. A figure gradually appeared under the waning moon.

The newcomer's robes fluttered, and he wore a gentle smile, like a noble young master from an ancient book. His demeanor was elegant, and his ancient attire made him stunning and captivating.

However, no one dared to truly regard him as an ordinary young nobleman.

No matter how gentle the smile on the other person's face was, it could not conceal the terrifying and sinister aura emanating from them, nor the evil in their eyes.

"Come here." Shen Ruodi beckoned with his finger, and the puppet flew into his hand.

The little guy was clearly not acting voluntarily; he struggled in his grasp, trying to escape, and a sinister aura emanated from his dark eyes.

That look was exactly the same as Shen Ruodi's, silently confronting Shen Ruodi.

"You almost fell for someone's trick and caused Ayin a lot of trouble, and you still dare to talk back to me?" Shen Ruodi lightly tapped the puppet's head with his finger.

The puppet blinked, as if it had realized something, and turned to look at Cheng Jingru.

It could sense that she possessed an aura that made it both craved and out of control, though it was now very faint.

Shen Ruodi followed its gaze, and Cheng Jingru's heart tightened; she subconsciously took a step back.

Shen Boyuan knew things were going badly, so he stepped forward and blocked Cheng Jingru's path.

"Shen Ruodi, you condoned the ghost servants' killings. Shouldn't you give us an explanation?"

"Explain? Sure." Shen Ruodi chuckled.

He should have felt relieved, but the others felt their scalps tingle and alarm bells were ringing in their minds.

They were convinced that Ming Zhuo was colluding with Shen Ruodi, but when Shen Ruodi actually appeared, they were secretly alarmed.

Before making their plans tonight, they had inquired beforehand and learned that Shen Ruodi should be far away in the southwest, thousands of miles away.

Shen Boyuan glanced at Ming Zhuo. He hadn't expected that Shen Ruodi and Ming Zhuo's relationship was even closer than he had imagined.

Shen Ruodi's sudden appearance tonight surprised everyone present.

They were even prepared for a desperate battle tonight.

Just as the atmosphere became inexplicably tense and on the verge of exploding, Mingzhuo suddenly spoke up, "Then why don't you hurry up and leave?"

They turned them away without any politeness.

Shen Ruodi withdrew his gaze, smiled and replied "okay," before his figure gradually disappeared into the darkness.

A gust of wind blew by, and even that eerie and terrifying aura disappeared, as if it were truly gone.

The four eminent monks and the old man with the sword did not stop Shen Ruodi from leaving. Their primary task tonight was to capture Ming Zhuo, and they did not want to confront Shen Ruodi unless absolutely necessary.

The golden light trapped Mingzhuo within the formation. The Vajra Four Symbols Formation was infinitely variable, extremely powerful and yang, and any evil spirit that touched it would suffer greatly.

As the Ghost King, no matter how powerful Shen Ruodi is, this formation is still a counter to him. He probably had some reservations, which is why he left.

Cheng Jingru breathed a sigh of relief, but for some reason, she still felt vaguely uneasy.

So far, things have been developing exactly as she had predicted.

But why does she always feel like something's not right?

"Witch, Shen Ruodi doesn't care about you anymore, why don't you show your true form!" someone shouted sternly.

Mingzhuo twirled his peach wood sword and said with a smile, "That's right, the people who were getting in the way are finally gone. Let's start fighting now."

Everyone: "..."

Has she gone mad? Does she even realize what situation we're in?

The old man wielding the sword had never seen such a stubborn person before, and immediately roared, "You're courting death!"