As soon as the ghost died, the scene before my eyes seemed to change instantly.

Only then did everyone suddenly realize what was happening. The room was filled with such a heavy, damp atmosphere that it seemed as if water could drip from it, and the temperature felt so low that no one had felt anything was wrong.

This is a very powerful illusion; almost everyone fell under its spell the moment they stepped into the room.

"What is that?" A strange pattern was faintly visible where Mingzhuo was standing.

Xia Siru looked panicked. "Didn't my dad have the maid erase this pattern?"

Liang Xing walked over and examined it, then shook his head. "It's no use. This is a soul-refining array drawn with yin energy. Even if you erase it, the yin energy will gather again."

His heart sank. The other party not only wanted Xia Siru's life, but probably also the lives of them, the cultivators.

This soul-refining array is already half-covered with blood. Once all the blood is injected, the entire array will be fully activated, becoming cruel and murderous.

If it weren't Mingzhuo who came today, these people, who are already in a competitive relationship, would definitely be suspicious of each other, which would eventually lead to a bloody incident and contribute nutrients to the Soul Refining Array.

Those who die are mostly transformed into vengeful ghosts instantly under the influence of the Soul Refining Array, and continue to hunt.

At that time, the entire Xia family will be wiped out, and the house will become a haunted house.

Upon hearing Liang Xing's words, everyone present changed their expressions drastically.

Liang Xing: "Fellow Daoist, you're standing here because you've seen through the Soul Refining Array and want to prevent it from being activated, right?"

Mingzhuo nodded. "You guessed right. Once the Soul Refining Array is activated by injecting all the blood, it will be troublesome."

The monk looked grateful. "Fortunately, you discovered it in time and prevented the Soul Refining Array from activating. Otherwise, most of us would probably be dead here today."

Mingzhuo was somewhat surprised. "What are you thinking? This thing is just a ghost. Even if it's activated, I'll still cut it down. It's a bit of a hassle, but it's not going to kill anyone, is it?"

Everyone: "..."

Mingzhuo glanced at the three people lying unconscious on the ground. The third person, who was obviously not human, had already been captured by the others.

It was a female ghost, who was completely bewildered. Her two most powerful ones had already vanished into thin air. What should she do?

A young Taoist priest, his face contorted with rage, brandished a peach wood sword and prepared to stab the female ghost.

These three evil spirits tricked them, so of course everyone has the right to kill them!

Mingzhuo: "Stop! Come here."

The female ghost and Mingzhuo's eyes met, and she was startled. This person was even more terrifying than a ghost!

She subconsciously moved closer to the Taoist priest, preferring to be stabbed by the peach wood sword rather than confront the little girl.

Waaaaah, this is so scary! Why, even after I've died and become a ghost, do I still have to be bullied by such terrifying people?

Mingzhuo sighed. This female ghost was just as full of resentment.

She turned to the monk and asked, "Master, could you please chant a mantra to help the female ghost find peace?"

The monk put his hands together and said, "Amitabha, this is natural."

Buddhism differs from Taoism. Monks are compassionate and like to help people lay down their butcher's knife and become Buddhas on the spot, let alone evil spirits.

However, since Mingzhuo had just killed the two ghosts, the monk didn't say anything, after all, his life had been saved by someone else.

The female ghost's eyes had turned black, with no whites visible, clearly indicating she was a vicious and vengeful spirit. The others couldn't understand why Mingzhuo was doing this.

Mingzhuo: "She was being controlled, and she didn't want to be used to kill people even after she died."

While the monks were chanting sutras, Liang Xing led everyone in dispelling the yin energy from the house.

Mingzhuo broke through the formation with a single step, and it took a lot of effort for everyone to completely remove the yin energy.

Amidst the solemn chanting, the blackness in the female ghost's eyes slowly faded, restoring her original appearance.

She stared blankly at the people in front of her, then remembered that she and two other people had made a suicide pact to jump off a hundred-foot-high building.

She thought that death would bring her liberation, turning her into dust and freeing her from all constraints. But she never expected that as soon as she became a ghost, before she could even react, her soul would be captured.

Then came the painful torment... and then it turned into what it is now, uncontrollably coming out to harm people.

The female ghost clutched her head, her face contorted in agony. "Why am I not free when I'm alive, and I'm still not free when I'm dead? Why..."

Mingzhuo: "If you want freedom, why choose suicide? Even if you are not controlled, people who commit suicide will be imprisoned in the City of the Wrongfully Dead. During this time, they cannot be worshipped, nor can they go to the human world when the gates of hell are open like other ghosts. They will watch your original life trajectory in the human world day by day until your true lifespan ends, and only then can you be released to be reincarnated."

The female ghost stared at her blankly. So that's how it is.

If she would suffer endless torment even after death, why did she choose to commit suicide?

“Death is neither liberation nor the end,” Mingzhuo said. “Otherwise, why would there be a saying that it’s better to live a miserable life than to die a good death?”

Tears welled up in the female ghost's eyes. She regretted it; she shouldn't have chosen to end her life under the guidance of those people in the group.

Her body emitted a faint spiritual light; she was about to report to the underworld.

The female ghost opened her mouth: "Master, that group is very strange, I..."

She wanted to say something more, but her body had already become transparent and disappeared into the air.

Xia Siru stood aside, feeling a pang of sympathy. When she was angry, she had felt utterly hopeless and thought that it would be better to die and end it all.

It seems that death is not the solution; in fact, it only brings more pain and suffering...

"I will never dare to commit suicide again." Xia Siru patted her chest.

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