The Maze of Wrathful Ghosts and Inner Fantasy

The wind at the temple entrance suddenly grew chilly, and a black mist swirled around Yuanyang Girl like a living thing. The evil sorcerer controlled her body, raising the black sword high above her head. The evil energy condensed on the sword was almost condensed into substance. Lin Munan's eyes glared, and three silver arrows simultaneously released from their bows, piercing the air with sharp sounds, shooting towards Yuanyang Girl's head, body, and the sword in her hand.

The runes on the silver arrow lit up in mid-air, emitting a dazzling burst of light as they collided with the black evil energy. A sizzling sound echoed throughout the air. The mandarin duck girl's head was forced back, and she stumbled back two steps. The golden light dispelled much of the evil energy from the black sword, leaving only a faint black mist lingering on the blade.

"You're in the way, woman!" The evil witch god's voice came from the mandarin duck girl's body, roaring angrily, "I'm going to turn you into my puppet and make sure you never reincarnate!"

He controlled the Yuanyang girl's body, raised the black sword again, and stabbed it towards Lin Munan. This time, countless faces of wronged souls emerged from the black mist surrounding the sword. Each face was distorted and let out a shrill wail. The sound was like sharp nails scratching glass, making people's eardrums hurt.

Lin Munan quickly dodged the longsword, pulling three silver arrows from her quiver and placing them on the bowstring. But just as she was about to fire, the faces of the wronged souls suddenly emerged from the black mist and flew towards the temple. "Not good!" Lin Munan's heart tightened. She tried to stop them, but she was entangled by the Yuanyang girl's body. The black longsword continued to pierce her, leaving her no chance to escape.

At that moment, inside the main hall of the Taoist temple, Chen Ba was concentrating on controlling the heat in the alchemy furnace. The Soul Gathering Pill had entered its final stages of refining, and the delicate fragrance wafting from the furnace grew increasingly intense, tinged with a faint golden glow. Lin Shen helped the elderly woman to a sitting position. She had awakened, though still very weak, and she leaned against the wall, resting her eyes. Su Wan and Meng Yao stayed by Xiuxiu's side, their smiles of relief spreading as they watched her face gradually regain its color.

But at this moment, a cold wind blew in from the main hall entrance, and the faces of the wronged souls that had drifted in instantly dispersed and floated towards the crowd. Lin Shen was the first to notice something was wrong. He felt the scene in front of him suddenly become blurry, and he heard a familiar voice in his ears - it was Zhou Tang's voice!

"Lin Shen, how could you leave me alone?" Zhou Tang's voice, tinged with tears, came from behind him. Lin Shen turned around and saw Zhou Tang standing behind him, wearing the outdoor clothes he had worn before. The wound on his chest was still bleeding. His face was as pale as paper, and his eyes were filled with grievance and disappointment. "I was killed by the evil witch god to protect you, but you didn't even care about my body, and only cared about running for your own lives!"

"Zhou Tang, that's not the case!" Lin Shen hurriedly explained, his heart feeling as if it were being tightly gripped by an invisible hand, the pain so severe that he could barely breathe. "It's not that we're ignoring you. We want to find the Soul Gathering Grass first, save Xiuxiu, and then come back to avenge you!"

"Revenge?" Zhou Tang sneered, stepping closer to Lin Shen. Blood was accumulating on his body. "You're simply lying to me! You're just afraid of the Evil Witch God and don't dare come back! Look at you now. Your arms have been corroded by evil energy, and you barely have the strength to wield a weapon. How can you avenge me? You're a coward!"

Lin Shen's eyes dimmed, Zhou Tang's words like sharp knives piercing his heart. He recalled Zhou Tang's dying look, his own helplessness in the secret room, and the evil witch god's mockery. Guilt and self-blame washed over him like a tide, nearly destroying his will to resist.

Elsewhere, Su Wan also fell into a dream. She saw her parents standing in front of her, looking at her sternly: "Wanwan, why are you still fooling around out there? We've arranged a job for you. Come back quickly and stop hanging around with these people!"

"Mom and Dad, I'm not fooling around!" Su Wan hurriedly explained, her eyes instantly red. "The Evil Witch God has killed many people. We must stop him, otherwise more people will be harmed!"

"Stop him? Just you?" His father sneered. "You can't even protect yourself, and you still want to stop the Evil Witch God? Look at you now, covered in dust, holding a torn talisman paper, like a beggar! You've brought shame upon our Su family!"

The mother also sighed, her eyes filled with disappointment: "Wanwan, listen to me and come back quickly. It's too dangerous outside. We don't want to lose you."

Su Wan couldn't help but shed tears. She remembered her parents' opposition when she left home, the difficulties she encountered during the expedition, and Zhou Tang's death. She began to doubt whether she had really done something wrong, and whether she should really listen to her parents, give up everything, and return to that warm home.

Meng Yao's illusion was about her camera. She saw her camera, intact, before her, the screen displaying photos she had taken previously—the memorial archway of Qingwu Town, the eaves of the Wang Family Ancestral Hall, the smiles of Zhou Tang and Chen Mo, and scenes of everyone fighting together. But at this moment, the scene in the photos suddenly changed, showing everyone being killed by the evil witch god: Zhou Tang was entangled in vines, his body being crushed piece by piece; Chen Mo, controlled by the evil witch god, turned into a puppet and killed his companions with his own hands; Lin Shen was pierced through the chest by a black sword, his clothes stained red with blood; Xiu Xiu's soul dissipated, turning into a wisp of white smoke; Su Wan and Li Ye were chased by the head of the mandarin duck girl, and eventually fell into a crack in the ground...

"No!" Meng Yao screamed, covering her eyes, her body shaking. "This isn't real! This isn't real!"

"This is real!" A cold voice rang in her ears. "The camera in your hand isn't recording beautiful memories, but a warning of your own death! You will soon be killed by the Evil Witch God and the Mandarin Duck Girl, just like in the photo. No one can save you!"

Meng Yao's spirit completely collapsed. She curled up on the ground, holding her head tightly in her hands, tears kept falling, and she murmured, "No... I don't want to die... I want to go home..."

Li Ye's vision was of his sister. He saw his sister lying on a hospital bed, pale, breathing weakly, and plugged into tubes. The doctor standing by shook his head and said, "Li Ye, your sister's condition is very serious. She needs surgery immediately, otherwise it will be too late. But the surgery costs a lot of money, and you can't afford it right now. How can you save your sister?"

"Doctor, please, give me a little more time!" Li Ye knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, "I will definitely raise the money. Please, save my sister!"

"Time? Your sister doesn't have any time anymore!" The doctor's voice turned cold. "Look at you now. You ran to such a dangerous place for a group of strangers. Your sister is waiting for you in the hospital, and you don't even want to see her one last time? You're an unqualified brother!"

Li Ye's heart ached as if it were being torn apart. He recalled his sister's illness, the words she'd given him when he left home, and his promise to raise the money for her surgery. But now, not only had he failed to find the money, he was trapped in this dangerous place, where he might not even be able to see his sister for the last time. Despair and self-blame washed over him like a tide, nearly robbing him of the will to live.

Despite her intense concentration on refining the Soul Gathering Pill, Chen Ba couldn't escape the attacks of the vengeful spirits. The screams of poisonous insects reached her ears, and she imagined countless insects being engulfed by a black mist. "My poisonous insects!" Chen Ba cried out in shock, attempting to protect them, but finding herself unable to move, she could only watch helplessly as the insects perished one by one.

"Do you think your Gu worms are powerful?" The evil witch god's voice sounded in her ears, full of sarcasm, "In the face of my evil energy, your Gu worms are vulnerable! You will never be able to refine powerful Gu worms again in your life. You are a failed Gu Master!"

Chen Ba's eyes grew dim. She recalled the hardships she had gone through in learning the art of witchcraft since she was a child, her master's expectations of her, and her previous failure in refining poisonous insects. She began to doubt whether she was really not suitable to be a poison master and whether she should really give up.

Although the old lady was frail, she was also lost in the illusion. She saw Xiuxiu standing before her, her face pale and her eyes filled with resentment. "Grandma, why didn't you come to see me sooner? I've been in Qingwu Town for ten years, thinking about you every day, but you never came to see me! Don't you love me at all? Don't you want me as your granddaughter?"

"Xiu Xiu, it's not like that!" the old lady hurriedly explained, tears streaming down her face. "It's not that grandma doesn't want to find you, it's that grandma doesn't know where you are. Grandma thinks about you every day and prays for you every day!"

"Pray?" Xiuxiu sneered and walked closer to the old lady. "What's the point of your prayers? Wasn't I killed by the evil witch god? Didn't I become like this now? You're a liar! You don't love me at all!"

The old lady's heart felt like it was being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, the pain so severe that she could barely breathe. She recalled Xiuxiu's childhood, her smile when she left home, and the longing and worry she had felt for her over the past ten years. Guilt and self-blame washed over her like a tide, nearly making her lose the will to live.

At this moment, in the main hall, except for Xiu Xiu who was still unconscious, everyone was trapped in their own illusions, swallowed by their inner guilt, self-blame, fear and despair. No one realized that danger was approaching step by step - the head and body of the Yuanyang girl had broken through Lin Munan's defense line and walked towards the main hall. The black sword condensed in her hand, ready to give everyone a fatal blow.

Although Lin Munan tried her best to stop it, the power of Yuanyang Girl became stronger and stronger under the control of the Evil Witch God. Her silver arrows were almost used up, and her arms became sore from pulling the bow for a long time. Her body was also scratched by several cuts from the black sword, and blood oozed out, staining her black leather jacket red.

"Wake up!" Lin Munan shouted towards the main hall, his voice tinged with anxiety. "Don't be fooled by the illusion! The Mandarin Duck Girl and the Evil Witch God are here!"

But the people, immersed in the illusion, could not hear her voice at all, and continued to struggle in their own illusions. The head and body of the mandarin duck girl had already walked into the main hall, and the black long sword stabbed at Lin Shen. Lin Shen was still arguing with Zhou Tang in the illusion, and was completely unaware of the danger.

At this critical moment, the alchemy furnace suddenly erupted with a burst of strong golden light. The Soul Gathering Pill was successfully refined! The golden light instantly enveloped the entire main hall, dispelling all the black mist and wronged souls, and the illusion was shattered.

Everyone suddenly woke up, and looking at the scene in front of them, they all had expressions of fear on their faces. Lin Shen looked at the empty ground in front of him, and remembered Zhou Tang's appearance in the illusion. His heart was filled with guilt, but he was also more determined to avenge Zhou Tang. Su Wan wiped the tears from her face, her eyes became firm. She knew she had done nothing wrong, she had to continue, stop the evil witch god, and protect more people. Meng Yao also stopped crying and clenched the camera in her hand. Although the camera was damaged, she still wanted to record this battle and record everyone's courage and persistence. Li Ye remembered his sister's advice, and his eyes became firm. He knew he had to survive, he had to raise money for his sister's surgery, and at the same time he had to avenge Zhou Tang and Chen Mo. Chen Ba looked at the soul-gathering pill in the alchemy furnace, her eyes became firm. She knew she couldn't give up, she had to continue refining poisonous insects and help everyone fight the evil witch god. The old lady also wiped the tears from her face and looked at Xiuxiu's face with eyes full of love and determination. She wanted to protect Xiuxiu and let her recover as soon as possible.

Chen Ba immediately removed the Soul Gathering Pill from the alchemy furnace. The pill was golden in color, emitting a rich, refreshing fragrance and carrying a powerful spiritual energy. She quickly walked over to Xiuxiu and fed the pill into her mouth. The pill melted in her mouth, and a powerful spiritual energy flowed down Xiuxiu's throat into her body. Xiuxiu's face instantly became rosy, and her breathing became steady and powerful. The peach wood sword, which had once lost its luster, once again glowed red, and the runes on the blade were clearly visible.

Xiuxiu slowly opened her eyes, her black pupils once again filled with light. She looked at the people around her and smiled innocently, "I... I'm recovered!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, their faces filled with gratified smiles. Lin Munan also breathed a sigh of relief. She walked over to the group, looked at Xiuxiu, who had recovered, and nodded, "Great! Now we have another force to fight against the Evil Witch God and the Mandarin Duck Girl."

Seeing the Soul Gathering Pill successfully refined and Xiuxiu regaining her strength, Yuanyang Girl and the Evil Witch God were filled with anger. The Evil Witch God controlled Yuanyang Girl's body, raised his black sword again, and stabbed at the crowd. "Even if she recovers, what does it matter? You are still no match for me! Today, I will kill you all and turn you into my puppets!"

Xiuxiu stood up from the ground and raised the peach wood sword. The red light on the sword suddenly surged. She rushed towards the mandarin duck girl. The peach wood sword was filled with strong spiritual energy and slashed at the black sword. "Evil Witch God, don't be so arrogant! We were careless before. Now that I have recovered my strength, I will definitely destroy you completely!"

Lin Shen, Li Ye, Su Wan, Meng Yao, Chen Ba, and Lin Mu Nan also immediately prepared for battle, drawing their weapons and charging towards Yuanyang Girl and the Evil Witch God. A new battle unfolded within the Taoist temple's main hall. This time, the group was no longer bewildered by illusions or consumed by their inner negativity. Their gazes were resolute, their resolve strong, for they knew this battle was not only about their own lives, but also about the safety of countless others. They had to win!