A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 568 Protect Me
The evil "ghost bride" moved incredibly fast, like a shooting star streaking across the gray earth, getting closer and closer to them.

Everyone could see it more and more clearly.

The "ghost bride" was shrouded in eerie winds, her feet barely half a foot off the ground, while a dense mass of darkness clung to the ground beneath her like a shadow...

"It's already coming!?" Du Wan swallowed nervously and asked, "Are you really not backing out?"

Du Wan was genuinely terrified; he truly had the urge to slip away at any moment. Although Guo Tian's analysis was logical and reasonable, when faced with a life-or-death situation, everyone inevitably had their own thoughts.

Lu Chu said, "Didn't you see how fast that evil spirit is? It's much faster than us. How can we escape?! We have no choice but to fight!"

"War?!" Du Wan thought to herself, "That's an evil spirit!" "I think we should split up and escape. If we split up, the evil spirit can only chase one person at a time! At most, one person will die, and the rest can live!"

Guo Tian turned his head and glared at Du Wan, saying, "Maybe the one you're chasing is you."

Du Wan was taken aback by Guo Tian's shout. He was really afraid that the evil spirit might actually chase after him if he didn't say anything.

Guo Tiandao said, "Last night by the pool, this evil spirit didn't gain any advantage. Now it's daytime, so its evil power will be somewhat suppressed. As long as we deal with it carefully, no one might die. Running away recklessly and losing our composure is the only way to get yourself killed!"

After Guo Tian finished speaking, he couldn't help but glance at Duan Rong.

Everyone noticed Guo Tian's gaze and understood his meaning, so they all looked at Duan Rong.

Last night by the pool, it was Duan Rong alone who suppressed the evil "Ghost Bride," allowing them all to escape successfully. Moreover, the evil "Ghost Bride" was emitting white smoke and screaming in agony, clearly badly injured, yet it didn't pursue them then. But now this evil has come back—is it for revenge?
Duan Rong not only suppressed the evil spirit of the "ghost bride" by the pool, but also entered the evil spirit's space alone, obtained the Azure Flame Grass, and then retreated unscathed.

All of this demonstrates that Duan Rong possesses secret methods for dealing with evil spirits, which is also their greatest reliance in not retreating at this time.

Duan Rong noticed the gazes directed at him, and a bitter feeling welled up inside him.

He only had one Soul-Slaying Thorn left, and unfortunately, he had used it all up in the space of the ghost infant evil spirit after three uses of the Fire Star. The only means he could use to deal with evil spirits were those Soul-Slaying Thorns.

Although Duan Rong felt bitter, he agreed with Guo Tian's assessment. At this moment, fleeing haphazardly and losing their composure would be a death sentence.

Seeing that the evil "ghost bride" was only about ten feet away from them, its blood-red, sinister aura seemed to be rushing towards them!

Everyone watched with bated breath, when Duan Rong suddenly said, "Lower your heads and don't look at her red veil!"

They were slightly taken aback when they heard Duan Rong say this, but quickly realized what he meant. Last night by the pool, when the evil spirit revealed its true form, a corner of its red veil was slightly lifted. In that instant, each of them saw a face from the depths of their hearts, and from that moment they fell into a daze until Duan Rong awakened them.

Everyone lowered their gazes from the "ghost bride," avoiding contact with her red veil.

Seeing that the evil "ghost bride" was only five or six zhang away from them, the crowd's panicked hearts calmed down.

Since I've decided to face it, I'll stop thinking about it.

Duan Rong's warning just now was not only a reminder to be careful and not to fall into that evil magic again.

This also reminded them of something else: this wasn't their first time dealing with evil spirits. Lin Youjian and Liu Su had taught them that evil spirits harm people based on certain patterns, or that there was an underlying logical chain behind their appearances. As long as they could understand the patterns and that logical chain, they could avoid being controlled and even have the opportunity to turn the tables!
Evil arts, like human martial arts, are not without traces! It's just a matter of whether you can see through them and find ways to avoid or even counter them.

Perhaps because no one was looking at her red veil, the evil "ghost bride" suddenly stopped three zhang away.

It remained there, motionless. This made everyone's hearts pound! Could it be that Duan Rong's warning not to look at the evil spirit's red veil was really so effective, as the evil spirit had actually stopped attacking?

But they also felt that it was impossible for such a simple action to completely suppress the evil spirit.

Duan Rong stood there, but his gaze was fixed on the darkness beneath the evil feet of the "ghost bride".

The darkness was not only less intense than it had been seen by the pool last night, but it had also shrunk considerably. It seemed that the evil spirit's power was indeed greatly suppressed during the day.

The group stood in a standoff with the evil "ghost bride" about three zhang apart, and the evil spirit made no move for a long time.
Lu Chu suddenly said, "It neither advances nor retreats. What does this evil spirit want to do?"

Du Wan said, "Why don't we take a step back and see how that evil spirit reacts?"

Guo Tian glared at Du Wan upon hearing this.

Du Wan immediately said, "This is not an escape. This is a strategic probe."

Duan Rong said, "Alright. I'll count to three. Let's take a step back together and see how the evil spirit reacts."

"it is good!"

Seeing that Duan Rong also said so, Guo Tian was the first to agree, leaving Du Wan speechless for a moment.

Duan Rong stared at the malevolent waist and abdomen of the "ghost bride" while counting to three. After the three counts, everyone took a step back.

At this moment, as everyone took a step back, the evil "ghost bride" actually jumped forward a step, and then stood there motionless.

After a few breaths, Duan Rong counted to three again, and everyone took a step back. The evil "ghost bride" then jumped forward one more time.

"What exactly is it trying to do?" Lu Chu's eyes flashed with deep confusion.

A thoughtful look flashed across Duan Rong's eyes.

He stared blankly at the "ghost bride's" evil belly, which was rotting and turned inside out. To avoid the evil's red veil, he had to look at this most disgusting part. After looking for a while, he could even see maggots crawling in and out of the rotting flesh...

Although he reminded everyone not to look at the evil spirit's red veil, the evil spirit would not stand three zhang away and dare not approach just because of that.

Another possible reason is that it severely injured the evil spirit by the pool last night, and perhaps it fears its own power. After all, the evil spirit doesn't know that it only has one Soul-Slaying Thorn left.

But if it was afraid, why did it come looking for it during the day, when its evil power was still suppressed?
Upon realizing this, Duan Rong's gaze suddenly sharpened.

If this evil spirit dares not approach because of fear, then why has it come all this way and refused to leave?

Clearly, there must be something among them that evil spirits are looking for!
What is it looking for?
As Duan Rong thought this, his gaze suddenly swept over the people around him.

Then, something occurred to him. Could it be that he had stolen the evil spirit's red veil, and that's why the evil spirit had followed him all the way?
Duan Rong felt this was unreasonable!

He took the red veil by the pool, and the evil spirit didn't chase after him then! So why would it chase after him now because of that red veil?
Although Duan Rong made this deduction, he still flipped his hand and had already taken the red veil in his hand. He then spun it and threw it, his movements quite smooth and skillful, and the red veil flew out, landing several feet away from the side of the evil "ghost bride".

At this moment, they, the "ghost bride" evil spirit, and the red veil that had fallen to the ground formed a three-way pincer movement.

When everyone saw the red veil suddenly fly out, they were all stunned, wondering why Duan Rong had suddenly made such a move.

Du Wan suddenly said, "Duan Rong, do you suspect that the evil spirit came for the red veil?"

Duan Rong said, "The possibility is slim, but it doesn't hurt to try." After the red veil fell to the ground, a few breaths later, the evil "ghost bride" was still standing there motionless.

Clearly, it wasn't there for the lost red veil.

Duan Rong suddenly said, "Let's go around it from the side and see how it reacts. Standing here like this isn't a solution either; if we stand here until dark, the evil spirit's malevolent power will be restored."

Upon hearing this, everyone hesitated. Du Wan said, "But isn't it too dangerous to go around it?"

Guo Tiandao said, "Duan Rong is right. We can't keep waiting like this. If we wait until it gets dark, it will be even more disadvantageous for us."

Seeing that Duan Rong and Guo Tian both said so, Du Wan finally shut up.

The group formed ranks, weapons in hand, ready for battle, and slowly circled around to the side. As they moved, their eyes were fixed on the rotting belly of the "ghost bride," an evil spirit turned inside out. The belly was rotting and infested with maggots, yet it was empty inside, as if it had been ripped clean…

They walked on like this, while the evil "ghost bride" remained standing there, motionless, seemingly letting them go around her.

"This……"

The group was momentarily confused as to why this was happening, but they remained on high alert and continued their detour...

After a while, they reached the red veil that was positioned in a triangular formation. As Duan Rong walked by, he bent down and scooped up the red veil.

This red veil is quite effective at suppressing evil spirits and ghosts, and it might come in handy later. Moreover, the evil spirit of the "ghost bride" didn't react much to it, so Duan Rong picked it up and threw it into his backpack.

The group did not stop at the corner, but continued to walk forward.

But just as they crossed the point of attack, suddenly, from the "ghost bride's" sinister red veil, strands of hair, like wild grass, sprouted and grew wildly, instantly gushing out like black water...

As soon as the hair burst forth, it lunged at them like several venomous snakes.

The speed was as fast as lightning!

Those several strands of tangled hair somehow managed to slip into the crowd, but they all wrapped around Jiang Hanyan's feet and waist, instantly dragging her down and pulling her along the gray-white ground toward the evil spirit.

Guo Tian reacted swiftly, his broadsword flashing in the blink of an eye, already slicing into the tangled hair.

With a loud bang, the blade struck the hard surface of the god-demon's corpse, sending sparks flying.

Sparks flew from the blow, demonstrating the force Guo Tian exerted. Moreover, his broadsword was exceptionally sharp, yet despite this, the hair peeking out from the "ghost bride's" evil red veil remained completely undamaged!

Guo Tian reacted quickly, turning the blade and using the back of the knife to brace against Jiang Hanyan's feet. The others immediately grabbed Jiang Hanyan, and a tug-of-war ensued.

Although all seven of them were pulling Jiang Hanyan with all their might, the evil hair was still tightly wrapped around her, pulling her little by little toward it.

All seven were cultivators, having progressed from the Inner Breath Realm to the Qi Cyclone Realm; their strength was by no means weak. However, even with their combined strength, they still couldn't pull down the evil spirit's hair. The evil spirit stood there, as steady as Mount Tai.

Jiang Hanyan was tangled in her hair, trembling all over, her beautiful face contorted in terror, her eyes filled with extreme fear. "No! I don't want to go there!..."

But the distance is getting closer little by little!

Everyone broke out in a cold sweat! Some were already considering giving up, after all, no one wanted to be dragged to the side of the evil spirit with Jiang Hanyan, and no one knew what would happen then.

Su Xinjue was the first to let go and jump backward!

Best friends are definitely the most unreliable!

Du Wan was about to give up when Duan Rong suddenly activated his mind and fired the last Soul Piercer!

They plunged into the deep, dark mass beneath the feet of the "ghost bride" evil spirit!

A wisp of white smoke, as thick as a baby's arm, then emerged, followed by an extremely shrill scream from beneath the "ghost bride's" sinister red veil!
Duan Rong's eyes flickered. He noticed that the column of white smoke rising from the depths of that thick darkness seemed to be thicker than the one by the pool last night.

This indicates that after the evil spirits' malevolent power was suppressed during the day, the damage inflicted by the Soul-Slaying Thorn increased.

Just as the wisps of white smoke rose, the snake-venom-like strands of hair that had been coiled around Jiang Hanyan's waist and feet suddenly loosened and retreated...

The people who had been holding Jiang Hanyan suddenly felt their grip loosen and stumbled.

At that moment, the evil "ghost bride" stirred up a gust of cold wind, and the wisps of white smoke rising from her feet hadn't even dissipated before she flew to the side. Her waterfall-like hair, trembling like a venomous snake, cascaded behind her and quickly retreated into the red veil…

The evil "ghost bride" flew more than ten feet away before everyone collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

Duan Rong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, secretly relieved. Thankfully, a single Soul-Slaying Thorn had scared away the evil spirit! However, this was also related to the fact that the evil spirit's malevolent power had weakened during the day, making the Soul-Slaying Thorn more effective against it.

Guo Tian sheathed his broadsword and looked at Duan Rong, his eyes flickering slightly.

Last night, when Duan Rong woke him up by the pool, he saw the evil "ghost bride" emitting white smoke, which was very similar to the scene just now.

Moreover, Duan Rong had already told them that the dense darkness was the true form of the evil spirit.

Guo Tian suddenly asked, "Duan Rong, was the method you used to injure that evil spirit the Soul-Slaying Technique?"

Soul Thrust is a method of attacking with divine sense; it is formless and intangible.

Just now, before Guo Tian could see Duan Rong make any move, the dense darkness beneath the evil spirit's feet suddenly emitted white smoke. In that instant, Guo Tian thought of a soul attack.

Guo Tianyi pointed it out, and everyone stared blankly at Duan Rong.

Duan Rong remained expressionless and said, "Brother Guo guessed correctly, it is indeed the Soul-Slaying Thorn!"

A look of astonishment flashed across everyone's faces.

Du Wan said, "Duan Rong, isn't the Soul-Slaying Technique a method that can only be used after reaching the sixth level of the Womb-Hiding Sutra? Could it be that you have already..."

Lu Chu said, "Brother Duan is, after all, someone who cultivates by the side of the Ancestor. It's not surprising that he has achieved the sixth level of the Womb Sutra."

They all knew that Duan Rong had only been an inner disciple for a little over a year. In just over a year, he had already mastered the sixth level of the Womb Treasury Sutra!

A prodigy is a prodigy indeed! No wonder he was able to cultivate by the side of the Ancestor!
Duan Rong paid little attention to the various expressions on their faces, and simply said, "I've used up all the Soul Spikes I've condensed! That was the last one! Judging from the current situation, we'll still encounter evil spirits at any time. I need a few hours to condense a few more Soul Spikes! I ask my fellow disciples to protect me!"

(End of this chapter)