This Taoist priest is so unprofessional!

It is exactly midnight.

All the lights in the villa went out at once.

Darkness surged in like a tide, swallowing up all colors and outlines.

Only three thumb-thick white candles were burning quietly on the floor in the center of the study.

The flickering candlelight cast the shadows of Zhang Chen, Wang Xiaoer, General Manager Zhao, and Boss Qian onto the wall behind them, stretching, twisting, and deforming them like menacing ghosts.

Dead silence.

The air seemed to solidify into lead, making it hard to breathe.

General Manager Zhao and Boss Qian huddled in the corner of the safety circle drawn by Zhang Chen with cinnabar, their teeth chattering uncontrollably, making a soft "clucking" sound.

The sound seemed particularly jarring in the extreme silence.

Wang Xiaoer stood in front of the two men, his hands tightly gripping a magic incantation he had just learned from a book, his palms covered in cold sweat.

He stared intently at the figure in front of him.

Zhang Chen stood in the center of the simple Bagua formation outlined in vermilion ink lines, his figure as upright as a pine tree.

He took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling slightly.

Immediately, he formed a complex hand seal with both hands in front of his chest.

He spoke.

"By the Supreme Decree, your lonely soul transcends, all ghosts and demons, and all living beings receive grace..."

His voice was low, but it didn't sound like he was speaking.

It was a syllable that was hard to describe in words, ancient and profound, as if it did not come from his throat, but from a distant time and space, carrying the texture of metal striking stone, echoing and resonating throughout the space.

Wang Xiaoer couldn't understand.

But he felt as if the lines of the array drawn in cinnabar beneath his feet had come alive, and a warm current of air spread along the ground, firmly protecting the three of them within it.

The moment Zhang Chen uttered the first syllable.

The bronze box that had been lying quietly on the display stand suddenly trembled!

The talisman pasted on the Soul-Suppressing Bell suddenly burst into flames without any fire!

A cluster of pale green flames rose out of thin air from the center of the talisman. It had no temperature, yet it quickly devoured the entire sheet of yellow paper.

Zhang Chen's recitation did not stop.

His eyes were fixed on the green flame.

Just as the talisman was about to burn out, he moved.

It was as fast as a phantom!

He extended two fingers of his right hand with lightning speed, firmly grasping the burning talisman, his movements so precise it was as if he had practiced them a thousand times.

"Imperial Edict!"

Zhang Chen roared and thrust his wrist forward!

The burning remnant of the talisman, wreathed in green ghost fire, pressed heavily onto the soul-suppressing bell on the top of the copper box, like a seal!

"clang!!!"

A deafening bang, unlike any sound of a bell, exploded out!

The sound was sharp and piercing, like the mournful roar of a demon from the deepest hell scratching a black iron coffin with its fingernails!

The air in the entire study trembled violently in that instant.

The Soul-Suppressing Bell began to shake violently, emitting a mournful buzzing sound.

A visible, almost tangible black mist suddenly gushed out from the cracks in the copper box!

The black mist was as thick as ink, carrying a musty, earthy smell that had been rotten for many years and a strong, nauseating stench of blood, which rushed straight at Zhang Chen's face!

"Master, be careful!"

Boss Qian screamed in terror.

Mr. Zhao was so frightened that his eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the ground.

Zhang Chen, however, did not retreat but advanced.

He stepped forward with his left foot, stomping heavily on the Qian position of the Bagua formation.

"How dare such a petty person be so insolent!"

His right hand had somehow found itself gripping the jet-black peach wood sword.

The sword moved with the sound!

A streak of dark light tore through the air in the dim candlelight, and the fine runes engraved on the sword with silver lines burst forth with dazzling brilliance in an instant!

"break!"

The peach wood sword sliced ​​through the surging black mist with a single strike, as if cutting through tangled hemp.

The black mist, like butter being branded with a hot iron, made a sizzling sound and was instantly split open, dissipating to both sides.

Zhang Chen did not pause at all.

He brought his left hand together, forming a palm blade, and slammed it heavily onto the top of the bronze box with a sharp, whistling sound!

"open!"

A sharp shout, like a thunderclap from a clear sky!

"Bang!"

The heavy copper lid flew out with a thud, tumbling in mid-air before crashing into the corner of the wall with a loud bang, leaving a dent in the wall.

The box is open.

Wang Xiao'er's heart skipped a beat. He stared wide-eyed, trying to see what kind of earth-shattering demon was hidden inside.

But the box was completely empty.

There was no gold or silver, no bones or corpses.

A small, palm-sized, jet-black humanoid terracotta figurine lay quietly at the bottom of the box.

The terracotta figurine resembles an ancient soldier, wearing strangely styled armor. The carving is exquisite and lifelike, with even the rivets on the armor plates clearly visible.

Its eyes were closed, and its hands were folded in front of its abdomen, its posture peaceful.

All the eeriness and terror seemed to vanish the moment the box was opened.

"That's...that's it?"

Wang Xiaoer was a little confused.

Why make such a big fuss just for such a small clay figure?

However, Zhang Chen's expression was more solemn than ever before.

His gaze was like a knife, fixed on the terracotta figurine, and the veins on his hand, which gripped the peach wood sword, bulged.

The very next instant that Wang Xiaoer's thought flashed through his mind.

A sudden change has occurred!

The black terracotta figurine that had been lying quietly suddenly opened its tightly closed eyes!

Its eye sockets had no whites and no pupils.

Only two tiny, crimson lights, like will-o'-the-wisps in the depths of hell, filled with endless resentment and violence!

boom--!

An aura of malevolent energy far exceeding any previous one erupted from the small terracotta figurine like a flood bursting its banks!

That wasn't just simple cold.

It was an absolute stillness capable of freezing the soul! It was a pure malice that would drag all life in the world into destruction!

Wang Xiaoer felt an extremely cold chill rush from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head!

He felt as if he had been thrown into an ice cave, his blood almost freezing.

He felt as if he were being targeted by a ferocious beast that had awakened from the primordial chaos. The two points of scarlet light pierced through the distance and were directly imprinted into the depths of his soul.

fear!

An unprecedented fear gripped his heart!

The boss and General Manager Zhao beside him didn't even have time to utter a sound.

The moment the ghost puppet opened its eyes, the two of them collapsed to the ground like soft mud with its bones removed.

A foul-smelling liquid quickly spread from their crotches, soaking the expensive floor.

The entire unboxing process happened in the blink of an eye.

Zhang Chen chanted incantations, burned talismans, shook bells, cleaved evil spirits, and opened the box. All his movements were fluid and graceful, full of a captivating sense of power and rhythm, and were completed in one go.

That strength and reliability that was usually hidden beneath his lazy exterior was revealed at this moment, so professional that it made Wang Xiaoer feel like a stranger.

"Jehovah—!!!"

The terracotta figure suddenly emitted a shrill whistle that was completely unlike a human voice.

It moved.

Its small body transformed into a blurry black shadow, completely disregarding the laws of physics, and directly passed through the pear wood desk in front of it.

Amidst the flying sawdust, the dark figure, like an arrow released from a bow, pounced towards Mr. Zhao, who was closest to it on the ground!