The entire sect is obsessed with love, but I'm the only one who's truly insane.

The onlookers in front of the water mirror were still savoring the shock they had just experienced.

Just now, in the mirror, there was chaos and turmoil. Everyone was a righteous cultivator who was eliminating evil spirits and maintaining peace in their region. There was only one true evil spirit, but that evil spirit was formed from the prayers of the people they were protecting.

Countless chaotic rays of light, enormous array patterns, and a dazzling light like the rising sun at dawn when the array is activated.

A cold, mocking voice rang out from the empty space in the room, "Everyone says that those who are cunning are monsters, but in my opinion, those who are cunning but have a kind face and a black heart are all human. If this Lin Du doesn't die soon, even the heavens will be afraid."

"This Lin Du is so handsome, who knows if he's not a spirit?" a woman's voice said with a laugh.

"What nonsense are you spouting? The spirits are all suffering in the dungeons of Jun Ding Prefecture, how could they possibly become disciples of the Supreme Sect?" Another rough voice rang out, "You agree, Venerable One."

……

"Is this something to be proud of? Do you want to suffer in that dungeon?"

"I don't know if he wants to suffer or not, but Qianyu, you openly and fairly attacked the disciples of the Supreme Sect. Do you really want to be buried in the ground again and escape like a burrowing worm?"

A tender, seductive voice rang out beside them, sending chills down the spines of the group who had been laughing and joking.

The number of people in the world who can break through their Venerable Ones' barrier can be counted on one hand.

The voice that suddenly interrupted was tinged with impatience, "Those insignificant little disturbances are one thing, but you dare to release the Liyang Secret Realm?"

"Oh my, who is this? Isn't this our compassionate Buddhist disciple?" Qianyu chuckled. "The Buddhist disciple is indeed kind-hearted, with the world in his heart."

Wei Zhi's voice was calm, "No, I just wanted to see you fight with the Supreme Sect, but unfortunately you seem to be a coward, only daring to mess with a bunch of kids."

Qianyu paused for a moment, then said, "...You have the guts? You have the guts to just watch the show with your mouth?"

Wei Zhi remained calm, saying, "What kind of spirit could a Buddhist practitioner like me, who is pure of heart and desires, possibly possess?"

Qianyu turned his head and cursed, then fell silent.

Buddhist practitioners, Buddhist practitioners, Buddhist practitioners—why didn't you say you were Buddhist practitioners when you were killing the dragon?

Wei Zhi disappeared again, but when Qian Yu looked down, he suddenly found that he had a curse mark on his body.

When did that bastard place the curse mark? Has his cultivation level already reached this high?

Qianyu was terrified and broke out in a cold sweat. He carefully examined the seal, trying to force it off, but found that it seemed to be just a restriction that did not affect him at all. However, he could not break through it no matter what he did, so he put it aside for the time being.

This guy... spends all day doing these pointless things.

This Loyalty Formation, among the Thirty-Six Mountain Formations, is a dangerous and unorthodox approach.

Lin Du was breaking the formation, holding a white bone covered in curse marks in his hand. "You need to control yourself, understand?"

Xiong Zhaoren stood there tall and imposing, and said in a low voice, "I will try my best."

"This isn't a matter of 'as much as possible,' it's a necessity." Lin Du gripped the talisman brush in his hand, his eyes filled with despair. "Do you think I'm negotiating with you? If you slap me, I'm gone, and then we're all finished."

This was a risky move on her part, as the "Loyalty Formation" was inherently unsolvable.

There's only one situation: when what you're protecting is gone.

Just now, Xiong Zhao said that what he guarded after his death was the soul-gathering spell on the remains of this statue.

Lin Du simply broke the curse and array carved on the white bones, and that was it.

In the instant before the Loyalty Formation disappeared, send the ghost directly into the earth, and let Yama and the power of the formation deal with it.

Lin Du's idea is good, but it's a bit of a hassle for Yama.

Meng An felt that Lin Du was unreliable. "What if the Loyalty Formation disappears and my brothers are scattered?"

Lin Du pointed to himself, "Although you've been dead for many years and may not know much about me, please allow me to introduce myself."

"I am Lin Du, and I am a disciple of Yan Ye, the master of array formations. I broke all the arrays in this city. You may insult my master, but don't insult me."

Although Meng An didn't know when Yan Ye had appeared after hearing the first half of the story, he knew that Yan Ye was a leader in array formations, so he couldn't be too bad, especially since he was from the Supreme Sect.

"Wait... wait a minute, what did you say in your last sentence?"

Lin Du looked at him innocently, "Didn't you hear me?"

I've never heard of an old ghost being hard of hearing.

Meng An suddenly felt that she really had to blame her master for raising such a troublemaker.

Lin Du has already begun setting up the formation; she is pulling out the Yin Dou.

The array was used to gather all the Yin energy hidden below, continuously simulating a "Yin Soul" state of equal strength to Xiong Zhao.

After watching for a while, Meng An realized that Lin Du was clearly prepared with two plans: one to break the Soul Gathering Array and the other to deceive everyone.

This is indeed risky, but it's not a reckless gamble; it's perhaps the most comprehensive method available.

Despite her sharp tongue, she clearly planned everything out.

Meng An silently walked up to Xiong Zhao. Well, helping her hold Xiong Zhao down was helping herself.

Lin Du, carrying a talisman brush, scanned his four junior disciples. "You need to draw the incantation in their blood."

Yan Qing hesitated for a moment, then grabbed Yuan Ye's wrist and was about to make the cut. "Virgin blood?"

"Not necessarily." Lin Du's gaze fell on Xia Tianwu. "It's probably my second nephew's."

Her blood, infused with fire element, allowed her to better devour the curse marks on her bones.

Lin Du used blood with a clear conscience, and even in the summer when no blood was drawn, he was exceptionally efficient.

"You lot, don't just sit there. Quickly draw a few more talismans to ward off evil spirits, or we won't be able to send Senior Meng away."

The evil aura on this ghost is too strong. It needs to be dissipated before the ghost can be sent to the underworld. Otherwise, the caster will not be able to withstand the evil aura and will be backfired.

The four of them then took out their talisman brushes. They all knew how to draw talismans to ward off evil spirits, so drawing a few wouldn't be a problem.

While people from other sects in the Water Mirror were still scratching their heads in various formations, the Supreme Sect here was enjoying a peaceful and tranquil life.

The five people sat cross-legged, each holding a talisman brush. Lin Du sat in the middle, crushing some red saltpeter and white jade essence with his bare hands, mixing them into the blood, and using the talisman brush to apply the materials for breaking the formation. He then wrote strokes on the white bones.

The other four carefully drew the talismans, and once they were finished, they used their spiritual power to activate them and fling them onto Meng An. It was an assembly line operation, completed in one go.

Meng An held Xiong Zhao down to prevent him from losing control and hurting Lin Du, completely unaware that his back was covered with layers of talismans, like a bulletin board.

The talismans quickly burned up after being used up.

If you ignore the messy talismans on Meng An's back, the burly man struggling under his grasp, and the skeleton in Lin Du's hand, everything is perfectly peaceful, like a group of elementary school students chattering away in class.

However, this scene was still somewhat unsettling to everyone.

When Lin Du is serious, his face doesn't show much expression. To others, he exudes a gloomy and aloof aura that keeps people at a distance. This, coupled with the skeleton in front of him and the dilapidated temple in the background, further enhances his presence.

The only vibrant color was the crimson hue from the strokes of the brush.

No matter how you look at it, it carries an inexplicable and sinister aura.

Finally, with the last stroke completed, Lin Du activated his spiritual power, and flames ignited along the crimson array patterns on the white bones. In the next instant, Meng An was thrown away by his own brother and slammed heavily against the wall, turning into a gray humanoid shadow with a thud.

Completely out of control, Xiong Zhao charged menacingly at those who were trying to destroy the Soul Gathering Array.

The four people who were originally surrounding Lin Du all stopped writing and attacked at the same time. The golden blade energy rushed forward, the soft swords sizzled with the force of wildfire, and the exquisite anti-illusion whip, with the explosive energy of shattering the soul, was swung towards the burly figure.

Yuan Ye casually altered the contents of the talisman and threw the ghost-fixing talisman at Xiong Zhao.

Compared to him, the ghost, whose cultivation was far superior, could only hold his breath for three breaths.

But that was enough for Lin Du.

Lin Du continued to pour in spiritual energy, but inwardly he was filled with emotion.

What's this called? It's called creating a good output environment for mages, a four-protect-one tactic.

Three breaths later, the incantation on the white bones quickly dissipated and disappeared. At that moment, Lin Du suddenly stood up, and nine short blades were thrown out again, this time directly nailing them around Xiong Zhao.

"Get out of the way!"

The four people blocking Lin Du's way quickly scattered like birds and beasts. Lin Du leaped forward and pierced through Xiong Zhao's soul with a blade, which then plunged deep into the ground.

The array patterns connected and took shape, and in the blink of an eye, Xiong Zhao's soul disappeared into the ground.

The wisp of Yin energy that Lin Du had condensed to die in place of the ghost had already been shattered and dissipated by the Loyalty Formation.

Lin Du took a deep breath, pulled out the short dagger that had sunk into the ground, and turned to look at Meng An.

Meng Angang pulled himself off the wall, awkwardly touched his nose, and explained, "You guys kept throwing evil spirit talismans at me. Now that my evil spirit is gone, I can't stop him anymore."

"No need for explanation, we all understand." Yuan Ye looked at Meng An. "Senior, shall we begin our journey? Would you like me to play a tune for you?"

"No need." Meng An's brow twitched. He suddenly remembered that when he was still controlled by the evil energy, it seemed like someone was playing some kind of tune, which was terribly awful!

Lin Du suppressed a laugh and performed a Daoist bow, "Senior, please."

The short blade sank into the ground again, and before the array patterns appeared, Lin Du heard a soft voice in his ear, "Thank you."

The soul completely disappeared into the ground, and the array patterns vanished once more.

Lin Du sheathed his short blade and stood up, sensing that the teleportation barrier had been opened.

[Congratulations on successfully completing all tasks in the third stage. Score: 5,000. As of now, all sects have completed the second stage trial. The Supreme Sect has the fastest completion time for the second stage, plus 100 points. Total score: 6,212 points. Current ranking: 1st.]