Chapter 110: Judgment, Feigning Mysticism, and the Ceremony of Honor Guards

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“Of course, I can’t just conjure an army out of beans. Exorcising evil spirits requires sufficiently powerful talismans and spirits. For a novice medium just opening a ritual altar, being able to use the altar to slay a ghost or deity one level above themselves is already quite impressive.”

Recalling what Sister Qiao had said, Chen Yushu sighed softly.

A powerful spirit! A talisman! These two were the shackles limiting his ability to open the altar.

Most cultivators with the skill of three incense sticks usually had to endure great hardship to find suitable spirits and talismans.

For example, the Green Pine Sword from Green Pine Temple was a powerful talisman.

But ordinary people rarely found such strong talismans.

Like Li Chao, according to his account, the talisman he used was actually quite simple—the soul-breaking ruler—and the spirit he chose was a fierce ghost with a hundred years of ghostly existence.

Using a fierce ghost to suppress evil!

That was considered a rudimentary method of exorcism.

Although later, after his cultivation, that fierce ghost naturally broke through to the realm of evil spirits.

But that backfired and led to the downfall of the Li family.

Everything in this world is truly unpredictable.

“If I were to find a fierce ghost, or even an evil spirit, to use as the suppressing ‘spirit,’ what then?”

Chen Yushu pondered carefully.

A fierce ghost was manageable—even if it were centuries old, as long as it hadn’t transformed into an evil spirit, he wasn’t afraid.

But evil spirits were another matter.

Because evil spirits varied in strength.

If too powerful, he wouldn’t be able to withstand them and might end up like the Li family.

As for talismans, he could use the soul-breaking ruler.

However, Sister Qiao had said talismans were best if they had a significant origin, not necessarily magical implements but objects once used by powerful beings.

Because they often contained the aura of those beings, and when opening the altar, one could use that aura to subdue and dominate evil spirits.

“In that case, maybe that red handkerchief I casually gave Xiaoyin last time could serve as a talisman?”

Chen Yushu mused silently.

No matter what, that red handkerchief belonged to the ghost bride, so it must carry her aura.

And the ghost bride was a true evil spirit; using it as a talisman could naturally borrow the evil spirit’s aura. Ordinary fierce ghosts would feel fear upon contact.

As his thoughts shifted, Chen Yushu happened to see Xiaoyin playing nearby and quickly waved at her.

Xiaoyin was indeed obedient and hopped over eagerly, reaching out, “Brother Yushu, what is it?”

“Is that handkerchief still with you?” Chen Yushu asked.

“Yes!” Xiaoyin nodded repeatedly, reaching into her pocket to pull out the red handkerchief and handed it over.

“Wait a moment, I’ll set up an altar; you’ll need to cooperate with me…”

Then Chen Yushu suddenly realized that opening an altar wasn’t necessary to face those powerful ghosts.

He could start by practicing on stray souls, minor spirits, or even malicious ghosts.

There were plenty of these in Jianghuan Town—not many, but definitely enough.

Even around him, if he looked up now and then, he could see several.

Of course, just in case, he instructed Xiaoyin, “If you feel anything wrong, go and wake Sister Qiao.”

Thinking of Sister Qiao resting in the room, he felt slightly at ease.

Then he went to the kitchen, took a basin, filled a bowl with rice, picked a willow branch from a nearby tree, gathered some yellow paper and incense sticks, and finally brought over a table.

The yellow paper was ordinary, gifted by Old Fu when he bought incense before—just the right time to use it.

He had wanted to make paper effigies and arrange ceremonial guards, preferably well-formed paper figures, but couldn’t find any in the middle of the night. He recalled that the coffin shop opposite Old Fu’s incense store sold paper figures, but it was late, so he saved the trouble.

As long as the essentials were present, it would suffice.

He placed the red handkerchief aside and told Xiaoyin to stand on his other side.

After some thought and preparing an emergency plan, he took a deep breath, lit three incense sticks, and burned the paper in the basin.

Then, placing his feet on various points, he radiated spiritual energy and quickly sketched out the structures of spells.

This was also a ‘technique.’

A ‘technique’ had spell structures.

Until the final structure was formed.

A hum!

He instantly merged with the surrounding heaven and earth.

At that moment, everything around seemed to fall under his perception and control.

Then he intoned softly, “Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits, I Chen Yushu open this altar today, summon the souls, come swiftly!”

As he spoke, he held the soul-breaking ruler in one hand and scattered rice from the bowl with the other.

His spiritual energy instantly spread outward as if being drawn by a force.

In a daze, it felt as if heaven and earth responded, carrying his voice in all directions.

Whoosh—

Endless cold winds stirred the void, and suddenly, outside his door, figures appeared.

These figures were dazed, swaying, some barely human in form, while others wore plain clothes, maintaining their shape but with faces pale as death.

“So many came with just one call?”

Chen Yushu was surprised.

His summons seemed to have drawn all stray souls within a certain range.

Without hesitation, he selected one whose soul appeared faint and ghostly, seemingly only a teenager, pointed at it, and ordered, “Step forward for judgment.”

At once, the figure turned into a ghostly light, rushing into his yard and kneeling like a grain of rice on the ground.

“Do you know your sins?”

Chen Yushu demanded.

“Little one…” The faint figure seemed frightened; just as its voice emerged, the entire body flickered and vanished.

It had been scared into dispersing by Chen Yushu’s command.

“This…”

Chen Yushu was taken aback.

So easily frightened?

People often say humans fear ghosts thirty percent, but ghosts fear humans seventy percent—there was truth in that.

Especially since this soul was very ephemeral, a stray ghost with unstable consciousness, likely to dissipate naturally soon.

Called forth again and confronted with a king-of-the-underworld-like interrogation, it was scared away prematurely.

Altar opening +1.

Chen Yushu noticed his status panel showed the altar opening skill marked as initiated.

“Entering the beginner stage of altar opening means my method is fundamentally correct.

Though stray ghosts are weak, successfully performing the technique means the method has taken root.”

He muttered to himself, feeling somewhat reassured.

Then he raised his eyes to the pale-faced figures.

This time, he chose one whose soul was relatively intact—an old man.

“Do you know your sins?”

Again, the voice echoed.

“Old man knows his sins.

I shouldn’t have spied on my daughter-in-law bathing every day, nor clung to my son out of loneliness, wanting him to visit sooner…”

The ghost trembled with fear, its voice broken and faint.

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“If you know your sins, then receive punishment.

Xiaoyin, go, give him a whip.”

Chen Yushu’s face twitched slightly, not expecting the first full judgment to fall on a lecherous old man still obsessed with the living.

Hearing this, Xiaoyin eagerly stepped forward, grabbed the willow branch, and struck him.

“Ah…”

A pitiful scream.

The ghost’s form immediately became countless times more translucent.

Following Chen Yushu’s command to retreat, it had barely left the yard before the wind scattered it away.

“This one can’t take a beating.

But my altar opening experience just jumped by six points.

That was fast.”

Chen Yushu grew excited.

The third spirit appeared quickly.

One by one he judged and dealt with them.

He had the feeling of being the current king of the underworld.

But soon, he noticed something was wrong.

Gradually, many of the gathered stray souls dispersed, but many malicious ghosts carrying killing intent appeared.

From a distance, he even saw some fierce ghosts radiating red aura, including Xiaohong standing silently in the yard.

“This isn’t right.

I can’t keep the altar open.

Who knows what might be drawn next?”

Chen Yushu’s expression changed.

Before his spiritual energy drained further, he hurriedly said, “Close the altar today, disperse!”

As he spoke, he performed ritual gestures, and his spiritual energy spread with his voice, clearly reaching the ears of the ghosts.

Slowly, some of the ghosts retreated upon hearing him.

But a few remained, lingering nearby, seeming to want to approach but also fearful, hesitant.

Chen Yushu frowned slightly.

Not because these lingering ones were heavy with killing intent—these ghosts no longer threatened him.

But it meant his altar opening was not yet successful.

He couldn’t intimidate these spirits.

The first rule of altar opening was that one’s words must be law.

If he ordered them to disperse, they must obey; otherwise, it was disrespect, a failure in altar opening.

Failure.

That meant these malicious ghosts saw through his act.

They thought he was just playing tricks.

They might attack his altar or overturn it, even take his life.

Such cases weren’t unheard of.

As Li Chao had noted in his ghost records, one must be cautious when opening an altar.

If caught faking, the ghosts would retaliate and surround you.

Sure enough.

These malicious ghosts soon grew restless.

With one rushing forward, five or six others turned into streaks of light, charging toward his yard, their expressions growing fierce.

Fortunately, Xiaohong did not move.

Whether she recognized the place as where her playmate Xiaoyin lived or for other reasons, she stayed on the wall without stirring.

Her fiery red clothes also deterred the malicious ghosts from approaching or provoking her.

“Bold!

Are you trying to make trouble?”

Chen Yushu shouted, striking the table with the soul-breaking ruler.

“Faking the divine, kill!”

“Overturn his altar, seize his flesh!”

“Kill the god, ascend to heaven…”

After opening the altar, Chen Yushu hid behind the fire altar, invisible to these ghosts.

Only the slightly stronger malicious ghosts vaguely sensed a towering ‘god’ behind the flames.

Indeed.

To these ghosts, behind the altar stood a god.

Like building a hut in the wild; once built and established by convention, no one enters without permission.

If they did, the master could attack them, and other spirits wouldn’t help.

At least strangers wouldn’t aid those who trespassed, for they broke the rules.

Now was the same.

Once the altar was set, he became a god in the ghosts’ eyes.

A god, regardless of which deity or strength, carried incense karma and divine power.

Such incense karma and divine power were supreme nourishment for ghosts, allowing them to evolve, grow strong, or even ascend to evil, calamity, or disaster.

Though in reality, Chen Yushu was no god—barely a novice and not even a false god.

But ghosts didn’t believe that.

They perceived his power behind the altar wasn’t as strong as imagined.

They instinctively thought he was a weak god faking it.

A weak god was still a god; they could unite to kill him, devour his incense karma and divine essence, and become stronger.

Hence their frenzy.

As they approached, Chen Yushu felt fierce yin energy assaulting him like blades cutting his face, painfully sharp.

“Hmph! Seeking death!”

Chen Yushu was undeterred.

Seven or eight fierce ghosts and a dozen or so dragged-in souls weren’t much of a threat.

Even without opening the altar, he was confident facing them.

“Assaulting the altar, disrespecting divine might, death by a thousand cuts!”

He shouted, hurling the red handkerchief forward.

Boom!

Like cold water hitting hot oil.

Boundless yin energy surged.

Terrifying yin and killing aura quickly gathered.

At this moment, Xiaoyin felt a special power infuse her, her strength rising rapidly.

“Ah… kill!”

She leapt out, swinging the willow branch fiercely at the nearest malicious ghost.

“Ah…”

A shriek, and the ghost’s soul instantly dissipated by seventy percent.

The second strike—

Its soul scattered entirely.

“Kill!”

Xiaoyin was thrilled.

Holding the whip, she struck continuously with precision, each two strikes sending a malicious ghost away.

Those dragged-in stray souls dissipated before even being whipped.

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She delighted in the kill.

For the first time, she realized killing ghosts could be so exhilarating.

Though she herself was a ghost, it brought immense satisfaction.

“Spare me! Immortal, spare me!”

“We admit our faults!

Please forgive our disrespect…”

The aura of the ghost bride’s evil spirit frightened the malicious ghosts senseless.

Even Xiaohong, standing afar, straightened instantly and backed away three or four paces.

An evil spirit.

Above fierce ghosts.

Even if the handkerchief only contained a trace of the ghost bride’s aura, and her true form hadn’t appeared, it was a powerful deterrent to lesser spirits.

Thus, those previously frenzied malicious ghosts were scared off.

With Xiaoyin’s relentless whipping, they couldn’t stand it and knelt, begging for mercy.

Chen Yushu grew angry but ignored them.

Though he sensed his spiritual energy rapidly draining—more than when judging the stray souls moments before—he saw his altar opening skill experience soar rapidly and felt a thrill.

Altar opening +15

Altar opening +17

Altar opening +14

…

Mastery of altar opening!

In an instant, his mind overflowed with knowledge and experience about altar opening.

He realized why those malicious ghosts dared to call him out as a faker.

His ceremonial guards were insufficient.

Without proper guards, it was like lacking face or authority.

The ghosts saw his rudimentary altar and knew his cultivation was shallow.

Also, no guards meant he faced these ghosts directly.

Though the fire altar and incense smoke obscured their vision, stronger ghosts could still see him faintly behind the flames—a youthful face, a human, not a god.

Moreover, his cultivation was low.

At the stage of two incense sticks, his commands lacked gravitas.

The table’s placement was also improper—not at the ‘positive yang spot,’ the place with the strongest yang energy.

In that spot, opening an altar would amplify the power of the spell.

That was why they dared to attack, attempting to retaliate.

Understanding this, Chen Yushu lifted the table and moved aside to occupy the proper yang position.

Immediately, Xiaoyin felt her power grow again.

With each strike, she quickly cleared the ghosts.

Altar opening +5

Altar opening +7

Altar opening +8

…

Soon, all malicious ghosts and stray souls were cleared.

“Good! Close the altar!”

By then, Chen Yushu’s spiritual energy was nearly exhausted.

Without hesitation, he covered the fire basin and scattered rice around.

He felt the surrounding yin energy dissipate.

From afar, the ghosts retreated completely.

Only Xiaohong remained, curiously watching.

Especially witnessing Xiaoyin’s fierce battle, it puzzled her greatly.

When did her little playmate become so brave?

Whoosh!

“Finally over!

Though thrilling, it was exhausting.”

Chen Yushu exhaled deeply and relaxed.

He hadn’t expected his impulsive attempt at opening the altar to actually succeed.

More importantly, it attracted so many ghosts.

Because it was his first altar, the ghosts saw through it, almost causing trouble.

Fortunately, it ended safely.

At this moment, Xiaoyin suddenly felt her power swiftly drained.

The willow branch in her hand burned painfully, and she quickly threw it aside.

The willow branch itself restrained ghosts and was one of the few things that ordinary people could use to harm ghosts directly.

Before, empowered by her surging strength, she had feared the branch’s restraining effect little and whipped ghosts freely.

But after the power faded, the branch could hurt her, like holding a burning flame.

Naturally, she discarded it as far as possible.

“Your first altar opening, and you dare to go so big?”

At that moment, a voice came from behind.

Startled, Chen Yushu turned to see Liu Qiaoer standing at the doorway, her face full of helplessness.

“Usually, altar opening targets a specific person, someone known by name, or at least their token.

Only if they consent can you judge and duel them with the altar.

But you just shouted ‘open altar’ and summoned all kinds of souls.

Aren’t you afraid of calling something big?”

Liu Qiaoer had woken up when Chen Yushu opened the altar, as it made a big commotion.

She hadn’t expected him to summon such a crowd.

Fortunately, most were stray souls, few malicious ghosts, and only Xiaohong was a fierce ghost.

Because she was a ‘familiar ghost,’ even if seen through, she never approached.

If a real evil spirit had been summoned, things would have been dangerous.

Though Jianghuan Town was relatively peaceful, evil forces still lurked.

Of course.

Such small altars were generally ignored by fierce ghosts unless near evil spirits.

Then they wouldn’t bother to join the fray.

“First time, no experience,” Chen Yushu blinked, embarrassed.

He realized his mistakes but had to continue since the altar was already open.

Fortunately, none were ‘big’ ghosts; he could handle them.

“Good thing this was in town.

If in the wild, it’d be different.

If they’re in a good mood, they might just think you’re fooling around.

But if they’re in a bad mood, they’ll smash your altar.”

Liu Qiaoer warned.

“Understood!”

Chen Yushu nodded.

After mastering altar opening, he naturally noticed many flaws and errors.

He believed next time, he’d perform better.

Nodding, Liu Qiaoer said no more.

She knew Chen Yushu’s growth to this point meant he had unique qualities.

His handling today was excellent.

Though mistaken at first, he acted methodically later, swiftly clearing all malicious ghosts.

Elsewhere, Xiaoyin, seeing Xiaohong, hopped over excitedly.

If Chen Yushu had been a medium, he’d have heard Xiaoyin boasting to Xiaohong about her battlefield prowess.

Her expression was one of pride beyond words.