Zhao Yan cut her finger with the knife, and as the blood flowed out, the water ghosts swam towards her desperately.
The dozen or so disciples of the Daoist sect were so frightened their hearts were about to leap out of their chests. They hadn't lost their formation yet, all because they saw Zhao Yan's calm and collected demeanor.
If Zhao Yan had shown even a hint of panic, they would have already fled in disarray.
They had encountered many water ghosts before, but they had never seen one that exuded such chilling death energy, with a ferocious appearance.
Not to mention, there were over thirty of them surrounding them, and the number of water ghosts underground was still increasing. It was estimated that in a while, their numbers would reach over fifty.
Zhao Yan used her bleeding hand to touch a black talisman nearby, beginning to alter the formation.
Altering a formation required a lot of yang energy, and for Zhao Yan, yang energy was precisely what she had in abundance.
As the yang energy flowed into the black talisman, it turned red.
The moment the black talisman turned red, all the surrounding black talismans also turned red. The original spirit-imprisoning formation, in the blink of an eye, transformed into a spirit-protecting formation.
The formation changed, creating a special barrier.
This barrier enveloped them.
When the water ghosts rushed forward, they were instantly blocked outside.
It was as if they were enclosed by a transparent glass. No matter how fiercely they clawed and struck, it had no effect whatsoever.
"Disperse your souls."
Zhao Yan took out a talisman and placed it in the center of the spirit-protecting formation.
Using this talisman as the formation's eye, and leveraging the power of the spirit-protecting formation.
As Zhao Yan chanted a few incantations, the talisman in the center instantly erupted with a strong golden light.
The golden light formed special ripples that spread outwards.
The charging water ghosts, affected by these golden ripples, had their yin energy instantly shattered.
The water ghosts, which had been flailing their arms and legs, suddenly stopped their movements. They all seemed to have been frozen in time, their faces frozen in ferocious expressions.
After a moment, the over fifty water ghosts began to descend towards the bottom of the water.
These water ghosts completely lacked the three souls and seven spirits, and it was unclear how they were able to move.
As these water ghosts completely dispersed their souls, the water at the bottom became much cleaner.
The dozen or so young disciples looked at each other blankly, their eyes filled with shock.
They couldn't understand what method Zhao Yan had used to eliminate so many water ghosts at once.
The reason she could eliminate these water ghosts was simply by changing the positions of the talismans in the spirit-protecting formation, using her own talisman as a guide to release the energy contained within the spirit-protecting formation. The immense power instantly dispersed the yin energy of these water ghosts.
Without yin energy, these water ghosts were like those without hands or feet.
Zhao Yan shone her powerful lamp towards the bottom of the water, revealing a stone gate.
Seeing this stone gate, she swam towards it.
Zhao Yan was not familiar with the strange characters on the stone gate.
Wang Xianzhi patted Zhao Yan's shoulder, pointed at the characters, and nodded at her.
Zhao Yan swam to the side.
Wang Xianzhi scanned the characters on the stone gate, then swam to the left. He waved his hand over the water, revealing a protruding stone, and then pressed it with force.
A vibration came from inside the stone gate. Because they were in the water, no sound could be heard.
However, the vibration was quite strong. After a while, the vibration finally subsided.
The stone gates on both sides began to open.
Unexpectedly, there was more within.
Zhao Yan thought for a moment and then swam towards the stone gate.
As she swam through the stone gate, the space inside was quite large.
Looking at the stone statues here, they formed row after row.
The more she looked, the more Zhao Yan understood that this was likely the underwater tomb.
Wang Xianzhi patted Zhao Yan's arm again, and she turned to look.
Wang Xianzhi extended his hand, grabbed her wrist, and began writing on her palm.
"True Master Zhang Ping," Zhao Yan thought to herself.
She understood what Wang Xianzhi meant, that the tomb's owner was named True Master Zhang Ping.
This underwater tomb was not large. After swimming for a while, they reached the end.
Apart from the strange stone statues, there was only a coffin in the center of the tomb.
As she swam behind the coffin, she found a water ghost chained tightly by iron chains.
This water ghost's eyes were tightly closed. When Zhao Yan approached, the water ghost suddenly opened its eyes and lunged at Zhao Yan with a ferocious expression.
Zhao Yan swam backward for a while. The water ghost was restrained by the iron chains, limiting its mobility and preventing it from attacking her.
This water ghost was very different from the water ghosts outside. This water ghost had strong yin energy, and the clothes it wore were made of talismans, forming a talismanic robe.
These talismans, submerged in water, showed no signs of decay. Instead, they gleamed with golden light, indicating they were not ordinary talismans.
To be able to wear such a talismanic robe, and for the water ghost before her to still be able to move, Zhao Yan's expression grew increasingly serious.
This water ghost was very powerful.
It was clearly trapped here by the tomb's owner.
Zhao Yan pushed open the stone coffin. Inside lay the skeletal remains of someone dressed in Daoist robes.
A wooden sword was inserted into the chest of the skeleton.
Many characters were inscribed on the stone coffin. Unlike the characters on the stone gate, she could recognize these.
"In 1897, the water ghosts in this river were vicious and harmed the common people."
"I, Zhang Ping, though untalented, am willing to kill ghosts and expel evil for the people, restoring peace and well-being."
"Alas, the water ghost had already become a king."
"Even so, I will sacrifice my life to suppress this ghost. When its yin essence diminishes, if a fated person arrives, I hope they will use the small sword beside me to pierce the water ghost's eyes."
"Once the water ghost is dealt with, the contents of my tomb, Zhang Ping's tomb, shall be obtained by the fated person."
"Zhang Ping expresses his gratitude."
Understanding the inscriptions on the stone coffin, Zhao Yan felt admiration. She hadn't expected the coffin's owner to sacrifice himself to imprison the water ghost here.
She looked around and saw an iron box inside the coffin.
She picked up the iron box and opened it. Inside lay a wooden sword.
Picking up the wooden sword, Zhao Yan approached the water ghost.
The water ghost bared its teeth and claws, aggressively trying to lunge forward.
Zhao Yan thrust the sword towards the water ghost's eyes.
The sword pierced the water ghost's eye.
The moment the sword struck, a black yin energy emanated from the water ghost's eye. Immediately, this yin energy followed the wooden sword and tightly coiled around Zhao Yan's wrist.
Seeing this, Zhao Yan was somewhat taken aback.
A bad feeling suddenly surged within her.
A wild laughter echoed in her mind.
"Hahaha, I've finally waited for you. I, Zhang Ping, have finally waited!"
"It's a pity you are a woman."
"Cooperate with me obediently. Once I succeed in taking over your body, whatever regrets you have, I will resolve them for you then."
Zhao Yan's expression darkened. She hadn't expected the inscription on the monument to be a lie.
This scoundrel had truly deceived her.
Zhang Ping's soul was hidden within the water ghost, intending to possess her body.