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墨書 Inktalez
A group of six arrived at the entrance of the cave. After confirmation from Master Pan, it was clear that the stone sealing the entrance remained intact, showing no signs of damage. This meant that the Senior Master’s Soul was still inside, not having returned to the sealing formation on the flat ground. It made sense, as there were no Yin spirits left in that formation to provide it with Yin Qi. Remaining there had lost all significance.
Every cooperative team needed a leader, and this time it was my Master. It wasn't because my Master was the strongest, but because this matter was first connected to me, and now that Senior Master's lost soul was targeting us, Qiaoling. Therefore, my Master, as an elder of Qiaoling, had an undeniable responsibility in handling this situation.
That night, the moonlight was bright enough that even without artificial light sources, one could vaguely see the surrounding environment. The wind on the mountain was strong, making it impossible to light red candles. However, everyone except me took out a kerosene lamp with a glass cover; these lamps were designed for windy conditions, and almost every Master had one. I didn’t carry one because I found it inconvenient and rarely needed it; ordinary matters didn’t require a kerosene lamp.
The five Masters arranged themselves in a pentagram formation around the cave entrance, each setting up their respective items in their designated positions. Once everything was in place, they gathered together again.
My Master glanced at the time and said, “We will officially begin the soul summoning at ten o'clock, aiming to finish before midnight. Now let’s discuss the specific details.” Everyone nodded in agreement and remained silent as I listened attentively. From the expressions of the Senior Masters, it was evident that they had never experienced such a situation before; they were clearly nervous. A soul requiring so many people to confront deserved everyone’s attention.
My Master continued, “Each person’s Soul-Trapping Formation will be layered at the entrance of the cave. Liu X will be responsible for shaking the banner to summon the soul in the center. As soon as we initiate it, we must retreat immediately. The five of us will work together to try to trap it; I believe our Pentagram Soul Summoning Array can hold it for about a minute. We’ll spend the first ten minutes exhausting its energy while chanting to dispel its resentment—no communication should take place during this time. In the last five minutes, we can attempt to communicate; if we can dispel its resentment and send it away, that would be ideal. If it refuses to leave or cannot be sent away due to its resentment, we will disperse it directly.”
Everyone nodded collectively, understanding that if we couldn’t send it away, we absolutely couldn’t allow it to remain in this world. Not to mention its resentment and Obsession would inevitably become a disaster for this area over time.
With a loud clap, an oracle stick was thrown onto the ground.
“Old Xu, this place feels a bit unsettled,” said Liao Master, another Taoist Master. Liao Master had an innate advantage that others did not; he primarily conducted outdoor rituals for souls in the past and was particularly sensitive to spirits in wild settings. Unlike us and Master Pan who relied on compasses or special sight to detect nearby spirits, Liao Master only needed to look around and feel his surroundings before calculating with his fingers and casting an oracle to determine if there were any spirits nearby—and he could even sense their approximate numbers.
Everyone believed Liao Master's words without doubt. Logically speaking, this direction should lead towards where the sun rises in the morning—facing east—which is associated with Yang energy and should not attract Yin energy. Even if a Wandering Soul were to pass through here, it shouldn’t enter from this position. For this reason, no one considered this factor; that night I felt a breeze different from that of Senior Masters—it must have been caused by their presence stirring up this area’s Yin Qi.
After Liao Master spoke, everyone nodded at each other and began opening their eyes. It was best to know both ourselves and our enemy; each person’s perspective varied greatly in distance and angle.
I was no exception; after applying Cow Tears and reciting the Open Eye Spell, I opened my eyes. At first, I hadn’t felt anything unusual until I opened my eyes and saw my surroundings—I was startled to find no fewer than five Wandering Souls drifting nearby. They maintained a certain distance from us, appearing only as vague shadows rather than clear figures.
"Count off. Six," the Master said first.
"Five."
"Five."
"Four."
"Haha, I see eight," the last to speak was Master Pan, who, aware of the dim lighting here, put on his glasses after opening his eyes.
I looked around at the wandering souls and confirmed that there were at least seven, with some hiding behind trees. So the final count would be at least eight. However, these were ordinary Wandering Souls and did not seem to have much inclination to attack.
"Senior Masters, these are all just ordinary passing Wandering Souls. They shouldn't affect our ritual for the Senior Master, right?" I asked.
"Not necessarily. If we are interrupted by Wandering Souls during the ritual, that Senior Master might use their Yin Qi to perform some other actions. To put it bluntly, this Senior Master could control these Wandering Souls with Daoist Techniques that we cannot touch, posing a threat to us. At that point, we would be in a precarious situation and unable to handle any disturbances," Master Pan replied.
Another short and thin master chimed in, "In that case, let's clear out the surrounding Wandering Souls first." This master was surnamed Zhang and was the leader of a Ritual Taoist team from a neighboring town. When he wasn't dealing with Ghostly Affairs, he led his Ritual Team to conduct funerals for others. He kept a low profile; if it weren't for this incident, I wouldn't have known he was more than just an ordinary Taoist priest.
As soon as Master Zhang finished speaking, some people shook their heads while others nodded. Finally, the Master said, "We might not have enough time; we still need to set up the formation. Here’s what we'll do: when Liu X brings out the souls, you will immediately drive away the surrounding Wandering Souls and prevent them from getting close."
"Just me?" I asked nervously. This seemed a bit difficult—blocking more than eight Wandering Souls alone? Was this a joke? Moreover, those Wandering Souls were scattered around; the range of this formation was large. If they came to disturb different people at the same time and I couldn't split myself, how could I block them?
The Master said, "While you are shaking the large Soul Banner in the center, each of us will hold a small Soul Banner to assist you in summoning the souls. Once summoned, you will lower your Soul Banner, and we will also drop ours and chant spells to contain them. Since some Wandering Souls have appeared around us now, my Soul Banner won't be lowered during this time. This way, we can draw all nearby Wandering Souls to my position; you just need to hold your ground."
"Well, that's fine," I nodded.
The Master continued, "Now let's prepare the formation. From now on, all the incantations should be in our respective sect's style; it will yield better results. Liu X, you go start a fire; we need to light some incense."
Everyone ceased their discussions and returned to their positions to set up the formation. I found a spot sheltered from the wind behind a large rock and started a fire using dried branches and yellow grass. One by one, everyone came over with a handful of incense sticks, lit them, and then returned to their respective positions, forming a circle of incense around themselves.
Each person stood within the circle formed by the incense, with a one-meter-high Soul Banner erected in front of them. They continuously drew hand symbols above it. After a moment, the Master signaled for me to carry the large Soul Banner to the entrance of the cave and remove the stone seal blocking it.
I carried the large Soul Banner to the entrance, set it aside for a moment, and then carefully moved the stones that sealed the dark entrance according to the previous order. Once cleared, I raised the Soul Banner high and paused for seven seconds before starting to rotate it counterclockwise.
The incantation flowed from my mouth in rhythm with the movement of the Soul Banner, recited steadily and calmly. The five Masters around me mirrored my actions, grasping the top of their own Soul Banners and slowly beginning to sway them. Suddenly, the air was filled with chanting voices; various Soul Summoning Spells resonated simultaneously, creating an intoxicating atmosphere.
To me, the sound of these incantations was the most beautiful melody in the world.
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