In broad daylight, the sunlight shining over the mountains and rivers is supposed to be the nemesis of all ghosts. Yet, the wisps of black smoke rising from underground instantly gathered and transformed into countless vengeful spirits, swirling through the sky, ferocious beyond compare. Among these spirits, there were squads of armored ghost soldiers, wielding green halberds, bringing with them a chilling, sinister wind. These ghosts were outrageously arrogant, clearly unafraid of the sunlight.

Among these ghostly soldiers, their armor came in all colors—some were obviously soldiers of the current dynasty, while others appeared ancient and simple, as if there were both young ghosts who had died seventy or eighty years ago and old ghosts who had perished centuries past. Each figure was illusory, as faint as smoke, with ghostly winds and sinister energy swirling around them. It was truly terrifying.

These ghostly soldiers had clearly died on the battlefield; not only did they all appear with cracked skulls and blood streaming, missing limbs and heads, but many had swords and knives stuck in them, or were bristling with arrows like porcupines. They looked savage and violent, full of resentment.

William Carter dared not be careless—these spirits could manifest in broad daylight, so they were by no means something he could easily handle. At a time like this, William Carter had no intention of sticking to his duty of subduing demons and monsters. He reached into his bag, pulled out a handful of talismans, scattered them at random, gripped his broken sword, and prepared to flee for his life.

The leading ghostly soldiers were struck by William Carter's talismans, their forms pausing and recoiling slightly, their shapes dispersing a little, but then immediately recondensing as if nothing had happened. Only some of the more scattered spirits were driven away by William Carter's talismans.

"These spirits aren't afraid of talismans?"

The power of these ghostly soldiers shocked William Carter, who quickly wiped his broken sword with his hand, the blade slicing open his finger. A trickle of pale red blood flowed along the bright sword ridge. A fiery red cinnabar talisman lit up on the blade.

Using his own blood, he activated the Taiching Demon-Repelling Talisman on the sword. With a sweep of the sword light, William Carter cleaved apart a ghostly soldier that had drawn near.

Ghosts are nothing like the living, who can be harmed by blades and swords. The weapons of these ghostly soldiers, like their bodies, were formed from insubstantial ghostly energy, and could not necessarily harm him. But William Carter also knew that if these ghosts managed to latch onto him, the invasion of their yin energy would likely drain his yang energy instantly, killing him on the spot.

William Carter's swordsmanship was not bad, and with a handful of talismans scattered in all directions, he was not immediately afraid of being entangled by these ghostly soldiers. However, the slovenly monk behind him worried him greatly. But at this moment, he had no time to glance back.

That monk might be a truly accomplished master, currently displaying divine power to slay demons and ghosts. Or perhaps he was a charlatan, full of nonsense, now being torn apart by fierce ghosts, not even bones left behind—William Carter didn't even have the leisure to look back and check.

The long sword in William Carter's hand was a ritual weapon refined by his sect. Though not a legendary blade, it was still sharp, and the Taiching Demon-Repelling Talisman imprinted on it was especially effective against spirits. Thus, in his panic, William Carter charged forward over a hundred paces without encountering any strong resistance.

Ding!

A crisp metallic clang rang out. William Carter's sword strike was actually blocked by a ghostly general. The opponent wielded a long saber, his armor bright and clear—clearly a high-ranking general in life. Though a long spear was stuck in his back, piercing from behind through his chest, it seemed to have no effect on the ghost, only adding to his ferocity. He appeared even more menacing.

This dead ghost general was highly skilled in martial arts; his saber moved as swiftly as lightning, and after a few moves, William Carter was forced to a standstill, unable to advance even half a step.

"What kind of monster is this, to be so wicked?"

It was the first time William Carter had seen spirits appear in broad daylight, under the bright sun, and this ghostly general blocking his way was clearly far more formidable than the ordinary ghost soldiers. The weapon in his hand could even condense almost as if it were solid. Under the flickering blue-black saber light, waves of yin energy surged, making things much harder for William Carter.

In terms of martial skill alone, this dead ghost general surpassed William Carter, the little Daoist. However, as a spirit, he was ultimately restrained by the ritual sword in William Carter's hand. Each time their blades clashed, the ghost general would shudder and slow down slightly, unable to display his full skill. Otherwise, William Carter would have already been hacked to pieces and turned into a pile of minced meat by this ghost general after just a few exchanges.

While William Carter was in peril, the slovenly monk behind him suddenly began shouting and yelling.

"You dead ghosts! I just roasted a delicious meal, and I'd only eaten half before you ruined it. Watch me slap you with my big ears!"

William Carter was fully focused on dealing with the ghost general before him and the ghostly soldiers constantly lunging from all sides, with no time at all to look back at the monk or see how he could slap ghosts with his ears. But from the commotion behind him, it was clear the monk hadn't been torn to pieces by these ghosts manifesting in daylight. In fact, he was scolding the ghosts with great enthusiasm.

After exchanging a few moves, William Carter dared not tangle any longer. These ghosts were endless; after all this fighting, William Carter hadn't noticed their numbers decrease at all. Gritting his teeth, he wielded his sword in one hand and pulled a fiery red talisman from his robe with the other.

Taking advantage of a sword strike that forced the ghost general back, he slapped the talisman with his left hand, and it transformed into a fire dragon that shot forward.