William Carter was involuntarily compelled by John Foster's shout to follow the essentials of the Soul Commanding and Ghost Subduing Technique. He did his utmost to steady his spirit, using John Foster's True Power of Purple Flame to subdue the ancient tyrant spirit within his body.

At this moment, William Carter's entire body was lifted by an incredibly strange force, floating in midair. His upper body was shrouded in the Great Sun's purple flames, with John Foster pressing his head down as if to force him back to the ground. However, from William Carter's feet up to his lower body, he was enveloped in dense black mist. Countless vengeful spirits formed black chains that tightly bound William Carter, with hundreds of spirits continuously pouring into his body.

Moreover, within the black mist around William Carter's lower body, flashes of ghastly green lightning occasionally flickered, exuding a terrifying aura. This force stubbornly held John Foster in midair, leaving both sides locked in a stalemate.

"Subdue demons and evil, Vajra Staff, break!"

The bamboo staff in William Carter's hand, at John Foster's furious shout, suddenly burst forth with an even more powerful and dazzling golden light than before. With the combined power of John Foster and the Vajra Staff, the might of the Soul Commanding and Ghost Subduing Technique increased tenfold. The hundreds of vengeful spirits rampaging within his body were suddenly crushed by this triple force, compressed into a ball and forced into William Carter's dantian. The influx of spirits was abruptly cut off, dispersing into countless wisps of black mist swirling around him.

Losing support, William Carter fell from the air with a loud smack! He crashed to the ground, dazed and dizzy.

"Vajra protects the body, Great Sun subdues demons. Om mani padme hum!"

Just as William Carter had suppressed the vengeful spirits within him under John Foster's control, he heard a fierce shout from above. A blaze as bright as the midday sun suddenly erupted, illuminating everything. The spirits gathering nearby were all scorched, screaming in agony, and instantly turned to ashes.

Lightly descending from midair, John Foster had dispersed the surrounding spirits, but his expression was far from pleasant. With his cultivation, dealing with these ghostly soldiers and generals was still not easy; he even needed to use William Carter's pure body to seal the strongest spirit of Xiang Yu. He secretly wondered if he had underestimated Baigu Daoist, one of the ten great demons of the world.

After being driven away by John Foster, the spirits did not burrow back underground as they did during the day. Though they no longer harassed William Carter and John Foster, they began to slaughter each other.

The ghostly soldiers and generals split into several factions, madly fighting one another. Whenever a spirit was dispersed into black mist, it would be absorbed by the victorious ghostly soldier or general, making them even more ferocious. Despite the repeated carnage, William Carter watched for a long time without seeing any reduction in their numbers; instead, the most vicious ghost generals only grew stronger. The sight left William Carter terrified and speechless.

Sensing William Carter's unease, John Foster said in a deep voice, "This Doumu Mysterious Spirit Incantation is extremely strange. The spirits bound here are driven by this evil magic to gradually devour the weaker ones. In the end, only one will remain—the Dutian Ghost General."

"However, a Dutian Ghost General refined in this way is not under the control of the one who performed the ritual. So, before cultivating, one must first create a battle soul under their own control, and then use this battle soul to absorb the other spirits. Only then can the final Dutian Ghost General be controlled at will."

At this point, John Foster paused, then chuckled, "That Baigu Daoist has already formed a battle soul, but he has subdued far too many fierce spirits, so the battle soul is still weak and rarely appears, usually absorbing spirits and vengeful ghosts underground."

Suppressing his fear, William Carter said to John Foster, "Only the battle soul refined by his magic can be controlled by him. So if we destroy the not-yet-formed Dutian Ghost General, does that mean we've won?"

John Foster laughed heartily and said, "Indeed, you are teachable. That's right—if we destroy the battle soul before it fully transforms into the Dutian Ghost General, the backlash of the Doumu Mysterious Spirit Incantation will cause Baigu Daoist to be devoured alive by ten thousand ghosts."

Before William Carter could ask more, John Foster said, "You have absorbed the spirit of Xiang Yu. Now, quickly focus your efforts. While my suppression of the spirits still holds, make this spirit your own. Not only will you avoid future backlash, but your power will increase tenfold."

Hearing this, William Carter was startled and hurriedly sat cross-legged, silently reciting the incantation of the Soul Commanding and Ghost Subduing Technique, striving to subdue the hundreds of vengeful spirits within.

What William Carter did not know was that what John Foster had just told him—about using his body to seal the Dutian Ghost General and then finding a way to expel it—was all nonsense. Teaching him the Soul Commanding and Ghost Subduing Technique was anything but well-intentioned.

In just a short while, William Carter found that half of the hundreds of spirits within him had already vanished. A powerful, bone-chilling cold energy roamed his body, devouring any other spirits it encountered. With each spirit it consumed, this cold energy grew stronger. William Carter immediately thought of the awe-inspiring, domineering Xiang Yu from earlier. Clearly, this was not so easy to subdue—completely different from the other spirits.