Mo Chuan was pulled into the air by the statue, along with the chains. In a moment of inspiration, he used all his strength to swing the chains, planting his feet on the statue's shoulders.
Despite having no head, the statue seemed to see Mo Chuan. It swung its three-pointed, double-edged blade towards Mo Chuan on its shoulder.
"This is bad—" Wang Hu's pupils constricted. While pulling hard on the statue's arm, he shouted, "Daoist priest! Hurry!"
But the statue's strength was too great. Wang Hu watched helplessly as the three-pointed, double-edged blade lunged towards Mo Chuan, shouting, "Mo Chuan! Dodge!"
*Clang—*
A sound of metal clashing against metal echoed. Mo Chuan was struck by the statue's weapon, but no blood flowed out. Instead, he was thrown from the statue's shoulder by the immense force.
"What the hell…" Wang Hu's eyes widened like ox bells, unable to believe what he was seeing.
*Thud.*
Mo Chuan fell to the ground, thinking, *Damn, am I already invulnerable to blades and spears?* Then he reacted, immediately retracting his grappling hook and lantern, preparing to continue dealing with the statue.
"All laws of heaven and earth, Yin Yang Qi, Yi Mu, Gui Shui, Bing Huo, Yin Jia Thunder Prison!"
As Nan Shanzi finished speaking, purple light flashed in many positions around the statue, followed by chains of purple lightning that ensnared it. No matter how hard the statue struggled, it could not break free.
"Daoist priest… why don't you subdue it?" Wang Hu wiped the dirt from his face and asked.
"It cannot be killed," Nan Shanzi's eyes flickered as he surveyed their surroundings. "This is the Ghost Realm, and that is its domain spirit. As long as the Ghost Realm does not collapse, the statue will not die."
"Ghost Realm… when did we enter?" Mo Chuan asked.
"I fear we entered as soon as we stepped into the courtyard. The only way to get out now is to find the formation's core and destroy it!"
"Formation core?" Mo Chuan and Wang Hu looked at Nan Shanzi simultaneously.
"In my estimation, the formation core of this place should be different from the Erlang Temple in reality. Please think carefully, where is something that is not in accordance with common sense? That would be the formation core."
After speaking, the three began to look around the entire Erlang Temple. However, Wang Hu was the most impatient. He glared at their surroundings for a long time before finally saying helplessly, "I'm just a rough fellow; I can't be this meticulous. You two, Daoist priest and Brother Mo, find it. I'll watch the statue to prevent it from rioting." He then walked to the statue's side, watching its struggles with boredom.
Seeing the statue, Mo Chuan suddenly had an idea and asked Wang Hu, "Brother Hu, did you come to the Erlang Temple a few days ago?"
"Yes, I came here to pay my respects and even offered a hundred yuan for incense. In our line of work, we must seek blessings from gods and ghosts."
"Did anyone clean the temple back then?"
"Yes, an old man. Why are you asking?"
"I know where the formation core is!" Mo Chuan swung his chain and then smashed his hook onto the offering table. The already old wooden table instantly turned into broken wood, revealing the pedestal of the shrine behind it.
"This…" Nan Shanzi's eyes flashed, and he immediately understood what was happening. He placed a talisman on the fragments of the offering table and chanted incantations. Then, the talisman ignited, burning the offering table to ashes in an instant.
As if a mirror had shattered, the surrounding scene collapsed violently. The headless statue disappeared, the dilapidated temple turned into ruins, and the desolate courtyard cracked open in all directions.
When everything stopped, the three returned to their original world, standing in the main hall. This time, the main temple was not as dilapidated as before, only a bit old. However, the fresh offerings on the table, the newly painted statue, and the faint scent of incense and candles in the air all indicated they had returned to reality.
"No way! Miraculous! Mo Chuan, how did you discover the offering table was the formation core?" Wang Hu looked around in disbelief, then quickly asked curiously.
"Because Brother Hu, you said you visited the Erlang Temple a few days ago, and there was someone looking after the temple. Therefore, no matter how dilapidated the temple was, the offering table should have been clean, and at least not empty," Mo Chuan explained. "So, the most abnormal thing in the entire temple was naturally the offering table."
"Oh… I see…" Before Wang Hu could finish speaking, he suddenly heard a tragic scream. A long-tongued ghost in blue clothes emerged from the incense burner on the offering table. Its spiritual body flickered, clearly having suffered significant trauma.
"You… deserve to die…" The long-tongued ghost glared with bloodshot eyes, instantly flashed behind Wang Hu, and slapped him against the wall. Then it moved behind Nan Shanzi and clawed down.
Nan Shanzi immediately blocked with his sword. The ghost's claw and the peach wood sword produced a clang, followed by sparks. Then both sides retreated several steps. Nan Shanzi hid his trembling right hand behind him, while the blue-clothed ghost licked its broken fingernails with its tongue.
Seeing that neither side had gained an advantage, Mo Chuan seized the moment of confrontation to rush to Wang Hu's side to check on him.
Wang Hu spat out a mouthful of blood and said, "I'm fine, go help the Daoist priest!"
Mo Chuan did not move, continuing to survey their surroundings.
In just a few minutes, Nan Shanzi and the long-tongued ghost had fought several times, but the ghost always managed to evade Nan Shanzi's fatal blows and appear behind him. After being struck twice, Nan Shanzi also noticed this and immediately went on the defensive, trying to find the problem.
"As expected… there's still something strange about this place…" Mo Chuan observed their surroundings, finally looking towards the statue. He noticed that the statue's eyes were smeared with blood.
"No wonder this ghost can act so freely in the temple… the statue's eyes can't even open…" Mo Chuan immediately reminded Nan Shanzi, "Daoist priest! The statue's eyes are smeared with blood!"
Nan Shanzi and the long-tongued ghost both froze. Nan Shanzi glanced sideways and immediately spotted the problem, flying towards the statue.
The long-tongued ghost let out an enraged roar. It glared at Mo Chuan first, then also charged towards the statue.
Although the injured long-tongued ghost was not fast, it was faster than the more heavily injured Nan Shanzi. Within a few breaths, it reached Nan Shanzi's side, attempting to block him.
Just as the long-tongued ghost was about to lash out, Mo Chuan saw his chance and quickly threw out his hook. A Death Sentence pierced directly through the ghost's abdomen, hooking it.
"Ahhh!!—" The long-tongued ghost screamed in agony. It turned around, saw Mo Chuan, and shouted, "Kid! You've ruined my plans multiple times! If you want to die so badly, I'll drag you to hell even if I die today!"
Then the long-tongued ghost turned, enduring the intense pain, and lunged fiercely at Mo Chuan.
"This…" Seeing the situation, Nan Shanzi instinctively wanted to protect Mo Chuan, but he knew he couldn't reach the ghost in time. Nan Shanzi gritted his teeth, hoping Mo Chuan had a trump card, then sprinted towards the statue with all his might.
"Die for me!" The long-tongued ghost extended its left claw towards Mo Chuan.
"Misfortune Pendulum." Mo Chuan sneered, and the lantern, like a meteor hammer, smashed into the airborne long-tongued ghost. This blow made the ghost's spiritual body tremble. It was forcibly repelled, and its hook was pulled out.
"You… you are dead!" The long-tongued ghost, disregarding its spiritual guts spilling out, still extended its claw to attack Mo Chuan.
*Clang!*
The Soul Guiding Lantern flew up from Mo Chuan's hand, and a pure white shield appeared between the long-tongued ghost and Mo Chuan, blocking the ghost's sudden attack.
"I…" The long-tongued ghost was clearly infuriated by Mo Chuan. A faint flush of red appeared on its pale face. It roared, about to attack again, when it suddenly felt its strength draining, its spiritual body becoming more transparent.
The long-tongued ghost looked back in terror. Nan Shanzi had already used a spell to wipe the blood from the statue's eyes. The statue's gaze instantly left the ghost with nowhere to hide.
"You… you can't kill me… I am a capable subordinate of Master Wuchang. You will be retaliated against by him!" The long-tongued ghost, seeing its predicament, began to shout menacingly again.
"You are already dead. Relax, let it be." Mo Chuan's eyes flashed with a green light, and the Soul Guiding Lantern floated towards the long-tongued ghost.
"No! You can't kill me! It can't end! We're not done!" The long-tongued ghost shrieked, rummaging in its embrace, clearly intending to escape with a magical artifact.
The sound of chains dragging echoed, and a dark green chain shot out. The hook at the end of the chain snagged the long-tongued ghost, which let out another scream and fell to the ground as its retreating body tumbled.
Another sound of chains dragging followed. The Soul Guiding Lantern appeared above the long-tongued ghost. With a flash of light, the ghost screamed and struggled, its body slowly turning into blue-green light and being absorbed into the lantern.
Before the long-tongued ghost's consciousness faded, the last words it heard were: "If I say it's over, then it's over."