Of course Red Lantern Matron was an an shen (local deity), that was beyond dispute. Throughout Mingzhou, everyone knew it.

But at this moment, when she flew into the air and her red light spilled across the entire battlefield, people immediately sensed something different.

The blood-like red light seemed endless, directly suppressing the billowing yin qi (ghostly energy) and evil aura spewing from the altar inside Mingzhou City. Hundreds of lively, playful lantern flames danced around the red lantern ceaselessly, making the golden tracery on the red lantern even more conspicuous.

As early as when Red Lantern Matron was forced to take in the lonely, bitter wronged spirits from the hundred cauldrons, this golden tracery had already appeared. However, she herself didn't know what it was for and couldn't be bothered to think about it.

For several days in a row, she hadn't had time to rest. She could only continuously chant spells, the Divine Light Eradicating Evil Spell, to prevent these troublesome little fellows from having such heavy resentment, hoping they'd settle down.

With the Right Protector gone, the entire Red Lantern Matron Society now only had a group of shopkeepers and custodians thinking about doing great things with the Grain Protection Army, plus the irritable Left Protector. So, of course, no one noticed the changes in Red Lantern Matron, much less could offer guidance.

They didn't know that this was merit.

And then, there was the nursery rhyme that kept ringing out in the night wind.

Red Lantern Matron's magic power was always inexplicably surging, but she didn't know why. These wronged spirits, who liked to follow her and play, also didn't know what it was. They just heard it and recited it playfully.

So, when the subtle change occurred, even Red Lantern Matron didn't realize that her incense domain had reached such distant and vast places.

In Stone Horse Town, a Lantern Blessing Assembly had affected countless people. Word of mouth spread, and she didn't know how far the custom of hanging red lanterns had spread. Day and night it fermented, and the endless incense offerings, until this moment, were truly added to the red lantern.

At this moment, someone finally saw that Red Lantern Matron had long had enough yin virtue and incense.

She had far exceeded the level that an an shen should have.

But one thing was still missing.

It was as if Red Lantern Matron had enough magic power early on, but to build a temple and receive incense, she still needed the Meng family's Incense Decree.

Now that she wanted to go further, she naturally needed someone to nod in agreement.

Hu Ma knew this, so he picked up his mace.

He turned his head slightly and saw Zhou Datong shouting from outside the courtyard, "It hurts, it hurts, stop pulling, stop pulling..."

The courtyard door opened, and Little Red Tangerine was seen pulling Zhou Datong's ear as she ran in. Zhou Datong was a clever man. After seeing so many strange and unusual people in Yang Gong's army, he had also opened his mind.

He knew that his current skills were nothing compared to those people. He had returned to the formation early and found Hu Ma, deciding to follow Hu Ma and continue to learn those real skills.

Of course, Hu Ma agreed and had already thought about what kind of job to arrange for him.

"Take it!"

He handed over the Magistrate's Great Saber and the Smiling Face Mask he borrowed from the Left Protector. "Put it on!"

Zhou Datong was the right person to do this job.

The Magistrate's Great Saber was too ferocious, and ordinary people couldn't suppress it. Even Seventh Aunt felt that the fierce aura stimulated her brain when she carried this saber. But only Zhou Datong could. He didn't have the ability to use this saber, but if he just held it honestly, it wouldn't cause any abnormalities.

After all, there was a past connection here. The original form of the Magistrate's Great Saber was the saber passed down from his family.

"Ah?"

Zhou Datong was stunned when he saw it. "Then, Brother Ma, you..."

"I have other things to do..."

Hu Ma smiled, looked up towards the west, and the iron rings on the Zhen Sui Ji Jin (Talisman-Suppressing Golden Mace) in his hand turned slightly, stirring up a gust of billowing yin wind.

Faintly visible, in the mountain gully in the territory of Gunzhou, there were two tall, golden-armored strongmen, one on the left and one on the right, carrying a heavy iron coffin, stepping step by step, traversing mountains and ridges, arriving with an extremely heavy gait.

With the land of Mingzhou as an altar, magic power was inexhaustible, and he naturally had a sense of ease in doing whatever he wanted.

...

...

"Boom, boom, boom, boom..."

Outside Zhumen Town, on the battlefield, the fighting was fierce. When the red lantern appeared, the rolling magic power suppressed the battle formation.

In Mingzhou City, in the altar, the clay sculpture of the Guanzhou Prefecture official also showed strong anger, and it seemed that rolling magic power would pour out of the city, completely defeating the small, ignorant an shen, and even grabbing it in front of him and swallowing it in one gulp.

But at this time, following behind the Grain Protection Army, the heavy sound of war drums rang.

Many people couldn't help but look over and saw that the person holding the mallet and beating the drum was a beautiful young Daoist nun wearing a Daoist robe, with a solemn expression, beating the drum behind the formation.

And then, accompanied by the sound of the drums, a rolling, turbulent wind swept across the ground, blowing straight from behind the Grain Protection Army formation. Immediately, in the night, someone wearing a smiling face mask and holding the Magistrate's Great Saber appeared.

Immediately afterwards, there was a rustling sound, and the wild grass rustled, as countless goblins accompanied Seventh Aunt's appearance.

And then, Zhang A'gu, followed by countless yin souls, sitting on a donkey's back, carrying a package.

Plus, the Red Lantern Matron, who was currently dazed in mid-air, realizing that something was wrong, but not yet fully understanding it.

The four Hall Officials of Catching Knives and Questioning Matters, Speaking Reason and Distributing Incense had all appeared behind the Grain Protection Army, which suddenly made some people in the battle formation in Mingzhou City realize something. They couldn't help but swallow hard, open their eyes wide, and look behind them.

"Is... is he really coming?"

"..."

Before this thought could flash through, they saw shadows faintly moving in the deep night south of Zhumen Town.

They couldn't help but gasp, and saw that it was a patch of hundreds of yin soldier army. Although they were yin souls, they were surrounded by a bleak mist, and their steps were heavy. Wherever they passed, a substantial ghostly mist was left on the ground.

The weight of those yin souls, or rather yin soldiers, seemed to be so heavy that even the world of the living could hardly bear it.

And in this yin soldier army, there were two golden-armored strongmen, three zhang tall, divided on the left and right, carrying an iron coffin wrapped in iron chains. The two ends of the iron chains were each wrapped around their arms, and a person was sitting lazily on top of the coffin.

No one could see his appearance clearly. Hundreds of altars in Mingzhou all had the ability to shield faces.

But for people at this level, no one doubted that he was covering his face. It was simply because people of this status would not easily have their appearances seen.

Or rather, few people were qualified to see his appearance. Similarly, no one thought his ceremonial guard was strange. Nobles naturally had ceremonial guards when they traveled, but his ceremonial guard was this yin soldier army...

And, the many goblins and yin creatures that followed secretly.

"It really is that one..."

"The Four Hall Officials opening the way, the iron coffin as a sedan, the golden-armored strongmen carrying the coffin, the war drums as music..."

"...With such a grand display, there's definitely no mistake, it must be him!"

"..."

Many people's hearts were about to jump out of their throats, and they even subconsciously felt their knees weaken. But the existence in the shadows didn't really come directly in front of the battle formation. He just slowly appeared, came behind the formation, and gently raised his hand.

In an instant, the two golden-armored strongmen suddenly stopped, and the rolling yin soldiers following behind them also stood firm in an instant.

But as they stopped, the heavy, fierce mist on their bodies suddenly dispersed, forming a gale covering dozens of zhang.

Everyone subconsciously raised their sleeves to cover their faces, not daring to look directly, or even direct their gaze at him. Only the lame little ghost squatting on Yang Gong's horse's ass in the formation, facing the infinite power, raised his small hand and tried to take a look at Hu Ma, whispering:

"Hu Lord, auspicious?"

"..."

Naturally, no one heard his little voice. They were all just staring blankly in that direction, seeing the ceremonial guard stop, and then the person who used the coffin as a sedan nodded slightly to the Red Lantern Matron in the air.

In the next moment, there was a sound of invisible vibration, slowly spreading across this battlefield: "Zhen Sui Fu (Talisman Suppression Prefecture) decree, permitting the Red Lantern of Zhumen Town to enjoy the blood food of a prefecture, to suppress the order of yin and yang, and to pacify the hearts of the people."

The voice was not loud, but every word pressed heavily on everyone's hearts. In an instant, rolling magic power spread in the air, and the golden tracery in Red Lantern Matron's temple instantly spread out, suddenly covering the entire lantern.

Thus, this red lantern, which was blood-red and exuded a strange aura, became a lantern covered with golden patterns, adding endless sacred meaning to the strangeness.

Shua!

At the same time, the blood-colored red light that filled half the sky in the battle formation also shone brightly with golden light at this moment, mixed with blood color, sprinkled on the Grain Protection Army. The original cold and gloomy wind became warm and heavy at this time.

It even felt like fragrant wind, making the entire Grain Protection Army enveloped in incense, greatly boosting their spirits.

And the rolling ghost aura on the bodies of the hungry ghosts on the opposite side of the battle formation was instantly dispersed countless times.

Many hungry ghosts, upon seeing the tiny lantern flames surrounding the red lantern, suddenly felt guilty.

Their hearts, which had long been submerged in hunger and injustice, had become numb and dull, seemed to come alive at this time. The long-lost sense of guilt as human beings surged into their hearts. Looking at the lively lantern flames, they even felt a surge of sorrow, wanting to kneel down and cry.

The battlefield fell into a moment of strange silence.

And then, there was a sudden burst of cheers and shouts: "Red Lantern Matron has come to bless us..."

"Prefecture God Red Lantern Matron has come to bless our Grain Protection Army..."

"..."

Hula!

With no fear of the hungry ghosts in their hearts, and even the blades became countless times sharper because of this, the Grain Protection Army rolled forward and killed them.

(End of chapter)