The little fox's words sent a chill down my spine. What did she mean by smelling strong yin energy?
Taking a few steps forward, I suddenly understood.
The Fox Fairy Temple was completely surrounded by will-o'-the-wisps - an eerie, oozing green glow that was both terrifying and unnatural.
"What the hell! Little Boss, we should go back now! The ghosts are all coming up! Damn it, I thought the Fox Fairy Temple kept Dead Man's Gulch's ghosts from rising?" Stein, trembling with fear, was already retreating toward the temple.
"No! We can't go back!" I refused Stein's plea. With so many ghosts surrounding us, had Stella encountered them earlier? Was she in danger?
I couldn't return now. I had to find Stella - going back without knowing would leave me too restless to sit still.
Gripping my Copper Coin Sword, I steadied myself. Come at me. I don't care if you're human or ghost.
Stein didn't flee, but he was clearly terrified, hiding behind me and refusing to come out.
Just then, the little fox puffed up her cheeks and—huff!—spewed a stream of violet-pale flames from her mouth toward the will-o'-the-wisps.
"Taste my foxfire!" she declared, eyes wide with effort.
Poof. The foxfire met the will-o'-the-wisps... and nothing happened. The flames simply fizzled out.
"My cultivation really is too weak to harm ghosts," the little fox muttered, pouting in disappointment.
Then—poof! poof! poof!—three will-o'-the-wisps suddenly extinguished, transforming into human-sized black shadows that dropped to the ground.
The three shadowy figures crawled and twisted spider-like across the earth, slowly advancing toward us.
"Little Boss! Get away! This is too scary!" Stein yelped, tugging at my clothes while trying to drag me backward.
"You go inside first. Let me try dealing with them. If it doesn't work, I'll retreat." I shoved Stein toward the temple. The building was clearly safe—otherwise, these ghosts would have invaded long ago.
Stein scrambled inside but peeked out from the doorway, watching nervously. The little fox plopped down on her bum, sighed "I'm so hungry!" and then... settled in to spectate.
The three shadowy figures drew closer. I couldn't make out their faces, but their contorted forms reeked of decay and pulsed with sinister yin energy. Occasionally, they emitted bone-chilling murmurs.
Recalling my last encounter, I smeared blood on the Copper Coin Sword and tightened my grip.
The first ghost lunged—and I swung my sword faster than thought.
A dark shadow flashed. My Copper Coin Sword gleamed with shimmering light as it sliced through the air. A mournful wail pierced the night - the shadowy figure dropped an arm to the ground before rolling away, transforming back into a will-o'-the-wisp and fleeing.
The other two ghosts immediately closed in, flanking me left and right. With a synchronized wail, they lunged simultaneously.
I swung at the one on my right. Before it could scream, its head tumbled to the earth. This ghost couldn't revert to will-o'-the-wisp; it simply dissolved into black smoke, leaving behind a pool of viscous darkness that reeked of decay.
Divided between two fronts, I'd killed one while the other tackled me. Ice-cold hands clamped around my throat, slamming me to the ground.
Now I saw it clearly - a female ghost. Her face was grotesque, framed by matted hair, the flesh so rotted it turned stomachs. Jagged fangs lined her mouth, and her shriekes carried both a foul stench and bone-numbing chill.
"Hehehe... You're my food now. I want to eat—"
Her words cut off as my sword pierced her stomach. Pfft! Black blood gushed out. Her agonized scream faded as she too crumbled to ashes.
Want to eat me? Not so easy. These ghosts weren't powerful individually, but their numbers overwhelmed me. Stein and the little fox were useless in this fight.
Eliminating three hadn't deterred them - the worst outcome. Instead, with countless poofs, more will-o'-the-wisps transformed into humanoid shadows, dropping to all fours like spiders.
They converged. The first attacker? The hungry ghost I recognized.
"Hehehe... You shared your needle earlier. Now you'll share your flesh with us all. Death won't come peacefully - it'll hurt!"
It lunged. I swung - but this ghost moved differently. Whoosh! It dodged with unnatural speed, eyes burning like a starved tiger's - crimson with fury.
The hungry ghost evaded my strikes effortlessly, circling behind me. As I turned to cleave it, multiple ghosts attacked simultaneously. Forced to defend with my Copper Coin Sword, I lost track of the hungry ghost.
"You're mine. The first bite belongs to me!" it shrieked. Its nails elongated into blades, stabbing toward both my sides at once.
"Five Thunder Curse!" A thunderous boom sounded as Stella appeared behind me, emerging from the temple.
Her five fingers were all covered in Fulu talismans, nails faintly crackling with thunder. She slammed her palm onto the hungry ghost's head, instantly crushing its skull. In less than a second, the hungry ghost dissipated into smoke.
"Fire God Zhu Rong, lend me your power! Ignite the heavens with blazing flames—RISE!" Stella scattered a handful of yellow Taoist talismans while chanting and forming hand seals. Several streams of true fire erupted, forcing the surrounding ghosts to retreat in terror. Those too slow to escape were burned to ashes.
"Go!" Stella grabbed me, then kicked the little fox's rear. "Ouch!" The fox yelped as she went flying back. Without looking, Stella pulled me straight into the Fox Fairy Temple.
"Stein, close the door!" Stella shouted.
Stein reacted instantly, slamming the door shut.
The little fox lay on the ground grumbling, "You humans are so rude! Why does everyone kick my bum? I would've run on my own!"
"Haha, heat of the moment. No offense." Stella couldn't help but smile at the adorable little fox—normally she wouldn't be so kind to a demon.
"Sis, where were you? How did you... come out from inside the temple?" I asked, baffled. Stein and I had searched everywhere—there was no way she could've been inside.
Stella pointed at the Fox Fairy statue. "There's a hidden chamber beneath this temple. I went down to investigate—there are secrets inside."
A hidden chamber? No wonder we couldn't find her.
"What's down there?" I pressed urgently.
Stella glanced at the door, then said, "It seems the rumors were wrong. This temple wasn't built to suppress the ghosts of Dead Man's Gulch. On the contrary—those ghosts are the temple's guardians. They attacked you because we entered the Fox Fairy Temple."
What? What's going on here? What secrets does this temple hold?