The exorcists from the other two countries came forward. Looking at the young man representing the War Dragon Empire, they sneered.
“Look at what he is wearing. Does he even know how to restrain a spirit? ”
“Pfft, restrain them? I do not think he can even sense their presence.”
The exorcists laughed themselves silly at this. They were not too old themselves as they were all in their twenties, but the power rolling off of them was not to be underestimated.
The way to gauge an exorcist’s capabilities was to check their robes and the equipment they carry. The more complete the accessories, the more powerful the exorcist would be.
Since the Three Kingdoms had already agreed to an alliance, the exorcists they sent out would of course be experts in their field.
They were definitely taking advantage of the fact that the War Dragon Empire did not have anyone who could handle them.
They were outright bullies!
The young man could no longer stand the pent up rage and injustice built up in his heart. However, now that he had volunteered himself, he did not know what he had to do next.
He could vividly sense that the Xuanyuan Kingdom had more powerful exorcists that had yet to be sent out. They were wielding twin swords and talismans, and there were even Spirit Binding Ropes dangling from their waists…
The Xuanyuan Nation had yet to send out their best exorcists. The current situation did not even call for them, as the ones currently sent out were more than capable of dealing with things.
He would be lying if he said he was not scared. The young man was indeed an amateur. All the experience he had was from witnessing how spirits looked like when he was learning from the elders. Now that he had to fight them himself, he was totally unsure, but he had to at least try!
“The first round, soul restraining. This is the first step to exorcism. If you don’t even know how to do this right, then you can forget about guarding the Divine Exorcism Seal,” Elder Xu Wu said while glancing at the people of the War Dragon Empire.
In all fairness, Liu Yu was anxious. He was worried for the Third Prince. If this event did not end up in their favor, then the aftermath would be disastrous.
The two courtiers who advocated for Baili Jia Jue’s political marriage seemed to expect the worst outcome. They just shook their heads and sighed.
To put it simply, soul restraining referred to the act of binding a spirit to the ground in order to control it, so that it could not harm anyone.
“You have to complete this first round in 15 minutes. To prevent any accidents, I will handle the spirit myself if anyone could not restrain their assigned wraiths by the stipulated time. There is no need to worry,” Elder Xu Wu said while retrieving a talisman pouch that was stashed in his clothes. “This is an abandoned soul who died less than six months ago. We came across her on our way here. She had died from an accident, which inflicted her with an aura of resentment. She is looking for a soul to take her place. If she is not dealt with properly, in three more months, she will turn into a malevolent spirit. Now, you have to restrain her. The person with the fastest time wins.”
“That’s it? This is too easy.” Leng Yi, the representative of the Xuanyuan Kingdom, pursed his lips with much disdain.
Elder Xu Wu stroked his beard as he smiled. “We must be sympathetic of the amateurs. Otherwise, some may say that us of the Xuanyuan Kingdom are incorrigible bullies who take advantage of others, just because we are from a long line of exorcists.”
“Alright.” Leng Yi shrugged.
Elder Xuwu turned back and continued, “Four in a circle and stand at the four corners of north, south, east and west. You should know that once the spirit is released, it will try to escape by any means. When the female spirit runs to one of you, that person will restrain her. Is that clear?”
“Yes!” The exorcists from the three kingdoms answered with much gusto. Even though the young man was pale, he still answered, albeit with a little uncertainty.
Elder Xu Wu was entirely confident that they would win this round. The young man was obviously a mess. Would he be too scared to even move when the female spirit is let out?
“Alright, now that all of you understand the rules, let’s begin.” Elder Xu Wu stretched his arm out and placed the talisman pouch in the middle of the circle.
Not long later, the puffed up talisman pouch started to toss and turn. Then, strands of black hair emerged, thick and dense. It was a terrifying sight.
Then came the eyes, the nose, and the mouth…
The ghoul crawled out speedily, as if she had finally found the exit she was looking for. If it was not for the crowd around them, the ministers would have long ran away!
The sight of her was too horrendous. The ghoul looked as if she had been run over by something. At first, she turned her head over and stared at a direction with empty eyes. Then, she rushed at it in full force.
Leng Yi mumbled lightly before making a hand sign, “Stay!”
The ghoul stopped in her tracks, as if she was blocked by something. Knowing that she could not escape in this direction, she grinded her teeth and shot off backwards instead!
The exorcist from Huangzi Nation did not expect that the Yin energy on her would be that heavy. He almost failed to keep her in check, but in the end, he restrained the female ghoul in place!
The ministers were shaking along the sidelines. If she managed to escape the circle, she would possess someone’s body.
Once possessed, she could take over their will!
Spirits were different from people, especially those who died within less than half a year. They could sense people through their breathing.
This female ghoul was obviously intelligent. After two tries, she accurately pinpointed where the heaviest breathing was coming from, and where the the weakest defence was. She took two steps backwards, twisting her head first then her body. She stared at the young man’s direction with thick black fog seeping out of her blank pupils…
“This is no good! She is transforming into a malevolent spirit!” Liu Yu stood up while watching from the sidelines.
Elder Xu Wu lowered his voice and said, “Hold your ground. She is just furious because she could not break through the barrier just now. She has yet to become a demon.”
Liu Yu still looked worriedly at the young man.
Not only was the young man’s forehead glistening with sweat, his back was also drenched. He chanted Leng Yi’s spells he just heard, over and over again.
Despite that, the female ghoul did not seem affected in the least. She was only briefly wary in the beginning, but after she understood the situation fully, she rushed toward the young man and was about to sink her teeth into him…
… when a silhouette flew toward her.
By the time the audience realized what was happening, Helian Wei Wei had pulled the young man aside. With her cape pulled over her head, which covered her face, only her star-like eyes shone through, as she stood tall while facing the sinister ghoul.
Without reciting any spells, she merely uttered two words, “Go back.”
Her tone was neither light nor heavy.
The female ghoul laughed eerily, like she was scoffing at this human’s stupidity. With bleeding eyes and her blackened fingers outstretched, she clawed toward Helian Wei Wei. “You are female too, so you are perfect to be my vessel, hahahaha!”
The same thought ran through everyone’s mind at this sight: The Third Princess Consort will not be able to live through this!
However, nobody expected what happened next. Helian Wei Wei stood her ground with her eyes bright, not moving a single inch, as if she was invincible against all spirits. Her thin lips parted slightly as her fingertips glowed. She could be heard muttering the Nine Word Mantra faintly, “Soldiers arrayed to fight, line up before me…”
