Chapter 92 The Well, the Yin Gathering Array
At Chen Cheng's request, the school was on holiday. Apart from the two gatekeepers at the main gate, there were no teachers or students in the entire school. The teaching buildings, library, dormitory buildings and more than a dozen other buildings were pitch black. Apart from the rustling of the wind in the treetops, the entire campus was eerily quiet.
Zhang Qian held Chen Cheng's hand tightly. Although she was scared, she wanted to stay by his side even more.
The two followed the teaching building to the dormitory building behind it. Chen Cheng immediately recognized the abandoned building where the incident occurred, because it, like the Zengguangtiancai Building No. 13, exuded a strong ghostly aura from the inside out, even stronger than Building No. 13. Although this ghostly aura was black, it was different from the night. Zhang Qian, who had opened her Yin Eyes, could naturally see it as well, and her palms were sweating as she held his hand.
"Don't be nervous, I'm here. Xia Chan is also here when things get tough. The two of you are now bound by fate. If something happens to you, something will happen to it too!"
"Um".
The two had almost reached the school's cordon. The temperature here was about 20 degrees Celsius lower than elsewhere, and Zhang Qian, wearing a T-shirt, was so cold that she got goosebumps.
Chen Cheng concealed part of his strength because he was afraid that the ghosts would sense his powerful magic and hide, which would make things difficult.
As I stepped across the warning line, a gust of cold wind blew in my face, and the ghostly aura seemed to become even more active.
"Brother Cheng, there's someone upstairs!"
Chen Cheng looked up at Zhang Qian's voice and saw two figures standing in front of the second-floor window, staring intently at the two of them with a strange smile on their faces.
"You're not human. Go away. You have talismans on you, so they can't affect your brainwaves or control your mind!"
Zhang Qian understood that she would see these things often when she was with Chen Cheng. She steeled herself and looked at the two figures again, only to see them slowly retreat until they disappeared in front of the window.
"This is a Yin-gathering formation!"
Ling'er's voice reached Chen Cheng's mind. Although the jade pendant was on Zhang Qian's body, the two had already merged and were in sync with Xia Chan and Ling'er!
"Where is the core of the formation? Ling'er, can you sense it?"
"How could a mere Yin Gathering Formation possibly stump me?"
Chen Cheng thought about it and realized that Ling'er was the spirit of the Qiankun Hunyuan Formation, so ordinary formations really couldn't stump her.
"Don't go upstairs, the key to the formation is in a room to your left!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Cheng, who had just stepped off the stairs, turned back and followed Ling'er's directions to a restroom. The dormitory restroom was quite large, and there was a manhole cover on the floor next to the showerhead.
"There is a well down here, which is also the location of the formation's core!"
Chen Cheng cursed inwardly. Who designed these blueprints? The well already contained yin energy, and they even dug it in the dormitory building. No, the well must have been there first, and the dormitory building was built directly on top of it, which is why it formed a yin-gathering array. People who died here couldn't escape, and over time, the yin energy increased, and the ghost energy became stronger. It seems that there are at least ghost cultivators or even ghost kings here.
Chen Cheng didn't bother with the array's core for now. Having the array's restraint was a good thing, preventing the evil spirits inside from escaping.
Chen Cheng summoned Lü Xiachan to follow behind him and Zhang Qian. This would allow her to absorb Yin energy and protect Zhang Qian. These ghosts who died unnaturally all harbored deep resentment, and the Yin Gathering Array bound them, so their evil energy must be overwhelming. With Lü Xiachan's current strength, as long as she didn't encounter a Ghost King, she could even fight against ghost cultivators!
Zhang Qian had met Lü Xiachan several times before, and now that they were "in the same boat," she felt not only unafraid to see her here, but also a sense of kinship.
Upon arriving on the second floor, the ghostly aura was even stronger than on the first floor. In the distance, they could see a room with a face covered in long hair, grinning eerily at Chen Cheng and the others, and even extending an arm to wave at them!
Zhang Qian had developed some immunity to this. With Chen Cheng holding her hand and Lü Xiachan behind her, she was afraid of the terrifying scene, but not as terrified as she had been when she first met Lü Xiachan.
"Cicadas, go and devour them. Since they want to take our souls, they are evil spirits. Releasing them will only bring disaster to the region!"
"Yes, Master!"
Lu Xiachan floated over, and the two ghosts shrank back, hiding inside. But how could they be a match for Lu Xiachan, a thousand-year-old vengeful spirit? Moments later, two shrill screams rang out.
"A powerful ghost cultivator has appeared on the third floor!"
Ling'er's voice came again.
"Hehe, why don't you help me sort this out?"
"Hmph, these are no problem for you. I'm not as strong as before after leaving the Qiankun Hunyuan Formation. Although these ghost cultivators are still no match for me, I don't want to waste my strength for you!"
"Do you hate me that much?"
"I wouldn't say I hate you, I just admire you, you cunning fellow!"
Chen Cheng couldn't help but laugh when he thought of the scene of teasing Ling'er in the great formation.
Suddenly, the air became even colder, and Zhang Qian felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave. Chen Cheng quickly used his Taoist internal energy to circulate around her body, and she felt a little calmer.
At this moment, a ghostly figure floated down the stairs from the third floor, exuding a dense ghostly aura. The ghost cultivator had appeared!
"Unfold the calming talisman and stick it to your body!"
After Chen Cheng finished speaking, he pinched out a talisman, turned around and shot it out. The talisman burst into flames halfway through the flight and shot towards a ghostly figure.
The ghost dodged, and Chen Cheng seized the opportunity to shoot two more talismans. One of them finally stuck to the ghost, emitting blue flames. The ghost howled, trying to extinguish the Daoist karmic fire with its ghostly energy. This was a blue talisman drawn by Chen Cheng himself, much more powerful than a yellow talisman. Chen Cheng didn't give it a chance, but quickly unleashed a Five Thunder Palm. The golden palm print hit the bullseye, shattering the ghost cultivator into pieces. Just as he was about to strike again to completely destroy its soul, Lü Xiachan arrived, grabbed the nearest piece of soul, and devoured it, leaving Zhang Qian dumbfounded!
During this time, Lü Xiachan followed Chen Cheng in battles across the country, and her strength had already surpassed that of Chu Tianqing's family by several times. She was already close to the level of a ghost cultivator. Chen Cheng's Taoist magic was even more advanced. He had barely managed to kill a ghost cultivator in the mine with the help of Ma Guangzu, and now he didn't need anyone's help at all!
Soon, it devoured the shattered soul of a ghost cultivator, and then silently floated back behind Chen Cheng and Zhang Qian.
"Not bad, Xia Chan, you are already close to the strength of a ghost cultivator. If things go smoothly tonight, I will let you devour another ghost king, and you should be able to cross this threshold!"
"Thank you for your help, Master! The cicada is extremely grateful!"
"Sisi, you two are of the same body and share the same fate, so we are family. There's no need to be so polite!"
As Chen Cheng spoke, he pulled Zhang Qian up to the third floor. The higher they went, the stronger the ghostly aura became. They heard eerie wails, including sinister laughter, long, drawn-out sobs, and screams of agony.
If it were an ordinary person, even the bravest person would be scared half to death. Zhang Qian's face turned pale. Fortunately, Chen Cheng was holding her hand in front and Lü Xiachan was protecting her from behind, so she was not so scared that she collapsed to the ground.
Upon reaching the third floor, although Zhang Qian had activated her Yin Eyes, all she could see was a thick black mist. However, Chen Cheng's Ghost Eyes could see through the ghostly aura and clearly see everything around them. Several evil spirits stood in the corridor, their ghostly eyes staring menacingly at Chen Cheng and his companions. But they seemed to sense the faint Taoist aura emanating from Chen Cheng and the powerful ghostly aura emanating from Lü Xiachan, so they dared not approach rashly.
"Xia Chan, go! I'll cover you. As long as the Ghost King doesn't come out, none of them will be a match for you!"