The ghosts on this mountain weren’t strong, but there were a lot of them. We couldn’t move quickly enough.

I guessed all the resentful and wandering ghosts in Kyoto had gathered here. There was also a large number of samurai. Although Japan isn’t as big as China, there were continuous wars in its history. Moreover, samurais were proud. When they lost the battle, they would commit seppuku to save their reputation. The result was this great number of wandering ghosts.

Li Mazi said, “Brother, why have these ghosts suddenly come here?”

I remembered there was a section in the legend that mentioned the Slaughtering Stone. That thing could absorb the energy from the ghosts. “They may have come here because of the Slaughtering Stone, but the stone is still weak now. I guess the stone wants to absorb the waves of souls to rebuild Tamamo no Mae’s body.”

Chiba said, “We should find it quickly. Hurry, or it’ll be too late.”

Chuyi frowned. It seemed he was about to use his sword to prick his hand. I guessed he wanted to use a big technique to open a path. However, I was worried about him.

I stopped him. “I’ve got a solution. However, we will have to suffer a bit.”

“A bit of suffering isn’t much, as long as it’s not dangerous,” said Li Mazi.

“Don’t worry. It's not dangerous. I’m sure the souls will act like they don’t see us.” I turned to Jade Tail. “Please suck our Yang energy, but not too much. Take it to the point where the souls will no longer be able to sense us.”

“Great! That’s a great idea!” Li Mazi appraised me. “Little Brother Zhang, your mind is getting sharper and shaper. You could even come up with such an idea!”

Jade Tail was sitting idly on a tree stump. When I called her, she pulled herself together and licked her lips. “Oh well, I won’t be polite then!”

She jumped off and started to suck our Yang energy. A wisp of warm air floated from us, which connected to Jade Tail’s mouth. When I started to feel light-headed, I quickly said, “All right, enough. If you suck more, we will faint.”

Jade Tail patted her tummy. “Thank you for the treat!”

We were a bit dizzy, but the souls ignored us now. It seemed they did not see us.

I said to the others, “Let’s go!”

It felt so strange moving among the horde of ghosts. Many ghosts had kept their original appearance. But some were headless, had their guts spilled out as though they had died in a car crash, or were cut into halves at the waist. Anyway, most of them had empty eyes and moved as though they were soulless corpses.

Li Mazi grabbed my arm. Chiba hugged herself. We didn’t dare to say anything as we were afraid that we would startle them.

When we reached the place where the seal was placed, we recognized that someone had cut through the ditch we had dug earlier. The souls were streaming into the formation through that hole.

Things were difficult now. We didn’t have the materials to mend the seal. We could only move forward.

When we entered the eye of the formation, I heard a chopping noise. A man was hacking his ax at the pine tree. He had blood all over his body. I guessed he had poured crow blood or snake blood on his body to disguise himself. The souls couldn’t smell him due to the thick scent of blood.

It was Urashima!

Chiba called him. He turned, and when he saw us, he jerked back in surprise.

Fortunately, he hadn’t chopped off the pine tree yet. The souls stood in waves as they waited for their turn to be absorbed by the Slaughtering Stone. The white mass of souls in front of us looked so eerie.

I wielded the Sirius Whip, and Chuyi drew his eight-faced Han sword.

I said to Urashima. “Give it up. Otherwise, don’t blame us for not showing mercy!”

Urashima gritted his teeth. He dropped the ax and picked up a bag on the ground. Then, he started to run away. We hurried behind him.

I wanted to use the Sirius Whip to deal with him, but Chuyi grabbed my hand. There were so many souls around. If we alerted them, they would swarm and swallow us whole.

Chuyi threw out a few paper cranes that chased after Urashima. We just needed to follow the cranes to find him. Right when Urashima was about to cross the line of wandering souls, I lashed the Sirius Whip at his ankle. Urashima screamed and dropped the bag in his hand.

I advanced and coiled the whip around his neck. “What is your purpose? Tell me!”

He spoke Japanese, so I didn’t understand. Luckily for us, Chiba came. I asked her to interpret it for us.

She hesitated for a while then said, “He said you shouldn’t put your nose in his business.”

Chiba talked to him. At first, Urashima looked stirred up. Gradually, he became dispirited and punched the ground.

Chuyi picked up the bag. The Silver Fox Guardian was inside.

“Jade Tail, didn’t you say this thing has nothing to do with the seal?” I asked.

“I don’t know!” Jade Tail came from behind me. “I didn’t cast this thing.”

This silver fox was the key to releasing Tamamo no Mae. The moment Chuyi was about to put it back in the bag, he suddenly thrust his sword into the air. A young man wearing white clothes appeared. He clutched his wounded arm and stepped backward.

He said through his gritted teeth, “You ruined everything!”

“Jade Fang, you’ve finally come!” Jade Tail clapped her hands cheerily.

“Why do you help these mortals? It’s our mission to resurrect Tamamo no Mae-sama, isn’t it?” Jade Fang scolded his twin.

“We don’t have such a mission. If Tamamo no Mae-sama is revived, the entire area of Kyoto, no, the entirety of Japan will suffer…”

“I don’t care if those mortals die or not! You’re a traitor!”

Then, Jade Fang showed his fangs and glared at Jade Tail. The two bared their fangs and raised their sharp claws and fluffy tails. They began to entangle in a battle in the middle of the empty place. Their moves were beautiful, but they also made people nervous.

Chuyi pulled me back since he saw that I wanted to go and help her. “We should send those souls away. It’s dangerous to let them congregate here.”

“How can we send them away?” I asked.

Chuyi grabbed the fox statue. He bit his finger and dripped his blood on it. The statue sucked his blood through the fox snout.

I was shocked. This thing had to be a famous relic that I hadn’t known about yet.

“I guess Tamamo no Mae’s bones are sealed in this silver statue. That’s why she can summon so many souls,” said Chuyi.

“Makes sense.” I nodded.

This thing acted like a super magnet. In other words, we had to seal it.

Jade Tail gradually got the upper hand. Originally, they were equally powerful. However, since Jade Tail had just sucked our Yang energy, she was stronger. She scratched his face, which then bled. Jade Fang retreated and clenched his jaw angrily.

Jade Fang roared and dashed toward the eye of the formation. Along the way, he grabbed and swallowed the souls.

“Not good! That fox’s eating the souls!” I screamed.

Jade Fang swallowed dozens of souls in just a blink of an eye. His body reeked of thick Yin energy. His eyes turned malicious.

Jade Tail screamed in fright. “Jade Fang, please don’t do that!”

“You should all die!” Jade Fang roared and lunged toward us. Jade Tail wanted to stop him, but she was sent away with his paw. Her petite body flew past me and hit a tree.

Right after that, Jade Fang targeted Chiba, who wasn’t able to protect herself. Chiba paled in fright. I lashed my whip, but he caught it with his hand. Although his palm sizzled and smoked, he didn’t let go of it and pulled the whip.

Chuyi came and raised his sharp sword, but Jade Fang flew to dodge his attack. He abruptly transformed into a big fox, clawing at Chuyi. Dust rose high from the ground, and Chuyi disappeared.

I was frightened. Was he smashed to death?

“Filthy animal, die!” Chuyi screamed.

In the next moment, the giant fox disappeared. It was just an illusion.

Jade Fang was so scared that he swiftly moved around to avoid the eight-faced Han sword.

Then, the surroundings suddenly burned with high flames.

Of course, it was another illusion. Chuyi continued his attack.

Jade Fang’s power only included magic illusions. Since he was busted, he could only dodge Chuyi’s attacks.

At this moment, Li Mazi came out from behind a tree. I didn’t know why he had been hiding there, but he had chosen this moment to show up.

Jade Fang smelled the scent of a living human. He grabbed Li Mazi from behind and tried to bite his throat. Li Mazi struggled and fell to the ground. Jade Fang was so strong that Li Mazi simply couldn’t fight against him.

“You’re courting death!” Chuyi darted his Han sword. The sword swooshed and thrust into Jade Fang’s chest.

“Noooooo!” Jade Tail screamed her heart out. Her voice lingered through the woods.