Seeing the situation, there was no way I could back down. I charged forward, stepping in sync with Senior Sister. The willow branch in my hand whipped through the air, accompanied by ghostly howls and painful wails.

　　After a while, something strange started happening. Some of the ghosts actually shrank with each strike, looking more like scared little kids, running around frantically, too afraid to fight back. I glanced at the willow branch in my hand, remembering what Senior Sister had said: "The more you hit ghosts with a willow branch, the smaller they get!"

　　“Hurry, Junior Brother, drive them into the Xiantian Bagua Formation!” Senior Sister suddenly yelled at me.

　　Snapping out of my daze, I charged at the ghosts again, glancing over at Master in the distance. He was locked in battle with several fierce ghosts, wielding his peachwood sword.

　　Unlike the willow branch, the peachwood sword didn't shrink with each strike. Blessed and imbued with spiritual power, it could dispel evil and destroy darkness. Under Master’s skillful strikes, the fierce ghosts let out agonizing wails, and it seemed like he might actually destroy them for good!

　　I’m not saying this to boost my own confidence, but I had already seen two fierce ghosts perish under Master's peachwood sword.

　　As for why ghosts can even die, the ancients said: when people die, they become ghosts; when ghosts die, they become *ní*; when *ní* die, they become *xī*; and when *xī* die, they become *yí*. It's also said that *zhuān* feast on ghosts, so ghosts fear *zhuān* just like people fear ghosts.

　　Anyway, back to the fight. I saw Senior Sister about to be surrounded by several ghosts, so I rushed over.

　　“Senior Sister!”

　　I quickly counted—there were still about seven or eight of them left. But their heights varied. A few of them had already been whipped into short little goblins by me and Senior Sister.“Why are these humans so tough?” one of the shorter ghosts wheezed, its body marked with black streaks from Senior Sister’s attacks.

　　“It’s not them that’s strong; it’s their weapons!” retorted a female ghost in prison garb, her red eyes burning with frustration.

　　“What do we do, Third Sister? We really can’t beat them!” another ghost fretted.

　　The Third Sister glanced at their leader and saw that their situation was dire. Determinedly, she declared, “We’ve been held down for so long and finally managed to get out. We can’t let these few humans take us down. We’ll fight to the bitter end!”

　　“Exactly, fight to the end!”

　　With that, the ghosts surged forward in a unified assault.

　　Senior Sister and I exchanged a resolute look; we knew we couldn’t afford to be careless. We charged into the thick of it, facing the ghosts head-on.

　　This time, I wasn’t swinging the willow branch indiscriminately. Instead, I struck with precision while retreating strategically. Whenever a ghost strayed, Senior Sister would swoop in to handle it.

　　“I’d really love to taste human flesh!” one ghost snarled hungrily.

　　“Grab them quickly!” another ghost ordered urgently.

　　Amid the chaos, both sides were locked in a fierce struggle. Senior Sister and I were maneuvering them, but fatigue was beginning to set in.

　　However, we had successfully lured them into the Xiantian Bagua Formation, and, predictably, the ghosts followed us in.

　　“They can’t get out once they’re inside, but we need to figure out how to escape ourselves!” Senior Sister said.

　　“Got it!” I responded.

　　We stood back-to-back, sweat pouring down, our eyes locked on the encircling ghosts. The spirits floated menacingly around us, their glares filled with malice.“Get out first, don’t worry about me!” Senior Sister shouted as she charged forward.

　　“Senior Sister!” I yelled after her.

　　She leaped into the air, covering more than two meters in a single bound, and launched herself at one of the ghosts.

　　“You little girl, I like you!” the ghost sneered evilly, also charging at Senior Sister.

　　“Go, Junior Brother!” Senior Sister shouted back.

　　I watched as the ghost advanced toward her, and with its departure, a gap appeared where it had been. I swung the willow branch and dashed toward the opening.

　　Seeing how fiercely I was wielding the branch, the ghosts hesitated to come near and instead swarmed towards Senior Sister.

　　I was just a few steps away from exiting the Xiantian Bagua Formation, but considering Senior Sister’s perilous situation, I suddenly stopped.

　　“Senior Sister!” I turned and ran back toward her; I couldn’t let her face these ghosts alone!

　　“Gouwa!” Master’s voice rang out as he sprinted toward us, with the remaining three fierce ghosts following closely behind.

　　Now, the three of us—Master, Senior Sister, myself—and the ghosts were all trapped inside the Xiantian Bagua Formation.

　　“Master, we need to find a way out!” Senior Sister said urgently.

　　We were huddled together, completely surrounded by the ghosts, and our situation was growing increasingly dire.

　　Among the spirits, only two fierce ghosts remained—one was their leader and the other was a subordinate. The rest were ordinary ghosts. Although they were not as strong, they had been beaten up pretty badly, just like us.But this didn’t mean we had any advantage. On the contrary, while they showed no sign of fatigue, we were drenched in sweat and running on empty.

　　“We can’t keep this up; there are too many of them!” Master said urgently. “Xue Rou, Gouwa, hold them off for me!”

　　Master placed the peachwood sword across his chest and closed his eyes, muttering a chant. After a few moments, the sword began to shimmer with a soft golden light.

　　Senior Sister and I exchanged determined glances and charged back into the fray to buy Master some time. But after several intense rounds of fighting, our willow branches had lost much of their effectiveness. Now, each strike only left a faint mark on the ghosts, failing to push them back as before.

　　“Master, we can’t hold out much longer!” Senior Sister shouted, her voice strained.

　　At that moment, Master’s eyes flew open. He spun the peachwood sword with a powerful motion and thrust it into the ground.

　　Instantly, golden lightning erupted, stunning both Senior Sister and me.

　　“Move!” Master shouted, sprinting over to us. In a flash, he pulled us both out of the formation with a few swift steps.

　　The whole thing happened so quickly that the ghosts had no time to react. By the time they understood what was happening, we were already outside the Xiantian Bagua Formation.

　　“Ah...”

　　Moments later, anguished cries filled the air from within the formation, as the ghosts were reduced to ashes by the golden lightning unleashed by the peachwood sword.

　　“Xuanxin Heavenly Thunder Spell...” Senior Sister said softly.

　　As I watched the scene unfold, my eyes widened in shock. I was awestruck by the depth of Master’s power.

　　“This Xuanxin Heavenly Thunder Spell is incredibly powerful. I’ve only scratched the surface, but it’s more than enough to handle these guys!” Master said.

　　Inside the formation, the remaining ghosts were wailing and flailing in a panic, desperately trying to escape. But they couldn’t break free from the Xiantian Bagua Formation and darted around aimlessly, like headless flies.

　　At that moment, Master took a step back, dropped to one knee, and, with a cough, spat out blood.

　　“Master!” Senior Sister and I rushed to his side, panic etched on our faces, afraid he might be seriously hurt.

　　“I’m fine!” Master said, wiping the blood from his mouth and managing a weak smile. “It’s just a bit troublesome.”

　　We glanced at the chaos inside the formation. The ghosts were thinning out, leaving only two: the Ghost Leader and Ghost Third Sister.

　　“Third Sister, you need to get out of here. The lightning and the formation are intertwined. If one is destroyed, the other will be too!” the Ghost Leader said, eyeing the peachwood sword. “That sword is the key!”

　　“That peachwood sword is our biggest threat, Boss. We can’t afford to take that risk!” Ghost Third Sister argued.

　　“Listen to me, or we’re all finished!” the Ghost Leader urged, his voice filled with urgency.