Lu Fei and Jing Jian led the way.
Zhang Molin and Tie Shenglan brought up the rear.
Everyone protected the injured in the middle, drove off the newly appeared burned spirits, and finally made it safely back to the entrance.
Outside the door stood the burly Gao Xiaofeng and the stern-faced Ye Bing.
"Someone got injured so quickly?" Gao Xiaofeng's young but rugged face showed surprise.
"Miss Ye Bing, they were burned by Yin Fire, and their condition is not good. Please save them."
Xiang Dashi bowed to Ye Bing like a concerned parent.
"Rest assured, they won't die."
Ye Bing glanced at Gao Xiaofeng.
Gao Xiaofeng immediately stepped forward and took over the injured, carrying one in each hand and another on his back, as if they were light as chicks.
"Anyone else want to quit?" Ye Bing's gaze lightly swept over the crowd.
Everyone looked at each other.
After hesitating for a while, no one walked out of the door.
After all, with the exit now available, they could run anytime; who wouldn't want to hold out a bit longer?
Ye Bing withdrew her gaze, and with a turn of her wrist, two yellow talismans flew from her hands and attached themselves to either side of the door.
"Qiankun Guidance Talisman! With this talisman, we won't be afraid of the ghost sealing the door! Thank you, Miss Ye Bing!"
Recognizing the spiritual talisman on the door by the master, his face lit up with delight.
"If you can't hold on, leave quickly, don't lose your life in vain!" Ye Bing said calmly, turned around, and walked towards the cafe.
Before leaving, Gao Xiaofeng took a few glances at Lu Fei.
The guy was not injured, just a bit of ash on his clothes, his eyes calm, showing no panic or embarrassment at all.
"He really has some tricks up his sleeve?"
But tonight is still long, only if he can last until the end will he truly prove his skills.
Gao Xiaofeng muttered to himself, leading the three injured people, and quickened his pace to catch up with Ye Bing.
After the two left, everyone retreated back to the hall.
Lu Fei checked the time, only two hours had passed.
The night still has a long way to go.
The hall was filled with a chilling wind, so quiet it made one's heart race.
The spirit medium threw large handfuls of assorted grains around her.
Three people had been injured in succession, and many had lost their initial fighting spirit, their eyes warily scanning the surroundings.
Although more than twenty people had signed up, not everyone was skilled at battling spirits.
Quite a few of them were experts in reading the yin and yang and feng shui, or dealt with minor evil spirits. They had some magical power, but not much.
Actually, the Feng spirit medium fell into this category, except that she followed unorthodox and sinister practices.
Their abilities were sufficient for making a living in society, but they weren't enough for a place as extremely dangerous as the Ruby Tower.
The continuous appearance of spirits was already a rare major event for them.
If they wanted to hold on until the end tonight, they could only pin their hopes on the others.
For example, Lu Fei and Tie Shenglan, who had performed excellently earlier, and Zhang Molin.
At first, everyone listened to the master's arrangements, but now, without realizing it, they all revolved around the three people.
Wherever the three went, they followed.
Lu Fei didn't mind, since there was no limit on the number of members, as long as they didn't get in the way, they could follow if they wished.
Zhang Molin and Tie Shenglan, with a strong sense of justice, protected everyone by moving them behind them.
Sss! Sss!
Suddenly.
On the grains, pairs of charred footprints appeared.
"They're here!"
Everyone's nerves immediately tightened.
"Kill!" Tie Shenglan launched the first attack, swinging her twin maces in the direction of the footprints.
The footprints vanished instantly, only to reappear behind her in the next moment.
She swung her whip with her backhand, the runes on it flowing.
A charred and distorted burnt ghost materialized, only to be pierced by her, instantly turning into black ashes and dissipating in a puff of smoke.
Zhang Molin's money sword was not to be underestimated. He muttered an incantation, formed a hand seal, and a layer of golden light appeared on the sword, causing the ghosts to scatter wherever it went.
However, his fighting style differed from that of Tie Shenglan, with his focus on protecting others.
In Lu Fei's opinion, besides himself and Jing Jian, these two were the most likely to pass the test tonight.
But, wasn't this young Taoist priest, Zhang Molin, a bit too kind-hearted?
Lu Fei remained calm, not revealing any emotions, just holding his ghost-whip and striking where the footprints had appeared, ensuring safety was enough.
Jing Jian, having gone through the trials with the fish demon and the white-haired stiff, faced this situation with composure, wielding his new magic sword and energetically eliminating several burnt ghosts.
While Ku Deng supported them with his Vajra Palm.
As for Tianyuan, he kept hiding in the back, occasionally swinging his sword just to make up numbers.
The others also wielded their own magical instruments, each showing off their unique abilities in a flurry of activity.
Eight Trigram Mirror, red string, cinnabar.
For a moment, the scene was very lively.
Working together, everyone managed to keep the burnt souls at bay, preventing them from getting close.
Several black footprints appeared and disappeared, hovering around for a while before suddenly vanishing completely.
"Why did they all run away?"
"Great! These burnt souls must be scared!"
"As long as we all work together, no matter how many ghosts there are, we won't be afraid....."
After a brief moment of shock, someone immediately brightened up, as if they saw hope of passing the test.
"It's too early to be so happy."
Lu Fei shook his head.
How could a place of great danger only have this much risk?
Whoosh—
Sure enough, before the others could react, a sharp gust of yin wind blew in, bringing with it white mist.
This fog was different from before; it was dense white smoke that filled the entire hall in just a few seconds, obscuring everyone's vision.
"Everyone, don't scatter..."
Master Xiang's voice was drowned out by the yin wind.
The yin wind grew stronger with each passing moment, making it difficult for people to stand. Any ash in the air that landed in their eyes caused a sharp burning pain.
The crowd was instantly scattered, breaking apart into disarray.
"Ah! Help!"
"Is anyone there..."
Panic-stricken screams echoed in his ears. Lu Fei narrowed his eyes, channeling his strength to his legs, and struggled to maintain his balance.
When he finally steadied himself and reopened his eyes, he found himself alone in the thick white fog, with no one else in sight.
"Brother Jing?"
"Master Kudeng?"
There was a deadly silence in the white fog, and no one responded.
When they were all together, it was difficult for the burning ghost to get close, but now that they were separated, those who were not strong enough were as good as meat on the chopping block.
However, amid the vast whiteness, there was a circular light that was exceptionally clear, like a beacon that couldn't be obscured even by the densest fog.
That should be the Qiankun Guiding Talisman showing the way out.
When encountering a dangerous person, one can always escape and not lose their life.
"Hehe!"
A sinister laugh suddenly echoed through the white fog.
Lu Fei immediately turned around.
A dark shadow flashed by, and when he chased after it, the shadow had already disappeared.
Immediately after, a chill came from his side.
Pretending to be unaware, he didn't move, only using his peripheral vision to glance.
To his left, a shadow of a child was crouching stealthily by his leg, holding a white candle and trying to light his clothes on fire.
It was the same little ghost that had been causing trouble earlier.
"Looking for death!"
A ghost-repelling character fell silently from Lu Fei's hand.
The little ghost reacted quickly, sensing danger and immediately fleeing, but Lu Fei was already prepared with his ghost-whipping whip.
The long whip flew out, coiling around the little ghost's ankle and dragging it back.
Lu Fei looked down at the little ghost, a cold smile appearing on his face.
"Little one, do you like to play with fire?"