At the street outside the police station, Uncle Ying took down the bundle from his back and spread it on the ground.
Seeing what was inside the bundle, Ling Feng was stunned.
There were four talismans, two each for dispelling evil and suppressing ghosts.
And over thirty low-grade yellow talismans, an equal number of both types.
"Uncle Ying, you said you were exhausted after drawing just one talisman. How do you have four?"
Uncle Ying frowned slightly and explained.
"I'm not sure. Last night while cultivating, I found my cultivation speed increased rapidly. This morning, I woke up to find I had reached the stage of Qi Refining and Spirit Harmonization."
Ling Feng blinked, dumbfounded.
Qi Refining and Spirit Harmonization in one night?
This speed was heaven-defying!
Although it was Daoist cultivation, not true immortal cultivation, wasn't this speed a bit too monstrous? He thought for a while but couldn't figure it out.
The system didn't remind him of everything; some things required him to figure out on his own.
"Forget it, an increase in cultivation is a good thing. But why do you have these items too?"
Besides talismans, the bundle also contained a peach wood sword, a coin sword, a bag of glutinous rice, a Bagua mirror, and a Daoist robe.
Logically, if Uncle Ying were hospitalized, wouldn't these things be at his home?
"Originally, these were to be taken with me when I left. Last night, I asked Dan to bring them over."
"So that's how it is."
Uncle Ying touched the peach wood sword and the Daoist robe.
"Even though it's for filming, the peach wood sword is indeed made from peach wood hundreds of years old, and the coin sword is also made from coins with some history."
"To enhance realism?"
"Exactly. We rarely use special effects in our films. Fight scenes and altar rituals are all rehearsed many times."
Indeed, compared to modern films, films from the 90s and 00s felt more real.
Unlike some current dramas where movements are completely unnatural. Even in fantasy scenes, you should at least maintain proper posture!
Jumping over a wall is like taking an elevator! It's not teleportation or spatial displacement.
"Can these things be used?"
Uncle Ying's meaning was simple: could these items harm ghosts?
Because Ling Feng had only taught him the cultivation mantra and the creation of two types of talismans.
He didn't know much about many things and wasn't sure if his knowledge aligned with reality.
"Uncle Ying, actually, many things in your films are real. Peach wood swords, coin swords, black dog blood, virgin boy's urine, and so on can all harm ghosts."
"That's good, shall we proceed with the plan?"
"Yes."
"Then let's go."
The two rented a taxi and headed towards the city center.
Their plan was to choose a location with the highest popular appeal in Hong Kong as their operational base.
They aimed to be as close to the main police station as possible for safety in case of danger.
The righteousness of a smaller police station was far less potent than that of a larger one.
Ling Feng's ability to survive last night was partly due to luck, and it was only the first day.
If this were a game, supernatural creatures would continuously strengthen over time.
Ling Feng's idea was that instead of hiding and running, it was better to find a place to weaken the number and strength of ghosts.
Otherwise, if no ghosts were eliminated, by the last day, a horde of powerful supernatural creatures would make survival chances incredibly slim.
An hour later, Ling Feng and his companion arrived at the central market in the city center.
Although it was only eight or nine o'clock, it was already bustling with people.
Ling Feng looked around and felt it was about right; the popular appeal was indeed strong, and he felt the dense yin energy on his body being suppressed.
"According to the plan, we'll split up and meet at this small park later."
"Okay."
To deal with supernatural creatures, talismans were always better in greater quantity.
The two needed to buy a large amount of yellow paper for drawing talismans.
They also needed brushes; wolf hair brushes were the most effective, and brushes made from other animal hairs were not as good.
Next were rooster blood, black dog blood, and cinnabar.
Two hours later, Ling Feng and Uncle Ying, laden with shopping bags, sat on a park bench, panting heavily.
Rooster blood and black dog blood were the hardest items to find, so they bought the most cinnabar.
Fortunately, Uncle Ying had earned a lot from filming, otherwise, Ling Feng wouldn't have been able to afford so many things.
"Uncle Ying, here. These are all the talismans recorded by the Maoshan sect. I've written them all down for you."
Ling Feng handed a notebook to Uncle Ying.
Since he was going to pass down Maoshan Daoist techniques, he would pass them down completely.
Due to limited time, Ling Feng could only write down all the talismans recorded by the Maoshan sect and some key knowledge about supernatural creatures.
"Thank you."
Uncle Ying took it and flipped through it, finding that the Maoshan sect had quite a lot of talismans.
"Alright, let's get to work! Let those ghosts come and never return."
Ling Feng and Uncle Ying divided the labor. Since he had no magical power, Ling Feng drew the yellow talismans, while Uncle Ying drew the spirit talismans.
As for passersby, they just glanced at the two and moved on. Ling Feng and Uncle Ying were too focused to think about anything else.
Drawing spirit talismans was very taxing on one's energy and spirit. After drawing every two, Uncle Ying would practice the cultivation mantra to restore his energy and spirit.
This was a win-win situation, allowing him to cultivate and recover his energy and spirit simultaneously.
Ling Feng, who was drawing talismans, was stunned when he sensed Uncle Ying's aura rapidly strengthening.
This speed!
Could Uncle Ying be a born Daoist genius?
Oh well, the stronger Uncle Ying was, the safer he would be.
As evening approached,
Ling Feng and Uncle Ying stopped drawing and began preparing for the night's countermeasures.
Thirty-five spirit talismans and over a hundred yellow talismans were the fruits of their day's labor.
The reason for this amount was that they had leftover yellow paper, but they had run out of rooster blood, black dog blood, and cinnabar.
Even though it was evening, due to the strong popular appeal, they hadn't encountered any ghosts.
While it was still safe, under Uncle Ying's guidance, Ling Feng sampled some of Hong Kong's specialty cuisine.
After dinner, Ling Feng and Uncle Ying returned to the park to rest, as a tough battle awaited them that night.
Although they were resting, they took turns, one sleeping while the other kept watch.
Time slowly passed, and the bustling streets began to quiet down.
In the park, the leaves rustled, and it had become quite desolate.
It was the 1990s, after all, and not many people were out strolling at night.
Even before eleven o'clock, the streets, even in the most prosperous city center, were sparsely populated.
In the quiet park, the temperature began to drop sharply.
Ling Feng and Uncle Ying were now full of energy. Sensing the drop in temperature, they knew something was coming.
"Uncle Ying, if my life is in danger, don't worry about me. Protect yourself first. Their target is me, and I can't let you get harmed because of me."
Ling Feng said seriously and solemnly.
Since experiencing the incident with Sha Wu, Ling Feng had secretly sworn.
If you want to kill my teammate, you'll have to step over my corpse first!
Uncle Ying and he were just strangers who met by chance.
"No, my old life has belonged to you since yesterday."
"If it weren't for you, I'd probably be chatting with the King of Hell right now."
"So if we encounter danger, we leave together."
"Uncle Ying..."
Ling Feng's expression was complicated.
"It's not that time yet, why are we talking about this? We still have nine days to go."
When he commissioned Uncle Ying, Ling Feng had made up a reason to trick him, saying that if he persevered for ten days, his yin energy would disappear.
"Woosh~~~"
Hearing this sound, Ling Feng and Uncle Ying immediately used willow branches to open their heavenly eyes.
Neither of them had Yin-Yang eyes, so to see ghosts, they could only open their heavenly eyes.
However, opening heavenly eyes with willow branches had a time limit, lasting only two hours to see ghosts and other supernatural beings.
As soon as they opened their heavenly eyes, the world within their sight changed dramatically.
A horde of ghosts had surrounded them and were closing in. The sheer number of them was around a hundred.
"Insolent little ghosts dare to act presumptuously!"
Uncle Ying put on that familiar Daoist robe.
With sharp eyes, holding a peach wood sword, and a serious expression, he sat on the stone bench, staring at the ghosts.
An invisible aura emanated from him, directly deterring the hundred ghosts from advancing.
They were just low-level minor ghosts, far inferior to the Red and White Fiends Ling Feng encountered last night.
Ling Feng was startled by the aura emanating from Uncle Ying.
"Such dense righteous energy."
People with righteous energy are generally avoided by ordinary ghosts; this is a natural suppressing effect.
However, although the hundred ghosts feared Uncle Ying, Ling Feng's yin energy still attracted them, and they slowly approached.
Ling Feng, to be precise, possessed a pure yin constitution, which, to ghosts, was equivalent to a hundred years of cultivation if consumed.
As Karl Marx said:
If there is a 20% profit, capital will be restless;
If there is a 50% profit, capital will be daring;
If there is a 100% profit, capital will dare to risk the noose;
If there is a 300% profit, capital will dare to trample on all human laws!
And now, these capitals were the ghosts before them!
The horde of ghosts continued to approach, while Ling Feng and Uncle Ying remained still, their eyes showing no fear.
The ghosts' attention was entirely focused on Ling Feng, completely unaware that a line of cinnabar was spread on the ground in front of them.
Then, tragedy struck.
As the ghosts stepped on the cinnabar, they let out a sound like boiling water, and a large amount of white vapor rapidly rose.
"Ah!!!"
"Yow!!!"
The ghosts standing on the cinnabar melted rapidly, like ice meeting fire.
The ghosts behind, however, thanks to the sacrifice of the ones in front, managed to escape with their lives. Knowing they couldn't afford to provoke them, they scattered and fled.
This cinnabar was spread by Ling Feng and Uncle Ying to deal with the lower-level ghosts first.
Their main focus was on ghosts with higher cultivation.
If they spent too much energy on the minions, it would be detrimental when dealing with the more powerful ones later.
"Woosh~~~"
Suddenly, the streetlights began to flicker wildly.
A red and a white figure appeared in their sight.
"Damn, the Red and White Fiends."
Uncle Ying was startled.
These things were not to be trifled with.
Ling Feng looked at the two ghosts, one red and one white, staring at him. They were the same oil-paper umbrella ghost that had surrounded him last night.
"Uncle Ying, last night, I encountered these two."
"How did you escape from them? Didn't you say you lost all your magical power for these ten days?"
"Because I was scared away by them."
Ling Feng took down the Fen Ji sword from his back and revealed its hilt.