Who let him join the Sword Sect?!

The Six Sects each have their own methods for dealing with evil spirits and ghosts.

The Buddhist Sect is the simplest. Find a bald cultivator to sit in the house and chant scriptures; generally, the evil spirit can't withstand it.

If the spirit can withstand it, then get a bald cultivator with higher cultivation.

The Beast Taming Sect, Medicine King Valley, and Sword Sect have straightforward approaches, relying on strength to achieve miracles.

The Celestial Sect and Dragon Tiger Mountain are much more meticulous. Like how the Beast Taming Sect classifies wild animals daily, these two incessantly categorize evil spirits.

Each type of spirit has its unique countermeasure, and dealing with them involves plenty of preparation.

Thus, when they arrived at Liu Family Village, where the Liu Family's old house was located, Tang's occupational habit kicked in.

Tang led the group to a flat area, observing the Qi and the terrain formations.

After Tang's investigation, he concluded that the evil spirit was not currently in the house, but judging by the traces, it should still be nearby, just hidden.

Moreover, as Liu Yong said, the spirit didn't harm anyone.

Tang pondered for a while, eventually presenting his plan.

He suggested finding four Daoists to assist him in setting up an array from Dragon Tiger Mountain.

Additionally, more talismans need to be drawn and placed throughout the house to form another array.

Only then could they capture the spirit alive and discover the whereabouts of the incense burner.

But Zhang Ze felt there was something wrong with this plan.

He thought the plan was too theoretical, too official, like mere paper talk—far from practical.

After all, Daoists from Dragon Tiger Mountain typically wander alone; he hadn't heard of five-person teams.

He figured there must be a simpler, easier method, which Tang wasn't aware of.

"Have you tried this plan before?" Zhang Ze asked.

Tang shook his head, "No, it's all from books. I haven't personally performed a ritual."

Zhang Ze then carefully asked Tang about the details within this Dharma Method to understand the reasoning.

Tang needed four Daoists solely to set up a Gathering Yin and Trapping Spirit array to lure the evil spirit into the house.

However, the array was rather large, potentially attracting other things besides small evil spirits.

Moreover, the number of talismans required was only a top-tier number listed in the book Tang read, with no specific notes for different situations.

Looking at the rigid Tang, Zhang Ze felt this was not good. As the next Sect Leader of Dragon Tiger Mountain, being inflexible was not ideal.

Therefore, he decided to impart some experiences and wisdom from predecessors to Tang.

"As they say, it takes a person who ties a knot to untie it. Why make it so complicated to lure out the evil spirit?" Zhang Ze suggested. "Let Liu Yong go home, and the spirit will show itself."

"That's right." Tang realized, "But once the spirit is out, how do we trap it?"

"That's easy. We only need to set a few talismans. Other positions can be filled with the Sword Sect's sword array. Our sect's methods combined are more than sufficient," Zhang Ze replied.

Tang thought this was a good idea but remembered one problem, "I came out in a hurry and didn't bring enough talismans. Even a few would take me some time to prepare."

Zhang Ze shook his head, "Drawing is troublesome; we'll just make copies."

"What's a copy?" Tang heard another new term.

Zhang Ze took out a small box, activated the mechanism, mixed materials for drawing low-level Body-Stabilizing Talismans in proper proportions, and poured them into an attached cylinder.

Lastly, Zhang Ze inserted a stack of yellow talismans at the back of the box and infused Spiritual Qi into the array at the bottom of the box.

Then Tang saw sheet after sheet of low-level Body-Stabilizing Talismans flying out of another outlet of the box.

"Wow! This is awesome!" Tang looked fascinated, like he had discovered a new toy.

"Fun, right? Look here, you can change the mechanism to alter the drawn pattern; thus, one copy box can reproduce various talismans."

This is something Zhang Ze created before leaving the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion. Theoretically, by altering the mechanism array, this copy box can even draw high-level talismans.

Since the copy box doesn't use continuous strokes and only requires the drawing method, it can certainly depict talismans.

However, due to the high-level talismans being a secret of Dragon Tiger Mountain, Zhang Ze and others didn't know how to draw them or what materials were needed, leaving them clueless about converting the array.

But now with Tang, Zhang Ze felt if he could win Tang over, many issues would be easily resolved.

Seeing Tang's interest, Zhang Ze decided to let Tang advance further.

He took out a big toy.

This was a perfect mix of Zhang Ze's progressive ideas and Lily's explosive mind.

A gun, a large one with a trigger.

"What's this?" Tang asked.

"This is the Fire Qilin," Zhang Ze handed the Thousand Mechanism Gun named Fire Qilin to Tang.

"Tang, see here? Just attach the copy box here, and one could shoot fourteen talismans per breath by pulling the trigger and infusing Spiritual Qi."

"Of course, other than Body-Stabilizing Talismans, different talismans can be used, as long as they're prepared beforehand."

"With attachments replaced at the front of the gun barrel, other hidden weapons can be launched too."

"A Fire Qilin can match the power of three or four traditional Foundation Establishment magical artifacts."

"And it's easy to maintain, relatively cheap." Zhang Ze explained to Tang.

"What's this round opening for?" Tang pointed to the circular opening under the Fire Qilin, curious.

"It's for firing Thousand Mechanism Thunder. First stabilize, then blast; that's the basic usage."

Zhang Ze explained the concept of the gun's accuracy within ten steps, aiming quickly as well as controlling before attacking to Tang.

"Tang, times have changed. We cultivators must also progress," Zhang Ze said earnestly, patting Tang's shoulder.

Zhang Ze and Tang were discussing enthusiastically, but Liu Yong, standing to the side all along, seemed a bit conflicted.

He thought for a while and finally opened up, "Um, may I make a small suggestion?"

"Mm, go ahead," Zhang Ze turned to look at Liu Yong.

"Can I not be used as bait? I'm afraid," Liu Yong shrank behind Little Yingchun.

Zhang Ze pondered, "Alright, but first take off your clothes."

Little Yingchun, "?!"

...

A mere two-hour has passed since Zhang Ze and the others left Yazi Town.

In the main hall of Liu Family's old house, Zhang Ze was sitting boldly on a low stool, wearing Liu Yong's clothes.

He held a small gourd in his hand, emitting a gentle glow. Now, in the eyes of anything non-human, the person sitting was Liu Yong.

"Dragon Tiger Mountain's treasure is really excellent. Once this is over, I must figure out a way to collaborate with Dragon Tiger Mountain."

"And develop more refined gadgets."

"Constant explosions damage the image of the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion."

As Zhang Ze planned to further expand Thousand Mechanism Pavilion's business, a gust of eerie wind swept over his head.

Zhang Ze turned his hand to put away the gourd, restrained his Qi, calming himself, waiting for the spirit eager to seize the essence.

Not waiting long, Zhang Ze saw a fleeting blur, and upon gaining focus, a white shadow appeared before him.

A woman dressed in light gauze, swaying her slender waist with each step; her straight, long legs barely visible beneath the gauze. She looked at the man before her and softly called, "Liu Lang."

Looking at the female ghost, Zhang Ze smiled slightly, reached into his waistband, and pulled out a large gun.

Pressing the gun to the female ghost's forehead, Zhang Ze coldly sneered.

"Don't move, you've made a mistake, you know that!"

As Zhang Ze's words fell, mechanisms in the earth outside sprung, and the sword array buried earlier by Li immediately unfolded, enveloping the courtyard in golden light.

And the Spirit Suppressing Talismans copied by Tang flew and danced around the house.

Tang also jumped out of the cabinet, invisible talisman stuck to his forehead, aiming the Fire Qilin at the back of the female ghost's head.

"Confess and lighten your punishment, resist and face severity! Hand over the incense burner, remake yourself as a ghost!"

Tang spoke the lines Zhang Ze had taught him earlier.

Feeling an inexplicable authority, Tang decided that in future encounters to slay demons, he'd recite these lines.