"Don't rush, there's still one last step."
After calming himself down, Xu Taiping's gaze fell upon the jars of strong liquor beside his bed. Ignoring the ghost servant's continuous taunts and provocations from outside the courtyard, he took the jars of liquor and made his way to the central area of the courtyard, where he had previously dug a trap.
"As long as I can force your soul to leave your body, these jars will be your death wine."
Xu Taiping looked at the courtyard gate and hung the jars of liquor above the trap.
...
Late at night.
Bang! Bang!
Sensing the barrier weakening further, the ghost servant began directing his three demon wolves to charge at the gate of Qingzhu Residence, again and again. By this time, Xu Taiping had already positioned himself in the center of the courtyard.
He pulled the bowstring taut to form a perfect arc, his Residual Glow energy enveloping the arrow, transforming it into a chilling ice arrow that emitted a cold aura.
Bang!
With the demon wolves' repeated impacts, the last bit of spiritual energy sustaining the barrier was drained, and the gate was finally broken open by one of the wolves.
Roar!
The demon wolf, which had already sensed Xu Taiping's presence, howled and charged toward him along with the other two wolves, moving as fast as the wind. The cautious ghost servant followed closely behind.
Whoosh!
Xu Taiping released the arrow, which shot through the air with a whistle. The arrow pierced the neck of the leading demon wolf, and the Residual Glow energy surrounding it instantly turned to ice, completely freezing the wolf.
The ghost servant was somewhat surprised. He had never seen Xu Taiping use this technique in their previous encounters.
Smack!
In that moment of distraction, Xu Taiping discarded his bow and rolled forward, perfectly timing it to avoid the second demon wolf's pounce.
Swish!
Without hesitation, Xu Taiping leapt to his feet and drew a steel longsword from his waist, channeling his Residual Glow energy into it. With a crude but powerful slash, he struck the demon wolf. Though Xu Taiping had never trained in swordsmanship, the strike was strong enough that the wolf with a wounded back leg couldn't dodge in time, and Xu Taiping cleaved its leg off.
In the blink of an eye, two of the three demon wolves had been killed, leaving only the one under the ghost servant's control.
Clomp! Clomp! Clomp!
After killing two of the wolves, Xu Taiping didn't pause for a second. His small body moved like the wind, charging toward the ghost servant riding on the remaining demon wolf.
"You seek death!" the ghost servant snarled angrily. From a distance of one or two yards, he swung his sword through the air to strike at Xu Taiping.
Boom!
Before the sword even reached him, the sword energy surged ahead like a giant scythe, slashing toward Xu Taiping with lethal force.
However, instead of dodging, Xu Taiping leapt directly into the path of the sword energy, as though he were throwing his life away, and swung a punch directly at the ghost servant.
Bang!
A loud crash echoed as Xu Taiping's Residual Glow energy, which had protected him like a barrier, was shattered by the sword energy, turning into a cloud of ice fragments. Yet, Xu Taiping himself was unharmed and still leaping high, his fist aimed squarely at the demon wolf beneath the ghost servant.
"How is this possible? How could he block my sword?" The ghost servant was momentarily shocked. He had expected the sword energy to at least injure Xu Taiping, if not defeat him completely, but he had never anticipated that Xu Taiping's Residual Glow energy would withstand the attack.
Boom!
As the ghost servant was still bewildered, Xu Taiping's fist struck hard. The ghost servant, unable to react in time, raised his arm to block, using his ghostly energy as a shield.
Bang!
The ghost servant was once again struck with far more power than he expected. Xu Taiping's punch sent him flying off the back of the demon wolf and crashing to the ground.
"Could it be that this brat is hiding his true strength? Damn it! I should have used all my power with that last strike!" The ghost servant suddenly realized what had happened as his body crashed to the ground.
Xu Taiping, however, didn't plan to give him any time to recover.
"Charging Bull Breaks the Mountain!"
With a roar, Xu Taiping gathered his energy and unleashed a burst of ice-cold mist, which quickly condensed into the head of a massive ice bull. The energy from the bull's head collided with the ghost servant with tremendous force.
Boom!
Another loud crash followed, and the heavy dark energy surrounding the ghost servant was shattered by Xu Taiping's "Charging Bull Breaks the Mountain" attack, sending the ghost servant's decaying body crashing to the ground.
"Charging Bull Breaks the Formation!"
Before the ghost servant could rise, Xu Taiping's ice-encrusted fist struck him once more.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The most unique feature of the "Charging Bull Breaks the Formation" technique was that, as long as the user had sufficient energy, the punches would not stop, and the force would continuously build with each strike. Unless the opponent was overwhelmingly stronger, it would be impossible to block or escape the continuous barrage.
Furthermore, since Xu Taiping was using the Residual Glow energy to perform this technique, every punch not only added force but also covered the target with a layer of ice. After only four or five punches, the ghost servant's decaying body had been completely encased in ice.
Of course, the technique had a major drawback: once the punches stopped, it would take a long time for the user to recover their energy, leaving them incredibly vulnerable.
"Kid... no matter how strong your punches are, there will come a time when your energy runs out... Once you stop, I'll kill you with one strike!" The ghost servant, seeing Xu Taiping's punches slow down, began to threaten him, his voice full of malice.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Xu Taiping ignored the ghost servant's threats, his fists relentless. Even though his knuckles were split and his hands were covered in blood, his focus never wavered.
After over twenty punches, however, his punches began to slow, and the weight of his fists increased.
"Come on, keep punching! As soon as you hesitate, I'll kill you!" The ghost servant laughed maniacally.
Bang!
But just as Xu Taiping's right fist fell heavily, his left hand didn't rise as expected.
"Ha ha! You've exhausted your energy!" The ghost servant laughed, preparing to leave his body and possess another.
But his laughter stopped suddenly.
Boom!
The ground beneath the ghost servant suddenly caved in, and his icy body fell straight into the trap Xu Taiping had prepared earlier.
Yes, all those punches from Xu Taiping using the "Charging Bull Breaks the Formation" had been meant to force the ghost servant into the trap—a pit about ten feet deep that Xu Taiping had set specifically for this moment.