Hong Sha and White Death.

Evil spirits and malevolent ghosts are known as "Sha."

Hong Sha refers to brides who die during their wedding. Overwhelmed by extreme joy, sorrow, and resentment, they become vengeful spirits in their red garments.

White Death refers to water Ghosts with profound cultivation, capable of wearing Bamboo Hats and straw cloaks, and able to walk away from water.

Encountering just one Sha is enough to claim a life. The collision of Hong Sha and White Death is far worse, as the combination of joy and sorrow multiplies the resentment exponentially.

At the moment the two groups met, Wei Yueyan had already taken a step forward, positioning herself in front of everyone.

She raised her right arm, palm facing forward.

With her left hand, she grasped the inside of her right elbow for steady support.

As Hong Sha and White Death collided, a massive surge of Yin energy erupted. The leaves on the trees instantly withered and scattered, grinding into fine ash in the air.

Wei Yueyan absorbed most of the Yin energy assault. However, the remnants of Evil Qi that passed by her still reached those huddled under the eaves. They felt as if they had plunged into an ice cave; their tongues trembled as if frozen, incapable of uttering a word or even moving their eyes.

Li Ang's teeth were also chattering. He was both shocked and frightened, his gaze fixed ahead.

Wei Yueyan, who had blocked the assault of Evil Qi, stumbled back several steps. She withdrew her hand and glanced at her slightly transparent palm. Then, feigning nonchalance, she shook her arm and said coolly, "Not bad."

Wei Linglan was stunned.

At that moment, she had been about to use the Special Affairs Bureau's secret lifesaving equipment reserved for officers, ready to block the impact at the cost of self-harm.

She hadn't expected their teammate clad in Bronze Heavy Armor to intercept the massive surge of Yin energy so easily, even absorbing it into her body.

What... what material is this teammate made of? A sponge?

Chai Cuiqiao, basking silently in the shocked and admiring gazes of the others, coughed lightly to cover the slight tingling sensation throughout her body. She crossed her hands in front of her, adopting a stern and silent posture.

The red-clad Hong Sha group was no longer banging gongs or playing instruments.

The White Death group, in their Pure White Mourning Robes, also stopped scattering joss paper and playing funeral music.

The two groups of Ghosts slowly turned their heads towards the people on the roadside, their smiles stiff.

"HEHEHE, HEHEHEHE."

The laughter of the Ghosts was deafening, made all the more strange and bizarre amidst the thick fog.

Better to hear the wailing of Ghosts than their laughter.

Wei Yueyan tilted her head in annoyance and clenched her fists. "A bunch of ugly Ghosts! What are you laughing at? Don't you know your teeth are very yellow?"

The Ghosts immediately shut their mouths, smiling silently and eerily at Wei Yueyan and the others.

"My, you have quite a temper, Sister," a gentle female voice emerged from the red bridal sedan, carried by eight people, in the Hong Sha group.

Just hearing the voice was enough to conjure an image of the speaker.

"But why cover your face? Could it be that you're too ugly to show it?"

"..."

Wei Yueyan narrowed her eyes.

Looking at the sedan, she smirked coldly. "At least I'm just wearing a Mask. Unlike you, hiding away, only revealing your voice. Look at that sedan—it needs eight people to carry it. Heaven knows if there's someone inside whose voice sounds eighteen, but who is actually fifty-eight and weighs two to three hundred pounds—a Heavy Phantom Tank."

Clearly, the Hong Sha, having been in the fog all along, didn't know what a Heavy Phantom Tank was.

But that didn't stop her from detecting the mockery in Chai Cuiqiao's words.

"Heh, your abilities aren't great, but your mouth sure is," the other party retorted in a soft, delicate voice.

The servants carrying the sedan immediately lifted and tilted it forward.

The bride stepped out.

A red bridal veil covered her. She was adorned with a phoenix crown and shawl, bright red sleeves, and a dark green horse-face skirt. A leather belt, carrying seven items—vials, scissors, pouches, and tweezers—cinched her waist. Dark boots completed the ensemble.

Her appearance was that of a Ming Dynasty bride, complete from head to toe, not a single item missing—quite extravagant and magnificent.

Moreover, based on her figure and the glimpses of her fair, slender hands, her beauty was likely above average.

"TCH."

Upon seeing the bride's attire, Wei Yueyan seemed to recall some unpleasant memories.

She smacked her lips in displeasure, her gaze towards the bride growing even more hostile.

The bride nodded slightly, her eyes peering out from beneath the red veil as if fixed on Wei Yueyan. "I hate it when others..."

Before she could finish, she disappeared from her original spot.

Wei Yueyan hadn't had time to react when the bride materialized in front of her, her delicate palm gently resting on her abdomen.

"...look at me with that kind of gaze."

The bride completed her sentence right next to Wei Yueyan's ear.

BOOM—

Clad in Bronze Heavy Armor, Wei Yueyan was instantly sent flying by the tremendous force, slamming violently into a storefront.

Glass shattered and items flew about. The paper-based heavy armor on Wei Yueyan crumpled and broke, her abdomen showing a Ripple-like tremor.

"COUGH COUGH COUGH."

Wei Yueyan barely managed to stand up. Had she not been a Monster, her innards would probably have been coughed out by now.

So powerful...

Though Chai Cuiqiao belonged to the same Ming Dynasty era as the bride, Li Ang had smuggled her to the modern day as a 'cheat item.' Consequently, she had wasted too much time that could have been spent on cultivation. In a confrontation with the bride, she lacked the ability to withstand a direct attack and was easily overpowered.

This feeling... It's a bit like being AFK from an online game for a long time, then logging back in only to discover the world has changed.

Wei Linglan, standing nearby, felt the wind whistle past her ears. She was utterly shocked.

She hadn't even clearly seen what had just happened.

Fortunately, her elite training from the Special Affairs Bureau saved her.

She quickly readied the grenade launcher. It had been specially blessed by the Heterodox Academy for the Special Affairs Bureau, giving it some killing power against Ghosts and Monsters.

However, the bride's movements were far too fast, closing in on her in a blink.

She snatched the grenade launcher. With her slender palm, she twisted the steel barrel into a corkscrew, rendering it completely unusable.

CLANG.

The bride casually dropped the grenade launcher on the ground and lightly kicked it with her dark boot.

BANG—

Like a powerfully kicked football, the launcher flew, smashing into the outer wall of a distant storefront and exploding into a sky-high blaze.

"WOW."

The bride let out an innocent, girlish gasp, as if in awe of the brilliant and dazzling flames.

With her parents, cousin, and prospective cousin-in-law (dubious) nearby, Wei Linglan had no way back.

She gritted her teeth and summoned a hefty Two-Handed Great Sword from the void.

The Great Sword was similar in form to a Two-Handed Great Sword.

It was made of a dark grey metal and stood as tall as a person.

The blade was wide—thinner at the front and thicker towards the back—paired with a standard hilt, appearing even more cumbersome than a real-world Two-Handed Great Sword.

Its most distinctive feature, compared to ordinary swords, was four neatly arranged hexagonal vector jet pipes embedded in the heavier back of the blade. Flickering with a pale blue flame in their centers, these pipes added a futuristic, sci-fi touch to the sword itself.