"Are you trying to trap me with just this pit?"

 

After confirming that it was just a pit, the evil ghost's mocking laughter rang out again, full of sarcasm towards Xu Taiping.

 

"Even if you trap this body, I am a ghost cultivator, capable of leaving my body!"

 

Amidst the evil ghost's mocking words, Xu Taiping silently drew the long knife from his waist and stood quietly next to a taut rope, as if waiting for something.

 

"Boom!…"

 

At that moment, a gust of cold wind rushed out from the pit.

 

"Swish!"

 

Without hesitation, Xu Taiping's long knife slashed down on the rope.

 

"Crash!"

 

Several jars of strong liquor hanging from the rope fell, smashing into the deep pit.

 

A strong scent of alcohol instantly filled the air.

 

"You want to kill me with rocks, wait! Alcohol! This is alcohol! Ah!…"

 

The evil ghost, already separated from its body, thought that Xu Taiping was trying to kill it in the trap. When the scent of alcohol began to spread in the pit, it was too late for it to escape.

 

"Ah!…"

 

"Who? Who told you that my lifeblood is alcohol? Ah!…"

 

"Could it be… could it be that despicable person? Ah!… Despicable person! It must be that despicable person!"

 

The pit was filled with the sounds of painful wailing and cursing.

 

After the evil ghost's spirit was tainted with the scent of alcohol, it was like encountering a deadly poison with no antidote, and could only transform into black spiritual energy, constantly wandering in the pit.

 

Watching this scene from the edge of the trap, Xu Taiping let out a long breath.

 

"If I didn't know that alcohol is the evil ghost's weakness, I probably wouldn't have had any chance of winning this time."

 

Recalling the scenes just now, Xu Taiping felt a chill in his heart.

 

Without taking one risk after another, the evil ghost would have been more cautious; without this period of desperate cultivation to break through the ice period; without these jars of strong liquor, his cultivation path might have really come to a halt.

 

"Young hero… save me… as long as you let me possess your body… I… I can… I can tell you the location… where I have hidden… the treasures… I've collected over the years…"

 

At that moment, a ghostly face formed from spiritual energy struggled to emerge from the trap, pleading with Xu Taiping in great difficulty.

 

"I have a question for you." Xu Taiping ignored the evil ghost's plea, "Besides you, who else knows the location of the spring eye at the Green Bamboo Residence?"

 

"Pull me out, and I'll tell you!"

 

The evil ghost wanted to make a deal with Xu Taiping.

 

"Will you tell me or not?" Xu Taiping shook the jar of alcohol in his hand.

 

"No!"

 

Seeing the jar of alcohol, the evil ghost let out a piercing scream, and the spiritual hands flailed wildly.

 

"Besides me, no one else knows. I only found out by chance after killing the previous owner of the Green Bamboo Residence! I swear, everything I've said is true, please, please put down the jar of alcohol!"

 

The evil ghost explained quickly.

 

"You're not telling the truth."

 

"No, everything I said is true, please, please put down the jar of alcohol!"

 

Xu Taiping tested the evil ghost again and found that it seemed to be telling the truth.

 

Even so, he did not put down the jar of alcohol, but instead removed the mud seal on top.

 

"Young man, what are you doing? I really didn't lie to you!"

 

Thinking that Xu Taiping was going to pour the alcohol on it again, the evil ghost exclaimed, its voice trembling.

 

"I have another question for you." Xu Taiping sniffed the jar of alcohol before looking at the evil ghost's spiritual form, "How strong is the tiger demon that you call the king, and does it have any weaknesses?"

 

"This… this…"

 

When Xu Taiping asked about the tiger demon, the evil ghost became cautious and hesitant, unwilling to speak.

 

"If I tell you about the king, I will really have no way out!"

 

The evil ghost looked at Xu Taiping with a pleading expression.

 

"If you don't tell me, I will make your spirit scatter."

 

Xu Taiping dipped his hand into the jar of alcohol and, with an innocent smile, flung the alcohol at the evil ghost.

 

"Ah!…"

 

The evil ghost's screams echoed through the mountains and wilderness.

 

But this was a desolate area for miles around, and even if it screamed loudly, no one would hear it.

 

"Have you thought it over?"

 

After the screams subsided, Xu Taiping dipped his hand into the jar of alcohol again and, once more, showed his innocent smile to the evil ghost.

 

"The king is the king of all beasts, a spirit tiger, different from us evil ghosts, and has no weaknesses. However, half a month ago, it was ambushed and seriously injured by several disciples from the Seventh Peak. It will take at least three months to recover, which is why we evil ghosts have been searching for blood to feed it." The evil ghost paused here, looking at Xu Taiping with a hint of disdain. "Forgive me for being blunt, even with such serious injuries, my king can easily kill you."

 

"Three months to recover from its injuries, which is the same as the deadline for me to break through the Opening Realm…"

 

Xu Taiping frowned and pondered silently.

 

In the eyes of the evil ghost, this expression seemed to show fear of the tiger demon.

 

The evil ghost's heart leaped with joy, enduring the intense pain of its spirit being burned by the alcohol, and threatened Xu Taiping with a tone full of warning:

 

"So I advise you to let me go, after all, if my spirit scatters, the king will definitely know!"

 

Upon hearing this, Xu Taiping looked at the evil ghost seriously and suddenly threw the jar of alcohol high into the air, using his True Qi to shatter it with a palm strike.

 

"Bang!"

 

The jar shattered from Xu Taiping's palm strike, and the alcohol rained down like a shower, splashing into the trap.

 

"Ah!… Shameless scoundrel! Just you wait, the king, the king will come to avenge me!"

 

The piercing screams echoed through the mountains and wilderness.

 

Xu Taiping paid no attention to it and simply threw a prepared torch into the trap.

 

"My grandfather said, 'Use evil to control evil, repay kindness with kindness, and never engage in schemes with a tiger or consort with evil.'"

 

Translated by AIListening to the wails of the Evil Ghost in the trap, Xu Taiping remained expressionless as he muttered to himself.

 

"Boom!"

 

The torch ignited the dry wood laid beneath the trap, and with the help of the alcohol fumes, the wood burst into flames, sending fire soaring over three meters high.

 

"Roar!…"

 

And just as the flames rose, a tiger's roar suddenly erupted from within the fire, followed by the flames morphing into a massive tiger's head.

 

"Dare you slay my Evil Ghost servant?"

 

The Tiger Demon bellowed at Xu Taiping in rage.

 

"I heard you were gravely injured by several disciples of the Seventh Peak, requiring three to five years to fully recover. Is that the truth?"

 

Having heard the Evil Ghost's words earlier, Xu Taiping wasn't too surprised by the appearance of this Tiger Demon's phantom. Instead, he asked with a smile on his face.

 

"Nonsense, my injuries will heal in no more than three months!"

 

The Tiger King blurted out almost instinctively.

 

However, as soon as the words left its mouth, it realized something was amiss and immediately roared in fury:

 

"How dare you trick me into revealing that?"