Under one person: I, Zhang Zhiwei, the arrogant Zhang.

After the pre-battle mobilization, the noisy square quickly returned to order. Leaders at all levels began to assemble their troops, distribute weapons and ammunition, and make final tactical arrangements.

The logistics personnel brought out large pots of food and jars of strong liquor, ensuring the brothers, about to embark on their campaign, had a hearty meal. Tonight, they would launch a desperate surprise attack on the Japanese pirates.

At the other end of the square, Lu Yusheng, Wang Ai, and the others did not dare to delay for a moment and quickly passed through the crowd to the back of the church to pay their respects to Zhang Zhiwei.

They initially thought only Zhang Zhiwei had come alone, but when they saw the fifteen elderly Taoist priests behind him, dressed in Bagua robes and exuding a dignified air, they were startled, then overjoyed. They all understood that the young Celestial Master had invited all the old guard from Longhu Mountain to help him.

Wang Ai, Lu Yusheng, A Xing, and others quickly stepped forward and respectfully bowed in greeting.

Everyone else unanimously paid their respects to the Little Celestial Master and the various high-ranking priests of Longhu Mountain.

Only Ah Xing knelt on the ground, respectfully kowtowed three times, and shouted loudly, "Greetings, Master! Greetings, all the Masters!"

Hearing Ah Xing address Zhang Zhiwei and the others in that way, the group of martial uncles were all surprised and turned their gazes toward Zhang Zhiwei.

"Hey kid, when did you take on an apprentice down the mountain?" Zhang Yi asked curiously.

"If we find a promising talent, we'll naturally take them on," Zhang Zhiwei said with a smile.

"Did you teach me your signature skills?" Yi Qian asked, leaning closer. What he wanted to ask about was, of course, the Golden Light Mantra.

Zhang Zhiwei nodded and said frankly, "I have already taught him."

"What about Lei Fa?" Yi Qian asked again.

"No." Zhang Zhiwei shook his head.

Hearing this, Yi Qian visibly breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, this kid still knew the rules; privately passing on thunder techniques was a major taboo. Of course, it couldn't be passed on to just anyone, as thunder techniques had their own restrictions, but he figured those restrictions would be practically useless against Zhang Zhiwei.

Actually, Zhang Zhiwei had considered passing on the Thunder Technique to A Xing, but time was too tight.

Even though Ah Xing is exceptionally talented and a martial arts prodigy, it will still take him a considerable amount of time to hone his skills in order to learn a profound spell like Yang Wu Lei.

But now that a great war is about to break out, rather than having him go through all the trouble of learning thunder magic, it would be better to let him concentrate on continuing to cultivate his Tathagata Palm and make the most of this one move.

Yi Qian was still pulling Zhang Zhiwei aside, asking him all sorts of questions, trying to find out more about A Xing. Zhang Yi, on the other hand, had already walked up to A Xing and looked him up and down.

Seeing that this young man was full of energy and spirit, with a hint of divine light bursting from his eyes, and his aura flowing naturally and smoothly around him, as if he were one with heaven and earth, he even faintly revealed a sense of harmony between man and nature. He immediately knew that this person was extraordinary and a rare talent.

He reached out and patted Ah Xing's shoulder heavily, praising, "Not bad! You have exceptional talent and are a good candidate for cultivation. After some time, when the war has subsided, come to the main altar of Longhu Mountain to receive your ordination. At that time, your master will personally bestow the ordination upon you!"

Upon hearing this, Ah Xing beamed with joy and said, "Oh, thank you so much, Master! Thank you so much, Master! I'll remember that, I'll definitely go! I'll definitely go! Master, you have to look after me!"

After exchanging greetings, Wang Ai stepped forward and respectfully said to Zhang Zhiwei, "Senior Brother Zhang, everything you asked me to prepare is ready. The five hundred altar attendants and the guard team are all present."

Zhang Zhiwei nodded: "Where?"

“I’ve settled them in the cathedral. Please follow me.” With that, Wang Ai led the way, and the group headed toward the Tiantong Cathedral.

As soon as you step into the church, a solemn atmosphere washes over you. The once spacious church is now filled with people.

There were local Shanghai-based missionary teams and elites brought by Wang Ai from Chongqing; all of them were in high spirits and ready for battle.

Besides these, the most eye-catching figures were the five hundred men and women dressed in colorful robes. Interspersed among them were about a hundred nervous-looking children, holding various ritual implements and banners, clearly preparing to perform some grand altar ritual.

Wang Ai explained, "Those five hundred people have been carefully rehearsed in Chongqing for several months, and I absolutely guarantee that there will be no problems during the ceremony."

Seeing the grand spectacle before them and hearing Wang Ai's introduction, Yi Qian, Zhang Yi, and the other senior uncles were all taken aback.

So many ritual attendants, and so many children, what a spectacle...

"What kind of altar are you going to open? And how big is it?!" Zhang Yi couldn't help but ask.

Zhang Zhiwei said calmly, "At a time like this, we definitely need to hold a grand ceremony. This time, our opponent is the Grand Master of the Shinto Sect. The Shinto Sect is most skilled at exorcising spirits and commanding ghosts, and they claim to have eight million ghosts and gods under their command. As everyone knows, thunder magic is the most effective against ghosts. So I plan to command the Thunder Ancestor's divine power to give them a big blow."

Zhang Yi glanced at the hundreds of people dressed in colorful clothes, then looked at Zhang Zhiwei and clicked his tongue in amazement: "So many ceremonial personnel, and you even brought down the Yangping Capital Censorate Seal... Using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, you really don't leave anyone any chance!"

Zhang Zhiwei laughed and said, "Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit. My master often says that, so as his disciple, I naturally have to listen to him."

"Listen to me? It sounds really strange coming from you," Yi Qian said, pursing his lips. As everyone knows, Zhang Zhiwei never listens to Zhang Jingqing's words, adhering to the principle of "knowing his mistakes, admitting them, but not correcting them."

"When do you plan to set up the altar? We will definitely cooperate fully with you," Zhang Shoucheng said.

Zhang Zhiwei said, "We'll wait until the army sets off. But for now, we can begin setting up the altar."

“Okay, I’ll go arrange it right away!” Wang Ai nodded in response.

Yi Qian thought for a moment and said, "Although the little fat guy said he has trained them well, there is always a difference between drills and reality. In order to avoid making mistakes and ruining the big plan, we old guys will go and give them some guidance first."

"Uncle Yi is indeed very thoughtful," Zhang Zhiwei nodded in agreement.

……

Meanwhile, on the other side of Shanghai, inside the Japanese pirates' temporary command post, a strange altar was being completed.

Military trucks came and went, their engines roaring deafeningly. Accompanied by the roars of towering shikigami, they quickly cleared the surrounding area, creating clearing patches of flat land.

Then, an Onmyoji dressed in hunting robes quickly stepped forward, summoned the tall shikigami beside him, and erected one huge stone pillar after another inlaid with runes and incantations.

Immediately afterwards, the priests who had been waiting nearby rushed forward, holding blood-stained brushes, and quickly drew various strange runes on the stone pillar.

This is why the Grand Master has been hesitant to take action against the Tiantong Church during this period.

He was still setting up the rituals.

He was about to summon a true night parade of a hundred ghosts right here, to completely destroy the Heavenly Tong Church and turn this place into a living hell!
These setups have been going on for two days, and now the scene is finally almost complete.

What was originally the site of the military headquarters has now been completely transformed into a magnificent yet eerie shrine.

A huge, blood-red torii gate stands at the entrance, and stone lanterns on both sides of the approach path emit a dim light.

The ground beneath the torii gate was covered with dense, blood-red runes, which were connected in circles, resembling a giant ukiyo-e print.

In the center of the ukiyo-e print is a well. The well is bottomless and emits a faint black mist, as if it connects to the deepest hell.

Several tall wooden sculptures stand around the well, and a pale white gauze curtain hangs in front of them, through which one can vaguely see the statues of ferocious Vajras or evil spirits.

Various sacrificial objects were placed around, including bronze mirrors, jade ornaments, and soul-summoning banners, all exuding a sinister and terrifying aura.

At the very center, on a huge wooden palanquin, sits a tightly closed shrine.

Inside the shrine, Amaterasu Omikami sits regally. Her palanquin is wrapped with thick purple shimenawa ropes, resembling giant pythons, guarding the goddess's throne.

Prince Fushimi and Matsui stood at a distance, looking at the magnificent shrine that rose from the ground and exuded an ominous aura. They exchanged a glance, both seeing deep horror in each other's eyes.

They knew the Grand Chancellor would be ambitious, but they never expected it to be this grand.

Once the altar was set up, the ceremony soon began.

On the cobblestone path, the Grand Master of Ceremonies held a white edict in both hands and walked forward with slow, steady steps.

The clergy kneeling on either side uttered monotonous and eerie chanting.

The chief priest walked up to the altar amidst these strange scriptures.

On the altar, twelve girls dressed in red and white shrine maiden outfits were barefoot, dancing wildly and without stopping to the heavy drumbeats.

Many of them had their soles worn out, leaving tiny bloodstains on the ground, but they seemed not to feel the pain and continued jumping tirelessly.

The chief priest ascended the altar, respectfully opened the edict in his hand, and began to read it aloud quickly in an ancient and obscure crane-like voice:
"I report to the great gods dwelling in Takamagahara and the underworld... With this auspicious prayer, I open the gates of the eternal world... Please lead the calamity-summoning gods of a hundred demons, the eighty calamity-summoning gods, to descend upon this land... to devour the flesh and blood of the living, and to drink their souls..."

As he finished his announcement, the talisman in his hand immediately ignited without fire, turning into a wisp of green smoke that rose into the clouds.

Immediately afterwards, a cold wind howled, and the world changed color!

Thick, inky black mist suddenly gushed out from the deep well, instantly engulfing the entire shrine.

The clergy present immediately felt a terrifying aura of death descend upon them, as if a pair of icy hands were gripping their throats, almost suffocating them.

But they had already been informed of the various strange phenomena in the ritual, and with unwavering will, they endured the piercing fear, kneeling in place and continuing their ritual.

"Boom!"

A deep and resonant chime sounded, like a death knell from hell.

As soon as this sound was uttered, the music throughout the shrine immediately changed.

Instruments such as the shamisen, shakuhachi, taiko, and koto played solemn and dignified melodies.

Immediately afterwards, the chief priest gave a look.

Soon, a dense crowd of people was escorted in by fully armed Japanese soldiers, a dark mass, and they knelt under the torii gate.

These people were the sacrificial offerings required for this ceremony, and they were all traitors who had voluntarily defected to them since the start of the war.

The chief priest had not originally intended to use them as sacrifices; he ordered Matsui to arrest civilians.

But Matsui said that the battle was in full swing, and going out to capture offerings would require sending out a large number of people, which would be time-consuming and laborious, and would also make them vulnerable to ambushes by guerrillas.

He felt that instead of going through all the trouble to catch them, it would be better to let them come to him on their own.

Recently, many spineless people in Shanghai have switched sides to them.

He only needs to issue an order, telling them to come and help move supplies or build fortifications, and without losing a single soldier, they will come running to their deaths.

When the chief priest heard this, he thought it was a good idea. It would save time and effort and make good use of waste materials, so he asked Matsui to do it.

As expected, at Matsui's command, a large number of traitors willing to "share the burden" for the Japanese general gathered.

Then, they were tied up like pigs and dogs with dark gun barrels pointed at them.

Until this moment, they were unaware that what awaited them was the tragic fate of becoming sacrificial offerings.

Escorted by Japanese pirate soldiers, they arrived at the torii gate, knelt between the altars, and trembled with fear.

The chief priest didn't even glance at these people, silently chanted the incantation, and continued to cast the spell.

Suddenly, the traitors kneeling on the ground all covered their necks, rolled their eyes upwards, and made hoarse sounds.

Their blood vessels began to swell and bulge under their skin like earthworms, eventually bursting with a "pop".

Countless drops of blood gushed out as if squeezed by a high-pressure water gun, staining the ground and the torii gate red.

From a distance, they resemble clusters of vibrant, enchanting flowers, blooming instantly in the darkness.

With the deaths of these people, this place has become a living hell. Death permeates the air, and resentment fills the sky.

More ghostly mist drifted out of the well, merging with the bloody aura in the air and transforming into clusters of eerie green ghost fire.

They floated in the air, making the entire shrine look like a ghostly realm.

Immediately afterwards, a translucent ghostly creature, neither insect nor dragon, flew out of the well with a mournful shriek.

This is the "Dead Soul Worm," one of the hundred ghosts. It is usually born from piles of corpses of millions of people and lives by devouring the souls of the dead.

Soon, hundreds of dead soul worms of all sizes flew out of the well, chasing the phosphorescent flames in the air and leaving eerie trails in the sky.

On the ground, corpses piled up like mountains, and blood covered the entire surface, flowing into a river that led to the deep well.

Countless demons and monsters crawled in and out of the well, greedily sucking up flesh and blood and resentment.

On those corpses, at a speed visible to the naked eye, one after another, large, bewitching, and sinister red flowers bloomed.

As the crimson flower bloomed, the well in the center trembled violently. More and more powerful demons were being summoned, about to enter this mortal realm. A night parade of a hundred demons was about to begin. (End of Chapter)