The car hurtled backward, Bai Ru occasionally twisting around to check the situation through the rear window, her hand steady on the steering wheel, the accelerator pedal pressed almost to the floor.

Not a single point of light was visible behind the car; it was pitch black. In contrast, a figure was gradually approaching a short distance ahead of the vehicle.

Principal Hao now lunged toward Bai Ru's car like a wild beast, mouth agape, running in a bizarre, all-fours posture. His speed was so alarming it brought to mind a hunting cheetah.

Even Bai Ru, who had witnessed many strange occurrences, couldn't help but gasp inwardly, genuinely worried that Principal Hao's body couldn't withstand such a relentless ordeal.

The Taiji Bagua Formation shield remained active within the car as a luminous barrier, but the glow seemed to have slightly diminished—a result of the continuous drain on the spiritual power sustaining the formation. Bai Ru kept one hand steadying the steering wheel while the other reached for two talismans she had prepared earlier. After chanting the incantation to activate them, she flicked her wrist, sending the talismans shooting into the formation.

At that exact moment, the car's hood was struck by a resounding thud as if a heavy object had landed on it. The vehicle visibly dipped, and its speed instantly dropped.

Startled, Bai Ru looked up to see Principal Hao had caught up and leapt onto the hood, crouching there, his hands and feet gripping the windshield and bonnet as if equipped with powerful suction cups.

This time, instead of launching an attack from within the protective formation, Principal Hao scrambled onto the roof in mere seconds and began smashing down with an unknown part of his body, striking with desperate force. With every impact, the car shook violently.

Simultaneously, the ghostly wails that had begun to fade outside suddenly intensified again. A series of piercing, soul-seizing shrieks pierced through the Bagua protective formation like awls stabbing directly into Bai Ru’s brain.

At this point, the Bagua formation’s light abruptly surged, instantly warding off the severe headache caused by the ghostly laughter. However, she had no time to deal with Principal Hao on the roof. Accompanied by the harrowing screams, spectral ghosts—represented only by severed limbs, exploded heads, and spilled guts—lay or stood blocking the path behind the car. Each time the vehicle rushed past their mangled forms, the shield of the Bagua formation weakened by a fraction.

Not only that, but Bai Ru also felt that the road beneath the car was no longer flat, but undulating and swaying like waves, occasionally twisting erratically from side to side.

It seemed the malevolent spirit wielding the dark arts sensed Bai Ru’s desperate intent to break through this Yin-Yang Road.

Incredibly, Principal Hao remained utterly still atop the rocking roof, striking down even more ferociously. Bai Ru struggled to maintain control of the steering wheel, ensuring the car continued to reverse without flipping over.

In that instant, Bai Ru could no longer afford to worry about the physical safety of Principal Hao. Ignoring the sweat beading on her forehead, she gripped the steering wheel tightly with one hand and snatched up the Demon Subduing Rod with the other.

“Heaven’s Way is boundless, all laws return to the origin. Exterminate!”

After activating the talisman on the Demon Subduing Rod with her incantation, Bai Ru flipped her wrist, pointing the tip directly at the car roof. A flash of azure light erupted from the rod’s tip, piercing through the roof toward Principal Hao’s face, which had turned a ghastly ashen-grey. Seemingly sensing danger, Principal Hao loosened his grip on the roof, and his body instantly fell to the ground like a discarded sack, subsequently being flung a considerable distance by the momentum of the reversing car.

Having cast Principal Hao clear, Bai Ru let out a sigh of relief, putting away the Demon Subduing Rod and gripping the steering wheel once more, trying her best to counteract the wave-like undulations of the road surface while maintaining a steady backward retreat.

What should have been a short distance stretched interminably under the influence of the Yin-Yang Road. Time crawled by, and the sweat soaked through Bai Ru’s clothes. Because of the constant jolting, she dared not relax for a moment, relying purely on her sense of the car’s speed and the degree of the road’s sway to judge her path, forcing herself to drive in a straight line, terrified that a single slip would send her veering off the road entirely.

She couldn't tell how long this torment lasted. Bai Ru felt sweat blurring her vision. She shook her head hard. The Bagua formation’s shield was gradually weakening, even beginning to shrink in concentric circles—a sign that it might soon break. Yet, the path behind showed no end.

A sliver of despair crossed Bai Ru’s mind: Could she truly fail to pass this trial?

Just then, within the darkness behind the car, a spot of white light suddenly materialized. Almost simultaneously, a massive wave crest reared up on the road ahead of her, rushing towards her with unbelievable speed.

The white light behind the car visibly grew larger and brighter at an alarming rate, like a crack letting in sunlight, while the crest ahead hurtled toward her.

In that moment, Bai Ru felt a momentary distraction, a feeling of surrendering to fate.

Suddenly, amidst the continuous wails and wicked laughter outside the car, she heard a familiar voice, calmly reciting a string of the Six-Syllable Great Bright Mantra:

“Om mani padme hum…”

Bai Ru’s eyes instantly brightened; she recognized it as Kuang Feifan’s voice.

Seeing that the trunk of the car had reached the rift formed by the white light, with part of it already submerged, Bai Ru’s heart inexplicably tightened. A sudden flash of clarity struck her mind, and on instinct, she wrenched the steering wheel hard. The car let out a screeching friction noise, leaning sharply as it swerved to Bai Ru’s left. Once the entire vehicle was fully submerged backward into the white light, Bai Ru slammed on the brakes.

That colossal wave crest, upon reaching the front of the white light, vanished without warning. Almost simultaneously, the Bagua formation shield inside Bai Ru’s car flickered twice and finally disintegrated, its spiritual energy depleted.

The oppressive darkness that had surrounded them finally lifted. When Bai Ru could clearly see the brightly lit main road outside, she finally let out a long breath.

Composing herself, Bai Ru took a careful look outside. The car was parked askew at the intersection, its rear wheels resting on the curb, and the entrance to the small alley she had turned into moments ago was right beside the front bumper.

Not far from the front of the car, Kuang Feifan sat cross-legged in the middle of the road. He had stopped chanting the Six-Syllable Great Bright Mantra and was staring blankly at Bai Ru’s car, his face alarmingly pale.

If Bai Ru hadn’t had that last-second change of mind to swerve the car, as she reversed out of the alley, the rear of her car would have collided directly with Kuang Feifan. While Bai Ru would have been mostly fine, Kuang Feifan would undoubtedly have been sent straight to the afterlife.

Bai Ru couldn’t explain why she had turned the car at that moment. Although she had heard Kuang Feifan’s voice, she had no idea where he actually was at the time. Perhaps it was a form of telepathy between them.

Bai Ru had just exhaled in relief and hadn't managed to make any move when she instinctively looked up. As her gaze swept across the rearview mirror, a face suddenly materialized in her sight.

Unexpectedly, Li Jin, who had been secured in the back seat, had opened his eyes. Furthermore, his face wore a rigid, frozen smile, as if the muscles around his mouth had been forcefully pulled upward by an unseen hand.

Startled, before Bai Ru could even turn her head, she felt a crushing pressure on her throat, instantly losing the ability to breathe.