A Chinese Ghost Story II

Following the events of the first film, Ning parts ways with the Taoist Yin and returns to his home village, which has fallen on desperate times. He finds poverty and fear ruling the streets, with families driven to desperation. The return sets the stage for a new round of peril and adventure.

Ning winds up imprisoned, enduring months in a harsh cell. In confinement, he shares a cell with Elder Chu, a renowned scholar who becomes an unexpected ally. They bide their time, plotting a way to escape and survive.

On the day Ning is slated for execution, Elder Chu reveals an escape tunnel he has dug. He gives Ning one of his books and a pendant as tokens of fortune. Ning slips through the tunnel and begins a perilous new chapter on the outside.

While traveling, Ning inadvertently steals Autumn's horse, triggering a tense confrontation. He soon ends up at an abandoned villa, where the two men finally sort out their earlier misunderstanding. Their meeting marks the beginning of an uneasy alliance.

During the night at the villa, rebel soldiers attack from the trees, disguising themselves as ghosts. Autumn detects the ruse and engages them in a brief skirmish, thwarting the illusion. Windy and Moon later discover Elder Chu’s pendant, while Ning is mistaken for Elder Chu by the rebels.

Windy and Moon explain that their father, Lord Fu, was framed and is being transported to his execution. The rebels’ mission is to free him and thwart the plot against him. Ning and Autumn are left to consider the dangers as the rebels press on.

The villa becomes haunted by a corpse-demon, and a brutal battle ensues. Autumn uses his powers to dismantle walls and incinerate the demon with talismans, yet the monster regenerates and escapes. He chases it through the villa, but the demon proves formidable.

At daybreak, Autumn emerges on a dirt road and triggers a confrontation with an imperial convoy led by Hu. He freezes the soldiers and horses with a spell, creating a momentary stalemate. The convoy turns out to be carrying the sisters' father, adding urgency to the situation.

The rebels return to ambush the convoy, and the corpse-demon regenerates to wreak havoc once more. The rebels maneuver to rescue Lord Fu while Autumn battles the demon with his powers. The demon is driven back, but its threat remains ongoing.

The Imperial High Monk arrives with his entourage and casts a hypnotic spell designed to subjugate the rebels. Autumn realizes the chant is evil and blocks it by stuffing his ears with paper, buying precious seconds. The High Monk eventually assumes the form of a giant false buddha statue and unleashes lethal energy that knocks several group members down.

Hu infiltrates the palace to reach the captives and fights valiantly to buy time for the others. Lacking spiritual magic, he cannot overcome the demon and is destroyed, though he manages to wound the creature and save some lives. His sacrifice allows Yin, Ning and the others to recover and regroup.

Yin and the others arrive and Yin's mantra forces the demon to reveal its true form: a thousand-year-old centipede. Yin conjures golden swords to attack, and Autumn shifts the cosmic balance to crush the beast from above and below. The centipede is finally defeated from the inside, but Yin and Autumn are swallowed by the monster.

To survive the centipede’s fatal assault, Yin and Autumn split their souls from their bodies and fight the creature from within. The centipede is destroyed, but Autumn cannot return to his body and his soul floats away. Yin remains determined to complete the mission despite the cost.

The next day, Windy is to marry into the Ma family, and Ning runs down to the main street to wish Windy a happy life. He shares a quiet farewell with Moon, acknowledging a deep bond. The moment is tense, as danger lingers, but the vows proceed.

In a dramatic turn, Windy slips away from the wedding and joins Ning on a desert road. The two ride off together, choosing to face whatever comes next rather than stay bound by tradition. Their departure signals a new, uncertain journey for the pair.