Chapter 55: The Immortal Venerable's One-Handed Basic Attack
The pitch-black spear tore through the air, carrying an aura of annihilation, and plunged straight down! Wherever the spear tip passed, space distorted slightly, and vengeful spirits wailed as they were drawn into it, becoming part of its power.
Inside the barrier, the pupils of all seven people shrank simultaneously, their spiritual energy was depleted, their souls were injured, and even moving their fingers became extremely difficult.
The shadow of death is chilling.
Just as the Soul Spear was about to pierce the seven people, the entire space shrouded by the eerie blood moon suddenly froze!
The blood moon hung overhead, and its dark red light ceased to flow.
The folds of the Thousand Souls Banner were now frozen like a stone sculpture, and the demon envoy's ferocious smile froze on his lips.
All sounds ceased at that moment, even the wind stood still.
The next instant, a sword light descended from the heavens.
Wherever the sword light passed, the eerie blood moon hanging high in the sky, like fragile glass, began to shatter and vanish silently, turning into countless blood-red light spots, which were then completely wiped away by the sword intent!
The banner of ten thousand souls, woven from countless tormented faces and radiating overwhelming resentment, let out an extremely mournful cry. All the faces on the banner instantly twisted and shattered, and the entire banner exploded, turning into countless black fragments, which were then crushed into dust by the sword intent that followed!
The dark red barrier of vengeful spirits that enveloped the surrounding area melted and evaporated rapidly before this sword light, like ice and snow exposed to the scorching sun, leaving not a trace.
The terrifyingly powerful, pitch-black soul spear, capable of annihilating everyone present, vanished without even causing the slightest ripple the moment it touched the Nine Heavens Sword Light, as if it had never existed.
The night sky reappeared, the starlight and moonlight fell, the wailing of ten thousand souls ceased completely, and only a deathly silence remained between heaven and earth, along with the lingering, terrifying power of the sword intent that had not yet completely dissipated.
A blurry, tall, illusory image of a Dharma body stood in the void.
His face was indistinct, but his eyes, indifferent as ancient ice, swept over the ravaged ruins of the mortuary below, and the black-robed demon envoy who was suspended in mid-air, terrified and unable to move.
His gaze held only extreme disgust and chilling murderous intent towards acts that desecrate life and toy with the soul.
This killing intent was pure and vast, filling the heavens and earth, causing all things to tremble.
Faced with that absolute power and killing intent, the demon envoy couldn't even muster the slightest thought of resistance, nor could he even utter a scream.
His body, along with the evil soul contained within it, was completely reduced to ashes and vanished without a trace in the aftershocks of the sword intent, like a sand sculpture scattered by the wind.
Blood moon, soul banner, barrier, demon messenger... all evil beings vanished under this sword.
Fang Li slumped to the ground, staring blankly at the blurry phantom image of the Dharma. Her mind was completely blank. Several breaths later, the tremor of surviving the ordeal slowly spread through her limbs and bones.
"Immortal...Immortal Venerable...Your arrival is...perfect timing..." she murmured inwardly, her words incoherent, filled only with the most instinctive gratitude and awe.
【...Host...is saved...I was so scared...Waaah...】The system's electronic voice was weak and intermittent, as if it too had temporarily lost its mind under this divine power.
Ye Wuyang's gaze swept over everyone, finally settling on Fang Li's bleeding shoulder. His gaze was devoid of warmth, yet it chilled the surrounding air even further.
"The Soul Devouring Cult..." A cold voice resounded directly in everyone's minds, like ice shards striking each other: "They should be executed."
The illusory image of the Dharma gradually faded, but the last sentence remained clearly etched into the consciousness:
"You all, return to your clan."
Long after Ye Wuyang's illusory image dissipated, the air in the ruins remained stagnant, filled with a pungent stench of burning and lingering evil energy.
The eerie blood moon and the terrifying barrier of ten thousand souls seemed like a collective nightmare. Only the still slightly warm remnants of the evil array underfoot and the scattered fragments of bone proved the brief but breathtaking destruction that had just occurred.
Everyone was exhausted, their spiritual energy was almost depleted, and their souls were throbbing with pain from the previous tearing.
Shen Yunzhou leaned on his sword for support, catching his breath for a long time. His usually stern face showed a rare sign of fatigue.
Xie Chen put away the damaged jade fan and gazed thoughtfully at the ruins.
Ji Qianqiu sat down heavily on the ground, panting heavily, his body covered in bloody welts.
Mo Yun and Tie Pan supported each other, cautiously scanning their surroundings.
Although Chu Yunfan's flute playing had stopped, the solemnity between his brows remained.
Fang Li could barely stand, and was only held up by the thought that she didn't want to lie on the ground.
"Tongzi... are you still alive...?" Her voice was weak.
[This system's vital signs are stable. Minor damage... Host, let's be more careful when accepting dungeons in the future, okay? This one's going to be big!] The system's electronic voice was weak, revealing a sense of relief at surviving a disaster while muttering curses under its breath.
"Search around and see if there are any clues we've missed." Mo Yun forced himself to stay alert, his voice a little hoarse: "Such an evil formation could not have been set up by an ordinary demonic cultivator on his own."
Upon hearing this, the group mustered their spirits and began to carefully explore the ruins, which were emitting wisps of smoke and exuding an ominous aura.
Deep within the ruins, Xie Chen carefully brushed aside the ashes with his jade fan and discovered half a charred animal hide.
It seemed to have been specially treated, surviving even amidst the aftershocks of Ye Wuyang's sword intent and the raging fire.
He picked up the animal hide, brushed away the surface dust, and the words written on it in dark red ink were still faintly discernible.
"We've made a discovery." Xie Chen's deep voice drew everyone's attention.
He quickly scanned the remaining content, his expression growing increasingly grave with each glance, until finally, his usually smiling eyes were filled with icy coldness.
"What is recorded?" Mo Yun asked as he approached.
Xie Chen handed over the animal hide, his tone more serious than ever before: "It's a fragment of a secret technique from the Soul Devouring Sect. Besides the 'Hundred Infant Wraiths' and 'Ten Thousand Soul Corpse Array' that we've already encountered, it also mentions... 'Refining City and Transforming Domain'."
"Refining the city and transforming the domain?" Tie Pan repeated in a rough voice, not understanding.
Chu Yunfan took the animal hide and examined it closely. His face instantly turned ashen, and his fingers turned slightly white from the force he applied: "A demonic realm forged from the souls of countless living beings... Such a heaven-defying and evil technique is cruel and ruthless, far beyond imagination! There must be a Nascent Soul stage demon, or even a higher level demon, plotting and supporting it behind the scenes!"
He put down the animal hide and strode to the core traces of the evil array. He crouched down, his fingertips glowing with pure spiritual light, and carefully examined the dim and charred patterns of the evil array on the ground. The more he looked, the more alarmed he became: "This array... is definitely not just for the purpose of extracting a few children's souls and meager spiritual energy. Its spiritual energy flow seems chaotic, but in fact, it all ultimately points to an extremely powerful and hidden existence in the distance! The loss of spiritual energy in Qinghe Town and the crying of the children are probably just an insignificant link in this huge evil plan, or even just... a test or preliminary preparation!"
Fang Li's scalp tingled: "Refining the city?! The entire city's inhabitants...?! These lunatics! They're insane! System, if we submit this report, the sect's higher-ups will be in an uproar, won't they?"
[Core evil magic data has been recorded and backed up! Threat level reassessed... Assessment complete: World-destroying level! Recommendation: Report immediately and activate the highest alert plan! Host... it seems we... have really messed things up...] The system's voice was solemn, devoid of any of its usual playfulness.
The news was so shocking that it cast a heavy shadow over the hearts of those who had just escaped death.
Xie Chen slowly unfolded the sect's jade slip: "This must be reported immediately. The Soul Devouring Sect's ambition is not merely to capture a town or city, but rather..."
"The Demonic Realm of Living Souls," Chu Yunfan interjected. "Using billions of living beings as materials, a realm of absolute death will be refined. Wherever the Demonic Realm is shrouded, vegetation will wither, humans and animals will be transformed into puppets, and it will forever be a paradise for evil cultivators."
Fang Li shivered.
This thing sounds even scarier than a nuclear bomb...
The system muttered under its breath: [I suggest exchanging for 'Interdimensional Emergency Teleportation Talisman x1', priced at 999,999 points... Host, shall we run away?]
In the silence, Chu Yunfan's gaze swept over a remnant of a formation eye, where an irregular black crystal, about the size of a fingernail, was half-buried. Its surface was dull, but it faintly retained a trace of extremely peculiar evil energy, completely different from the surrounding scattered resentful spirit energy.
Without making a sound, he flicked his wide sleeve, and the black crystal quietly fell into a hidden pocket in his sleeve.
His expression remained unchanged, as if it were just a casual movement, as he continued to examine other traces, but his mind was already churning with thoughts.
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