Several talismans that blocked spiritual sense shot out, spreading around the cave mansion.
A spiritual light, similar to that of the Spirit Banned Cover, flared to life, forming a barrier.
The Inner Door cave mansion inherently possessed a prohibition to block spiritual sense detection.
But it was still better to be careful when using the Soul Refining Flag within the sect.
Shen Mo formed a hand seal and gave the Soul Refining Flag a hard shake.
Blood-red light surged from the flag.
One by one, figures of Soul Generals emerged from the blood curtain, standing quietly before Shen Mo. These were the Ghost Bride, Master Hong Jue, Green-skinned Ghost Tieshan, Gold Piercing Ghost Jinshan, the Red Fiend Ghost, plus thirteen other late-stage Class II ghost creatures Shen Mo had refined into Soul Generals.
A total of eighteen powerful Soul Generals, with nothing out of place.
With a slight thought, Shen Mo retracted these Soul Generals back into the Soul Refining Flag.
He swallowed a Qi Coalescing Pill and once again activated the blood flag.
Moments later, more than ten early-stage Class II Soul Generals and over seventy middle-stage Class II Soul Generals emerged one by one from the blood curtain.
Aside from these, no other Soul Generals walked out from the flag.
Only ninety-four Soul Generals left!
Shen Mo’s gaze swept over the figures crowding the cave mansion, his expression revealing neither joy nor sorrow.
These ninety-four Soul Generals were initially Minor Heavenly Demons he had refined into the flag.
However, they had undergone bizarre changes.
Over ten early-stage Class II Soul Generals and more than thirty middle-stage Class II Soul Generals retained their original forms as Soul Ghosts, beast souls, or cultivator spirits.
If the Soul Refining Flag were not Shen Mo’s magic artifact, he would not have been able to discern this immediately.
Their essence was, in fact, that of Heavenly Demon Soul Generals.
The remaining middle-stage Class II Soul Generals still retained the form of Minor Heavenly Demons!
Obviously, the rest of the Soul Generals in the Soul Refining Flag—including several hundred early-stage Class II Soul Generals and dozens of middle-stage Class II Soul Generals—had all been divided and devoured by these ninety-four Heavenly Demon Soul Generals.
Not even a single trace of them remained!
For the sake of distinction, Shen Mo named these two batches of Heavenly Demon Soul Generals exhibiting different forms as "Mutated Demon Soul Generals" and "Minor Heavenly Demon Soul Generals."
Upon a rough inspection, Shen Mo began to spot some clues.
The Mutated Demon Soul Generals possessed a distinct characteristic: those they had transformed into—cultivator spirits, beast souls, and Soul Ghosts—were all of a type possessing higher Talent. Alternatively, they were Soul Generals possessing special abilities!
For example, the Possession Ghost Horse Groom Lv was not divided and devoured; instead, he became a Mutated Demon Soul General. He still retained the Possession Ghost’s uncanny abilities: to move like a phantom, appearing and disappearing unpredictably, and to possess cultivators.
At Shen Mo’s command, he swiftly concealed his form, vanishing into thin air within the cave mansion.
For instance, the disciples of the Above Cloud Sect whom Shen Mo had slain and refined had also both become Mutated Demon Soul Generals.
Shen Mo also experimented. They could still use the magic fighting techniques of the Above Cloud Sect.
One could understand it as them being ’possessed’ by the Minor Heavenly Demons after being refined into Soul Generals! Googlᴇ search 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⚑𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖⚑𝕟𝕖𝕥
Of course, this was not the same as the "possession" that occurred in the cultivation world. Shen Mo would have to study them carefully to understand these anomalies.
The Minor Heavenly Demon Soul Generals, on the other hand, still retained the appearance and form of Minor Heavenly Demons!
However, their auras, without exception, were far stronger than when they were initially refined into the Soul Refining Flag. All of them had progressed from early-stage Class II to middle-stage Class II.
Could it be that they didn’t value the abilities of other Soul Generals, so they didn’t undergo ’possession’?
With this doubt in mind, Shen Mo reached out and grabbed the Mutated Demon Soul General, Horse Groom Lv, and one of the Minor Heavenly Demon Soul Generals.
Although he possessed the [Examine] Destiny, every time he used this Destiny, he needed to consume Spirit Stones. There was no need to waste Spirit Stones and energy inspecting them one by one.
Let me take a good look at what you really are.
As twenty Spirit Stones turned into residue, detailed information about the two types of Soul Generals appeared before him.
[Soul General: Mutated Demon Soul General Horse Groom Lv]
[Realm: Class II middle-stage]
[Description: This Soul General was originally a horse groom from the Grand Tutor’s mansion in Tianshun Country. When the kingdom turned into a Ghost Zone, he transformed into an early-stage Class II Possession Ghost. Later, he was refined into the Soul Refining Flag by a disciple of the Riverside Sect and became a Soul General on the flag. Because a Minor Heavenly Demon was refined into the flag, this Soul General was devoured and fused with by the Minor Heavenly Demon, retaining the characteristics of both the Soul Ghost and the Minor Heavenly Demon. He can conceal his form, move unseen through space, possess mortals and cultivators alike, and devour other creatures to strengthen himself. This form is now fixed; he has lost the Minor Heavenly Demon’s innate characteristic of fusing with creatures and can no longer Demon-corrupt other creatures.]
[Weakness: This Soul General is subject to the Soul Refining Flag. If the Soul Refining Flag is destroyed, he will self-annihilate and vanish.]
[Soul General: Minor Heavenly Demon Soul General]
[Realm: Class II middle-stage]
[Description: This Soul General was originally a Minor Heavenly Demon from the Lower Realm. It invaded Red Flame Country with a Second-order Pinnacle Heavenly Demon through the Heavenly Demon channel. It was later refined into the Soul Refining Flag by a disciple of the Riverside Sect and became a Soul General on the flag. After devouring many formidable Soul Generals, it progressed to middle-stage Class II, still retaining the characteristics of a Minor Heavenly Demon. It can devour other creatures to strengthen itself. It can also choose to Demon-corrupt other creatures, thereby obtaining their Innate Divine Abilities and other characteristics. After Demon-corruption, its form is fixed; it loses the Minor Heavenly Demon’s innate characteristic of fusing with creatures and can no longer Demon-corrupt other creatures.]
[Weakness: This Soul General is subject to the Soul Refining Flag. If the Soul Refining Flag is destroyed, it will self-annihilate and vanish.]
A thoughtful look crossed Shen Mo’s face.
No wonder everyone in the cultivation world turned pale at the mention of demons; he could glean a hint of this from the Minor Heavenly Demon Soul Generals.
Heavenly Demons were a strange type of creature, lacking a physical body or a separate soul; rather, their body and soul were one and the same. They could devour sentient creatures to strengthen themselves, be they Human Cultivators, ordinary birds and demonic beasts, or even Artifact Spirits, Soul Ghosts, Spiritual Monsters, Human Ghosts, and other such beings.
When encountering formidable creatures, they could also choose to Demon-corrupt them. While retaining the original creature’s features, they could continue to devour myriad other beings to strengthen themselves.
They were truly deserving of the title ’demon head’!
Never mind their invasion of Red Flame Country; even if placed in the Abandoned Ghost Zone, where countless ghosts roamed, they could still stir up a storm of blood and carnage!
The Black-robed Heavenly Demon he had met deep within the Void Sky Mountain Range earlier must have Demon-corrupted a Human Cultivator. Therefore, aside from its unusual Demonic Qi, its appearance, behavior, and speech were just like those of a Qi Gathering Realm, Layer IX cultivator!
Thinking this, Shen Mo consecutively used the Soul Searching Spell on the two Soul Generals.
In his Mind Sea, a radiant sun blazed brightly.
The invisible power of his soul, in a mysterious and profound manner, rippled outwards and seeped into the body of the Mutated Demon Soul General, Horse Groom Lv.
Very soon, Shen Mo perceived Horse Groom Lv’s fragmented memory fragments and the intense demonic nature buried deep within.
The fragmented memory fragments seemed to be from his lifetime, memories from his time in the Grand Tutor’s mansion. However, after becoming a ghost and then being refined into a Soul General by Shen Mo, he had lost most of his memories. Only scattered fragments remained, from which nothing coherent could be discerned.
As for the memories belonging to the Minor Heavenly Demon, they were even scarcer. Aside from two strong compulsions—to devour all living creatures to strengthen itself and to never resist the Flag Master’s commands—everything else was a muddled mess.
The Minor Heavenly Demon Soul General that had not yet undergone Demon-corruption was much the same. However, within its thoughts lay an additional, stubborn desire: to Demon-corrupt a formidable creature!