When the formation activated, bizarre phenomena occurred within a radius of several hundred meters.
Accompanied by the shrieks and wails of Yin Souls, tens of thousands of them fused to form a blood river.
With a thunderous roar, the blood river surged downwards, its violent waves rolling in, sweeping up the atmosphere between heaven and earth.
Dust, sand, and leaves whirled up in the fierce winds as the formation rendered the illusory into reality, inflicting tangible harm and bringing terror into the world.
The mere sight of it from afar caused the disciples’ bodies to chill and their souls to tremble.
For Cao Yuan and Nan Wenli, who were in the midst of it, the sense of fatal threat was even greater.
With no time for further reaction, the roaring blood river covered them, and Cao Yuan’s dozen or so Flying Swords became like drunken flutterers, wavering erratically in the air before one after another fell to the ground.
It was as if the essence, energy, and spirit of the Flying Swords had all been dissolved by the blood river.
Cultivators control Flying Swords by imbuing them with their essence, energy, and spirit; this allows them to wield the swords as extensions of their limbs, yet Yin Souls are uniquely adept at countering the spiritual soul energy.
"What the hell is this thing?"
Cold sweat instantly broke out on Cao Yuan as he watched his Falling Swords, completely confounded by what kind of Magic Artifact his opponent had unleashed to be so terrifying.
Nan Wenli’s face was even paler, her Flame Locusts almost completely wiped out. Just as her Lifebound poisonous insect, the Evil Horned Beetle, prepared to strike, it barely grazed the blood river and instantly became rigid, its soul shaken out of its body and left in a crashed state.
In desperation, Cao Yuan took out a talisman for soul protection, but it was consumed almost immediately. He simply did not have the wealth to counter the consumption of tens of thousands of Yin Souls.
The whole scene was a complete crushing defeat. Once the Ten Thousand Soul Banner’s formation was deployed, two inner disciples were left powerless to counterattack.
It wasn’t that the two truly lacked strength, but rather that attacks targeting the soul were unconventional, and neither of them had much in the way of countermeasures.
Ultimately, the blood river swiftly approached, enveloping Nan Wenli and Cao Yuan.
At that moment, both of them screamed in agony, feeling as if their souls were being torn apart. The excruciating pain made them collapse in an instant.
A single Yin Soul couldn’t harm a cultivator, and even a few or few dozen were just like scratching an itch, but tens of thousands of Yin Souls combined could completely obliterate the souls of Cao Yuan and Nan Wenli.
"I... I admit defeat..."
Gone was Cao Yuan’s previous confidence, and now he was pleading tearfully for mercy.
And Nan Wenli was even worse off, simply sitting on the ground motionless.
Upon closer inspection, one would see her soul had been knocked out of her body, and sinister and twisted Yin Souls were gnawing at it—this pain, far worse than physical injury, meant that within a few seconds, her entire soul would be devoured.
"Don’t take their lives, their Master is not someone to be trifled with."
Just then, a somewhat familiar voice sounded in Su Jie’s mind—it was Tang Peiqing transmitting his Divine Sense.
Su Jie pondered for a moment, then waved his hand, dispersing the thousands of entwining Yin Souls.
He then walked over to the injured Nan Wenli and Cao Yuan, unceremoniously plucked the golden-red Sword Nourishing Gourd from Cao Yuan’s waist, picked up the scattered Flying Swords from the ground, and stripped Nan Wenli’s Storage Bag, taking out numerous talismans and Magic Artifacts within.
Cao Yuan watched with wide eyes but dared not utter an extra word.
Such was the rule among inner disciples—if you lose a fight, the victor has the right to take control of the loser’s wealth. The only reason he was still alive was that this place was Ghost Ridge Palace; outside, even his life might have been forfeited.
"This is the Heavenly Soul Sect’s Magic Skill—it seems he has had some extraordinary encounters outside!"
Tang Peiqing recognized the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, having witnessed its power during his earlier travels.
"Indeed, this art is terrifying; Yunling Realm disciples rarely cultivate the art of the soul and therefore lack countermeasures," Ruan Feng added, indicating that for them from the Secret Realm, although the Ten Thousand Soul Banner was quite special, they still had ways to counter it.
"Haha, it seems both you and I have been fooled; this kid has kept a low profile!"
Cai Shangbai laughed heartily, and with the Ten Thousand Soul Banner’s appearance, he instantly secured the victory.
Zhu Qingya looked over there, her bright eyes full of surprise, murmuring to herself, "It’s only been so little time; how did he train so fast?"
"Can I have one of the Flying Swords?"
In the end, Cao Yuan couldn’t help himself. Watching Su Jie picking up all the Flying Swords while he, a Sword Cultivator, didn’t have even one, was a joke.
Su Jie glanced at the defeated man, then put the Flying Swords into his bag, gleefully looking at the Sword Nourishing Gourd.
This Mid Grade Magic Artifact seemed to have been well maintained—when he held it, he could feel the gourd’s verdancy and the unique freshness of plants. This was his first Mid Grade Magic Artifact.
"Not bad at all, this little gourd is a perfect fit for my White Bone Sky Slaying Sword."
Su Jie’s smile grew wider, planning to erase Cao Yuan’s Dharma Seal on it when he got back, and then use it to sheath the White Bone Sky Slaying Sword. The sword’s power would surely go up a level then.
Cao Yuan’s back teeth ached with regret; his treasure had just been snatched away.
If he had known that Su Jie was pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger, he would have stayed as far away from Su Jie as possible.
Without paying any more attention to Cao Yuan and Nan Wenli, Su Jie put away the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.
When he returned to the examination area, disciples voluntarily gave way, looking at Su Jie with both curiosity and fear, though mostly with admiration.
"Isn’t this Brother too terrifying? He won even when fighting two at once."
"He’s Su Jie, from Taoist Qiu’s lineage, seems he was just promoted but his strength is so astonishing."
"Did you see that flag just now? With a single wave, a myriad of ghosts wailed, and my heart nearly stopped beating."
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"Such an eerie method, so this is what Demon Cultivators are like!"
"That said, is it too late to change Masters? I want to become a disciple of Taoist Qiu."
Whispers spread, with both newcomers and disciples discussing.
Today’s fight was Su Jie’s first battle as an inner disciple, and he had shown off his prowess by taking on two at once.
Judging by the reactions of the disciples and newcomers, Su Jie’s reputation would certainly spread among all the disciples after today.
"Brother Su, that was an amazing fight just now, especially when you waved the flag—it was like you made the heavens and earth change color, unrivaled in power."
Duan Guanghai came scurrying up, his face full of smiles and obeisance, his attitude towards Su Jie even more respectful than before.
"Fighting one at the Sixth Level of Yunling Realm and another at the Seventh Level doesn’t count for much."
It wasn’t that Su Jie was arrogant; he had killed Tan Qing of the Yunling Realm Eighth Level, and now with the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, easily taking them down was expected.
As he spoke, Su Jie suddenly felt something odd at his back.
Turning his head, he saw the extraordinary Zhu Qingya staring at him.
When she noticed Su Jie looking, she quickly lowered her head, her demeanor coquettish, fiddling with the hem of her dress.
"Could it be my charm is really that great?"
Su Jie mused to himself and turned away from the place, eager to go back and lightly tally his gains.
When Su Jie had left, Zhu Qingya continued to gaze at his retreating figure for a long time before raising her little fists, "You jerk, just you wait."