Brother Wei started off fighting fiercely but the number of Ghost Generals was simply too many.
Just as Brother Wei had sent a Ghost General flying, another with a Three-eyed Ghost Mask stepped on the Blood River and approached from behind him, grabbed Brother Wei by the neck, and spun him into the Blood River.
In an instant, Brother Wei's spiritual power was suppressed, and his Purple Jade Wind Umbrella, stained by the Blood River's corrupt spirit light, dimmed dramatically, prompting him to struggle free and rise above the Blood River in a hurry.
But just as he surfaced, a Ghost General wielding a Wolf Fang Club struck a blow, hitting Brother Wei's head squarely.
Brother Wei bounced dozens of times across the surface of the Blood River, like a skipping stone, before crashing into Gao Li Mountain, causing countless rocks to explode and fly.
Two Ghost Generals almost simultaneously, while Brother Wei's head was still buzzing and he hadn't yet come to, managed only a partial dodge when one swung its blade, severing his collarbone with a deep, bone-exposing wound, while another's Long Spear pierced through his chest.
More Ghost Generals swarmed in. Although fighting them one-on-one was quickly resolved by Brother Wei, he struggled to cope when dozens of Ghost Generals, strengthened by Han Ruyan, ganged up on him.
Brother Wei was impaled with a Long Spear against the cliffside, shockwaves rippled in circles, and more weapons were hurled at him, nailing Brother Wei to the cliff as if he were Jesus in torment, with blood flowing freely, staining the rocks red.
"It's these Blood Rivers, don't fight them on the Blood River."
As Brother Wei endured a brutal beating, struggling to pull out his weapons to dodge, a sudden voice reached him—it was Zhuang Liangru's spiritual voice transmission.
Clearly seeing Brother Wei on the verge of defeat, Zhuang Liangru was getting restless and decided to intervene unfairly.
However, Zhuang Liangru's action was immediately noticed by Zhang Junwei, who while blocking with his Primordial Spirit, mocked, "Heh, Zhuang Liangru, can't you take a loss? Divine Sense transmission, how underhanded of you."
Zhuang Liangru kept silent, thinking, if I don't speak, it means I didn't do it.
And Brother Wei, having received Zhuang Liangru's reminder on the battlefield, finally realized the situation.
Those Ghost Generals were mostly fighting above the Blood River, which was a result of Han Ruyan entering the Array Eye. Their combat prowess was extremely powerful with the augmentation from the Blood River.
But once away from the Blood River, their combat strength would drop significantly.
Understanding this, Brother Wei immediately created some distance, planning to use ranged attacks to wear down the Soul Power of the Blood River or even break through the Blood River Formation outright.
But how could Su Jie let him escape? Just as Brother Wei was about to act, the Thousand-Handed Centipede with Su Jie himself arrived in the Ten Thousand Soul Banner's Blood River Formation, and together with a large number of Ghost Generals, they tightly surrounded Brother Wei.
What followed was naturally a merciless beating.
"Brother Wei... Brother Wei seems to be losing."
"How is that possible! Brother Wei is invincible; how could he lose to a Demon Cultivator?"
"Brother Wei must have a trump card left, please believe in him."
The surrounding Righteous Sect and Demon Cultivators were stunned to see Brother Wei turned into a punching bag, unable to accept their Immortal Seed being hammered.
"Haha, Brother Su is fighting well! Keep hitting that man in white, let him enjoy being exalted."
"Victory to Brother Su, you are the strongest Immortal Seed, the one on the other side is just a sham."
"Now see who the real Immortal Seed is. Listen up, you Righteous Sect slackers, your so-called Immortal Seed is no good; there's a difference between Immortal Seeds."
On the side of Ghost Ridge Palace, morale skyrocketed, catching admiring glances at Su Jie pursuing Brother Wei across the battlefield.
"The Ten Thousand Soul Banner! A banner of the Ten Thousand Souls level."
Both the Righteous and Demon Cultivators at the scene were shocked by the sudden reveal of Su Jie's Ten Thousand Soul Banner, but those most surprised were a group of Cultivators hiding a hundred kilometers away in a cave dwelling created within an underground volcano.
Numbering over ten thousand, dressed in black Ghost Robes, some with withered faces, some skeletal as if nearing death, and some with the heavy stench of decay. These people were the chosen allies of Ghost Ridge Palace in the war, the Heavenly Soul Sect's contingent.
They used ghost spirits to lay down Arrays, hiding in advance. Without specific investigation, their location would remain undetected.
They were waiting for the right moment, ready to burst out when the battle was most intense, to catch the Righteous Sect troops by surprise from behind and create a pincer attack with Ghost Ridge Palace.
Inside the cave dwelling, a water mirror hovered in the air, displaying scenes from the battlefield.
"This is the Immortal Seed of Ghost Ridge Palace you mentioned."
Standing at the forefront near the water mirror was a man with a gloomy face, a hooked nose, and slender eyebrows.
He was none other than Lu Jingshi, the Sect Master of Heavenly Soul Sect, with the cultivation of the Taoist Platform Realm. This battle was crucial for the future survival of Heavenly Soul Sect, so his personal involvement was essential.
Behind Lu Jingshi stood thirty-seven Secret Realm Elders, with Heavenly Soul Sect bringing almost all of its resources to the battle.
"To the Sect Master, it is indeed this person. We have a grudge with him, for it was he who took the Ghost Bride from us," Zhao Lianshan reported, bowing. Previously, he had taken Zou Minzun to Su Jie to demand the Ghost Bride, but not only did they fail to retrieve it, Su Jie humiliated them by defeating ten of them single-handedly afterward.
On their return journey, they further discovered that Zou Minzun had mysteriously vanished, and Zhao Lianshan suspected that Su Jie was likely responsible.
As Zhao Lianshan spoke, he looked at Han Ruyan's figure in the arena, his eyes full of unwillingness.
"A Ten Thousand Soul Banner, quite the ruthless and vicious character; I wonder how many have been killed to refine such a thing. If such an Immortal Seed had come from our Heavenly Soul Sect, the revival of our Sect would have been in sight!"