436: Terrifying Demon Banner

Clang! The deafening sound of metal clashing caused the mist to churn! Violent shockwaves of energy erupted and scattered in all directions!

Ling Xuzi felt a sinister, vicious force with strong corrosive properties travel up the blade. It shook him so violently that his Qi and blood surged, and the light on his Flying Sword dimmed slightly!

The strength of Hun Jiu was actually a sliver stronger than he had anticipated! Moreover, the filthy power contained within that blood spear had an extremely strong corrosive effect on the spirituality of his Flying Sword!

"Hehehe, old geezer, is that all you've got!"

Hun Jiu laughed wildly, dancing his blood spear into a sky full of bloody spear shadows. Every strike carried a piercing shriek that could tear apart a Divine Soul, along with filthy blood poison, entangling Ling Xuzi tightly! He gave Ling Xuzi absolutely no opportunity to rescue the Disciples!

"Hold on!"

Ling Xuzi was burning with anxiety, his sword techniques becoming increasingly fierce as he attempted to break through Hun Jiu's blockade. But Hun Jiu's movement techniques were eerie, and his blood spear was tricky and vicious. Combined with the constant erosion of that filthy power, he found it difficult to break free for the time being!

"Gagaga! Little beauties, stop resisting! Obediently become the main souls for my soul devouring banner! This master will 'cherish' you well!"

Hun Ya cackled, exerting his full power to activate the soul devouring banner. The torrent of black soul shadows surged even more violently, and the light of the Five Elements sword wheel dimmed at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Blood spilled from the corners of the mouths of Lin Feng and the other four Disciples. Their Divine Souls had suffered heavy damage, and it was clear they were on the verge of collapse!

Han Ruyan's face was pale, but a flame of unyielding resolve burned within her ice-blue eyes. She gritted her teeth, frantically circulating the ice soul sword essence within her body, attempting to freeze the soul shadows that were eroding their Divine Souls. However, the gap in their Realms was too great; it was like trying to put out a burning cart of firewood with a single cup of water!

"Gagaga! Little beauty, obediently enter my precious banner!"

The green ghost fire in Hun Ya's eyes flared intensely. Watching the Five Elements sword wheel teetering on the brink of collapse, and seeing Han Ruyan and the others bleeding from their mouths with damaged Divine Souls, his face twisted with a mixture of lewdness and cruelty.

The soul devouring banner unleashed monstrous Devilish Qi, and countless resentful souls shrieked. It looked as though it was about to completely tear through their final defense and devour the five of them!

"Bastard!"

Ling Xuzi's eyes were splitting with rage! He had never expected that deep within this Demon Skeleton Mountain Range, two Devil Heads in the Soul Transformation Stage, holding such terrifying demonic artifacts, would be lurking!

The power of that soul devouring banner far exceeded his estimations; it was actually able to withstand his Mid-stage Soul Transformation attacks and even suppress him in return!

He absolutely could not let the Sect's Core Disciples, especially a Prodigy like Han Ruyan, perish here!

A flash of resolve crossed Ling Xuzi's eyes! He bit his tongue violently and spat out a mouthful of blood essence. At the same time, his left hand moved like lightning, pulling out a Medicinal Pill the size of a dragon's eye from his storage ring. It was entirely crimson red, with strange black patterns covering its surface—the Blood-Burning Realm-Breaking Pill!

This was a secret forbidden Medicinal Pill of Myriad Sword Valley. It required the burning of blood essence and Lifespan as a price to forcibly raise one's cultivation by a small Realm! The cost was immense; at best, one's Foundation would be damaged and cultivation would regress, and at worst, one would perish on the spot!

"Break for me!" Ling Xuzi swallowed the Medicinal Pill without hesitation!

Boom! A violent, scorching, and terrifying medicinal power that felt as if it would ignite his very Meridians instantly exploded within his body!

Ling Xuzi's hair and beard stood on end, his skin instantly turned crimson, and scorching white steam erupted from his pores! His original Mid-stage Soul Transformation aura soared crazily like a rocket, instantly breaking through the barrier and reaching the level of Late Stage Soul Transformation!

A fierce Sword Intent, far exceeding what he had before, rose into the sky, forcing the surrounding churning Devilish Qi back by several zhang!

"What?! Old geezer, have you gone mad?!"

Hun Jiu's scarlet pupils constricted violently. Feeling that violent and dangerous aura on Ling Xuzi, his heart rang with alarm bells! He had not expected the opponent to be so decisive, actually resorting to a forbidden drug to fight for his life!

"Myriad Swords Return to Origin—Space-Splitting Slash!"

Ling Xuzi's voice was hoarse, carrying a resolve to burn everything away! The ancient Flying Sword in his hand erupted with unprecedented, blinding light, the blade humming as if it could not withstand this power!

He gripped the sword with both hands and struck down fiercely at Hun Jiu, who was entangling him tightly! This strike was no longer a refined sword technique, but a lethal blow that condensed all his current cultivation, carrying an indomitable will to perish together with his enemy!

Wherever the sword light passed, space was forcibly torn open, leaving a pitch-black trace. It was fast to the extreme!

Hun Jiu's expression changed drastically. The dark red blood spear in his hand erupted with thick blood light, transforming into a huge blood-colored shield to block in front of him!

Chila! It was like a knife cutting through tofu! That seemingly sturdy blood-colored shield only held for half a breath under the sword light of the Space-Splitting Slash before it was forcibly slashed open!

The violent Sword Qi, its momentum undiminished, slashed fiercely onto the blood spear that Hun Jiu was using to block in his haste!

Clang—crack! A piercing sound of metal shattering rang out! It was as if Hun Jiu had been struck by a heavy hammer; his entire body flew backward like a broken sack, blood spraying wildly from his mouth!

The high-grade heavenly artifact blood spear in his hand actually had a clear crack appearing on its shaft! The Devilish Qi dissipated!

"Pfft!" Hun Jiu slammed heavily into the deadwood forest below. His aura instantly withered, and he had clearly suffered a serious internal injury.

"Brother Duck, watch out!" Hun Jiu shrieked in a mix of shock and rage.

However, Ling Xuzi did not pursue Hun Jiu at all. He forcibly suppressed the surging Qi and blood and the intense pain in his body caused by the backlash of the forbidden drug. His figure transformed into a streak of sword light that tore through the mist, rushing straight toward Hun Ya, who was exerting his full power to activate the soul devouring banner!

"Old thing! Don't even think about it!" Hun Ya was both shocked and angry; he had not expected his big brother to be heavily injured in a single exchange! He let out a strange cry, unable to care about continuing to attack Han Ruyan and the others, and violently shook the soul devouring banner!

"Ten Thousand Souls Protect the Master!"

Woo—! The black banner, which blotted out the sky and sun, shook violently. Countless powerful soul shadows, even more solid and radiating monstrous resentment, instantly rushed out from the surface of the banner!

These soul shadows had mixed auras; there were Nascent Soul spirits of human Cultivators, as well as demon souls of powerful Yao Beasts, and even a few remnant souls radiating the fluctuations of an Early Stage Spirit Transformation!

They converged into an incomparably thick soul wall, blocking in front of Ling Xuzi!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Ling Xuzi's violent Late Stage Soul Transformation Sword Qi slashed fiercely onto the soul wall! The soul shadows emitted miserable shrieks as large swaths were shredded and annihilated by the Sword Qi!

But this soul wall was simply too thick. The soul devouring banner, having absorbed hundreds of souls, possessed a terrifying level of defense! This strike from Ling Xuzi, which had been enough to heavily injure Hun Jiu, was actually blocked head-on. It only caused the soul wall to vibrate violently and its light to dim significantly, but it failed to break through in one blow!

"Hehehehe! Old geezer, the time for your forbidden drug is limited. Let's see how long you can hold on!"

Hun Ya hid behind the soul wall, his face also somewhat pale. Clearly, activating such a defense consumed a huge amount of energy, but his eyes were filled with smugness and resentment.

Ling Xuzi was extremely anxious! He indeed felt the violent power within his body rapidly fading, and the intense pain from the backlash was surging in like a tide!

He glanced at the five Disciples behind him who were teetering and had almost lost their combat ability. A flash of heartache crossed his eyes, which then instantly turned into incomparable firmness.

"Go!" Ling Xuzi flicked his hand violently, and five Talismans radiating gentle spatial fluctuations—Low Grade Teleportation Talismans—struck Han Ruyan, Lin Feng, and the other three with precision, like streaks of light!

"Junior Martial Uncle!" Lin Feng's eyes were splitting with rage. He instantly understood Ling Xuzi's intention and let out a roar of grief and indignation!

"Return to the Sect! Seek reinforcements!" Ling Xuzi's voice was hoarse, carrying an unquestionable command. "Leave quickly!"