117: Chapter 117 The Death of Lu Yuanze

Seeing Xu Changsheng's dazed and foolish appearance,

Lu Yuanze laughed heartily: "Jie jie jie, kid, scared witless, aren't you? Did you think you were still in Donglin Fortress with that third-tier Formation to rely on?"

"A mere brat who luckily reached Foundation Establishment dares to venture alone into the dragon's den to find this seat? You're simply tired of living and seeking your own death!"

"Those foul words you spoke earlier, this seat has 'engraved them into my bones.' You won't have the chance for a quick death later."

"I will skin you and pull out your tendons, crush your Divine Soul inch by inch, and then seal you into the banner. I'll make it so that day and night, you will beg for life to no avail and pray for death in vain!"

After letting out a string of ruthless threats,

the ghosts arrived right in front of Xu Changsheng.

Immediately, the Formation changed.

The three Foundation Establishment ghosts retreated behind him, while the dozens of Qi Refining malevolent ghosts acting as wingmen launched the first attack.

The latter remained calm and unhurried.

After realizing he hadn't fallen into an enemy Formation, he was no longer in a hurry to set up the Gap-Seeking World-Breaking Formation.

Instead, he gave a long whistle, and his entire body erupted with brilliant golden light.

A wave of scalding golden flames centered on him, sweeping outward in all directions like ocean waves.

A high temperature sufficient to burn a Soul to nothingness followed closely behind.

"Sizzle!"

The ghost Qi that originally permeated the surroundings seemed to have met its natural enemy, melting away as quickly as spring snow.

The leading malevolent ghost naturally felt the astonishing spiritual power within the heatwave.

Its extremely low intelligence told it that it could no longer move forward.

It stopped in its tracks abruptly.

Its mouth babbled incessantly: "Stop, stop, stop!"

However, the ghosts behind it, under the supervision of the three Foundation Establishment ghosts, couldn't listen at all—and even if they did, they couldn't stop!

"Ah!"

The moment they touched the golden flames, expressions of painful struggle appeared on the ghosts' faces. Their ghost bodies turned into wisps of green smoke, their Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.

Accompanied by wave after wave of wailing,

the first batch of small ghosts was completely annihilated!

Seeing this scene, the three Foundation Establishment ghosts were also frozen in place with fear.

They could feel the world-destroying Divine Might within the golden flames; it was not something they could resist.

Xu Changsheng secretly admired himself.

Since being trapped in the Artifact Refining Room, he had indeed suppressed the True Fire for a long time. He hadn't expected that by just slightly activating it today, the overflowing power would be so formidable.

On the other side, seeing his carefully prepared attack Formation so easily neutralized by Xu Changsheng,

Lu Yuanze cursed incessantly: "Trash, all trash! Was it for nothing that I spent so much effort raising you to this level, only for you to desert this seat in battle?"

He took out a black jade pendant.

He cursed angrily: "All of you are useless things!"

Xu Changsheng, however, did not intend to give him any more time.

He murmured to himself: "True Solar Fire, Transform into the Golden Crow!"

A speck of golden light flashed on his forehead, and his entire person became like a sculpture under the early morning sun!

The next instant,

the golden flames no longer dispersed but condensed together, finally coalescing within the dazzling golden light into a majestic and divine Three-Legged Golden Crow!

It raised its head and gave a clear cry, carrying an aura of extreme Yang Qi.

This was a secret technique of the Great Sun Fusang Scripture after reaching Foundation Establishment.

He had longed for this for a long time, and now he could finally see its true power.

Without a moment's pause, under his command, the Golden Crow flew straight toward Lu Yuanze.

Any malevolent ghost that touched even a tiny spark of fire had its Soul body ignite like firewood at the bottom of a furnace, quickly burning away and vanishing.

No ghost dared to face its sharp edge.

Only then

did the arrogant Lu Yuanze finally understand why the ghosts were cowering and refusing to advance.

It was because he felt the aura of death from this Golden Crow—a trembling that came from his very Soul.

"Damn it!"

He violently activated the jade pendant.

He forcibly conscripted the malevolent ghosts in front of him, sending them charging toward the Golden Crow one after another.

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh."

Like moths to a flame, they were annihilated one by one, but they did manage to entangle the Golden Crow for a few breaths of time.

Lu Yuanze's mouth moved as he chanted incantations.

From the depths of the thousand soul banner, more ghost Qi escaped, followed by ghosts.

Three, five, ten...

Eventually, they came in swarms.

Among them were even two other unruly Foundation Establishment level ghosts, flying out with reluctant expressions.

"Jie jie jie jie."

A creaking sound came from the depths of the soul banner.

A massive ghost head slowly rose, its eyes burning with green fire, its mouth split open to its ears, revealing ghastly fangs.

"Not enough, far from enough! This seat wants fresh flesh and blood."

Lu Yuanze did not hesitate and took out a sharp small knife.

"Crunch."

Without changing his expression, he sliced off two of his own pinky fingers and offered them up.

After eating the fingers, the ghost head let out a suppressed low roar, its body deforming and expanding.

It grew taller layer by layer, finally transforming into a giant ghost shadow several zhang tall.

"Roar!"

The ghost head's voice was comparable to the overlapping shrieks of hundreds of malevolent ghosts, scraping against the eardrums until they pained, causing the stalactites overhead to fall one after another.

Pure black liquid dripped onto the ground, corroding a large pit that emitted black gas.

Xu Changsheng's expression froze: "Ghost Qi liquefaction?"

Lu Yuanze's face was distorted: "Brat, did your parents never teach you properly? Don't be so showy in life!"

Then he shouted at the ghost shadow, pointing his finger at Xu Changsheng: "Lord, please swallow him!"

The ghost shadow turned its head, its crimson gaze fixing on Xu Changsheng.

Its voice was as piercing as metal scraping against iron: "This flesh is not bad, very vigorous. This seat accepts!"

Lu Yuanze hastily reminded: "Lord, be careful. That golden bird of his strongly counters Soul bodies."

Hearing this,

the eyes hanging like blood moons locked onto the Golden Crow, their red light becoming calm and focused: "Indeed, it is very strong!"

Black Qi billowed around its body, condensing into a heavy ghost fist the size of a house. With the momentum to crush mountains and shatter rocks, it slammed violently toward the incoming Golden Crow!

"Whoosh!"

The powerful impact shattered the ghosts in its path, and the fist collided directly with the fire.

The next moment,

time seemed to stand still as a barrier where light and shadow met abruptly unfolded in the middle of the grotto.

Debris and rubble were swept up, swirling within the small cavern.

Xu Changsheng narrowed his eyes, his heart slightly shaken. He hadn't expected this ghost shadow to actually have the strength to contend with the True Solar Fire.

However, this was also because his Foundation Establishment cultivation still couldn't fully unleash the True Solar Fire's power.

Seeing that it was actually blocked, Lu Yuanze shouted excitedly: "The Lord's Divine Might is great! I will help you!"

He took out a purple spiritual sword and manipulated it to bypass the ghost shadow and strike at Xu Changsheng.

Xu Changsheng remained calm, letting Ink Shadow intercept the purple sword.

At the same time, his figure vanished eerily, leaving only flying sand and rolling stones in his place.

Seeing this scene,

Lu Yuanze's heart tightened. He watched the surroundings warily, trying to find Xu Changsheng's trail.

But he found nothing; the latter seemed to have vanished into thin air, completely disappearing from his field of vision.

"How can there be no trace at all?"

His heart was filled with uncertainty.

He took out a purple lump of meat from his Storage Pouch and quietly funneled magic power into it.

But at that moment, an itch came from his neck.

Xu Changsheng's soft whisper reached his ears: "Mirror Flower Water Moon."

"Wha—"

Lu Yuanze felt the scene before his eyes spin; everything became distorted and chaotic.

"You are dead."

Xu Changsheng's whisper drifted by his ear.

"Heh, so it was an illu..."

Lu Yuanze gave a hollow sigh and sank into endless darkness.

Without letting down his guard, Xu Changsheng stared at the collapsing crimson body and saw a wisp of weak black Qi trying to drift toward the thousand soul banner.

He gave a cold snort: "Soul Burning!"