111: The appearance of the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls shocked everyone!

Fifteen minutes later, the valley was covered in mangled corpses.

The charred remains of lion beasts and Cultivators overlapped, dark red blood flowing through the crevices of the rubble and pooling in the low-lying areas. The air was thick with the pungent scent of scorched flesh and blood.

The Bitao Sect team's ambush was practically perfect. Over a hundred members of the Yangquan Faction, including more than ten Peak Core Formation Cultivators, failed to escape; every single one died on the spot.

Even the transmission jade slips they sent out were intercepted by Qi Fei and the others, who had been waiting in readiness.

“The Yangquan Faction's Yang-attribute Cultivation Techniques truly live up to their reputation.”

Luo Xuanxiao gripped the storage bracelet he had scavenged from Wu Keji's corpse. His gaze fell upon the charred body, his brow furrowing slightly as a flicker of solemnity crossed his eyes.

Just now, he and Su Ling had teamed up to besiege the already slightly injured Wu Keji. Although they clearly held the upper hand, they were unable to kill him instantly.

Yangquan Faction Disciples practiced either Yin or Yang Cultivation Techniques based on their Spiritual Roots, only beginning to study the Art of Balancing Yin and Yang after reaching Soul Transformation. However, the power of Wu Keji's Pure Yang Spells alone far exceeded that of ordinary Family scions.

If Su Ling hadn't used the Startling Thunder Sword Art to assist in defense during that final, desperate Pure Yang True Martial Sword Strike, Luo Xuanxiao might have been injured even with his Purple Cloud Divine Thunder protection.

“Brother Han, we will share the spoils of this harvest together later.”

After this battle, Luo Xuanxiao's assessment of Su Ling's combat strength had completely changed.

Despite being only at the Early Core Formation Stage, Su Ling had dealt with a direct Disciple of the Yangquan Faction at the Peak Core Formation Stage with calm composure.

While the power of the Azure Heaven Thunder Method was not as fierce as his Purple Cloud Divine Thunder, Su Ling's aura remained steady throughout the fight, without even a hint of chaotic spiritual energy.

Clearly, he hadn't even exerted his full strength in the slaughter just now.

Invisibly, the innate arrogance Luo Xuanxiao felt when looking at Su Ling had quietly dissipated.

“Brother Luo, you joke. You were the main force just now; I was merely support.”

Su Ling shook his head slightly, but his right hand quietly flipped within his sleeve, and a palm-sized black banner suddenly emerged.

Black Qi faintly swirled on the surface of the banner. “I won't take a share of the spoils, but... I must take this man's Divine Soul.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the black banner suddenly expanded in the wind, growing to several meters tall in an instant.

A cold, pulling force surged from the banner's surface, sweeping over Wu Keji's charred corpse like a wave.

In the next moment, a remnant soul wreathed in black mist drifted out of the corpse.

The remnant soul's face still bore a hideous expression from the moment of death, but it was helpless against the suction, being pulled straight into the black banner and disappearing.

“A Demonic Path Magic Treasure?!”

“You are a Demonic Cultivator?!”

Luo Xuanxiao's pupils contracted sharply. The Purple Cloud Thunder power within his body instantly surged, and the air around him vibrated slightly due to the force of the lightning.

But Su Ling remained indifferent. Holding the ten thousand souls banner, he walked forward slowly, as if he didn't see Luo Xuanxiao's wariness.

As he moved, within a radius of one li, the remnant souls of the Cultivators and the Bone-Burning Scorpion-Tailed Lions that had not yet dissipated all floated out of their corpses. It was as if they were being pulled by invisible threads, converging toward the ten thousand souls banner.

Pale white and greenish-gray remnant souls flew through the valley.

Some Cultivator souls still held the agonizing postures they died in, while the beast souls let out silent roars.

The already eerie valley now resembled a ghostly underworld prison.

This bizarre scene caused the surrounding Bitao Sect Cultivators to instantly erupt into a frenzy. Various colors of magical light flashed, and the sounds of vibrating Magic Treasures rose one after another.

Everyone instinctively took a half-step back, their eyes fixed on the black banner in Su Ling's hand.

“Han Yu?!”

Wen Qingzhu turned abruptly, the crimson flame ring in his hand lighting up instantly. Orange-red flames danced on the ring, emitting a scorching heat.

He watched Su Ling approach step by step with the ten thousand souls banner, his expression darkening instantly.

The other Cultivators were even more wary, their hands forming seals, looking ready to strike at the slightest provocation.

A moment later, as the remnant souls merged into the banner's surface, distorted heads began to appear on it.

Some were the faces of Cultivators, others were the lions. These heads struggled and roared on the banner, yet they could not break free from the shackles of the black Qi, making one's skin crawl at the sight.

“Han Yu! You are actually a Demonic Cultivator!”

“To use such a sinister method as imprisoning souls is simply insane!”

“Associating with such an Evil Path practitioner will lead to being backstabbed sooner or later!”

“Kill him! I don't want my Divine Soul to be used as nourishment if I die one day!”

Angry roars erupted from the crowd. Several hot-tempered Cultivators had already begun to circulate their spiritual energy, the light of their Magic Treasures growing more intense as they faintly aimed toward Su Ling.

“Fellow Daoist Han, I need an explanation.”

Wen Qingzhu took a step forward, the flames on the crimson flame ring rising half a foot higher with a 'whoosh,' sending a scorching wave of air forward.

He frowned deeply, staring directly at Su Ling with cold eyes, his tone carrying an unquestionable sense of pressure.

Wen Qingzhu never expected that Su Ling would produce a notorious Demonic Path ten thousand souls banner.

If Su Ling couldn't provide a reasonable explanation, even though Wen Qingzhu had always held him in high regard, he would certainly not show mercy now.

Su Ling scanned the hostile crowd, his expression remaining calm.

From the moment he decided to take out the ten thousand souls banner, he knew he would face such a situation and had already prepared his response.

He didn't defend himself; he simply raised his hand and made a light grasping motion toward the ten thousand souls banner.

Three remnant souls were pulled from the banner, floating in mid-air. They could vaguely be identified as the Bitao Sect Cultivators who had been traveling with them.

“It's Fellow Daoist Li's Divine Soul!”

“That's Zeng Qiang! He unfortunately fell just now...”

“And Junior Brother Zhou!”

Exclamations immediately rang out from the crowd. The Cultivators who were familiar with these three individuals suddenly had complex looks in their eyes.

There was surprise, doubt, and a faint, imperceptible softening.

But at that moment, several flashes of magical power suddenly lit up. A Flying Sword and two fireballs blasted toward Su Ling without warning; clearly, someone wanted to strike first.

“Sizzle—”

The sound of exploding purple electricity instantly drowned out everything. Five purple lightning claw marks carrying an aura of destruction appeared in front of Su Ling. With several crisp 'bangs,' the Flying Sword was knocked away, and the fireballs were annihilated by the power of the lightning.

“Everyone, calm down!”

Luo Xuanxiao, surrounded by purple lightning, stepped to Su Ling's side. He scanned the crowd and shouted in a deep voice.

His voice carried the vibration of lightning, causing the restless crowd to instantly quiet down a bit.

“Thank you.”

A flash of surprise crossed Su Ling's eyes. He then nodded slightly to Luo Xuanxiao and raised his hand to send the three Cultivator souls forward.

The souls drifted slowly before the crowd, their complex expressions still vaguely visible on their faces.

Su Ling then crossed his fingers, forming a strange hand seal, and began to chant under his breath.

“By the Command of the Supreme, I release thy lonely souls... Salvation to the masses, haste to rebirth!”

As the incantation was recited, a strange ripple swept over the three remnant souls.

In the next moment, the three souls showed expressions of realization and bowed slightly toward Su Ling.

They then rapidly dissipated, leaving only a wisp of spiritual light that vanished into the Void Realm.