157: After the war, the change of the Ten Thousand Soul Banner

Outside the Formation, Lu Tao and Song Moting seized the opportunity to launch their most fierce offensive against Zhao Yiyang and Wu Jinyan.

Brilliant white and crimson sword lights intertwined, flames clashed with ice spikes, and the four fought in an inextricable battle.

This made it completely impossible for Zhao Yiyang and his companion to pay attention to the situation inside the Formation.

Meanwhile, on the periphery of the Bitter Pain Forest, one hundred Peak Core Formation Cultivators stood in specific positions, holding lightning-type crystals.

Guided by Su Ling, the mana within their bodies resonated with the lightning power in the crystals, converging into a ferocious lightning Dragon.

The lightning Dragon's body was wreathed in cyan lightning, each sway accompanied by a deafening roar, and its terrifying aura caused the air to sizzle.

Zhao Yiyang and Wu Jinyan caught a glimpse of this scene, their pupils constricting suddenly as intense unease welled up in their hearts.

Before they could react, the lightning Dragon, urged on by Su Ling, roared and charged toward the tottering defensive light barrier!

"Boom!"

A deafening roar resounded once more, and the cyan lightning swept across the surroundings like a tide.

Under the impact of the lightning Dragon, the light barrier first developed dense cracks, followed by a crisp 'creak' sound, before completely shattering!

"It is the Sky-Startling Formation-Breaking Lightning!"

Wu Jinyan exclaimed in shock.

He had heard of this Formation, a special array that cost nearly ten million Spirit Stones and was specifically used to breach defensive light barriers; he had not expected Lu Tao and the others to be so extravagant!

In truth, relying solely on the Soul-Devouring Spider Mother and tens of thousands of remnant souls, it was indeed difficult to breach the grand Formation from the inside.

The Yangquan Sect Disciples' Pure Yang Cultivation Technique naturally countered Yin Souls, and with the added reinforcement of Zhao Yiyang's precious mirror, the Soul-Devouring Spider Mother could only serve to harass and contain them after initially killing dozens of low-level Cultivators with its Soul-Shaking Shriek.

This Sky-Startling Formation-Breaking Lightning had undoubtedly become the final straw that broke the camel's back.

With this, the defensive grand Formation of the Ice Prison Bitter Pain Forest resource point was completely breached!

"Kill!"

Su Ling shouted in a low voice, lightning light surging around his body, and he charged into the Formation first as a brilliant bolt of lightning.

One hundred Peak Core Formation Cultivators followed closely behind, unleashing various Magic Treasures and Spells to begin the slaughter of the Yangquan Sect Cultivators within the Formation.

These Cultivators were all experts carefully selected by Lu Tao, Song Moting, and 'Senior Sister Chen', possessing extraordinary strength.

Among the more than two thousand Core Formation Cultivators in the Ice Prison Bitter Pain Forest, only about sixty were Peak Core Formation Cultivators, and most were still struggling to hold on while being contained by the Soul-Devouring Spider Mother.

After Su Ling's group charged into the resource point, they moved through it as if in an empty land, advancing like a hot knife through butter toward the core area.

The sounds of Tier 3 remnant souls self-destructing rang out incessantly.

Su Ling did not begrudge these remnant souls at all; it had already taken a quarter of an hour to break the Formation, and although the Air Banning Formation blocked the news, he still wanted to end the battle quickly and maximize the results.

However, another benefit of the Air Banning Formation was that, except for Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators who could still fly at low altitudes, not a single Core Formation Cultivator could fly, and even Flying Boats were rendered useless.

The consequence was that the nearly two thousand Core Formation Cultivators at the resource point all became trapped in a jar.

With the Soul-Devouring Spider Mother continuously unleashing Soul-Shaking Shrieks and the assistance of the Soul-Binding Silk, a one-sided slaughter began.

...

Lu Tao and Song Moting were both Disciples of a True Immortal.

Although what they practiced was not the Bitao Sect's supreme technique, it was still a top-tier immortal Cultivation Technique.

Their strength was not something Zhao Yiyang and Wu Jinyan could compare to.

In a one-on-one situation, the battle in the sky concluded in less than half an hour.

The auras of the two Nascent Soul Cultivators, Zhao Yiyang and Wu Jinyan, completely vanished above the Bitter Pain Forest.

In this battle, two Nascent Soul Cultivators had fallen!

Another half an hour passed, and the previously shattered Formation light barrier lit up once again.

Only this time, the one controlling the Formation eye was a Cultivator from Su Ling's side.

The sounds of fighting had completely ceased within the resource point, and the ground was covered with undried blood and ice crystal fragments, testifying to the brutality of the battle.

Only a few dozen Core Formation Cultivators were methodically cleaning up the battlefield, collecting corpses and scattered Magic Treasures.

They would occasionally use a Magic Treasure to deliver a finishing blow to the corpses to ensure nothing was missed.

High in the sky, Lu Tao and Song Moting simultaneously spread their Divine Sense, like two invisible nets, sweeping meticulously over every inch of land within a hundred-mile radius of the resource point.

Their expressions were grave, not letting go of any corner where a fish that slipped through the net might be hiding, fearing that the news of this battle's turn of events might leak prematurely and invite unnecessary trouble.

Su Ling stood before the ten thousand souls banner, his eyes filled with wonder.

On the surface of the banner, frosty faces appeared and disappeared, and one could even see strands of cold Qi flowing across the banner's surface.

After the battle ended, the remaining dozen or so Peak Tier 3 Ice Ghosts were all absorbed into the ten thousand souls banner.

What surprised him even more was that these Ice Ghosts were not passively dormant; instead, they actively roamed within the space of the banner, devouring other scattered remnant souls to strengthen themselves.

Unlike the other remnant souls outside the Soul-Devouring Spider Mother that had no consciousness and only attacked by instinct, these Ice Ghosts still retained some intelligence.

They could perceive the energy fluctuations within the banner and actively avoid the pressure of the Soul-Devouring Spider Mother.

Su Ling clearly sensed that these Ice Ghosts could even unleash their innate ice-type Spells.

In a sense, they had already acquired the characteristics of a main soul, just like the Soul-Devouring Spider Mother.

This mutation far exceeded Su Ling's initial understanding of the ten thousand souls banner.

"Su... Han Yu, there are no longer any hostile Cultivator auras within a hundred-mile radius."

A sword light cut through the air and landed beside Su Ling; Lu Tao's figure appeared.

He put away his Flying Sword, his sharp aura still slightly overflowing; clearly, slaying Zhao Yiyang just now had consumed quite a bit of his energy.

"That is good."

Su Ling nodded slightly, his fingertips moving with a Spell gesture, and the ten thousand souls banner turned into a beam of black light, which he stored in his storage ring, "We must leave here within a quarter of an hour at most; long delays create more problems."

After this battle, nearly half of the remnant souls within the ten thousand souls banner were lost, but it had also absorbed the remnant souls of over a thousand Cultivators from within the Formation, so overall, it was not a loss.

More importantly, the addition of those dozen or so Ice Ghosts had subtly elevated the combat power of the ten thousand souls banner by a level.

"Junior Brother Lu, Fellow Daoist Han."

Song Moting's voice came from the other side; he flew over stepping on spiritual light, holding several fist-sized ice crystals in his hand.

The ice crystals were completely transparent and exuded a bone-chilling cold; they were exactly the specialty of this resource point, the 【Mysterious Underworld Ice Soul】.

He could not hide the joy on his face, and even his voice carried a hint of excitement, "This Mysterious Underworld Ice Soul is truly worthy of its reputation; its ice-attribute spiritual power is astonishingly pure, making it an excellent material for cultivating ice-type Cultivation Techniques!"

"Senior Brother Song, this Mysterious Underworld Ice Soul is the best fit for your Cultivation Technique."

Seeing this, Lu Tao laughed, seeing through Song Moting's thoughts at a glance, "After we turn in the spoils to the Sect, you can apply for priority exchange; I presume the Sect will consider it at their discretion."

Song Moting nodded with a smile, his fingertips moving as he stored the Mysterious Underworld Ice Soul into a jade box, "We found over thirty pieces this time, and looking at their quality, they are all fresh goods that were just mined. I suppose Zhao Yiyang and the others hadn't had the chance to turn this batch of Ice Souls in yet; now it has all become our gain."