God Burial Valley.
It was situated on the northernmost border of the Tiannan Continent, half resting upon land and half submerged deep within the sea.
Such a peculiar geographical structure was not naturally formed. Legend had it that it was the result of a fierce battle fought long ago between a Rank Five ghost god and an almighty cultivator of Tianyuan.
In that battle, the ghost god's phantom body was forcefully shattered, and even its Origin Soul was cleaved into several pieces, sealed away within God Burial Valley.
If not for the Tianyuan Dao Sect currently facing a dire shortage of Deity Transformation experts, they would have long since taken action to thoroughly obliterate the fragmented Origin Soul of this Rank Five ghost god.
Back then, the Tianyuan almighty had merely laid down a crude sealing formation before departing in haste, thereby leaving behind a massive hazard for this continent. Though ghost gods could not truly be called immortal, they feared neither scorching sun nor astral winds, making them extraordinarily difficult to extinguish through natural decay. After only thirty-odd years of suppression, the changes within God Burial Valley had grown increasingly pronounced.
A vast multitude of mindless ghosts that had perished in the Central Plains had been drawn here, converging within God Burial Valley.
Then, from the inside out, they began to gradually expand.
This was the unmistakable sign of a ghost domain taking shape!
Moreover, this ghost domain was not led by mere ghost kings or Ghost Emperors. One could easily imagine that once it expanded completely, the revival of that ghost god would not be far off.
High-tier cultivators on the Tiannan Continent lacked any good countermeasures. They could only erect formation boundary stones to slow the expansion of the ghost domain as much as possible while waiting for the Dao Sect's ancestral court to dispatch experts to resolve the crisis.
However, while these formations might suffice to deter ordinary cultivators, to Luo Chen they were virtually nonexistent.
He entered God Burial Valley as if traversing an empty expanse.
Xiao Bai followed closely at his side, watching Luo Chen stroll leisurely forward through the grim, pitch-black gorge.
Whenever low-tier ghost entities attacked, Luo Chen paid them no mind whatsoever.
Yet as the two ventured deeper, the ghosts that emerged around them grew increasingly powerful.
When a third-rank ghost king brushed past them, Xiao Bai was already inwardly astonished. They had not even reached the valley's center, yet third-rank ghost kings were already appearing.
Did that not mean fourth-rank Ghost Emperors might even lurk in the central area?
Suddenly!
A fire meteor burst forth from Luo Chen's fingertip up ahead, shooting straight toward the ghost king that had just brushed past them.
Silently and without warning, the ghost king's form was blasted apart, dispersing into a plume of exceptionally pure ghostly qi that billowed in all directions.
"Master?"
Xiao Bai watched this scene in confusion. Master had clearly let that ghost king go; why had he suddenly struck?
At some point, Luo Chen had activated his Crimson Eyes and Golden Pupils, gazing thoughtfully at the dispersing ghostly qi.
As if to verify a certain hypothesis, Luo Chen no longer appeared harmless during the remainder of their journey. Instead, he struck frequently.
Whenever a high-tier ghost entity appeared, he shattered its form without the slightest hesitation. Even when facing fourth-rank Ghost Emperors comparable to Nascent Soul cultivators, he still did not relent.
At first, Xiao Bai could not comprehend Luo Chen's "bloodthirsty" intentions. But when she noticed that the shattered high-tier ghost entities, instead of reforming their bodies, were converging toward the center, she sensed that something was amiss.
"As a rule, all high-tier ghost cultivators naturally grasp the ability to disperse and coalesce at will. Why aren't these ghosts reforming their bodies?"
"And the intelligence they display is far too low. They don't look at all like high-tier ghost cultivators that have awakened their wits."
"Why do all the high-tier ghost cultivators Master shattered instinctively gather toward the center?"
Facing her doubts, Luo Chen gave a soft chuckle.
"Heh, so Xiao Bai noticed the strangeness after all!"
Not understanding the cause, Xiao Bai looked at Luo Chen curiously. She knew that once her master spoke, he intended to explain.
A biting gale swept toward them, yet it struck Luo Chen like nothing more than a gentle breeze.
He stepped onto a towering, jagged cliff. Looking out from the vantage point, the scenery on the other side of God Burial Valley was fully laid bare before their eyes.
Luo Chen unfolded his divine sense completely, taking in the entire situation at last.
"Just as I thought!"
"Give this ghost god another twenty to thirty years, and it might very well break free entirely."
Smiling faintly, Luo Chen gave a flick of his hand. Several small flags materialized before him, and after he pinched an incantation gesture, they flew toward every quarter of God Burial Valley.
Looking at where the formation flags were planted, Xiao Bai saw that they faintly traced the outline of a colossal body.
Luo Chen's voice drifted over breezily, sweeping away all her doubts.
"The Tianyuan almighty who felled this ghost god was formidable indeed. Not only did he destroy its ghostly form, but he also cleaved its Origin Soul into nine portions—four on land, and five submerged in the deep sea."
"However, his sealing methods were rather crude. He merely laid down casual arrangements to suppress the nine soul fragments individually. Of course, it's also possible that the great war in the Central Plains back then was too precarious, leaving him no time to devise a more exquisite method."
"In any case, that crude seal gave this ghost god a chance to escape!"
"Braving the risk of losing its autonomous consciousness, it divided its soul into hundreds or thousands of fragments, parasitizing the high-tier ghost entities drawn to this place."
"The more it divides, the greater the risk that it will sink into oblivion, perhaps even degenerating into a mindless beast. Yet with such extensive division, the suppressing force directed against it has weakened as well. When the weaker soul fragments outside merge back together, it will be able to slip completely free from the almighty's seal."
Realization dawned upon Xiao Bai.
These Rank Five ghost gods were truly difficult to kill. Even reduced to such a plight, it still had a trick like a gecko shedding its tail or a cicada sloughing its shell.
Yet immediately afterward, she grew intensely curious.
"Master, how did you figure it out?"
Luo Chen raised an eyebrow. "Don't you think this shares a common thread with my primary cultivation technique, the Soul Splitting Art?"
Both involved dividing the soul!
The difference was that Luo Chen's primary soul possessed absolute mastery over everything and would not suffer a fractured consciousness no matter how many soul fragments he cleaved away.
The only exception was probably the weak soul fragment Luo Chen had split off using the Nirvana Technique not long ago!
That soul fragment had dwelled within a member of the Zhou clan since infancy. As it grew and merged with its host, it would develop its own ego, carrying the risk of independence.
Yet Luo Chen already had a countermeasure in place.
Once that fragment encountered Luo Chen's severed life soul in the future, it would awaken its latent wisdom and return to Luo Chen's control.
At this moment, Luo Chen was rather curious about what kind of being this sealed ghost god had originally been to know such an esoteric technique.
Having grasped the truth, Xiao Bai asked inquisitively, "Then, Master, do you intend to release it ahead of time?"
"If it doesn't come out, how can I subdue it?" Luo Chen smiled, and an object appeared in his hand. "Not only will I help it break free, but I will also help it escape the predicament of being divided into nine parts, allowing it to coalesce into one!"
Xiao Bai's expression shifted slightly.
Her gaze fell upon the object in Luo Chen's hand.
It was a stone.
Pitch-black and profound, yet translucent and crystalline, the size of an infant's fist.
She recognized the item—she had even ingested one before!
It was a Soul Stone!
Moreover, it was vastly purer than the Soul Stone Luo Chen had previously bestowed upon her, an exceptional top-grade specimen.
Back then, consuming just a tiny Soul Stone had significantly bolstered her soul foundation.
If such a massive Soul Stone were given to her now, she might even be able to break through to the mid-stage Ghost Emperor realm in a single leap!
"Master, isn't this a bit too extravagant?" Xiao Bai swallowed hard, a trace of envy in her tone.
"If one is reluctant to scatter the bait, how can one hook a behemoth?"
Luo Chen smiled faintly, his gaze resting upon the top-grade Soul Stone.
Before leaving Broken Soul Cliff back then, he had swept virtually all the Soul Stones exposed on the beach into his possession.
From those as tiny as grains of sand to those as large as fists, he had gathered them all in one fell swoop.
Even now, while possessing an ocean of Soul Stones, the one in his hand was still easily among the top five!
Long ago, Luo Chen had speculated about the origin of Soul Stones.
Broken Soul Cliff and the Yellow Springs Sea were both part of the Void Refining Great Desolate Beast, the Diaohun Desolate Beast. The Yellow Springs Sea engulfed all living creatures, consuming their flesh and blood until nothing remained—so what became of their souls?
Soul Stones were the final distilled essence left behind by those souls!
Therefore, when cultivators refined them, they could bolster the foundation of their divine souls.
This had been true for Luo Chen, and it had been true for Xiao Bai.
For a severely weakened Rank Five ghost god, it should naturally prove all the more irresistible!
With a casual flick of Luo Chen's wrist, the translucent black Soul Stone drifted slowly toward the center of God Burial Valley.
A bizarre force emanated from the previously planted formation flags, holding the Soul Stone aloft before beginning to attract a massive swarm of ghost entities.
They vied desperately to consume this Soul Stone, and then began devouring one another to strengthen themselves.
Scenes of starving ghosts feasting on souls and cannibalizing their own kind played out one after another.
Beneath the gorge, ocean waves relentlessly battered the cliff walls. An indistinct, chaotic will began to coalesce, grow, and awaken!
Watching this unfold, Xiao Bai trembled as she sensed that boundless, ocean-like will.
She could barely maintain her human guise; her legs transformed back into the serpentine tail of a Nine Nether Phantasm Python.
Whoosh!
A large black banner planted itself in front of her.
Xiao Bai looked on, bewildered.
"When it is fully revived, you will hold this banner to subdue it."
Xiao Bai was dumbfounded, pointing a finger at her own nose.
"Me?"
Luo Chen laughed aloud, soaring into the sky while leaving behind a final remark:
"Rest assured!"
With a racing heart, Xiao Bai gripped the Soul Refining Banner.
The roars beside her grew louder and louder, and the entire ocean seemed to tremble with unease. Yet she suppressed her urge to flee, choosing to trust Luo Chen.
Time trickled by.
Consumed and digested by countless ghosts, the top-grade Soul Stone had already vanished.
The mutual slaughter and devouring among the spirits continued unabated.
A month later, God Burial Valley had undergone a drastic transformation.
Inky black mist of immense density had converged, completely shrouding the boundary where sea met land.
On this day!
Piercing shrieks erupted from all directions as the formation flags detonated one after another.
Seals began to rupture in rapid succession.
And from within the black mist, a pair of gigantic eyes slowly opened.
Standing at the edge of the cliff, Xiao Bai felt as though facing a mortal enemy. Yet keeping Luo Chen's words firmly in mind, she immediately unfurled the Soul Refining Banner.
In an instant!
A million ghosts surged forth like a torrential flood.
Ghost Emperors of the fourth rank howled across the expanse, filling the world.
A bestial roar reverberated from within the black mist.
"What an audacious junior!"
Her face deathly pale, Xiao Bai said nothing. Her lower body had completely reverted to that of a Nine Nether Phantasm Python as she soared into the sky, clutching the million-ghost Soul Refining Banner.
She waved the banner with both hands, cleaving the earth and stirring the ocean into violent surges.
The entire sky seemed on the verge of splintering under the sweeps of her great flag.
The million enslaved ghosts launched a fearless, suicidal charge.
The ghost god had not yet fully broken the seal, and its soul remained scattered. Confronted by such a titanic onslaught, it was actually forced into a steady retreat.
A patch of black mist spanning a hundred li was gradually driven into the Eastern Sea by Bai Meiling.
Yet that was the extent of it.
The moment it reached the vast ocean, the black mist seemed to acquire limitless power. No matter how many vengeful spirits and fierce ghosts threw themselves against it, none could shake it in the slightest.
Meanwhile, the previously chaotic will grew steadily clearer.
"Junior, struggle no further. You no longer have the strength to halt this seat's revival."
Xiao Bai gritted her teeth. Yet this Soul Refining Banner was already on the verge of advancing into a Million Baleful Souls Banner; activating it multiple times had pushed her strength to its absolute limit. At this moment, her energy and vigor were entirely depleted, leaving her powerless to stop the black mist from coalescing.
The next instant,
Nine thunderous booms resonated through God Burial Valley in quick succession, and nine pillars of light erupted from every direction.
The patch of black mist plummeted abruptly, sinking into the ocean depths alongside the nine pillars of light.
The moment the black mist vanished, the world fell into total silence!
Then came a deafening roar that overwhelmed Xiao Bai's entire mind, drowning out all other sound.
Colossal waves surged into the sky, and vast swaths of cliffs and ravines crumbled to dust.
A colossal azure-green beast slowly rose from the depths of the ocean.
The beast resembled an ox, yet bore no horns. Standing in the ocean on a single leg, it looked like a heavenly pillar capable of supporting the heavens and the earth.
Its mottled azure-green hide was covered in countless wounds, the most prominent being nine striking sword scars.
Those nine sword scars almost evenly partitioned its entire body into nine sections; even the junction between its neck and head bore a neat ring of sword scars.
The moment this beast appeared, all the ghosts froze, unable to muster the slightest will to attack or resist.
Xiao Bai stared in terror, murmuring, "A Rank Five ghost god!"
The colossal beast seemed not to care about the tiny Xiao Bai at all, nor did it heed the thousands upon thousands of ghosts. It merely tilted its head back and roared at the heavens, venting the exhilaration of breaking free.
First suppressed by the Mingyuan Sect for three thousand years, then enslaved as consumable fodder by Monarch Qixia, and finally slain and sealed by a Tianyuan almighty.
It had endured enough!
Having broken free at last, how could it not rejoice?
As it roared, torrential rain poured down, lightning flashed, and thunder crashed, as though the entire world had plunged into an apocalypse.
Until a voice drifted languidly down from the highest heavens:
"So it is a desolate beast bearing the bloodline of a Kui ox!"
The hornless, one-legged behemoth started in shock, instinctively glancing up toward the sky.
A gigantic cauldron, expanded to its absolute limit and stretching hundreds of zhang across, descended from above.
Boom!
Unwilling to be suppressed, the azure beast resisted with all its might.
Yet the colossal cauldron disregarded the wind, rain, and thunder, crushing the ocean waves as it encompassed the beast in an irresistible posture.
What terrified the behemoth most was the vast Origin Soul coldly overlooking it from the high heavens like a blazing sun. Atop its head hovered a pale gray bronze mirror, and between its eyes, myriad anomalies danced as illusions manifested endlessly.
In a daze, numerous figures flashed through the azure beast's mind.
A black-robed elder stirring the Mingyuan abyss, a red-clad woman burning the heavens and boiling the seas, and a young man wielding a solitary sword, traversing the world unchecked.
Those were the beings it feared most in its entire existence.
With just that momentary lapse, it lost all power to resist.
The Hunyuan Cauldron slammed down, then began to shrink drastically.
From within the cauldron came an incessant, furious roar:
"I refuse to accept this!"
Luo Chen paid it no heed. After landing, he made a beckoning gesture.
Taking the Hunyuan Cauldron into his hand, he looked as a pale-faced Xiao Bai approached, cradling the Soul Refining Banner.
"Let us go. We can stay on the Tiannan Continent no longer."
With a thought, firelight flickered, and the master and servant vanished from the spot.
Shortly afterward,
Several streaks of light ripped through the air from the south. Gazing upon the ruined mess of God Burial Valley, the arriving cultivators exchanged dumbfounded glances, their faces etched with utter disbelief.
Chapter 1026