Demonic energy swirled in thick plumes, concealing whatever lurked within. A contemplative look crossed Qin Sang's face. Rather than rashly diving in, he opened his corpse puppet pouch and released the baleful corpse.
Inside the demonic energy, his spiritual sense was confined to a tiny area immediately around him. Even if he ran into any companions, as long as he kept a careful distance, he did not need to worry about the baleful corpse being discovered. It was the perfect scout.
"Go in!"
Receiving Qin Sang's command, the baleful corpse charged into the demonic energy without hesitation. Unfazed by the encroaching miasma, it sped forward with its head down. After penetrating some distance into the darkness, it suddenly encountered an uninvited guest blocking its path—a shadowy figure.
*Bam!*
The baleful corpse threw a punch, striking the shadow dead center.
A shrill, piercing shriek echoed down the passage, laden with deep agony and madness, boring into the mind like demonic music. The shadow, resembling a plume of black smoke, was shattered into pieces by the punch, only to coalesce back together an instant later. It turned out to be an enormous ghostly head. Howling shrilly, it opened its gaping maw, glared malevolently at the baleful corpse, and lunged forward with vicious fury.
The ghostly head was inferior in strength to the baleful corpse; a single blow was enough to smash it apart. Yet it rose again and again from death, seemingly impossible to kill, causing the baleful corpse endless irritation. Moreover, more and more ghostly entities sensed the baleful corpse's presence and surged over in a continuous stream.
These ghosts were not confined to the shape of heads; they appeared in all manner of bizarre, monstrous forms, exceptionally sinister. The scene was like a nocturnal parade of a hundred demons.
Through the soul imprint on the baleful corpse, Qin Sang could clearly perceive what it was facing.
"Are these... artificially refined evil ghosts?"
Qin Sang muttered to himself, furrowing his brow, bewildered as to why evil ghosts would appear here.
While cloud beasts indeed came in countless varieties, they differed fundamentally from evil ghosts. The most common evil ghosts were those refined by wicked cultivators of demonic sects, who gathered souls to forge demonic implements—artificially crafted evil ghosts, much like the main souls of the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners.
Had demonic cultivators snuck inside?
The baleful corpse had caused such a racket, so why had no one come to investigate?
Qin Sang wondered if he had wrongly suspected Yin Xingge after all. Still, since only evil ghosts lurked within the demonic energy, dealing with them would not be difficult. Moreover, he had to rescue the two cultivators. If a demonic sect expert truly was present, there should still be enough time to pull out immediately after saving them.
With thoughts racing through his mind, Qin Sang recalled the ebony sword and spread his palm flat. Six Ten Directions Yanluo Banners floated out from his hand, spinning rapidly around him to swiftly form a grand array.
The main souls of the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners flickered on the banners' fabric. Fighting ghosts with ghosts, they had no fear of these spectral fiends.
With the banner array circling him, Qin Sang felt considerably more at ease. Even so, he dared not let down his guard. Remaining vigilant, he stepped into the demonic energy and caught up to the baleful corpse.
"Go!"
Qin Sang pointed a finger, and in the blink of an eye, the six banners descended around the baleful corpse, trapping the evil ghosts besieging it inside the array. The Yin soul silk glowed with an eerie blue light, and the main souls of the demonic tools crawled out from the banners.
Qin Sang had expected a chaotic melee, but an astonishing scene unfolded before his eyes.
Upon seeing these evil ghosts, the main souls of the Yanluo Banners actually displayed an intense sense of delight—an emotion so vivid that even Qin Sang could clearly perceive it.
It was like coming across delicious food, an instinctive joy welling up from within.
*Roar! Roar!*
Some of the demonic tool main souls let out exhilarated roars, while others cackled sinisterly. Without waiting for Qin Sang's command, they eagerly pounced upon the evil ghosts.
The evil ghosts were utterly terrified of the Yanluo Banner main souls, as though encountering their natural predators. Stripped of the arrogance they had displayed when attacking the baleful corpse, they scattered in panic.
*Rustle, rustle...*
The Yanluo Banners fluttered loudly, their power fully unleashed. The Yin soul silk bound the evil ghosts firmly within the array, while the main souls, as if entering a paradise brimming with delectable delicacies, feasted with abandon.
The air filled with wailing ghosts and howling wolves.
As the main souls devoured more and more evil ghosts, their strength grew exponentially, and the quality of the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners steadily rose. The evil ghosts stood no chance whatsoever of fighting back.
*What is going on?*
Qin Sang was utterly bewildered. Only two possibilities could explain such an occurrence.
Either these evil ghosts were masterless, or the opponent controlling them had far less strength than Qin Sang.
Demonic cultivators using soul-refining demonic tools could indeed forcibly devour evil ghosts controlled by an opponent, but this only happened when there was a vast disparity in power and the opponent lacked any means of resistance.
Judging from the strength of these evil ghosts, whoever controlled them surely possessed no low cultivation base. Yet they were being devoured so easily by the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners, and their controller seemed completely unaware of what was happening here, making no attempt to retaliate.
Qin Sang could not make sense of it, but at least it was not a bad thing.
Ever since obtaining the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners from Sun De, Qin Sang had never engaged in slaughtering people to refine their souls, which had left the banners' quality stagnant.
Sun De had acted cautiously, never daring to carry out widespread slaughter under the rule of Shaohua Mountain, so not a single one of the six Yanluo Banners had reached full perfection. Who knew how many evil ghosts lurked within this demonic energy, or to what height they could elevate the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners?
Qin Sang controlled the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners to devour the ghosts and had the baleful corpse continue scouting ahead.
Being a dead thing itself, as long as the baleful corpse was careful to avoid the evil ghosts and did not take the initiative to attack, it could actually elude their senses.
Soon, all the evil ghosts trapped in the array were thoroughly devoured. Qin Sang raised his hand and recalled the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners, noticing that their luster had brightened several degrees, and the patterns on the fabric appeared far more vivid. If there were enough evil ghosts here, he might even be able to cultivate all six Ten Directions Yanluo Banners to full perfection.
Lightly tapping the ground with the tip of his foot, Qin Sang set off once again, moving with tremendous speed, for the baleful corpse had already discovered the whereabouts of the two cultivators.
In a recessed alcove along a passage, two cultivators stood with their backs pressed against the stone wall, using the terrain to defend themselves. One of them was in decent shape, while the other was deathly pale and wounded.
Together, they channeled a ring-shaped magic tool that projected a golden protective barrier. Outside, countless evil ghosts crowded together, violently crashing against the barrier and causing it to flicker erratically on the verge of collapse.
Both cultivators wore looks of extreme desperation. They had fled all the way here and were already on the brink of exhaustion. Countless evil ghosts had completely blocked their path, and there were beings even more terrifying than these ghosts.
If no one came to their rescue, only death awaited them!
Qin Sang darted to the scene and saw the two surrounded by a swarm of evil ghosts. He found a secluded spot, laid down the Ten Directions Yanluo Array, and deliberately revealed himself within it, calling out in a clear voice, "Are those Fellow Daoists Ning and Chai ahead? Keep quiet and find an opportunity to break free."
At the sound of his voice, the evil ghosts were startled by Qin Sang and turned one after another to pounce toward him. With the pressure on them abruptly relieved, the two trapped cultivators seized the opportunity, channeled their magic tool with all their might, and broke through the encirclement.
Seeing Qin Sang there to receive them, both bowed with immense gratitude. "Thank you, Senior Qin, for saving our lives!"
"Save the chatter for later..."
Qin Sang quickly briefed them on the situation. "Head up immediately to assist Fellow Daoist Yunqiong. I will bring up the rear."
Chapter 209