Xue Ying did not possess a Soul-Calling Banner, for she possessed the sect's divine artifact: the Ten Directions Spirit-Severing Book, which was the very black dharma robe she wore.
Even though this was merely a single page of the Ten Directions Spirit-Severing Book, to her it was nonetheless a supreme divine artifact.
Whether for cultivating secret arts or refining ghostly entities, the Ten Directions Spirit-Severing Book was extraordinarily powerful and exceptionally useful.
This page of the Ten Directions Spirit-Severing Book could also transform into a void dharma domain, mirroring changes in the void across vast distances.
It was precisely through this divine ability that she had located Wu Family Village based on Tianji Shenjun's notes.
Unexpectedly, when attempting to slay the malevolent spirit, she triggered an anomaly in the subterranean fissures, causing the earth to collapse with a roar.
Had the Ten Directions Spirit-Severing Book not been able to convert into a void dharma domain and allow her to escape from the underground tunnels, she would have died underground this time.
The crimson malevolent spirit was of paramount importance—it was one of the keys to opening Tianji Shenjun's cave dwelling.
After failing, Xue Ying had not gone far; she knew that the Lower Court would inevitably step in to deal with the malevolent spirit.
In the end, the Lower Court had resorted to a clumsy method, yet it proved remarkably effective.
Xue Ying had watched with her own eyes as Zhou Wuji slew the malevolent spirit, its remains condensing into a crimson bead. But because Zhihe was present, she had not dared to make a move to snatch it.
With that item falling into Zhihe's hands, although she did not fear him, she could hardly claim she was capable of killing him.
Without absolute certainty, she did not dare use the Ten Directions Spirit-Severing Book.
Once word leaked out, not only would the Daoist and Buddhist sects find her intolerable, but even the powerhouses of her own sect would move to seize this divine artifact by force.
She had not originally paid much attention to Zhou Wuji, but sensing the White Rainbow Sword's pure yang aura moving far away from the Lower Court had piqued her interest.
After observing him for a few days, she decided to capture Zhou Wuji first and interrogate him about the Lower Court's situation.
Moreover, she felt there should be no problem using Zhou Wuji to exchange for the spirit bead.
Given how highly Zhihe valued Zhou Wuji, he would never fight tooth and nail with her over such a trivial matter; exchanging an object for a person would be the simplest solution.
The Daoist sects might sit high and mighty, but that was only in the eyes of ordinary demonic cultivators.
Having reached her rank, she naturally had the standing to negotiate terms with Yunlong Branch Abbey.
Xue Ying had no intention of killing Zhou Wuji, so she merely mobilized two Rank Five ghost generals, which was already thinking quite highly of him.
The two ghostly silhouettes swayed in the wind and transformed into a pair of seven-foot-tall ghost generals. Bearing two pairs of red eyes and hands gripping long spears, heavy black scales grew naturally over their bodies.
They were further augmented by dark red runes, making their movements as swift as the wind.
Black shadows flickered, and the two ghost generals were already before Zhou Wuji, thrusting their spears straight at him.
Zhou Wuji stepped through the Tianji Steps and retreated lightly. The true qi flowing beneath his feet manifested as faint, seven-pointed starlight that resonated subtly with the Tianji Star high in the nine heavens.
Having brought the Tianji Sword to perfection, his execution of the Tianji Steps had also attained an exceptionally high level, far surpassing other footwork.
His spiritual sense, true qi, agility, and footwork moved in harmonious unity, making it seem as though he were treading upon the stars, no longer bound by heaven and earth, free to come and go through the void at will.
The subtlety and grace of such footwork far exceeded the movement technique of the Flowing Cloud Sword.
Furthermore, Zhou Wuji had attained perfection in the Xiaoxiang Sword, enabling him to thoroughly integrate the Flowing Cloud Sword into the Tianji Steps in reverse.
As he advanced and retreated while treading upon the stars, he carried an ethereal grace reminiscent of drifting clouds.
Swift though the pouncing assault of the two ghost generals was, Zhou Wuji evaded them with ease.
Xue Ying was slightly surprised. This kid's footwork was remarkably profound, able to weave in and out even within the dharma domain laid down by the Ten Directions Spirit-Severing Book.
She had long heard that the Arctic Sect's Big Dipper Seven Stars Sword was extraordinarily formidable. If Zhou Wuji was already this skilled, what kind of terrifying might would Zhihe command!
This battle was also a fine opportunity for her to get a good look at the permutations of the Big Dipper Seven Stars Sword.
Forming an incantation seal with her left hand within her long sleeve, Xue Ying deployed another ghost general.
Empowered by the Ten Directions Spirit-Severing Book, she had acquired seven ghost generals through trickery and force.
Against demonic cultivators of the same rank, she did not even need to lift a finger—simply sending out all seven ghost generals was enough to easily slaughter her foes.
However, the Ten Directions Spirit-Severing Book was a divine artifact of the Heavenly Ghost Sect. She was merely a mid-level figure within the sect and normally dared not expose it.
Only here on Old Dragon Island, where not a living soul—nor even a living creature—existed for dozens of li around, could Xue Ying unleash the Ten Directions Spirit-Severing Book without the slightest scruple.
The three ghost generals moved like the wind, their spears fierce and swift, yet they could not even graze Zhou Wuji.
As Zhou Wuji advanced and retreated, not only was he swift, but his shifts in motion were extraordinarily subtle and precise.
In the end, the three ghost generals possessed little intellect. Though they coordinated, gaps and flaws inevitably riddled their teamwork.
"I seem to have underestimated you."
Watching for a while, Xue Ying grew somewhat impatient. Zhou Wuji was simply darting back and forth using his shifting footwork, revealing none of the true power of the Big Dipper Seven Stars Sword.
She formed a seal, channeled her arts, and released three more ghost generals.
Surrounding Zhou Wuji from all sides, the six ghost generals coordinated far more tightly under Xue Ying's control. Coupled with the surrounding Ten Directions Spirit-Severing dharma domain's restriction on the void, Zhou Wuji was left with no room to maneuver.
Zhou Wuji was secretly surprised as well. For Xue Ying to have refined six ghost generals at Rank Five was truly incredible.
Furthermore, she controlled them with seamless ease, seemingly expending very little spiritual sense or true qi.
He had initially planned to find an opening to take down Xue Ying with a single strike, but seeing that she still held plenty of strength in reserve, she surely possessed protective spells and divine abilities.
Even if an opportunity for a surprise attack arose, landing a decisive blow would be exceedingly difficult and would likely land him in peril instead.
With this thought, Zhou Wuji decided to destroy the six ghost generals first.
Even if he could not destroy their core essence, the White Rainbow Sword could obliterate most of their spiritual nature and origin qi, making them difficult for Xue Ying to wield in the short term and substantially draining her strength.
The six ghost generals thrust their spears as they circled Zhou Wuji, the yin qi emanating from them growing heavier and heavier. Even Zhou Wuji's Big Dipper Heavenly Astral Divine Incantation was affected, the azure coat of light rapidly dimming.
Xue Ying felt utterly confident; commanding the ghost generals through the Ten Directions Spirit-Severing Book cost her very little.
With the yin qi unleashed by the six ghost generals intensifying, wearing him down like this meant she would not even need to take direct action—the sheer intensity of the yin qi alone would corrode Zhou Wuji's body and mind, allowing her to easily subdue him.
Treading upon the seven-pointed starlight, Zhou Wuji's movements suddenly hitched for a fraction of a second.
Seeing her chance, Xue Ying directed the six ghost generals to hem Zhou Wuji in from front and back.
Six spears converged in an overlapping thrust, aiming to impale him from all directions.
Xue Ying did not wish to kill Zhou Wuji, but the boy's swordcraft and agility were simply too formidable. She had to incapacitate him first; at any rate, he would not die immediately.
Drawing in a breath and hollowing his stomach, Zhou Wuji compressed his body to the absolute limit. The six pitch-black spears still struck home, piercing straight through his azure coat of light, only to be stopped cold by the heavenly robe formed by the Heavenly Puppet.
A spray of sparks flew as the six spear tips scraped across Zhou Wuji's protective azure heavenly robe...
Before the six ghost soldiers could alter their moves, the White Rainbow Sword in Zhou Wuji's hand blazed with dazzling brilliance, transforming into a radiant sun disc.
Just as Xue Ying sensed danger and moved to recall her ghost generals, the blazing wheel of sword light had already cleaved all six in half at the waist.
The bodies of the ghost generals were as tough as steel, yet before the White Rainbow Sword, they were no different from bean curd.
How fierce was Zhou Wuji's Sunset Sword! Even a body cast of true steel would be cleaved in two by a single strike.
The pure yang energy of the White Rainbow Sword penetrated deep into the ghost generals' bodies, extinguishing the yin spirits condensed within.
Before the blazing sun disc had even faded, the six ghost generals dissolved into wisps of black smoke.
Xue Ying was both shocked and infuriated. This kid possessed such a ferocious sword technique yet had held back the entire time! Earlier, fearing she might kill him, she had even held the ghost generals back by thirty percent.
Yet now, all six ghost generals had been obliterated by a single strike, their spiritual nature nearly destroyed.
Hastily forming a seal and waving her sleeve, she used the Ten Directions Spirit-Severing Book to draw back the ghost generals' residual yin qi.
Having succeeded with his strike, Zhou Wuji trod upon the seven-pointed starlight, man and sword arriving before Xue Ying in an instant.
Though shocked and angry, Xue Ying was not afraid. Flicking her long sleeve once more, flecks of dark red runes flashed, establishing a Ten Directions dharma domain barrier before her.
Such a barrier contained spatial permutations—an innate divine ability of the Ten Directions Spirit-Severing Book.
No matter how external forces attacked, they would be deflected in other directions by the invisible barrier.
The intersecting invisible barriers temporarily partitioned space into disjointed segments. The spiritual sense of any cultivator trapped within would be confounded by the spatial shifts, preventing them from locating her true position.
Though the destruction of the six ghost generals had not injured Xue Ying to her core, she still needed a moment to recover and regulate her true qi.
Recognizing Zhou Wuji's ruthless prowess, Xue Ying resolved in her heart that the moment she struck again, she would pour everything into unleashing the Seven Yin Soul-Snatching Sword to finish him off—dead or alive!
Confident though she was, facing such a formidable sword cultivator, she dared not hold back any longer...
Driving his sword forward in a direct charge, Zhou Wuji immediately sensed the obstruction of the invisible barriers. His perception of space was disoriented as well, leaving him momentarily unable to tell north from south or east from west.
He did not know where he was, let alone where Xue Ying stood.
At this critical juncture, divine light flashed from the spirit aperture between Zhou Wuji's brows, establishing resonance with the Big Dipper high in the nine heavens.
The Big Dipper became his eyes. As his gaze shifted, he instantly pinpointed his own position and locked onto Xue Ying, who was merely a few yards away.
Zhou Wuji cast the Rejuvenation Technique upon himself, and the substantial true qi and spiritual sense he had expended swiftly returned to their peak.
He then activated the Big Dipper Heavenly Astral Divine Incantation embedded in his Daoist robe, cloaking himself entirely in the azure coat of light once more.
In the blink of an eye, Zhou Wuji had completed all his preparations. Surging with Tianji Profound Yang sword qi, the White Rainbow Sword in his hand flared again with blinding, brilliant divine light.
The thick night was torn apart by the divine light, illuminating the dharma domain formed by countless unleashed runes.
Hidden behind the spatial barriers, even Xue Ying felt a chill in her heart. Such blazing sword qi, such overbearing pure yang sword intent! To think this kid's swordsmanship had reached such heights!
Yet a sneer curved at the corners of her mouth. No matter how powerful and fiery his swordsmanship was, it was useless. Zhou Wuji could never break the Ten Directions dharma domain. Relying on brute force right now would not harm a single hair on her head, and brute force could never dismantle the Ten Directions dharma domain.
With a shift of his body, Zhou Wuji swept the White Rainbow Sword forward, transforming it once again into a wheel of sword light as blazing as the sun. The invisible spatial barriers fractured upon impact, letting out crisp chimes like shattering colored glaze.
Zhou Wuji struck with nearly all his strength. What terrifying power! Not only were layers of spatial barriers cleaved apart, but wherever the sword qi pointed, boulders shattered and trees snapped, gouging a deep trench several yards long through the mountain woods.
Xue Ying seized this exact moment to unleash the Seven Yin Soul-Snatching Sword. The black blade arced silently through the air, shooting straight toward the center of Zhou Wuji's back.
Sensing something amiss, Zhou Wuji whipped his blade back, once again turning his sword into a sun disc that struck the Seven Yin Soul-Snatching Sword dead-on.
The black sword shattered on impact.
Yet Xue Ying was unconcerned. This blade was formed from the ghost generals' yin qi; the severe damage dealt to the six ghost generals had compromised its power.
The true lethality of this sword lay not in its sharpness, but in the Seven Yin sword qi inherent within it. Through the sympathetic resonance of aura, it could invisibly penetrate an enemy's body and mind, stirring the yin fiends lurking in the deepest recesses of their heart.
Be they cultivators or martial artists, as long as they were human, yin fiends inevitably dwelt within their hearts.
The cultivation method of the Heavenly Ghost Sect was precisely to awaken the yin fiends in one's heart, use them to absorb the world's yin qi, and then slay them to nourish oneself.
Although Daoist cultivation was the orthodox path and enjoyed the protection of deities high in the nine heavens, forging a pure yang nature, it still could not truly eradicate the inner yin fiends.
Zhou Wuji was young and prone to fierce combat; the yin fiends in his heart were bound to be all the stronger.
When yin fiends flared in fury, they corrupted one's sanity.
In such an intense battle, if negative emotions like rage, frenzy, or terror arose, Zhou Wuji would be as good as dead.
Seeing the terrifying divine might Zhou Wuji had unleashed, Xue Ying abandoned all thoughts of capturing him alive. All she wanted now was to kill this young Daoist as quickly as possible!
Chapter 141