Simulation becomes reality, have I ever looked down upon the eternity?

Chapter 536 The Cause and Effect of the Soul Refining Banner!

The Demon King laughed wildly, his boundless Yin energy surging forth like ink, instantly engulfing the entire City Lord's Mansion.

A chilling wind howled, ghostly wails echoed, and even the shadows of the sun were stained a ghastly green.

Its crimson, ghostly eyes swept contemptuously over the Fangcun Mountain cultivators before it; these mere human cultivators were nothing more than ants in its eyes.

But the thought of personally killing a Fangcun Mountain Immortal Master still brought a ferocious smile to its lips.

Five disciples of Fangcun Mountain remain at the city gate; it has already decided to refine their souls into the main soul of the Myriad Souls Banner.

At this thought, its bony claws trembled with excitement, and its body surged with a three-zhang-long burst of yin fire.

However, the next second, the Demon King's sinister smile turned slightly doubtful.

It was startled to discover that the chilling, soul-crushing aura had vanished from your body like a thin mist in the bright sunlight.

You calmly raised your head, and a purple-gold light shone from your palm, as if you were holding a bright lamp of purple-gold glass, its light swirling.

With a flick of your wrist, like a candle flame tipping over, you overturned a glass cup. A stream of purple-gold light, like nectar, spilled onto the ground, where it slowly solidified upon landing.

The Demon King was horrified to discover that wherever the light reached, the Yin energy it had absorbed and condensed from the souls was solidifying and freezing at a visible speed, like candle tears turning to frost.

It felt as if its entire body was engulfed in a burning cloud of yin energy, and it had no ability to escape.

You slowly raised your eyes, your calm, violet-gold eyes looking at him.

The Demon King was now trembling, his previous arrogance completely gone. "Your Excellency, who exactly are you?"

[A pleading voice came from beneath the ghost mask, "This king... this little devil, there are treasures in my manor, I will offer them all to the immortal master."]

You glanced at it and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? If I kill you, you'll be mine too."

"Immortal Master... have mercy! This humble ghost knows he was wrong."

You shook your head. "You don't know you're wrong, you're just scared."

A hand, gleaming with a purplish-gold luster, covered the terrified eyes of the demon king.

The yin energy filling the sky was ignited, transforming into a raging inferno—this was the "Three Mountains Purple Gold Light" of the "Purple Gold Horned Ants."

[It can scorch the heart and soul; if there are inner demons, it can fuel their growth.]

This ghost king was formed by absorbing various wandering spirits, and now it is engulfed in a purple-gold light.

Countless vengeful souls, devoured by the flames, awoke amidst the blazing purple-gold inferno. The shrill cries of ten thousand ghosts echoed throughout heaven and earth as the mountain-like ghostly body crumbled and disintegrated from within as it burned.

[He died from the backlash of countless ghosts.]

As the Demon King's soul dissipated, the entire city lord's mansion trembled violently, the ground churning like boiling water.

In an instant!

Thousands of rat and ant demons, snakes, insects, and ferocious beasts surged forth from the depths of the mansion, densely packed and spreading like a black tide. Their demonic aura was mixed, and most lacked intelligence; only a dozen or so had barely managed to form human form, but they were already terrified, scattering in all directions in a panic.

[You've already set up a protective barrier in the City Lord's Mansion; they can only frantically pace around inside.]

You slowly walk into the mansion. A small crimson banner is spinning rapidly, its surface shimmering with blood-red patterns, as if countless wronged souls are silently wailing.

It was extremely intelligent; upon seeing you approach, it tried to escape as if it were alive, but was held back by an invisible force and struggled to fall back into your palm.

The banner trembled incessantly, and a flash of lightning appeared at your fingertips. This was the "Demon-Slaying and Evil-Breaking Divine Thunder," specifically designed to destroy such malevolent entities. It instantly froze, daring not to move again.

A sweep of your divine sense revealed a scene within the banner that chilled your eyes. Tens of thousands of vengeful spirits were imprisoned within, more than twice the number devoured by the Demon King.

This item is none other than the Soul Refining Banner, a magical artifact of the Demonic Sect.

[While this Soul Refining Banner is not a rare item, and ordinary soul cultivators can refine it, only the secret technique of the Demonic Sect's "Chaoyin Sect" can achieve the ability to contain such a massive number of Yin souls.]

The path of soul refinement is inherently contrary to the natural order; even ordinary cultivators who practice evil arts would not dare to slaughter living beings so wantonly.

Only a vicious and demonic sect like the Chaoyin Sect would dare to commit such a heaven-defying act.

[It seems the Southern Frontier Demonic Sect has secretly intervened in this trial. Even more alarming is that the Demon King you encountered far surpasses the intelligence gathered by Fangcun Mountain. If other demon-slaying teams face demons of this level… I fear they will be in grave danger!]

You frowned slightly, a hint of worry crossing your mind. Could Lü Qingyu and Xiao Wan'er handle this unexpected turn of events?

[But on second thought, if so many powerful demons at the Heavenly Gate Realm were truly lurking within the Zhao Kingdom, even if Fangcun Mountain were negligent, they certainly wouldn't have been completely unaware.]

Moreover, with the righteous path currently enjoying great power, if the demonic sect dares to launch another large-scale war between the righteous and demonic forces, it will severely damage the dormant demonic forces.

The demonic path shouldn't be so unwise.

Thinking of this, your gaze swept over the group of demons cowering in the corner.

They were already terrified out of their wits; those with lower cultivation levels even collapsed to the ground, displaying their wretched forms.

The tiger spirit trembled on the ground, the bear spirit curled up in a ball, the leopard spirit stood frozen, and the rabbit spirit rolled its eyes and fainted... For a moment, jackals, tigers, leopards, snakes, insects, rats, and ants—all kinds of creatures were present, but unfortunately, they were all minor demons who had not even reached the Body Shaping Realm, barely able to transform into human form. At this moment, they had no ferocity whatsoever, only eyes full of fear.

[Look again at the main hall of the city lord's mansion. The banquet laid out there consists entirely of human hearts, lungs, and livers... Of course, to ordinary people without cultivation, these would be considered delicacies.]

Clearly, the Demon King is the master of this place, and these trembling little demons are merely its guests.

The demons were terrified, their faces drained of color, and they all begged for mercy.

[With your arrival, who knows when!]

A fierce wind raged above the city lord's mansion, and a dark cloud descended from the heavens, shrouding the entire residence like ink.

Thunder serpents danced wildly in the clouds, the deafening thunder seemed like the wrath of the heavens, and the overwhelming power of the heavens made the demons' bodies go weak.

Before they could react, lightning rained down like a storm, thousands of bolts striking their eyes.

In an instant, the entire mansion was bathed in lightning. Amidst the flying rubble, the wicked demons didn't even have time to scream before turning to ashes and scattering in all directions.

This is your "Demon-Slaying and Evil-Breaking Divine Thunder".

When the lightning subsided, only three fairies remained kneeling on the ground in the vast courtyard, their faces already pale with fright.

[A snake spirit dressed as a scholar, a fox spirit dressed as a woman, and a clam spirit who is also a young girl.]

[Look at the three demons. Using the Jade Emperor's Qi Observation Technique, you observe their aura. Although they are not entangled in black qi and karmic force like ordinary spirits, they are not entirely innocent.]

The snake demon even knocked the scholar's handkerchief askew, crying out in a trembling voice, "Immortal, please understand! We were forced to come here; we dared not touch a single bite!"

You quietly observe, then say, "There are some questions I need you to answer."

"Where did this demon come from? Why were you invited?"

The snake spirit scholar wailed, "Immortal, we are just lowly demons from the nearby mountains, only a hundred years old. How would we know such things? We dared not refuse the invitation from the King of Demons."

"We're all just unfortunate demons."

You shook your head. "I don't like listening to nonsense."

A bolt of lightning struck, and everything was reduced to shattered pieces.

The remaining two demons trembled violently, shaking uncontrollably.

The fox spirit woman quickly spoke up, "I am one of the king's wives and concubines, so I know a thing or two."

"Immortal Master, please spare my life!"

【"you say."】

[This fox spirit was indeed exceptionally beautiful—her almond-shaped eyes held a hint of spring, her skin was like jade, and a delicate figure was draped in a crimson veil. But... why would the Demon King take such a wild fox spirit as a concubine?] [Moreover, today's banquet was attended entirely by demons.]

The fox spirit gritted her teeth, "I was originally a three-tailed spirit fox cultivating on the western slope, but a hundred years ago I was forcibly married by the catfish spirit of the Azure Lake..."

[Your brow twitched slightly. The fox clan values ​​pure bloodlines above all else; how could they possibly intermarry with the foul-smelling aquatic tribe?]

"And this catfish spirit is the former incarnation of this Demon King. He encountered a master in the Azure Lake. Three years ago, a master in black robes came to the bottom of the lake and not only gave him this evil banner, but also taught him the secret technique of transforming into a demon..."

"The people in this city were caused by a catfish spirit who soaked Xiao Fan in the upstream waters of the Wancheng River. Eventually, the entire city suffered from soul loss, and after seven days, all the people in the city died, becoming wandering spirits."

You recall the appearance of the ghostly figure within the small banner; it truly seemed devoid of emotion and desire, empty and numb.

[Three years ago, I met a wise person.]

[It seems the Chaoyin Sect's influence had already quietly extended to this remote place three years ago. To possess such methods, capable of transforming an ordinary catfish spirit into a Heavenly Gate Realm Ghost King, is truly a demonic tactic.]

You looked at the fox spirit and asked, "How did you know?"

The fox spirit hesitated, her three tails twisted together uneasily: "That damned catfish demon... forced me to serve that powerful man, who possesses extraordinary abilities, capable of multiplying into three! I... I have suffered so much..."

You interrupted, "There's no need to talk about these things."

After speaking, his gaze shifted to the last clam spirit.

Seeing this, the clam spirit hurriedly and tremblingly said, "Immortal, I...I am the new wife of this Demon King. A year ago, that black-robed master came to the city again and instructed the Demon King to take the small banner to the capital of Zhao tomorrow, which is why we are holding this banquet today."

How did you find out?

The clam spirit said bitterly, "This ugly catfish spirit forced me to serve some powerful person who can transform into four or five different people, each with a different length..."

"Okay, I understand."

"A year ago," "To the capital?"

You thought to yourself, "It seems this demonic cultivator must be hiding in the capital of Zhao."

However, judging from the current situation, this demon king's strength is simply insufficient to freely manipulate the small banner; its cultivation level also originates from that master.

The ghostly soldiers in this city were also summoned by this small banner. Their journey to the capital will likely leave them nothing more than fish on the chopping block.

Now that you've roughly pieced together the main points, look at the two demons.

The two female demons were so frightened that they kowtowed repeatedly, their voices trembling with sobs, pleading urgently, "Please spare our lives, Immortal! We, the two sisters, are willing to offer ourselves to you and serve you for all eternity."

"Let's talk about it in the next life then."

Upon hearing this, the two female demons were terrified, their bodies trembling uncontrollably, and they finally revealed their true forms.

"Your souls will not be destroyed; may you be reincarnated."

[The words had barely left his lips when thunder roared down, like divine punishment descending, instantly reducing the two demons to ashes, leaving only wisps of dust.]

[Upon entering the mansion, you indeed find that the Demon King's true form is a catfish spirit. His mansion does indeed contain many treasures, though most are rather ordinary.]

The most precious items are two ancient cowrie shells, or ancient coins. Their backs are smoothed or perforated. They are exquisitely crafted, and whenever they sense the presence of demons nearby, the two cowrie shells will gently touch each other, emitting a crisp sound as a warning.

You've put everything into your storage bag, so you've made some gains.

As you stepped out of the city lord's mansion, the thunderclouds dissipated, revealing the clear sun.

You looked at the deserted city, your tone turning cold.

"Sometimes, even demons can't outdo the evil deeds of cultivators!"

~

Wancheng, West Gate.

The battle was in full swing, then paused briefly.

With their combined efforts, Lin Shuang and the other four managed to kill a group of over a thousand Yin soldiers, including several Yin generals at the Three-Headed Solid God Realm, whose strength should not be underestimated.

After a fierce battle, all five were exhausted and were now resting and meditating to recover their depleted magical power.

Among them, Zhang Tong was the most excited. After receiving guidance from Zhou Jing, he truly roamed freely within the Yin Soldier Formation, as if it were empty.

This was something he couldn't have imagined just fifteen minutes ago.

Zhang Tong not only held this Senior Brother Zhou in even higher regard, but also...

"Senior Brother Zhou, how come I've never heard of Xiao Qingfeng before..."

Just as he was about to sigh, he suddenly looked up at the center of Wancheng.

This time!

A sudden surge of yin energy rose into the sky above the city lord's mansion, and the entire Wancheng seemed to be shrouded in a layer of gloom, darkening the city.

A cold wind howled, its roar deafening. Even though they were far apart, the group felt their hearts pound, as if an invisible force was pressing down on their souls.

Wei Zhi's voice rang out at the right moment, tinged with worry and indignation: "He went alone, I don't know what he was thinking, was he trying to kill himself?"

"Are we just going to stand by and watch without going to the city lord's mansion? If something happens to him, this trial will probably end in failure."

Upon hearing this, Lin Shuang hesitated, weighing the pros and cons in her mind, and was unable to make up her mind for a long time.

If the five of them were to go to the city lord's mansion now, even if Zhou Jing had already met with misfortune, it would probably be too late and there would be no way to reverse the situation.

Moreover, if they encounter even greater dangers along the way, the five of them might not be able to escape unscathed.

Although the Xue sisters had complete confidence in their senior brother Zhou, the overwhelming Yin energy still made them worry.

"Look!" Zhang Tong suddenly exclaimed.

Everyone looked up abruptly—and saw a beam of purple-gold light shining through the surging yin energy above the city lord's mansion.

The light spread like flowing water, instantly enveloping the entire mansion in a giant purple-gold cocoon, its surface shrouded in mysterious runes, like a brocade woven by the hand of nature.

Xue Ruyi's voice trembled as she asked, "Is this the magic of that Demon King?"

"Not quite!"

Lin Shuang seemed to be deep in thought. "I remember seeing it in some ancient book, with purple light... but I can't recall it right now."

It didn’t take long!

The purple-gold light of the city lord's mansion dissipated, and instead, a rolling dark cloud appeared in the sky, accompanied by thunder and lightning.

As the silver snakes danced wildly, bolts of heavenly lightning struck down like divine punishment.

The dark clouds have dispersed!

Zhang Tong looked up at the sky; the long-awaited sunlight poured down like golden gauze, bathing the dilapidated city walls in a warm glow.

Although the city is still dilapidated, with its old bricks and tiles remaining, there is no longer any trace of its eerie atmosphere.

The group hadn't even come to their senses yet!

A voice sounded.

"Let's go to the capital of Zhao."

(End of this chapter)