Embers of Sword

Chapter 500 Red Dragon
Dark clouds howled, and countless vengeful ghosts surged out of the secret hall, sweeping and churning like a tidal wave. Master Baihe sat in the center of the Ten Thousand Souls Formation. With a gentle shake, the black feather cloak he wore floated in the air, transforming into a pitch-black sky, as if it would completely envelop and cover the entire world.

The world changed color in an instant.

Xie Zhisui raised his hands and quickly formed a hand seal.

Once a cultivator reaches the Yin Spirit Realm, they can project their Dao externally.

The two great paths clashed, light and fire collided with the black tide in an instant, and the evil cultivators and the Jiangning Prince's Mansion cultivators fought and became entangled in the Ten Thousand Souls Formation... In terms of cultivation level, the Yinshan cultivators were actually slightly weaker than the Jiangning Prince's Mansion cultivators, but in the fight, the Yinshan cultivators had the upper hand!
The evil cultivators under Renzuka's command are extremely fierce!

Perhaps due to having just ingested the "Nine-Turn Vermilion Pill," these evil cultivators, empowered by the Myriad Souls Array, went berserk, disregarding the risk of death for injury. Although the Wangfu cultivators were of slightly higher cultivation level, they had never witnessed such a scene before. In the very first exchange, the lowest-ranking evil cultivators, only around the Foundation Establishment stage, rushed forward, risking being pierced through the heart by flying swords to launch self-destruction. Instantly, continuous muffled thunder echoed within the Myriad Souls Array, and bursts of blood mist exploded and shattered. As the dark mist spread, the Wangfu cultivators shrouded in it let out heart-wrenching screams.

"..."

Xie Xuanyi stood beside Ren Zhong and frowned slightly upon seeing this scene.

He finally understood.

Why is this White Crane Immortal so magnanimous?

Ren Zhong was willing to let his junior brothers consume top-tier elixirs like the Nine-Turn Cinnabar Pill because he never intended for them to leave the Secret Tomb alive. The Yinshan cultivation method revolves around the "Soul Banner," and even Ren Zhong was no exception. The moment he set up the Myriad Souls Array, all the Yinshan disciples within the array became sacrificial pawns. Those ants at only the Foundation Establishment stage would be absorbed into the Soul Banner after their self-destruction. This was the reason Ren Zhong fed them the pills; he wasn't raising fellow disciples, but rather "vengeful ghosts" who would eventually enter his Soul Banner!
"kill!"

Before there was time to react, shouts of killing filled the hall.

Two streaks of light flashed in front of Xie Xuanyi.

Obsidian Venerable and White Jade Venerable joined forces to kill... Leaving aside Xie Zhisui, the Jiangning Prince's Mansion has a total of four Yin God Venerables. Currently, two Yin God Realm Grand Cultivators are fighting against each other in the Great Dao Realm. Although Yin Mountain has the upper hand in battles between low-level cultivators, the Prince's Mansion has a considerable number of people in the battles of Yin God Realm.

The four Venerables split up, forming pairs to encircle Ren Zhongshan's junior brother, Zhong Sha, on one side, while on the other side they attacked Xie Xuanyi!

"Monster! He must be killed!"

Venerable Bai Yu rode a streak of azure wind and thunder as he charged forward, his face filled with a chilling expression.

He still remembered the humiliation he suffered at the recent Soul Conference.

Now is the time to avenge our great humiliation—

"Fellow Daoist Obsidian, this Xie fellow has joined the evil sect and is practicing evil arts. He should not be underestimated. Let us join forces to fight him!"

Azure thunder and lightning descended into the main hall.

Although Venerable Baiyu's face was gloomy, he was not blinded by anger.

He immediately unleashed his treasure, using Azure Lightning to force his way into the Myriad Souls Array, and then threw out a Daoist talisman—

Obsidian Venerable landed on the other side, moving in unison with White Jade Venerable. Although the two were only "pseudo-Venerables" who had advanced by taking pills, they had cultivated for many years and their minds were connected. Their joint defense techniques had long been honed to perfection. If they joined forces, they would be no less formidable even when facing a mid-stage Yin God.

Two Taoist talismans were thrown out.

A dazzling divine thunderbolt traveled through the dark mist!

Evil spirits and malevolent entities fear the power of thunder the most!
"Humph……"

Ren Zhong, suspended in the Ten Thousand Souls Formation, sensed the aura of thunder magic, and his expression turned gloomy.

He instinctively prepared to erase the lightning talisman.

But as the oppressive force of the blazing sun suddenly descended from above, Ren Zhong had a sudden thought and lowered his raised hand "just in time"... In today's bloody battle, the Yinshan disciples were risking their lives and were destined to suffer heavy casualties. Why should he fight to the death for this black-clad human being?
The white ghost instructed them not to fight with Xie Xuanyi's shadow.

But if one is truly outmatched in skill and dies at the hands of the Great Chu cultivator...

That's not your fault!
With this in mind, Ren Zhong no longer hesitated and focused all his energy on controlling the formation to fight Xie Zhisui. He let the Thunder Talisman tear a hole in the Myriad Souls Formation and let the two Yin God Venerables from the Prince's Mansion surround and kill the man in black.

……

……

"Yinshan is still the same as before..."

The Ten Thousand Souls Formation was torn open by the thunder talisman, leaving a shadowy patch.

Xie Xuanyi caught a glimpse of Ren Zhong's raised and lowered hand out of the corner of his eye, and couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

He knew all too well what the White Crane Taoist was thinking.

When the sword was drawn on the Bingyou day, the black-clad figure's cultivation level was only at the "Mid-stage Yin Spirit Realm". Logically speaking, without the assistance of the Myriad Souls Formation, he might not have been able to gain the upper hand against the two Fifth Realm Venerables from the Jiangning Prince's Mansion who joined forces...

Xie Xuanyi didn't know whether the man in black was hiding his cultivation level.

But with his current cultivation level, dealing with these two pseudo-Venerables is more than enough for him.

"boom!"

A bolt of blue lightning descended from the sky, striking the spot where Xie Xuanyi was.

"You beast! I'll take you in!"

Venerable Baiyu made a hand seal.

In his view, Xie Zhen's rapid advancement was already an inconceivable strange event... Now that he has joined forces with the evil sect, the truth has come to light.

This kid must have practiced some kind of evil magic!
Evil spirits fear thunder magic the most!
To everyone's surprise, Xie Zhen neither dodged nor evaded the falling lightning.

With a loud bang!
The mighty blue lightning was shattered by Xie Xuanyi with a casual wave of his sleeve!
Venerable Bai Yu was stunned.

next moment.

The man in black took a step forward and instantly appeared in front of him.

If Xie Xuanyi were willing to reveal his "Martial Arts Divine Embryo," then this battle would already be over.

However, Xie Xuanyi did not do that.

Venerable Baiyu and Venerable Heiyao are insignificant figures... not worth revealing his trump cards too early.

Therefore, Xie Xuanyi silently imbued the sword energy with a wisp of the Dao of Annihilation!
His real target wasn't just Xie Zhisui, but also Ren Zhong—

Therefore, in this current battle, he must play the role of "black-clad" well.

Xie Xuanyi pondered for a moment, then raised his hand and unleashed a lotus-shaped sword aura containing the "Dao of Annihilation".

Bai Yu, who had narrowly escaped death, was drenched in cold sweat. He quickly retreated into the great formation formed by Hei Yao, who had used his seals to create a powerful array.

Rumbling--

The Lotus Sword Qi crashed into the Black Obsidian Venerable's grand array canopy!

Xie Xuanyi only used 30% of his strength in this sword strike.

Even so, a deep crack was still slashed into the canopy of the grand formation—

"How come this kid isn't afraid of my lightning magic?!"

Seeing this, Venerable Bai Yu's face turned pale. He never expected that his lightning technique would be completely ineffective! And this kid's swordsmanship was too powerful! With just one sword, he almost broke through the great formation... Could it be that Xie Zhen really relied on his Dao Realm comprehension to truly cultivate to the Yin God Realm?

But that doesn't make sense! Even if it were a reincarnated immortal, it shouldn't be this monstrous, right?

Even with two Fifth Realm experts joining forces, they shouldn't be able to defeat a newly promoted Yin God, right?
"..."

Venerable Baiyu and Venerable Heiyao exchanged a glance, their expressions extremely solemn.

Xie Zhen's sword attack was not particularly fierce.

He slashed out with his sword.

The second sword strike was delivered after nearly ten breaths.

The two took a deep breath, adjusted their energy, withdrew from the formation, and charged out.

During this period, the Jiangning Prince's Mansion conducted an extremely detailed investigation into Xie Zhen.

While the sword cultivators of the Great Sui Sword Palace possess formidable killing power, their physical constitution is their greatest weakness. Ten years ago, during the Battle of the North Sea, Xie Zhen's master, Xie Xuanyi, was surrounded and driven to the brink of death due to this physical deficiency, ultimately choosing to throw himself into the sea... Seeing that the "Thunder Magic" had failed, Venerable Baiyu and Venerable Heiyao directly abandoned their Thunder Talisman offensive and opted for close-quarters combat!

"Clang clang clang!" In an instant, dozens of sparks flew from the clash of metal in the main hall!

The black and white energies transformed into a long rainbow, enveloping Xie Xuanyi.

Xie Xuanyi was repeatedly forced to retreat, suffering losses as he did so...

Bai Yu and Hei Yao exchanged a glance, a cold smile appearing in their hearts. Engaging in close combat with a sword cultivator was indeed the right choice.

I don't know.

Xie Xuanyi's mind was not on these two people at all.

He remained expressionless, maintaining this barely defensive posture, constantly adjusting his position as he darted and turned within the Myriad Souls Formation.

The battle between Yinshan and the Jiangning Prince's Mansion was at its most intense moment.

After the low-level evil cultivator self-destructed.

The Jiangning Prince's Mansion suffered heavy losses, the Soul Banner unleashed vengeful spirits, and the battlefield was suppressed by the Ten Thousand Souls Formation.

Ren Zhong and Xie Zhisui faced off, locked in a stalemate. Although the two Dao Realms clashed fiercely, neither of them chose to fight to the death first. Both sides seemed to be holding back some strength, unwilling to gamble all their trump cards in this battle. In this situation, the biggest turning point in the battle would be the outcome of the game between the other Yin Gods.

Xie Xuanyi looked at the mentally challenged second disciple under Bai Gui's seat.

Zhong Sha was surrounded by the other two Yin God Venerables of the Prince's Mansion... This battle was beyond Xie Xuanyi's expectations.

Xie Xuanyi hadn't expected that Zhong Sha, who had proven his Dao through martial arts, was so fierce that he single-handedly held his own against two royal cultivators without being at a disadvantage. He relied on his thick skin and tough flesh to exchange injuries for injuries... In the Ten Thousand Souls Formation, Zhong Sha's injuries could be healed extremely quickly, while the two royal Yin Gods were beaten so badly that they suffered terribly.

Judging from this situation, in a few moments, the Prince's Mansion will be completely at a disadvantage.

In Xie Xuanyi's mind, the best-case scenario would be for the royal palace to defeat Yinshan in the battle of Yin gods.

Once things fall into a slump, Renzuka will unleash the Ten Thousand Souls Formation in a desperate attempt to escape.

Ten years ago.

Xie Xuanyi had experienced the power of the "Ten Thousand Souls Formation" firsthand. This formation was connected to the soul of its master. Once Ren Zhong was determined to fight to the death, the Ten Thousand Souls Formation would unleash a terrifying power... However, Ren Zhong would also have to pay an equally terrible price.

If we can really wait until that moment.

With Ren Zhong on the verge of death and Xie Zhisui also severely injured by the Ten Thousand Souls Formation, it was the best time for him to "step forward".

Unfortunately.

God does not fulfill one's wishes.

This Jiangning Prince's Mansion is truly useless; barring any unforeseen circumstances, it will most likely disappoint my "expectations."

……

……

"Roar!"

Sure enough, after a quarter of an hour of fighting, a furious roar suddenly rang out from the center of the formation.

Covered in blood, Zhong Sha roared to the sky. Just now, he had withstood a blow from a precious artifact, ignoring the fact that his back was torn open. Finally, he seized the opportunity, sneaked into a royal palace and tore it in two!
The roar was like a thunderous drumbeat!

A dignified Yin God was like a piece of paper torn apart in front of a Divine Embryo cultivator. His clothes and flesh flew everywhere, his protective Dao Realm was shattered, and the Dao essence in the sky was submerged by blood mist!
This scene was extremely brutal. Every cultivator in the royal palace who witnessed it lost their composure and suffered ruptured livers and gallbladders.

A spirit of the underworld, just like that, died in battle?!
"kill!!"

On the other side, the evil cultivators of Yinshan were greatly encouraged, and the vengeful ghosts of the Soul Banner Bell went even more frenzied when they smelled the blood!
From this moment on.

The scales began to tip in this battle.

The eerie winds of the Myriad Souls Formation began to seep out of the main hall.

Xie Zhisui's "Great Sun Dao Realm" also began to sway.

His expression was gloomy, clearly he hadn't expected this either.

Despite having suppressed Master Baihe and having his four Yin Gods surround and kill the two, he was now at a disadvantage...

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

On Zhong Sha's side, the surviving Yin Shen Venerable hurriedly called for help. Even with the combined strength of the two of them, they could not suppress this monster, let alone him alone!
“...useless thing.”

Xie Zhisui took a deep breath.

Veins bulged on his forehead. In his original plan, the battle of Yin Mountain shouldn't have been this troublesome. There were only three Venerables on the Yin Mountain side. The most troublesome one, True Man Baihe, was being held back by him. True Man Baihe's Yin God junior brother was an unintelligent fool, and "Xie Zhen" was just a young man who had been promoted to Yin God for less than a hundred days. No matter which one of them was defeated first, the battle would be a sure victory!

But nowadays, there's no side that makes things easy for me!

"Your Highness, your strength is truly remarkable and admirable. However, the Venerables under your command are somewhat lacking..."

Ren Zhong, who was in charge of the Ten Thousand Souls Formation, felt greatly relieved upon seeing this scene.

Ren Zhong glanced at Xie Zhen, who was locked in a fierce battle not far away, and laughed loudly, "My junior brother will be here to help soon! Why don't you surrender now and, like 'that one,' submit to the Southern Frontier? Perhaps I can put in a good word for you and bestow upon you the title of a king of a different surname in the Southern Frontier. Why not?"

"evil creature!"

The Prince of Jiangning looked ashen-faced.

He completely lost his former elegance, and at this moment, his black and gold cloud robe was also ignited with raging golden flames.

An immense aura spread out.

"……Um?"

Xie Xuanyi, who had circled the Myriad Souls Formation, felt the immense pressure from the sky and couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

interesting.

Xie Zhisui was still hiding his trump card...

Perhaps due to the bloodline of the human royal family, the Great Sun Dao Domain that Xie Zhisui was currently using was similar in aura to the Crown Prince of Li Kingdom's [King Hunt].

But at that moment, golden flames ignited.

This domain began to change, showing a clear difference from [Wang Shou].

Xie Xuanyi sensed an extremely familiar aura, the Crimson Dragon fortune that Xie Sheng had once carried... Now, the Crimson Dragon Golden Flame was burning fiercely in Xie Zhisui's eyes.

"Hooray!"

A mighty dragon roar resounded above the secret hall.

Xie Zhisui raised his hands, and the crimson dragon materialized from the top of the sky, almost filling the entire sky.

After the crimson dragon appeared, a black-clad phantom also slowly emerged.

At this moment, Renzuka's expression became extremely strange.

It's not just because of that red dragon.

It was also because he was stepping on the dark phantom of that crimson dragon.

He vaguely felt that the ancient figure draped in a black Taoist robe looked very familiar.

This looks a bit like...

The Great Master Chongkan of the Taoist sect?

……

……

(P.S.: Sorry, I was busy during the day today, so the update is a bit late. But I promised to update a lot more, so there will be another update tonight~)

(End of this chapter)