Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 273 Leveraging Power and Luck
Why are you going out again?

Inside the Yellow Springs Palace, Qu Heng stared at Chen Ye with a furrowed brow and questioned, "I told you not to go out recently, and to wait until this calamity is over. Do you think I'm exaggerating?"

Chen Ye shook his head and said, "Of course I know that your divination skills are unparalleled. How about I guard the Yellow Springs Sect and you go in my place?"

Qu Heng said helplessly, "You can't hold it."

The Yellow Springs Sect cannot do without Qu Heng's protection, simply because Qu Heng can shatter the void and directly reach any place in the Northern Frontier.

If a demon creates trouble that even the City God cannot handle, Qu Heng can arrive instantly and suppress the enemy with his overwhelming magical power.

His Crimson Dragon Buddha could only unleash its full power in the Northern Frontier. Unless absolutely necessary, Qu Heng himself did not want to leave the Northern Frontier to avoid encountering misfortune.

However, Chen Ye is also the core of the Yellow Springs Sect. The sect only suffered a severe blow without Qu Heng, but without Chen Ye, the Yellow Springs Sect was completely destroyed and no one could save it.

"You absolutely have to go?"

Chen Ye did not answer, but simply smiled as he looked at Qu Heng.

Qu Heng stopped trying to persuade him. He knew Chen Ye's character well; since Chen Ye had come to talk to him about this, it meant that Chen Ye had already made up his mind.

Qu Heng shook his head and said, "Forget it. Avoiding disaster or facing calamity are both solutions. You chose it yourself, so you have to deal with it yourself."

Chen Ye laughed and said, "Grandmaster, don't worry. I'll scream for help when it's time to save you."

Although this trip was certainly risky, Chen Ye knew that it was a choice given to him by fate.

If they go, a successful adventure should allow Pang Duoduo and Mo Suixin to join the Yellow Springs Sect; if they don't go, these two will surely die.

This is the real ordeal; you either have to take risks or lose something. It's not something you can just lie at home and get through unscathed.

However, while we must face this challenge, we still need to make the necessary preparations.

"Grandmaster, teach me the art of flying. I won't ride the Black Whirlwind this time."

Although Black Whirlwind was becoming more and more magnificent and its flight speed was getting faster and faster, the mount was ultimately not agile enough. Chen Ye riding on Black Whirlwind not only slowed him down, but also made him much less agile.

Chen Ye is already at the Profound Realm, it's really unreasonable for him not to be able to fly.

Moreover, Chen Ye had a feeling that whether or not they would fly on this trip would have two different outcomes.

Although he doesn't practice much on a regular basis, Chen Ye has an extremely high talent for divination and can always sense things that are important to his own safety.

Qu Heng asked in confusion, "The art of flight? Why don't you just choose one from the Burning Incense Sect's lineage?"

The Incense Burning Sect has the most diverse lineage among the five major sects, possessing almost every type of magic, including many flying techniques.

Chen Ye said, "There are indeed quite a few, so I would like to ask you, my grandmaster, to help me choose one."

Upon hearing this, Qu Heng suddenly realized and said, "Wow, you've learned pretty quickly! You've even learned how to borrow luck?"

If the art of flight is key to this journey, then Chen Ye's choice of this technique by Qu Heng is a case of Chen Ye borrowing Qu Heng's fortune. Their fates are intertwined; one prospers, the other prospers; one suffers, the other suffers.

If it were anyone else, Qu Heng would have slapped them across the face. You can't borrow the old demon's luck; it's already merciful of him not to take your flesh and soul.

But Chen Ye's method relieved Qu Heng. This kid wasn't acting rashly, and the risks were within acceptable limits.

Qu Heng laughed and said, "Borrowing momentum and luck, not bad, you're finally starting to look like a sect leader. In that case, I'll teach you the art of riding the clouds."

There are many ways for cultivators to fly, the most common being to ride magical artifacts.

After all, magical artifacts fly fast and consume little energy, especially flying swords, whose speed is astonishing.

However, magical artifacts suitable for flight are rare and hard to come by. Moreover, how to control such artifacts is also a problem.

For someone like Chen Ye who lacks talent, even giving him the best flying sword wouldn't be of much use.

Qu Heng said to Chen Ye, "Riding the clouds is the most suitable magic for you. When you cultivate it, if you transform into a dragon, you will achieve twice the result with half the effort."

"I see. As expected of my grandmaster, I had forgotten about this."

As long as Chen Ye carries the Flood Dragon Pearl with him, he can transform into a Flood Dragon at any time. With the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts combined with cloud-riding, it might even be used as a means of combat.

"You're lucky. I originally prepared this cloud-riding technique for my own red-banded snake. Dragons and snakes are a good match, so it's perfect for you to learn it."

Qu Heng recited incantations and taught Chen Ye this art of cloud-riding.

Chen Ye listened carefully and made a mental note of it.

This spell wasn't difficult; with Chen Ye's abilities, he easily grasped the key points.

As the spiritual energy within his body circulated, a cloud of energy arose around Chen Ye, seemingly light and airy, yet it lifted Chen Ye up completely.

Qu Heng exclaimed, "Your talent is indeed very high, except for your swordsmanship."

Chen Ye: ...

This is an obstacle that Chen Ye will never be able to overcome in his life.

"Take this. I was planning to give it to you in a few days, but now I think it was all preordained."

Qu Heng tossed a jade bracelet to Chen Ye, who caught it and discovered it was a magical artifact made from the four dragon pearls.

The original dragon pearl, which was larger than a person, has shrunk to the size of a finger, but the spiritual energy it contains is much greater than before. "The original dragon pearl was polluted by turbid energy and contained many impurities. I have removed these impurities for you and refined it anew. Even if you don't transform into a dragon, this magic weapon will give you half the power of a dragon."

"Thank you, Master."

Chen Ye said gratefully.

Regardless of any previous friction between the two, from the moment Chen Ye acknowledged this grandmaster, Qu Heng truly served the Yellow Spring Sect wholeheartedly and took great care of Chen Ye.

Chen Ye was very grateful to have such an elder.

Qu Heng disliked such empty thanks and waved his hand, saying, "Go ahead, and come back soon."

Chen Ye cupped his hands in greeting and then leaped out of the window.

The moment Chen Ye leaped out of the Yellow Springs Palace, his body stretched out like flowing water, quickly transforming into a black dragon.

Large wisps of cloud appeared around the dragon, enveloping it and carrying Chen Ye's body into the sky.

Chen Ye couldn't help but sigh, "Yun Conglong is indeed true. It's his first time, but it's as if he has been cultivating for decades. He can use it with ease."

This cloud of mist was like an innate part of Chen Ye's body, effortlessly controlled, carrying Chen Ye's dragon body at an extremely fast speed, almost matching the speed he used when riding the Black Whirlwind.

Chen Ye felt as if he had become one with the clouds and mist, and he could hardly distinguish himself from them.

Moreover, this method of flight does not involve that annoying strong wind.

Chen Ye's biggest annoyance was being blown by the wind while flying in the sky, but now, as long as the clouds in front of him weren't blown away, he didn't have this problem.

The first time flying in the sky entirely on my own was completely different from riding the Black Whirlwind.

Looking down at the ever-shrinking land, Chen Ye felt so free, as if he could fly freely into the heavens and head towards the celestial realm.

"No wonder people always want to fly, always want to fly on their own, it feels really different."

Chen Ye accelerated continuously, the clouds around him almost turning into wisps of cloud, and he couldn't help but let out a series of dragon roars.

The roar was like thunder, its sound reverberating for miles around.

Countless households thought it was going to rain, and countless birds and beasts were frightened into running around in all directions by Chen Ye. Chen Ye, like a mischievous child, enjoyed the fun brought by this prank.

They flew away without regard for time.

Chen Ye followed the sunrise and sunset until he saw the ruins that resembled hell.

The once lush and verdant Green Coffin Mountain is now in ruins. From the sky, the corpse of the Demon Lord Wujiu is rotten and swollen, lying among the broken mountain ridges.

The green hills turned into black hills, and the stench of decay could be smelled from dozens of miles away, making Chen Ye feel nauseous.

Moreover, as soon as he approached this place, Chen Ye felt that the flow of spiritual energy in his body was not smooth.

Because the earth's veins have been severed, the power of heaven and earth seems to be blocked here, and all kinds of turbid qi cannot be expelled and accumulate here.

If this continues, within a few years all living beings in this place will die out, and then all sorts of evil creatures will emerge.

Chen Ye wanted to turn around and leave after just one glance, but Pang Duoduo was willing to guard this place and never retreat, showing that the Burning Incense Sect had not completely abandoned the concept of righteousness.

Chen Ye did not approach rashly, but instead rode the clouds and mist to circle around the outer perimeter of Green Coffin Mountain, trying to find Pang Duoduo and Mo Suixin.

However, Chen Ye didn't find a single member of the Incense Burning Sect. Instead, he spotted a group of sneaky cultivators refining treasures on the outskirts of Green Coffin Mountain.

Four or eight cultivators dressed in blue robes were pressing down on dozens of mortals, constantly gathering the spreading putrid poison and injecting it into their bodies.

Chen Ye was also from the Demonic Sect, so how could he not understand that this was the Demonic Sect's evil technique for creating zombies?

Unlike Chen Ye's crude methods, the more potent the toxin used to create the zombie, the greater its power in battle.

It's just a pity for these mortals; being poisoned to death is an extremely painful and cruel torture.

"The people from the Incense Burning Sect have disappeared, and instead a demon has arrived. Could it be that I'm too late?"

Chen Ye was puzzled, but he acted swiftly. Wherever his gaze fell, dozens of crimson fire snakes appeared, first binding all the demons, and then carrying the poisoned mortals away from the location of Green Coffin Mountain.

Chen Ye descended from the sky, transforming into human form amidst the clouds and mist, and landed before these mortals.

Unfortunately, I was too late.

These dozen or so young men had been poisoned to the core, and were already like walking corpses, their souls trapped in their bodies, suffering endless torment.

Chen Ye sighed and took out the Myriad Souls Banner, collecting the souls of these mortals into it. There was no way to save them; he could only send them to the Underworld of the Yellow Springs Sect.

After collecting the souls of these mortals, Chen Ye turned around and glared angrily at the demons.

Just as they were about to question each other, one of them said, "What's the big deal? Fellow Daoist, we are under the command of the Azure Dragon Lord. If you want to take a liking to these zombies, just ask. Why do you need to take action? Since we are all fellow Daoists, you have already taken them in. How about you let us live?"

Chen Ye chuckled.

Great, no need for interrogation.

Chen Ye smiled and said, "Gentlemen, it's time for you all to join the Ten Thousand Souls Banner."

(End of this chapter)