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

Chapter 280 The Greatest Compassion
Youluozi was so easy to talk to that Chen Ye didn't dare to completely trust him.

Moreover, it makes no sense for Youluozi to help him. She and Qingjiao Venerable are clearly on the same side. Even if the demonic sects are scheming against each other, they would never betray their own people for the sake of an outsider like Chen Ye.

Since he couldn't figure it out, Chen Ye had no choice but to ask Pang Duoduo for help.

Chen Ye asked, "Senior Pang, can you calculate the true purpose of this Youluozi?"

Pang Duoduo shook her head and said, "I can't tell. Her cultivation is much higher than mine, and there seems to be something to say about this demon's background. I guess she's not human."

"not human?"

Pang Duoduo said, "It's a monster. There aren't many monsters in this world, but they do exist."

Chen Ye immediately showed a surprised expression; this statement was truly unexpected.

However, there are indeed few monsters. So far, the only monster I have seen is the Mirage Demon. Monsters like Black Whirlwind can only be considered relatively intelligent wild beasts, and are far from being true monsters.

“No, Youluozi is the successor of the Bewitching Demon Lord, so she should still be human. Perhaps, like the Azure Dragon Lord, the secret technique she cultivated tainted her with the blood of non-human beings.”

Pang Duoduo remained noncommittal, casually saying, "Perhaps, but you don't need to worry, your near-death experience is over."

These words put Chen Ye at ease.

Chen Ye was well aware that this trip would inevitably involve risks.

Having survived having his head sliced ​​off by sword energy and being swallowed by the Azure Dragon Lord, he could be considered to have narrowly escaped death.

If it weren't for Chen Ye's many tricks, he would really be dead by now.

Pang Duoduo said that Chen Ye's brush with death had passed, so no matter how Youluozi schemed, at least they were safe and sound. What happens next, they could worry about later.

In any case, with Pang Duoduo and Qu Heng joining forces, no one should be able to scheme against the Yellow Spring Sect anymore.

Chen Ye breathed a sigh of relief, and his mind began to work. He said to Pang Duoduo, "Senior Pang, when the seabed shook violently just now, I seemed to see a shadow in front of me. Could it be some kind of treasure? Should we go and take a look?"

Anyway, all we're doing now is waiting for the Azure Dragon Lord to climb up to the Yellow Springs Sect. We're just idling around anyway, so how can we swallow this insult if we don't dig some treasure out of the Azure Dragon Lord?
Pang Duoduo and Mo Suixin were also tempted; how could cultivators resist the urge to explore for treasure?

Moreover, both of them were diviners.

Having determined the direction, the three walked towards the shadow.

The world inside the Azure Dragon Lord's belly was indeed not very large, perhaps only a hundred miles in diameter, so the three of them did not go far before arriving in front of the enormous shadow.

However, upon seeing what was before them, all three showed expressions of surprise.

This is not a treasure, but a huge piece of ice, twenty feet tall, and shaped like a giant sword.

Mo Suixin exclaimed in surprise, "It's Senior Brother Qin!"

"Qin Wanjun?"

Chen Ye quickly approached and saw Qin Wanjun, who was frozen inside the giant sword, maintaining a casting posture.

The water-repelling pearl only displaced the seawater, but it didn't push away the solid ice.

Mo Suixin was about to break through the ice to rescue him, but Pang Duoduo quickly stopped her, saying, "Disciple, stop! He's already dead."

Chen Ye carefully observed Qin Wanjun through the solid ice and quickly confirmed Pang Duoduo's statement.

This once-proud prodigy is indeed dead.

Perhaps he was simply defiant and wandered around looking for a way out, only to be sent into the sea by that folded space.

Although he managed to freeze the seawater around him in time, freezing it did not completely eliminate the corrosive effect of the poisonous water on spiritual energy. Chen Ye reached out and touched the ice blocks, immediately feeling a stinging pain in his palm, and a layer of skin peeled off.

Chen Ye had mastered the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts, and his flesh and blood were already inseparable from spiritual energy. This ice block had the effect of dissolving spiritual energy, although it was probably weaker than the poisonous water state. Even so, it still caused Chen Ye to "shed a layer of skin".

Qin Wanjun was sealed inside the ice, and his spiritual energy was naturally being continuously dissipated.

By this time, he was withered and lifeless, clearly having been poisoned to death.

Chen Ye took out the Myriad Soul Banner from his storage bag and said to Pang Duoduo, "He is a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. His soul can be possessed without damage, so there might still be a glimmer of hope for him. Senior Pang, may I send him into the Myriad Soul Banner?"

Pang Duoduo asked in confusion, "Do you usually carry the Ten Thousand Souls Banner with you?"

Mo Suixin couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Looking at all the righteous and unorthodox sects, perhaps only Chen Ye dares to openly use the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

Chen Ye said frankly, "Saving or harming someone is just a matter of a single thought. My Yellow Springs Sect is determined to leave a glimmer of hope for the world. However, Fellow Daoist Qin is, after all, a disciple of the Incense Burning Sect, so I would like to ask Senior Pang to make the decision."

Pang Duoduo glanced at Qin Wanjun, who was frozen in ice, and shook her head, saying, "It's up to you, but his soul is already shattered, and I'm afraid it can't be saved."

The Azure Dragon Lord's secret technique is definitely not something that the soul can be immune to. This poisonous water should be able to digest everything, and even cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage cannot avoid it.

Qin Wanjun's soul still had a glimmer of hope because he had frozen the poisonous water and had his physical body as a barrier.

If it were soaked in water, it would probably have dissolved long ago.

Even so, when Chen Ye broke through the ice and extracted Qin Wanjun's soul, he found that the soul was already tattered and could not even be restored to its basic consciousness. It was even weaker than Mo Ci had been.

Even if the soul is restored to this extent through the power of incense offerings, one would probably no longer remember who they are.

Mo Suixin sighed, "Senior Brother Qin originally wanted to join the Yellow Springs Sect, but I never expected it to end like this."

Chen Ye asked in surprise, "Fellow Daoist Qin wants to join the Yellow Springs Sect? Why is that?"

Chen Ye had not forgotten the sword strike Qin Wanjun had delivered to his head. That was no small matter. Even though the Burning Incense Sect had been destroyed, why would he think of joining the Yellow Springs Sect?

Mo Suixin explained, "Because the Yellow Springs Sect is now showing its full potential, everyone knows that this sect has a profound foundation and will surely become one of the new five major sects. Senior Brother Qin wanted to seek a better position, so he naturally chose the Yellow Springs Sect. He also said that he would rather we had become friends after fighting, and he would apologize to you at worst. He even asked me to put in a good word for him. But I never expected... Alas, fate is truly unpredictable."

The Nascent Soul Realm cultivator is known as a minor immortality realm, and barring unforeseen circumstances, they can live for a long time by constantly possessing other bodies.

But this promising and talented cultivator met his untimely demise due to an accident—he encountered an invincible opponent.

If it weren't for Chen Ye's unexpected appearance, Qin Wanjun would have eventually disappeared completely into this sea of ​​poison, just like the other skeletons.

Looking at Qin Wanjun in front of him, Chen Ye couldn't help but think of Qin Ze in Guixu. This man was also once a genius disciple of the Mirage Sect, who could represent the Mirage Sect on the fighting arena and was even granted a Mirage Pearl with a spirit.

But Qin Ze was eventually sent to the Ruins of Return, where most of his memories were erased, and then he was thrown into the dead egg of the Mirage Demon. It is unknown whether he will ever have the chance to hatch in this lifetime.

Besides these, many familiar or unfamiliar faces flashed before Chen Ye's eyes.

Even after hundreds of years of arduous cultivation, one might still die and perish without a single mistake.

Chen Ye sighed slightly. That's why the Yellow Springs Sect is so important, and the Six Paths of Reincarnation is true compassion.

The moment this thought arose, a faint light emanated from Chen Ye, as if he were being re-gilded.

This strange phenomenon startled both Pang Duoduo and Mo Suixin. Mo Suixin worriedly reached out to Chen Ye, but Pang Duoduo grabbed her and said, "Don't touch him. This kid has incredible luck. This is a rare enlightenment. Let's wait for him to wake up on his own."

(End of this chapter)