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

Chapter 344 Two Major Events
Inside the Yellow Springs Palace, Chen Ye was whipped around like a spinning top by the Crimson Dragon Buddha.

Even though he had already transformed into a divine soul, Chen Ye still felt excruciating pain from the Crimson Dragon Buddha's whips. No matter how easily he gathered or dispersed, no matter how much he hid, he could never escape the Crimson Dragon Buddha's tail lash.

It seems that Qu Heng is truly angry this time, and is really treating Chen Ye like a disciple to be taught a lesson.

Despite the beating, Qu Heng was also giving instructions loudly on how to withstand the excruciating pain that could shatter one's soul, and how to use one's soul body to circulate spiritual energy and fly faster.

All the details here are Qu Heng's own cultivation insights, all genuine experiences.

The reason why the soul is fragile is because its sensations are hundreds or thousands of times stronger than those of the physical body.

Just like the hellish tortures of the Yellow Springs Sect, which directly affect the soul, the pain at that moment is countless times more intense than physical torture, so most people with heavy sins cannot withstand it.

No matter what kind of tough guy you were in life, no matter what kind of scar you had, no matter how much skin and tendons you were pulled out, no one could endure it after being boiled in a pot of oil. They would all scream at the top of their lungs.

Because the soul is far more fragile and sensitive than the physical body, even a little pain can cause one to lose consciousness.

Chen Ye was able to kill several demons in the past because they were all left with only their souls, unable to use their strength, and their pain was amplified dozens of times.

Once the spirit loses control due to pain, it will disintegrate, and even if it is reassembled, it will suffer significant damage.

Therefore, it is essential to learn how to endure pain.

Qu Heng taught Chen Ye every detail, from the circulation of spiritual energy to the concentration of intention. Although Chen Ye was whipped around like a spinning top, he still learned a lot. At least he felt that his tolerance for pain had significantly improved in a short period of time.

No wonder they say broken bones are the best teachers. After this exhilarating ordeal, Chen Ye never dared to practice any secret techniques recklessly again. Next time, he would have to report to Qu Heng first, otherwise he would really be treated like a grandson and beaten.

But as he smoked, Chen Ye suddenly remembered something and asked Qu Heng, "Grandmaster, back in the Hungry Ghost Realm..."

Upon hearing Chen Ye mention this, Qu Heng's expression changed, and he said sternly, "Why are you still thinking about this? Regardless of what that Nirvana monk's intentions were, he has already been exiled. Who cares if he is truly repentant? Focus on practicing your skills!"

Chen Ye was puzzled; Qu Heng seemed to be getting a little too excited.

However, Chen Ye didn't think too deeply about it, assuming that Qu Heng was still angry and wanted to continue beating people, so he explained, "Grandmaster, please calm down. I'm not being lazy. I just remembered that when the Buddha's palm held up a flower, even though the physical body was frozen, the soul seemed to still be able to move. At that time, you should have been the same, right, Grandmaster?"

Qu Heng asked in confusion, "That's true. Why did you suddenly bring this up?"

Chen Ye quickly said, "Then why didn't you make a move, Master? You just watched that hungry ghost crawl towards me?!"

At that time, Chen Ye was so scared that he tried to fight desperately, tearing his soul apart from his body. He still vividly remembers the pain.

Qu Heng was even more puzzled: "Huh? Who said I was going to ignore you? I had already prepared a way to fight back, but that bald monk Jinming suddenly changed direction and crawled towards you. I had to use another spell. But there's still a long way to go. I estimated it would take another half an hour to get to you, so I wanted to gather more spiritual energy to kill you in one blow."

"Who knew that when that monk Jinming was only halfway there, your magic weapon would automatically protect its master."

Chen Ye: ...

In Chen Ye's eyes, the thing was drooling and crawling towards him, almost right in front of him; but in Qu Heng's eyes, it was still a hundred feet away, and you can't catch a wolf without risking your disciple.

"You brat, you didn't try to escape back then, which is why that scripture automatically protected its owner, did you? You dare to leave your body as a mere Profound Realm cultivator? You're courting death!"

Qu Heng's expression grew even angrier and more ferocious, and the Crimson Dragon Buddha lashed out even harder.

Amidst a series of piercing screams, Chen Ye finally completed his first special training in the spiritual realm.

Although Chen Ye felt that Qu Heng was overreacting, he still learned a lot. However, he only learned how to be tough; Qu Heng didn't teach him anything about running fast.

What a cunning old devil! He's afraid that if Chen Ye learns to run fast, it won't be as easy to use.

Qu Heng, having probably vented his anger, had no intention of teaching his disciple after disciplining Chen Ye, and instead sent him to find Mo Ci.

Qu Heng said to Chen Ye, "Your master is better than me at 'running fast,' go find him. However, there are two important matters within the sect that you need to take care of first." Chen Ye nodded and said, "I know, I have already read the official documents, and I will take care of them later."

These two things are indeed major events. The first is that the Yellow Springs Sect finally has a disciple who has joined the sect.

Unlike the previous forced laborers sent to Qingguan Mountain to plant trees, these three disciples had truly experienced the tortures of hell and emerged from them, perfectly meeting the Huangquan Sect's criteria for accepting disciples.

But I heard that out of more than a hundred participants, only these three made it to the end.

Those who remain are either still wallowing in hell or have already given up.

This is the first time the Yellow Springs Sect has accepted disciples, so the ceremony needs to be taken seriously. Chen Ye needs to carefully study the lives and personalities of these three disciples to see which one is suitable to become his master.

The Yellow Springs Sect is now full of talented people. Not to mention the Supreme Elder Qu Heng, Pang Duoduo is at the Nascent Soul Realm, and Mo Suixin and Changshou are both at the Profound Realm. There are only three disciples, not enough to go around.

However, this is not difficult; as long as the order is given, someone will arrange it properly.

The second major event gave Chen Ye a headache, as it was an invitation from the Yunlu Immortal Sect.

It wasn't a banquet, but a rather important meeting.

The people near the Yunlu Immortal Sect have been struck by a mysterious plague that has yet to be properly resolved.

Although quarantine zones have been established and most of the surviving people have been relocated, the chaotic management of mortals by the Yunlu Immortal Sect has led to mortals being unwilling to stay in the new land and wandering around, resulting in the continued small-scale spread of the plague.

This caused the Yunlu Immortal Sect some headaches, so they wanted to invite other sects to discuss the matter of exorcising demons.

This plague was undoubtedly caused by the demons, but the Yunlu Immortal Sect had no idea what was going on, so they had no choice but to ask for outside help.

Besides the Yellow Springs Sect, several other major sects were also invited.

Other sects could send an elder, but the Yellow Springs Sect could only send Chen Ye in person.

This is not because the Yellow Springs Sect implicitly acknowledges a lower status than other sects, but because only Chen Ye is suitable.

Qu Heng was, after all, a pure-blooded member of the demonic sect, and he didn't like dealing with a group of righteous cultivators. He might even encounter a few who had been bitten by the Crimson Serpent, which would be quite awkward.

Pang Duoduo is also unsuitable. Besides being too busy with work, she is, after all, from the Incense Burning Sect. If she were to run into some former fellow disciples in this kind of setting, she would likely be quite embarrassed.

As for Chang Shou... if we send him there, the Yunlu Immortal Sect might think that Chen Ye is looking down on them.

After much deliberation, Chen Ye realized that only he was suitable.

However, I can't go out alone this time, because the invitation clearly states that it's to discuss exorcising demons, and I also want everyone to go to the plague-stricken areas to help investigate and find traces of the demonic sect.

This might be the beginning of a war between good and evil, so Chen Ye naturally had to bring along a few helpers.

Chen Ye thought about it and decided that bringing Chen Guang along was definitely the right thing to do. This person's illusion magic could provide a lot of help, and now that Chen Guang had solved the problem of his origins, he could walk openly in the world.

Then there's the White Bone Taoist, the head of the City Gods. He seems to want to travel around a lot lately, as there are many "leave slips" he's sent in official documents, hoping to take some time off to travel around the Central Plains.

Since the incense offerings of the northern frontier endowed the City Gods with wisdom, they have displayed various different personalities. Some like to stay at home and consume incense offerings, while others naturally prefer to travel.

Moreover, the White Bone Taoist is the ancestral spirit of the Snow Mountain High Priest lineage. He is ancient, but he has few believers.

The High Priest's lineage had completely joined the Yellow Springs Sect and was working for Chen Ye in Fengdu City. Since there was nothing he needed the White Bone Daoist to look after, he naturally wanted to travel around.

Besides these two, Chen Ye felt that Mo Suixin should also be brought along.

How can a battle between good and evil proceed without a diviner?
(End of this chapter)