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

Chapter 451 The Banner of Ten Thousand Souls Again

Chen Ye looked at the dozen or so Fenxiang Sect disciples who were flying towards him with blank expressions, like puppets on strings, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

He just wanted to catch a spy, but it's acting like he's trying to turn half a sect against them.

This is also why Chen Ye felt his Hellish Divine Power was ineffective; there were too many wicked and evil-doing people within the Incense Burning Sect. These dozen or so people in front of him were clearly low-level Incense Burning Sect disciples, not even counting the powerful cultivators. Investigating them one by one would take forever.

The Flying Demon Lord seemed to have not expected the Incense Burning Sect to be so outrageous. He thought it would be good if there were three or five suspects, but he shouted and summoned more than a dozen.
Isn't the Incense Burning Sect already in ruins? How come there are still so many disciples... No, I should say, why are so many disciples people with ulterior motives?

Chen Ye couldn't help but say to Demon Lord Feilian, "Lord, I told you, don't rush, you should be more careful."

Fei Lian said helplessly, "Who would have thought that there could be so many traitors within a righteous sect?"

……

As the two were discussing how to handle the situation, they heard an angry shout: "Who dares to be so presumptuous in my Incense Burning Sect!"

Before he finished speaking, a violent aura soared into the sky, and a middle-aged cultivator in a crimson robe with a resolute face instantly appeared above the mountain gate.

He was surrounded by spiritual energy; he was none other than Tie Shengrong, the leader of the Burning Incense Sect.

Enraged, the Void Returning Realm cultivator appeared with countless sword energies surging around him.

Among the various schools of thought, such as the Incense Burning Sect, Tie Shengrong was the most traditional. He only focused on swordsmanship and was able to cultivate it to the Void Returning Realm. Naturally, he also had the ability to carve down a mountain.

Upon seeing the dozen or so disciples who had been manipulated, Tie Shengrong was filled with rage and wished he could kill them immediately.

But when his gaze fell on Chen Ye and the Demon Lord Fei Lian, his soaring anger seemed to be doused with a bucket of ice water.

His body tensed instantly, his face filled with shock and wariness.

"Sect Leader Chen, why did you collude with this fiend to harm my Incense Burning Sect disciples?!"

Although Tie Shengrong questioned him sternly, Chen Ye could hear the slight tremor in his voice.

In today's world, no one understands the Dao Integration Realm better than Tie Shengrong. After all, Lu Xingzhou, the former head of the Burning Incense Sect, was in the Dao Integration Realm. How could Tie Shengrong not know how powerful it was?

The only reason he could still stand here was because the Incense Burning Sect was right behind him, leaving him nowhere to retreat. Moreover, Chen Ye was still here, so there seemed to be a possibility of negotiation.

No matter how much Tie Shengrong looked down on Chen Ye, a rogue cultivator from the Demonic Sect, he now had to respectfully address him as Sect Master Chen.

Before Chen Ye could explain, another sword light flew out from inside the Incense Burning Sect and landed steadily not far away.

The newcomer was dressed in a simple Taoist robe, with a large red gourd hanging from his waist. He was none other than Yu Ji, the head of the Qinghe Sword Sect.

The Qinghe Sword Sect, with its small number of disciples who knew almost nothing about formations, did not participate in the Guixu Formation plan. Instead, it took on the task from other sects, sending all its disciples to suppress the restless demonic sects in various places.

The Qinghe Sword Sect has few disciples, and they are already struggling to keep up with just this one job.

Master Yuji even came to the Incense Burning Sect in person, fearing that his former "fellow practitioner" might stab the righteous path in the back at a crucial moment.

Unexpectedly, just as the matter of Guixu came to an end, Chen Ye brought the Demon Lord Feilian to their door.

Yu Ji Dao Ren glanced cautiously at Fei Lian, his hand already touching the red gourd at his waist.

The Demon Lord Feilian was also on high alert. If there was anyone in the world besides that True Immortal who could make him fearful, there was only one and a half.

Qu Heng counts as half, because his abilities weakened by three points after leaving Fengdu City. The remaining one is the Jade Daoist in front of us.

Zhang Qi's personal disciple, the handpicked leader of the Qinghe Sword Sect, has been out of the public eye for hundreds of years, and no one knows how much of Zhang Qi's skill he possesses.

Even if he only learned three-tenths of Zhang Qi's skills, the Demon Lord Feilian would still need to go all out to deal with him.

Tie Shengrong realized that with Yuji Daoist by his side, he wasn't entirely helpless, so he quickly directed his anger and humiliation at Chen Ye.

"Sect Leader Chen, what do you mean by this? Are you bringing a demon to my Burning Incense Sect to show off your power? Or have you said that my Burning Incense Sect has fallen so low that it can be manipulated at will by you, the leader of the righteous path?"

Before Chen Ye could speak, the Demon Lord Fei Lian frowned impatiently.

"Stop wasting your breath on him. We only have ten days; we don't have time to watch his performance here."

He turned to the dozen or so disciples who were being manipulated and asked in an icy tone, "Which one is the successor of the Tiger's accomplice? Speak up."

As soon as Feilian opened his mouth, his words became law.

But the dozen or so disciples of the Incense Burning Sect in front of them only looked confused, and none of them admitted their identities.

Chen Ye was somewhat surprised. Since they had been "summoned" by the Demon Lord Feilian, they must have some unspeakable secrets, which also meant that they were completely unable to resist the Demon Lord Feilian's words becoming law.

But no one responded to the second call.

Could it be that the tiger's adopted son wasn't among these people at all?
Tie Shengrong was baffled and questioned Chen Ye again, saying, "Sect Leader Chen, you sent someone to deliver a message saying that you made an agreement with this demon to not invade each other for a hundred years. Is this the rule you set? Does this mean that my Burning Incense Sect has been abandoned by you and is no longer among the righteous path?"

Chen Ye smiled wryly. He was originally in the right, but Fei Lian's actions made him the one in the wrong.

He had no choice but to calm the impatient Demon Lord down and explain to Tie Shengrong, "Sect Leader Tie has misunderstood. I came here today not to cause trouble, but to find someone."

He pointed to the Demon Lord Feilian beside him and said in a deep voice.

"As you surely know, with the emergence of a True Immortal, I have no choice but to work for him in order to appease him. The same goes for Lord Feilian, who is now working alongside me for the Great Sage of the Overturning Sea. And since this matter is of great importance, we need to find the successor of Lord Huchang. After making inquiries from various sources, it seems that such a person is currently lurking within your sect."

Tie Shengrong laughed in fury, "How could my Burning Incense Sect have spies from the Demonic Sect? I think you just want to take advantage of the Burning Incense Sect's weakened state to frame us and find an excuse to swallow us up!"

He became more and more agitated as he spoke, seemingly convinced that Chen Ye was there to kick him while he was down.

The impatience on Fei Lian Demon Lord's face was almost overflowing. He couldn't be bothered to listen to the suspicions between these righteous sects and directly threatened Tie Shengrong, saying, "Stop with this nonsense. You know very well how many shady things the Burning Incense Sect has done. If you know what's good for you, call out all your disciples so I can examine them one by one. Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite."

Fei Lian was really in a hurry and didn't want to waste time talking to Tie Shengrong.

Tie Shengrong knew he was no match for them, but he still gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, you fiend, if you dare to offend my Burning Incense Sect, I will fight you to the death!"

After saying that, dozens of sword lights lit up around him, transforming into a small sword array. The sword intent enveloped Fei Lian Demon Lord, as if it could unleash ten thousand sharp edges at any moment.

Chen Ye shook his head.

Tie Shengrong's acting is a bit too exaggerated.

His fearless attitude wasn't meant for the Demon Lord Feilian; he clearly wanted to drag the Taoist Yuji down with him.

After all, the Qinghe Sword Sect was also a major righteous sect. Now that the Fenxiang Sect was being attacked by a demon, the Qinghe Sword Sect should lend a helping hand, both morally and logically. Tie Shengrong had calculated this, which was why he didn't ask Yuji Daoist for help at all, but instead put on a desperate stance. He knew that Yuji Daoist wouldn't stand idly by.

As expected, Daoist Yuji sighed softly, and with a swift movement, he stood in front of Tie Shengrong.

He held the red jade gourd at his waist in his palm and said to Chen Ye.

"Sect Leader Chen, no matter how many reasons or principles you have, the affairs of the righteous path should not be interfered with by a demon. You should not have brought him here to provoke the Burning Incense Sect."

What Master Yuji said made perfect sense, but Chen Ye had no choice. He had to resolve the issue within ten days; where would he find the time to go through all the formalities?
Chen Ye said helplessly, "It was my fault, but I do have some unspeakable difficulties. Please don't blame me, Daoist."

After saying this, Chen Ye said to Lord Feilian, "Lord, I will handle this matter. After I have discussed it with the Incense Burning Sect, I will ask you to find the successor of Lord Huchang."

Fei Lian snorted coldly and said nothing more.

Tie Shengrong was greatly surprised to see that Chen Ye had stunned the Demon Lord Feilian with just one sentence.

He hadn't expected Chen Ye's words to be so effective. He had initially thought the two were in cahoots, but now it seemed that this Demon Lord Feilian was actually Chen Ye's servant.

What exactly are this kid's skills?

Chen Ye didn't waste any words and said to Tie Shengrong, "Sect Leader Tie, I know it's difficult to persuade you in a short time. How about this, we make a bet. If I win, you must bring out all the disciples of the Burning Incense Sect so I can identify the spies. If I lose, the Yellow Springs Sect will definitely invite many guests to apologize to you in public. What do you think?"

Tie Shengrong was taken aback, then burst into laughter.

"Very well! So this is the Yellow Springs Sect Master! You dare to challenge me, a mere Transcendent Realm cultivator? Today I'll show you that the gap in cultivation level cannot be bridged by any crooked or evil methods!"

He thought he had the victory in his grasp.

Chen Ye was only at the Tongxuan level, while he was at the Fanxu level. There were two great realms between them, the Huashen and Fanxu realms, which were like an insurmountable chasm.

The next moment, Tie Shengrong did not hesitate any longer. With a flick of his hand, dozens of sword lights, like roaring fire dragons, pressed down on Chen Ye with the force of burning mountains and boiling seas.

However, Chen Ye simply stood quietly in place.

Faced with a sword formation powerful enough to melt a mountain in an instant, he neither dodged nor defended.

Just as the sword light was about to reach his body, a high-pitched dragon roar suddenly burst forth from his body!

"Roar--!"

Chen Ye's body underwent a dramatic transformation at a speed visible to the naked eye. Dark blue dragon scales instantly covered his entire body, his hands transformed into sharp dragon claws, and ferocious dragon horns grew from his forehead.

A fierce aura from the primordial era swept across the entire mountain gate like a storm.

Whether it was a gift from the Great Sage Who Overturns the Seas or not, after traveling with this Great Sage for a period of time, Chen Ye felt that his dragon transformation had become more and more proficient, and seemed to be much more powerful than before.

Perhaps what the Great Sage Overturning the Seas injected into Chen Ye's body was not just the Hungry Ghost Path small world, but something else.

Now that Chen Ye has transformed into a dragon, his body is indestructible.

Even when Tie Shengrong's sword light landed on the scales, it only left a few deep marks with a clanging sound.

In the past, Chen Ye would probably have been torn to pieces by the sword light.

The injuries caused by the sword energy were nothing; with the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts activated, the wounds healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Chen Ye no longer has any vital points; the only way to kill him is to completely extinguish the spiritual energy within his body.

Chen Ye also cultivated the art of incense offerings, so he could completely use the incense offerings from the Northern Frontier to replace spiritual energy, which was inexhaustible.

Seeing this scene, Fei Lian Demon Lord's eyelids twitched. He probably wouldn't be able to kill Chen Ye so easily. It would take a year or two to slowly wear him down.

Tie Shengrong was merely at the Returning to the Void Realm and practiced only swordsmanship, so he had no way to restrain Chen Ye.

In the blink of an eye, Tie Shengrong unleashed his sword energy, and Chen Ye, not to be outdone, directly used his most powerful technique.

A colossal phantom, hundreds of feet tall and clad in imperial robes, slowly emerged.

The phantom figure wore a flat crown and had a majestic face, looking down at all living beings. It was the Dharma form of the Great Emperor of Fengdu!

The current Emperor of Fengdu has changed his appearance. The magical artifacts formed from the power of hell accompany his Dharma image, and his originally blurry face has now become angular.

It is a lifelike deity.

With the blessing of the Fengdu Emperor, Chen Ye's aura rose steadily, and he instantly broke through the shackles of his realm. His pressure was even three points stronger than that of Tie Shengrong opposite him!
This was not only the aura of the Fengdu Emperor, but also the undigested Hungry Ghost Realm within his body.

When Tie Shengrong faced the deity before him, it was as if he were being suppressed by heaven and earth.

Tie Shengrong's confidence froze instantly, replaced by endless horror.

Chen Ye didn't give him any time to react.

He simply raised his right arm, covered in dragon scales, and unleashed a single palm strike at the cascading sword array.

The Emperor of Fengdu also stretched out his palm and pressed down, the immense power of incense and vows transforming into heavy pressure, crashing down on Tie Shengrong.

There were no dazzling spells, no exquisite moves.

Only pure, ultimate power!

"boom--!"

With a deafening roar, it seemed as if the very space itself had collapsed from the impact of that punch.

The dozens of blazing sword lights shattered like glass the moment they touched the palm of the Emperor of Fengdu, turning into a sky full of flowing fire.

The force remained undiminished, and from a distance of a hundred feet, it slammed solidly into Tie Shengrong's chest.

Before Tie Shengrong could even let out a scream, the protective aura around his body shattered, and he flew backward like a kite with a broken string, spitting blood as he crashed heavily to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

Chen Ye breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Tie Shengrong was not a formidable opponent. If it had been another Void Returning Realm cultivator, he wouldn't have had it so easy.

But just when Chen Ye thought victory was assured, an angry roar came from below.

Covered in blood, Tie Shengrong charged at Chen Ye once again. This time, he no longer used a sword, but instead took out a Ten Thousand Soul Banner.

(End of this chapter)