Immortality and cultivation begin at age forty, starting with Foundation Establishment.

With a bang, the old man in black robes had his soul torn apart.

Ye Hongyi threw the Soul-Slaying Dagger from within three feet, accurately piercing the black-robed old man's body, releasing the power to shatter his soul and forcibly disrupting his spirit.

By the time Chen An and Zheng Ping, along with five others, quickly approached, it was already too late.

They only heard the words left behind by the old man in the black robe.

"Anyone who stands in my way of becoming a god will die!"

"You are no exception! No exception!"

A confident madman can often do the impossible, and the old man in the black robe, with only a 20% chance of success, actually gave him a glimmer of hope.

With her other hand, Ye Hongyi casually pierced the black-robed old man's body with her superior-grade fire spirit sword.

The flames were burning, and so was the soul of the old man in the black robe.

However, the old man in the black robe is still alive.

"When Lord Void God returns, he will surely avenge you for what you have done today!"

"The Myriad Souls Escape Technique!"

A powerful yet complex soul force erupted from the black-robed old man's tattered soul, instantly surging in all directions.

Chen An and Ye Hongyi were protected by their robes and were not affected.

Zheng Ping also successfully dodged at the crucial moment.

On the contrary, two Foundation Establishment cultivators who were relatively far from the black-robed old man encountered an unexpected incident.

One of his arms was affected by the soul droplet, and he had to lose the arm to save his life.

Another person was struck in the chest by the soul drop. Because of this drop of soul from the old man in black robes, his body began to fester as if he had been poisoned, and his soul was severely damaged. He was about to die on the spot.

The two Foundation Establishment cultivators who were unaffected were filled with fear.

Everyone in the cultivation world knows that rogue cultivators are cunning and demonic cultivators are ruthless, but they only see the surface. They can never imagine what rogue cultivators and demonic cultivators are capable of doing for cultivation and survival.

The black-robed old man in the Foundation Establishment stage knew the moment he saw Chen An and Ye Hongyi that he had no way to deal with them or escape them, so he immediately came up with this plan of suicide plus counter-injury.

He fused the soul of the vengeful ghost into his own body, and before the ghost could devour the old man in black robes' sanity, he forcibly used a soul-binding technique to cause both his own soul and the ghost's soul to explode.

The old man in black robes abandoned his own primordial spirit, leaving only a wisp of consciousness to escape.

However, his cultivation level was too low, making his chances of survival even lower. Core Formation or Nascent Soul cultivators might be able to use such a secret technique to possess someone and survive, but the old man in black robes was only a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and his soul power had been corroded by a vengeful ghost. He then used a secret technique to shatter his soul into fragments, so it was almost impossible for him to survive.

The remaining soul power will dissipate on its own after flying two or three miles.

Chen An released his divine sense and quickly searched the surroundings, but saw nothing.

Ye Hongyi came to the same conclusion.

Most of the old man's soul fragments dissipated after flying a dozen or so feet, leaving no trace.

The first victory against the Netherworld Cult.

After the old man in black robes died, the remaining demonic cultivators in the Demon Palace had no power to resist and were easily overwhelmed by the Qi Refining cultivators.

The Demon Palace became the temporary outpost of the Demon Wolf Legion.

The Foundation Establishment cultivator with the severed arm survived.

The cultivator struck in the chest by the soul droplet perished completely, his body turning into pus and his soul burning with the toxin.

The cultivator who suffered a severe chest injury originally had a chance to survive. If someone were willing to provide a third-tier elixir, it might have been possible to suppress the soul poison.

But nobody took it out.

Even if the injury is cured, it is still a serious injury, so it is better not to treat it at all.

It's his own fault for not demonstrating his value.

All the Foundation Establishment cultivators knew that a powerful technique unleashed by a demonic cultivator at the cost of his life could not be easily countered.

What if one antidote pill isn't enough? What if two or three aren't enough?

What should I do if I give it to someone else and then get poisoned myself?

More importantly, curing someone doesn't necessarily mean repaying the debt of gratitude.

The team lost not only one Foundation Establishment cultivator, but also more than five hundred Qi Refining disciples.

Initially, there were not many casualties during the attack on the demonic stronghold; all the casualties started when the old man in black robes made his move.

The countless vengeful spirits of the Myriad Souls Banner did not harm the Foundation Establishment cultivators, but they killed more than two hundred Qi Refining disciples who were attacking the mountain, as well as many demonic cultivators, who also died under the vengeful spirits of the Black-Robed Old Man's Myriad Souls Banner.

After the old man in black robes detonated his soul, it directly led to the deaths of more than 300 people; everyone who had been marked with the soul light died instantly.

The deaths of five hundred Qi Refining cultivators would not cause any emotional fluctuations among the Foundation Establishment cultivators. Only the loss or injury of Foundation Establishment cultivators would affect the team as a whole.

Of the 500 who died, 300 were Qi Refining Disciples assigned by the sect. They were placed at the front line and were driven forward by the original Black Wolf Legion.

If they were all replaced with the elite troops of the Black Wolf Legion.

The number of casualties in this battle will not exceed two hundred.

But what can you do when rogue cultivators have such lowly lives?

This demonic cult stronghold is just the beginning. There are many more demonic cult strongholds to come, and the Demon Wolf Legion will have to use their lives to build them up one by one.

Who dies, and who dies first, is not for Chen An to decide.

All he needed to do was ensure that his core members died in the end.

Led by several prisoners, Chen An and his men successfully located the treasure trove of this stronghold.

There are 500,000 low-grade spirit stones, and various low-level resources worth millions of low-grade spirit stones. It's practically a super treasure trove.

The only pity is that the mid-to-high-level resources were all on the old man in black robes, and were destroyed by his self-destruction of soul power, leaving only a banner of ten thousand souls with thousands of remaining vengeful ghosts.

Ye Hongyi had never seen so many resources before; her eyes practically sparkled with admiration. She couldn't help but exclaim:

"If that old man used his resources to train the disciples of the Demonic Cult, the number of demonic cultivators at this stronghold could probably increase more than fivefold."

Chen An nodded and said, "More than that. With these resources, it wouldn't be surprising if there were a few more Foundation Establishment cultivators in the stronghold. But the demonic cultivators of the Netherworld Sect are no longer human. They are more ferocious than monsters and demons. An arrogant person like the Black-Robed Old Ghost will not allow anyone to stand on equal footing with him."

Ye Hongyi pointed to a corner and said with regret, "Senior brother, look, those herbs are almost withered and rotting in this treasure vault."

Chen An looked over and saw hundreds of ancient medicinal herbs piled up on the ground like junk, causing their spiritual essence to be lost.

Ye Hongyi said, "This is insane. Even a Golden Core cultivator wouldn't waste a hundred-year-old spiritual herb like this."

"The old ghost in black robes died because of his own greed."

The treasure vault contained over fifty storage bags with some left over; even more materials were piled on the ground like garbage.

The person who led Chen An to the Demonic Cult's treasure vault was named Song Zhe, a fifteen-year-old boy at the eighth level of Qi Refining.

Song Zhe lacked youthful vigor, but possessed a fawning quality reminiscent of a eunuch before an emperor.

"The two seniors are right. Old Ghost Black is a miser. He can't even spend all the resources he has, so he makes every disciple hand over resources according to their cultivation level."

"If we fail to deliver the resources on time, we'll cast a curse on our souls, making our lives a living hell."

"Before the Black Old Ghost arrived, there were six Foundation Establishment cultivators and more than three thousand Qi Refining disciples in the Void God Palace. But after the Black Old Ghost arrived, everyone who disobeyed him died."

"The reason why the Void God Temple has become what it is now is also because of that beast, Old Black Ghost."

The ruthless demonic cultivators died in battle, while those who survived and became prisoners were all exceptionally pragmatic.

To prevent Chen An and his group from killing the prisoners, all the demonic cultivators demanded that blood curses and marks be placed on them to control their lives and deaths.

They are willing to be cannon fodder on the battlefield ahead, or they can deceive the demonic cult members to become undercover agents, kill other demonic cultivators at crucial moments, and help the righteous path attack the Netherworld Cult.

One by one, the captured demonic cultivators, driven by an overwhelming will to survive, showed an even greater hatred for the demonic path than the righteous path.