Chapter Five: Demonic Path

Fires suddenly broke out all over Guihua City, with black smoke mixed with flames shooting straight into the sky. Shouts of killing came from all directions, mixed with the terrified screams of countless civilians.

A sinister voice boomed over the entire Guihua City: "My men, plunder to your heart's content. Today, you are free to enjoy yourselves!"

Thunderous cheers erupted from all sides. Judging by the sound, the east, south, west, and north gates of Guihua City had all been breached simultaneously, and bandit soldiers were pouring in from all directions.

Hua Wuniang's body trembled violently. She screamed, "Lin Shan— No, husband— No, Master, please don't go! Yao'er, you must protect Yao'er!" She grabbed the pale and terrified Lin Yao and rushed after Lin Shan.

The Hua family members, along with many attending scholars and pharmacists in the assembly hall, fell into a panic. Mr. Wei, however, maintained some semblance of composure. He hurriedly summoned a few guarding martial masters and instructed them to gather everyone in the backyard, preparing to resist behind the sturdy walls and buildings. However, Mr. Wei himself was unsure how long they could hold out. The fall of Guihua City had been too bizarre. How could the city have fallen after just a few thunderclaps?

If the seemingly impregnable city walls could be breached, how long could the mere three-foot-thick backyard walls of Spring Return Hall possibly hold?

Lin Shan, with a grim expression, carried Lin Xiao to the backyard and burst into Lin Xiao's cluttered room. He tore off a piece of wrapping cloth and tied the Lin family's genealogy records, along with some scattered gold, silver, and copper coins, into a small bundle, securing it tightly to Lin Xiao's waist. Before Lin Xiao could react, Lin Shan grabbed him and rushed towards the most desolate corner of the backyard.

In the flower garden behind Spring Return Hall, there was a patch of dark, barren soil where nothing grew. It was said that a strange poisonous herb had once been planted there, and after its death, its toxicity remained in the soil, causing not only the absence of any plant life but also death to anyone who touched it. Therefore, no one dared to approach this acre of land. Over time, due to the lack of cleaning, it had become a mess, with the black soil covered in rotten fallen leaves and unknown garbage, emitting a faint stench from a distance.

"Daddy, where is this?" Lin Xiao's expression changed as he saw Lin Shan quickly heading towards this deathly place that everyone in Spring Return Hall feared.

"Don't be afraid, my child! With the Pill Token, the potent poison in the soil won't harm you," Lin Shan said with a faint hum. He suddenly stepped on an inconspicuous round stone in the black soil. The ground trembled slightly, and a crack, no more than two feet wide, opened in the black earth. Lin Shan, holding Lin Xiao, stepped into the crevice. The ground shook gently again, and the crack vanished without a trace. When Hua Wuniang, carrying Lin Yao, rushed into the backyard, Lin Shan and Lin Xiao were nowhere to be found.

Hua Wuniang jumped up and down, crying frantically, "Master, Master, how could you heartlessly abandon us, your wife and son? Wuwu— Yao'er is also your son!"

Lin Yao, hearing the increasingly close shouts of killing from all directions, also screamed, "Father, help! Help— I was wrong, I'll never dare to do it again!"

What Lin Yao would never dare to do again would never be known.

A large man with his face smeared with ash, his dark face revealing only a pair of large eyes with more whites than pupils darting around, had somehow leaped onto the wall of Spring Return Hall's backyard. The man held a specially made longbow, six feet in length. Seeing Lin Yao shouting loudly, he chuckled, drew his bow, and released an arrow. A black shadow shot towards Lin Yao's heart like a venomous snake.

Hua Wuniang reacted with lightning speed, grabbing the arrow with her backhand.

The force of the arrow was not strong. With Hua Wuniang's cultivation, she could have easily shattered the arrow and sent it back to kill the large man.

However, just as Hua Wuniang's true qi was about to surge out of her body, she let out a muffled groan for no reason. Two streams of blood spurted from her nostrils, and all her true qi dissipated completely. The arrow hissed as it grazed her palm, drawing a stream of blood several feet long. It pierced Lin Yao's heart and passed through his back.

Lin Yao lowered his head, staring blankly at the tea-cup-sized hole in his chest. He struggled to lift his head, blood slowly dripping from the corner of his mouth. He looked at Hua Wuniang, whose face was equally stiff, with disbelief and asked dryly, "Mother— why didn't you save your child? Your child, doesn't want to die, your child, doesn't want to die—"

With a thud, Lin Yao fell backward onto the ground, lifeless.

Hua Wuniang's eyes widened, her eyeballs seeming to hang outside her sockets. A low gurgling sound came from her throat, her body trembled violently, and she slowly turned to face the large man.

Several other large men, with similarly ash-smeared faces and dressed in black short tunics, leaped onto the wall. They looked at the fallen Lin Yao and Hua Wuniang, with blood hanging from her nostrils, and burst into laughter. A newly arrived man patted the archer's shoulder and said gleefully, "Fifth Brother, did you kill someone's lover or something? This old woman looks like she wants to swallow you whole!"

The archer, Fifth Brother, let out a few strange laughs and said dismissively, "Swallow me? She'd have to have the appetite for it! Heh heh, the Old Immortal set up the 'Four Phases Soul Locking Array.' No matter how many experts are in Guihua City, they're all like chicks now. Who can swallow me?"

Another large man gently stroked his beard and appraised Hua Wuniang, commenting, "She's a bit old, but she still has some charm. The Second Leader likes this type, doesn't he?"

The group of men burst into laughter. They all jumped down from the wall and, with loud guffaws, advanced towards Hua Wuniang.

Hua Wuniang narrowed her eyes, her pupils filled with bloodshot veins. She repeatedly tried to circulate the Evergreen Art true qi within her body, but each time, the true qi would dissipate into nothingness as soon as it entered her meridians. With each dissipation of true qi, it felt as if a part of her flesh and blood was being devoured, and her internal injuries worsened. Blood flowed from her nostrils like small streams, and bloodstains gradually appeared on her nose and mouth. Yet, Hua Wuniang seemed oblivious to the pain within her body. Her mind was focused on one thought.

"They killed Yao'er! Yao'er is dead, dead by their arrows!"

"Whoever killed Yao'er will pay with their life for Yao'er!"

A ferocious, crazed smile suddenly appeared on Hua Wuniang's face. Her lips curled, and a faint, eerie green glow spread across her face. Since she couldn't circulate her true qi, and each breath only worsened her injuries, she decided to self-detonate her dantian. Within Hua Wuniang's dantian, a mass of green energy exploded. The Evergreen true qi, which was originally as gentle as spring rain and nourishing silently, now transformed into furious dragons, surging into Hua Wuniang's meridians.

Power returned to Hua Wuniang's body.

A flash of green light shot through Hua Wuniang's eyes as she began to laugh maniacally, "Villains, pay with your lives for my son! My son—"

With a piercing scream, Hua Wuniang transformed into a flurry of afterimages, lunging towards the burly men who were leeringly approaching her.

Her palms struck out like iron plates, each palm imbued with over thirty years of Hua Wuniang's diligently cultivated pure true qi. Each palm possessed a force of thousands of pounds; each palm shattered the bones and tendons of the large men, and some palms even pierced through their chests and emerged from their backs.

The muffled thuds of impact shook the backyard of Spring Return Hall. Hua Wuniang, holding her breath, unleashed nearly a hundred palms in the blink of an eye, reducing those burly men to a pulp of minced meat. The archer, Fifth Brother, in particular, was no longer recognizable as a human on the ground; only a messy pool of blood remained.

"Yao'er, Yao'er—" Hua Wuniang's true qi drained away, and blood gushed from all seven of her orifices. She roared to the heavens, "My dear son—"

"Heh heh!" A cold, knife-like laugh suddenly echoed. A strangely dressed middle-aged man, wearing a Taoist robe but with a shaved head, a hemp sandal on his left foot and a brocade cloud shoe on his right, appeared abruptly before Hua Wuniang. His face was thin and sallow, his appearance unremarkable, except for a large hooked nose that gave him an air of sinister gloom. He glanced at Hua Wuniang sinisterly and sneered, "Little girl, did you kill these men?"

Hua Wuniang coughed, her internal true qi melting away like snow in the sun, along with her life. She looked coldly at the strange man and nodded, "Yes, so what?"

The strange man narrowed his eyes and said calmly, "Very good!"

Clasping his hands together at his chest, the strange man smiled coldly, "Heaven cherishes life, so I always find an excuse for myself before each city massacre. This time, I have my excuse!"

The word "massacre," so terrifying, was spoken by this strange man as easily as eating and drinking. A deep, cruel aura emanated naturally from his words, causing Hua Wuniang's expression to change, and she took a few steps back. At this moment, the strange man felt like a highly venomous "Three-Headed Golden Flower Python" that Spring Return Hall had once acquired— devoid of humanity, possessing only the most brutal killing intent and the most ferocious murderous heart. Hua Wuniang had never encountered such a terrifying person.

The strange man smiled sinisterly, casually opened his right palm, and pressed it towards Hua Wuniang's chest.

Outside Guihua City, ninety-nine zhang away from the east, south, west, and north gates, stood a large banner about ten zhang tall. The black banner was embroidered with the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise, the four divine beasts, in red silk thread. However, the four divine beasts, which should have exuded righteousness and divine might, were imbued with a sinister and murderous aura on these banners. Wisps of black smoke continuously seeped from the banners, slowly drifting into Guihua City.

Beneath each banner sat a dozen strange individuals, neither monks nor Taoists, lazily mumbling some scriptures.

Suddenly, these strange individuals simultaneously showed delighted expressions and stood up. They all shouted in unison, "The Commander has found an excuse— Black Blade, relay the order to massacre the city!"

At the east gate of Guihua City, a ferocious brute riding a unicorn wild ox, clad in heavy black and red armor, and wielding a ten-foot-long great saber, heard the shouts of these strange individuals and let out a triumphant roar, "My men! Massacre the city! Stop plundering! Damn it, massacre the city— Hahaha, kill!"

He fiercely slapped the hilt of his saber against the backside of the ox beneath him, and the brute, cheering, led nearly a thousand bandits into Guihua City.

Beneath the black poisonous land in the backyard of Spring Return Hall was a small stone chamber, about ten feet in length and width. Inside the chamber, there were two bluestone long tables, and on the tables were two white jade trays, each containing a sapphire-blue bracelet three fingers wide and an exquisite ring woven like vines.

On the north wall of the stone chamber hung a small scroll with a "Pill" character, about a foot square. The calligraphy was ancient and robust, yet the strokes possessed an ethereal elegance, as if about to drift away with the wind. As Lin Xiao looked at the "Pill" character, he became lost in thought. He gazed deeply at a dot within the character, and suddenly felt a surge of true qi within his body, as if it were about to burst forth.

Lin Xiao was startled. What kind of strange character was this, possessing such peculiar power? Merely looking at it could draw out his internal true qi. What kind of formidable person could have written this character?

As Lin Xiao pondered this question, Lin Shan roughly kicked him to the ground and forcefully pressed his head down, making him kowtow nine times towards the small scroll. Afterward, Lin Shan also knelt on the ground and bowed towards the scroll: "To the Ancestor Master of the 'Great Luo Pill Dao,' greetings. The world is in great chaos, with demonic forces stirring within and without. I, Lin Shan, the 107th generation disciple of the outer sect, am incompetent and unable to manage this inheritance. Today, I pass on the position of Outer Sect Steward of the 'Great Luo Pill Dao' to my young son, Lin Xiao. I implore the Ancestor Master to bless us and protect Lin Xiao from this calamity."

Before Lin Xiao could ask any questions, Lin Shan grabbed the bracelet and ring from the tray and placed them on Lin Xiao's hands. Lin Shan nimbly flicked his finger, drawing a drop of hot blood from Lin Xiao's brow onto the bracelet and ring. The bracelet, which had been glowing with a sapphire blue light, and the ring, which looked like lush green vines, instantly dimmed their glow, becoming ordinary. They now looked like a crude bracelet made of bronze and a vine toy carelessly woven by a child.

"Nine Abyss Bracelet, Spirit Returning Ring, these are treasures of our sect. Remember to protect them well," Lin Shan said, patting Lin Xiao's head urgently. "This secret vault may seem hidden, but it actually has great hidden dangers. The poisonous land above is truly too much of an eyesore. But Father has no better place to hide you. My good boy, just wait here quietly for a few days."

Lin Shan sighed, "If you can escape this calamity, you will naturally have your place in the future."

He hugged Lin Xiao tightly, kissed his forehead forcefully, and shouted, "My good boy, remember! If you see someone holding a Pill Token, beg them to take you as a disciple. Your aptitude is sufficient! Outer disciple, outer disciple~~~ Hehehe, the outer sect of the 'Great Luo Pill Dao' is going to be severed today!"

Lin Xiao screamed, "Father!" He sensed ominous signs from Lin Shan's words.

Lin Shan sealed Lin Xiao's mute acupoint and several vital acupoints. Lin Xiao immediately became unable to move or speak. He could only desperately widen his eyes and stare fixedly at Lin Shan.

Lin Shan looked at Lin Xiao with immense affection and smiled, "My good boy, remember to live well. You must remember that the ancestors of our Lin family cannot be without descendants to offer incense!"

Gently patting Lin Xiao's head, Lin Shan turned and left. As he walked, he said coldly, "Only outer sect stewards can enter this secret vault. Therefore, Father has passed the steward position to you, which is not a violation of the sect's rules. Now, Father is going to fulfill the promise made to your grand-master. As long as Father is here, Spring Return Hall will be here. Only when Father dies can Spring Return Hall perish!"

Lin Xiao's eyes widened. He stared blankly as the lean, youthful figure walked out of the secret vault so gracefully, heading towards unfathomable danger.

For a very, very long time afterward, Lin Xiao never understood why Lin Shan didn't hide in the secret vault with him, but instead chose to go out and face death.

Until, one day, Lin Xiao discovered that some things in the world were more important to a man than life itself.

Lin Shan, this gentle old man, the one who seemed to have been bullied by Hua Wuniang his entire life, unable to protect even his beloved woman, unable to even take revenge for her, Lin Shan was, in his bones, a true man. Therefore, his death was already sealed the moment the Black Blade Bandits appeared.

It took Lin Xiao many years to understand this.

But by the time he understood, his heart had already become like Lin Shan's today, as if soaked in the bitter water brewed from bitter herbs, utterly exhausted.

"May Grand-Ancestor bless and preserve the lineage of my Lin family," Lin Shan prayed silently as he walked out of the secret vault. His heart was filled with worry. He had another source of intelligence; he knew that besides the Black Blade Bandits, there was another, more terrifying bandit army operating within a thousand-mile radius. Therefore, he dared not send Lin Xiao out of Guihua City. Now, he could only hide Lin Xiao in the secret vault. However, while the secret vault seemed hidden, it was only so for the people of Spring Return Hall—no one in Spring Return Hall dared to approach this poisonous land.

But what about the Black Blade Bandits? What would they do when they discovered such a highly poisonous area in the backyard of Spring Return Hall?

Could the secret vault be discovered by them?

Stepping out of the secret passage, Lin Shan instantly cast all his worries aside. With the situation as it was, there was nothing more to worry about. All Lin Shan could do now was to live and die with Spring Return Hall. This was the promise he had made to his master, the previous hall master of Spring Return Hall, the previous outer sect steward disciple of the 'Great Luo Pill Dao'. Lin Shan was a man who kept his promises.

Standing on the black poisonous land, Lin Shan saw the bald monster strike Hua Wuniang flying with a palm. Under the monster's palm, Hua Wuniang didn't even have the ability to dodge.

Gasp, Hua Wuniang vomited a stream of blood in mid-air, mixed with countless fragments of internal organs.

Lin Shan's figure flickered ethereally. He reached Hua Wuniang in two steps and gently held her in his arms. Hua Wuniang coughed up blood, the blood staining Lin Shan's green robe a scarlet red.

The bald monster froze. He didn't know when Lin Shan had appeared! For him, this was impossible. Ordinary martial artists, even if they cultivated to the so-called Innate Realm, were still martial artists; they couldn't escape his senses. Lin Shan had actually circled around behind him without a sound! This could only prove one thing: Lin Shan's identity was no different from his own. The monster tilted his head, his hooked nose twitched, and a smug smile appeared on his ugly face: "Good, very good!"

Lying in Lin Shan's arms, Hua Wuniang, while spitting blood, stared blankly at Lin Shan. Trembling, she used her last bit of strength, gritted her teeth, and shouted, "Yao'er~ he~ is dead~~~ Master~ you are truly~ so heartless~"

"I have always loved you and Yao'er!" Lin Shan's clear gaze gently fell on Hua Wuniang's face. Streams of gentle Evergreen True Qi continuously flowed into Hua Wuniang's body, sustaining her life force. "Wuniang, in my heart, you have always been that innocent, guileless little girl from back then. That's why I've always indulged you, yielded to you, loved you, and protected you! Even when you poisoned Xiao'er's mother for Yao'er, even when I knew you were the one who did it, what did I do?"

The bald monster intended to sneak attack Lin Shan with a palm, but upon hearing Lin Shan's conversation with Hua Wuniang, a hint of warmth flashed in his eyes. The monster pondered for a moment, then quietly retreated a few steps, signaling that he could wait for Lin Shan and Hua Wuniang to finish their conversation.

Lin Shan glanced lightly at the bald monster and extended his right hand, performing a standard Daoist cultivator's salute.

The bald monster's gaze sharpened. He formed a fiery hand seal in front of his chest and silently returned the salute to Lin Shan.

"If~ you still~ love me~ and Yao'er~ why did you~ find another woman~ and bring back an illegitimate child?" Hua Wuniang suddenly regained her senses. She forced herself to take a breath and pressed Lin Shan with the question she had wanted to ask but had disdained to ask until now.

Lin Shan looked at Hua Wuniang gently, his right hand softly caressing her face, which was smeared with too much foundation. The powdery white foundation slowly slid off his fingertips, revealing Hua Wuniang's still beautiful face.

Gently stroking Hua Wuniang's cheek, Lin Shan smiled warmly, "Since you learned about the secret vault from Master, how could you forget that our Spring Return Hall is qualified to recommend one disciple to the inner sect every ten generations? This is a privilege our Spring Return Hall earned through millennia of hard work for the inner sect. How could you not know this?"

"You~~~" Hua Wuniang stared blankly at Lin Shan.

Lin Shan gently shook his head and sighed, "Is Yao'er the type of person who can cultivate with peace of mind? And could you bear to let him leave for a hundred years, never to see him again? In my generation, it happens that one disciple can enter the inner sect. For the sake of Spring Return Hall's foundation, how could I not plan carefully? Xiao'er has a steady temperament and excellent character. If he achieves something in the future, he will definitely not mistreat Yao'er." Lin Shan had one more sentence he didn't say: if Hua Wuniang hadn't injured her life source due to practicing too quickly, how would he have met Lin Xiao's mother?

"Master~ Husband~ I!" Hua Wuniang was stunned. Suddenly, she coughed violently, "Then, in your heart, what about me and that woman..."

Lin Shan looked at Hua Wuniang tenderly, about to say that his feelings for both were equal. However, seeing the light in Hua Wuniang's eyes dimming, as if she could die at any moment, Lin Shan's heart softened, and he said against his conscience, "Wuniang, in my heart, you have always been my junior sister, the person I loved most in this life."

Lin Shan's heart ached. He thought of Lin Xiao's mother, that woman who was as gentle as water, who saw Lin Shan as her sky, her earth, her everything. Swearing by his conscience, in Lin Shan's heart, he truly loved both women equally. However, the woman he held in his arms had done something that almost drove Lin Shan to despair.

"Good~~~" Hua Wuniang's face suddenly bloomed with the most radiant smile, and for a moment, she seemed to have returned to a spring season many, many years ago, when flowers were in full bloom.

"Husband, it was Wuniang who was wrong all these years!" Hua Wuniang's head tilted slightly, and she breathed her last.

"You are not wrong, I am not wrong, no one is wrong." Lin Shan gently patted Hua Wuniang's face, just as he had patted the then ten-year-old Hua Wuniang's face when he first joined his master's sect. "What is wrong is fate. None of us are wrong. Even though I knew you poisoned her, I still say that, in fact, none of us are wrong."

Lin Shan felt no trace of hatred towards Hua Wuniang. He could understand her feelings for doing those things for Lin Yao.

If someone had to bear the blame, then the person most at fault was him—Lin Shan!

Gently placing Hua Wuniang's body aside, Lin Shan straightened his body, his eyes fixed on the monster with two faint green lights.

"It was you who killed Wuniang." Glancing at Lin Yao, whose chest had a large hole, and then at an arrow stuck in the ground behind him, Lin Shan smiled faintly, "Your men killed my son."

The monster said indifferently, "Yes!"

Lin Shan nodded gently and said grimly, "Wuniang had a bad temper, and Yao'er was even more unfilial. But, after all, one is my wedded wife, and the other is my child."

The monster nodded forcefully and said with a strange laugh, "So?"

Lin Shan said softly, "So, I'm going to kill you!"

"Kill me?" The monster laughed strangely, "Are you joking? Do you know that Guihua City has been surrounded by the Four Phases Soul Locking Array I set up? Even if you are a master of the Innate Realm~ no, even if you are a master about to form a Golden Core, your strength can only be unleashed at less than ten percent! Can you kill me?"

Lin Shan spread his hands apart and took out a small medicine hoe, just over two feet long, holding it tightly. He stared intently at the monster and said calmly, "Lin Shan, Outer Steward of the Great Luo Pill Dao, I wish to learn your profound techniques and marvelous methods!"

"Great Luo Pill Dao!" The monster's eyes twitched, and he suddenly burst into laughter, "Indeed, you should be someone from the Great Luo Pill Dao. Hmm, Spring Return Hall deals in medicinal herbs. If you said there was no connection between you and the Great Luo Pill Dao, which specializes in refining pills for people, that would be truly strange."

Sighing, the monster said sinisterly, "However, although Da Yuan Kingdom is the territory of the Great Luo Pill Dao, their name will not scare us. Lin Shan, you can prepare to die!"

The monster reached behind him and slowly pulled out a three-foot-long beast bone, topped with a white skull. Two red phosphorus fires flickered in the skull's eye sockets, making it look as terrifying as possible. The monster sneered, "Wutian Commander of the Jimo Sect, I challenge your skills! Heh heh, you are an outer sect steward, so your cultivation should not be high; I am also an outer affairs commander, and my cultivation has only just broken through the Innate Realm. We are a perfect match!"

"Halt!" Lin Shan shouted, his right hand wielding a small, purplish-green medicinal hoe that trailed a faint purple smoke as he swung it down towards the Wutian Commander.

The Wutian Commander's expression shifted. He let out a cold laugh, pointed his bone staff towards the sky, and muttered, "Four Phases Soul Locking, Heavenly Demon Soul Slaying, Kill!"

The large banners outside Guihua City's four gates began to shake violently. Four beams of black light shot out from within the banners, condensing in the air into hazy illusions of the four sacred beasts of the Four Phases, shrouded in faint black smoke. They then streaked towards the sky above Spring Return Hall like lightning.

The Four Phases sacred beasts let out silent roars towards the sky, transforming into four black beams that shot straight towards Lin Shan.

Lin Shan grunted and casually threw his medicinal hoe.

The four black beams struck Lin Shan's body. His small frame expanded, and then suddenly exploded into countless fragments amidst the black light.

The medicinal hoe Lin Shan had thrown struck the Wutian Commander's shoulder, trailing a line of purple smoke. It left his left shoulder a bloody mess, causing the Wutian Commander to curse loudly in pain.

Covered in blood, Old Patriarch Wang, wielding a golden saber and with a yellow-haired old woman on his back, charged into the backyard like a mad tiger. While fending off dozens of Black Blade Bandits pursuing him, he yelled, "Old Mr. Lin, let's join forces and break out! I can't worry about my family anymore, I can only carry my old mother and flee! These damned Black Blade Bandits, I'm not done with them yet—"

Old Patriarch Wang turned his head and happened to witness the bizarre scene of Lin Shan's body dissipating in the black light. He stammered, screaming, "Wh-what's going on? Old Mr. Lin! Old Mr. Lin! Ahhh—"

The leader of the Black Blade Bandits, Black Blade, rode a unicorn wild ox, parting the bandit soldiers as he charged forward. His massive Mo Dao swung through the air, creating a patch of dark, shimmering light. From his superior position, he brought his blade down like splitting Mount Hua, cleaving Old Patriarch Wang and Old Madam Wang on his back into four pieces.

Black Blade spat on the ground with force and let out a sinister laugh, "Commander, the Patriarch of the Wang family in Guihua City truly has some skills! Trapped by the Four Phases Soul Locking Array, he still managed to kill seventy-eight of my men and escape here! Hmm, this Four Phases Soul Locking Array doesn't seem very powerful!"

The Wutian Commander gritted his teeth, clutching his shoulder, and shouted, "Nonsense! The Four Phases Soul Locking Array is our Jimo Sect's signature formation, possessing infinite power. It's just—" His dark face flushed slightly, and the Wutian Commander muttered, "It's just that our cultivation isn't strong enough to unleash its full potential. Hmph, if the Four Phases Soul Locking Array could be fully activated, one strike would turn the entire Guihua City to dust. Why would we have to painstakingly hunt and kill everyone one by one?"

Guihua City had now become a bloody hellscape. Tens of thousands of civilians were being slaughtered one by one by the rampaging Black Blade Bandits. The souls of all those killed were being absorbed into the four large banners. The black mist seeping from the banners grew thicker and thicker.

Guihua City, destroyed! (To be continued)