Deadly Trap

Su Chunyi's sword was something even the golden body of Ku'e could not withstand.

Ku'e had no choice but to throw out a Blood Sarira and a scroll of the Human Skin Scripture.

Both dharma treasures had been refined and nourished with countless human lives; they were genuine artifacts of the demonic path.

Yet, the moment these two treasures began to emit their light, they collided with Su Chunyi's sword, and then... there was no "then."

The sarira shattered, and the scripture was torn to shreds.

Countless vengeful spirits flew out from within, but they were likewise shredded by the sword light, failing to cause any impact on Su Chunyi.

Just as Su Chunyi had said, her sword heart was singular and unshakable.

The layers of golden body were like paper, pierced through by the sword light at a single touch. Finally, the kasaya in which Ku'e had placed such high hopes proved useless as well; the hundreds of talismans sewn into it were torn apart along with the fabric before they could even take effect.

The sword tip finally pierced into the body of Ku'e, stripping away flesh and blood, grinding bone into mud.

At this very moment, Ku'e could not help but recall the stories told by his sect elders.

During the great war between the righteous and demonic paths, the sect leader of the Qinghe Sword Sect had used a single sword strike to annihilate the golden body of the Nirvana Sect leader.

That sect leader possessed thirty-six types of divine abilities, yet none could block that heaven-shaking sword strike.

Ku'e was only in the Tongxuan Realm, having spent hundreds of years of bitter cultivation to master a single Kaikou Chan. Seeing this rainbow-like sword light, he truly understood what it meant for the "Qinghe Sword Technique to be number one under heaven."

These hundreds of years of bitter cultivation had only allowed him to persist a little longer when the sword light descended, giving him a chance to preserve his soul.

Fortunately, I prepared a Cursed Spirit Child.

This was the final thought of Ku'e.

Demonic cultivators committed many sins and would inevitably capsize in the gutter one day; he had long been prepared for this.

The method for refining a Cursed Spirit Child was extremely cruel, but its effects were excellent; it could be called the best method for soul possession for a cultivator in the Tongxuan Realm.

Moreover, the Nirvana Sect possessed secret techniques that made possession less damaging and allowed for faster recovery.

He had also left behind dharma treasures, spirit talismans, and medicinal pills. Even with his soul weakened, he could recover eighty percent of his cultivation in just half a day.

Once recovered, he would return directly to the Nirvana Sect; he doubted this junior from the Qinghe Sword Sect would dare to pursue him there.

Ku'e felt smug. No matter how powerful the sword technique of this Qinghe Sword Sect junior was, her lack of experience was her greatest flaw.

Did she really think she could go about slaying demons without first disabling her opponent's life-saving measures?

Just as he was feeling triumphant, Ku'e felt his soul being pulled by a massive force, drifting uncontrollably toward another location. Far from panicking, Ku'e actively drifted along with the suction.

It's coming. Once the curse mark carved onto the Cursed Spirit Child takes effect, my soul will be sucked in automatically. Once I complete the possession and am reborn, I will definitely... hm? Something is wrong!

Ku'e suddenly felt that something was amiss. Possession and rebirth should involve a rapid fusion with flesh and blood, like the birth of a fetus—it should have been warm and comfortable, but he only felt icy cold throughout his entire being.

Sensing carefully, he heard only the wailing and screaming of vengeful spirits, and it seemed as though some inexplicable object was binding his soul, leaving him unable to move.

Ku'e struggled with all his might, and a clattering sound echoed around him, as if he were bound by chains.

But he was currently a soul; where would chains come from?

His soul, having just left his body, was still too weak to clearly perceive everything that was happening. By the time Ku'e recovered slightly, he saw countless spirits circling and dancing around him, their roars and wails shaking his soul.

The soul of Ku'e was indeed bound by chains, and the other end of those chains was connected to a pitch-black banner.

Ku'e screamed in shock: "The Ten Thousand Soul Banner?! No, this is my Ten Thousand Soul Banner!"

Looking around again, Ku'e finally saw a giant rock ten feet away.

There was someone behind that twelve-foot-tall, moss-covered boulder!

Ku'e did not hesitate; he channeled his remaining spiritual energy, condensing it into a Vajra Pestle to strike.

The Vajra Pestle was formed entirely of spiritual energy; it appeared ethereal, but it possessed the power to split mountains and crack rocks.

One strike of this, and he would surely crush that boulder and the person behind it into dust.

But before the Vajra Pestle could land, a bamboo pole flew out from behind the boulder. It seemed to be wrapped in something, and it blocked the Vajra Pestle head-on with a muffled thud.

When the two collided, golden light shattered, and the massive impact caused the giant boulder to crack all over.

The thrown bamboo pole had long since turned into powder, and the fragments fell all around like a torrential rain of flowers.

Ku'e could not help but frown. That last strike felt wrong; there seemed to be something on that bamboo pole that had neutralized the power of the Vajra Pestle.

Chen Ye, hiding behind the boulder, was full of surprise and couldn't help but exclaim: "So this is the true Tongxuan Realm." If he hadn't hidden well just now, that strike would have turned him into a sieve.

Mo Ci, standing to the side, glared at his disciple. Who was this brat being sarcastic toward?

But looking at the cracked boulder, Mo Ci had to admit that even during his first possession, he was not as resilient as the soul of this demon.

A soul that had detached from its physical body should have been extremely fragile, unable to withstand the wind and rain, and even less able to endure the slightest harm, or else it would risk dissipating into nothingness.

Yet, this demon's soul was incredibly dense and could even resist the pull of the Ten Thousand Soul Banner. If he were allowed to go free, he could truly kill Chen Ye with a single glance.

However, Mo Ci was not worried.

To deal with this demon, Chen Ye had made quite a few preparations.

First, he had used a formation to deflect the connection between the Cursed Spirit Child and Ku'e. Ku'e should have descended directly into the Cursed Spirit Child, but Chen Ye's formation had diverted him to a position ten feet away.

Although this ten-foot margin of error was nothing compared to traversing hundreds of miles with one's spirit, that tiny distance was the difference between life and death.

Even Mo Ci had not expected that the connection between the Cursed Spirit Child and its master could be misled; this was something never recorded in any book.

What surprised Mo Ci even more was that Chen Ye had turned the Ten Thousand Soul Banner into his own magic treasure in such a short amount of time.

Although a magic treasure without a master to control it was like a slave waiting to be slaughtered, it was still a magic treasure nonetheless.

Chen Ye's explanation was that in order to save himself, he had spent months researching everything related to the Ten Thousand Soul Banner. This black Ten Thousand Soul Banner was crafted using the most traditional methods, which Chen Ye had already studied thoroughly; had it been any other magic treasure, he would never have broken it so easily.

But to Mo Ci, this was merely Chen Ye being modest; he had spent hundreds of years of bitter cultivation and had never managed to study the Ten Thousand Soul Banner to such a degree.

This disciple was truly a genius of cultivation.

Although the trap had been triggered, the result was not entirely perfect.

The spirit of the monk Ku'e had already been locked by the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, yet he was still struggling desperately, showing no signs of exhaustion.

Chen Ye had not expected this fiend to be so troublesome, and he was already gripping his final sword talisman.

He had intended to pull him into the Ten Thousand Soul Banner to deal with him slowly, but if he truly could not capture him, he would simply cut him down with a single sword strike.

Chen Ye did not harbor the thought that getting less was a loss; in Chen Ye's view, these were all gains for nothing, and one should know when to give up.

The pursuit of immortality in cultivation meant that preserving one's life was the most important thing.

Ku'e felt a premonition, as if boundless killing intent were shrouding him.

He wanted to cast his head-on blow spell again, but he discovered that as his spiritual power was consumed, the chains tightened further, pulling him a few steps closer to the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.

He turned to destroy the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, but as soon as his Vajra Pestle appeared, countless vengeful spirits flew out from the banner, sacrificing their own existence to forcefully block the monk's spell, while his spirit was pulled even closer to the banner, nearly being sucked inside.

Although this Ten Thousand Soul Banner was a common magic treasure of the demonic sects, it was precisely because it integrated offense and defense and was practical and useful that it was so widespread; how could it be destroyed so easily?

A spirit body would only weaken rapidly, and with spiritual energy unable to meet the demand, resisting ordinary magic treasures was already incredibly difficult. Furthermore, this was a magic treasure he had refined himself; Ku'e knew full well how much effort and how many materials had gone into it.

Who would have thought that this magic treasure would instead become his own death warrant?

Though he did not know how the other party had managed to sever his connection with the Cursed Spirit Child and steal his magic treasure, he was in imminent danger and had to save himself.

"Amitabha, I have no enmity with you, benefactor. Why steal my magic treasure and seek my life? You must know that being entangled in karmic obstacles will surely bring evil retribution."

Now, the only thing left that could save his life was the supernatural ability of Kaikou Chan. This Kaikou Chan consumed far less than other spells; as long as he plated himself with two layers of golden body, he could at least hold out for a while longer.

Ku'e did not believe that this kid could also break his golden body with a single sword strike.