Would You Like to Enter the Ten Thousand Soul Banner

The moon sank into the west; dawn was not far off.

A bloated, dark silhouette darted through the night, stepping over rooftops and skimming treetops, exiting the city in the blink of an eye.

It was Chen Ye, carrying two young girls on his back as he sprinted.

Princess Hongyu had just chosen to trust Chen Ye, but who would have thought this young Daoist would mutter a quick "pardon me," then snatch up a quilt and wrap both her and Lan Shi inside it.

Before either of them could react, they were hoisted onto Chen Ye's back, flying out of the opulent Princess's Manor like a gust of wind.

It wasn't until the cold wind whipped against her face that Princess Hongyu realized she had actually been kidnapped.

Wasn't it agreed that he would lift the evil curse for them? Why did he look like a common lecherous thief?

"My apologies, ladies. Lifting the evil curse cannot be done within the Princess's Manor. Time is of the essence, so I must take you both with me to save time."

Chen Ye's words drifted into their ears on the wind, and neither Princess Hongyu nor Lan Shi dared to struggle.

Princess Hongyu felt her heart pounding wildly. Although she had studied martial arts, she had never experienced such gravity-defying leaps. Trapped in the palace since childhood, she had never been the master of her own life or death. It wasn't that she hadn't thought of running away, but the palace gates were like the gates of hell; the moment she dared to cross them, she would surely be dragged back, subjected to punishments that would make her wish for death.

It was only as she grew older and was afflicted with the evil curse of possession that Princess Hongyu was finally able to come and go freely.

Yet, at this moment, she had no desire to flee.

The world was vast, but she had nowhere to go. As long as that Old Devil lived, she would always be a lamb waiting for the slaughter; it made no difference where she went.

But tonight seemed a little different.

Princess Hongyu couldn't help but ask quietly, "Little Stone, do you usually move like this, leaping over walls?"

Lan Shi also whispered in reply, "It's about the same, though his lightness skill is far superior to mine. He can run this fast even while carrying two people."

"Silly girl, this isn't martial arts; it must be some kind of sorcery," Princess Hongyu sighed. "Those who practice the Dao are truly formidable; mortals can never compare."

Lan Shi couldn't help but ask again, "Princess, could we also practice the Dao? This young man seems quite reasonable. What if we asked him to be our master?"

Princess Hongyu rolled her eyes at Lan Shi. This silly girl—at such close range, he could hear even the softest whisper.

Yet, she couldn't help but feel a glimmer of anticipation in her heart.

If this Daoist was truly a good person, and if he could really break that evil curse of possession, then perhaps...

However, before Princess Hongyu could fantasize about the future, Chen Ye came to a halt.

Chen Ye set the two girls down and pointed in a direction.

"We have arrived."

Only then did Princess Hongyu and Lan Shi realize they had left the city. The city gates were just behind them, not far away; they had merely stepped out of the gates and arrived at a dense forest beside the official road.

The two were confused and had no choice but to follow Chen Ye further. They hadn't walked far before they heard the whistling of ghostly winds, and both felt the temperature around them drop significantly.

Lan Shi said in astonishment, "Princess, I have heard this sound before."

After walking a few dozen more steps, they saw flickering ghost fires ahead. Countless vengeful spirits were dancing in the forest, carrying severed limbs and corpses in their hands. The stench of blood was so thick it was nauseating.

Princess Hongyu and Lan Shi stopped in their tracks, terrified. What was this Hundred Ghosts Night Parade?

Could it be that they had been wrong after all? Was this young Daoist no different from other Devilish Cultivators?!

Seeing the two girls frozen in fear, Chen Ye felt a bit embarrassed.

The scene was indeed a bit frightening.

After leaving the Hengdao Inn, Chen Ye hadn't immediately gone to track Lan Shi. Instead, he had come here first to drop off the corpses and the Ten Thousand Soul Banner from his storage bag.

He had then asked Mo Ci for guidance, ordering the other vengeful spirits to set up a formation here to process the corpses of those martial artists, so they could be refined into suitable physical bodies.

The Ten Thousand Soul Banner was truly an essential treasure for a Devilish Cultivator—the most practical and convenient tool. He could just drop it and go about his business without delaying his primary tasks.

However, it was only because Chen Ye was bold enough that he allowed the spirits within the Ten Thousand Soul Banner to act freely. Ordinary Devilish Cultivators usually refined vicious, mindless ghosts; if they dared to let them move freely, they would be the first to suffer.

This was a trick that ordinary Devilish Cultivators truly couldn't replicate.

Seeing Chen Ye return, the white banner possessed by Mo Ci floated over and asked suspiciously, "Why did you bring these two little girls here? The flesh and blood are already enough; there is no need for more. Besides, these two have no meat on their bones; they are of little use."

In this forest filled with floating ghost fires and bloody horror, the white banner with a ghostly face spoke, instantly scaring Lan Shi into a shriek: "No, don't eat me, I, I..."

Princess Hongyu quickly shielded her behind her back and said to Chen Ye, "Daoist, is this what you meant by a method to save us?"

Chen Ye could hear the subtext in Princess Hongyu's words—You still claim you aren't a Devilish Cultivator?!

The scene was indeed suspicious, and Chen Ye found it hard to explain. He could only say helplessly, "Master, please stop scaring the young ladies. These two are guests I have invited."

Mo Ci scoffed, "Hmph, you wouldn't listen when I told you to wear a mask, and now you've stirred up so many romantic debts. If Miss Su sees this, I'd like to see how you explain it."

Chen Ye was so angry he laughed, unable to help but say, "Master, can you stop with the wild guesses? Forget it, I don't even want to explain. You go back to your work; I will handle things here myself."

Hearing this, Mo Ci floated back into the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade to continue his work of dismembering and refining bodies.

Chen Ye looked at the two trembling girls and could only explain, "This scene is indeed easy to misunderstand. If you two are unwilling to trust me, I will not force you to stay; you may leave on your own. But if you are willing to trust me, then follow me, and let me attempt to break the evil curse upon you."

Seeing that Chen Ye made no move to stop them, Lan Shi spoke first: "I am willing to trust the Daoist. If you truly had malicious intent, you wouldn't need to go through all this trouble. Princess, don't you agree?"

Princess Hongyu had wanted to say that Lan Shi was being too naive—the methods of Devilish Cultivators were endless, and it wasn't so easy to tell them apart.

But it was almost dawn; if they went back now, their tracks would be exposed, and they would soon draw the attention of Jiang Shiyue. Once their meeting with Chen Ye was discovered, their lives would be in immediate danger.

Things had reached this point; they had no other choice.

"In that case, I will have to trouble you, Daoist."

Chen Ye led the two young girls away from the bloody and cruel formation to another clearing, then took out the Ksitigarbha Vow Sutra. Last time, relying on the secret arts recorded in this scripture, he had successfully extracted the soul of Ku'e and smoothly prevented his possession.

But today was different; he couldn't just let the two girls wait here until Elder Tianwu died.

What Chen Ye intended to do was prepare a substitute for the two of them and transfer the evil possession curse from their bodies onto it.

In this way, he might be able to lift the wicked curse from them without alerting that Old Devil.

However, there was one difficult problem.

The key to the Cursed Spirit Child lay in the bloodline. Princess Hongyu and Lan Shi were clearly descendants produced by the Old Devil through his own methods. To transfer the curse of the Cursed Spirit Child, one would also need a descendant of the Old Devil's bloodline; otherwise, the curse would not take effect.

Chen Ye briefly explained the principle to the two young girls, then said, "I will take a sample of your blood and have my master help craft two substitutes; perhaps then we can transfer the evil curse."

"However, crafted substitutes are ultimately impure in bloodline. I cannot guarantee a ten-tenths success rate, and there is a possibility that the Old Devil will discover it immediately. You two may take a few more days to consider. For now, let me modify the evil curse on your bodies, and once the substitutes are ready, I will transfer the curse for you. Princess, if you please."

Just as Chen Ye was about to act, Princess Hongyu suddenly said to Lan Shi, "Little Stone, go keep watch so that no one disturbs us."

Lan Shi didn't understand why, but she followed the order, slipping into the woods in a few steps as if she were truly going to keep watch.

While Chen Ye was full of confusion, Princess Hongyu whispered, "According to what you just said, Daoist, if we were sisters truly connected by blood, would the chance of success be greater?"

Chen Ye nodded, but then shook his head. "Princess, please do not overthink this. Even if you were true sisters, I could not risk someone else's life. To kill one to save another is an evil act."

Princess Hongyu replied, "No, what I want to ask is, would it be more certain if the evil curse on Little Stone were transferred to me?"

"Ah?" Chen Ye had never expected Princess Hongyu to make such a request.

Thinking about it carefully, it didn't seem impossible. Although planting the evil curse of the Cursed Spirit Child twice on the same person was a waste, based on Chen Ye's understanding of this vicious magic, it seemed it would only be a waste and would not conflict.

At the very least, the success rate would be much higher than transferring it to a flesh-and-blood substitute; it was worth the risk.

"It is not impossible, but if you do this, Princess, you will..."

Princess Hongyu said firmly, "It does not matter. Under the control of that Old Devil, I have committed many evil deeds and no longer wish to live. But Little Stone is innocent; please, Daoist, do not let her know."

Chen Ye met the gaze of the princess and saw the determination in her eyes; she likely truly did not want to live anymore.

Chen Ye wanted to persuade her further, but suddenly thought of another method and said to Princess Hongyu, "If you are truly willing to sacrifice yourself, Princess, then I do have another way."

Princess Hongyu hurriedly said, "Please speak, Daoist. As long as I can save Little Stone, I am willing to do anything."

Chen Ye pointed toward the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade in the distance and said, "That is my magic treasure. If you are willing to enter my Ten Thousand Soul Banner, perhaps there is still a glimmer of hope."