Complete Victory

Chen Ye had not been cultivating for long, and he had precious little experience in actual combat.

Before, he had taken down two Tongxuan Realm Old Devils in a row, but only because their lifespans had run out, leaving nothing but their souls for him to keep in check.

This was the first time Chen Ye had faced a cultivator whose body was still intact.

Mo Ci had always worried that Chen Ye was too softhearted, but in truth, Chen Ye knew exactly when to act with compassion and when to show no mercy.

Now that it was a fight to the death, Chen Ye had no intention of holding back.

The vengeful spirits released by the Ten Thousand Soul Banner concealed the Sword Box's swordlight. The light split into four directions, all while avoiding Jiang Shiyue's notice. The Immobilization Technique, which Chen Ye had only just begun to master but was already getting the hang of, slowly took shape.

Chen Ye attacked without defending, completely unafraid that Jiang Shiyue might take him down with him.

It looked reckless, but he had everything under control.

Princess Hongyu had mentioned that Jiang Shiyue was afraid of death. He had already reached the point where he could temper his body with Gangsha, but had given up simply because he feared the pain. Someone like that was unlikely to be ruthless enough. Faced with the threat of death, he would think first of dodging and saving his own skin—not of finding the courage to die alongside Chen Ye.

In that case, there was no need to hold back.

Chen Ye had guessed right.

Faced with such a fierce assault, Jiang Shiyue's expression changed dramatically. They were both demonic cultivators; an expert could tell the difference at a glance. The Ten Thousand Soul Banner in Chen Ye's hands was no ordinary treasure. It was a fine magical treasure beyond the reach of any common Rogue Cultivator. The resentful spirits might not have been especially vicious, but Jiang Shiyue still couldn't withstand a great, dark swarm of them rushing at him.

And there was swordlight hidden among them. Jiang Shiyue had no idea how powerful it was, but he certainly didn't dare take it head-on.

So Jiang Shiyue used the skill he was best at.

His body turned into a cloud of pink mist and dispersed into nothingness.

The vengeful spirits lunged at empty air, and three of the four Sword Qi attacks missed. But the last one hit its mark, piercing through the mist and drawing a scream from Jiang Shiyue.

His spell was astonishing, though. Even after screaming in pain, he did not return to his original form. Instead, he maintained his misty state and flew toward Chen Ye.

Chen Ye had no idea whether the stuff was poisonous, so naturally he didn't dare grab it.

The Immobilization Technique had taken shape in his right hand, while his left held a talisman. He circulated his spiritual energy and ignited it, summoning a gust of wind.

The five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—were all forms of basic spiritual energy, and Chen Ye had mastered the fundamentals best of all.

Earlier, when he had set up an array in front of the corpse pit, he had easily used wood to kindle fire, raising a wall of flame to block the Evil Buddha's golden light.

The talisman in his hand wasn't particularly useful either. It was the most ordinary kind of Call Wind Talisman, able to summon a gust strong enough to blow an umbrella out of someone's hand if they weren't expecting it—but that was all.

Besides wind talismans, Chen Ye had also prepared a few other talismans for minor tricks, like kindling fire or raising mist.

He had also asked Princess Hongyu about Jiang Shiyue's techniques and learned that he could transform into mist, so he had prepared several extra Call Wind Talismans.

All things in the world countered one another. The talisman couldn't even hurt a mortal, but at the critical moment, it worked wonders.

Jiang Shiyue had never expected Chen Ye to have a Call Wind Talisman on hand. The gust swept through the pink mist, stopping it from advancing.

Jiang Shiyue hadn't been hurt, but he had squandered his chance to counterattack.

Unable to get close, he was beset once more by the vengeful spirits that had just missed him. They didn't care whether the mist was poisonous or whether they could hurt their opponent. They simply swarmed in, biting and devouring wildly, battering the cloud of pink mist until it couldn't hold its shape.

By then, Chen Ye had already raised his hand and cast the Immobilization Technique. Unfortunately, the spell—formed from spiritual energy—scattered as soon as it left his hand. He simply hadn't practiced long enough. He could slap it onto someone directly, but he still couldn't send it flying through the air to hit an enemy.

Though the spell had failed, Chen Ye didn't mind. He lightly tapped the ground with his toes and pulled back, then poured his spiritual energy into the Sword Box, building up another swordlight.

The Qinghe Sword Sect's magical treasure was impressive. Even when Jiang Shiyue's body turned to mist, he could still be hurt.

Once another swordlight had gathered inside the Sword Box, Chen Ye did not release it at once. Instead, he called out, "Surrender now! Enter my Ten Thousand Soul Banner and repent for your sins!"

Jiang Shiyue had no intention of surrendering, but the vengeful spirits gave him no opportunity. They kept scattering the pink mist, leaving him unable to form a solid shape. He couldn't even escape.

He could still hold on for now, but the spell was steadily draining his spiritual energy. If they kept this up, he would be in trouble.

But he truly had no other means.

Not every Rogue Cultivator was like Chen Ye, who had mastered two fine magical treasures as soon as he entered the Qi Sea Realm. Jiang Shiyue had cultivated for so long and still couldn't refine a decent Ten Thousand Soul Banner. He had only two spells he was good at.

The first was the Bewitchment Technique. Cast on a mortal, it could control their mind, but it required him to calm his mind and focus, and to make sure the target couldn't move. His second spell was transforming into mist. It was an extremely powerful technique: the pink mist was poisonous, and ordinary means couldn't hurt him. He could fight when he wanted and flee when he wanted.

Who could have guessed that this spell, which had never failed him, would be unable to stop Chen Ye's swordlight?

The instant the mist touched the swordlight, Jiang Shiyue felt a piece of his flesh disappear. The pain cut straight to the bone.

He had been so afraid of pain that he'd refused to temper his body. Now he was even more panicked, desperate to flee.

Once he began thinking only of escape, Jiang Shiyue grew even less willing to fight back. He squeezed a large mass of mist out past the vengeful spirits, willing to lose a few pieces of himself if it meant getting away.

It was like a lizard dropping its tail: leave a hand or a foot behind if necessary, and save the rest of his body by fleeing the scene.

But just as the large cloud of mist was about to slip into a crack in the wall, Chen Ye released the swordlight he had just finished gathering.

"I knew you'd try to run."

Chen Ye's confident strike pierced the pink mist once more. Jiang Shiyue could no longer maintain his misty form. He reconstituted himself, then fell to the ground with a wail.

Jiang Shiyue had lost an arm and a leg. Blood streamed from his waist down, and he was gravely wounded. The so-called most handsome man in the martial world now looked like a lump of rotting flesh.

"Spare me! I surrender! Please, spare me! I have magical treasures and pills stashed away. I can—"

Jiang Shiyue wailed, hoping for the slimmest chance to survive. But Chen Ye didn't hesitate. He sent the vengeful spirits surging forward to tear Jiang Shiyue's broken body to pieces, then took his soul straight into the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.

What an idiot. Once he was in the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, he'd have to cough up the treasure anyway.

Chen Ye had not an ounce of mercy for a demon like him.

Chen Ye had worried that Su Chunyi might object to him taking Jiang Shiyue's soul into the banner. But when he turned around, he saw her explaining things to Lan Shi.

"This demon looks young, but his brow is furrowed and his spiritual radiance is dim. It's obvious he used pills to maintain his appearance, and in truth, he's nearly at the end of his life. Someone in the Qi Sea Realm can generally live for over two hundred years, while Sir is not yet twenty. And yet this demon couldn't withstand three moves from Sir. Do you think you can really keep up with Sir's cultivation?"

Lan Shi lowered her head as Su Chunyi's words sank in. She had only watched the fight and didn't understand its subtleties, but it had certainly been a victory without suspense. Lan Shi had seen what Jiang Shiyue could do: he could handle mortals with ease. Yet Chen Ye had handled Jiang Shiyue just as easily.

Thinking about it that way, she really wasn't qualified to stay by Chen Ye's side.

Su Chunyi patted Lan Shi on the head and said, "Come with me to Qinghe. If you find meaning in cultivation, there'll surely come a day when we meet again."

Lan Shi glanced over at Chen Ye, and he quickly gave the girl an encouraging look.

Lan Shi thought for a long while, then finally nodded.

"Immortal sister, I'll go with you to Qinghe."