Gold Piercing

"Go to hell!" All six Soul Rings on the Great Holy Spirit burst into flames, and a layer of white fire instantly blazed across his entire body.

Countless vengeful souls seemed to shriek mournfully within the white flames rising from the Great Holy Spirit. Then, the small door at one side suddenly burst open.

A terrifying surge of energy came roaring out of the small door.

Countless transparent lights of different colors could be seen pouring rapidly through the doorway. Each seemed to contain a human face, but every face was twisted violently.

A flag appeared in the Great Holy Spirit's hand. He glared at Ye Guyi with a savage expression.

"Let's see how you like the taste of Ten Thousand Souls Devouring Body. They'll tear your souls to pieces, and your bodies will become my puppets. Die!"

The instant the pyramid sealed away the Second Holy Spirit, Xiao Hongchen had already lifted his eyes to survey the entire hall.

Over by Ye Guyi.

Nearly five hundred vengeful spirits surged toward her from every direction, a vast, dark mass blotting out the sky as they bore down on her like a bank of clouds.

Anyone else seeing that sight would probably have gone weak at the knees.

Xiao Hongchen glanced over and looked away.

There was no need to worry.

He knew Ye Guyi's strength better than anyone. Those vengeful spirits would only become batteries for her.

His attention shifted to Nana.

The skeleton had driven her into a corner, leaving Nana with almost no room to dodge.

She could only rely on the speed of her Ghost Martial Soul and the brief intangibility granted by her third Soul Skill to barely hold her ground.

Xiao Hongchen casually raised his right hand, pinching his thumb and index finger together. Metal gathered at his fingertips, forming a coin-shaped piece in an instant.

After locking onto the skeleton, he flicked his thumb forward with force.

Empowered by the Sacrifice of Gold Soul Skill, the coin shot through the air with a golden tail flame. Its terrifying momentum sent it crashing straight into the center of the skeleton's spine.

The skeleton exploded, scattering dust everywhere. Not a single whole fragment of bone remained.

Nana stood frozen, her back still against the stone wall as she blinked at him.

Xiao Hongchen had already turned around. He took out two lumps of metal, squeezed each a few times in his palms, then casually tossed them toward the two skeletons fighting Meng Hongchen.

Xiao Hongchen had shaped the metal into long strips. Once they hit the ground, they quickly spread out, stretching across the stone floor, branching apart and sprouting dozens of fine metal legs.

The two Metal Centipedes darted toward the skeletons. They raced up the bone frames and coiled around them, binding both skeletons from head to toe so tightly that their bones creaked. Neither could move.

Meng Hongchen promptly raised her swords, one called the Sword of Fire and the other the Sword of Ice, and cleanly hacked the two skeletons into four pieces.

"Too slow!" Meng Hongchen shook the bone ash from her swords, displeasure in her voice.

On the other side, Ye Guyi was about to be completely engulfed by the vengeful spirits, yet she showed no sign of panic.

She abruptly raised her sword and unleashed Divine Body Sword with all her might. For an instant, she and her sword seemed to become one.

A surge of golden holy power burst forth from Divine Body Sword, transforming into a visible Golden Wave that swept across the hall with a thunderous roar.

The Golden Wave crashed head-on into the tide of vengeful spirits, sweeping through them like a hot knife through butter. Wherever it passed, the spirits didn't even have time to shriek before they crumbled in the golden light, breaking into the finest black particles and vanishing in an instant.

The wave didn't stop.

One wave, then another, then a third—the Golden Waves rolled outward like the sea, each one wider and more violent than the last. Holy power naturally countered evil Soul Masters. In the sacred light, the vengeful spirits were like dry kindling meeting a blazing fire, with no hope of resisting.

After three Golden Waves, all that remained of the five hundred vengeful spirits were black particles floating throughout the hall.

The particles drifted slowly downward, but before they could reach the ground, they vanished completely.

Ye Guyi landed amid the holy light. Her hair billowed in the blast of air, then settled as the golden radiance around her slowly drew back in and finally faded away.

She glanced across the hall, her expression unchanged.

The Great Holy Spirit had never imagined that the Holy Spirit Flag, which had always been so effective, would prove useless against his opponents.

The Holy Spirit Flag wasn't his. It was the branch altar elder's most important treasure.

Not only was it a Level 7 Soul Tool, it could only be used by an Evil Soul Master who excelled at controlling souls. In this branch altar, only he and the elder could wield it.

The elder had once said that as long as they didn't face a powerful Soul Master above the Eight-Ring level, the Holy Spirit Flag would let them hold their own.

But he had never expected a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor to break it.

The Great Holy Spirit glanced at the Second Holy Spirit, buried beneath the metal pyramid, and rapidly weighed his options.

The odds were grim. As long as the green hills remained, there would be no shortage of firewood.

He made his decision at once.

Blood-red flames suddenly blazed around him, and he transformed into a Blood-Colored Wraith, speeding toward the rear exit. Just before he left, he still remembered to turn his head and throw out a threat:

"I'll be back! With the elder! If you've got the guts, don't leave!"

Xiao Hongchen's gaze darkened.

"Hmph. Think you can escape?"

He wasn't about to let the Great Holy Spirit get away. He held a grudge like no other.

Metal poured frantically from his belt in liquid form, rapidly gathering around him.

Then Xiao Hongchen pressed his palms together, stretched both arms out, and took aim at the Great Holy Spirit.

Under the lock of his Spiritual Power, no matter how fast the Great Holy Spirit flew, he couldn't shake Xiao Hongchen's tracking.

The liquid metal swirled into a vortex around him, compressing again and again in his palms. Xiao Hongchen's hands glowed with dazzling golden light, and wisps of golden vapor rose faintly between his fingers.

Xiao Hongchen took a deep breath. This was his new Self-Created Soul Skill.

Gold Piercing, activate!

The liquid metal suddenly contracted, its tip forming an arrowhead. It shot away at supersonic speed, tearing through the air with a sharp, piercing whistle.

Pfft.

The metal arrowhead struck the Blood-Colored Wraith in the left side of the chest and pierced straight through, but it didn't vanish.

The instant it pierced the wraith, it suddenly spread open. Liquid metal flowed outward from the wound in every direction, quickly reshaping itself into a small, sturdy cage that trapped the Blood-Colored Wraith the Great Holy Spirit had become.

"Guyi, now!"

Xiao Hongchen could have used Gold Piercing to blast through his head and kill the Great Holy Spirit on the spot.

But after an Evil Soul Master at the Soul Emperor level was purified, the cultivation boost Ye Guyi would gain was worth far more than a Soul Emperor who was already dead.

This attack was for Ye Guyi.

Ye Guyi was already moving.

She stepped forward and brought down a Holy Spirit Slash, its dazzling golden radiance cleaving straight toward the wraith.

The cage opened at just the right moment.

The moment Holy Spirit Slash struck the Blood-Colored Wraith, it let out a sharp shriek and struggled frantically in the golden light. The blood-red color was purified bit by bit, then vanished completely.

Clean, decisive—a single strike to kill.

Golden light slowly drifted toward Ye Guyi, and she absorbed it naturally.

Xiao Hongchen withdrew his gaze and turned toward the Iron Sand Pyramid.

The Second Holy Spirit was still alive inside. His bones creaked under the pressure of the metal. His struggles were weak, but he was still moving.

"Go ahead," he said.

Ye Guyi had already looked over.

Xiao Hongchen raised his hand. The metal layer on the pyramid's surface slowly loosened, peeling back at the front to create an opening—not large, just wide enough for a sword to strike through.