Yin Soul Arrow

"Damn it! I actually lost my flying sword."

Xiao Nan rode the fire cloud, and within moments left the cultivators chasing behind him far out of sight. Thinking of the flying sword he had lost on Little Cold Mountain, he could not let it go.

That flying sword had been bestowed upon him years ago by Master Bai Yue. It was also Xiao Nan's only magical treasure, one that had never left his side for decades. Though he had now acquired several new magical treasures, that flying sword still held an irreplaceable place in Xiao Nan's heart.

He thought to himself, I still have to go back and look for it. I cannot lose the flying sword passed down by my master.

"All my abilities lie in this flying sword. Though I have gained five new magical treasures, without the flying sword, many things will be inconvenient."

Xiao Nan landed, set Wang Chong and Zhu Ying down, and said, "Your master will return shortly."

He did not dare use the fire cloud again, fearing someone might mark him. Instead, he used his own true qi to soar into the air.

Watching her teacher leave, Zhu Ying said to Wang Chong, "I never imagined the Langhuan Celestial Stele could be so miraculous. It even swallowed Master's flying sword."

Little Bug thought, When I went to look at the stele last time, it did not seem like much. If I get close again, there is an eighty or ninety percent chance I can find that stone stele. But that absolutely cannot be done, and no one can know that I have anything to do with the Celestial Stele.

He said to Zhu Ying, "Master should have gone to look for the flying sword."

Zhu Ying asked, "Did you see the writing on the stone stele clearly just now?"

Little Bug hurriedly replied, "I did not."

Zhu Ying sighed and said, "Neither did I. That stone stele seems to possess some miraculous power. Whoever looks at it has their consciousness disturbed—they forget it as soon as they have seen it, unable to etch it into their hearts."

Little Bug did not dare say another word, afraid he might arouse suspicion.

Zhu Ying looked around and said, "Let us not wait here like fools. I see a small temple over there. How about we wait for Master inside?"

Little Bug agreed. The two walked over hand in hand, but the moment they entered the temple gates, they saw Sun Yougui roasting wild game.

Sun Yougui had not expected Little Bug to deliver himself to his door. He shouted, "Little thief, where is your master?"

How could Little Bug dare answer?

He hurriedly shook his shoulder, and a fire serpent flew out. He grabbed Zhu Ying and climbed onto it.

The Qian-Li Fire Serpent soared into the air. At the sight of it, Sun Yougui hesitated briefly, then thought, I have two fellow disciples with me, as well as the Ten-Thousand Ghost Formation. Why should I fear this fire serpent?

Besides, this little brat has hardly any cultivation. He is relying entirely on the magical treasure's own spiritual nature, so he surely cannot bring out all its power.

Together with the two elders of the Heavenly Corpse Sect, he activated his escape light and raised a mass of pitch-black ghost cloud as they gave chase. Sun Yougui shouted, "Little thief, where do you think you are going?"

Little Bug did not answer. He said to Zhu Ying, "Sister Zhu, we are truly unlucky, running straight into this fiend."

"This is bad. He even has two more helpers now."

Zhu Ying was secretly alarmed as well. She asked in a low voice, "Can this fire serpent of yours fly quickly?"

Little Bug pulled a long face. "I do not know either."

The Qian-Li Fire Serpents had been able to burn three Flying Yakshas to ash, so their power was naturally immense. But Little Bug had only just begun learning the Dao and had possessed the seven Qian-Li Fire Serpents for only a short while. How could he dare fight a spell battle against an elder of an evil sect like Sun Yougui?

As for how fast the fire serpent could fly, he had no idea. Little Bug had only ridden it a few times, so he could only tell Zhu Ying, "Master only left a short while ago. Perhaps we can still catch up with him."

The Qian-Li Fire Serpent soared through the sky, twisting and darting like a dragon.

Behind them, Sun Yougui activated the Ten-Thousand Ghost Formation, transforming it into a ghost cloud that stretched across dozens of mu. Dark and heavy, it blotted out the sky and covered the sun, its momentum vast and terrifying.

The cultivators nearby saw it and did not dare approach.

Little Bug and Zhu Ying flew all the way to Little Cold Mountain, yet did not see Xiao Nan. Little Bug did not dare linger. If Sun Yougui caught up to them, it would be no laughing matter. He could only urge the fire serpent onward in frantic flight, so muddled that he could no longer tell east from west, north from south.

After chasing them for some time, Sun Yougui remained secretly wary. He told his two junior brothers, "If that little thief uses the fire serpent to counterattack, we must quickly withdraw the Ten-Thousand Ghost Formation and use other magical treasures against him."

The two elders of the Heavenly Corpse Sect also knew that spells of true fire were specially suited to restraining the Heavenly Corpse Sect's Dao arts. They knew as well that Sun Yougui's three Flying Yakshas had been burned to ash by the seven fire serpents. Both became cautious, each taking out a flying fork in preparation for a spell battle with Little Bug.

After Little Bug rode the fire serpent past Little Cold Mountain, he gradually lost all sense of direction. For one thing, he had never traveled far from home and had only gone to Egret Academy to study. For another, the clouds were high and the roads distant; he did not recognize the paths among the clouds at all. By now, he did not even know where he had flown.

In a panic, he asked Zhu Ying, "Where have we come to? Will we be able to find our way back later?"

Lying flat on the fire serpent's back, Zhu Ying looked around before saying, "I do not recognize the way either. But if I ask around, I can find the road back to my second brother's estate."

"At worst, I can take you back to Egret Academy."

"Master Xiao was on that mountain just now. If he cannot find us, he will surely notice some ghostly qi in the temple. Eight or nine times out of ten, he will go inspect that waterside estate. Shall we go back?"

Little Bug thought, We are probably not getting back.

With Sun Yougui chasing him, he did not even dare look back. Nor did he know how to shake him off. He could only fly onward blindly.

Just as night was about to fall, the four fields spread like a vast tent, and countless stars shone down.

Sun Yougui watched the streak of fire desperately fleeing ahead, and envy stirred in his heart. What sort of treasure are these fire serpents? Xiao Nan actually gave them to his disciple. If I can capture this little thief and force him to offer up the fire serpents, then with this treasure in hand, I will be invincible within the Heavenly Corpse Sect.

With such a treasure, there would be no harm in becoming sect master.

Not to mention that Xiao Nan surely has other treasures on him. I must seize every last one. I cannot allow him to refine these treasures, or else I will no longer be able to restrain him.

Sun Yougui did not yet know that Xiao Nan had already refined all five magical treasures. Had he known, he would certainly have changed his plans.

As night fell, the power of the Ten-Thousand Ghost Formation gradually surged. Several thousand vicious ghosts clustered around the three men, while layers upon layers of black clouds filled the sky with ghostly wails and howls.

Sun Yougui wound the whisk controlling the formation around his arm, spread both arms like a drawn bow with an arrow nocked, and shot out his true qi. It entangled dozens of vicious ghosts and sped straight toward Little Bug's back.

This was one of the spells of the Ten-Thousand Ghost Formation: the Yin Soul Arrow!

If an ordinary person was struck by a Yin Soul Arrow, their body would remain unharmed, but yin souls would erode them from within, devouring their essence and blood until they became a dried corpse.

Even a Dao cultivator struck by a Yin Soul Arrow would suffer for a long time unless they had cultivated a stream of pure yang true fire and slowly refined it away with that true fire. Their true qi would be corroded by the yin souls, and they would endure no small amount of torment.

When Zhu Ying saw Sun Yougui release that Yin Soul Arrow, her insight and experience far surpassed Little Bug's. She hurriedly shouted, "Get down! Do not raise your head!"

She took out a magical treasure and pressed it against her back, then threw her whole body over Wang Chong, intending to use herself to block the attack for him.

Little Bug froze for a moment, then pressed his left shoulder and said, "I still have fire serpents."

There were only a few minutes left until the new week. After midnight, if everyone has any votes, please cast them for Dragon Rider Immortal Son-in-Law...