Soul-Eating Banner

"Fellow Daoist, aren't you being far too arrogant?" The speaker was Yan Xun, Third Young Master of the Yan Family in the Martial Domain, Ninth Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm.

"Hmph! Some people can't see themselves clearly and are wildly arrogant. Once they're lying on the ground, they'll know exactly what kind of situation they're in!" Wu Di, Second Young Master of the Wu Family in the Martial Domain, snorted coldly.

"Oh my! This young master is truly formidable!" the Plume Sect's senior sister from the Martial Domain said with a coquettish laugh.

Senior brothers and senior sisters were generally the strongest among the younger generation. As for why they were not called Holy Sons or Holy Daughters—could a faction without even a Saint really suit such titles?

"Then come at me together!" Helian Jue nodded at the crowd.

Everyone agreed. They had all witnessed Jiang Ming brutally slaughter Chang Litian earlier, and none of them dared claim to be stronger than Chang Litian.

With their decision made, everyone surrounded Jiang Ming and attacked together. In mere moments, Jiang Ming had fallen into the encirclement of High-Level Nascent Soul cultivators.

"Hehehe!" Jiang Ming grinned. Centered on him, a hemispherical crimson barrier unfurled. The instant every attack struck the barrier, it dissipated without stirring the slightest ripple.

Even those who tried to rush in for close combat had one of their arms burned away. Had they retreated any slower, they would likely have already perished.

"A domain?!" Chen Xuanjia stared at Jiang Ming in shock. He had not attacked just now, after all, they had known each other once.

"Impossible! Only the Saint Realm possesses domains!" Yan Xun said in disbelief.

"No! It isn't a domain, it merely resembles one somewhat!" Wu Di said with a grave expression.

"A true domain contains a Saint's power of laws, but this has no law power. It should be a divine ability similar to a domain."

Jiang Ming looked at him approvingly. That was indeed the case. This was not a domain, merely the simple release of his Sun Power around himself. It did not even have a name.

Because it consumed much and gained little, most people could release it, though its might varied greatly. Jiang Ming's destructive force relied entirely on his ultimate Sun Power. When ordinary people used it, it was even inferior to a Yellow Rank divine ability.

The Four Symbols Sage watched the scene with a somewhat disappointed expression. To be honest, even he did not understand why Jiang Ming had chosen to do this.

If Jiang Ming used the agility of Scarlet Feather Flash to harass and fight guerrilla-style, that would have been the most cost-effective method, rather than directly erupting with Sun Power and forcibly holding his ground.

As for the reason, all that could be said was that this "domain expansion" looked rather cool!

Though he was only at the First Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm, his top-tier physique and top-tier cultivation technique made both the quality and quantity of spiritual power within him far surpass those of ordinary people.

"This isn't a domain. The spiritual power needed to sustain such a large-scale, continuous divine ability won't last long!" Helian Jue immediately shouted.

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded and retreated to a safe distance.

Jiang Ming's lips curled upward. Would running farther away be of any use?

The crimson barrier expanded once more, quickly forcing everyone back until there was nowhere left to retreat. Some could not help trying to force their way through.

But the instant they touched it, their arms were charred black, giving off the stench of burnt flesh.

"Attack together! Break it!" Helian Jue reacted, realizing that numbers alone were useless. They could only confront it head-on!

Everyone released their respective divine abilities. The combined assault of High-Level Nascent Soul cultivators was indeed powerful. Jiang Ming's Sun Power churned violently from the blows, and sweetness rose in his throat. Fortunately, he held steady and forcibly swallowed it back down.

Retracting the barrier, Jiang Ming looked at the group with a somewhat pale face and sighed. "Sigh! My heart had softened, and I did not wish to create more slaughter. Yet you people refuse to recognize what is good for you."

The moment his words fell, Jiang Ming vanished from everyone's sight.

"Ah!" A scream rang out. Jiang Ming had appeared behind an Eighth Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm cultivator with flaming wings spread from his back. One huge hand wreathed in flames plunged into the cultivator's body, gripping his Nascent Soul as raging flames roasted it. The Nascent Soul shrieked without end.

Everyone stared at Jiang Ming in terror, unable to believe what had just happened.

Could this really be the First Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm? Even Peak Ninth Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm cultivators could not see his movements clearly.

With a "whoosh," he was gone. With another "whoosh," one person was finished. Cold sweat streamed down everyone's backs. Even Helian Jue and the other Peak Ninth Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm cultivators wore solemn expressions, afraid that Jiang Ming would suddenly appear behind them and strike at their Nascent Souls.

"Hey, kid! Destroying their physical bodies is one thing, but why are you destroying their Nascent Souls too?" the Four Symbols Sage could not help saying. Those were his nourishment!

Jiang Ming tilted his head toward the Four Symbols Sage. "Do you have an objection?"

Everyone took a step back in unison. Damn, what a ruthless man—he was challenging a Saint! No matter what state the Four Symbols Sage was in now, he still had the foundation of a Saint!

"Junior! Those who cannot see themselves clearly always meet miserable ends!" the Four Symbols Sage said with narrowed eyes. After sensing for so long and finding no trace of any other Saints, he assumed they had all left, so he finally became bold.

"No matter what background you have, in my Four Symbols Realm, I am king!"

"Even if you are a dragon, you must coil for me!"

"Are you introducing yourself? Is a fragmentary soul rushing here to deliver itself to death?" Jiang Ming's golden eyes flickered. Every person here was brimming with confidence, yet each was more useless than the last.

"You have the courage to face a Saint directly, but do you have the corresponding strength?" the Four Symbols Sage mocked.

Even as a fragmentary Saint soul, he could currently wield power at the level of Tribulation Transcendence, far beyond what a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator could contend against.

The Four Symbols Sage grabbed with one hand, and a massive hand of spiritual power seized toward Jiang Ming.

Jiang Ming smiled faintly and took out a dark purple banner. The banner flashed, and a dark purple vortex appeared.

The Four Symbols Sage stared at the dark purple banner in horror. "The Soul-Eating Banner?! How is that possible?"

Before his words had even fallen, the Four Symbols Sage's soul was sucked into the Soul-Eating Banner without any ability to resist.

The Soul-Eating Banner was a top-tier Saint artifact, forged by an ancestor of the Jiang Clan who specialized in the path of souls. It specifically countered Nascent Souls and souls. Beneath the Great Emperor realm, no soul had any power to resist the Soul-Eating Banner!

The souls it devoured would be continuously refined within the Soul-Eating Banner, becoming nourishment for it. At the same time, souls could be refined into battle souls. With a single wave of the banner, a million battle souls would emerge, capable of fighting a Great Emperor!

Of course, that last sentence was bragging from that ancestor, because after becoming a Great Emperor, he no longer wanted the Soul-Eating Banner. Presumably, the Soul-Eating Banner was useless against Great Emperors.

The Nascent Soul cultivators in the hall once again looked at Jiang Ming in terror. When the Four Symbols Sage had intervened, they had been overjoyed, thinking someone had finally come to punish this devil. Yet in only a few breaths, the Saint was gone.

"Everyone, how about gathering inside the banner?" Jiang Ming smiled faintly.

"The Saint is gone, and the restrictions on the main hall have disappeared! Scatter and run! I refuse to believe he can catch every single one of us!" someone shouted as he ran toward the hall's exit.

Everyone erupted with their utmost speed, fleeing in all directions!

"Hehehe!" Jiang Ming laughed as he walked out of the hall. Though the Four Symbols Sage had been trapped, he had not died. The Four Symbols Realm was currently sealed, and no one could leave. They could only run blindly through the city.

"The hunt has begun!"