Seven Baleful Souls-Locking Array-Will Master Luo Win? (Combined Chapter)

"Seven Baleful Souls-Locking Array."

Luo Fanchen's expression changed. He abandoned even the Vengeful Ghost, grabbed Mo Xue's hand, and ran.

What kind of joke was this? Three—three whole Heavenly Demon Spirit Puppets!

Beneath the cavern were mortals, yes, but every one of them possessed a Spirit Root. Their minds had been dulled, their torsos split open, and their tangled intestines dragged outside their bodies to form a seven-sided array pattern.

At each of the seven array nodes lay ten people. In the center of the altar sat three blood cocoons wrapped in flesh and entrails, the Heavenly Demon Spirit Puppet inscriptions on them shimmering with bloody light.

"What's wrong, Master Luo?"

"A Demonic Cultivator is refining a Baleful Pill. This is beyond us. We need to return to Flying Cloud Market and report it to the steward."

Luo Fanchen gave a quick explanation and was about to form a hand seal to retrieve the Soul Banner, but immediately stopped.

Only the Illusion Array had temporarily severed this place's connection to the Demonic Cultivator casting the spell. If he rashly recalled the Soul Banner, he and Mo Xue would be discovered at once and marked by the enemy's Illusion Formation. They would soon be caught.

The Soul Banner was his most important weapon in a fight. He could hardly abandon it.

"Tch. That idiotic Demonic Cultivator was refining a Baleful Pill and set up only one Illusion Formation to guard it? Damn it."

Luo Fanchen clicked his tongue. A Baleful Pill was almost as precious as a Foundation Establishment Treasure.

This vicious method stole another's fortune for one's own use. It required several First Tier superior-grade Demonic Treasures and a Second Tier lower-grade array—the Seven Baleful Souls-Locking Array—to seize the souls and innate qi of seventy children with Spirit Roots.

With Heavenly Demon Spirit Puppets as its foundation, the array then reversed the refinement of the three origins, mingling the Spirit Roots' innate qi with the puppets' resentment to produce a Baleful Pill.

The pill could raise a cultivator's chance of reaching Foundation Establishment by thirty percent, but whoever swallowed it would inevitably incur karmic retribution and face a heart tribulation during Foundation Establishment.

"Doesn't that mean a Baleful Pill is worth a fortune?"

At once, Mo Xue's almond eyes sparkled. Her little face lit up with excitement, and she could barely resist running off to snatch the pill.

She had heard of Baleful Pills. Wicked as they were, one would fetch at least three hundred Spirit Stones on the black market.

If they got it, Master Luo would no longer have to worry about the debt from buying her cultivation art. The remaining Spirit Stones would spare them years of running around.

"Master Luo, we can't miss this chance!"

"Don't act rashly. The Demonic Cultivator who laid this array may be at the Ninth Level of Qi Refining."

"Fortune is found amid danger. If he dares cultivate demonic arts, he should be ready for someone to rob the robber."

Mo Xue gripped her sword, freed one hand to poke the soft flesh at Luo Fanchen's waist, and giggled.

"Besides, he's already refining a Baleful Pill. If we don't take it, do you think that monster will spare us?"

"You've seen through it. But those three hundred Spirit Stones won't be easy to claim."

Luo Fanchen sighed. He could not possibly abandon Qiu Yun and flee. Taking Mo Xue's advice, they each swallowed a Breath Concealment Pill. He shielded the girl behind him, then followed the route the Vengeful Ghost had scouted, moving slowly into the cellar's depths.

The deeper they went, the stronger Luo Fanchen's sense of danger grew. He cursed himself for stumbling upon such a hot potato.

Thick blood stench clung to the air along their path, and mottled stains covered the stone walls.

Gurgle.

A spring of blood welled up from below, its chill soaking through their soles.

Everywhere they looked lay scraps of organs and minced limbs. Judging by the torn hemp clothing on the remains, they had belonged to the village's original inhabitants. Clearly, this place had seen many blood sacrifices before the Seven Baleful Souls-Locking Array was erected.

"Master Luo... quite a few of these children had cultivated."

Mo Xue's brows drew tight. Unlike Luo Fanchen, whose face had turned rather grim, she found the powerful scent of blood filling her nose strangely pleasant.

Yet the Demonic Cultivator's cruelty toward the children—and what had happened to the Heavenly Demon Spirit Puppets—struck painfully close to home. Killing intent surged within her.

"Their True Essence and vital blood have all dissipated. They're little different from mortals now."

Luo Fanchen pressed his lips together. The meridians of most children before him showed signs of opened acupoints, though only the first few along the Conception Vessel. Most had Five-Element Spirit Roots; only seven Four-Element Spirit Root children had served as array nodes.

"Three-Element Spirit Root Heavenly Demon Spirit Puppets... It'll likely take quite a while longer for this Baleful Pill to form."

Luo Fanchen did not step into the Seven Baleful Souls-Locking Array. Even observing from outside, he found plenty of clues.

The array had been in place for at least a year. The three Heavenly Demon Spirit Puppets had been given Blood-Melting Pills repeatedly, forcing the replacement of most of the blood in their bodies. On the very day that process was completed, their hearts had been cut out.

"The caster wasn't related to the Heavenly Demon Spirit Puppets, so he used this method instead. Then, when their bloodline was strongest, he activated the array to refine the pill."

Luo Fanchen murmured. Beside him, Mo Xue's pale hand tightened around her sword hilt until her knuckles whitened.

"No individual could secretly gather so many children with Spirit Roots. A powerful faction must be backing this."

"Master Luo, was some child of a great clan refining this pill to reach Foundation Establishment?"

Mo Xue's voice was icy. Demonic Cultivators were responsible for all the suffering of her childhood. Of course she hated them to the bone.

"That's unlikely. Secretly refining a Baleful Pill is a grave crime punishable by the extermination of one's entire clan. Risking three clans for a single pill isn't worth it."

"The Water Marsh Gang? No... raiders usually move from place to place, plundering as they go. They couldn't gather this many children."

As Luo Fanchen answered Mo Xue, he rubbed his chin and weighed his words.

"This lies along the Treasure Pavilion's trade route. In theory, the risk of exposure should be even greater, yet this monster still chose to set up the array here."

"There's a very good chance an insider at the Treasure Pavilion did it."

"It wasn't the Treasure Pavilion. Look, Master Luo... these are marks from Master-Servant Blood Contracts."

Mo Xue's nose twitched faintly. Closing her eyes to sense her surroundings, she soon used her sword tip to pick several scraps of skin and severed flesh from the pool of blood and entrails.

The flesh bore scars shaped much like Master-Servant Blood Contract markings. They had likely formed because no treatment was given after the contracts were dissolved.

There were many such scraps. Luo Fanchen counted more than thirty that remained, and most matched missing pieces of the children's bodies.

"Poor Spirit Roots, low cultivation, and Master-Servant Blood Contracts on their bodies. There's no mistaking it..."

Luo Fanchen let out a long breath and gave up the idea of reporting this to the Clear River Sect.

"These children were probably cultivators' servants from nearby markets. The only force capable of gathering seventy cultivators without alerting the Clear River Sect... is the Clear River Sect itself."

"The Clear River Sect... Master Luo, what do we do?"

After living in Flying Cloud Market so long, Mo Xue knew how powerful the Clear River Sect was. Her formerly forceful voice faltered despite herself.

She instinctively clutched Master Luo's sleeve, lowered her head, and shrank behind him.

She loved a fight, but she knew her limits. She and Master Luo had no hope of standing against the Clear River Sect.

"What do we do? Silly girl, you already said it yourself."

Luo Fanchen shook his head and gently pinched Mo Xue's cheek. It felt cool; clearly, the girl had lost her composure.

"We take the pill, of course. Within seven days, this Baleful Pill will form an embryonic pill. Someone will definitely come to collect it then."

"An embryonic pill?"

"Mm. These three Heavenly Demon Spirit Puppets may have Three-Element Spirit Roots, but their attributes conflict, leaving them a step short. Once the pill forms, they'll still need to sacrifice the soul and vital blood of a child with a Superior-Grade Spiritual Root. Only then will the resentment become Baleful Intent."

"Master Luo... you aren't going to sacrifice me, are you?"

Mo Xue pouted. The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them and hurriedly covered her head.

Sure enough, Luo Fanchen promptly rapped her on the head. The girl winced, clutching her forehead with a whimper.

"You're eighteen. What kind of child is that?"

"Don't you always treat me like one, Master Luo?"

Mo Xue huffed and stuck out her lip, then could not help covering her mouth as she laughed. The unease weighing on her heart vanished like smoke.

"Master Luo, what are you going to do? I'll follow your lead."

"Refining a Baleful Pill carries enormous risk. This can't be what the Clear River Sect wants. One of its disciples was likely tempted by an inner demon and fell to the demonic path, turning to this method to reach Foundation Establishment. Whoever it is must be among the market's administrators, able to use their position to gather children in secret."

Luo Fanchen's thoughts raced. Putting himself in the culprit's place, he pieced together most of the situation.

"When the Baleful Pill emerges, it'll cause an omen of yin ghosts. To avoid suspicion, this person certainly won't collect it himself. He may not even use any of his known connections. That's our only chance to ambush the collector and escape."

Luo Fanchen paced back and forth. After a long deliberation, he finally made up his mind.

"We kill whoever comes for the pill, search their soul, and take the pill. Once we have the evidence, we return to Flying Cloud Market and have the Treasure Pavilion report it to Luo Shen Pavilion."

"Master Luo... you really are dependable."

Mo Xue's pretty face went blank for a moment. Only after a long pause did her almond eyes settle quietly on Master Luo's profile, her heart remarkably at ease.

She had realized something: only when every retreat was cut off did Master Luo show what he was truly capable of.

It had been the same against Ling Youdao. Master Luo's mind had been meticulous, as sly as a fox and as fierce as a wolf. That was how he had beaten a Demonic Cultivator with a Soul Banner despite being outmatched in cultivation and techniques alike.

"Only because I have no choice. If this doesn't work, Mo Xue, we'll have to see which of us runs faster."

"Huh? Why?"

Mo Xue tilted her head in confusion, her bright almond eyes blinking with innocent charm.

"Do you know how fast a mortal has to run to escape a tiger or leopard?"

"Faster than the tiger or leopard?"

"Faster than a wildcat will do."

Luo Fanchen's voice was teasing. Mo Xue finally caught on and indignantly thumped his chest with a small fist. Then her little face turned serious.

"Don't worry, Master Luo. There's no way I can outrun you. When the time comes, I'll cover your retreat with Qiu Yun."

After speaking, Mo Xue turned her face away and muttered under her breath, "I'm obviously a house cat."

"For the next few days, I need to use the Soul Banner to rebuild the Illusion Formation. This is the formation's life gate. You must dig an underground cavern here big enough to hide in within seven days. If anything goes wrong, this will be our only way out."

"All right. I'll do as you say, Master Luo."

Mo Xue nodded, and Luo Fanchen tossed her a Storage Bag.

Inside was the lower-grade magic sword she had been longing for, along with three Spirit Stones and their last Breath Concealment Pill.

"The Soul Banner can conceal my aura. I won't need it."

"Master Luo... you'll win, won't you?"

"Absolutely. After all, Mo Xue said I was strong."

Worry filled Mo Xue's pretty face. With his back to her, Luo Fanchen raised a thumb in reassurance, then left the cavern and went to the center of the Illusion Formation.

He gripped the Soul Banner in his left hand and formed the seal for the Hai Water Art with his right. Using Baleful Spirit Command, he forcibly awakened Qiu Yun and gave her a brief account of what had happened.

"They say upgrading a Soul Banner brings heaven's punishment. I never thought misfortune would come so quickly."

Qiu Yun's pretty face was bitter, and her spirits seemed somewhat drained. "Uncle Luo, what do you need me to do?"

"For the next few days, you need to analyze this Illusion Formation. Within seven days, use the Illusion Array technique to recreate its interior perfectly—make the false indistinguishable from the real and deceive the Demonic Cultivator who comes for the pill. Leave the rest to me."

"Oh, and how many souls do we have left?"

"One Vengeful Ghost and thirty Wraiths."

Luo Fanchen nodded slightly. He had little confidence, but Mo Xue and Qiu Yun were behind him. He had to force himself to stand firm.

Devouring all the souls at once, combined with a Bloodburst Talisman, should raise his fighting strength by thirty percent.

If the Demonic Cultivator who came for the pill was only at the Sixth Level of Qi Refining, and Luo Fanchen seized the initiative with an all-out sneak attack, he might have a thirty percent chance of winning.

"Qiu Yun, there's one more thing."

After laying out the plan, Luo Fanchen's expression grew grave. "If I fail, don't come to save me."

"I've already coated the sword with Soul-Dulling Incense. It'll take effect in five days. While I'm fighting, possess Mo Xue's body, take the Breath Concealment Pill, and hide in the life gate. Then use the Illusion Array technique to suppress your auras. There's an eighty percent chance you'll both survive."

"I want to help you fight, Uncle Luo."

Luo Fanchen shook his head gently and stroked Qiu Yun's dark hair. "I'll most likely lose. If you force your way through the barrier, you still won't be able to help me."

"But I—"

"Protect Mo Xue. Once she joins the Dao Sect someday, she'll have the strength to avenge me."

Luo Fanchen spent a long time comforting Qiu Yun. After much coaxing and persuasion, the girl finally agreed through her sobs, and the tension in him eased a little.

He had always taken a pessimistic view of fighting. At best, he reckoned he was only slightly stronger than Rogue Cultivators of the same level. Demonic Cultivators used insidious methods and a host of wicked arts; they were ruthless and far stronger than ordinary Rogue Cultivators. Besides, the cultivator coming for the pill was probably stronger than him.

Could I really defeat a Demonic Cultivator?

Troubled, Luo Fanchen swallowed two Meridian-Opening Pills in one go. He began breathing and circulating his cultivation art, storing as much Yi Wood True Essence as he could.

Even if he lost, he would create a chance for Qiu Yun and Mo Xue to survive.

At the same time, within a cluster of courtyards spanning several acres in Flying Cloud Market's Inner Ring—

"I did it! I did it! Sixth Level of Qi Refining! This Daoist has done it!"

Inside a huge bronze mirror inlaid with spirit jade, a massive, half-naked man built like an iron tower laughed with delight. His face was square, and a scar ran from his forehead to his chin. He looked vicious, with the bearing of a bandit.

"Chang Hao, our transaction is complete. Once you retrieve the pill, I'll return your human soul. Then we're even."

Sandalwood smoke curled through the magnificent hall. A cultivator in flowing robes embroidered with clouds and water stood with his hands behind his back.

His face was delicately handsome. His Daoist robes billowed, their gold cloud-and-water patterns resembling the surging Clear River. Wisps of water vapor drifted around him, a sign that he had opened his Qi Sea and compressed his True Essence at the Ninth Level of Qi Refining.

His name was Qing Zheng, an inner disciple of the Clear River Sect. Now at the Ninth Level of Qi Refining, he was one of Flying Cloud Market's two inner disciples.

He ranked third in authority and had managed Flying Cloud Market for years. Before falling from favor, he had once been considered a strong candidate to succeed as its steward.

"Hahaha! You Dao Sect disciples are strange. You're wary of my Water Marsh Gang, yet when it matters, you can only rely on us."

"Why not accept our chief's terms? Once we take control of the market, we'll see to it that you're put in charge."

"Enough noise. Know your place."

Qing Zheng frowned slightly, his authority unmistakable. With a wave of his hand, an animal-hide scroll appeared from thin air.

Monsters and spirits were engraved across its surface like ghostly runes. Qing Zheng injected only a trace of True Essence, and Chang Hao's face went deathly pale with pain.

"If you hadn't used your vile tricks to steal one of my souls, why would this Daoist be at the mercy of a sanctimonious beast like you?"

"Three Heavenly Demon Spirit Puppets and a Seven Baleful Souls-Locking Array. What a grand undertaking. I've spent half my life plundering and never taken on such a weight of bloodshed."

Chang Hao cursed, but the searing pain in his Soul Body forced him to lower his head in submission.

"Get out. If I don't see the Baleful Pill in seven days, you die."

"Heh. That Illusion Formation of yours is First Tier superior-grade. Even someone at the Ninth Level of Qi Refining would struggle to break it. How am I supposed to get in?"

"That's none of your concern."

Contempt filled Qing Zheng's eyes. He seemed unwilling even to speak with the filthy bandit cultivator.

"Tsk, sect disciples really do have plenty of good things. My boss asked me to remind you: Shou Rufeng and his people have their eyes on Old Wang. You haven't been cleaning up your messes very well lately."

"If the sect discovers you've been practicing demonic cultivation, tsk, tsk, tsk... want this Daoist to clean up after you?"

"Don't concern yourself. I only want the Baleful Pill. Once I have it, I can turn a blind eye to whatever you people do."

Qing Zheng snorted and formed a hand seal. The figure in the mirror dissolved slowly into specks of light.

He stood motionless before the mirror, staring at the inner disciple's robe in his reflection. After a long while, he suddenly clenched his fist, veins bulging across his forehead.

"If I could get a Foundation-Building Pill, why would I refine a Baleful Pill? Why would I associate with filth like you?"

Qing Zheng gritted his teeth so hard that blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. "Why can't I comprehend the Dao Scripture? Why do I get only one chance at Foundation Establishment, while that bastard has a steward for an uncle?"

"My Foundation-Building Pill. My place. Damn it..."

Qing Zheng's eyes burned red, and he panted hard. It took a long time for him to calm down.

Still seething, he happened to hear a disciple report from downstairs that a disheveled, slovenly old man had arrived with a Clear River Sect token, asking to see him.

"Courting death."

Qing Zheng immediately guessed it was Old Wang, and killing intent surged in his eyes. The man was despicable, cunning, and unpredictable. In recent years, he had abducted or bought quite a few spirit slaves for Qing Zheng, so he had rendered some service.

Unfortunately, Old Wang was too conspicuous. He risked implicating Qing Zheng, so Qing Zheng would grant him the mercy of an intact corpse.

"I won't see him. I don't know the man. Throw him out. Do you let every stray cat and dog in here?"

Qing Zheng sent the disciples away with a rebuke, then told them he would be teaching today and ordered them to gather at the main gate at once to hear his lecture.

At the same time, he sent a sliver of spiritual consciousness into the Puppet. Taking direct control of the superior-grade First Tier Puppet, he headed straight for Shantytown.

"Ow... Those fools had no sense of restraint. Once this Daoist rises to power, I'll make every one of you suffer."

In Shantytown, Old Wang's face was mottled blue and purple, swollen like a pig's head.

Groaning, he kicked open the door of his thatched hut, only to find a beast-faced humanoid Puppet waiting inside. His eyes brightened, and he immediately bowed.

"This humble old man greets you, my lord. May your immortal path be smooth, and may you attain Foundation Establishment."

"I told you not to contact me directly. Have you overstepped today because you've grown tired of living?"

Qing Zheng gave an angry snort through the Puppet. Old Wang felt a sinister wind strike his face and the weight of a thousand catties settle on his shoulders. His knees buckled, and he knelt in terror, knocking his forehead against the ground again and again.

"This humble old man was foolish. I grew impatient and broke the rules. Please spare my life, my lord."

Qing Zheng ignored Old Wang's abject pleas. Killing intent blazed in his eyes, and he was about to strike when the old man stammered:

"I found a child with the Superior-Grade Spiritual Root you need, my lord. I couldn't wait to tell you."

"A Superior-Grade Spiritual Root? Are you certain?"

Qing Zheng froze for a moment, then wild joy filled his eyes. All his Baleful Pill lacked for its transformation was one person with a Superior-Grade Spiritual Root to serve as an ingredient.

But Superior-Grade Spiritual Roots were precious beyond measure. Even someone whose Spirit Root attributes clashed was considered highly gifted. With the right cultivation method, such a person might even enter the Dao Sect. Qing Zheng himself had only a Three-Element Spirit Root.

"Absolutely certain! It must be a Superior-Grade Spiritual Root!"

"A child under eighteen?"

"Definitely a child!"

Old Wang's voice faltered for an instant. He was not entirely sure how old Mo Xue was, but judging by her height and development, she could be no more than fourteen or fifteen.

As for the Superior-Grade Spiritual Root—heh. More than thirty children had passed through his hands over the years, including one with a Three-Element Spirit Root. He had an eye for such things. That little girl had advanced so quickly that, after just two months, even a distant glimpse of her made him somewhat wary.

She was far beyond anyone with a Three-Element Spirit Root.

Qing Zheng's delight showed plainly on his face. The killing intent vanished from his eyes, and he even stepped forward to help Old Wang up.

"Good, good, good! If this succeeds, I'll make sure you receive great credit!"