The Two Sects at War

"Good grief, this Devil Cultivator really is ruthless. There must be tens of thousands of wronged souls in here." Shen Ge marveled inwardly as he surveyed his surroundings, but showed no sign of anything amiss.

Although he had regained his wits, he didn't dare do anything that would make him stand out from those around him. Who knew if that Devil Cultivator was watching what went on inside?

I was just dreaming of having beauties in both arms and taking on the Hehuan Sect with my spear, and then I died the moment I stepped outside.

Is this the fucking cultivation world? It's brutal. I was sitting at home when disaster fell from the sky.

Fuck, what a fucking aggrieved way to die!

Shen Ge should not have been able to escape having his wits wiped away, but his predecessor's soul seemed not to have completely dispersed. It had taken the blow for him, allowing Shen Ge to retain most of his wits.

After cursing for quite a while, Shen Ge gradually accepted reality. He glanced at a dark red mass of Qi that had drifted in front of him, casually grabbed it and stuffed it into his mouth.

Those goofy netizens online used to go on about Spiritual Qi revival, about becoming holy ancestors once they started cultivating, punching the Heavenly Dao and kicking worlds to pieces.

They really ought to come take a look inside this Ten Thousand Souls Banner and see what it means to stand in the Ten Thousand Souls Banner like a lackey.

After eating the mass of Qi, Shen Ge felt much better. After all, he was the kind of person whose mood would never be too bad as long as he had something to eat.

Forget it, forget it. Since I can't become a disciple and learn the normal way, I'll work hard to become a little squad leader in the Ten Thousand Souls Banner. Then I'll become a split soul, then the main soul, growing bigger and stronger all the way to new heights of glory.

To be fair, ghost cultivation is a path too. I don't have to cultivate the normal way.

Having settled on a plan for his future, Shen Ge looked at the ghostly souls beside him, his eyes shining. He didn't know whether it was the right way to go about it, but the novels he had read before all said ghostly souls gradually grew stronger by devouring other ghostly souls. Besides, he felt an urgent desire to devour them.

In that case, Shen Ge didn't want to think about the consequences. He pounced straight onto a ghostly soul beside him and began gnawing at it.

These ghostly souls had had their wits wiped away, and their entire soul bodies were composed of impure soul energy. Although a person would have to purify it several times, to Shen Ge, who was also a ghostly soul, it was all highly nourishing.

As he devoured a ghostly soul, Shen Ge's originally illusory body gradually became a little more solid.

The Devil Creek Sect.

A black cloud descended onto a mountaintop, and a man in a black robe emerged from it.

The man was handsome and fairly sturdy, but dark red patterns marked his face, and his hair was white.

"Senior brother Mo Shang, you're back? Did you uncover the Spirit Moon Sect's battle deployment on this trip?"

A figure suddenly appeared before Mo Shang and asked in an anxious tone.

The newcomer was a woman in a red robe, with a somewhat seductive appearance.

But anyone who thought she was easy to bully would be sorely mistaken. She was a bloodstained rose, and a Devil Cultivator who killed without batting an eye.

Mo Shang said calmly, "Junior sister Zi Qi, can't you settle down? The Spirit Moon Sect isn't weak. If we really go to the battlefield, our centuries of arduous cultivation might go up in smoke."

The Spirit Moon Sect and the Devil Creek Sect were currently at war, and Foundation Establishment Realm disciples had already been deployed. If the fighting worsened, even Golden Core cultivators or Nascent Soul ancestors might have to enter the fray.

The Flowing Cloud Kingdom lay at the southernmost edge of the Heavenly South. Its territory spanned less than five thousand li, making it a small kingdom.

Yet this small kingdom had two cultivation sects, as well as lineages of all sizes and Rogue Cultivators who occupied mountains. Resources were in severely short supply.

Although the sea lay just to the south, and its resources could support a number of cultivators, it was dangerous. When Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators went out to sea, only three in ten generally returned, and even a moment's carelessness could leave a Golden Core Stage cultivator buried beneath the waves.

So rather than brave the perilous sea, they preferred to fight over the resources on land.

Zi Qi grinned and licked her scarlet lips. "Senior brother, don't forget, the sect has set rewards. Killing one of their Foundation Establishment cultivators gets you a hundred Spirit Stones, and killing one of their Golden Core cultivators gets you ten thousand. I've had my eye on something for a long time, and I'm getting it this time, no matter what."

Mo Shang shook his head and paid no more attention to his somewhat unhinged junior sister. She had only just entered the Golden Core Stage, yet she was already thinking of killing an enemy Golden Core cultivator. She didn't have a Law Treasure or anything else; she would be lucky if she went and didn't get killed instead.

"Master and the sect master are waiting for me, so I won't talk any longer."

"All right, go on, senior brother. I'll think it over for a while."

Seeing that she still hadn't abandoned the idea, Mo Shang didn't want to try persuading her. After all, kind words couldn't dissuade a ghost bent on death. Besides, what if she succeeded?

He had just arrived at the entrance to the hall when a booming voice came from within.

"Protector Mo, how did the trip go? Did you learn anything?"

Mo Shang composed himself and strode into the hall.

The entire room was enormous and imposing in its decor, far grander than even an imperial palace hall.

In particular, the flood dragons coiled around several pillars were lifelike, exuding a savage, ancient air that rushed at him.

A man in a blood-colored robe sat in the main seat at the center. He had the appearance of a middle-aged man, with a trace of a beard and a hook-like gaze that made people deeply uncomfortable.

That man was none other than the Devil Creek Sect's master, Li Yu! A Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivator and one of the foremost devil-path powerhouses in the entire Southern Barbarian Lands.

More than ten people sat below him, both men and women, all with cultivation deeper than Mo Shang's.

"Reporting to the sect master, the Spirit Moon Sect has added a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators to the battlefield around Fallen Phoenix Slope, along with a Golden Core elder. I didn't dare get close enough to take a look, but it seemed to be that old bastard Jin Yun."

"Besides that, fighting continues at Wind Mountain and the Verdant Sea. Both sides have suffered casualties, but overall, the other side has lost a little more."

After all, they were Devil Cultivators, and their cultivation methods and means of attack were relatively vicious. In the early stages of a battle against the righteous path, they could be said to have a considerable advantage.

This battle had lasted three years. So far, both sides' Golden Core cultivators had only held down the fort and had not fully entered the fray. Both sides seemed to be treating the battle as a whetstone for their disciples.

"Have the neighboring Evergreen Sect and Yellow Maple Valley made any moves?"

"Not for the time being. With the threat of the Blood Devil Grotto before them, they can't possibly turn their attention to us."

The Blood Devil Grotto was much larger than the Devil Creek Sect. It had more than ten Nascent Soul cultivators and threatened every righteous-path sect within fifty thousand li.

"Sect master, it seems the Spirit Moon Sect won't be the first to back down this time. Perfect. Let's use this chance to wipe them out. Once they're gone, we'll have this entire kingdom's resources to ourselves. Then we might well be as strong as the Blood Devil Grotto."

"Demoness is right. This territory was ours to begin with. The Spirit Moon Sect are nothing but outsiders, yet now they want to drive us out. They've gone too far! We have to fight. Only by wiping out their entire sect can we vent the hatred in our hearts."

"Sect master, don't hesitate any longer. Let's fight. The whole sect is united; there's no need to worry that we can't wipe them out."