Each Making Their Own Plans

After returning to his cave abode, Mo Shang looked somewhat troubled.

The entire sect was now united in its determination to destroy the Spirit Moon Sect. They had no way to avoid it; they had to go to the battlefield.

Though he was a Devil Cultivator, Mo Shang really didn't like fighting, especially fights where people could die.

"Oh, well. I'll keep out of sight when the time comes. Hopefully, three hundred years of arduous cultivation won't scatter like clouds in a single stroke."

After watering the Spirit Plants he had grown, Mo Shang took out the Ten Thousand Souls Banner he had just refined.

"Hm? This dark soul has actually reached the Qi Refining Second Layer, and it's quite intelligent, too. It would make good material for a main soul."

"Still, its cultivation is too weak. If it could reach the Golden Core realm, having him as the main soul would at least triple the power of this Law Treasure."

The Ten Thousand Souls Banner's current main soul was a dark soul at the Foundation Establishment Peak. Though it was decent enough, it was of little use against anyone in the Golden Core realm.

Still, the banner had only just been successfully refined, so Mo Shang hadn't expected it to possess the might of a Law Treasure right away.

After all, compared to other Law Treasures, it was one of the cheapest to make. He only had to slaughter a few mortal villages and towns, which was no trouble at all.

Sensing someone's gaze on him, Shen Ge, who had been devouring dark souls, felt a chill run down his spine. He hurriedly stopped and stood obediently, putting on a well-behaved appearance.

Watching Shen Ge's little display, Mo Shang chuckled. "Quite interesting."

Mo Shang then lightly flicked his fingers, moving hundreds of dark souls beside Shen Ge and moving the powerful ones away.

"Devour them diligently. I hope you can give me a pleasant surprise."

With that done, Mo Shang paid him no further attention. He put away the Ten Thousand Souls Banner and began cultivating, waves of Spiritual Qi forming a mist visible to the naked eye as they streamed into his body.

Though Devil Cultivators had methods of cultivating rapidly, they still needed to absorb Spiritual Qi when cultivating the proper way. This was an unchangeable truth.

Inside the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, Shen Ge looked at the dark souls nearby, puzzled. But he quickly realized that the Devil Cultivator had brought them over for him to devour.

Now that he understood, Shen Ge didn't stand on ceremony. He pounced on a dark soul and began gnawing, and in no time he had eaten it up entirely.

Once he finished one, he moved on to the next. He was a dark soul anyway, so he wouldn't get tired. All he had to do was devour.

After who knew how long, Shen Ge had devoured all one hundred dark souls. He was now at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer. Though he had only the realm itself, he felt he could press his former self to death with just two fingers.

Shen Ge let out a comfortable breath and said with satisfaction, "No wonder those Devil Cultivators always like taking shortcuts. Cultivation growing this fast-in a word, exhilarating."

"But having the realm without any means of attack is really annoying."

Having nearly reached his limit, Shen Ge had no choice but to stop and digest what he had eaten. His soul ached from the swelling, and he was worried that something bad would happen if he kept devouring. If he couldn't digest them as fast as he devoured them and ended up becoming a mass of dark souls, he would truly be beyond saving.

"I wonder if ghost cultivators can reverse life and death and become human again. But since immortal cultivation is real, it should be possible, right? If nothing else, possession or returning to life through a corpse is another path."

"Forget it. What's the point of thinking so much? I don't even have my freedom right now, and I don't know how much longer I'll have to stay in this Ten Thousand Souls Banner."

"Heavens, send a righteous fairy to chop this Devil Cultivator to death with one stroke of her sword. As long as she saves me, I... I can offer myself to her in marriage."

Unfortunately, the heavens paid him no mind. If they did, he wouldn't have been stuck in the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

It wasn't that Shen Ge hadn't considered suicide, but he was already inside the Ten Thousand Souls Banner. Even if he killed himself, he would simply vanish like smoke and clouds; there was no chance of reincarnating again.

After grumbling inwardly for a while, Shen Ge fell asleep. He had devoured so many dark souls, after all, and it was terribly uncomfortable without digesting them.

These days, Shen Ge woke up, ate, and slept every day. If he didn't consider the fact that he was under someone else's control, it was quite comfortable.

Moonfall Mountain.

The home of the Spirit Moon Sect.

The entire sect sat above a sea of clouds, its peaks rising through the clouds like swords piercing the heavens.

These peaks, large and small, were covered with the Spirit Moon Sect's various buildings.

A great hall stood atop the large central peak. Clouds and mist, or perhaps Spiritual Qi, swirled around it, giving it something of an immortal air.

Inside the hall, the elders of the various peaks sat together, looking at Sect Master Ziyang, whose hair was entirely white and who appeared somewhat old.

"Senior Brother Sect Master, that bunch of scum from the Devil Creek Sect slaughtered several more villages and towns today. If this goes on, there won't be anyone left in the Flowing Cloud Kingdom."

"The emperor of the Flowing Cloud Kingdom has sent people to beg us several times to stop the Devil Creek Sect. Senior Brother Sect Master, it's time to act. This isn't just about restoring peace to the mortal world; it's also for the sect's development."

"Every time they refine that Ten Thousand Souls Banner, they slaughter people on a massive scale. If we let them keep killing, the entire Flowing Cloud Kingdom will become a land of death. They're cutting away at our foundations!"

Li Hai, head of the Law Enforcement Hall, spoke in fury. Judging by his expression, if a member of the Devil Creek Sect had been standing before him, he would have guaranteed to cut them down on the spot.

"Senior Brother Li is right. Those devil spawn are an affront to the natural order to begin with. For the sake of all living beings, we must eliminate them."

"Right, that's right. They can't be allowed to remain."

The calls for war all around him gave Ziyang something of a headache. He raised a hand and pressed it down in the air. "Enough, all of you. With everyone talking over one another, could you at least try to behave like cultivators?" he said in a slightly stern tone.

The elders all fell silent at once.

Once the noise had died down, Ziyang looked at the woman of extraordinary bearing not far away and asked, "Junior Sister Qingyu, if we go to war in full force, how good do you think our chances of victory are?"

Mo Qingyu, Peak Master of Divine Sword Peak, had the highest cultivation of anyone present aside from Ziyang. She had cultivated for five hundred years and was now at the Golden Core Peak.

Mo Qingyu's expression was impassive, as though nothing in the world could touch her heart. "Leave Old Ghost Qingming to me. Do as you please with the rest," she said calmly.

"Good. Since you're so confident, Junior Sister, then we fight."

At once, Ziyang made the decision with complete confidence. "Come, let's discuss tactics now. We should try to weaken their fighting strength as much as possible before the full-scale war begins."

"If we can take a few Golden Core cultivators out of their ranks, our chances of victory will be even greater when the time comes."

The discussion lasted three days. As for the final plan of attack, no one knew it except the few who had taken part.

After returning to Divine Sword Peak, Mo Qingyu summoned her personal disciple. "Liuyue, go to the Verdant Sea. You've cultivated for so long; it's time you gained some experience and consolidated your cultivation. I hope you'll soon break through to the great Golden Core path."

A fairy in a purple dress, with peerless looks and an air that seemed detached from worldly affairs, bowed and replied, "Yes, Master. I will set out for the Verdant Sea at once."

She truly was worthy of being Mo Qingyu's personal disciple. Their personalities might as well have been carved from the same mold; both were equally aloof.

"Go on. Be careful."