Ambush Foiled

In the middle reaches of the Verdant Sea, where the fighting between the two sides was fiercest.

A black shadow flashed past, leaving a few droplets of blood hanging in the air.

The next moment, a streak of sword light vaporized them.

"Go!"

The flying sword caught up to the fleeing figure ahead like lightning, but just before it struck, a flash of golden light blocked it.

"Damn it, how is this woman so strong? A few more hits and my golden light talismans won't hold." Chu Xiong cursed as he fled, the sweat dripping steadily from his forehead proof enough of his state of mind.

"I'm the seventh-ranked devil son, for crying out loud, and I couldn't even last thirty moves against her. This gap is fucking ridiculous."

"Where did those idiots run off to? Didn't they promise to back me up nearby? Why haven't they shown themselves?"

Just then, an explosion sounded in the distance, followed by battle cries and screams.

Hearing those sounds, Chu Xiong knew he couldn't count on those people. If he wanted to live, he would have to rely on himself.

Glancing back at the rapidly approaching Su Liuyue, Chu Xiong gritted his teeth as if he had reached a decision and rapidly formed hand seals. "Blood Escape."

The next moment, a cloud of bloody mist enveloped Chu Xiong's entire body, and he shot away like lightning.

Watching her target grow ever more distant, Su Liuyue gradually slowed her flying sword until she finally came to a complete stop.

"He got away. His strength was decent."

It wasn't that she couldn't catch him, but pursuing him any farther would take her deep into Devil Cultivator territory. It wasn't worth it for a single head.

Su Liuyue cast a cold glance in the direction Chu Xiong had fled, then rode her flying sword back into the bamboo forest and vanished.

As for the battle not far away, she didn't even want to look. Without thinking, she knew it had to be Senior Brother Qin Yu and the others. Ever since she had entered the battlefield, that fellow had never been more than five li away from her.

Su Liuyue knew what Senior Brother Qin Yu wanted: he merely wanted her to become his dao companion. Su Liuyue, however, had no such intentions.

But Qin Yu had never said anything, so she couldn't very well reject him unprompted. She could only make her feelings clear through her attitude.

The Devil Cultivators' camp.

Chu Xiong returned in a sorry state.

A Devil Cultivator stationed there saw the injured Chu Xiong and immediately stepped forward to ask, "Senior Brother Chu, how did it go? Did you succeed?"

The question was undoubtedly salt in Chu Xiong's wounds. If he hadn't been so badly injured, he could have killed the man on the spot.

Chu Xiong roared, "Scram! All of you, fucking scram!"

The disciples all looked surprised as Chu Xiong returned to his tent.

"Could Senior Brother Chu Xiong and the others have failed?"

"Do you even need to ask? They definitely failed. Otherwise, with his personality, if he'd killed one of the other side's personal disciples, he'd already be shouting it at the top of his lungs, wishing the whole camp would hear."

"Tsk, tsk. More than ten Foundation Establishment cultivators surrounded one woman and still failed to kill her, and he even ended up seriously injured. I'm afraid Chu Xiong won't be able to hold on to his title as a devil son."

Inside the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, Shen Ge listened to their conversation with great interest.

"Tsk, impressive. One against ten. Could this woman be the protagonist of a novel? Even if she isn't the protagonist, she might still count as a child of fortune."

"If I get the chance, I'll have to get on her good side. People who follow someone like that generally don't end up with low achievements."

But Shen Ge's face soon twisted with irritation. "Damn it, you damned Devil Cultivator, how dare you trap this young master in the Ten Thousand Souls Banner? Just wait. Once I get out, I'll definitely refine you into a puppet."

As his cultivation steadily increased, Shen Ge grew angrier and angrier. He had been ready to make a grand display of his abilities, only to be turned straight into a ghost. He couldn't swallow that anger.

He was already at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage. Although his means of attack were still somewhat limited, he could handle rookies who hadn't reached Foundation Establishment.

These past few days, Shen Ge had not only been cultivating but also constantly trying to figure out how to remove the restriction tied to the Ten Thousand Souls Banner from his soul.

Unfortunately, he couldn't say he had made any progress; he had made none whatsoever. His theoretical knowledge of cultivation was weak to begin with, so how could he thoroughly understand something like this?

The best solution Shen Ge could think of now was for someone to kill that Devil Cultivator, then destroy the Ten Thousand Souls Banner from the outside because they didn't want it either.

Although there was some risk that he would be destroyed along with it, this really was the best solution Shen Ge could think of.

"Goddamn it, why is this young master's luck so rotten? I got locked in the Ten Thousand Souls Banner the moment I transmigrated. If that Devil Cultivator keeps a low profile, then this young master's life is over."

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Shen Ge began devouring the ghosts in great numbers, but that still failed to quench his anger. He then turned his gaze to the few Foundation Establishment Realm ghosts in the distance.

Those ghosts were not under Shen Ge's control, and they had already developed a trace of intelligence. Naturally, they wouldn't let him devour them like ordinary ghosts.

After a battle that took little effort, Shen Ge spat out a ball of flame and burned that ghost straight into pure soul energy.

Only after he had taken great gulps of it into his stomach did Shen Ge's mood ease a little.

"I'm a descendant of Yan and Huang, after all. How am I doing so badly after transmigrating to another world?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than his eyes lit up. "That's right! Which of the Three Pure Ones, the Four Emperors, and all the gods and buddhas of the heavens aren't immortals or gods? Isn't the Heavenly Court, which rules over the three realms and six paths, far grander than this tiny cultivation world?"

"I can learn their cultivation methods too."

As he spoke, Shen Ge's eyes grew brighter and brighter, but soon he wilted like an eggplant struck by frost.

"Damn it, I've never read any books on Taoism or Buddhism. How about trying the Tao Te Ching?"

"But I only remember the first two lines of the Tao Te Ching. There's no way I can cultivate with just two lines, right?"

Only when one needed books did one regret having read too few.

For the first time, Shen Ge thought it wouldn't have been bad to read a wider variety of books. Taoist books were useful when transmigrating to a cultivation world, books on everyday life were useful when transmigrating to ancient times, and books on firearms, electronics, and the like were useful when transmigrating to an apocalypse...

But it was too late to say anything now.

At present, Shen Ge only remembered two incantations: the Golden Light Incantation and the Clear Heart Instruction.

He had only remembered them because they had been paired with videos of beautiful women on a certain Xia app.

To be fair, a certain Xia app truly deserved its reputation as a learning app. It really had all sorts of things.

Shen Ge thought with some doubt and a lack of confidence, How about giving it a try?

He acted at once, recalling the words of the Golden Light Incantation.

"Heaven and earth's mysterious source, the root of all Qi.

Cultivating through countless eons, I attained my Divine Ability.

Within and beyond the three realms, the Dao alone reigns supreme.

..."

After going over it several times and deciding there were no mistakes, Shen Ge began to try it.

Once, twice-when he reached the hundredth recitation, Shen Ge distinctly felt a tearing and burning sensation in his soul. Startled, he hurriedly stopped.

"Good grief, I forgot what the Golden Light Incantation does. Golden light covers the body, and all evil retreats. A ghost like me practicing this would probably be sending himself to his death."

There was nothing he could do. He could only set the Golden Light Incantation aside for now and try the Clear Heart Instruction instead.

Compared with the overbearing Golden Light Incantation, the Clear Heart Instruction was best suited to him. After all, it nurtured the spirit, so a ghost like him had nothing to fear.

"A heart clear as ice remains unshaken even if the heavens fall.

Amid countless changes, it remains steadfast; the spirit is at ease and the Qi is calm.

No dust or grime clings to it; no worldly forms stain it.

The void is serene and still, an undivided whole without a thing.

My feelings surge forth, and heaven and earth turn their hearts to me.

My ambitions soar, and the waters rise and winds stir.

The utmost nature, the utmost good; the Great Dao forms of itself."