Chapter 374: The Tree Stump (Congratulations to the Silver Grand Alliance Leader)
Chapter 374: The Tree Stump (Congratulations to the Silver Grand Alliance Leader)
Emerald Island.
Fang Xi descended his escape light, maintaining a tacit understanding of distance with Old Ghost, landing one after another on the island's periphery.
He pondered for a moment, then formed a hand seal with one hand, and a long azure sword materialized in his right palm.
The blade of this sword was tinged with green, flecked with specks of gold—it was precisely the spirit artifact, the 'Green Reaping Sword'!
And in his left hand, wisps of ghostly mist swirled, revealing a small banner made of white bone—it was none other than the 'Ten Thousand Souls Banner'!
Although this banner had suffered several heavy blows, and the yin souls within had even been used by Fang Xi to refine quite a bit of lamp oil, it remained exceptionally fierce.
After all, it was a supreme-grade spirit artifact!
The moment it appeared, that aura stirred something within Old Ghost: "This brat. . . truly possesses a treasure specifically for dealing with ghost cultivators. This treasure is likely not just a top-tier spirit artifact, and who knows how many years it has been nurtured. . . It's definitely a supreme-grade among third-tier spirit artifacts. . . Fortunately, this old man agreed first, otherwise, things might genuinely be troublesome later."
"This is. . . Evergreen Wood?"
Fang Xi broke through a restriction and arrived at a plaza, where he couldn't help but take a deep breath.
The ground of this plaza was seamlessly integrated, with a wooden texture, uniformly verdant.
Above the plaza, spiritual energy was dense like rain; it should have reached the fourth-tier level!
However, within the spiritual energy mists, a large amount of ghostly qi was mixed in, causing a great chill in one's heart.
"The place we are standing is upon the stump of an Evergreen Tree that has grown for countless tens of thousands of years. . . And at the very center of the tree stump is the core of my Nine Leaves Sect—the 'Evergreen Hall'."
Old Ghost's divine consciousness transmission came, carrying a trace of emotion.
"What a pity. . . Although the spiritual energy is abundant, it carries wisps of Netherworld qi. . ."
Purple light flickered in Fang Xi's eyes; he shook his head, then nodded again: "If a grand array were used to seal the Netherworld earth vein, this would also be a good Nascent Soul cultivation ground. . ."
"Heh heh. . . Otherwise, why would the patriarch back then have chosen this very spot?"
Old Ghost chuckled, his voice then growing low: "Pity. . . back then. . . sigh, in short, the seal went wrong, which is why a few ghost kings ran out."
"This person is hiding many things. . ."
A glint flashed in Fang Xi's eyes, a thought passing through his mind: "Regardless. . . a late Core Formation ghost cultivator is already occupying this place, so we still need to be careful."
Just as his voice fell, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner in his left hand suddenly emitted a clear chime!
Fang Xi's expression remained unchanged, and the Green Reaping Sword slashed out instinctively!
Chhh!
A Heaven-piercing Immortal Slaying Sword Qi erupted, slashing into a void space!
A burst of black qi suddenly exploded, revealing a ghost cultivator!
This ghost cultivator wore a green robe and appeared as a gaunt old man, with a long, three-stranded beard, possessing an immortal aura and bone structure. Only his eyes were a hazy yellow.
From this ghost cultivator's body, the spiritual energy fluctuations of a late Core Formation cultivator expanded outward without reservation.
Utilizing the geographical advantage, its power even rivaled that of a perfected Core Formation cultivator!
This late Core Formation ghost cultivator, upon seeing Fang Xi and Zhan Tu, immediately let out a roar.
Whoosh whoosh!
Around the Evergreen Tree stump, streaks of ghostly mist appeared, obscuring divine consciousness.
And from within the dense ghostly mist, numerous shadowy figures emerged, emitting various shrill cries.
"I've been waiting for you!"
Fang Xi's eyes lit up slightly, and he gave the Ten Thousand Souls Banner a shake.
Whoosh whoosh!
Bursts of pitch-black mist flew out from the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, and the Yin Soldiers hidden within seemed even more numerous than the surrounding ghostly beings.
Moreover, each one of them was frenzied, rushing straight at any ghost they saw, and began to madly gnaw and bite.
"Go!"
Fang Xi chanted another incantation and tossed the Ten Thousand Souls Banner from his hand.
In an instant, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner transformed into a towering white jade pillar, its sinister banner surface fluttering with a rustling sound, with countless spiritual lights and runes flickering upon it, bringing an oppressive feeling that suffocated the ghost cultivator.
"Owoo! Owoo!"
A late Core Formation ghost king leaped down from the banner surface, pouncing directly at the ghost cultivator.
This was the main soul within the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, which had been heavily injured in a previous battle with the Young Palace Lord, and had only barely recovered some of its strength by devouring yin souls later.
As for the Yin-Yang Ghost King? It had long since been reduced to ashes. . .
Even so, this late Core Formation ghost king was incredibly fierce, with a green face, fangs, and crimson hair wildly dancing like flames. The moment it appeared, it continuously spat out dark green ghost fire, incinerating the ghost cultivator.
Seeing this, the ghost cultivator, however, opened its mouth and spat out a cloud of azure qi.
Within the flickering azure qi, streaks of vibrant emerald lightning flashed, actually extinguishing the ghost fire one by one, and even landing on the ghost king's body, making it stomp its feet and howl repeatedly.
Originally, this ghost king from the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, if it had unleashed its secret arts, could have completely suppressed this ghost cultivator.
Unfortunately, ever since it started following Fang Xi, it had been starving nine meals in three days. . . its only two remaining helpers had been killed by powerful enemies, and its own vitality was severely damaged.
Now, it was actually no match for that ghost cultivator!
"Hmm? How interesting. . ."
Fang Xi swept his Green Reaping Sword in a circle, transforming it into a dark green sword light which protected him impenetrably. Seeing this scene, he revealed a faint smile, and formed another hand seal with one hand.
Whoosh whoosh!
Upon the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, streaks of illusory white bone chains emerged.
These white bone chains appeared illusory, yet they pierced through ghost after ghost, swift as wind, fast as lightning, and within them, white runes flickered.
"Go!"
The white chains crisscrossed back and forth, grabbed by the ghost king, who pounced forward with a sinister cackle.
Seeing this, the ghost cultivator immediately spat out a streak of azure light.
Within the azure light was a massive wooden cauldron, glowing with spiritual light, clearly its life-bound spirit artifact.
From within the wooden cauldron, streaks of highly poisonous mist emerged, landing on the white bone chains, emitting sizzling, corrosive sounds.
But the ghost king completely ignored it, and hurled out chain after chain.
Countless chains formed a giant white net, trapping the late Core Formation ghost cultivator within it!
After all, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner greatly restrained ghost-type beings, and Fang Xi had now completely gained the upper hand. Whether it was using the 'White Bone True Fire' within the white bone chains to incinerate the ghost cultivator to ashes, or activating restrictions to imprison it and then taming it to become the Ten Thousand Souls Banner's new main soul, there was no problem at all.
"Something's not right. . . This ghost cultivator. . . seems to lack intelligence."
Fang Xi mused inwardly.
The two ghost cultivators he had eliminated before both possessed sentience, but this one clearly did not, and was extremely frenzied. . .
On the other side, Zhan Tu had just taken out his Azure Wood Sword spirit artifact and set up another layer of defense for himself, only then dealing with the surrounding circle of ghostly beings. Just as he was about to help Fang Xi, he saw that the late Core Formation ghost cultivator was actually trapped within the giant white bone net, already at its wits' end.
"Not good!"
Old Freak cried out strangely: "This ghost cultivator absolutely cannot be handed over to that person, we must snatch it back! That spirit artifact actually restrains yin souls so strongly. . . It makes no sense. . ."
Zhan Tu gazed at Fang Xi, who was unleashing his might; his throat bobbed, and he swallowed hard.
He could never have imagined that this ghost cultivator, almost comparable to a perfected Core Formation cultivator within the Netherworld earth vein, was simply unable to fight back at all under the Dragon Fish Island Master's hand!
"Daoist Fang. . ."
Finally, seeing that Fang Xi seemed to intend to shake the Ten Thousand Souls Banner and directly imprison the ghost cultivator within it, Old Ghost couldn't sit still: "Our previous transaction, do you still wish to honor it?"
"Of course. . . Old Ghost, you gave me the Wood Spirit Body Art. This Island Master also wishes to return the favor, by capturing this ghost cultivator and delivering it to you, Daoist Friend. . ."
Fang Xi smiled, giving the Ten Thousand Souls Banner a shake: "Aren't I just afraid that Daoist Friend has no way to restrain this ghost cultivator? Otherwise, I might as well just keep it nurtured within the Ten Thousand Souls Banner. . . I'm not boasting, but once it enters this spirit artifact, even if it's a perfected Core Formation cultivator, it won't be able to escape!"
Before his words fully fell, a cluster of White Bone True Fire descended, burning the ghost cultivator, making it howl repeatedly.
"Many thanks, Daoist Friend, but there's no need to store it for this old man; you can just hand it directly to me."
Old Ghost hastily urged several times, while Zhan Tu also put away his Azure Wood Sword spirit artifact and took out a jet-black jade bottle from his storage pouch.
He formed hand seals with both hands, and streaks of spiritual power flowed into the jade bottle.
The mouth of the jade bottle opened, and a faint suction force emerged.
"He even has a 'Yin-Gathering Bottle'. . . As expected, he came prepared."
Fang Xi let out a hearty laugh and did not turn hostile, but instead released the giant white bone net, helping Zhan Tu suppress the ghost cultivator.
"Go!"
Seeing this, Zhan Tu breathed a sigh of relief and pointed at the 'Yin-Gathering Bottle'!
From within the bottle, a cloud of black qi immediately surged out, and nine pitch-black coffin nails appeared within it.
Thud! Thud!
One by one, the coffin nails swiftly embedded themselves into the ghost cultivator's body, actually producing dull thuds as if iron nails were being driven into wood.
Each coffin nail driven into the ghost cultivator's body would weaken its spiritual power by a fraction.
After the ninth coffin nail was driven in, the ghost cultivator's cultivation had been suppressed to roughly the perfected Foundation Establishment stage.
"Collect!"
Seeing this, Zhan Tu then formed a sealing incantation.
Black light emerged from the Yin-Gathering Bottle, and with a single sweep, the Core Formation ghost cultivator at its original spot vanished.
After all of this was completed, Zhan Tu finally breathed a sigh of relief, muttering to himself: "This greatest scheme has finally succeeded. . . Fortunately, the Island Master did not discover it."
"Well, am I not a man of my word?"
Fang Xi let out a hearty laugh and put away the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.
The Ten Thousand Souls Banner shrank to palm size, easily held in his left hand, but Zhan Tu, looking at that small white bone banner, still felt lingering fear.
"Sigh. . . this old man truly suffered a loss. . . This person's strength should be no less than that of an ordinary perfected Core Formation cultivator. . ."
Old Ghost sighed.
Fang Xi, however, completely ignored Old Ghost and continued walking by himself.
After the dense ghostly mist dispersed, the azure wood patterns on the ground became clearly visible.
And at the very center of the tree stump, a wooden building appeared, enveloped beneath a sphere of emerald green light, flickering in and out of view.
Upon the plaque, the three large characters 'Evergreen Hall' were faintly inscribed in ancient script.
"I never thought. . . I'd be able to return."
Old Ghost gazed at the Evergreen Hall, muttering to himself.
"Old Ghost, what do we do next?"
Zhan Tu looked at the thick restriction, feeling his scalp tingle: "I feel like this restriction. . . I don't seem to be able to break it. . ."
"Hmph, don't even mention you; even if the person next to us were a Formation Master, they couldn't break it. . . Because this is a fourth-tier formation restriction!"
Old Ghost let out a cold snort, transmitting his voice to Fang Xi: "Daoist Fang. . . to enter the Evergreen Hall, you must pass through this restriction ahead. This restriction is primarily based on the Evergreen Tree stump, drawing in fourth-tier spiritual vein qi; even for a Nascent Soul cultivator, it would be extremely difficult to break through. . ."
"So, this is where I'll need to use my late Core Formation stage Withered Glory Chant's spiritual power?"
Purple light flickered in Fang Xi's eyes, revealing an expression of interest.
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