Surging spiritual power repaired Tu Shanjun's ghostly body through the Soul Banner.

“Roar!”

Tu Shanjun let out a mighty roar, the fleshy horn on his forehead growing subtly longer.

His disheveled crimson hair fluttered wildly.

Malevolent energy fused into his body, and faint crimson patterns emerged on his dark-green skin.

His purplish-black, oval, coarse fingernails fully transformed into sharp, pointed claws.

His seven-foot tall body inexplicably grew another half a head, his muscles swelling and twisting, tightly adhering to his bones.

Faint bloody mist emanated from his crimson eyes.

With his stern, green face, he resembled a ghost god.

This was the result of Wen Yue spitting the vital blood, imbued with his life's foundation onto the Soul Banner.

Cui Guang coughed up a mouthful of blood.

However, the headless, demonized body of Sanhu behind him did not fall.

The blood from his head and neck fully merged into his demonic hands. As shriveled skin covered his body, it also sealed the wound on his neck.

The headless demonic body delivered a punch.

Cui Guang, taken aback, blocked with his sword, only to be sent flying several zhang away by the punch.

But these were merely superficial wounds to him, only the penetrating wound in his chest was truly fatal.

That late-stage Qi Refining malevolent ghost had seized the opportunity to gravely injure him.

Every time he breathed, he felt intense pain; it was the wound tearing and bleeding.

He understood that one of his lungs was likely damaged; now, even coughing could bring up fragments of his internal organs.

The headless demonic body, having gained the upper hand, pressed forward rapidly.

Its demonic hands formed fists, striking horizontally at Cui Guang's attempts to evade.

Tu Shanjun gave him no chance to breathe either. As long as he could eliminate Cui Guang, the others were no match for him.

And Cui Guang was already severely wounded. Tu Shanjun was now even more powerful than at his peak, and the situation between the two seemed to have reversed yet again.

However, Tu Shanjun's greatest concern was whether Wen Yue would exhaust his life force and die before he could kill Cui Guang.

Judging by his state just now, Wen Yue had seemingly sacrificed at least thirty years of his lifespan and foundation.

“Kill!”

Tu Shanjun roared, his figure sinking low, then closing in.

His fist-techniques were formidable; his fists, as large as cooking pots, rained down like a furious storm. Cui Guang had no way to dodge.

Thump, thump.

As Cui Guang stumbled, Tu Shanjun grabbed his hair, clenched his fist, and slammed it repeatedly into his face.

Punch after punch.

Powerful and heavy, yet swift and fierce, steady as a post.

Tu Shanjun's demonic fists battered Cui Guang's skin, tearing flesh and reducing him to a bloody mess.

The malevolent energy emanating from Tu Shanjun's fists also eroded the flesh he had formed with malevolent energy.

Against a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, he had to exert his utmost effort.

Even if the opponent now seemed completely trapped in a quagmire, unable to struggle free.

“Hoo… hoo…”

Blood mixed with fragments of teeth were unconsciously spat out by Cui Guang.

He felt his strength draining away, his spiritual power depleting rapidly.

In the face of death, he didn't experience great terror; he just felt an overwhelming heaviness in his body, making him want to simply fall into a deep sleep.

He couldn’t die yet; his junior brothers’ lives rested on his shoulders.

If he were to die like this, his junior brothers would surely be killed by the malevolent ghost.

The voice drew closer, closer still.

“I want to, take them.”

“Back.”

Cui Guang thought to himself, then suddenly opened his eyes, spitting out a mouthful of rebellious blood that splattered across his own face.

“Reverse Life Blood Explosion Art!”

The blood in his body instantly vaporized, intertwining with the spiritual power within him.

His shattered body was once again driven forward.

“Kill!”

Cui Guang roared.

In this world, who doesn't bear responsibilities and promises?

Who can easily abandon their own life?

Tu Shanjun was the same; he could not lose.

Even knowing he might be outmatched, he would still give his all.

“Kill!”

One human, one ghost, utterly disregarded their own injuries. Cui Guang’s longsword slashed fiercely at Tu Shanjun’s body, and Tu Shanjun’s fists landed precisely on Cui Guang’s head.

Red and black blood pooled on the ground.

At this moment, Wen Yue no longer considered anything else. Even if he were to die here today, these four people would die with him.

The three hundred malevolent ghosts of the Soul Banner stood like a forest, charging forth as a military formation.

Lin Hui had consumed the crimson Boiling Blood Pill, and spirit stones were rapidly being depleted. He had originally thought he could definitely escape the entanglement of Zhu Lin and the white-faced malevolent ghost, but unexpectedly, he was instantly surrounded by even more ghost soldiers.

He tried to break free from the encirclement but found himself sinking deeper and deeper.

The compass cultivator took out his storage talisman and swallowed healing pills. His spiritual power and stamina had recovered by thirty percent.

Now was not the time to lament failure; he should instead kill that white-haired demonic cultivator.

Wen Yue stood up, holding the Soul Banner. His body, riddled with wounds, glowed with an unnatural vitality under the stimulation of the malevolent energy.

As well as that unnatural Qi Refining fifth layer.

“Pay for my junior brother’s life!” The compass cultivator leaped forward, his blood-stained, trembling hands forming a difficult incantation.

“Die!”

“Boom!”

The longsword was swept aside by the Soul Banner, and then the Soul Banner smashed onto the compass cultivator’s head.

The material of a superior-grade magical tool was already extraordinary, let alone when it landed such a solid blow.

The compass cultivator’s eyes instantly became bloodshot, his clear black-and-white pupils completely stained with blood. His body stiffened and fell to the ground, twitching. The side of his head was caved in and blood dyed the earth beneath him.

Without the propulsion of spiritual power, his magical tool longsword dropped to the ground.

With another death, the pressure in the field completely shifted to Lin Hui, who had consumed the Boiling Blood Pill.

He recoiled two steps in fear, his eyes filled with disbelief.

They had come with full confidence, even setting up an open scheme, using Wen Yue’s father-in-law as bait to lure Wen Yue in.

Even a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator should have died here.

But they were wrong.

Wen Yue was not a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator; instead, two of their junior brothers had died here.

Now, Senior Brother Cui had even burned his own life.

Lin Hui was terrified.

He didn't want to die.

So, he turned and ran.

His mind was filled only with panic and the desire to survive; he even lost one of his shoes as he ran.

At the front of the small array, Lin Hui swung his sword, cutting a breach in the small array.

This was originally a simple, crude array meant to confuse mortals and block the battlefield, not at all a sophisticated one.

He ran ahead, with malevolent ghosts chasing behind him.

However, a tall figure blocked his path.

Lin Hui looked up.

He saw the malevolent ghost’s crimson eyes looking down at him, a violent aura washing over him. Its body was a bloody mess, with no patch of healthy skin. One of the fleshy horns on its forehead was broken, and its wild crimson hair was matted with blood.

But the ghost’s eyes were so bright.

Strangely terrifying.

Looking at the malevolent ghost’s hand, Lin Hui couldn't help but widen his eyes and cry out in despair, “Senior Brother Cui!”

Tu Shanjun was clutching Cui Guang’s head, dragging Cui Guang’s broken body.

Cui Guang was barely breathing. Perhaps he heard his junior brother’s cry, for he struggled to open his eyes, swollen into fleshy lumps, and looked at Lin Hui, his voice faint as a wisp of smoke. “Escape.”

Lin Hui stumbled back several steps. He couldn’t believe that the senior brother who had always been so powerful in his mind was now like a rag, clutched in the malevolent ghost’s hand and being dragged forward.

Tu Shanjun repeated Cui Guang’s words: “None of you will leave today.”

“I’ll fight you to the death!” Lin Hui roared.

Thump.

A punch landed squarely on his face, and a claw gripped Lin Hui’s neck, lifting him into mid-air.

Crunch!

Tu Shanjun directly snapped Lin Hui’s spine. The lifeless corpse slumped limply, hanging from Tu Shanjun’s hand like a wrung-out towel.

His living soul was also seized by Tu Shanjun.

(Chapter End)