"What are these vile creatures? The phantasm gates have been breached, are they not affected by the soul-draining phenomenon at all?"
A group of cultivators dressed in dark gray robes was looking out into the distance. At this very moment, their protective formation was starting to fail. The illusory one that was there to trap any unwanted guests in a forest labyrinth that constantly changed shape didn't amount to anything.
The red-skinned beings that looked to be some cross between humans and bats were progressing towards them without stopping for more than a few minutes. It was as if their ancient sect grounds were useless. The ghastly energies that they relied on were being absorbed before them, it was as if they didn't serve for anything more than a meal for these beings.
"Demonic cultivators? Who are these creatures? They don't look like any sect that I know."
Cried an old shriveled-up man that was hovering in the air. His eyes were shut tightly but he radiated an eerie grayish light. The other elders seemed to be seeking guidance from this old man that looked like he lived for more than a thousand years.
"Patriarch, what should we do, if this continues these creatures will be out our doorstep in but a moment."
"We must defend our lands from these vile creatures, I will not have the sect under my watch!"
The old man's aura rose up and solidified at the lower end of the later stage of the nascent soul level. Other old elders started being raised from slumber, all of them looked tired and ancient. Due to the soul arts that they were specialized in they could cheat death to an extent. While their cultivation could not go past a certain level they were still powerful.
While the reserve elders of the sect were being raised from their slumber the others continued to monitor the outside. The thick gray mist that covered their lands was thinking out, without the evil souls' presence their greatest protection was coming undone.
Without this natural defense, their sect would not even be able to defend themselves against the traditional cultivators from the other middle sized sects. If the Shadow Phantom Sect wanted to survive this they could not allow the invaders to progress any further. They needed to protect their sect ground that had been built by their forefathers.
In the background, a strange monolith stood tall. It was covered in strange runes and many grayish souls floated around it. Their loud cries were something that the people living here were used to but today the shouts continued to intensify.
"We must not let the monolith be destroyed, without it we will be unable to remain here!"
This spire that stood there was the true reason for the evil souls. Their great ancestor just took the chance to assemble it right after the large-scale battle in this area was over. Through it, he managed to trap the vengeful souls in this area. Thus without it, this sect would be unable to continue with their old ways.
Their illusory formations were now broken, the defensive barrier that shielded them for thousands of years was now also being absorbed. Due to them over-relying on spirit arts they were now defenseless against beings that used this type of energy as fuel.
All was not lost for them though as a certain white-haired person was hovering above the clouds where the air was thin and even the grayish mist didn't reach. His name was Zhang Dong but most people knew him as the Golden Dragon.
"I managed to get here in time, that must be the reason for all these vengeful spirits."
He looked at what looked to be some strange spiral spire. Thanks to his knowledge of soul energy he figured out how these people were able to create this sort of area. The monolith was sending out a strange signal that roused the susceptible souls to gather here. It was not something anyone would normally notice unless they were close to it.
"Now this puts me in a bind, if I leave this thing here the souls will gather here once more but if I leave it like this, souls that would normally pass on will also be affected."
There was a moral dilemma here. This sect clearly relied on this contraption to keep other sects away from their lands, if he removed it they would suffer the consequences later. On the other hand, if he just let it be, some souls that would normally not turn into decrepit ones would be attracted to this place.
After passing through the mist their energies would be corrupted and they would start to change into vengeful spirits. This was something bordering on demonic sect behavior, while it was not affecting the living beings it caused harm to the souls of the mortals that had no protection against this influence.
"I'll have to think about it later, first I need to clear out these…red vampires?"
He did not expect to see these types of invaders. They were still body refiners as the toothy bone spear ones but they were quite different. They looked like more monstrous vampires from old movies that could somewhat alter the composition of their bodies. In their normal state, they were just red humans but they could drastically alter the shape of their jaws as well as sprout wings and change their digits into sharp claws.
"Perhaps just like we have sects and clans, this Empire has other types of segregation?"
Zhang Dong was not sure but this was clearly a different type of enemy that would also have a different way of attacking. The ability to absorb the evil souls was already one of them, thus he needed to be careful. Luckily he did not spot any overly strong variants of these creatures, but if they could transform into something more dangerous was not off the table yet.
"Time to make my entrance…"
Zhang Dong made sure to hide his presence while being in this place. His soul core also allowed him to circumvent any defenses that the Shadow Phantom Sect was proud of but the energy he absorbed through this was still quite low.
The vampire-like creatures on the other hand were gorging themselves on everything they could get. Luckily for him, this energy would not be lost to him as he could still drain it from them instead. It looked like they had gone through more than half of what these lands had to offer. This would be quite the injection of power after he was done with them.
Afterward, he could worry about what to do with the people living here. With the soul energies declining this much it would probably take tens of years for new ones to gather. Yet due to the war that was happening there would probably be a big influx of angry dead people that flocked here.
"This should do it, those spells sure come in handy."
While everyone below him was making a lot of noise Zhang Dong had taken some time to prepare. His fingertip was glowing faintly as he continued to draw up something that looked like a magic circle.
The sparkly runes and geometrical shapes glistened in the light that was shining above this gray miasma. He made it work to his advantage as he weaved this spell into being. What he needed was a distraction through which he would gain the opportunity to strike.
"That muscle-bound one looks like the leader but the real one… is over there!"
Thanks to his system he was still able to get through all the illusions when it concerned true strength. The leader looked unsuspecting and he was to the side while most of the creatures continued to assault the Shadow Phantom Sect's grounds. It seemed that he was smart enough to let his minions take the brunt of the defense before deciding to join them in the hunt.
'Well then…'
Zhang Dong vanished from his spot while hiding his presence. A few seconds afterward the spell circles that he created activated. They shone brightly as a star before erupting into a massive number of thin beams of light. They rained down onto the red-skinned attackers that quickly noticed this light show that was coming from above.
These beams of concentrated energy used the sun to add to their power. While he wasn't sure if adding sun rays into the mix would do anything, the enemies looked like vampires which would go in line with how these worlds were set up. His shot in the dark was correct as the first monster that one of the rays connected with started going up in flames.
The area where all of this was happening quickly became quite chaotic. The cultivators behind the thin barrier had no idea what was going on. The rays of light evaded their city while showering the outside without mercy. The weaker red monsters were going up in flames while the strongest ones managed to last even through taking multiple hits.
Yet this was but a distraction to keep everyone looking up into the sky. The spells that he placed there would be giving out a firework-like performance for a full minute of time. The enraged red vampire beings quickly homed in at the area that was giving out this light. Quite a few tossed themselves towards it while some fired off their spiky nails in that direction.
This was reminiscent of the bone spears that the other variant of these invaders he witnessed. But even if they hit the correct spot it would do nothing. What was above the miasma was just a large spell array that could not be damaged by physical means.
The leader was one of them, his eyes were also drawn up to the sky where the bolts of bright energy were coming down. He did not move though, it was clear that he was content on letting his people be sacrificed while he examined the situation.
But this would be his last mistake, perhaps if he was together with his small battalion of forces there would be someone that discovered his attacker. Yet he had decided to place himself away in a safe spot without any guards next to him.
This demonic vampire looked like a nice posh butler. At this very moment, his head was flying through the air as it was quickly removed by the person that slipped behind him during the distraction that was created.
There was not even a cry nor was there a big explosion, the body just dropped down to the ground while quickly crumbling into dust. Just like their story counterparts these beings were apparently not so great at handling swords packed with holy and solar energy.
"Well then, now to take care of the rest…"
Zhang Dong smiled while noticing that after decapitating this monster the others turned to him. There was probably some connection between the master and its minions. After he had taken care of him, they looked quite annoyed.