Wei Yan at this moment truly revealed the strength that made him second on the Fenglin City Martial Merit List, taking the lead in a charge deep into Xiaolin Town, almost barging headlong into the wandering soul group.
But every wandering soul was shattered with a single strike, and any who stood in the way were scattered to the winds.
A layer of cold light seemed to cage his body, signifying the extreme concentration of his gold-aligned vitality. His steps never faltered, as though nothing could halt his advance.
His longsword cleaved through the air, whistling continuously, as if it could slice through the very air itself.
Others followed in his wake, merely needing to keep the ghosts at bay from the flanks, significantly reducing the risk.
Jiang Wang and Zhao Rucheng, one on the left and one on the right, intentionally or not, kept Ling He and Du Yehu protected in the middle. Ling He was still manageable, but Du Yehu's face swelled up with redness, although he also knew this was not the time for prideful stubbornness, and could only trudge forward silently.
Time became indistinguishable as they continued through the slowly gathering fog which obscured directions; even the passage of time seemed blurred. The wandering souls they encountered thus far were not very powerful, within the range that Ninth Grade Transcendent cultivators could handle, but these Eighth and Ninth Grade cultivators from Tongtian Palace didn't have an abundance of Path Origin, unable to endure prolonged combat. It was feared that if they continued for a bit longer, they wouldn't be able to deploy Dao Techniques any further without damaging their Dao Cores and harming their foundations.
It was then that Wei Yan stopped.
Judging by their rough location, they were soon to reach the very center of Xiaolin Town. Jiang Wang remembered there was a marketplace there, bustling with people from nearby villages gathering on market days.
Wei Yan halted not because he wished to, but because a wall of foggy mist blocked the path ahead, halting the blade of his longsword.
Unlike the pervasive fog along the way, this wall of mist felt substantially tangible and was exceptionally resilient. Even with the sharpness of Wei Yan's blade, which should have been able to cut through walls of copper and iron, the mist wall stood unyielding.
No matter how many attacks were unleashed, they disappeared as if into the depths of the ocean.
Wei Yan was becoming anxiously impatient, his keen senses telling him that something improper was occurring just beyond this wall of mist. It was not merely malevolence, it could even affect his entire life.
But now his longsword, no matter where directed, found only impasse!
"Who among you has a method to break through? Try anything you can!" Wei Yan said in a deep voice, "The situation is urgent, we can't afford delays, all responsibility is on me."
Immediately, a disciple stepped forward to the wall of mist, and without a word, he began to unfasten his belt.
"Hey, what are you doing?" someone beside him asked as they grabbed him.
"Don't stop me!" the man declared confidently, "There are many ghosts here, with a heavy yin aura. The urine of a boy can drive away evil and suppress ghosts, since I've yet to lose my virginity, it's my duty to step up!"
This man was named Huang Azhan, an Inner Sect Disciple selected in the previous cohort. A drinking buddy of Du Yehu, he had a good nature, but was not particularly bright.
Wei Yan frowned and watched as he finished urinating, but the wall of mist remained utterly unmoved. Only the intense, brief stench reminded everyone of what had taken place.
"That's not right, could it be the volume wasn't enough?" After holding it in for a while, he turned to rally the others, "Any of you still virgins? Come join in! Of course, Zhao Rucheng need not come, your yin aura is strong. Du Yehu, come quickly! Don't be shy, with your esteemed virginity you're destined to be a virgin till old age, your yang energy must be plentiful!"
Mocking two people with a single comment, if it hadn't been for the urgent situation, Du Yehu would've long since punched his dog's head to pieces.
Zhao Rucheng bared his teeth and said, "Azhan, think again, is it not enough to use boy's urine, do we need a boy's blood instead?"
Upon hearing this, Huang Azhan stroked his chin and nodded, as if he was seriously considering the feasibility.
Ever since using the Blowing Breath Tornado, Wang Changxiang had been somewhat weakened, he said, "When the tornado blew away the fog earlier, I observed the wandering souls in Xiaolin Town, they had formed a simple Nine Palaces Array. At that time I wasn't certain, but now, with obstruction at this Central Palace position, I am sure of it."
"How do we break it?" Wei Yan asked directly.
"The person who set up the array didn't put much effort into it, and it's very hard to command so many ghosts at will. Therefore, the method to break it is simple," said Wang Changxiang with a wry smile. "Destroy the array eyes of the other eight palaces, and this Central Palace will fall apart on its own."
Wei Yan immediately said, "Wang Changxiang stays here to observe the situation, leave four others to follow his commands and support various fronts as needed. I will go to the Kan Palace, the rest of you divide into seven groups, each breaking one palace. In the end, we will reconvene here at this Central Palace."
The great divination starts with Yang emerging and Yin retreating. Yang begins at the 'Zi' hour and Yin starts at the 'Wu' hour, hence beneath the Supreme One, the Nine Palaces begin with the Kan Palace.
The Kan Palace is located in the due north and corresponds to the Water element, which isn't the easiest palace for Wei Yan to deal with, but with his strength, he didn't need to worry about these things.
"What I need to remind everyone of," continued Wang Changxiang, "is that all the common ghosts we've cleared along the way are normal, but at the array eyes, there must be Grudge Ghosts or even fiercer ghosts, everyone must act according to their abilities."
Zhao Lang, who always looked to Wei Yan for direction, was the first to respond. "In that case, I will head to the Kun Palace."
Li Jianqiu was even more decisive, already stepping westward with his hand on his sword, "Leave the Zhen Palace to me, the rest of you divide up the others among yourselves."
The strong stepped forward to take responsibility—it was the spine of a cultivator.
Jiang Wang exchanged glances with Ling He and the others, then said, "The four of us brothers will take care of the Xun Palace."
He was not being overly confident with this statement—as they'd traveled together, everyone had seen a glimpse of each other's combat abilities. Although he hadn't established a foundation yet, relying on the 'Purple Qi Eastward' sword technique, his strength was subtly above that of a common Ninth Grade cultivator.
And the Xun Palace is of the Wood element, to conquer Wood with Metal, which was exactly what was needed at the time. Since the Wood element Zhen Palace had already been taken by Li Jianqiu, he and Zhao Rucheng would have more difficulty utilizing their strengths in the other palaces.
From another perspective, given the situation in Xiaolin Town, the impact of the event was bound to be significant. The contributions everyone made along the way were being recorded, with Ling He, Du Yehu, and Zhao Rucheng all at a critical moment accumulating merit points to exchange for Channel-opening Pills, if they were able to resolve one palace this time, it would definitely propel them a big step forward.
The choices of everyone were strictly in accordance with the sequence of the Nine Palaces, which are as follows: two and four are shoulders, six and eight are feet, three on the left, seven on the right, bearing nine and standing on one. From one to nine, they are Kan, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Central, Qian, Dui, Gen, and Li respectively.
As they went on, fighting along the way, Jiang Wang and Zhao Rucheng's transcendent swordsmanship had already been acknowledged by everyone, so no one said much else. The remaining twenty Inner Sect Disciples just happened to be five to a group, picking the remaining four palaces.
It must be said that Wang Changxiang's previous Blowing Breath Tornado had contributed greatly, allowing everyone to find direction in such thick fog—the premise for solving the entire ghost array.
The Xun Palace was located to the southeast. As Jiang Wang proceeded forward in the heavy fog with his sword raised, upon vaguely seeing a tavern ahead, he was certain in his heart. The only tavern in Xiaolin Town was in the southeast—he and his companions had not gone astray.
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"Be careful." Ling He suddenly said, "I feel there's something extremely dangerous ahead."
Ling He's intuition was always accurate, so the others did not dare to take it lightly.
Jiang Wang nodded, "Then it must be the Grudge Ghost that Brother Wang mentioned, representing the formation eye of the Xun Palace. Ru Cheng, how many moves of the Purple Qi Eastward swordsmanship have you mastered?"
"I've mastered them all," Zhao Rucheng said.
As for this guy's talent, Jiang Wang had nothing to say. He immediately began to command, "I'll make the first move, you follow up. Unleash the strongest attack at the first opportunity, and make sure to eliminate the target in the shortest time. Eldest and second brother, keep an eye on our surroundings, don't let other wandering souls break through. If necessary, don't hesitate to unleash the blood and Qi."
Before the foundation was laid, if one hadn't mastered extraordinary methods like the Purple Qi Eastward swordsmanship, the only way to harm ghosts was to release the blood and Qi. But blood and Qi are the foundations of a person, and unleashing it puts a great strain on the body, so Ling He and Du Yehu had been very restrained all the way there.
But they didn't hesitate at all to Jiang Wang's command. It was the understanding built from countless battles fought side by side.
Although they couldn't see far in the fog, the brothers quickly demarcated the target area and dispersed to encircle it.
Just then, a piercing screech sounded as if it was right beside their ears. In front of Jiang Wang, a burst of sword light suddenly lit up!
Clang!
Purple Qi Eastward sword, the first stance of its killing method!
A crimson claw was just caught by the longsword, and the Grudge Ghost of the Xun Palace position appeared in front of them.
The wandering souls they encountered along the way didn't differ much from humans before death; they were merely faint in form and pale in color. But this Grudge Ghost was entirely different, looking like another kind of creature altogether.
It had a green face and fierce fangs, was nearly twelve feet tall, and robust. Its muscles bulged, and it had a pair of crimson claws, one of which was dripping with blood.
Jiang Wang knew that within the dense fog, the Grudge Ghost's senses were certainly stronger than theirs. That's why he had been combat-ready, with his sword technique primed for release. This allowed him to counter the Grudge Ghost's attack in time.
Still, he had underestimated the ghost's strength.
In the brief gap created by the breath-like tornado, they had seen more than a thousand souls, but only eight fierce ghosts like this one appeared to preside over the nine palaces. Whether cultivated by man or arising from natural slaughter, the Grudge Ghost born from this was bound to be extraordinary.
Although Jiang Wang blocked the first attack, he was still grazed by another claw, tearing a piece of flesh from his left arm.
The dripping blood from the Grudge Ghost's claw tip came from his wound. Fortunately, the injury was not severe.
As Jiang Wang was counterattacking, Zhao Rucheng's sword also moved!
The first stance of the Purple Qi Eastward swordsmanship valued speed above all, for attack to be like thunder and defense like lightning. When the Son of Heaven unleashes his wrath like a thunderbolt, it comes in an instant, yet it shocks the world!
The Grudge Ghost hadn't even had the chance to savor the strip of flesh when Zhao Rucheng's sword pierced into its belly.
With the sword still in him, Zhao Rucheng was stuck to the Grudge Ghost, resembling a monkey clinging to a person due to the difference in their sizes.
The Grudge Ghost let out a painful howl and abruptly lowered its head.
Not good!
Zhao Rucheng's heart skipped a beat. He kicked off the oncoming claw, flipped back in mid-air, and abandoned his sword to escape. The Grudge Ghost was about to pursue when Jiang Wang's figure streaked by it like lightning.
Purple Qi Eastward sword, the second stance of its killing method, lay in its precision.
Jiang Wang was already distant, yet his sword light precisely slashed across the Grudge Ghost's eyeball.
In that instant, the black-green liquid burst open like an exploding pod, and the Grudge Ghost let out an exceedingly tragic scream. This originally chaotic creature fixed Jiang Wang with its remaining right eye, filled with immense hatred.
It didn't bother to cover its eye, allowing the black-green fluid to flow, and with Zhao Rucheng's unsteady sword still embedded, it charged towards Jiang Wang!
Ling He, busy warding off wandering souls on the edge of the fight, promptly sent his sword flying towards Zhao Rucheng, "Catch!"
Zhao Rucheng leapt up, seizing Ling He's sword in mid-air, and like a meteor chasing the moon, he once again shot towards the Grudge Ghost's back. His sword went through its nape and the tip emerged from its chin, braced against the chest!
The Grudge Ghost shrieked and swung back its claw, but due to the angle, it was bound to be slower than before. Thus, Zhao Rucheng braced his feet against its back, trying to leverage himself to withdraw his sword. Unanticipated, however, was the sword being firmly clamped by the Grudge Ghost's muscles, and when he failed to pull it out at once, he hesitated for a moment.
It was in this moment that the Grudge Ghost's mighty claw harshly struck him, sending Zhao Rucheng flying four or five meters away into the dense fog, his fate unknown!
It was known that numerous wandering souls roamed within the fog!
At that moment, Jiang Wang was on the other side, and Ling He, after passing his sword, was still entangled with the wandering souls, leaving only Du Yehu, who was also guarding the perimeter, closest to Zhao Rucheng. Du Yehu, too, was hardly able to contain himself. He had come to exterminate evil and cleanse the heavens and earth, not to be coddled and earn merit, or worse, become a burden!
Suddenly, an angry roar like thunder resonated. Du Yehu's entire being erupted with his blood and Qi, his energy rushing towards the Heavenly Spirit as if tangible, for an instant resembling the smoke of a wolf!
Qi Blood Wolf Smoke!
Only a martial artist with sufficiently strong blood and Qi can provoke the Qi Blood Wolf Smoke. Even Jiang Wang couldn't achieve this.
Yet Du Yehu's full-force explosion proved he was second to none.
Shrouded in an almost tangible force of blood and Qi, almost like donning a blood-colored battle robe, his speed multiplied, and he reached Zhao Rucheng's side within a few steps!
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