Chapter Seventeen: The Confusing Soul Array

The Golden Qilin led over fifty demonic beasts to the Abyssal Flame Cave. To their surprise, the place was utterly quiet, with not a trace of battle.

Located beneath a massive stone mountain, the Abyssal Flame Cave was said to lead to the core of the entire planet if one entered through its entrance. Inside, there were countless branching caves, stretching who knew where—apparently even beneath the eastern part of the Tianhua Continent.

Yet, not a single cultivator from the Abyssal Flame Cave remained; it seemed all their disciples had fled.

The Iceblood Ant brought his subordinates to attack the Abyssal Flame Cave. After patrolling thoroughly, they found not a single person. Frustrated, the Iceblood Ant sat at the cave’s entrance for a month, vowing that if even one disciple returned, he would seal their vital energy and then throw them like stones for a month straight to vent his anger.

By the time the Sky Sound Insect arrived, the Iceblood Ant still hadn’t seen a single disciple return.

As soon as the Golden Qilin arrived, the Sky Sound Insect used his spiritual sense to tell it not to speak recklessly, as provoking the Iceblood Ant would cause trouble—being frozen for a month would be the least severe punishment.

Of course, the Golden Qilin immediately warned its subordinates. The group of demonic beasts stood quietly, not daring to breathe.

The Iceblood Ant also had two subordinates in the early stages of distraction: the Blizzard Ice Silkworm and the Dark Scented Cold Fox. These two demonic beasts stood quietly behind the Iceblood Ant, not daring to move even slightly.

The fifty demonic beasts under the Iceblood Ant, like those of the Golden Qilin, stood motionless for a month, not even blinking.

This quiet situation continued for another day before the Sky Sound Insect stepped forward and approached the Iceblood Ant.

“Bingbing, your luck really isn’t good. You came all the way from the distant Heavenly Punishment Mountains only to not get a single drop of blood to drink. But Bingbing, though you’re upset, you can’t let your anger affect your brothers too. Look—your fifty subordinates and my fifty subordinates are all carefully staying with you. Can you really bear it?” the Sky Sound Insect urged gently with a smile.

The Iceblood Ant glanced around and saw hundreds of demonic beasts watching him cautiously. He couldn’t help but sigh.

“Bug, I understand what you’re saying, but I really can’t afford to lose face like this. You’ve already destroyed Shi Xian Valley, Die Er has gone to Li Hun Zong, and with Long Ge’s help behind her, she’s surely going to succeed. As for me, I not only failed to destroy Ming Huo Dong but also didn’t even see a single person. If I go back like this, the three of you will laugh me to death.” Bing Xue Yi shook his head and said.

Tian Yin Bug burst into laughter, but when he saw Bing Xue Yi glaring at him angrily, he immediately stopped laughing and said calmly, “Bing Bing, Li Hun Zong is known as the strongest among the three magic cultivation sects. It’s not certain that Long Ge and Die Er can easily destroy it. How about this? Let’s head to Li Hun Zong now to help Die Er.”

Li Hun Zong had two cultivators at the Mid-Divination stage and three at the Early-Divination stage, plus they were skilled in soul-related secret techniques—truly very powerful. Among the three magic cultivation sects on Tian Hua Continent, it had always been the leader, with Shi Xian Valley and Ming Huo Dong not daring to compete with it for supremacy.

“That’s right! Li Hun Zong might not even be destroyed yet. Let’s rush over now and have a proper fight.” Bing Xue Yi thought about it and immediately cheered happily.

Soon, Bing Xue Yi led his subordinates, while Tian Yin Bug led his own, and together they flew toward Li Hun Zong.

……

Li Hun Zong was located in the northeast region of Tian Hua Continent, in a vast mountainous area filled with huge rocks.

In this mountainous region spanning thousands of miles, in the central area, there stood a towering mountain formed entirely from a single rock. This mountain was tens of thousands of meters high and dozens of miles wide, truly awe-inspiring.

The founder of Li Hun Zong carved this rock into the shape of a white bone skull, and the sect’s members practiced cultivation inside this skull.

At that moment, two top-tier monsters from the Tian Fa Mountain Range—Huan Wu Die and San Wei Long—came to the vicinity of the Skull Mountain along with hundreds of monsters at the Out-of-Body stage.

“Long Ge, the people of Li Hun Zong are really tough. Each of them uses soul secret techniques, and throughout this rocky area, there are eerie soul arrays everywhere. It took us two months just to clear the surrounding mountains.” Huan Wu Die pouted and said unhappily.

It turned out that when Huan Wu Die and San Wei Long arrived with their monsters, they were immediately challenged by five strong cultivators from Li Hun Zong at the Divination stage. Although they managed to defeat them, subsequent attacks were full of troubles.

The people of the Soul Departure Sect had operated in this mountainous region for tens of thousands of years, setting up various strange soul spells. When people passed by, an ordinary rock would suddenly explode, and then a monstrous beast would collapse, unconscious. In some places, there were large soul arrays; once trapped in them, a dozen or so monstrous beasts would fall into a deep sleep. There were also peculiar plants that emitted pollen with no scent, which, once it stuck to the beasts, made them shake their heads nonstop all day long.

All these obstacles had no effect on the Illusion Dance Butterfly and the Three-Tailed Dragon, but almost all of the accompanying beasts were affected. Whenever a beast fell asleep, the group’s progress had to stop, and they had to first dispel the soul spells from the beasts before they could continue on to the Soul Departure Sect’s headquarters.

As a result, the Illusion Dance Butterfly and the Three-Tailed Dragon arrived in the mountainous region early with the beasts, but it took them over two months to overcome all the obstacles before they reached Skull Mountain.

“Butterfly, don’t be angry. Let the people of the Soul Departure Sect live a few more months. Look at your subordinates—they’ve all been attacked by the sect’s soul spells. They’re filled with rage now; they’ll surely fight desperately when attacking the Soul Departure Sect,” said the Three-Tailed Dragon with a calm smile.

The Illusion Dance Butterfly glanced at the hundred-plus beasts and saw that they indeed were all glaring angrily at Skull Mountain, and her resentment immediately dissipated.

Suddenly, five people flew down from Skull Mountain, each clad in black robes, exuding a mysterious and sinister aura. These five were the five powerful cultivators at the Divination Stage of the Soul Departure Sect—its sect master had his soul destroyed, and its four elders had their souls extinguished, lost, or scattered.

The five flew into the air and stared at the Illusion Dance Butterfly and the Three-Tailed Dragon, their eyes glowing with dark flames, showing intense anger.

“Beasts of the Heavenly Punishment Mountains, why have you left the mountains and entered our territory? Have we, the Soul Departure Sect, done anything to offend you that you insist on a never-ending conflict with us?” shouted Soul Destruction, who was as thin as bone.

The Three-Tailed Dragon flew into the air and said calmly, “Soul Departure Sect, you have no grudges against us, but the cultivation world is always one of competition. No one can cultivate in peace forever. This time, your three demonic cultivation sects will all be attacked by our Heavenly Punishment Mountains, and all three will be destroyed.”

Hearing this, Soul Destruction flew into a rage. These beasts from the Heavenly Punishment Mountains had come to bully the Soul Departure Sect, and they even spoke so bluntly.

“Great, great! Such fierce competition. Since you think you can easily defeat our Li Hun Sect, then come and attack us! I’m really eager to see how you plan to destroy us.” Hun Mie shouted angrily with a laugh.

After speaking, Hun Mie, Hun Jin, Hun Qu, Hun Shi, and Hun San flew together, concentrating on the battle. In Skull Mountain, there were also tens of thousands of Li Hun Sect disciples, each wielding strange magical artifacts, ready to assist the five Divination Stage experts.

The Three-Tailed Dragon and the Illusion Dancing Butterfly exchanged smiles before nodding at their respective two Sub-Divination Stage subordinates. In an instant, the Three-Tailed Dragon’s subordinates—Four-Winged Flying Dragon and Thunder-Eye Dragon Sculpture—and the Illusion Dancing Butterfly’s subordinates—Illusion Dragonfly and Golden Spotted Bee Queen—moved to their backs, ready to attack.

Two months ago, these eleven had fought once before, with the five from Li Hun Sect losing. Now, facing another battle, the six from the Heavenly Punishment Mountains were full of confidence.

“Butterfly, leave those two at Sub-Divination Stage to us. The other three can be dealt with by Four-Winged, Thunder-Eye, Dragonfly, and Bee Queen. Let’s work together to eliminate the Li Hun Sect,” the Three-Tailed Dragon declared bravely.

As soon as he finished speaking, the six Divination Stage beasts immediately flew toward the six members of Li Hun Sect.

The Three-Tailed Dragon targeted Hun Mie, while the Illusion Dancing Butterfly chose Hun Jin. The other four beasts went after Hun Qu, Hun Shi, and Hun San.

At that moment, the five from Li Hun Sect suddenly decided to retreat. When they reached Skull Mountain, each of them took out a black iron urn, threw it into the air, and poured a thread of black vital energy into it.

“The Confusing Heart Maze Formation!”

As their vital energies were released, the five of them shouted in unison with a sinister tone.

The five iron urns floating in the air suddenly emitted a hundred black rays each, forming a massive black net. This net rapidly expanded, covering an area of five miles, eventually shaping into a unique hemispherical web-like space.

Within each one-meter-square grid of this web-like space, a strange aura flickered, as if some kind of spiritual energy was trying to penetrate into the essence of each beast.

The Three-Tailed Dragon, the Illusion Dancing Butterfly, their four subordinates, and the hundreds of Transcendent Stage beasts didn’t even realize it before they were enveloped by this web-like space.

Moreover, as soon as this space formed, the tens of thousands of Li Hun Sect disciples in Skull Mountain, each wielding staffs, black rods, blood cards, and other magical artifacts, released their own vital energies or qi into the web, strengthening it further.

At the same time, the tens of thousands of disciples of the Soul Departure Sect had their spiritual consciousnesses penetrate into the Web Space, turning it into a realm where energy and souls could roam freely. Instantly, the monstrous beasts trapped in the Web Space felt the attacks of these “spiritual consciousness”-like spells; their primal souls seemed to be pierced by countless iron needles, causing unbearable agony. Even the Three-Tailed Dragon and the Illusion Dance Butterfly felt intense pain and were forced to retreat their souls into their Yuan Ying, sealing their true energy within to block the attacks of the magic array.