Chapter 91: Blood Curse
Wen Yue was silent.
Having just embarked on the path of immortality, he wasn't well-versed in the rules or concepts of the cultivation world.
His teacher didn't teach him such things.
He only taught him how to fight, how to clean up residual traces, how to cultivate, and how to be cautious when facing other cultivators.
However, applying the rules of the mortal world, he should be considered a demonic cultivator in the eyes of his opponent.
But if it was suggested he stole something, Wen Yue wouldn't admit it. He had long since laid out preparations in this place, waiting for the malevolent energy to breed ghosts.
How could that be called stealing?
Within the banner, Tu Shanjun stared at Zhu Lin.
This person had a tall, straight posture, refined features, and held his sword with an arrogant demeanor. Although there was no overt disdain, it was clear he had already deduced Wen Yue's true cultivation from the subtle clues.
Moreover, this person's spiritual aura was not weak, and even his robes were magical artifacts, indicating considerable capability.
The Primordial Spirit Sect was the sect standing behind Northern Wei.
Their activity on the battlefield was significantly stronger than that of the Five Spirits Sect.
On the Mount Nanyue battlefield, there was no need for the Five Spirits Sect to send people; the Primordial Spirit Sect's cultivators could resolve the situation.
From this perspective, the Five Spirits Sect should be in a weaker position compared to the Primordial Spirit Sect; otherwise, only cultivators from the Primordial Spirit Sect wouldn't have appeared.
At the same time, Tu Shanjun harbored some suspicion: could the Primordial Spirit Sect be behind the Great Liang's continuous defeats?
Even orthodox sects would strive to develop their own power, strengthen their foundations, and annex smaller sects and factions in their vicinity.
The Primordial Spirit Sect wouldn't make an exorbitant demand to annex the Five Spirits Sect, which is why they might be secretly assisting the Northern Wei army in their advance and territorial annexation.
Tu Shanjun furrowed his brow. Most importantly, why did he take it for granted that the other party must be an orthodox sect?
Without contact, it was difficult to make a direct judgment.
As Wen Yue lowered his gaze in thought, the spirit sword in Zhu Lin's hand unsheathed with a sudden clang.
Amidst flashing light, it reached Wen Yue's front.
Wen Yue's incantation changed, and spiritual power poured into his robe. A layer of green protective light blocked the spirit sword's attack.
However, a crack appeared on the green robe's protective light, and the long sword penetrated three inches into it.
Startled, Wen Yue quickly pushed his spiritual power to its limit, only then managing to deflect the spirit sword.
He then turned to look at the man.
To launch a flying sword attack without a word, this person appeared arrogant, but was actually vicious.
Perhaps the carelessness and disdain on his face were merely an act for him.
At the same time, Wen Yue couldn't help but feel fortunate that he had heeded the teachings, constantly guarding against cultivators' attacks, and even while lowering his gaze, he kept a death grip on this person with his peripheral vision.
If he had encountered a cultivator who had just entered the immortal path, this person might have sliced off their head with a single sword stroke.
This sneak attack infuriated Wen Yue.
He gestured with a large hand, and the high-hanging Soul Banner fell into his grasp. His voice was hoarse and tinged with anger: "Fellow Daoist, how overbearing! The baleful energy and souls here are ownerless; why can I not collect them?"
"I said no, so it is no!"
His missed strike immediately darkened Zhu Lin's expression.
However, he had also probed Wen Yue's strength: merely a demonic cultivator at the fourth layer of Qi Refining, having just entered the middle stage of Qi Refining.
Despite seemingly fortunately blocking one attack, he was still no match for him.
"Watch my sword!"
His incantations rotated, and the red light of the flying sword instantly split into two, striking towards Wen Yue.
Amidst the shifting between real and illusory, it actually cut two gashes on Wen Yue's body.
"No, the advantage of flying swords is too great."
A thought flashed through Wen Yue's mind. The distance between him and that Primordial Spirit Sect disciple wasn't far, but the flying sword's attack range was too wide.
If he could get close, there might be a chance to fight back.
This close-quarters combat style was learned from the white-faced evil spirit within the Soul Banner.
Zhu Lin immediately detected Wen Yue's thoughts and scoffed. Instead of approaching Wen Yue, he pulled back his distance further.
Even if his cultivation was much higher than Wen Yue's, why should he change his offensive strategy and clash head-on with the opponent?
The red light of the flying sword transformed into three strands, completely surrounding Wen Yue.
"Hurry!"
Zhu Lin's hand seals changed, and with a flick of his wrist, three streaks of sword light attacked in quick succession.
Seeing Wen Yue in a sorry state, Zhu Lin laughed loudly: "You can't get close to me, and you're not even releasing your soul banner's evil spirits."
Wen Yue's expression had already turned grave. Spiritual power surged into the Soul Banner, and he immediately released the white-faced ghost at the third layer of Qi Refining, along with many well-nurtured, low-tier ghosts.
Within the Soul Banner, Tu Shanjun observed the battle.
To win this battle, they had to emphasize surprise. That Primordial Spirit Sect disciple was at the sixth layer of Qi Refining, on par with his own strength.
In terms of combat power, he completely suppressed Wen Yue.
If Tu Shanjun were to fight now, it would surely make the opponent more cautious, possibly leading to a protracted battle.
A protracted battle would be highly disadvantageous to Wen Yue.
To put it plainly, Tu Shanjun, with his strength at the sixth layer of Qi Refining and spiritual power at the fourth layer of Qi Refining, was contending with Zhu Lin, who possessed both strength and spiritual power at the sixth layer of Qi Refining.
Therefore, the best method was to feign weakness and lure the enemy deeper.
Wen Yue also understood that his most powerful trump card was his teacher. Without a sure-kill opportunity, he absolutely couldn't let his teacher make a move.
Waving the Soul Banner, he released hundreds of souls, which swarmed forward.
Zhu Lin calmly resisted, only appearing slightly serious when facing the white-faced evil ghost.
This ghost was about to advance to the fourth layer of Qi Refining.
But the most terrifying thing was its combat experience; close combat actually made him a little flustered.
The white-faced ghost was precisely Zhao Shixian. In terms of combat experience, among the nearly three hundred evil ghosts in the entire Soul Banner, no one could compare to this person, not even Tu Shanjun.
"It looks like that Soul Banner is already a mid-grade magical tool."
Zhu Lin speculated on the grade of the Soul Banner in Wen Yue's hand.
"Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts."
Taking advantage of Zhu Lin's distraction, Wen Yue released another hundred evil spirits, condensing them into an illusory ghost figure that howled forth.
In the blink of an eye, the illusory ghost figure had already charged to Zhu Lin's front.
Zhu Lin's pupils slightly constricted, and he immediately channeled spiritual power to activate the spirit robe on his body, causing a burst of bright green light.
With a crash, the light fractured, the illusory ghost figure instantly shattered, turning into black mist and being collected back into the Soul Banner.
"Spirit stones."
Seeing Wen Yue taking out spirit stones, Zhu Lin knew his spiritual power was running low.
However, controlling flying swords remotely also required a considerable amount of spiritual power.
It was truly unwise to expend valuable spirit stones for a mere fourth-layer Qi Refining demonic cultivator.
Zhu Lin rushed to Wen Yue's front in two or three steps, and the crimson long sword fell into his hand, hacking down.
For a moment, sword light shimmered everywhere.
With his ample spiritual power, Zhu Lin had completely gained the upper hand.
Wen Yue could only use the Soul Banner as a golden blade, relying on his decent martial arts foundation to parry Zhu Lin's attacks.
"Die!"
A fierce cry reached him.
The long sword in Zhu Lin's hand passed through an opening in Wen Yue's defense, thrusting towards his heart.
Wen Yue forcibly controlled his body to duck two inches, causing the long sword to pierce his shoulder instead.
As Zhu Lin lifted his foot, his expression drastically changed, and fresh blood spilled from his mouth.
He looked down to see a green ghostly hand extending from the Soul Banner, directly piercing through his chest.
"You tricked me!"
Zhu Lin roared, biting the tip of his tongue.
A mouthful of essence blood transformed into a red light and spat onto Wen Yue's face.
Wen Yue, with a long sword through his shoulder blade, couldn't avoid it and was sprayed with blood all over his face.
The bloodstains actually formed threads, condensing into a curse mark that disappeared into Wen Yue's forehead.
Tu Shanjun had already emerged from the Soul Banner, raising his free ghostly hand to shatter Zhu Lin's head.
"Teacher, don't kill him yet."
Wen Yue hastily called out to Tu Shanjun.
The ghostly hand stopped an inch from Zhu Lin's forehead, not falling.
But Zhu Lin was already breathing more out than in, his mouth full of blood, yet he still stared fiercely at Wen Yue.
"What is this thing?" Wen Yue pointed to his own forehead.
He could feel a pattern forming, but he couldn't decipher it.
Zhu Lin laughed, blood flowing freely: "Heh heh, the Blood Curse technique, it can't be undone without a cultivator with profound cultivation.
"Just wait to be hunted down and killed by my fellow disciples from the Primordial Spirit Sect."
Zhu Lin turned his gaze to Tu Shanjun.
"You are the primary soul of the Soul Banner; I was deceived."
Who would have thought that the primary soul of a fourth-layer Qi Refining demonic cultivator's Soul Banner would be a stronger mid-stage Qi Refining evil ghost?
He didn't die from carelessness or underestimation, but from an information disparity.
He had never heard of a cultivator being able to possess a powerful primary soul beyond their own cultivation stage.
He saw it today, but he was also about to die.
Regret and remorse flashed in Zhu Lin's eyes. He truly shouldn't have closed the distance just to save spirit stones.
Wen Yue frowned and nodded at Tu Shanjun.
Tu Shanjun immediately shattered Zhu Lin's head and dragged his soul into the Soul Banner.
(Chapter End)