Chapter 5: The Broke Bastard Who Can

No matter how the outward form changes, the core remains unaltered; modern demonic cultivators truly have creativity—a demonic array has even produced the auspicious imagery of a dragon and phoenix.

Zhang Yunlu’s face had turned slightly pale.

She did not wish to believe it, yet felt this man had not lied to her.

The Soul-Seizing Array is one of the most infamous demonic arrays; even those with no knowledge of ancient cultivation realms have heard of it.

It is listed in textbooks—the power of the Soul-Seizing Array is tied to the cultivator’s realm.

Once activated, any cultivator below two realms of the array’s creator, lacking special protection, will have their soul instantly ripped away, while the creator gains an extreme boost.

The Void-Return cultivator Xiao Ning True Person has now arrived in Xuanjian City.

The mastermind still dares to set up the array—meaning the array’s creator is at least a Void-Return cultivator!

Any cultivator below Soul Transformation will have their soul forcibly ripped away the instant the array fully activates.

Not to mention someone like her, a Qi Refining cultivator.

“But there’s no need to worry—just wait patiently. Xiao Ning True Person should have noticed something’s off by now.”

Zhang Yunlu gazed at the sky, her eyes filled with worry.

Whether true or false, what could a Qi Refining cultivator like her possibly do?

And those around her, also staring at the sky, all believed the dragon and phoenix illusions were merely the “special effects” accompanying a Void-Return cultivator’s arrival.

Many pulled out their phones to take photos; some even rode flying swords into the air to find better angles, only to be swiftly driven down by Golden Core security guards.

Among them were a few hooligans with dyed yellow hair, looking lazy and careless—their flying swords were crudely made, yet emitted thunderous roars and dazzling light effects.

“What’s going on with those people’s flying swords?”

Zhang Yunlu was internally flustered, but still answered instinctively: “Those are flying sword coatings—‘Sword Qi Thunder Sound Simulators.’ Useless.”

Xu Xing instantly understood—he realized these were the cultivation world’s version of ghost fire.

“Some flying sword coating masters can even imprint the sword intent of top sword cultivators; swords coated by them allow even complete beginners with no sword cultivation experience to unleash genuine Sword Qi Thunder Sound—or even higher realms.”

But the price is far beyond what ordinary people can afford.

“By the way, aren’t you a disciple of the Sword Sect? How come you’ve never heard of these?”

“I often enter seclusion; I haven’t paid attention to the outside world in years.”

Zhang Yunlu didn’t doubt it—she assumed he was one of those reclusive cultivators oblivious to the world.

Dong~ Dong~ Dong~ Three long, ancient bell chimes rang out. Zhang Yunlu’s pupils shrank as she saw the dragon and phoenix illusions draw near, radiating pure light, from which a small silver-white banner emerged.

In Xuanjian City, regardless of cultivation level, all were drawn to it.

The banner glowed with shifting luminescence; wherever the pure light shone, countless solemn deities manifested, seated upon cloud peaks, gazing down upon the entire city.

Every cultivator who met the gaze of these “deities” felt the divine light within their eyes was the very principle of the Dao, filling their primordial spirit with profound freedom and liberation.

Unprepared, in but an instant, seventy percent of Xuanjian City’s cultivators became entranced, their souls on the verge of leaving their bodies.

Zhang Yunlu kept her head lowered, hearing only the chanting chants in her ears, yet she forcibly suppressed the urge to look up with sheer willpower.

Xu Xing watched her for several seconds, then nodded—even with his aid, she had held out this long.

This girl, who had such a connection with him, possessed a commendable nature.

He then looked aside, toward the location of the city hall.

Had the Void-Return cultivator Xiao Ning truly not noticed? Are today’s Immortal Sect disciples really this weak?…

Inside the mayor’s office, Xiao Ning True Person stood by the window, his expression grave—he had sensed something was wrong the moment the celestial anomaly appeared.

When the banner emerged, he was certain.

The Ten Thousand Souls Banner! Who still dares to forge such an inhuman artifact?

The Soul Transformation mayor and a Taishang Dao Sect disciple who had arrived with him stood silently behind him.

Suddenly, a Soul Transformation cultivator from Taishang Dao Sect stepped forward. “Uncle, I’ve reported the situation in Xuanjian City to our sect, but a demonic elder has sealed the surrounding space—reinforcements will arrive in three minutes.”

Hm? If the space is sealed, how did you notify the sect? Xiao Ning turned his head and saw the disciple who had spoken suddenly collapse, transforming into a bean the size of a thumb.

Bean-to-Soldier Technique!

Fuck! So it wasn’t his true body!

Because the demonic elder had sealed the void, he had also severed control over his avatar.

Puff! Puff! Several more sounds followed—other cultivators turned into paper dolls, puppets, or simply vanished.

In the end, only three Soul Transformation cultivators remained; not a single Nascent Soul cultivator was left—they had all been avatars, invisible to Xiao Ning’s Void-Return perception.

The mayor beside him looked utterly bewildered, not understanding what these Taishang Dao Sect cultivators were up to.

Xiao Ning’s eyelid twitched.

Damn it—he had made a colossal fool of himself.

Now that it had come to this, he could only deal with the immediate threat.

“The city’s protective array has been inverted into the Soul-Seizing Array. I’ll delay the array’s creator while waiting for sect reinforcements.”

Without giving the mayor a chance to ask, he transformed into a streak of light and shot upward, heading straight for the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

Using a thread of pure primordial qi as foundation, he gathered boundless magic power into a colossal hand that reached for the silver-white banner.

Grand Technique—Primordial Qi Grand Grasp!

The residents of Xuanjian City had all been evacuated to sect outposts or schools—he could unleash his power without restraint!

Beneath the primordial qi hand, the banner trembled like a tiny boat tossed in a storm.

“We’ve been awaiting you, Xiao Ning True Person.”

A clear, jade-like voice echoed as the “deities” seated upon the clouds simultaneously pushed forward a palm, sending a roaring river of pure light crashing into the giant hand.

BOOM!

A visible shockwave spread outward; beneath their collision, towering buildings were shredded like they’d been struck by a meteor, the ground collapsing inward into a crater dozens of meters deep.

As the two clashed, the cultivators drawn in by the Ten Thousand Souls Banner suddenly snapped back to awareness.

The shockwave struck, throwing many to the ground; most didn’t understand what had happened, except for a few.

The chanting chants vanished from Zhang Yunlu’s ears—she sighed in relief and collapsed, utterly drained.

With great effort, she lifted her head upward—the clouds had vanished from the sky due to that clash.

The solemn “deities” sat on the horizon; the Ten Thousand Souls Banner fluttered gently as a cheerful, sunlit young man materialized from nothingness and grasped the banner’s shaft.

“Greetings, Xiao Ning True Person,” the youth smiled lightly.

“Evil heretic! Dare you reveal your name!”

Xiao Ning stared coldly at him, secretly activating a grand technique.

“No, no—I wouldn’t dare. Taishang Dao Sect’s techniques are too mysterious. I don’t want your elders hunting me to death.”

“You want to kill me?” Xiao Ning’s eyelid twitched.

“No, I merely wish to borrow your primordial spirit.”

The two faced off from afar—the youth waited for the Soul-Seizing Array’s power to reach its peak.

Xiao Ning pondered: should he hold out until reinforcements arrived… or simply use the Grand Void Destroying Sword Qi in his mind to slice this fool to death?

Frankly, he didn’t want to.

“Primordial spirit? I thought you were some fearsome demonic master—you’re just a broke bastard who can’t afford a fabricated primordial spirit!”

The youth’s expression froze; his smile vanished.

(End of Chapter)