Chapter 989: Five Sons United Against the Demon

Bai Yaoyi watched in astonishment as a golden arc exploded on the dry corpse. The corpse, countless years old, instantly disintegrated in the golden light, turning into a pile of white ashes.

"Let's go," Han Li said calmly after a moment of silence, a slight frown on his brow. "It seems I was truly overthinking things." He then strode out of the area. Bai Yaoyi chuckled softly, shaking her head, and followed him out, seemingly unconcerned.

Soon after, the two reappeared in the passage and continued flying forward. As their figures receded into the distance, and a sliver of purple light was finally swallowed by the black shadowy wind, a humanoid black shadow slowly rose from beneath the ground, near the stone pillar in the cave. The shadow was completely black, its features indistinct, appearing as pure darkness. Only its eyes gleamed with an eerie green light.

It first glanced at the ape demon, now frozen shards at the entrance, then looked down at the ashes before the stone pillar, before suddenly pouncing onto the ground. A bizarre scene unfolded! After the black shadow rolled once, the ashes immediately flew towards it, adhering to its entire form without a single speck falling off. Then, the black shadow let out a low growl, and plumes of black energy emanated from its body, enveloping itself. Moments later, after the black energy swirled, a dry corpse identical to the original emerged from within.

This time, the dry corpse no longer looked like a lifeless object. After its head turned, it suddenly opened its mouth towards the entrance, unleashing a blast of black shadowy wind that instantly swept up the ape demon's icy remains. Within the black wind, the ice melted and vanished at a visible rate. With a whoosh, a complete ape demon leaped out of the wind. It bared its fangs a few times, then in a few bounds, settled beneath the dry corpse, climbing onto its leg and remaining motionless, like a pet. The dry corpse extended a dark claw, casually patting the ape demon's head twice, while its eyes, glowing green, stared intently at the exit. The dry corpse seemed to be contemplating something, much like a normal person, fully displaying signs of awakened intelligence.

While Han Li and his companions were going their separate ways, a manor on the summit of a towering mountain in Southern Xinjiang resonated with earth-shattering cries of battle. Nearly a hundred black-robed cultivators were assaulting a pale yellow light barrier with various magic treasures and artifacts. This barrier enveloped most of the manor, but inside, only a dozen or so yellow-robed cultivators frantically waved array flags of different colors, struggling to reinforce the protective barrier. Due to their meager numbers, the light barrier was visibly faltering, and everyone inside showed signs of panic.

Hundreds of feet above the manor, a dignified-looking middle-aged cultivator, also clad in yellow robes, had an unusually pale complexion. Surrounding him, five faint, ghostly figures, like wisps of smoke, stood at a distance, forming a circle. These figures formed a circle, perfectly surrounding the middle-aged cultivator.

"Brother Zong, can you truly not spare the He family? The Ghost Sect Master and I have met a few times. If you are willing to show mercy, I will lead my He family members to withdraw from the cultivation world forever, never to reappear. Moreover, this is Southern Xinjiang; if you act so recklessly, I fear you will cause trouble," the middle-aged cultivator said, looking up at the sky, holding onto a sliver of hope despite knowing it was slim.

"Your He family agreed to join our Yinluo Sect, but now, at the last moment, you want to renege. What do you take our Yinluo Sect for? Don't think that just because you moved your family to Southern Xinjiang, our sect wouldn't find you. For the sake of our sect's reputation, the He family must be annihilated. And I, Zong, still intend to borrow your head to deter lesser individuals. Will you end it yourself, or shall I do it personally? If the Five Fiends of United Hearts act, not even your bones will remain," a voice suddenly echoed from seemingly nowhere, ethereal and indistinct, making it impossible to discern if it was male or female.

Upon hearing this, the yellow-robed cultivator's heart sank. Just then, a thunderous boom erupted from below. The yellow-robed cultivator's face paled as he swiftly glanced down, seeing the light barrier protecting the manor finally shatter into fragments, scattering into tiny specks of light that vanished without a trace. The yellow-robed cultivator's face was completely drained of color. The Yinluo Sect cultivators outside the manor cheered, then an overwhelming wave of light descended, instantly engulfing the dozen or so cultivators inside the barrier.

"How dare you..."

Unable to restrain himself any longer, the yellow-robed cultivator slapped the spirit beast pouch at his waist. A yellow light shot out from the pouch, transforming into a several-zhang-long yellow python that hurtled downwards.

"Why bother with mere juniors, fellow cultivator? Let me, Zong, experience your Heaven-Shaking Brick," the mysterious figure said indifferently. One of the white figures surrounding him suddenly moved, appearing below the yellow python with impossible speed. Its speed was almost like teleportation.

The yellow python's eyes flashed ferociously, and it opened its massive maw, lunging savagely towards the white shadow. Without a word, the white shadow's body shuddered, instantly transforming into a giant skull, about a *zhang* in size, entirely snow-white. The yellow python was startled by this sight and tried to halt its momentum, but it was already too late.

After a few cackling laughs, the skull opened its mouth and spat out a flurry of white threads, instantly entangling the python and wrapping it tightly. In its alarm, the yellow python naturally struggled desperately, its massive tail, like a steel whip, slamming hard onto the skull with a sweep. However, the skull didn't even tremble. Instead, a grey light suddenly appeared within its mouth and traveled directly along the white threads to the yellow python. An incredible scene unfolded. Starting from the python's head, wherever the grey light passed, the once slick and plump python became dull and shriveled. In an instant, the python's flesh and blood inexplicably vanished, leaving only a skeletal appearance. The yellow python naturally perished.

But the skull did not stop. With a shake of its white threads, it swept the entire python corpse into its gaping maw and began chewing vigorously, producing terrifying crunching sounds. Seeing his spirit python, which had accompanied him for years, meet such a gruesome end, the yellow-robed cultivator was both shocked and enraged, a hint of venom flashing in his eyes. He swept his gaze over the approaching white figures, then suddenly slapped the back of his head with one hand. Something shot out of his mouth: a several-inch-sized square brick, yellow in color. The yellow-robed cultivator formed a hand seal and solemnly pointed at the brick. This treasure circled once and flew into the air, then rapidly expanded amidst a glow. In almost a single breath, a colossal object appeared above the yellow-robed cultivator's head. It was over ten zhang in size, emanating dazzling yellow light and circulating runes, truly possessing an astonishing aura.

"Is this the Heaven-Shaking Brick? It truly is better to not have seen it than to have heard its name; it quite disappoints me, Zong. It seems there's no need for me to show myself. Let the Five Fiends escort you on your way!" The hidden cultivator sighed, sounding extremely disappointed.

No sooner had these words fallen than the other white figures stirred, gracefully floating towards the yellow-robed cultivator. The yellow-robed cultivator ignored the contemptuous remarks. After glancing at the approaching white figures, he suddenly roared, his voice shaking the heavens. The Heaven-Shaking Brick above his head immediately began to spin rapidly. Given its massive size, a fierce gale naturally erupted instantly, enveloping the yellow-robed cultivator.

However, the white figures disregarded this. As soon as they approached within ten zhang of the hurricane, they elongated their forms and shot directly into it. "You're courting death!" Countless yellow rays shot out from the wind, all of them foot-sized square bricks. A thunderous roar ensued, and in an instant, the white figures were submerged in the dazzling light. Seizing this opportunity, a yellow rainbow suddenly shot out from the hurricane, streaking towards the horizon in a flash, reaching over twenty zhang away in the blink of an eye.

"Hmph!" A chilling, bone-piercing snort. Then, with a few soft thuds, four white figures emerged from the yellow light as if nothing had happened, then vanished from their spots in a flash. The next moment, spatial fluctuations suddenly emanated from in front of the astonishing rainbow. Amidst a flickering grey light, four white figures appeared and wordlessly pounced on the rainbow.

The yellow-robed cultivator was greatly alarmed. His figure paused, and he hastily raised a hand. Instantly, a giant brick several zhang in size unapologetically struck the white figures. However, the white figures merely swayed as if unaffected, their forms passing directly through the brick and appearing before the yellow-robed cultivator in a flash. The yellow-robed cultivator panicked. With a wave of one hand, he revealed an ancient treasure he had already held clasped within his grasp. It was a blue token.

With just a flicker of this treasure, a wave of blue mist surged forth. As the white figures entered it, their forms seemed to instantly solidify, as if they couldn't move an inch. Before joy could fully register on the yellow-robed cultivator's face, the white figures suddenly let out a bizarre laugh, and their forms spontaneously disintegrated within the blue mist. Seeing this, the yellow-robed cultivator mentally cried out in alarm, hastily activated a spiritual light around his body, and prepared to flee. However, a white mist suddenly appeared before him, and several faint figures leaped out from it. They seemingly disregarded the yellow-robed cultivator's protective spiritual light, piercing directly through it and disappearing into his body.

Before the yellow-robed cultivator could react, he felt his Nascent Soul suddenly tighten within him, his body grew hot, and it seemed as if all his blood was boiling. This was his last sensation in this world. The next moment, his vision went black, and he lost consciousness. If anyone else had been nearby, they would have clearly seen the yellow-robed cultivator's face rapidly shriveling at a visible rate, turning into a skeletal dry corpse in the blink of an eye. The Nascent Soul within the dry corpse was completely devoured by the white figures that had entered his body. Then, the four white figures, satisfied, flew out of the dry corpse, transforming into four skulls that ferociously began to feast on the remaining corpse. Just then, the fifth white figure slowly arrived. All five white figures stood side by side.

By this time, the sounds of explosions and combat in the manor below had ceased, and an old black-robed man flew up with vigorous speed. "Greetings, Grand Elder! All seventy-two members of the He family cultivators have been eradicated. There are still over three hundred mortal direct descendants. Please give your instructions, Elder," the old black-robed man reported, standing respectfully with hands clasped before the white figures.

"Kill them all," the mysterious cultivator said coldly.

"Understood!" the old black-robed man replied, about to fly downwards.

"Wait," the mysterious cultivator commanded darkly. "Elder Ge sent a letter earlier saying that the cultivator who killed our sect's Fourth Elder and stole the Yinluo Banner might also be in Southern Xinjiang. Now that matters here are resolved, have everyone below thoroughly investigate this person's whereabouts. I will personally oversee things in Southern Xinjiang for a year. If there's any trace of this person, I will immediately take action to eliminate him. How can our sect's treasured artifact fall into the hands of an outsider?"

"Yes, Nephew will immediately pass on the order," the old black-robed man replied respectfully, his expression stern. He then transformed into a dark streak of light and descended.

"To be able to kill Fourth Junior Brother, who wielded the Yinluo Banner, and escape the pursuit of the Heavenly Azure Sacred Hall... this person is far stronger than the He family's useless members. He should be an interesting opponent!" The mysterious cultivator murmured to himself after the old black-robed man left, seeming quite interested in Han Li.