Chapter 1360: Wan Soul Banner

A sudden wind sweeps across the Nine Provinces.

The enemies’ origins and objectives are unknown. The situation on the Unrivaled Continent is dire and chaotic.

Lu Ye frowned. If only he had known, he wouldn’t have killed that soldier so quickly. He could have captured him to gather information.

But he didn’t have the ability to foretell the future. Before engaging the enemy, he couldn’t have anticipated the current predicament.

“This place isn’t close to the Unrivaled Continent. The commotion from our previous fight likely didn’t reach them,” Feng Wujiang said. “So, even if there are two more Star Constellations inside, it’s highly probable they haven’t detected our arrival.”

They might not even be aware of their companions’ deaths; the two Star Constellations killed earlier had no opportunity or sign to send a message.

“Sneak in, find them, and defeat them one by one!” someone suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement. Given the circumstances, this was the safest approach. Although they had ten people, they couldn’t brazenly attack. That would only alert the enemy, especially since one of them was a late-stage Star Constellation.

He had personally confronted a late-stage Star Constellation from the Little People race and understood the formidable power of cultivators at that level. Current Star Constellations of the Nine Provinces couldn’t contend with them. Even with a numerical advantage, they might not gain much benefit in a direct fight.

The Little People, influenced by their upbringing and their reliance on talismans, were generally weaker overall. Lu Ye had noticed this before.

It was similar to the niche cultivators in the Nine Provinces; cultivators who relied too heavily on external forces often found their own progress hindered.

After the Black Abyss drill, the Little People’s Sunlit cultivators also recognized this issue, or rather, they had known it for a long time but lacked the courage to change. This time, Lu Ye, a single human, gave them a valuable lesson, finally spurring them to resolve to change the status quo. Lu Ye might have defeated a late-stage Star Constellation of the Little People in direct combat, but he might not be able to defeat a late-stage Star Constellation from another race.

Especially if the opponent was also human!

With the plan decided, everyone immediately took action. Moments later, ten figures silently infiltrated the Unrivaled Continent’s boundary.

Cultivators at the Star Constellation level, regardless of their faction, possessed some degree of stealth abilities, though their proficiency varied.

Among the ten, Nian Yuexian and another ghost cultivator had the most perfect stealth. In this domain, ghost cultivators possessed an unparalleled advantage.

Lu Ye came next.

The Concealment and Aura Concealment Spirit Runes were effective below the Divine Sea Realm, but they were far less effective against the spiritual perception of the Star Constellation Realm. These two spirit runes were part of Lu Ye’s plan to re-derive and improve, but due to limited energy, he hadn’t gotten to them yet.

As for the rest of the group... their stealth was passable, but its effectiveness was uncertain.

The ten-person team split into five groups, two people per group, spreading out in all directions.

Lu Ye was with Nian Yuexian. Their immediate task was simple: locate the two foreign Star Constellations, then act as opportunities arose.

Finding two individuals within a vast domain was not easy, especially while maintaining stealth. No one wanted to create too much commotion.

However, Lu Ye’s luck was surprisingly good, or perhaps the other party had no intention of hiding…

A ghostly black mist billowed on a mountain peak, filled with the chilling sounds of ghosts wailing and pitiful screams, as if someone was enduring immense torture.

Hearing these sounds and seeing the scale of the black mist, both Lu Ye and Nian Yuexian’s hearts sank, vaguely suspecting something.

As they drew closer, their suspicions were confirmed. Within the swirling black mist, a large banner faintly unfurled in the wind. Below the banner, a graceful figure sat, her form appearing and disappearing as the black mist rolled, like a true specter.

“Myriad Soul Banner!” Nian Yuexian secretly transmitted to Lu Ye. Lu Ye’s expression was solemn, and he nodded slightly.

After observing numerous jade slips in the Little People’s Breath Abyss Pavilion, both had gained a basic understanding of many things in the starry sky.

Information about the Myriad Soul Banner was recorded on one of the jade slips in the Breath Abyss Pavilion.

The reason for its mention was mainly its notoriety. Moreover, it didn’t require complex refining, yet its power was considerable, making it highly favored by some cultivators with malevolent dispositions.

The Myriad Soul Banner was a treasure, and one whose quality could be continuously improved.

During its refining, it required extracting the divine souls and spiritual bodies of living beings and sealing them within the banner. The stronger and more numerous the sealed divine souls and spiritual bodies, the greater the power of the Myriad Soul Banner.

When used against an enemy, unleashing the banner could transform the area into a ghost domain. The banner holder could move freely within it, their figure unseen, while those trapped suffered immense spiritual torment with no escape.

The jade slip in the Breath Abyss Pavilion recorded a past instance where a powerful cultivator unleashed the banner, wiping out all living beings in a large domain.

Because this banner’s refining process was incredibly brutal and inhumane, it was officially considered a forbidden item.

But human nature is complex; the more forbidden something is, the more people seek it. Throughout history, countless individuals have refined such evil treasures, and countless beings have met tragic ends because of it, their divine souls and spiritual bodies trapped within the banner, suffering torment worse than death.

Lu Ye hadn’t expected to encounter something like the Myriad Soul Banner here. And judging by the scene before him, the person was clearly improving the quality of her Myriad Soul Banner.

He finally understood the purpose of the two enemy Star Constellations entering the Unrivaled Continent.

For the holder of the Myriad Soul Banner, the cultivators of the Nine Provinces within the Unrivaled Continent were excellent materials to enhance the quality of this evil banner.

He wondered how many Nine Provinces cultivators had already suffered a tragic end.

The moment he received news from this area, he had immediately ordered the Nine Provinces cultivators here to conceal themselves and lie low. However, how effective could the concealment of Divine Sea Realm cultivators at most be against Star Constellations? Unless they hid very deeply, a Star Constellation’s spiritual sense could still easily find them.

Suppressing the unease in his heart, he immersed himself in checking his battle imprint.

His third senior brother Xiao Xinghe’s battle imprint was still there, meaning he was still alive.

His fourth senior brother’s was also there...

Lin Yinxiu, Feng Yuechan, and Yiyi were all present. Hua Ci... was also there!

He exhaled slightly.

However, he could feel that some imprints were indeed missing from his battle imprint, meaning those who were missing had already died.

He didn't know if they died in the Nine Provinces or here, and there was no way to find out now.

While observing silently, neither Lu Ye nor Nian Yuexian made a move. Although they had found traces of one enemy Star Constellation, the whereabouts of the other still needed to be thoroughly investigated by Senior Brother and the others.

However, after only a brief wait, intense sounds of combat suddenly erupted from a certain direction. These were clearly the residual effects of Star Constellation-level cultivators clashing.

They had been exposed!

All the cultivators from the Nine Provinces were early-stage Star Constellations and not particularly skilled in stealth. If there was a significant power difference, exposure was normal.

Lu Ye immediately concluded that the Star Constellation near them was an early-stage cultivator! He couldn’t determine the opponent’s cultivation level earlier because the swirling black mist of the Myriad Soul Banner created extremely complex spiritual energy fluctuations, causing too much interference.

But the exposure of others indicated that the other Star Constellation had very strong perception, likely a late-stage cultivator.

That meant the one here must be an early-stage cultivator.

Almost simultaneously with the sounds of combat from afar, the graceful figure within the Myriad Soul Banner sensed something. However, before she could fully comprehend the situation, two sharp auras abruptly appeared nearby in her perception, locking onto her.

She quickly looked over, and through the black mist, she instantly saw Lu Ye and Nian Yuexian, who had burst forward.

Nian Yuexian merged with her sword light, instantly erupting with a speed slightly faster than Lu Ye’s. She plunged into the black mist of the Myriad Soul Banner, her long sword radiating thousands of brilliant lights that cascaded down upon the opponent like a waterfall.

The woman shrieked and quickly activated the power of the Myriad Soul Banner. Instantly, the wailing of ghosts grew even louder.

Lu Ye followed closely behind Nian Yuexian, plunging into the banner domain, and immediately felt the strange power of this banner.

His divine soul was clearly impacted. The force of the impact wasn’t strong, but it was extremely frequent. Coupled with the wailing of ghosts, those with unstable minds could easily become disoriented.

However, the two individuals who had stormed into the banner domain at this moment were a sword cultivator known for her combat prowess and a soldier cultivator seasoned in battle. Such tactics had little effect on them.

Within the banner domain, countless sealed divine souls and spiritual bodies swarmed towards them like ants. If bitten, they would inevitably suffer spiritual pain.

Lu Ye’s long blade danced, and with each mournful scream, the divine souls and spiritual bodies rushing at him shattered and dissipated into nothingness.

His Soul Cleaving Blade was originally a treasure specifically designed to target divine souls. How could these divine souls sealed within the banner withstand his strikes?

Like riding the wind and breaking the waves, unstoppable, he fiercely charged forward, reaching the banner master’s terrified gaze.

The anger in his heart made him wish to cleave the woman in two, but he ultimately refrained. Instead, he simply thrust his blade straight through, piercing her just past her heart!

Only up close did he realize the woman was exceptionally beautiful, with an air of fragility that would make anyone pity her.

Yet, her actions were as venomous as a viper!

Lu Ye arrived first, subduing the woman with a single strike. Nian Yuexian also charged in, her long sword resting diagonally against the woman’s long, fair neck. The sharp blade cut through her skin, and blood flowed, a striking crimson against the dark ghostly domain.

With the two of them on either side, radiating cold killing intent, the woman caught between them trembled, her expression terrified.

She hadn’t expected to suffer such unprovoked calamity just by improving the quality of her Myriad Soul Banner here!

“I’ll only say this once, do as I say!” Lu Ye said to the woman, his expression calm. “Nod if you understand!”

The woman obediently nodded. She could feel the almost boiling rage beneath the man’s calm exterior. The calmer a person appeared, the more terrifying they were.

New books: [This is a placeholder for actual book titles, not part of the translation.]