Chapter 562: Holy War Black Angel

Screech!

A high-pitched, piercing shriek shattered the rhythm of the battlefield. The sound, like a harbinger of death, instantly permeated everyone's soul. Anyone who heard it suddenly felt their scalp tingle and their hair stand on end.

"A ghost beast's roar?" The red-clad cultivators turned around in alarm. Even the blood-soaked Minotaur nearby was temporarily ignored. Even Shounye, Heimin, Xin, and the others immediately turned their heads towards the source of the shriek from behind them.

"This is..." At the edge of the Heaven-Sealing Grand Array, a massive cloud of demonic energy suddenly surged upwards. That dark aura was not as pure as Shounye's dark attribute; instead, it was filled with a chilling, eerie, and evil presence.

"A second ghost beast?" All the red-clad figures in the area were simultaneously stunned. When they entered the White Cave, they were indeed prepared for the presence of many ghost beasts. However, the data they had indicated only ordinary ghost beasts. With just two or three red-clad cultivators working together, capturing them wouldn't be difficult.

But now, with just that one ghost beast's cry, everyone could feel it. This newly appeared ghost beast's power was likely no weaker than that of the blood-soaked Minotaur they were currently fighting!

"Xin?" Shounye immediately turned his head to look at Xin. Xin was fully responsible for the investigation of ghost beast data. If there was any firsthand information about this new ghost beast, it would certainly be in Xin's possession.

"Don't look at me; none of the ghost beasts I investigated had this one..." Xin responded with difficulty. He was completely baffled as well. Where did this monstrous entity appear from? That ghost beast's shriek, resembling the cry of a hawk, was a type he had never encountered before.

Whoosh! As everyone watched, the distant black mist suddenly burst open. The next second, a figure as swift as lightning streaked through it.

"Is that... a person?" Everyone stared in a daze. This newly appeared ghost beast did not have a massive physique. Instead, it possessed a human body. Enveloped in dense demonic energy, the person's features were completely indistinguishable. However, in its right hand, it wielded 'You Sijian'!

"A ghost beast got 'You Sijian'?" The red-clad cultivators were instantly astonished. How could something that completely loses consciousness after transforming wield 'You Sijian'? Moreover, how could 'You Sijian' obey it?

"Be careful, it's still transforming!" Heimin reminded in a low voice. The shadowy figure charged forward with great speed. However, compared to a Throne, it was merely decent.

But what was alarming was this: as the distance increased, the ghost beast seemed to be gradually adapting to its power, and its speed was rapidly escalating. Its cultivation aura was doing the same!

Whoosh! Suddenly, the void trembled. Behind the rushing figure, a pair of black wings, about a zhang in length, unfurled. The black wings flapped. The figure's speed more than doubled again, making it impossible to follow with the naked eye.

No one could describe this ultimate yin and evil dark entity. The moment the black wings appeared, fear seized everyone's hearts, as if Death itself had arrived.

"It's growing!" Heimin's pupils contracted. Just a moment ago, this person was only at the Grandmaster cultivation level, but as the black wings appeared, their aura immediately reached the Throne level. And it was still climbing, showing a tendency to directly approach the Dao Severing level.

"How is this possible? What is this thing's origin... It, it's definitely not an ordinary ghost beast!" a red-clad cultivator muttered, disbelief evident in their voice. It was common knowledge that once a ghost beast possessed a body and unleashed its power, it could only wield the amount of power it had from the start. How could such an unusual situation occur, where cultivation continued to rise over time? And the rate of ascent was so incredibly fast!

"This rat..." Shounye frowned, staring thoughtfully at the black wings, which were more than twice the size of a human.

"Shounye, do you recognize it?" Xin immediately turned back. He completely couldn't understand this ghostly thing.

"Ghost Beast Pearl!" Shounye thought of something and said, "This kind of item, which drains human potential to gain strength, can only be the legendary Ghost Beast Pearl. But this thing is too rare; ordinary people... or rather, ordinary ghost beast hosts, don't even have the qualifications to touch it." His voice suddenly trailed off, and his eyes showed surprise. "Xu Yue Gray Palace!" Immediately, his surprise turned into fear. Shounye's eyes widened; he had fully realized. "Holy War Black Angel!"

"I've seen this monstrous thing before. During the great encirclement of Qingcheng in the Southern Domain, the Xu Yue Gray Palace used it to break through the siege."

"Damn it!" At his words, all the red-clad cultivators' minds instantly went blank. Holy War Black Angel? Apart from Shounye, no one here had participated in that operation in Qingcheng of the Southern Domain. But the name 'Holy War Black Angel' was extremely well-known among the red-clad cultivators.

"One of the Xu Yue Gray Palace's three great Ghost Beast Pearls, at its peak, it even possessed combat power comparable to a Grand Void; upon encountering it, one must retreat, and only a Dao Severing team or a Grand Void cultivator can fight it..." Xin muttered to himself, seemingly repeating information he had read in the past. Then, snapping out of his daze, he shook his head. "No, wait. Currently, this ghost beast host isn't strong enough; it shouldn't have Grand Void combat power. But if it's allowed to continue growing like this, it will likely reach at least the Dao Severing level..."

"What do we do?"

"Damn it, how did something like this end up here?" Heimin cursed in astonishment.

Xin, holding his head, said, "No time; let's all attack and kill this thing..."

Moooo— Another fierce roar sounded from behind them. The red-clad cultivators turned back. The blood-soaked Minotaur, after the red-clad cultivators seized the opportunity to blast away the sea of blood and vital energy it had devoured, was clearly on the verge of splitting apart. Yet, at this moment, it stood up again. And, it split into two! Even though they looked a bit smaller and their power was somewhat dispersed... But, two of them?

"Damn it all!" Xin's eyes nearly popped out of his head. A Holy War Black Angel in front, and two Minotaurs behind?

"Xin, take some people and block those two behind us; it's weakened." Shounye immediately shouted.

Boom! Boom! Before he could finish, Xin had already charged at the two Minotaurs alone. Two savage, heavy punches struck simultaneously, sending him flying.

"Everyone else, follow!" Shounye turned and roared at the stunned red-clad cultivators.

"Yes!" The other red-clad cultivators dared not delay. Receiving the power of the grand array boosted by Lan Ling, they immediately helped Xin by engaging one of the ghost beasts. They didn't aim for a kill. But as long as they stalled it, the other Minotaur, with only half its strength remaining, would surely not be able to withstand Xin's single-target damage. At that point, the combat power of the red-clad cultivators would certainly be freed up!

Screech!

Just then, the Holy War Black Angel, formed from Cheng Xingchu, had already dashed in front of Shounye and Heimin.

"Let's go together and kill it!" Heimin called out to Shounye in a low voice. At this moment, Heimin no longer dared to dwell on their past minor grudges. A continuously growing Holy War Black Angel, plus 'You Sijian'. If it came to a one-on-one fight, who could possibly withstand it? With a single lunge, he met the entity.

Swish, swish, swish. The fiendish sword energy from 'You Sijian' slashed past his side, directly stirring up the evil desires within Heimin's heart. After dodging, Heimin immediately severed the desires in his heart. As his body drew closer, he smelled a familiar aura on the Holy War Black Angel, and immediately realized something.

"Sacrificial Carvings!"

"This thing has the aura of Sacrificial Carvings within it; no wonder 'You Sijian' obeys its commands..."

"Shounye, attack!" With spirit energy empowering him, and having cut off the Heavenly Dao power the Holy War Black Angel was drawing upon to prevent it from growing into a Dao Severing cultivator, Heimin charged directly forward. But as the opponent slashed with a sword, he had no choice but to dodge.

"Yin Corpse Great Prison!" Raising both hands, the gates of the Yin Corpse Hell opened, settling in the north and south, splitting space and completely severing heaven and earth into two halves. Even though the Holy War Black Angel stopped its charge in time, intending to go around, the heavy yin chains that burst forth from the Yin Corpse Gate still instantly bound the Holy War Black Angel.

Pulling, tugging... Pulling, tugging... One pulling inward, one pulling outward.

Heimin discovered that in just this short span of time, the Holy War Black Angel's power had already fully surged. He could only restrict its movements; he was completely unable to drag it into the Yin Corpse Hell. Naturally, suppressing or sealing this thing was out of the question.

"Shounye, sever it!" Heimin decided without hesitation. The Holy War Black Angel fought alone, but he, Heimin, had teammates. This was the true battle among the red-clad cultivators!

However, Shounye drifted past, directly bypassing the Holy War Black Angel, and flew into the distance.

Heimin: ???

"Shounye, you..."

"The Holy War Black Angel is yours. It's clear that the ghost beast host isn't strong; its power was forcefully dragged up." Shounye transmitted his voice, "You can do it."

"What kind of joke is this?!" Heimin was utterly shocked. "You're leaving the rat uncaptured and telling me 'you can do it'? Is this the time to dwell on past trifles?"

"It's not that..."

"If it's not that, then just sever it for me!" Heimin was frantic; he hadn't expected Shounye to be so petty. The consumption of the Yin Corpse Hell, on the other hand, doubled over time. Meanwhile, the opponent's strength was continuously increasing. With one weakening and the other strengthening, the Holy War Black Angel might truly break free. If that monstrous thing grew stronger, they would all be finished!

"Heimin, the Ghost Beast Pearl wouldn't appear here for no reason. And the Xu Yue Gray Palace wouldn't send these two unconscious rats out to conquer the world. The true mastermind is someone else!" Shounye looked in the direction from which the Holy War Black Angel had charged. Faintly, there was an extremely weak Throne aura over there. But this was just a facade. If a ghost beast host already possessed such power, then after unleashing its ghost beast form, there would be few red-clad cultivators here capable of stopping it. And who was there was already obvious. Although the opponent's aura was now concealed, since it had appeared, the Heaven-Sealing Grand Array would certainly be able to record it. With Lan Ling present, he could uncover them and sever them directly. Without their leader, those two minor ghost beasts behind them wouldn't be able to cause much trouble.

"Wait!" Heimin, however, grew anxious watching Shounye's retreating back and roared, "At least help me with one slash!"

"Find Lan Ling," Shounye said without turning his head.

Heimin: ??? Lan Ling? That dead hag who tries to steal my leadership?

"Damn it!"

"Isn't it just a solo fight? A trashy, stinking rat with only two wings..." The more Heimin looked at the Black Angel, the angrier he became. He performed a hand seal. "Get in here!" Thick mist surged from the great gate of the Yin Corpse Hell, transforming into a Hand of Death that seized the Holy War Black Angel, attempting to drag it through the entrance.

Clang, clang, clang— The chains clanged wildly. However, the fiendish sword intent directly blackened the Hand of Death. Sword energy burst forth and exploded. Not only did the Hand of Death explode, but even the chains binding the Holy War Black Angel showed signs of softening under the assault of the demonic energy.

Heimin's brow twitched wildly as he watched. "This..."

"Need help?" a slightly teasing female voice sounded in his ear.

Lan Ling... Heimin clenched his teeth in anger. That little hussy! He was about to refuse. But at that moment, the chains snapped with a 'thud,' breaking several links.

"Yes!" Heimin said in a panic, "Hurry, use the power of the grand array to suppress it for me first!"

"Oh, my goodness."

Beneath the underground pit, Xu Xiaoshou was already close to being unable to hide any longer. He didn't want to see Xin Gugu die. But rushing in would only sacrifice himself for nothing. He had originally considered whether he could incite the Storyteller to act and stir up the situation. But who would have thought that Jiaotangtang would directly turn Cheng Xingchu into a ghost beast!

Xu Xiaoshou was terrified. He didn't know what kind of ability this was. But as an outsider with a God's-eye view, having witnessed the entire scene, he fully knew that the source of all this was that bizarre pearl.

"Ghost Beast Pearl?"

"Holy War Black Angel?"

He heard the red-clad cultivators' initial cries of alarm. A Dao Severing level ghost beast wielding 'You Sijian', the completely enraged Xin Gugu, and a resurrected... no, Shounye, who had returned from afar. All of this was telling Xu Xiaoshou one thing: this hellish place was absolutely not somewhere he could stay.

"To hell with 'You Sijian', and to hell with schemes within schemes! Is this a place for humans to be?" Never had Xu Xiaoshou felt such a strong desire to flee immediately. He was just a fake 'Saint Servant' number two. Any random thing here, whether a red-clad cultivator or a ghost beast—if he encountered one, he would surely die!

"But..." What puzzled Xu Xiaoshou was this: Even with such a situation unfolding, how could the Storyteller still remain so calm? Jiaotangtang had already made her move. This meant that the 'Xu Yue Gray Palace' had completed its preparations and initiated its plan. What was the Storyteller still waiting for? Just recovering the unconscious Lei Shuangxing, and doing nothing else?

"Old Seven." Xu Xiaoshou ignored everything else and directly sent Mu Zixi into his Yuan Mansion. He couldn't let his junior sister risk staying here any longer.

"Hmm?" The Storyteller's voice sounded in his ear. He didn't seem to care about this small detail of sending someone away. His slight nasal sound contained only a hint of confusion, completely devoid of any worry or concern about the situation earlier.

Xu Xiaoshou really wanted to ask, "Why the hell aren't you going out to join the free-for-all? Why aren't you going to your doom?" But the words reached his lips and turned into two calm ones.

"Stay calm."

"Mhm," the Storyteller responded with a smile, "Don't worry, everything is under control."

Xu Xiaoshou's heart sank to rock bottom. Under control? You damned sissy, what secret are you really holding onto? That confident tone was truly unsettling!

At this moment, Xu Xiaoshou had secretly moved from underground to the edge of the Heaven-Sealing Grand Array. 'Perception' could penetrate Throne realms. However, it was completely powerless against the 'Heaven-Sealing Grand Array' in front of him, which was derived from the 'Thirty-Six Heavens Seal-Less Array', making it impossible to ascertain the situation outside the grand array.

"I can't wait any longer; I'm getting out of here!" Xu Xiaoshou couldn't stay still anymore. His intuition told him that if he stayed any longer, he would definitely be dragged into the chaos once the Storyteller made his move.

With a 'thwack,' he pulled out the 'Heavenly Pivot Compass,' which had been dormant in his Yuan Mansion for a long time.

"Old Second, what is this?"

"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask." Xu Xiaoshou directly interrupted him. "You have your mission; just take care of yourself. This old man... has other plans."

"Hated, passive value, 1."

The Storyteller was silent for a moment, then asked again, "Heavenly Mystery Array Plate? What is this thing? Old Second, aren't you an alchemist? You can do this too?"

"Shut up! Do you think I'm like you? Only sticking to old ways? After all these years, you haven't grown at all; aren't you ashamed?!" Xu Xiaoshou directly reprimanded him.

The Storyteller: "..."

"Cursed, passive value, 1."

As the saying goes, give an inch and they'll take a mile. Once he knew he could speak to the Storyteller like that, Xu Xiaoshou couldn't even be bothered to explain or lie. He simply reprimanded him directly! This was the greatest respect he could show to Old Man Sang's face.

"Heavenly Pivot Compass..." Xu Xiaoshou looked at the patterns on the array plate, which faintly resonated with the grand array, and hardened his heart. He intended to seize control of the 'Heaven-Sealing Grand Array' from Lan Ling and Yu Zhiwen. He wanted to get out. He wanted to leave this damned, hellish place that was not fit for humans.

"Old Seven, help me conceal the heavenly secrets, don't let the red-clad cultivators discover me!"