At that very moment, an eerie cackle echoed from the distant horizon.
"Heh heh, what a touching pair of fugitive lovebirds!"
As soon as the words fell, a streak of blood-red light tore across the sky, landing nearby and materializing into a figure in a Blood Robe.
The Yin Soul Sectâs Fourth Saint Child!
âSo he finally arrived.â
Mu Qiuyanâs expression changed instantly. She summoned several Spiritual Artifacts and stared fixedly at him.
"Fourth Saint Child!"
"Mu Qiuyan, you stole my Yin Soul Sectâs Cultivation Technique and killed our disciples. Itâs time for you to answer for it!"
The Fourth Saint Childâs aura was oppressive, his expression grim. A blood-red mist emanated from his body.
Mu Qiuyanâs face paled, and she hastily defended herself.
"That Demonic Cultivation Technique was part of an inheritance I received from a predecessor by chance. I only killed those Yin Soul Sect disciples because they were after my Cultivation Technique and my Treasures!"
"Heh heh, a likely story. Why donât you come into my Venerable Soul Banner and take your time explaining it to me!"
A dark light flashed in the Fourth Saint Childâs hand, and a Venerable Soul Banner, brimming with a sinister, deathly aura, appeared.
This Venerable Soul Banner was actually Tier Three!
"Mu Qiuyan, Iâll give you two choices."
"Either become my servant, or enter my Venerable Soul Banner as a Sub-Soul!"
"As for you..."
The Fourth Saint Childâs gaze turned to Li Changâan, his eyes as cold as ice.
Heâd heard of Li Changâanâs reputation as a Turtle.
But this wasnât Changqing Mountain.
Without Changqing Mountain, Li Changâan was like a turtle without its shell.
âA mere Early Stage of Foundation Establishment Cultivation.â
âI could crush him effortlessly!â
"Li Changâan, your Escape Technique isnât half-bad. Youâre qualified to be my servant!"
With that, he casually tossed out two Servant Spirit Contracts.
One landed in front of Li Changâan, the other before Mu Qiuyan.
If they signed them, they would be allowed to live.
But from then on, their lives would likely be a fate worse than death.
"Brother Li, you go first. Iâll hold him off."
Mu Qiuyan gave Li Changâan a deep look, her eyes a mixture of reluctance and resolve.
Given her strength, staying behind to hold off the Fourth Saint Child was suicide.
In the next instant, crimson flames flared to life around her; she was clearly about to burn her life force again.
But with a casual swat, Li Changâan interrupted her Life Burning Technique, knocking her unconscious and tossing her into his Spirit Beast Bag.
Seeing this, the Fourth Saint Child sneered.
"Li Changâan, donât tell me youâre planning to pull the same trick and use your Escape Technique to run for it?"
Li Changâan remained silent. A dark light flashed in his hand, and he too produced a Venerable Soul Banner.
A sinister wind howled as the banner unfurled.
The sky darkened, and a bone-chilling cold filled the air.
The Fourth Saint Childâs expression darkened.
"Youâre not Li Changâan, youâre Li Fan!"
His eyes were fixed on the Venerable Soul Banner, from which he sensed a familiar aura.
Not long ago, within the Blood Lake Marketplace, Li Changâan had destroyed a wisp of his Divine Sense.
The Fourth Saint Childâs face turned ashen with rage. His gaze shifted from the Venerable Soul Banner to Li Changâan, his eyes brimming with killing intent.
"I was wrong. Youâre Li Changâan, but youâre also Li Fan! Who would have thought... that a Turtle like you was secretly this kind of person!"
The contrast between his two identities was simply too vast.
So much so that the Fourth Saint Child had nearly misjudged him.
"Li Fan, do you really think a single Venerable Soul Banner is enough to defy the entire Yin Soul Sect?"
"Youâre mistaken, my friend. My quarrel is only with you. I conduct business with the other members of the Yin Soul Sect just fine."
"You..."
Beside himself with fury, the Fourth Saint Child immediately shook the Soul Banner in his hand.
In an instant, a dense black fog billowed out, blotting out the sky as if it had poured forth from the Netherworld Purgatory itself.
A Tier Three Main Soul emerged from the fog. With a ghastly green face and long fangs, it was utterly ferocious as it fixed its deathly gaze on Li Changâan.
âSo it is a Tier Three Main Soul. But its aura is no match for my Evil Soul.â
Li Changâan wasnât surprised; after all, Wu Ming had told him about it.
The aura of this Tier Three Main Soul was slightly stronger than that of a typical Fake Pill cultivator, likely powered by about one hundred seventy thousand Sub-Souls.
But it was far from a match for his Evil Soul.
At Li Changâanâs command, the Evil Soul flew out, trailing billowing black clouds of its own.
"GYEHEHE, ITâS TIME FOR THIS VENERABLE ONE TO SHOW MY POWER AGAIN!"
The Evil Soul cackled, its face a mask of wild arrogance.
Backed by a full two hundred eighty thousand Sub-Souls, his aura was now incredibly close to that of a True Pill Cultivator.
The Fourth Saint Childâs expression changed as he felt his overwhelming aura.
"Li Fan, how do you have so many Souls?"
He found it impossible to believe. How could Li Changâan, a mere Loose Cultivator, have enough Spirit Stones to buy so many Souls?
Between the two of them, Li Changâan was the one who seemed more like a Saint Child from a Demon Sect.
"Go. Slay that Main Soul!"
Li Changâan gave the order impassively.
The Evil Soul struck at once, lunging toward the Tier Three Main Soul with a thick, murderous aura.
The other Main Soulâs expression faltered, its previous imposing aura gone.
"Master, that Main Soul is stronger than me! I canât hold it off for long! You have to kill Li Fan quickly!"
"Fine!"
The Fourth Saint Child understood as well; the power gap between the two Tier Three Main Souls was immense.
He had to finish Li Changâan, and fast.
Once Li Changâan was dead, the Venerable Soul Banner would be his for the taking.
Soon, the two Tier Three Main Souls were locked in a deadly battle.
Black fog roiled across the land as thousands upon thousands of Souls danced in the air, transforming the battlefield into a living Purgatory.
"Li Fan, even without the Venerable Soul Banner, I am still the Yin Soul Sectâs Saint Child!"
The Fourth Saint Child bellowed, sweeping his arm wide.
Hundreds of skulls flew from his Storage Pouch, assembling into a White Bone Throne that hovered on eerie will-oâ-wisps.
He sat upon his throne, looking down on Li Changâan as the full might of his Foundation Establishment Peak aura erupted. He looked like a sovereign of the Netherworld Ghosts and Demons.
"Li Fan, without your Venerable Soul Banner, what are you?"
The Fourth Saint Childâs voice was chilling, and his eyes turned blood-red.
In the next instant, dozens of Tier Two Refined Corpses flew from his Storage Pouch. Their auras intertwined, vaguely forming an Array as they charged toward Li Changâan.