East side of Giant Whale City.
Several miles behind the main street, inside a stretch of extravagant mansions.
A thin middle-aged man hurried inside, where three black-robed men were waitingâall were at the ninth layer of Qi Refining, two at the late stage, one at early stage.
But all three gave off an aura of chilling darkness.
Seeing the thin middle-aged man enter, all three in the room turned to look at him. One of them, a fat man, spoke up. "Old Zhang, judging by that grin of yours, you found us a fat sheep today?"
"Definitely. Peak of Qi Refining ninth layer, staying at the Spirit Cultivation Inn, bought twenty Yuan Condensing Pills. This is a big fat sheep. But... we might not be able to swallow him."
"Iâm planning to be cautious and ask Young Master Xuan to handle it."
Zhang Hansheng looked thoughtful, and said,
"Peak of Qi Refining ninth layer is indeed tough for us. But if Young Master Xuan makes a move, weâll definitely succeed!"
The fat man nodded.
"There are four people inside!"
"Looks like I need to master Sound Insulation Arrays. That way, if I run into greedy cultivators like these again, I can just lay down the Tiger Killing Death Array outside, then a Sound Insulation Array over it, and kill them inside without a single noise getting out!"
At that moment, just outside the grand mansion, Lin Changâsheng stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the courtyard, muttering to himself.
With that saidâ
Lin Changâshengâs figure flickered and appeared inside the courtyard.
"You!"
As soon as he appeared, Zhang Hanshengâs eyes went wide with shock, a look of terror on his face. A bad feeling rose in his heartâheâd already been discovered while tailing someone.
"You dare plot against me? Prepare to die!"
Lin Changâsheng flicked his hand. Instantly, a Foundation Establishment Stage Level 2 Copper Corpse appeared!
Under Lin Changâshengâs control, the corpse puppet radiated a savage Foundation Establishment aura and lunged at Zhang Hansheng!
"Foundation Establishment Corpse Puppet!"
Seeing Lin Changâsheng wield a corpse puppet, Zhang Hansheng shouted, "Senior, wait! Weâre on the same side! The same side!"
At the same momentâ
The other three black-clad men stared at Lin Changâsheng in shock. One of them spoke. "Senior, please wait! Weâre all friends here, this is just a case of friendly fire!"
"Friends? And who the hell are you?"
Lin Changâsheng twitched and halted the Copper Corpse; at that moment, its hand was only a foot away from Zhang Hanshengâs back!
Zhang Hansheng was soaked in cold sweat, stammering, "SâSenior, weâre disciples of Celestial Ghost Sect, and youâre from Corpse King Sect. Weâre all demon cultivators. All the same, right?"
"Youâre Celestial Ghost Sect disciples?"
"Isnât this the Zhang Family estate, one of Giant Whale Cityâs Five Great Clans?"
Lin Changâsheng narrowed his eyes and said,
"Senior, our Celestial Ghost Sect practices the Ghost Dao, specializing in controlling cultivatorsâwe have the Zhang Family under control, so..."
Zhang Hansheng glanced at the Foundation Establishment Copper Corpse behind him, currying favor, "Just now, this junior didnât realize you were from Corpse King Sect. Please forgive my offense, Iâm willing to make it up to you!"
At this momentâ
Zhang Hansheng bitterly regretted this encounter. Heâd really kicked a steel plate.
Any cultivator with a Foundation Establishment Corpse Puppet canât possibly be just Qi Refining stage!
"Make it up? And how so?"
Lin Changâshengâs eyes glinted dangerously.
"This junior is willing to offer five hundred... no... a thousand spirit stones to compensate for my mistake!"
Zhang Hansheng pleaded.
"No need for all that."
Lin Changâsheng said coolly. His divine sense controlled the Copper Corpse, and with a thrust, the corpseâs hand pierced right through Zhang Hanshengâs body!
"Aah!"
Zhang Hansheng let out a blood-curdling scream, and snarled at Lin Changâsheng, "Senior, you kill a Slaughter Alliance disciple, Young Master Xuan will report you straight to the higher-ups!"
As soon as he said that, his head lolled to the side. Suddenly, a plume of black smoke erupted from his body, grabbing his storage bag and shooting out the door.
"Trying to run?"
Seeing this, Lin Changâshengâs eyes flashed. With a flick of his wrist, the Myriad Souls Banner appeared in his hand!
He waved the Banner!
A stream of black energy surged forth, instantly weaving around Zhang Hanshengâs escaping soul and storage bag!
"Aaaahhh!! Myriad Souls Banner!"
"Youâre not Corpse King Sect! You... youâre from Celestial Demon Sect!"
As Lin Changâsheng used the Myriad Souls Banner, Zhang Hanshengâs face twisted with terror. He struggled desperately; as a demon cultivator from Celestial Ghost Sect, he knew very well this magical artifact was the signature of Celestial Demon Sect disciples!
Once youâre refined into the Myriad Souls Banner, thereâs no reincarnation. Itâs a fate worse than death!
No hope whatsoever!
"Hmph!"
Lin Changâsheng waved his hand, sucking Zhang Hanshengâs soul right into the Myriad Souls Banner.
At that momentâ
The other three ninth layer Qi Refining thugs were all crushed by the Copper Corpse!
Their souls grabbed up their storage bags, trying to flee, but Lin Changâshengâs Myriad Souls Banner opened wide and swept them all inside.
"Not bad! Four storage bags!"
Lin Changâsheng checked the four bags with satisfaction. Forcing his divine sense inside, he saw piles of pristine spirit stones, easily over three thousand pieces. He chuckled to himself, "These four Celestial Ghost Sect disciples mustâve been robbing fat sheep for a whileâquite the haul. Lucky me!"
As Lin Changâsheng finished harvesting the souls of those four Celestial Ghost Sect disciplesâ
Fifteen miles away, in a secluded courtyard, beneath an underground stone hallâ
The chamber spanned over a hundred feet, with more than fifty wooden beds inside. On each bed lay a sleeping male cultivator!
At the center of the great hall sat a man in his thirties in black robes, eyes closed and cross-legged.
This manâs features were chiseled as if by blade, and swirls of black energy shifted at his brow, giving him a truly terrifying air.
Suddenlyâ
In a corner, four of the sleeping men shuddered, faces contorting. In moments, they were dead silent.
"How dare you kill disciples of my sect... courting death!"