"Hmm."

A calm yet chilling voice slowly emerged from the Communication Stone.

Upon hearing this voice, the anger in Vice City Lord Lin’s eyes dissipated a bit, replaced by a murderous intent. Meanwhile, a wisp of black smoke suddenly surged from a Cold Pond in the Wilderness Forest, rushing towards the battlefield in front of the Flying Ship fleet with the speed of a Foundation Establishment Perfection Cultivator’s Flying Escape.

Within a hundred miles, it arrived in an instant, and the closer it got to the battlefield, the more terrifying the tide of soul power became. When it was a thousand feet from the battlefield, Beauty Ji and the others looked horrified and hurriedly cast spells to resist the impact of the soul power.

Qu Tianhao and the others could not hold back and immediately attacked, targeting Beauty Ji’s group who were using numbers to bully the few.

"Your Thousand Life-taking Paper Butterflies truly live up to the reputation as a secret forbidden technique of the Paperman lineage, able to hold its own against my Cyan Light Sword. You indeed did not disappoint me. Unfortunately, Tu Qing has arrived, and I cannot let him take all the credit."

As the words fell.

The cyan sword intent surged forth with the impact of soul power, shredding all the surrounding paper butterflies on the verge of collapsing.

The three late-stage Foundation Establishment who were being overwhelmed by Lv Shen and the others also charged forward, now pressing down on the four opponents with the help of the soul power impact. Lv Shen and his group, affected by the soul power impact, had their spellcasting and Magical Artifact control severely diminished, with their souls experiencing a tearing sensation, further impacting their combat abilities.

"It’s actually a Late-stage Foundation Establishment Soul Cultivator." Fen Jue was somewhat astonished as he used his Three Souls Flawless to resist the soul power impact on the side.

A Soul Cultivator, even among the Three Life Gates of Wusheng, is rare, with perhaps only one among ten thousand Heterodox Cultivators. A Late-stage Foundation Establishment Soul Cultivator was even rarer, yet Vice City Lord Lin’s side actually had one.

Could it be that the Three Life Gates of Wusheng were involved?

No, that’s not right.

Daoist Wei had said that this internal conflict must not involve other forces, so this person was most likely a Loose Cultivator from the Celestial Demon Sea.

"This is troublesome. Brother Han’s remote corpse control relies on splitting his soul to drive it, and the person’s soul power is so strong, their soul techniques must be even stronger. This is the only weakness of Brother Han’s zombie, but we really have encountered it."

Fen Jue was inwardly alarmed.

The next moment.

Tu Qing had already arrived.

Three Ghost Head Soul Nails were thrown out with a flick of the wrist, falling within ten thousand feet, encircling all the late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators. The Flying Ship fleet quickly retreated, exiting tens of thousands of feet before they dared to slow down.

Boom —

The three Ghost Head Soul Nails instantly released a terrifying impact of soul power, and Beauty Ji and the others, without any soul defenses, were struck by the Ghost Head Soul Nails with a crash. Beauty Ji and her group of five simultaneously spat out a mouthful of blood, their eyes grew dark, though being late-stage Foundation Establishment meant they did not collapse, yet they were gravely injured from this strike.

But it wasn’t over. The three Ghost Head Soul Nails emitted mournful wails, as if the lament of ten thousand ghosts from the abyss, with the rippling impacts of soul power following one after another, hitting the souls of Beauty Ji and her group.

Just as they formed hand seals and cast spells, the successive soul power strikes caused the seals to break, the spells to dissipate, leaving only the Magical Artifacts to protect them.

In a single encounter, the five were utterly defeated.

Only Fen Jue, who used the Three Souls Flawless Soul Power to form a shield, managed to resist, but being only an entry-level skill, he had not reached the stage of Soul Power Cauldron, so under the impact of soul power, he still suffered greatly. Left without a choice, he could only quickly send a message to Daoist Wei.

Why not seek Han Li?

Because he knew Han Li. If it was trouble that could not be resolved, he would not come, and a hundred messages would be of no use.

...

In the Hidden Pavilion.

Upon receiving the message, Daoist Wei’s expression immediately became solemn, "A Late-stage Foundation Establishment Soul Cultivator, even for me, it’s quite troublesome. Where did this little girl recruit such a rare powerhouse?"

But at this moment, there was no time for further thought.

He had been confident about his contingency plans, but upon learning that the opponent was a Late-stage Foundation Establishment Soul Cultivator, his confidence waned. Luckily, his trump card was also considerable and might be able to contend with the Soul Cultivator.

Whether victory could be achieved.

Was no longer certain.

"Xu Qi, quickly go and support, the opponent is a Soul Cultivator, prioritize your safety." Daoist Wei hastily picked up the Communication Stone to send a message.

A few breaths later, a voice came from the other side of the Communication Stone, "Rest assured, Vice City Lord Wei, I am about to arrive at the dueling site. If it’s just an ordinary Late-stage Foundation Establishment Soul Cultivator, Vice City Lord Wei can rest easy. My Lifebound Spiritual Artifact is refined from a millennium-old Soul Shocking Wood, which has certain effects in resisting soul power attacks."

"That is great."

Daoist Wei’s face immediately showed a trace of joy, feeling somewhat fortunate for the efforts over the past years.

If not for Xu Qi, this Artifact Cultivator, today might have ended in a great defeat, perhaps even a disastrous one.

This little girl.

Really had hidden deeply.

It seems she might have secretly gone to the Celestial Demon Sea countless times over the years.

While Daoist Wei was inwardly speaking this, the scene of Fen Jue struggling to withstand the soul power impact had already fallen into the eyes of Gu Qiao and Tu Qing. Both had different reactions, but the intent to kill remained equally resolute.

"So you are the Earth Yang Foundation Establishment genius that Vice City Lord Lin spoke of? Unexpectedly, you even have a Divine Soul Defense Yin Technique... seems rather extraordinary. I did not expect to have such a harvest today."

As the words fell.

Tu Qing first charged toward Fen Jue.

Gu Qiao was inwardly alarmed, and at the same time, with the One-Eyed Armless Ghost King, launched a furious attack without reservation. The more Fen Jue demonstrated his abilities, the more Gu Qiao feared letting Fen Jue escape alive, but fortunately, with help, Fen Jue couldn’t escape. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Seeing Tu Qing coming at him, Fen Jue had no time to think further and immediately retreated, fully unleashing the Earth Yang Dao Foundation. However, although it surpassed Gu Qiao in speed, it was nowhere near fast enough in front of Tu Qing.