Gateway of Immortality-Chapter 210: Soul Capture

Dense demonic qi filled the air, obscuring everything within. Qin Sang’s face took on a contemplative expression as he resisted the urge to charge in recklessly. Instead, he opened his Corpse Puppet Pouch and released the malevolent corpse.

In the midst of this demonic qi, his spiritual consciousness could only extend to a small area around him. Even if he encountered companions, he simply needed to maintain a controlled distance, and there would be no fear of the malevolent corpse being discovered. It would serve perfectly to scout ahead.

"Go in!"

At Qin Sang's command, the malevolent corpse rushed into the demonic qi without hesitation. Though the energy lashed against it, the corpse remained undeterred, forging onward. After covering a short distance, it suddenly encountered an unexpected figure—a shadowy form blocking its path.

Bang!

The malevolent corpse threw a punch, striking the shadow dead center.

A shrill, agonized wail filled the tunnel, laced with an eerie madness, piercing the mind like a demonic sound. The shadow, which appeared to be a mass of black smoke, was shattered by the corpse’s punch, only to reform immediately. It was, in fact, an enormous ghostly head, which opened its mouth wide, eyes blazing with malice as it lunged fiercely at the malevolent corpse.

The head, though powerful, was no match for the malevolent corpse, which could smash it apart with a single blow. Yet, no matter how many times the head was destroyed, it regenerated, seemingly impossible to kill, which became increasingly vexing for the malevolent corpse. More and more ghosts began to sense its presence, swarming over incessantly.

These ghostly entities varied in form, each more grotesque and fierce than the last, creating a scene reminiscent of a parade of a hundred ghosts.

Through the soul imprint on the malevolent corpse, Qin Sang could perceive what it was experiencing.

"Could this be... a man-made evil spirit?"

He murmured, his brow furrowing, puzzled as to why these spirits would appear here.

Though countless varieties of Cloud Beasts existed, they were fundamentally different from evil spirits. The most common evil spirits were forged by demonic cultivators from the sects, who gathered souls and refined them into demonic artifacts. Artificially created evil spirits were similar to the main souls of a Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions.

Has a demonic sect cultivator infiltrated this place?

The malevolent corpse is creating quite a commotion—why hasn't anyone come to investigate?

Qin Sang wondered if he had misjudged Yin Xingge, but since only these evil spirits seemed to lurk within the demonic qi, dealing with them shouldn’t be too difficult. Besides, rescuing those two individuals was essential. If there truly was a high-level demonic sect cultivator here, they could escape right after the rescue.

With these thoughts, Qin Sang retrieved his ebony sword and opened his palm, from which six Yan Luo Banners of Ten Directions emerged, swirling rapidly around him to form a large array.

The primary soul flickered within the banners. Using evil against evil, he was unafraid of the evil spirits.

With the flag array encircling him, Qin Sang felt considerably more at ease, though he remained vigilant as he stepped into the demonic qi, catching up with the malevolent corpse.

"Go!"

With a wave of his hand, the six banners instantly descended around the malevolent corpse, trapping the evil spirits that were attacking it within the array. Ghostly Threads gleamed with a faint blue light as the primary soul crawled out from the banners.

Qin Sang had anticipated a chaotic battle, but what he witnessed left him stunned.

Upon encountering the evil spirits, the primary soul of the Yan Luo Banner emitted a distinct emotion of extreme delight—an excitement so intense that even Qin Sang could feel it clearly.

It was as if the banner soul had found a rare delicacy, radiating a primal joy.

Roar! Roar!

The souls within the demonic artifact let out ecstatic howls or eerie chuckles. Without waiting for Qin Sang's command, they pounced eagerly on the evil spirits.

The evil spirits, which had been ferociously attacking the malevolent corpse, now reacted with fear, as though confronted by a natural enemy. In an instant, they scattered in all directions, their earlier arrogance completely subdued.

Rustle...

The Yan Luo Banner flapped fiercely, fully activated, as the Ghostly Threads tightly ensnared the evil spirits within the formation. The primary soul, as if it had entered a paradise filled with delectable treats, feasted with abandon.

A cacophony of ghostly wails and howls filled the air.

As the primary soul devoured more and more evil spirits, it grew increasingly powerful, causing the quality of the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions to improve slowly. The evil spirits had no means to resist.

"What’s going on here?"

Qin Sang was baffled; such an occurrence pointed to only two possibilities.

One, these evil spirits were without a master. The other was that their controller was far weaker than Qin Sang.

Demonic sect cultivators could indeed use soul-refining demonic artifacts to forcibly devour evil spirits controlled by their opponents, but this would only happen if there was an overwhelming disparity in power, leaving the opponent unable to resist.

Judging by the strength of these evil spirits, their master was certainly not weak. Yet they were being effortlessly absorbed by the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions, with no countermeasures in place. It seemed the controller was unaware of what was happening here.

Qin Sang couldn’t make sense of it, but it was certainly not a bad turn of events.

Since obtaining the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions from Sun De, Qin Sang hadn’t resorted to killing for soul refinement, which left the banner’s quality stagnant.

Sun De had been cautious, refraining from slaughter in Shaohua Mountain’s territory, so none of the six banners held an advanced level of strength. Who knew how many evil spirits were hidden within this demonic qi? How far could the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions be upgraded?

Qin Sang directed the Yan Luo Banner to devour the spirits while sending the malevolent corpse forward to continue scouting.

Both being dead entities, the malevolent corpse could evade the evil spirits’ awareness as long as it kept a distance and refrained from attacking, slipping past undetected.

Soon, all the evil spirits within the array were devoured. Qin Sang lifted his hand, recalling the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions, noticing a brighter gleam on the banners, the patterns on their surfaces now even more vivid. If there were enough evil spirits here, it might be possible to raise all six banners to an advanced level.

With a light tap on the ground, Qin Sang moved forward swiftly, for the malevolent corpse had detected the two individuals’ location.

In a recess along the passage, two cultivators pressed their backs against the stone wall, defending themselves. One seemed to be in decent condition, while the other was pale, bearing injuries.

Together, they activated a circular artifact, forming a golden shield of light. Outside, a swarm of evil spirits pressed against the barrier, viciously striking it, causing the shield to flicker unsteadily, on the verge of collapse.

Their faces were etched with anxiety. Having fled to this point, they were nearly exhausted, with their escape route sealed by countless evil spirits, and something even more terrifying awaited beyond.

If no one came to save them soon, death was their only fate.

Qin Sang leapt into the scene, seeing the two cultivators besieged by evil spirits. He found a secluded spot to set up the Yan Luo Array of Ten Directions, then deliberately revealed himself within the array, calling out loudly, "Is that you, Daoists Ning and Chai up ahead? Stay quiet and wait for an opening to escape."

At the sound of his voice, the evil spirits were drawn towards him, turning to lunge in his direction. The pressure on the trapped cultivators lessened considerably, and they seized the moment to push their artifacts to the limit, breaking free from the encirclement.

Seeing their rescuer, Qin Sang, their faces were filled with gratitude.

"Thank you, Senior Qin, for saving our lives!"

Visit freewebnoveℓ.com for the best novel reading exp𝒆rience.

"No time for pleasantries..." Qin Sang quickly briefed them. "Go and assist Daoist Yunqiong above. I’ll cover the rear."