"Huh. You old codger. You're not running? You really think you can stop us all by yourself?"
The raspy-voiced Junior Brother Chen eyed the Grand Elder with curiosity. The Hundred Ghosts Banner in his hand had already unfurled completely, encircling the whole of Hanxiu Peak so tightly that not even a bird could escape.
"Stop you? Of course not. I stayed... to kill you and avenge my fallen clan members!"
The Grand Elder tossed a blood-red, Demonic and Strange Elixir into his mouth and swallowed. A bizarre red glow emanated from his skin as his entire presence began to skyrocket. Though he was already at the absolute peak of Qi Refining Great Perfection with no further room to advance, his power continued to swell with every passing moment, his aura growing infinitely close to the pressure exerted by a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
"A Blood-Burning Pill? The Bai Family really does have some things stashed away. You're full of surprises."
Senior Brother Shen's face darkened. After his initial shock, a sinister sneer quickly spread across his lips.
"Don't get ahead of yourself. The Blood-Burning Pill only grants you the Magical Power of the Foundation Establishment Stage temporarily—for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Once that time is up, your qi and blood will flow in reverse, and you'll die without even leaving a corpse behind. Besides, even if you were a true Foundation Establishment Cultivator, do you really think a mere Clan Cultivator like you can compete with us Sect Disciples?"
"Senior Brother Shen, let me handle this one. An incense stick's worth of time is more than enough to deal with him. Your junior brother here is in need of a Flying Sword. The old codger's toy isn't exactly high-class, but I suppose it'll have to do."
"Fine, but you won't get a share of anything else we find in this clan's treasury!"
The two Ghost Spirit Sect Cultivators casually decided the fates of the Grand Elder and the Bai Clan Members, trading words back and forth. Yet, their actions betrayed no such carelessness. Shielded by the Hundred Ghosts Banner and hidden within a black cloud, they had already retreated several dozen yards, showing none of the arrogance in their words.
The Blood-Burning Pill was a very special Tier Two Elixir. Its main ingredient was the Inner Core of a Tier Two Demon Beast, refined with the Essence Blood of several other demon beasts.
Its effect was also simple: when consumed by a Qi Refining Great Perfection Cultivator, it would instantly grant them the Magical Power of an Early-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator. This effect lasted for the time it took an incense stick to burn, and the price was one's life.
The Alchemist who created this Pill Formula had originally intended to research an elixir that overdrafted one's qi and blood to forcibly raise their realm. The intended side effect was merely a few months of weakness. It would even allow the user to experience the flow of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator's Magical Power, which would be beneficial for breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage.
But after successfully refining it, the side effects proved too severe. Coupled with the high cost of refining, the Alchemist abandoned the Pill Formula after failing to find a way to improve it over several attempts. As a result, very few Blood-Burning Pills ever circulated on the market.
'A single Blood-Burning Pill certainly won't be enough to deal with you... but the clan is about to be wiped out. What's the point of hiding my trump cards now?'
The Grand Elder muttered to himself, as if steeling his resolve.
"Thousand Bamboo Array, activate!"
On Hanxiu Peak, countless lush Ink Bamboos grew, forming an undulating Bamboo Sea.
Now, with the Grand Elder's furious roar, an endless emerald light shot up from the ground. The Ink Bamboos rustled as they grew, forming an array formation that held its own against the Hundred Ghosts Banner.
'Is this... a magnified version of the Wood God Skill?' Bai Zichen watched, dumbfounded, from the storeroom. The emerald light felt very familiar; it was the same Wood God Skill he practiced every day, only hundreds of times larger in scale.
As the Ink Bamboos grew frantically, countless roots shot up from underground, rapidly growing and twining around the two Ghost Spirit Sect Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
Although the protection of the Hundred Ghosts Banner prevented any real harm, it effectively trapped the two of them in a very small area, unable to break through the cage of roots.
The Grand Elder pulled a cyan Talisman from his chest. He bowed to it solemnly, then swiped his wrist across the edge of a blade, spraying blood directly onto the Talisman, which immediately transformed into a Jade Flying Sword.
"A Sword Talisman! It's a Talisman Treasure! Where did the Bai Family get a Talisman Treasure?"
The raspy-voiced Junior Brother Chen looked as if he had seen a ghost. He frantically summoned five Magical Artifacts to block in front of him. At the same time, he took out a dagger and decisively chopped off his own wrist, tossing it to the Evil Ghost on the main banner of the Hundred Ghosts Banner. The Evil Ghost devoured the wrist in two bites, then crawled right off the banner and attached itself to him, transforming into a suit of vicious Black Armor.
"Impossible! The Bai Family's ancestor with the highest cultivation barely reached Late-Stage Foundation Establishment! I've never heard of him being close with any Core Formation Ancestor. How could they possibly have a Talisman Treasure!"
Senior Brother Shen was equally incredulous. He slapped three Defense Talismans onto his body in quick succession and then summoned a large bell, which hovered protectively over his head.
A Talisman Treasure is created when a Core Formation True Man seals a portion of their Lifebound Magical Treasure's power into a Talisman, at the cost of damaging the treasure itself. Usually, only a Core Formation True Man on the verge of death would do such a thing, in order to pass the Talisman Treasure down to their closest descendants or disciples.
Possessing the might of a Magical Treasure, the power of a Talisman Treasure was easy to imagine—let alone a Sword Talisman, the most lethal of them all.
The Grand Elder grasped the Jade Flying Sword and became one with it. In a single thought, he transformed into a streak of cyan light that circled Senior Brother Shen three times.
No matter the Protective Technique or Talisman, all were torn apart like paper before its unstoppable sharpness.
Even the Copper Bell Magical Artifact, on the third pass, fell to the ground with a CLANG. It had been split cleanly in two, the cut smooth and perfectly flat.
"Fellow Daoist, spare me! I am from the Ghost Spirit Sect's Soul Hall—"
Before Senior Brother Shen could finish his sentence, his head was already separated from his body; he had suffered Divine Soul Annihilation.
The cyan light faded, revealing the Grand Elder's form once more. He coughed up another mouthful of blood, his body swaying on the verge of collapse. Even with a peculiar elixir like the Blood-Burning Pill that so unnaturally boosted his power, activating the Sword Talisman had been a great strain. Moreover, he had pushed the Sword Talisman to its absolute limit, merging his body with the Cyan Nether, just to be able to slay Senior Brother Shen in the span of three breaths.
'Not much time left. I have to kill a few more!'
The Grand Elder glanced at the raspy-voiced Junior Brother Chen, causing a cold sweat to run down his back. He once again transformed into cyan light and slashed forward. He shattered a pair of bells and a Flying Saber, then severed two Sea-Splitting Forks with another strike, before his attack was finally blocked by the Black Armor.
Seizing the moment of reprieve, Junior Brother Chen pulled out a ghastly green Treasure Bead, activated it before him, and added another barrier to his defenses.
The cyan light pivoted and shot directly toward the surrounding Ghost Spirit Sect disciples in the Qi Refining Stage.
This Sword Talisman had been passed down by the Bai Family's ancestor. In several hundred years, it had only been used once, but all onlookers had been slaughtered, so naturally no news of the Bai Family's Talisman Treasure had ever spread. However, by the time the Sword Talisman reached the Bai Family's ancestor, it had already been used many times. After his use, only one last activation remained.
Having activated the Sword Talisman today, the Grand Elder, as its Sword Master, could clearly feel that its power could be depleted at any moment. That was why he had no time to waste on the difficult-to-deal-with Junior Brother Chen.
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
The Grand Elder targeted three Late-Stage Qi Refining Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators. Regardless of whether they had Defensive Magical Artifacts, a flicker of cyan light was all it took to obliterate their souls.
The cyan light receded, and the Jade Flying Sword reverted to a cyan Talisman. It then ignited on its own, burning without a breeze. The Sword Talisman's power was completely spent; it had fulfilled its duty.
"Haha! How satisfying! I traded my life for a Ghost Spirit Sect Foundation Establishment Cultivator. When I reach the Underworld, the ancestors can't blame me for wasting the Sword Talisman!"
The Grand Elder collapsed to the ground and laughed at the sky. Then, with great effort, he turned his stiffening head, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings as if trying to burn the image of Hanxiu Peak into his memory.
BANG!
The Blood-Burning Pill's effect had run its course. The Grand Elder's body swelled up and exploded into a mist of blood, leaving not even a bone behind.
"Damn you Bai Family cultivators! I'll gather every one of your souls, slowly cook them in Demon Fire for forty-nine days, and then feed you to the Hundred Ghosts Banner so that you may never be reborn for all eternity!"
Junior Brother Chen finally broke free from the cage of roots. Seeing the ground littered with corpses, he flew into a thunderous rage. Blood was still dripping from his severed wrist.