Chapter 187: Narrow Path to Vengeance

Invisible sound waves radiated outward, sweeping up dust and weeds from the ground.

Old Demon Fang stood motionless, shaking his bells continuously. Two demonic souls circled around him, emitting eerie, piercing noises that filled the air.

Chen Luo remained in place, surrounded by the wailing of demonic souls and the jingling of bells. He felt an almost irresistible urge for his spirit to leave his body and fly towards those bells.

“Yin Thunder!”

Suppressing his agitation, Chen Luo extended both hands. Spiritual energy circulated rapidly within him, coalescing into dark purple lightning between his arms.

Across from him, Old Demon Fang’s eyes flickered as one of the demonic souls shot forward, slamming into Chen Luo’s chest and disrupting his thunder technique. The old demon didn’t forget to taunt him:

“Is this all you’ve got? Too weak. Why not join my bell as a main soul?”

Thud!

Another demonic soul struck Chen Luo’s back, once again interrupting his spellcasting.

This was the power of realm suppression.

An early Foundation Establishment against a late-stage Foundation Establishment—his mind could keep up, but his body couldn’t follow.

“A main soul?” A murderous aura suffused Chen Luo’s eyes as the Soul Banner within him stirred, summoning a faint apparition. He had spent a month having all the external brains collaborate on modifying this Soul Banner. Its mere appearance caused the surrounding temperature to drop significantly, catching the attention of the white-haired cultivator observing from afar.

Originally, he hadn’t wanted to use it, but now it seemed this old fellow was clearly courting death. It was high time Chen Luo paid a visit to the Soul Banner in his hand!

“Something’s changed!”

Just as Chen Luo was about to deliver the killing blow, Khan Jiu, the distant gu devil, suddenly spoke up.

A white gu insect immediately flew towards them. This gu insect was roughly three fingers in size, with wings as thin as cicada wings. As soon as it appeared, it emitted a burst of powerful energy.

Foundation Establishment realm at its peak!

No wonder this group of evil cultivators saw this old man as their hope. With just this level of strength alone, he could easily suppress all of them.

Lady Bai Gu and the others also noticed the commotion, turning their gaze towards the only perfectly preserved residence. The entrance, which had been normal moments ago, now emitted a stream of white mist, as if leaking air. An illusionary image appeared, overlaid with another black scene within the doorframe.

“It’s Luo Zhengdao’s aura!” cried out one of the demonic cultivators by Chen Luo’s side. Without hesitation, he leaped into action, plunging directly through the portal. The remaining few quickly followed suit.

Even Old Demon Fang, who had been locked in combat with Chen Luo mere seconds ago, charged inside at top speed. Each individual had their own agenda; any slower, and the prize they coveted might be snatched away by someone else.

In the blink of an eye, Chen Luo found himself alone on the spot.

He gazed at the vanished Old Demon Fang, his eyes overflowing with murderous intent.

This old codger’s soul is mine! Chen Luo thought resolutely. Not just his soul—I’ll claim his mind as well.

And why should I be denied a share of the benefits from this Roshana cave?

Soul banner in hand, he scattered his divine sense and flew inside.

These high-quality demonic elders—none of them could be wasted.

The scene shifted like a changing illusion.

When it settled again, Chen Luo found himself in a forest carpeted with fallen leaves. The once-clear sky had transformed into night, and a foul-smelling wind drifted through the trees. In the distance, crows cawed their mournful song.

Boom!

Before Chen Luo could take a closer look, a massive explosion echoed from afar. It was immediately followed by furious roars. Amidst these sounds, Chen Luo recognized Khan Jiu’s voice—the only one among them at Foundation Establishment Perfection—already engaged in battle with the enemy.

There’s an array here, Chen Luo realized as he approached a gnarled tree root. There, he discovered a subtle formation design. After his frantic self-study of countless bone scrolls purchased at the market, he’d finally grasped the basics of formations. No longer did they appear as mere gibberish; he could now discern simple information from such designs.

Those old demons have their calculations—they know more than I do.

Chen Luo spread his divine sense but failed to locate the group. He promptly concealed his presence, clutching the soul banner as he ventured deeper into the woods.

His feet crunched on dry leaves as he walked. Before long, an old villa appeared in front of him. The wooden gate stood half-open; even from a distance, Chen Luo could see black coffins arranged within the courtyard.

Row upon row, at least three hundred lay there.

Beyond this area stretched dense forests of dark trees. The fluctuations of battle Chen Luo had sensed earlier emanated from that very direction.

“A funeral parlor?” Chen Luo muttered to himself.

He pulled out a spiritual talisman and held it in his hand. The paper ignited, transforming into a palm-sized paper figurine that darted through the open gate.

Moments later, the intact figurine returned to his side.

After reading its information, Chen Luo released his hold on the spiritual energy. Without his support, the paper figurine promptly burned down, leaving nothing but ash scattered across the funeral parlor entrance.

Creak.

Chen Luo stepped forward, pushing open one side of the wooden gate.

Inside, the putrid odor grew overpowering. Black-gray mist swirled in the air, affecting both sight and divine sense alike.

Approaching a coffin, Chen Luo attempted to probe it with his mind. To his surprise, his nearly perfect divine sense couldn’t penetrate the black lacquer covering the casket.

Frowning, Chen Luo retrieved a new deer-hide glove from his pocket and slipped it on. He placed his hand on the coffin lid and exerted force.

Bang!

The coffin lid creaked open and clattered to the floor, releasing a pungent, corpse-like odor that assaulted Chen Luo’s nostrils.

Inside lay a half-decomposed body. Chen Luo reached out with his right hand and placed it on the corpse’s head.

Cannot read.

Is it too decayed?

Chen Luo withdrew his hand and examined the corpse more closely. He realized this was no ordinary refined corpse; within it still lingered a soul.

This wasn’t merely refinement—it was soul cultivation!

Noting this crucial difference, Chen Luo raised the Soul Banner in his hand and swept it over the body in the coffin.

As the banner’s aura passed over the corpse, it convulsed, and a translucent wisp of soul flew from the coffin to merge into the banner.

His modified Soul Banner could now hold far more than just a few banesouls. With a primary soul present, each banner could carry up to nine auxiliary souls. This meant that the eleven banesouls already in the banner could potentially contain one hundred ten individual souls when fully utilized.

“Such an abundance of souls would be wasted if left untapped,” Chen Luo mused.

After collecting one soul, Chen Luo turned his attention to the other black coffins. With a wave of his aura, he lifted all the lids in the courtyard. The soul banner unfurled, and countless translucent souls flew out, merging into the banner.

In no time, the empty spaces on the soul banner were filled. Many banesouls remained, swirling aimlessly through the air. Chen Luo wasted none of them; he produced a Soul-Raising Pouch and swept up all the banesouls.

Without their souls’ power, the bodies in the coffins rapidly decomposed. In the blink of an eye, they turned to mushy flesh, intensifying the foul stench in the yard.

Roar.

A roar echoed from deep within the corpse house.

The entire building trembled at the sound, as a putrid wind swept out, carrying the essence of decaying flesh. Leaves fell in droves, while crows flapped their wings, taking flight with shrill cries.

Chen Luo secured the soul banner, sensed the direction, and continued deeper inside.

Beyond the front yard lay a long wooden corridor, much of it collapsed. Planks lay scattered across the ground, and grayish-white spiderwebs hung everywhere.

The air inside the corpse house grew even thicker. Chen Luo could tell now that this wasn’t mist—it was the essence of decayed flesh.

As he expanded his divine sense, Chen Luo found it more severely suppressed here; at most, he could see about three meters ahead.

If even his powerful divine sense suffered such limitations, others’ senses would be even weaker—most likely unable to extend outside their bodies at all. Save for Khan Jiu, who had reached Foundation Establishment Perfection with his gu magic, everyone else was essentially blind compared to him.

There’s a talisman beneath my feet—an ancient seal used in burial grounds.

This information came from the mind of a Foundation Establishment array master.

Looking down, Chen Luo spotted an enormous yellow cloth spirit talisman spread across the entire floor like a carpet. The yellow fabric was covered in countless tadpole-like spirit inscriptions.

Over time, these inscriptions had faded due to erosion, and many lines were broken. This allowed the sealed corpse fiend’s aura to leak out, creating the eerie scene before him.

“Six corpse-sealing talismans.”

Following the spirit talisman beneath his feet, Chen Luo walked towards a pavilion in the center. He discovered similar talismans stretching out on both sides as well. After carefully examining the area, he counted six such talismans in total.

Six enormous talismans, each a yellow cloth painted with intricate seals, formed a barrier like six massive chains, sealing away the corpse fiend at the very depths of its lair.

Roar!

As Chen Luo approached, the guttural cry grew clearer, and a dense, murderous aura surged forth. The yellow talismans on the ground guided this malevolent energy down the corridor, preventing it from damaging the foundations of the array. It was evident that the mastermind behind this formation was no ordinary practitioner.

The Core Formation Stage brain provided a crucial piece of feedback. Chen Luo’s expression shifted, and he made an abrupt leap,跳出 directly from the corridor.

Upon exiting, his feet sank into soft earth, and faint sounds of flowing water reached his ears. Following the sound, he realized he had somehow arrived in a secluded courtyard surrounded by rock formations.

Within this courtyard, the oppressive black-gray aura was significantly diminished. Here, Chen Luo could extend his divine sense ten meters, and his eyes could clearly discern the surroundings.

“The layout of this courtyard…”

Chen Luo began analyzing the arrangement of rocks and water within the courtyard. After taking just two steps, he suddenly noticed a figure standing ahead.

From ten meters away, all he could make out was a gray silhouette.

A three-meter-tall corpse puppet held aloft an eerie white lantern. Its familiar attire immediately revealed its identity to Chen Luo: it was none other than Old Demon Fang, with whom he had crossed paths before.

The searching Old Demon Fang paused as well. Though his divine sense failed to detect the newcomer, he heard Chen Luo’s leap from the corridor. He halted, turning towards the direction of Chen Luo’s landing.

“It seems the soul bell in my hand has taken a fancy to your main soul!” A wry smile played across Old Demon Fang’s face once he confirmed the intruder was Chen Luo.

“You can only blame your own misfortune!” Chen Luo retorted, his eyes flashing with malice. “This is all thanks to that Demonic Heart Ghost.”

Without wasting another word, Chen Luo unfurled the Soul Banner in his hand. A legion of banesouls swarmed forth like locusts, hurtling directly towards their target.

Among them, Lin Feng-shizun’s banesoul proved most vicious. Before Old Demon Fang could react, it had already closed the distance, then—

It self-destructed.

Following the detonation of this primary soul, the nine accompanying banesouls also descended into madness, charging forward one after another to meet their end in similar fashion.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

In an instant, a gray-white energy surged forth, carrying the assault of these divine souls and sweeping across the entire courtyard.