As the two men spoke, faint, almost inaudible footsteps sounded from the woods behind them. A young man with long black hair emerged, clad in dark robes. Approaching the pair, he bowed respectfully. "Master. Elder Wu."
A flicker of appreciation crossed Wu Luosen's eyes as he praised, "Fellow Daoist Wu, your disciple is truly exceptional. I see he's nearly ready to ascend to the Nascent Soul stage, is he not? Such remarkable innate talent. His future is boundless."
Though complimenting the other, a trace of regret surfaced in Wu Luosen's gaze, swiftly replaced by grief and venomous hatred, as if recalling some deep sorrow.
The black-robed elder glanced sideways at Wu Luosen and said impassively, "What? Still no clues about the one who killed your disciple?"
Wu Luosen's voice dripped with hatred. "None. All I know is that person possessed a unique magical treasure capable of summoning a tiger soul. Beyond that... nothing."
At the mention of 'tiger soul,' the young disciple beside the black-robed elder raised an eyebrow slightly, seemingly surprised, but he offered no comment.
The painful memory seemed to agitate Wu Luosen. His eyes glinted with cold malice as he fixed his venomous stare upon the trapped cultivators within the Soul Seizing Formation ahead, as if he had found targets for his pent-up resentment. A cruel smirk twisted his lips. His hands suddenly moved in a rapid series of complex seals before he thrust them forward, unleashing a beam of black light that shot like an arrow, striking the massive black barrier.
Thoom!
Instantly, it was like a massive boulder crashing into a still pond. The black radiance encasing the pit began to churn violently. Inside the formation, Lin Feng and the others felt a sudden, bone-chilling cold sweep over them. An eerie, icy wind whipped up from nowhere, swirling around them, carrying disembodied wails and ghostly screams that seemed to emanate from thin air. Then, directly beneath their feet, black figures began to claw their way up through the yellow sand. These spectral forms floated into the air, drifting and weaving around the trapped cultivators. Within mere breaths, the space around everyone was teeming with countless shadowy ghosts!
"Nether Souls! So many!!" Lin Feng's pupils contracted slightly, his expression instantly hardening into severity. The Nether Souls materializing around them all radiated the aura of Golden Core cultivation! Worse, there had to be thousands of them! Compared to the Nether Souls he had encountered within the Labyrinth Isle, this was a world of difference. Simultaneously, a chilling connection clicked in his mind: More Nether Soul manipulation... Could the mastermind behind this formation be connected to that vile cultivator from the Labyrinth Isle?
"Ahhh!!!" "Watch out!!" "Help me... Aaaagh!!!"
Lin Feng's thoughts were shattered by a cacophony of panicked screams erupting all around. The Nether Souls circling them had launched their attack, shrieking as they dove towards the huddled cultivators below. Instant chaos ensued. Several cultivators, caught off guard, were struck by the ghostly figures. They screamed in agony, collapsing instantly, their faces turning waxen white as if deathly terror had literally frozen their hearts. The moment they hit the ground, the sand beneath them seemed to come alive, swallowing them whole before anyone could react, as if an unseen force pulled them down.
Humm…
At that critical moment, a dazzling sphere of golden radiance abruptly erupted from the center of the crowd. It expanded outward like a shockwave, swelling to over two hundred meters in diameter in the blink of an eye, encompassing nearly everyone within its protective dome. The attacking Nether Souls slammed against the golden barrier with audible thumps, completely blocked from entry.
Relief washed over the panicked cultivators. They turned as one towards the source: Yu Ping, clutching a gleaming golden jade talisman.
Yu Ping's entire body pulsed with surging true energy, though his face was contorted in pain. Seeing the crowd marginally calm, he immediately shouted, his voice strained but commanding, "Don't panic, everyone!! Rally together! Combine your strength to defend against the Nether Souls! While normal attacks may be less effective, sufficient power can still repel them! If anyone possesses artifacts or techniques specifically designed to counter Nether Souls, do not hold back! I've been invaded by corrupt Yin energy; I require time to heal! If you can just hold out until I recover some strength, I will lead you out of this formation!!"
"..." "Elder Yu is right! Don't panic! Everyone, close ranks!" "Yes! Work together! Protect Elder Yu while he heals!" "Don't worry, Elder Yu! We'll defend with everything we have! We'll hold the line until you recover!"
Being Golden Core cultivators, their reactions were swift. Spurred by Yu Ping's words, they quickly regained composure and surged inward, forming a tight defensive perimeter around him. Magical treasures of all kinds were summoned – swords, shields, mirrors, bells – held ready against the spectral menace.
A flicker of relief passed through Yu Ping's eyes at their swift coordination. But then, his face paled drastically. A muffled groan escaped his lips as a wave of black energy visibly surged beneath his skin. His true energy faltered. The golden light radiating from the jade talisman in his grasp dimmed instantly. The colossal protective dome surrounding them shattered like glass.
The moment the barrier vanished, the horde of waiting Nether Souls let out a collective, chilling wail and surged forward again. This time, however, the cultivators were prepared. A storm of magical treasures, elemental spells, and talismanic charms erupted outwards. Brilliant flashes of colored light illuminated the gloom, accompanied by thunderous detonations. Remarkably, the first wave of the ghostly onslaught was forcefully beaten back. Nether Souls struck by the barrage shrieked and recoiled; some were even blasted apart into wisps of dissipating black mist. However, these dispersed entities quickly began to coalesce again moments later, though noticeably diminished, their dark aura significantly weakened.
Seeing they could genuinely repel the Nether Souls, the cultivators' spirits soared. Excitement replaced despair, rekindling a desperate flicker of hope.
Standing right beside Yu Ping, Lin Feng was positioned deep within the protective center of the group and hadn't needed to act during the initial clash. Seeing the collective defense hold, he allowed himself a small breath of relief. He glanced down at Yu Ping, who had immediately resumed his healing efforts. Faint tendrils of black smoke were now visibly seeping out from his pores. How long will it take him to purge this venomous energy? Lin Feng wondered grimly.
"Careful! Here they come again!!"
The brief respite lasted only moments. The Nether Souls regrouped swiftly and launched another assault, this wave thicker and more aggressive than the last. The cultivators unleashed their attacks once more, their renewed resolve translating into even fiercer barrages than before.
BOOM!!
Suddenly, Lin Feng sensed an intense surge of Fire Elemental energy erupt from his right, followed by the agonized shrieks of several Nether Souls. He snapped his head around just in time to see a burst of silvery-white flames explode in mid-air. The Nether Souls engulfed by this fire didn't just recoil – they were utterly annihilated, vaporized into nothingness with no chance of reforming. Within the heart of the flames, Lin Feng glimpsed faint, crisscrossing silver threads of light – a signature unmistakable to him.
"Anomalous Flame?! That's... the Silverthread Flame!" Lin Feng's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't expected anyone in the group to possess an Anomalous Flame, let alone one ranked slightly higher than his own Molten Rock Flame – the Silverthread Flame, positioned at 80th on the Anomalous Flame Hundred Rankings.
The wielder of the Silverthread Flame was a young man dressed in pristine white robes. Lin Feng vaguely recalled him – one of the few others, like himself, who had traveled to the island alone. So he was hiding such a potent ability all along, Lin Feng mused.
Simultaneously with the white-robed cultivator's revelation, three other areas caught Lin Feng's keen eye. Three other cultivators had produced specialized magical treasures specifically designed to combat Nether Souls and Yin entities. Like the Silverthread Flame, their artifacts ensured any Nether Souls they struck were permanently destroyed, unable to reform.
The emergence of the Silverthread Flame and these three potent Yin-countering treasures sent another wave of elation through the ranks. Morale surged anew, fueling an even more ferocious counterattack.
Lin Feng had already retrieved the White Tiger Fierce Soul Talisman, ready in his grip. Seeing the group's defense holding adequately for the moment, he refrained from immediately revealing his own card. Instead, his gaze, heavy with concern, fixed on the mountaintop opposite their position. His thoughts raced ahead of the others. He knew the true danger lurked not in the surrounding Nether Souls or even the formation itself, but in the masterminds controlling it from that peak. Moreover, though he couldn't fully penetrate the secrets of the encompassing formation, his burgeoning knowledge of formations told him its true potential hadn't yet been unleashed. Because the formation masters hadn't yet begun to personally guide its power...
"Two more people have joined them?! This is becoming troublesome... If they are allies of Wu Luosen, their strength is likely formidable. If they, too, are Nascent Soul cultivators... Even if we manage to break out of this formation eventually, the situation will be anything but optimistic..."
Peering through the distorted view afforded by the formation barrier, Lin Feng could just make out the figures of Wu Luosen now joined by two others on the distant mountaintop. His heart sank like a stone. A bitter, involuntary smile touched the corners of his lips. The precariousness of their situation deepened dramatically.