Shen Qingyun instinctively hid the cultivation manual behind his back.
"Courting death!"
The burly man, seeing this, wasted no more words. He suddenly drew a gleaming dagger from his waist and lunged straight at Shen Qingyun.
Shen Qingyun's heart trembled—Why is he carrying a blade? But he had no time to think. The man's attack was already upon him.
He was, after all, only a mortal. How could he possibly be a match for such a brute? With only a few evasive moves, bloody gashes were carved across his body, dyeing his robe crimson.
The man showed no mercy. Every slash of his dagger aimed for Shen Qingyun's vital spots. It was clear—he intended to kill him on the spot and steal the cultivation method.
At this desperate moment, Shen Qingyun finally stopped hesitating—he began to circulate the technique.
Before his departure, Liu Meng had left within him a trace of Taiyin Qi.
This strand of Yin energy would gradually dissipate over time, but even so, it was enough to allow him to operate the Mysterious Female Canon !
Boom—an icy torrent erupted from his dantian, colliding fiercely with his own innate Yang Qi!
From this clash, a faint but incomparably pure strand of spiritual power was born!
With this sliver of spiritual energy flowing through him, Shen Qingyun suddenly felt his entire body surge with strength. The brute's dagger, once as swift as lightning, now seemed slow—painfully slow—in his eyes.
With a sidestep, he precisely dodged the strike aimed at his heart. In a flash, his hand shot out, seizing the dagger from the man's grip.
Before the burly attacker could react—Shen Qingyun slashed across his throat.
Puchi!
Blood spurted like a fountain.
The man clutched at his neck in disbelief, his eyes wide, before collapsing heavily to the ground, unwilling but utterly dead.
At that very instant, the Blood Feast Technique within Shen Qingyun's body began to operate on its own!
A torrent of immense, refined energy was forcibly extracted from the man's corpse, surging into Shen Qingyun's body in a crimson flood.
Shen Qingyun's body jolted violently. The invisible barrier within him shattered under the impact of this majestic force.
Qi Refining, First Layer!
By killing his first man, he had broken through on the spot—stepping directly into the ranks of cultivators!
What a tyrannical cultivation method!
Shen Qingyun sighed inwardly. When he came back to his senses, the outside world had already descended into complete chaos.
Shouts of killing and screams echoed endlessly. For the sake of seizing cultivation manuals, people had torn off their masks of civility, plunging into a brutal melee…
On the mountain of corpses in Luo Feng City, Liu Wu sat cross-legged, his expression calm.
The mantra of the True Explanation of Condensing the Dao by Slaying Three Corpses flowed through his sea of consciousness. Perhaps because of his time in Luo Feng City, this time he could clearly feel changes within his soul.
The杂念 (stray thoughts) and worldly dust clouding his spirit were slowly being severed, leaving behind a flawless and immaculate soul.
The Immaculate Soul Body—refined at last!
In the next moment, this soul transformed into a streak of light, shooting directly into the soul banner tightly grasped in his hand.
The brilliance in Liu Wu's eyes instantly dimmed. His body slumped, merging quietly with the heaps of corpses around him.
At the same time, Liu Meng, locked in fierce combat with the ghosts, trembled violently.
She could clearly sense it—the soul banner had gained a soul of extraordinary might.
The addition of just this one Immaculate Soul caused the entire banner to undergo a qualitative transformation!
Wong—
A powerful suction burst from the banner's surface. Its innate spirit-gathering array, empowered by the Immaculate Soul, finally roared to life. The surrounding heaven-and-earth spiritual energy was drawn forth, condensing into visible streams that surged madly into the banner.
Liu Meng's heart stirred. She immediately commanded:
"Return!"
Whoosh!
The distant soul banner transformed into a black rainbow, hurtling toward the cave mansion at an unfathomable speed.
Its speed—far beyond anything Liu Wu could have managed!
"Master! We've come to aid you!"
At that moment, several figures rushed in from the passage—it was the handmaidens Liu Meng had summoned earlier.
Her divine sense swept over them, and she couldn't help but feel a flicker of surprise.
Without exception, every one of them had broken through to the Qi Refining stage.
What drew her attention most, however, was the tall maid at the forefront—her spiritual fluctuations were far denser and more stable than the others. She had already reached Qi Refining, Second Layer.
Such astonishing talent!
Liu Meng knew all too well—her own ability to "pose" as a genius before Su Meier was entirely due to the convenience of her clones and her system.
But this maid… she had achieved everything through pure dual cultivation, shattering bottlenecks in such a short span of time.
Perhaps—she was the true genius.
But this was no time for reflection. Faced with the crisis before her, Liu Meng immediately ordered:
"Kill them!"
The soul imprints etched deep within their spirits ensured absolute obedience. No matter how great their talent or how high their cultivation, if they valued their lives, they could only submit to her will.
"Yes!"
None dared to hesitate. The handmaidens quickly formed a formation, surrounding the three ghostly creatures.
For a time, multicolored spiritual light clashed violently with the black mist of the ghosts, easing the crushing pressure on Liu Meng.
Gradually, she discerned that each ghost was roughly equal in strength to a cultivator of Qi Refining, Second Layer. Their incorporeal forms made them resistant to ordinary spiritual attacks, which was what made them so troublesome.
Still, with her strength combined with that of the second-layer maid, they could at least fight on even terms—stabilizing the battle, if only barely.
But for the other maids, the situation was dire.
Most of them were at Qi Refining, First Layer. Their foundations were shallow, and they lacked battle experience. Their attacks had little effect, while the ghosts' counterstrikes left them with horrifying wounds.
Worse, their spiritual power was draining at an alarming rate.
"Ah!"
Moments later, one maid, her energy exhausted, faltered in movement. A ghost seized the opportunity, raking its claws across her chest. With a scream, she collapsed to the ground.
That bloody sight instantly shattered the others' mental defenses. Fear overwhelmed them—they wanted to flee.
Yet Liu Meng's command bound them. None dared to retreat even a step, lest their mistress sense their betrayal and annihilate their souls on the spot.
But if they could not flee—what then?
They soon realized—even their master, with her superior cultivation, seemed unable to overcome these ghosts.
Despair seeped deeper into their hearts.
What should we do? Is there any way out?
Could today truly be the day we all perish?
At that very instant—
A black streak of light howled into the cave mansion, halting precisely before Liu Meng.
It was none other than the soul banner, bearing the Immaculate Soul!