Chapter 369: Chapter 369

The Soul Calling Banner swayed slightly, emitting a sinister glow. The howling cold wind seemed like someone was softly chanting some incantation. Si Nanyan reappeared at the forefront of the Soul Calling Banner. However, by that time, Si Nanyan and the others clearly lacked their prior ferocity.

Over the past few days, they had watched their companions being devoured daily. They were remnant souls, but due to their cultivation, they still retained some instincts. They could feel fear and terror.

The banner’s surface trembled slightly as a dense Yin Qi emanated from it, and a powerful suction force emerged. The remnant souls of the devil beasts in this area were sucked away in an instant.

A terrifying scream rang out. The remnant souls of these devil beasts let out unwilling shrieks, growing monstrous limbs and howling at Wen Zhixing, seemingly wanting to devour him.

Suddenly, a shadow flashed by. These remnant souls felt their spirits stiffen for an instant. The next moment, they saw a giant maw biting down fiercely from above their heads.

The most vociferous remnant soul was swallowed in a gulp. Then, after several successive bites, a few more remnant souls disappeared without a trace. For a while, a nameless terror filled the bodies of these remnant souls, their eyes clearing slightly. The Ghostly Cunning Spirit naturally had a certain repressive power over these remnant souls.

[Current number of remnant souls collected: 100/100.]

The Ghostly Cunning Spirit belched contentedly, comfortably returning to Wen Zhixing’s shadow. It wasn’t limited to consuming just one remnant soul per day; that was merely its minimum daily intake. Having just gobbled down several remnant souls, it had feasted satisfyingly.

"You sure know how to count." Seeing this, Wen Zhixing just smiled. The Soul Calling Banner could only take away one hundred remnant souls, and the Ghostly Cunning Spirit was aware of this. Thus, it chose a few of the excess troublemakers and devoured them directly. Neither wasteful nor failing to provide a deterrence.

"After I complete my tribulation, let’s head back," Wen Zhixing said, stepping out of the cave.

It was about time to return. The Demonic Ruins were decent, the only downside being that the Fortune Fragments here were disappointingly scarce. And the Soul Calling Banner was full. He had no summoning points to upgrade it for the time being. The collected remnant souls were enough to feed the Ghostly Cunning Spirit for a while.

However, as soon as Wen Zhixing stepped out of the cave, the surroundings were deathly quiet. Hmm, quieter than usual. Something is not right... Wen Zhixing frowned.

In the void not far ahead, a dark, pressing mass of devil beasts emerged again.

"Is that... a ghost bat?" Wen Zhixing’s gaze sharpened, his heart easing somewhat. Fortunately. He had encountered this creature before. Alas, before he could take action, Tan Yuanshan had wiped them out.

"Huh... in front of that ghost bat... it seems like there’s someone running?" Wen Zhixing spotted a few dark figures. Indeed, several silhouettes were being chased by a swarm of ghost bats.

"Senior Sister Tong, are you alright?"

Two slim figures hurried along, one on each side, supporting a pale-faced woman in mid-air. The two were none other than Lingyin and Lingle.

"I’m fine." The woman shook her head slightly. However, the black blood continuously spilling from her chest revealed that her condition was far from optimistic.

In front of the three, a male cultivator’s complexion was terribly grim. Seeing the ghost bat swarm closing in from behind, he urged, "Huaqin, hurry up, they’re catching up!"

"Senior Brother Gong... I... we’re already going as fast as we can," replied Lingyin and Lingle, their faces flushed with exertion, their speed pushed to the limit. Both being in the Fifth Realm at such a young age, they were geniuses among geniuses. But they were still young, and their foundations shallow. Fully exerting themselves in the desperate escape, how could they hold on?

The woman, Tong Hua Qin, glanced at the swarm of ghost bats behind them, then at the two by her sides, and gritted her teeth. "Gong, you take Lingyin and Lingle and go first."

Their group of four had come to this place precisely for training. There was a rule in the Hundred Tribulations Holy Land: after breaking through to the Genius Spirit Realm, one must come here for practice. Condensing the Genius Spirit actually consumed a great deal of the body’s fundamental essence. With the Hundred Tribulations Ancient Skill, the devil beasts of the Demonic Ruins were an ever-present supply of fleshly essence. It was called training, but in reality, it was about replenishing the body’s lost fundamental essence.

Lingyin and Lingle had come here to broaden their horizons, though they had not officially joined the Hundred Tribulations Holy Land. But in reality, they had already been internally selected, just like Wen Zhixing. Tong Hua Qin was considered their senior sister. As for this Gong Changyun, he was a suitor of Tong Hua Qin. The two shared mutual affection but had yet to confirm their relationship. He had also come voluntarily, saying he wanted to help take care of Lingyin and Lingle.

Normally, with a cultivator of the Genius Spirit Realm present, one could move about unchallenged on the outskirts of the Demonic Ruins. But unexpectedly, an accident occurred.

A ghost bat had broken through to the Seventh Realm. Having just achieved the breakthrough, it had not yet acquired new territory, so it remained on the periphery. By chance, Tong Hua Qin and her party encountered it.

After a fierce battle, although the Seventh Realm ghost bat was slain, Tong Hua Qin herself was also seriously injured. Faced with the large number of remaining ghost bats, she had no strength left to fight.

She had only recently broken through to the Genius Spirit Realm, and her realm was not very stable. At this moment, not only had a large amount of uncleared toxins accumulated in her body, but even her crucial Genius Spirit had become somewhat illusory.

"No need, Senior Sister Tong, we can still hold on," Lingyin shook her head repeatedly, her small face slightly pale, yet her small hand still clutched Tong Hua Qin’s wrist tightly.

"Senior Sister Tong, let’s go together," Lingle urged, her lips having lost all color, her face extremely pale.

Gong Changyun turned around, took a deep breath, and seeing their state, complained, "Huaqin, I told you, the Demonic Ruins are dangerous! There are too many ghost bats. Why didn’t you listen? Why did you have to provoke them?"

"Enough!" Tong Hua Qin suddenly rebuked, her face showing disappointment. She admitted that she had been careless before. She had thought the swarm of ghost bats was no match for her and hadn’t expected one of them to be a Seventh Realm ghost bat. It was her negligence that had led to their current predicament. But now was clearly not the time to discuss this. Gong Changyun hadn’t abandoned them to escape alone, but his constant complaints and reluctance to fight had slowly caused her to lose hope.

"Huaqin, you misunderstood me, that’s not what I meant." Gong Changyun’s face changed instantly. Then, he gritted his teeth and said, "I misspoke earlier. You all go first; I’ll hold them off."

Tong Hua Qin was a woman he had managed to win over only after expending considerable effort. They had only just confirmed their relationship, and nothing had happened between them yet. If he disappointed Tong Hua Qin now, all his previous efforts would have been in vain.

Upon hearing this, Tong Hua Qin’s expression softened a little, and a flicker of hesitation appeared in her heart. Perhaps Senior Brother Gong was just too nervous earlier. After all, it was a matter of life and death. Now that he had calmed down and was willing to hold them off, his moral character still seemed trustworthy.

It must be said that sometimes, once a person is love-struck, they can become rather irrational.

"No, Senior Brother, you take Lingyin and Lingle and go first. I will block them," Tong Hua Qin said, taking a deep breath, a smile appearing on her face.

"Senior Sister Huaqin, don’t!" Lingyin and Lingle shook their heads vehemently, resolutely refusing.

They could see many things that others couldn’t. The aura of goodness and evil of each person was visible to them. When Gong Changyun spoke just now, his evil aura had clearly increased. Lies, all lies!

The two wanted to tell Tong Hua Qin about their discovery, but they had been warned not to reveal their secret to anyone else. Moreover, even if they did say something now, Tong Hua Qin might not believe them. It could even provoke Gong Changyun to turn completely hostile.

"Huaqin, you go!" Gong Changyun’s hand flashed with light, and a long sword appeared, but his eyes revealed a deep affection. Googlᴇ search novelꞁire.net

"Senior Brother Gong..." Tong Hua Qin murmured softly, her eyes filled with emotion. Then, she grabbed Lingyin and Lingle, one with each hand, and pushed them toward Gong Changyun.

A trace of softness flashed in Tong Hua Qin’s eyes; she had managed to suppress her injuries somewhat. I should be able to hold on for the moment.