Stealthily cultivating in the chaotic world of demons and martial artists
Chapter 375 - 373: Tree Stump (Congratulations to the Silver Alliance)_1

Chapter 375: Chapter 373: Tree Stump (Congratulations to the Silver Alliance)_1

Jade Island.

Fang Xi descended his Escape Light and tacitly kept a certain distance from the old ghost, landing one after the other on the outskirts of the island.

After a brief contemplation, he formed a hand seal with one hand, and a green long sword materialized in the palm of his right hand.

This sword’s blade was tinged with green and speckled with golden dots—it was the treasured ’Green Barley Sword’!

In his left hand, strands of Ghost Mist wrapped around, revealing a small white bone banner, indeed the ’Ten Thousand Souls Banner’!

Although this banner had suffered several heavy damages and some of its Yin Souls had been refined by Fang Xi for oil, it was still quite ferocious.

After all, it was a top-grade magical artifact!

The moment it appeared, its aura moved the old ghost’s heart, ’This youngster... really has a treasure specialized in dealing with Ghost Cultivators. Not only is this treasure likely a top-tier magical artifact, but who knows how many years it has been nurtured... Absolutely a premium of the third-order magical artifacts... Fortunately, I agreed to it first; otherwise, it would really be troublesome later.’

One at the late Core Formation stage and the other at the mid-Core Formation stage; even if Fang Xi went easy, they easily broke through several prohibitions and reached the core region of the Nine Leaves Sect.

"Is this... Evergreen Wood?"

Fang Xi breached an array prohibition and arrived at a plaza, taking a deep breath.

The ground of the plaza was uniform, etched with woody patterns and uniformly shaded with blue green.

Above the plaza, spiritual energy was abundant like rain, seemingly at the fourth-order level!

However, within the misty spiritual energy, a substantial amount of Ghost Qi was mixed in, chilling to the bone.

"The place we are standing on is none other than the stump of an Evergreen Tree that has grown for who knows how many tens of thousands of years... Right in the center of the stump is the core of our Nine Leaves Sect—the ’Evergreen Hall’."

The Divine Consciousness Transmission from the old ghost came through, carrying a hint of sentimentality.

"It’s a pity... although the spiritual energy is abundant, it’s tinged with traces of Underworld Qi..."

Purple light flickered in Fang Xi’s eyes as he shook his head and then nodded, "If the Great Array were to seal the Underworld Earth Vein, this place would indeed be a decent Nascent Soul cultivation spot..."

"Hehe... otherwise, why would our ancestor choose this place?"

The old ghost chuckled eerily, his voice turning somber, "It’s just a pity... back then, that... alas, in short, an error occurred in the sealing, and that’s how a few Ghost Kings escaped."

’This person is hiding a lot...’ Fang Xi thought, as a guess flashed across his mind, "Regardless... since there are late Core Formation Ghost Cultivators entrenched here, we need to be careful."

As soon as his voice fell, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner in his left hand suddenly emitted a clear chime!

Fang Xi’s expression was unchanging as he swept his Green Barley Sword in response!

Chi!

A heaven-piercing, earth-shattering Zuxian Sword Qi burst forth, striking a place in the void!

A mass of black Qi violently erupted, revealing a Ghost Cultivator!

This Ghost Cultivator wore a green robe, presenting an image of an emaciated old man with three long whiskers, an air of immortal grace about him, but with eyes filled with a murky yellow.

From this Ghost Cultivator, the fluctuations of late Core Formation magic power radiated unreservedly.

Assisted by the geographical advantage, the power was even comparable to that of a perfect Core Formation!

The sight of Fang Xi and Zhan Tu immediately elicited a shriek from the late Core Formation Ghost Cultivator.

Wuu wuu!

Around the Evergreen Tree stump, Ghost Mist rose, obscuring Divine Consciousness.

And from the dense Ghost Mist, numerous, indistinct figures emerged, emitting various shrill cries.

"I’ve been waiting for you!"

Fang Xi’s eyes brightened as he gave the Ten Thousand Souls Banner a shake.

Wuu wuu!

Clumps of pitch-black mist flew out from the banner, with hidden spectral soldiers seeming even more numerous than the surrounding ghost creatures.

Moreover, each with a crazed look, they rushed toward the ghosts upon sighting them, starting to ferociously gnaw at them.

"Quickly!"

Fang Xi chanted another incantation and tossed the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

In an instant, the banner transformed into a towering pillar of white jade, the hideous banner face fluttering wildly with countless sparks of light and runes flashing, bringing an oppressive force that left the Ghost Cultivator breathless.

"Aoo, aoo!"

A late Core Formation Ghost King leapt from the banner, pouncing directly at the Ghost Cultivator.

This was the main soul within the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, severely injured in the recent battle with the Junior Master and having recovered slightly after devouring Yin Souls.

As for the Yin Yang Ghost King? He had already turned to ashes...

Even so, this late Core Formation Ghost King was still incredibly fierce, with green face and sharp teeth, flaming red hair dancing wildly like fire; upon its appearance, it constantly spat out dark green ghost flames, which burned toward the Ghost Cultivator.

Seeing this, the Ghost Cultivator opened his mouth and spewed a wave of green Qi.

Within the flashing green Qi, thunderbolts filled with vitality and green lightning passed, extinguishing the ghost flames one by one, and even making contact with the Ghost King’s body, causing it to hop around, howling loudly.

Originally, this Ghost King within the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, if it used a Secret Skill, could completely suppress the Ghost Cultivator.

Unfortunately, since it began following Fang Xi, it was usually starved every three days. The few remaining helpers had also been killed by strong foes, and it had sustained heavy losses to its vital energy.

Now, it appeared not even a match for that Ghost Cultivator!

"Hmm? Quite interesting..."

Fang Xi swept his Green Barley Sword around, turning it into a dark green sword light that protected him tightly. Upon seeing this scene, he revealed a slight smile and formed another hand seal.

Wuu wuu!

On the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, one after another ethereal white bone chain emerged.

These White Bone Chains appeared ethereal, yet they pierced through countless Ghost Creatures, swift as the wind, fast as lightning, with white runes flickering within them.

"Go!"

Locks of white chain crisscrossed, grasped in the hands of the Ghost King who cackled madly as he pounced forward.

Upon seeing this, the Ghost Cultivator immediately spat out a beam of blue light.

Within the blue light was a massive wooden cauldron, flickering with spiritual light, clearly his life-bound magical artifact.

From the wooden cauldron emerged strands of highly toxic gas that landed on the White Bone Chains, making a sizzling corrosive sound as they made contact.

But the Ghost King didn’t care at all, throwing out chain after chain.

Countless chains formed a massive white net, entrapping the late-stage Core Formation Ghost Cultivator within!

The Ten Thousand Souls Banner was after all highly effective against ghostly beings, and now Fang Xi had completely gained the upper hand. Whether he used the ’True White Bone Fire’ within the White Bone Chains to burn the Ghost Cultivator to nothingness, or activated prohibitions to imprison and then tame it into becoming the new primary spirit of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, there was no problem at all.

’Something’s not right...This Ghost Cultivator...seems to lack rationality.’

Fang Xi pondered to himself.

The two Ghost Cultivators he had eliminated before had intelligence, but this one clearly did not and was extremely insane...

Elsewhere, Zhan Tu had just taken out his Green Wood Sword artifact, and after setting up another layer of defense for himself, he had just dealt with a circle of Ghost Creatures around him. He was thinking of helping Fang Xi when he saw that late-stage Core Formation Ghost Cultivator was already trapped within the White Bone Net, pushed to the ultimate limit.

"Not good!"

With a shout, the old freak said, "We mustn’t let that Ghost Cultivator be taken by that man, we must seize it back! That magical artifact is so remarkably effective against Yin Souls... It doesn’t make sense..."

Zhan Tu, looking at Fang Xi, who was displaying immense power, gulped nervously.

He could never have imagined that this Ghost Cultivator, which was nearly as powerful as one at Perfect Core Formation in the Underworld Earth Vein, appeared utterly helpless in the hands of the Dragon Fish Island’s Lord Master!

"Mr. Fang..."

Finally, seeing Fang Xi seem to sway the Ten Thousand Souls Banner with the intention to directly enclose the Ghost Cultivator inside, the old ghost could not sit still anymore, "Do we still wish to honor our previous trade?"

"Of course... You gave me the Indestructible Yi Wood Body, and as the Island Master, I would like to return the favor by capturing this Ghost Cultivator for you..."

Fang Xi smiled, shaking the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, "Isn’t it because I feared you wouldn’t be able to restrain this Ghost Cultivator? Why not just raise it within the Ten Thousand Souls Banner... I’m not boasting, but once it’s inside this artifact, even if it were at Perfect Core Formation, it couldn’t escape!"

Before the words ended, a bunch of True White Bone Fire fell, burning the Ghost Cultivator as it howled in pain.

"Thank you, Sir, but there’s no need to keep it for me, just hand it over."

The old ghost hastily urged several times, and Zhan Tu retracted his Green Wood Sword artifact, retrieving a pitch-black jade bottle from his Storage Bag.

He formed hand seals with both hands, channeling magic power into the jade bottle.

The mouth of the jade bottle opened, faintly emitting a suction force.

"Having even the ’Yin Gathering Bottle’...you really came prepared."

Fang Xi laughed heartily, not taking offense but instead releasing the White Bone Net and assisting Zhan Tu in suppressing the Ghost Cultivator.

"Go!"

Zhan Tu, relieved, pointed at the ’Yin Gathering Bottle’!

From the bottle emerged a stream of black qi, within which nine pitch-black coffin nails appeared.

Thunk, thunk!

The coffin nails shot into the Ghost Cultivator’s body with dull thuds like nails being hammered into wood.

With each nail that entered the Ghost Cultivator’s body, its magic power weakened further.

By the time the ninth nail was hammered in, the Ghost Cultivator’s cultivation had been suppressed to about the peak of Foundation Establishment.

"Collect!"

Seeing this, Zhan Tu finally cast a collecting spell.

Black light surged out of the Yin Gathering Bottle. With a single sweep, the Core Formation Ghost Cultivator vanished from sight.

Only after everything was done did Zhan Tu finally relax, muttering to himself, ’My greatest plot has finally come to fruition...fortunately, the Island Master hasn’t noticed.’

"How’s that, am I not a man of my word?"

Fang Xi laughed heartily, retracting the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

The Ten Thousand Souls Banner shrunk to the size of a palm, easily pinched in his left hand, but Zhan Tu, looking at the small white bone banner, still felt uneasy.

’Alas...I truly suffered a loss...his strength is surely not less than an ordinary Perfect Core Formation...’

The old ghost sighed.

But Fang Xi paid no attention to the old ghost, walking on his own accord.

As a great deal of Ghost Mist scattered, the patterns of Evergreen Wood on the ground became clearly visible.

At the center of the tree stump, a wooden structure emerged, enshrouded by a sphere of pale green light, semi-visible and semi-hidden.

The plaque above was inscribed with ’Evergreen Hall’ in ancient characters.

"I didn’t expect...that I could come back here."

The old ghost murmured to himself as he looked at the Evergreen Hall.

"Old ghost, what’s next?"

Zhan Tu looked at the thick prohibition barrier, feeling a bit nervous, "I feel like I can’t break this prohibition..."

"Hmph, not only can you not break it, even if that person who was just here is an Array Master, he wouldn’t be able to either...because this is a rank four array prohibition!"

The old ghost harrumphed, transmitting to Fang Xi, "Mr. Fang...to enter the Evergreen Hall, one must pass through this prohibition in front. This prohibition uses the Evergreen Wood stake as its center, drawing from the energy of a rank four Spiritual Vein, and even a Nascent Soul cultivator would find it extremely difficult to overcome..."

"Is this where my late-stage Core Formation Kuyong Skills are needed?"

Fang Xi’s eyes flashed with purple light, showing an interested expression.