Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 218 Fight to the Death
Inside the Blood and Flesh Underground Palace, the chief disciples of the Incense Burning Sect each took their assigned positions.

Although they were not entirely satisfied with Mo Suixin's attitude, everyone accepted her explanation.

Regardless of who lives and who dies, it only disturbs people's minds; it's better to focus on solving the problem.

Mo Suixin calculated the location and set up the formation using golden talismans as the key points.

Once the formation was complete, the golden light of the talisman became even brighter, and its coverage area expanded by another circle.

Such skill made everyone look at Mo Suixin with new respect.

Among these chief disciples, Mo Suixin's cultivation level is the lowest, and the diviner doesn't have any outstanding skills in combat. However, now that he is guarding the talisman, the usefulness of Mo Suixin's formation is greater than that of the others combined.

However, setting up this formation also greatly depleted Mo Suixin's energy, forcing him to sit cross-legged amidst the disgusting flesh and blood to recover his spirit and spiritual energy.

"Although Junior Sister Mo has already set up the formation, we cannot let our guard down. The sect leader just mentioned that the danger comes from those Blood-Patterned Soul-Cleansing Flowers. Picking Soul-Cleansing Flowers is the task of the disciples of Xuantian Mountain. I know a bit more about Soul-Cleansing Flowers, so I'd like to remind you all. The flowers are not dangerous when they are still, but if you see the petals opening and closing, you should be careful..."

The speaker was Qin Wanjun, the chief disciple of Xuantian Mountain. He was tall and strong, carrying a heavy longsword on his back.

If you ignore his clothes, he does resemble Li Minglu, the Broken Mountain Swordsman from Baihai Valley, but Qin Wanjun, as one of the chief disciples of the Burning Incense Sect, is far superior to any rogue cultivator, whether in terms of demeanor or cultivation.

Just as Qin Wanjun was about to explain the dangers of the Soul Cleansing Flower to everyone, Ren Yaosheng, the chief of the Longevity Hall, suddenly shouted, "Over there, one of the Soul Cleansing Flowers has moved!"

Qin Wanjun followed Ren Yaosheng's finger and saw the petals of a Blood-Patterned Soul-Cleansing Flower opening and closing.

Qin Wanjun shouted, "Everyone be careful! Guard your minds, or you'll start hallucinating..."

Before he could finish speaking, a disciple of the Incense Burning Sect suddenly took out a strangely shaped magic weapon and wildly spewed flames into the air.

Qin Wanjun took a look and saw that this person was the chief of the Hundred Crafts Hall. He didn't know what the magic weapon in his hand was for, but the flames he spewed out were actually solidified like living things and did not dissipate, transforming into the shapes of various animals and crashing in all directions.

Everyone took action to stop the ferocious beasts formed from flames.

Although I wasn't injured, I was still a bit flustered.

Facing those fiery beasts, Qin Wanjun didn't even need a sword. He simply threw a punch, and countless bursts of freezing air extinguished the flames completely, while Qin Wanjun himself remained unharmed.

Qin Wanjun moved like lightning, releasing a large amount of freezing air that scattered all the fiery beasts before rushing to the side of the chief of the Hundred Crafts Hall and pulling him towards the southwest.

Mo Suixin had previously said that this position is the best at resisting those noises that disturb the mind. If someone can't hold on, they can find peace of mind and clarity in this position.

Sure enough, when Qin Wanjun pushed the man into that position, the thin and weak chief of the Hundred Crafts Hall cleared his eyes and repeatedly apologized, saying, "Fellow disciples, I am extremely sorry."

Everyone glared at him angrily. They were all chief disciples, so how could this man's mind be so fragile? While others were unaffected, he fell into an illusion first.

Qin Wanjun quickly reminded everyone, "Don't let your guard down. Illusion is only one of the dangers of the Soul Cleansing Flower."

Ren Yaosheng quickly said, "Senior Brother Qin, then please explain it to us."

As a result, Qin Wanjun's words shocked everyone.

"The Soul Cleansing Flower was actually born from absorbing the remains of the Demon Lord Wujiu."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed drastically.

The Demon Lord Wujiu has a method of rebirth through a drop of blood. He was sealed only after his soul was destroyed. If his soul had been scattered, how could so many Soul Cleansing Flowers have grown from his remnant soul?

Qin Wanjun continued to explain, "The Demon Lord's corpse has remained intact for a thousand years, just like a human embryo, which will continuously generate new souls. The Soul Cleansing Flower is actually one of the effects of the seal. The roots of these flowers will penetrate deeply into the Demon Lord's brain marrow and absorb those newly generated remnant souls. Therefore, the more Soul Cleansing Flowers there are, the more secure the seal will be."

At this point, Qin Wanjun couldn't help but glance at Ren Yaosheng.

As everyone knows, it was Changshengtang's suggestion to collect more Soul Cleansing Flowers that led to the damage to the seal.

Because of this suggestion, the disciples of Xuantian Mountain also suffered considerable losses, since every harvest required risking their lives.

Ren Yaosheng knew he couldn't shirk responsibility, so he could only pretend he knew nothing and dared not meet Qin Wanjun's gaze.

Qin Wanjun wasn't looking to settle scores at this moment. He glanced at Ren Yaosheng and continued, "Because it's a remnant soul of the Demon Lord, the Soul Cleansing Flower occasionally releases its consciousness to probe everything, as if it's thinking. The effect appears to be an illusion, disturbing the minds of those nearby. The Soul Cleansing Flower doesn't mature; it won't bear fruit even after a thousand years. But it can be harvested after ten years or more. It has the effect of cleansing the soul and helping cultivators break through realms, and this is the most dangerous moment."

"The Soul Cleansing Flower, which is over ten years old, has developed rudimentary intelligence. As long as it senses a living thing approaching, it will unleash its magic without hesitation. And because it is rooted in the corpse of the Demon Lord, the Soul Cleansing Flower's spiritual energy is almost inexhaustible. There is no other way but to resist it by force until you can pluck the entire Soul Cleansing Flower."

Someone asked, "What kind of magic do these Soul Cleansing Flowers possess?"

Qin Wanjun shook his head and said, "It's hard to say. Of all the spells I've seen, besides fire-based ones, the other five elements are the most common. However, some Soul Cleansing Flowers can also unleash the insidious spells of the demonic sect. I once saw a Soul Cleansing Flower condense into a ferocious blood hand, which could turn a person into pus with just a light grab. This is the most powerful spell I've ever seen. You absolutely cannot resist it; you can only dodge it!"

Upon hearing this, Mo Suixin snapped out of her meditation and said to everyone, "This is the Devouring Demon Hand, the signature technique of the Demon Lord Wujiu. I just didn't expect that the Soul Cleansing Flower that grew from his head could also use this secret technique. That means that the new soul that grows from the physical body will also carry the original memories of the original body."

Upon hearing Mo Suixin speak, Ren Yaosheng added, "Senior Sister Mo, don't worry about the details now. Whether the soul that grows out has memories or not is not important."

Mo Suixin sneered but did not refute.

Qin Wanjun glanced at Mo Suixin and then retorted to Ren Yaosheng: "What Junior Sister Mo said is the key point. Because these Soul Cleansing Flowers inherit a small amount of the Demon Lord's memories, they can not only cast spells, but also imitate the Demon Lord's battle tactics. We are not dealing with these Soul Cleansing Flowers, but fighting against the Demon Lord's remnant soul."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed once again.

Looking at those thousands of Soul Cleansing Flowers, how are they supposed to survive?
Mo Suixin, who had the weakest cultivation, was the calmest. After listening to what Qin Wanjun said, she asked, "Since the Soul Cleansing Flower is formed from the Demon Lord's memories, its actions should also have their own logic. Senior Brother Qin, you have dealt with these Soul Cleansing Flowers the most, so you should know their weaknesses. As long as we can grasp these weaknesses, our chances of winning will be much greater."

Qin Wanjun nodded and said, "That's right. I reminded you to pay attention to the opening and closing of the flowers before, and that is one of the key points. As long as you are prepared, this kind of illusion is easy to deal with. In addition, do not use fire! Don't think that the Soul Cleansing Flower is a plant and think you can use fire to attack it. Once it is burned by fire, the Soul Cleansing Flower will explode, and its power is enough to kill a cultivator in the Nascent Soul Realm. Even the soul may not be able to escape."

At this point, Qin Wanjun glanced at the chief of the Hundred Crafts Hall again.

He had just exerted all his strength to extinguish all the flames, for fear that even a single spark might burn the Soul Cleansing Flowers. Otherwise, if the thousands of Soul Cleansing Flowers exploded, everyone would surely die.

The chief of the Hundred Crafts Hall was still shaken. He quickly retrieved the fire-breathing magic weapon in his hand and then released a bunch of humanoid puppets to form a circle around it.

These mechanical puppets wielded various weapons and moved with almost the same agility as living people. Their combat strength was unknown, but they could at least be used to resist some spells.

Qin Wanjun nodded in satisfaction; using these weapons was fine.

"Aside from these two points, the other details are too complex to explain in a few words, but as long as the Soul Cleansing Flower isn't provoked, it generally won't release spells to attack others. We just need to stay within the formation..."

Before Qin Wanjun could finish speaking, Ren Yaosheng let out another exclamation.

Qin Wanjun wanted to chop him in half with a sword. This kid didn't have much skill, and he was always scaring people with his jump scares.

But following Ren Yaosheng's gaze, one could see a Soul Cleansing Flower with blood-red patterns writhing incessantly, as if it were actively pulling out its own roots.

A chilling sound of fascia tearing rang out as the Soul Cleansing Flower forcefully ripped itself off the fleshy wall.

The roots grew like tentacles and began to wriggle.

The enormous flower seemed to be drawn to the aura of the golden talisman, always facing the golden light.

The roots and tentacles wriggled, pushing the Soul Cleansing Flower forward. The flower was only a few feet away from the group, and in the blink of an eye, half of it had disappeared.

Everyone looked at Qin Wanjun; only he could make a decision now.

Without hesitation, Qin Wanjun drew his heavy sword from his back, his figure transforming into a streak of light as he landed in front of the Soul Cleansing Flower.

Blades of wind shot out from the Soul Cleansing Flower, as if to tear Qin Wanjun to pieces, but Qin Wanjun was not afraid at all, and his heavy sword was covered with endless frost.

With a powerful slash, the chilling aura froze the wind blade, turning the Soul Cleansing Flower into an ice sculpture.

The move was effective in one fell swoop, and before the crowd could even cheer, they were already cheering.

The terrifying sound of fascia tearing echoed all around, and blood-stained Soul Cleansing Flowers fell from the walls and crawled toward the group.

There were hundreds of them in sight, all the Soul Cleansing Flowers heading towards the golden talisman, as if that was their only goal.

Qin Wanjun said, "Fellow disciples, prepare for a fight to the death."

(End of this chapter)