Immortality and cultivation begin at age forty, starting with Foundation Establishment.

The Banner of Ten Thousand Souls suddenly unfurled in mid-air, its surface fluttering beneath the skull. A violent black aura began to spread from the skull, and countless twisted, vengeful ghosts surged forth from the banner.

All the souls were refined into monstrous ghosts with hideous faces. Some of these ghosts devoured each other, becoming grotesque and bizarre, opening their blood-red mouths like monsters and roaring as they pounced in all directions.

The ghosts rushed out from under the banner of ten thousand souls. The old man in black robes turned ferocious. He coughed twice, cleared his throat, and his voice sounded like his vocal cords had been struck by a hammer.

"You self-proclaimed righteous brats, how dare you launch a sneak attack on my Void God Palace? Do you really think I, the Void God Lord, am made of clay? Go and become fellow Daoists in the Ten Thousand Soul Banner."

The old man's voice was strange; it started high-pitched and then became very low, unlike a human voice. It sounded more like a drake with its neck being squeezed—sharp and piercing.

The cultivators attacking the demonic stronghold hadn't yet felt fear, but those demonic cultivators who had initially struggled and wanted to resist now wore expressions of extreme terror.

Those demonic cultivators who were closer to the main peak fled in the opposite direction, rushing headlong into the vanguard of the Demon Wolf Legion.

Zheng Ping, in the vanguard, showed no fear. He controlled the Fire Spirit Sword that Chen Ying had given him and slashed at the old man.

"Stay calm, draw your sword and face the enemy!"

The other four Foundation Establishment cultivators suppressed their fear but also used their Fire Spirit Swords, standing with Zheng Ping and activating the power of their swords to resist the fierce ghosts charging around them.

The Void God Palace is not a temple, and the Void God Lord is not a god. He is just a madman who cultivated demonic arts and ruined his mind.

In the spiritual community, there are strict rules regarding gods or immortals. Ordinary people do not use place names or personal names that include gods or immortals, because they are well aware that they cannot bear the karmic consequences of such names.

But cultivators who have completely fallen into the demonic path are different. They have no taboos and practice all kinds of strange evil arts and ghost techniques in order to improve their cultivation and increase their lifespan.

Many of them call themselves gods or immortals, believing themselves to be the masters of the world, and that everything in the world is at their disposal.

The battle reached a brief stalemate. The old man in black robes focused his gaze on the fire-attribute flying swords soaring in the air, his eyes gradually turning venomous.

There was only one Foundation Establishment cultivator at this stronghold, the old madman who called himself Master Void God. Since he had no fellow cultivators or companions in the Netherworld Sect, the black-robed old man killed everyone in the stronghold who could threaten him long ago for his own safety.

Within the black-robed old man's Ten Thousand Soul Banner were the souls of dozens of Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators and thousands of Qi Refining disciples.

These souls were not all killed by the old man in black robes; most of them were stolen from other demon cultivators who had created the Myriad Soul Banner, thus completing his own Myriad Soul Banner.

The vengeful spirits of the Myriad Souls Banner constantly devour other vengeful spirits, which is how the powerful Myriad Souls Banner came to be.

I only hope that one day in the future, I can raise a vengeful ghost that surpasses my own realm within the space of the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.

How can killing alone compare to killing a group of people? By including all the people killed by others in your Myriad Soul Banner, you can make the Myriad Soul Banner break through quickly.

These five fire spirit flying swords are extremely effective against vengeful ghosts, so the old man in black robes was very dissatisfied. If he couldn't kill the five Foundation Establishment cultivators in front of him to replenish the Myriad Soul Banner, he would suffer a huge loss.

With this thought in mind, the old man in black robes hardened his heart and released more fierce ghosts from the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, attacking Zheng Ping and his group of five without regard for casualties.

Fifteen minutes later, the old man in the black robe gained the upper hand.

"You righteous brat, have you thought about how you're going to die?!"

"If you want to kill me, you'd better be prepared to face death."

"None of you can escape; you will all become vengeful ghosts of the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls."

"Let me lead you all on the path to immortality!"

Zheng Ping and his four companions retreated one after another, forming a basic formation to create a barrier and block the fierce ghosts' bites.

Zheng Ping, unfazed by the old man in black robes' words, retorted, "Fine! You androgynous old monster, if you can kill me, my soul will enter your Ten Thousand Souls Banner!"

The other four paled upon hearing this, instinctively glancing in the direction of Chen An and the others. They lacked battle merits, but they wanted to live even more.

Zheng Ping immediately transmitted his anger and rebuked, "Do you want to die?"

The four trembled, not daring to refute. They were Foundation Establishment cultivators forcibly created by the sect, and their lives did not belong to themselves.

Zheng Ping was powerful, as the four of them clearly saw, and they dared not refute him.

Fire is inherently effective against ghosts, and the five Fire Spirit Swords contain pure fire spirit energy, making them extremely powerful against ghosts.

In the face of a life-or-death crisis, the barrier formed by the five people working together with all their might proved to be exceptionally sturdy.

Unfortunately, this was the first time the five of them had teamed up, and they couldn't work together seamlessly. Over time, their weaknesses were likely to be exposed.

If it weren't for the Fire Spirit Sword as their weapon, the five of them would have been swallowed up by the Myriad Soul Banner long ago.

Chen An had already seen through the methods of the demonic path and was ready to make a move.

"Red dress, it's our turn."

It would be difficult for nine normal Foundation Establishment stage cultivators to defeat a demonic cultivator like the black-robed old man who controls the Myriad Soul Banner.

With the help of the Fire Spirit Sword and the combined attack of numerous Qi Refining disciples, they barely had a chance of winning. However, the longer the battle lasted, the greater the final casualties would be.

Fortunately, Chen An and Ye Hongyi were not ordinary early Foundation Establishment cultivators, and their magical artifacts were not limited to the Fire Spirit Sword.

Liu Hao and Wang Rulong continued to protect Yu Peiyao; they did not need to intervene.

As Chen An called out to Ye Hongyi, his figure shot out like a meteor, casually tossing a mid-grade flying sword crackling with lightning from his storage bag and stabbing it towards the black-robed old man.

In his other hand, he held a deep blue water-attribute flying sword. As spiritual energy was injected, a strong stream of water flowed from the flying sword, quickly enveloping Chen An's entire body, while simultaneously shooting jets of water towards the ghosts in all directions.

Lightning-attribute flying swords are more effective against ghosts than fire-attribute flying swords. Even if it is only a mid-grade magic weapon, it can exert power comparable to a top-grade one when fighting ghosts.

Water-attribute flying swords are not effective against ghosts, but Chen An's top-grade flying sword is an exception. This flying sword is called "Thousand Spider Poison Sword", which is an ultimate evil magic weapon.

The water can heal the sick and save lives in normal times, but it can also release extremely potent toxins during battles. Even vengeful ghosts can be corroded by its toxins.

Chen An unleashed his skills and quickly took control of the battlefield, rapidly suppressing the negative effects of the Myriad Soul Banner. The fleeing disciples were also able to catch their breath and resume their pursuit of the demonic cultivators.

After Ye Hongyi entered the arena, she held the Soul-Slaying Dagger given to her by Chen An in her left hand and the superior-grade Fire Spirit Sword prepared for Chen An by the Yu family in her right hand. Every fierce ghost she encountered was killed with a single blow.

Chen An controlled the danger of the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, while Ye Hongyi rushed directly towards the old man in black robes, aiming to take his life. Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

Zheng Ping and his five Foundation Establishment cultivators, now with a moment of respite, each took up a Fire Spirit Sword and began to fight back.

If you can gang up on someone, don't fight one-on-one.

Zheng Ping and the others had no choice but to fight on despite their difficulties.

If Chen An takes action, it must be the safest solution.

Seeing that two powerful enemies had appeared, the old man in black robes immediately showed his decisiveness. Despite the damage to the Myriad Souls Banner, he forcibly summoned ten Foundation Establishment level ghosts.

Because it was too rushed, Chen An's lightning and poison water directly killed four of them.

Two Foundation Establishment stage ghosts were killed by Zheng Ping and his group of five.

With six vengeful ghosts killed, the remaining four returned intact to the black-robed figure before Ye Hongyi arrived.

Then it merged into the body of the old man in the black robe.

If you're in a situation where you're certain to die, then use a method that will also lead to death.

The old man in black robes gave up his chance of survival, trading his life for a sliver of hope. There was an 80% chance that the four Foundation Establishment stage demons would devour him.

However, the old man in black robes was also 20% confident that he could use the Myriad Soul Banner to control the four Foundation Establishment Fiends and complete a demonic ritual within this body.