A god-level alchemist, starting by manually crafting forbidden pills.

"This is a bit troublesome."

Luo Fan looked around and sighed.

It's really not worthwhile to expend spiritual energy on these things.

They haven't left the Black Wind Mountains yet, and this place is also involved with the Soul Killing Hall, so preserving some of their strength is the best option.

Luo Fan was not afraid of the consumption, as he had the Great Dao Furnace, which could replenish his energy at any time.

However, he was only at the Qi Refining stage and his strength was limited, far inferior to Bai Jie, a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"Let's fight our way out!"

Bai Jie pointed her longsword diagonally, her body radiating a chilling aura, and a layer of frost formed on the ground.

She understood Luo Fan's concerns, but if they couldn't get past this hurdle, then it would all be meaningless.

Moreover, the Mysterious Yin Netherworld Grass was right in front of them, and they were only half a step away from obtaining the spiritual herb.

Luo Fan laughed, "The spirits themselves have no intelligence, but they are targeting us with a very specific purpose."

"You mean, they're controlled by something or some kind of secret treasure?"

Bai Jie thought of Luo Fan's previous words.

The two of them concealed their presence and held their breath, but they were still discovered, which is enough to show that these ghosts were under control.

It's unclear what exactly it is. If it's a secret treasure, that's fine, but if it's being controlled by someone, that person must be an evil cultivator, perhaps hiding in the shadows.

"What could it be?"

Bai Jie looked at Luo Fan and asked, "Is it related to that spiritual herb?"

Otherwise, why would those ghosts merely surround them without taking any further action?

She felt her guess was correct; as long as she took any action, these spirits would attack.

Luo Fan did not answer; he stared at the black threads between the brows of those ghostly spirits.

The Eye of Truth was activated to its limit, and it followed the silk thread into the depths of the swamp.

He saw a small black banner buried in the silt three inches below the roots of the Xuan Yin You Ming Grass.

The banner was no bigger than the palm of your hand, and it was completely black, with twisted runes embroidered on it.

And those black threads were extending from this banner.

"This is?"

Luo Fan swallowed hard. "The Banner of Ten Thousand Souls?!"

"The Ten Thousand Souls Banner?"

Bai Jie was taken aback. "What is that?"

Her gaze toward Luo Fan grew increasingly surprised.

How could this little rascal know something that even she doesn't recognize?

"The Soul-Slaying Hall's evil soul-refining artifacts can control thousands of souls for its own use!"

Luo Fan's voice was low and deep, "They are using the extreme yin energy of the Xuan Yin You Ming Grass to nourish the yin spirits within the banner."

Luo Fan learned all of this through the memories within Mo Chen's remnant soul, and he was certain he hadn't misread it.

A hundred years ago, the Soul Killing Hall massacred three cities in the Eastern Spirit Domain, which now appears to have been for the purpose of refining a secret treasure.

One of them is the Myriad Poison Pearl.

Secondly, it is this Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

Using living people as sacrifices, he ultimately underestimated the methods of the Demonic Sect.

"Senior sister, you hold off these vengeful spirits."

Luo Fan had a plan in mind: "As long as I get my hands on the Myriad Soul Banner, the Yin spirits will collapse on their own!"

He moved, and the ghosts moved with him.

Bai Jie was faster than them.

He casually unleashed a sword aura, freezing the dozen or so Yin spirits that were rushing towards Luo Fan.

"Your opponent is me."

Bai Jie casually flicked her sword, placing it horizontally in front of the vengeful spirits.

At this moment, her body had become Luo Fan's strongest support.

Luo Fan moved like lightning, rushing straight to the center of the swamp.

Three zhang, two zhang, one zhang...

Just as he was about to touch the Mysterious Yin Netherworld Grass…

boom!!!

The swamp exploded, splattering mud everywhere.

A giant black python, as thick as a water bucket, burst forth.

Its body is covered in jet-black scales, and it has a single, sharp horn on its head.

Its scarlet vertical pupils were locked on Luo Fan, and it spewed out a foul-smelling mist from its mouth.

That's the Netherworld Horned Python, a powerful beast at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage!

"It's not that simple after all."

Luo Fan was not surprised by this.

He had anticipated this, and quickly retreated, flicking three crimson pills from his sleeve.

The elixir exploded in the poisonous mist, turning into raging flames that burned away the mist completely.

The Yinming Horned Python reacted even faster, its massive tail sweeping out and whistling as it struck Luo Fan.

Luo Fan formed a hand seal, and an earthen wall rose from the ground.

boom!

The giant tail shattered the earthen wall, its momentum undiminished, and then shattered the light shield that Luo Fan had hastily conjured.

He was thrown several feet away by the recoil, his blood and qi churning inside him, and he barely managed to regain his footing.

"The difference between Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment is indeed as vast as the heavens and the earth."

Luo Fan's expression was solemn.

If it weren't for the Eye of Truth seeing through the giant python's movements...

His soul was protected by the cold spring and the furnace of the Great Dao.

That attack just now would have seriously injured him, if not killed him.

Even so, things didn't get much better; his internal organs were shaken and he was in excruciating pain.

On the other hand, Bai Jie's situation is not optimistic either.

Although her sword strikes were fierce, even more Yin spirits surged forth from the Myriad Souls Coil, seemingly endless.

Even more deadly is that the ice on the bodies of those frozen spirits is melting rapidly.

It was clearly the Myriad Soul Banner that was continuously emitting Yin energy to break the ice seal.

"We can't delay any longer."

Bai Jie glanced at Luo Fan, her heart filled with anxiety.

The longsword in her hand shone brightly, and fine ice patterns appeared on its blade, no longer caring about the consumption of spiritual energy.

"Mystic Ice Sword Qi, Slash!"

A sword aura several meters long, icy blue, swept across, and the ghosts scattered in disarray.

Similarly, for every one she kills, another one appears.

It seemed that the banner contained tens of thousands of vengeful spirits, which could not be eradicated or killed.

Seeing this, Luo Fan knew that if the Ten Thousand Souls Banner wasn't destroyed, the number of Yin spirits would only increase.

While dodging the Yinming Horned Python, he observed the connection between the spirit herb and the banner.

This time, he saw that the roots of the Xuan Yin You Ming Grass were intertwined with the banner pole of the Wan Hun Banner, and wisps of Yin energy were being injected into the banner through the roots.

"All roots must be severed at the same time, otherwise the herb will lose all its spiritual power."

Luo Fan flipped his hand and took out a small knife as thin as a cicada's wing from his storage ring.

It is called the Spirit-Severing Blade and can sever spiritual energy connections.

He seized the opportunity and used the Ghostly Shadow Step to create countless illusions to confuse the Netherworld Horned Python.

The real Luo Fan rushed to the spirit herb, his Spirit-Severing Blade flashing with cold light.

Swish swish!

All the connecting roots were cut off cleanly.

The Mysterious Yin Netherworld Grass trembled slightly, its dark blue light dimmed a bit, but it did not wither.

Luo Fan plucked it off and put it into the jade box.

Almost simultaneously.

Without the nourishment of the spiritual herbs, the banner of ten thousand souls lost its dark luster, and the ghostly spirits emerging from it noticeably slowed down.

"It's a success!"

Luo Fan was overjoyed and reached out to grab the Myriad Souls Banner.

hiss! ! !

Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine!

The Dark Horned Python let out a furious hiss, and the single horn on its head emitted a dark, eerie light.

A fatal sense of crisis surged into Luo Fan's heart; he wanted to retreat, but it was already too late.

The unicorn horn flashed with a ghostly light, and a jet-black beam of light shot straight toward his chest!

"Xiao Fan!!!"

Bai Jie's eyes were bloodshot.

She was still more than ten feet away from Luo Fan, and there was no time to rescue him.

He watched helplessly as the black beam of light was about to shatter Luo Fan's protective aura and pierce his heart.

"I have to save him!!!"

Bai Jie had only one belief in her heart.

With a flick of her wrist, a pill appeared in her palm—the Five Elements Creation Pill.

She tilted her head back and swallowed it.

The five elements of spiritual energy exploded, as if several ferocious beasts were rampaging through the meridians.

Bai Jie endured the pain and, just like Luo Fan had done before, forcibly increased her own cultivation level.

Foundation building, three layers, four layers, five layers... six layers...

"Azure Ice Soul Technique, freezes for eternity!"

She formed a hand seal, and the temperature within a radius of ten feet suddenly dropped.

The black beam of light that shot towards Luo Fan was also frozen by her icy true energy.

Seeing Bai Jie charging towards him with her sword, the Yinming Horned Python turned around and tried to disappear into the swamp.

"You hit my man and think you can just leave?"

The chilling voice echoed from above its head, and a ten-zhang-long sword shadow slashed down.

puff!

The giant sword pierced through the python's body, pinning it to the ground.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Luo Fan had already grabbed the Ten Thousand Souls Banner in his hand.

The moment the banner was touched, a bone-chilling cold emanated from it.

The wails of countless vengeful spirits echoed in his mind, attempting to assault his spirit.

"How dare you, a mere remnant soul, be so insolent!"

The cold flames of the underworld surged into the banner, and the wails of the vengeful spirits instantly turned into screams of agony, and they all fell silent.

Luo Fan bit his fingertip and, using the manipulation technique, imprinted several restrictions on the banner.

Then he looked at the Yinming Horned Python pinned down by the ice sword, and Bai Jie struggling to hold on.

"Then I'll use you to test its power."

Luo Fan made a hand seal.

The Banner of Ten Thousand Souls rose sharply in the wind.

It grew to about ten feet in size, its banner surface shimmering with dark light, enveloping the Netherworld Horned Python.

"receive!"

The demonic soul of the Yinming Horned Python was pulled out of its body and absorbed into the banner.

The python trembled a few times and then died.

A lifelike python pattern has appeared on the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

After doing all that, Luo Fan immediately rushed towards Bai Jie.

"Senior Sister!"

Bai Jie's aura dropped back to the second level of Foundation Establishment.

She was swaying, and even standing was difficult for her.

"I'm fine."

Bai Jie forced a smile, trying to straighten up from Luo Fan's embrace, but she stumbled and fell forward.

Luo Fan put away the Ten Thousand Soul Banner and the corpse of the Yinming Horned Python, no longer caring about anything else.

He picked up Bai Jie's delicate body and used his escape technique to leave the swamp.

Behind him, the yin spirits, no longer under the control of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, turned into wisps of green smoke and dissipated.

The Xuan Yin You Ming Grass that was plucked emitted a wisp of black aura from its roots, seeping into the ground.

Meanwhile, in the distant dense forest, a pair of dark eyes suddenly opened, flashing a sharp, cold light.