Chapter 201: A Grim Aura Bolsters the Army’s Might

Xing, in his armor form, was widely experienced. The moment he saw the Feilian, he repeatedly warned, “You have to be careful. That’s a replica of the ancient exotic beast, the Feilian. It’s extremely powerful. Fortunately, that cultivator can’t even unleash a tenth of its true power, but you’d better deal with it carefully. Find the right moment to use the Advent of the Ghost God and destroy it!”

To get a “very powerful” rating from the arrogant Xing was a rare thing indeed. Qin Haoxuan took his advice seriously. “I have a plan,” he said.

“You little beast, today I will wipe away the shame of that day!” Hao Xiu muttered to himself. He then formed a hand seal and commanded the Feilian to pounce.

Although they were two li apart, the Feilian covered the distance in just a few leaps. The powerful aura of an ancient exotic beast emanated from its body, and the thick stench of blood it exuded seemed to solidify the very air in its path, forming a blood-red ribbon of light.

As the Feilian charged, Qin Haoxuan did not retreat in the slightest. To retreat at this moment would only be to cede what little initiative he had and enter a passive state. After several life-or-death battles, he was no longer a completely inexperienced novice. The key to battle was to seize the offensive.

With Xing’s armor covering his arms and fists, he stepped forward to meet the Feilian and threw a punch. The ghost soldier had the strength of a Twenty-Fifth-Leaf cultivator, and driven by the Advent of the Ghost God, its power increased even more. The immense force nearly caused his entire arm to explode.

Seeing Qin Haoxuan foolishly using his fists to fight the Feilian, Hao Xiu laughed happily. “Are all the disciples of the Taichu Sect so ignorant? Although this is not a true ancient exotic beast, it is still a Talisman Beast modeled after one. You, a mere Fourth-Leaf brat, even if you have many rare treasures and a frighteningly tough body, you will surely die!”

His confidence was not without reason. Perfected Man Hulu’s Giant Python Talisman Beast was powerful, wasn’t it? Yet it had been torn to shreds by his Feilian with ease. How could Qin Haoxuan, with his Fourth-Leaf body of flesh and blood, possibly be a match for it?

Just as Qin Haoxuan and the Feilian were about to make contact, and he could feel the oppressive killing intent and the faint smell of blood radiating from it, he immediately unsealed the ghost soldier on his hand…

Ghost God… Advent!

After the ghost soldier was unsealed, Hao Xiu, who was controlling the Feilian from a distance, felt his vision blur. Besides Qin Haoxuan and the Feilian, another figure had appeared in the middle of the field: a ten-zhang-tall, long-haired fierce ghost. This ghost was disheveled, and its entire body exuded a compelling, sinister resentful energy, in no way inferior to his own Feilian.

The moment the ghost soldier emerged from Qin Haoxuan’s arm, it was pounced upon by the Feilian. Filled with a belly full of resentment with nowhere to vent, it unhesitatingly engaged the Feilian in battle. The ghost soldier slapped the Feilian, and the forty-foot-long beast was sent flying, crashing into the ground and creating a large crater.

The situation had been instantly reversed, startling both Hao Xiu and Perfected Man Hulu.

In the rear, Perfected Man Hulu’s face was filled with horror. “A Twenty-Fifth-Leaf realm ghost… ghost soldier… A Fourth-Leaf brat actually has a Twenty-Fifth-Leaf realm ghost soldier!”

He knew that Hao Xiu had only just refined the Feilian. In terms of control, skill, or his own strength, he was unable to fully unleash the power of the Talisman Beast. In his hands, the Feilian was a pearl cast before swine. But that ghost soldier was different. Under the command of that Fourth-Leaf kid, it moved as if it were his own arm, and the ferocious combat power it displayed was astonishing.

Hao Xiu was in danger. But the shrewd Perfected Man Hulu, far from being worried, was secretly delighted. Serves you right for being so arrogant! A classic case of instant karma! To be repeatedly defeated by a Fourth-Leaf kid; if it were me, I would have committed suicide long ago to avoid being a laughingstock.

Qin Haoxuan did not stop there. With a turn of his thoughts, the ghost soldier spread its powerful arms and let out a sharp, strange cry. A howling yin wind was immediately stirred up. The originally clear and sunny weather instantly became overcast, and a light rain of blood even began to fall. The yin energy condensed into clouds, and the vast battlefield was shrouded in this thick yin energy. The atmosphere was heavy and ancient, the sinister qi oppressive. Countless wisps of yin energy floated about like innumerable fierce ghosts, letting out mournful cries.

The ghost soldier reached out its hand, and the nearby yin energy condensed into a sinister, black long spear in its grasp.

The Feilian had just crawled out of the several-zhang-deep crater. Before Hao Xiu had time to command it to attack, the ghost soldier, under Qin Haoxuan’s command, pounced again. With a single thrust of its spear, the Feilian, which had cost Hao Xiu decades of hard work to successfully refine, was pierced through on the spot. With a shake of the spear, a powerful surge of yin energy erupted, instantly blasting the Talisman Beast’s body to smithereens.

From a distance, Hao Xiu coughed up a mouthful of his heart’s blood. The injury he suffered this time was much more severe than when his Giant Bear Talisman Beast had been destroyed. Both his strength and his confidence were greatly shaken. With no will or power left to fight, he hastily took out several defensive talismans from his robes and released them. They formed a series of spiritual energy walls, and he turned his horse and fled for his life.

Would Qin Haoxuan let him escape again? He was not like before, only able to attack targets at close range. After refining the ghost soldier, its attack range was extremely far. He stood his ground and, without a sound, formed a spiritual seal. The ghost soldier let out a sharp cry and transformed into a black shadow, bringing with it a gust of foul wind as it rapidly charged at Hao Xiu.

In the eyes of the ghost soldier, the defensive talismans he had set up were as fragile as paper, torn apart with a single swipe. Hao Xiu, who had not gotten far, was caught up by the ghost soldier. With another thrust of its spear, it pierced through his body. The yin energy attached to the spear instantly robbed him of his ability to resist. The ghost soldier pulled out its spear, raised Hao Xiu to its face, and with a powerful inhalation, his body rapidly shriveled. His life-source blood entered the ghost soldier’s body, and finally, he was tossed to the ground like a piece of dry firewood.

Xing, in his armor form, protecting Qin Haoxuan, complained repeatedly, “Damn it! Old Qin, aren’t you going to control your ghost soldier? On what grounds can that thing eat people, but I can’t? I want to eat cultivators too!”

Qin Haoxuan ignored him. Just now, using the Advent of the Ghost God and having the ghost soldier fight for him had drastically consumed his own spiritual energy. Although it wasn’t as bad as using the Formless Sword, which had withered his seedling, it had still used up a great deal.

After recalling the ghost soldier and sealing it back on his right arm, Qin Haoxuan thought to himself, According to the normal method, drawing a ghost into one’s body will shorten one’s lifespan, but the Advent of the Ghost God can avoid this. And this method of controlling the strong with the weak is also very powerful. According to the book, a person can only control one ghost soldier at a time. But when I was actually controlling it, I found that with my powerful spiritual sense, I could probably control two, three, or even four. I wonder how many I can actually control. It took so many souls from the battlefield to refine just this one high-level ghost soldier. It seems I’ll have to collect some more souls sometime and try refining another one.

Just then, Su Wu came up and requested instructions from Qin Haoxuan. “The High Immortal has won a great victory, slaying one of the enemy’s High Immortals and greatly boosting our army’s morale. However, the enemy still has one High Immortal in their camp. Should our army press the advantage and pursue? Please give your command, High Immortal.”

Qin Haoxuan waved his hand. “Go.”

Su Wu’s face was filled with excitement. He received the order and went down to immediately mobilize his troops and charge the enemy camp.

In the rebel camp, General Chang saw that Hao Xiu had been killed and was so frightened he nearly lost his wits. His own camp’s morale was low. He had been about to order a retreat when he remembered that there was still another High Immortal in his army. He immediately went to ask for instructions.

General Chang rushed to Perfected Man Hulu’s side and prostrated himself on the ground. “High Immortal, save me! High Immortal Hao has been defeated, and our army’s morale is low. The enemy is now charging us. Should we meet them in battle or retreat? Please give your command.”

Perfected Man Hulu saw the black mass of enemy soldiers charging towards them. His own camp’s morale had collapsed, and their formation was unstable, every man’s face filled with fear. His mind raced. If General Chang’s army was defeated, he, being in the camp, would not be able to escape blame. When he returned to the Tongtian Temple, he would be punished by the Temple Master. He then saw that Qin Haoxuan had not pressed the advantage and pursued. He figured that after controlling that ghost soldier to kill Hao Xiu, his own spiritual energy must have been greatly depleted, leaving him unable to fight again.

So, he steeled his heart, rushed to the very front of his own battle lines, raised the longsword in his hand, and shouted, “This High Immortal is still here! You need not lose heart!” At that, the rebel camp, which had been on the verge of a rout, suddenly rallied, their morale restored.

Su Wu commanded his army to attack several times but was unable to break their formation. It seemed that as long as the other immortal in the enemy camp was not eliminated, he would not be able to defeat this rebel army. He ran back to ask for instructions from Qin Haoxuan again.

Although he really wanted to just directly ask him to go and kill the enemy immortal, Qin Haoxuan had just killed one today. He was afraid he might not have the strength for another battle, so he could only ask for his opinion.

Qin Haoxuan pondered for a moment. He had also noticed that there was another cultivator in the enemy camp, but he did not know his strength, and a portion of his own spiritual energy had been consumed. To rashly engage in another battle would obviously be unwise. So, he said, “Halt the attack. We will discuss this tomorrow.”

Su Wu naturally did not dare to defy his words and hurriedly gave the order. Since the High Immortal was unwilling to go out and eliminate the enemy immortal, to continue fighting like this would only lead to pointless casualties. It seemed they would have to make plans for tomorrow.

Looking at Su Wu, who was so obedient to his every word, Qin Haoxuan sighed softly. If he were still that mortal from Datian Town, in Su Wu’s eyes, he would just be another able-bodied man to be conscripted, as weak as an ant. He wouldn’t have even given him a second glance. Yet now, he was kneeling and bowing to him.

The difference between an immortal and a mortal was truly the difference between the clouds and the mud.