463: Chapter 478 The Battle of the Two Banners [Part 2]

Lu Ming raised his hand, and the human emperor banner was activated once again.

“Underworld! Yama!”

“Emerge!”

Within the surface of the banner, from inside Fengdu City, figures suddenly soared into the sky!

The leader was dressed in a mysterious black dragon robe and wore a Pingtianguan crown. His face was majestic, and his entire body was surrounded by a dense Thick Earth Qi.

He raised his hand, and a jet-black Seal condensed in his palm—the Thick Earth Seal!

The newcomer was none other than King Qin wide, Li Daoxuan!

He wielded the Law of Thick Earth, suppressing ten thousand souls with the power of the earth!

Behind him, a figure appeared in snow-white robes, surrounded by a bone-chilling coldness.

He raised his hand, and the frost in the sky condensed into countless ice blades, whistling forth!

It was King Chujiang, Mu Han!

Wielder of the Frozen Purgatory, he used the power of extreme cold to freeze everything!

On the other side, a figure was surrounded by mysterious threads. As his ten fingers moved, invisible power wove into a net in the Void Realm.

King Songdi, Zhuge Mingyi!

Wielder of the Dao of Heavenly Secrets, he used the power of Karma to throw the universe into Chaos!

Behind these three figures, several more emerged one after another.

A slender figure clad in a mysterious black robe appeared, her face blurred, holding an ancient bowl in her hand.

The bowl contained a chaotic, indistinct liquid, emitting a heart-palpitating aura.

Lady of Oblivion, Murong Jingyang!

Wielder of the Seven Emotions and Six Desires, she used the Water of the River of Forgetfulness to wash away all memories!

Two figures, one black and one white, appeared—one holding a mourning staff, the other a soul-locking chain.

They were Black and White Impermanence! Specialists in hooking and claiming souls, coming and going without a trace!

Finally, there was one with a bull's head and a human body, and another with a horse's face and a human body—the Ox-Head and Horse-Face. They possessed infinite strength and were fearless of death!

The gods of the Underworld gathered in the mortal world, their prestige overwhelming for a moment!

However, it was clear that the nine ferocious Malevolent Draught Zombies had no reason and were not intimidated by this scene at all.

The moment they saw the Underworld gods, they roared and charged forward to kill.

The battle was on the verge of breaking out!

Crimson light flickered in the eyes of one Malevolent Draught Zombie. It immediately targeted King Qin wide, let out a roar, turned into an afterimage, and flashed toward him at extreme speed.

Facing the pounce of this Malevolent Draught Zombie, King Qin wide unhurriedly raised his hand, and the Thick Earth Seal transformed into a ten-thousand-foot mountain, pinning the Malevolent Draught Zombie firmly to the ground!

The Malevolent Draught Zombie struggled frantically but could not budge it in the slightest, only able to let out unwilling roars.

On the other side, King Chujiang waved his hands, and the frost in the sky condensed into a massive ice coffin, sealing a Malevolent Draught Zombie inside!

The Malevolent Draught Zombie crashed frantically inside the ice coffin, but being within it was like being cast into the Frozen Purgatory.

Every attack was met with a backlash from the extreme Yin power upon it, as if countless ice awls and blades were inflicting a thousand cuts!

King Songdi's battle technique was even more visually spectacular.

As his ten fingers moved, threads of Karma wound around a Malevolent Draught Zombie.

The Malevolent Draught Zombie smashed a fist toward the ground, but for some reason, it suddenly turned and slammed hard into its own side's tide of ghostly souls, instantly annihilating that area of the field.

Countless wisps of yin nether qi dissipated, and before they could flee back into the soul devouring banner, they were swallowed in one gulp by the human emperor banner, which was watching greedily from the side.

And it didn't end there.

Under King Songdi's guidance, the Malevolent Draught Zombie's Karma was reversed and its thoughts were muddled; it danced around the field like a headless fly, appearing somewhat comical for a moment.

This scene fell into Bone Underworld's eyes, causing his face to instantly darken.

But an even more unsightly scene for him was yet to come.

Setting aside these Kings of Yama, the other Underworld deities also displayed their Divine Abilities, performing at their expected levels.

The Lady of Oblivion raised her hand, and the chaotic liquid in the bowl poured down, enveloping a Malevolent Draught Zombie.

The Malevolent Draught Zombie's consciousness began to muddle, and its memories began to fade. Its struggles grew weaker and weaker until finally, it stood blankly in place like an empty shell.

Black and White Impermanence moved ghost-like, drifting through the battlefield. Black Impermanence swung his mourning staff, striking a Malevolent Draught Zombie until it was dizzy and disoriented.

White Impermanence followed up by flinging his soul-locking chain, binding the Malevolent Draught Zombie tightly and dragging it toward the depths of the human emperor banner's sky-covering curtain.

Meanwhile, Ox-Head and Horse-Face met a Malevolent Draught Zombie head-on, their giant axe and iron fork descending together to clash directly with the Malevolent Draught Zombie!

Every collision erupted with a world-shaking boom, air currents scattering and stone fragments flying!

As time passed, the battle gradually reached a fever pitch.

Although the Malevolent Draught Zombies possessed infinite strength and were fearless of death, their attack methods were singular, consisting only of direct charges.

The Underworld gods, however, each displayed their own Divine Abilities, with endless methods and seamless cooperation.

King Qin wide suppressed, King Chujiang froze, King Songdi interfered, the Lady of Oblivion weakened, Black and White Impermanence roamed and restrained, and Ox-Head and Horse-Face clashed head-on.

In a short while, four of the nine Malevolent Draught Zombies had been killed!

Bone Underworld's expression changed drastically.

“Damn it! What kind of mess is all this!”

He completely failed to understand their style—how could every single one of them come with their own Law?

Isn't this just cheating!

Moreover, every one of them was so skilled in combat; could it be that after being converted into Banner Spirits, they retained all their combat awareness from when they were alive?

While his Banner Spirits could do that too, this was far too much retention—what was the difference between this and being alive!

Hey, who exactly is the orthodox member of the Soul Devouring Demonic Sect here!

Though he cursed Jiang Wunian's wickedness in his heart, Bone Underworld knew he couldn't let this continue; the situation was already very unfavorable for him.

So he gritted his teeth, prepared to bring out his trump card.

He immediately changed his hand Seal, and the soul devouring banner waved again!

On the surface of the banner, another figure slowly emerged.

It was an old man dressed in blood-red robes, his face withered and his eyes sunken, his entire body surrounded by a dense Blood Fiend Qi.

The moment he appeared, the temperature of the entire world plummeted again, and the air was filled with a thick, inescapable smell of blood.

Old Demon Blood Fiend! He was a Demonic Path Golden Core Perfection Great True Lord that Bone Underworld had once captured; in terms of strength, he had already faintly touched the threshold of the Dao Realm!

But it didn't end there.

Bone Underworld had seen the methods of those fellows opposite him, so he naturally knew one would certainly not be enough.

So immediately after, another figure emerged.

It was a middle-aged man dressed in bone armor, holding a bone saber, his entire body emitting a suffocating killing intent.

White Bone Demonic Lord! Golden Core Perfection, also a top-tier Banner Spirit within the soul devouring banner!

Subsequently, three more figures walked out one after another, each emitting the aura of Golden Core Perfection!

With five top-tier Banner Spirits joining the fray, the situation suddenly improved.

Old Demon Blood Fiend raised his hand, and a beam of blood-light shot out, forcing King Chujiang back!

White Bone Demonic Lord swung his bone saber; wherever the saber light passed, thousands of Yin soldiers were sliced in two. Even when they formed battle arrays to resist, it was to no avail, and they could only passively dissipate into the sky as Profound Nether Qi!

Seeing this, Bone Underworld's expression brightened slightly, and he felt a bit more at ease.

However, his expression soon became even more unsightly.

Because he discovered that Jiang Wunian's Banner Spirits actually knew how to join forces and perform a set of combo skills!

King Qin wide and King Chujiang attacked simultaneously, the Thick Earth Seal and frost power intertwining to pin Old Demon Blood Fiend to the ground, making him unable to move!

The Lady of Oblivion followed closely behind, and the Water of the River of Forgetfulness poured down; Old Demon Blood Fiend instantly lost his combat ability.

Standing stupidly in place without moving, he was finally finished off by a direct strike from King Qin wide's Thick Earth Seal!

On the other side, Black and White Impermanence and Ox-Head and Horse-Face also began to join forces.

The mourning staff, soul-locking chain, giant axe, and iron fork—four Magical Artifacts fell simultaneously, causing a Malevolent Draught Zombie's Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering!

“Is there no justice left?!!!”

Bone Underworld watched with eyes nearly splitting, almost driven to madness.

The Banner Spirits actually knew combo skills? How was he supposed to fight this!

Although his Banner Spirits were powerful, they mostly fought individually and could not achieve such coordination at all.

In contrast, Jiang Wunian's Banner Spirits acted as a single entity, cooperating with seamless fluidly.

He tried to control his own Banner Spirits to cooperate, but those spirits were all souls he had forcibly refined; their intelligence was low to begin with, so how could they manage this level of collaboration?

In the blink of an eye, two more of the five Golden Core Perfection Banner Spirits were lost!

Bone Underworld's face completely darkened.

He saw clearly that Jiang Wunian's Banner Spirits were not ordinary Banner Spirits at all.

They possessed independent consciousness and, more importantly, their combat instincts from when they were alive.

Although he completely failed to understand how Jiang Wunian had achieved this, by now, the situation on the field was quite clear.

If this continued, the one to lose would certainly be him, Bone Underworld.

Bone Underworld took a deep breath, a look of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.

He couldn't let this go on.

If he kept fighting like this, his entire foundation would be exhausted.

He had to end this quickly!

He suddenly bit the tip of his tongue and sprayed a mouthful of Essence Blood onto the soul devouring banner.

The soul devouring banner shook violently, and those Banner Spirits currently entangled with the Underworld gods let out ear-piercing shrieks, desperately pinning down their opponents to buy him time.

At the same time, Bone Underworld reached into his robe with his left hand and took out an object.

It was a skull that was pitch-black all over.

The surface of the skull was smooth as a mirror, and countless fine runes could be faintly seen flowing within it, emitting a heart-palpitating aura.

That aura was not Golden Core, but... Nascent Soul!

Bone Underworld held the skull, his fingers trembling slightly.

This 'skull' was a trump card personally given to him by the Soul Devouring Demonic Lord before his departure, containing the power of a full-strength strike from a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

The Demonic Lord had said that if this attack were fully unleashed, it would be enough to heavily injure an Early Stage Nascent Soul being.

This was originally what Bone Underworld had prepared to use to break the Seal and Restriction.

But now...

Bone Underworld looked up at Jiang Wunian, who was standing opposite him with his hands behind his back, looking as if victory were already in his grasp.

It was all because of this damn guy; if not for him, how would things have reached this point!

However, Bone Underworld also knew that if he didn't resolve the trouble in front of him, he wouldn't even be able to reach the place of the Seal.

Then this mission would end in failure anyway!

In that case, he would strike first to gain the upper hand and resolve the opponent.

As for the Seal and Restriction... he would find another way when the time came.

A look of determination flashed in his eyes.

“Jiang Wunian, you forced me.”

Bone Underworld growled, clasping the skull fragment between his palms and beginning to activate the demonic incantation taught to him by the Demonic Lord!

In an instant, the world changed color!

The pitch-black skull fragment suddenly exploded, turning into a mass of black mist so dense it was extreme!

The mist surged, like a black sun rising in Bone Underworld's palm!

Within the mist, countless hideous faces twisted, wailed, and roared, as if tens of thousands of souls were shrieking at once!

A terrifying pressure, extreme in its intensity, erupted from that mass of black mist!

The pressure was like a physical substance, turning into a visible ring of black airwaves that expanded in all directions!

Wherever the airwaves passed, the ground cracked, stone fragments turned to powder, and stone pillars that had been corroded for tens of millions of years collapsed like building blocks!

The Underworld gods were struck by this airwave, their figures staggering, nearly unable to stand firm!

The Yin soldier phalanxes were scattered even more, and countless ghostly souls dissipated into black smoke within the airwave!

The moment he felt this impact, Lu Ming's expression changed, his pupils suddenly contracting, and a chill rushed from his spine straight to his crown.

Shit! Those damn memories were starting to attack him again.

He remembered not long ago, in the Xuanling Secret Realm, that sudden Nascent Soul Divine Thought from Yun Chenzi's body.

That one look had almost caused him to die on the spot.

And now, this pressure... was exactly the same as back then!

“It's another damn Nascent Soul True Monarch's method!”

Lu Ming cursed in his heart.

How did every single one of these Grotto-Heaven Disciples have a Nascent Soul method on them?

The Qingwei Dao Sect was like this, and the Soul Devouring Demonic Sect was like this too.

Is this the foundation of the Inner Domain's great sects?

Everyone goes out with a Nascent Soul-level life-saving trump card!

Damn privileged people, why don't I have one!

While Lu Ming cursed loudly in his heart, his mind was also spinning rapidly.

Right now, he was just a Clone; it wouldn't matter much if it were lost.

But the human emperor banner could not be lost!

That banner was the fruit of his labor, nurtured all this way; it was his most important foundation in this cultivation world, second only to the golden book.

If it were lost here, his strength would be reduced by at least thirty percent.

Moreover, he was worried about another matter.

Yun Chenzi had Taishu Yichen's Divine Thought on him, and after he killed Yun Chenzi, he was targeted by that Qingwei Dao Lord.

Now, if he faced Bone Underworld's trump card, would he be hated by the Soul Devouring Demonic Lord as well?

Offending two Nascent Soul True Monarchs at once felt a bit much for him to handle.

However, what Lu Ming didn't know was that there was no Divine Thought from the Soul Devouring Demonic Lord on this 'Demonic Lord Skull' at all.

The reason was simple: this place was under the supervision of the Heavenly Dao. If the Soul Devouring Demonic Lord wanted to lift a corner of the Seal to let the Asura Clan's Dao Venerable of Spirit Transformation's will awaken and restrain the Heavenly Dao, he absolutely could not alert the enemy before succeeding.

So this was just a pure attack, without any Divine Thought attached or any Karma connection; even the power infused within it wasn't the Soul Devouring Demonic Lord's.

Instead, it was the skull of an enemy he had killed tens of thousands of years ago, refined into a Resentful Infant Demonic Treasure.

Furthermore, to control the intensity and prevent the Seal and Restriction from being destroyed by a single strike, the power of this attack was deliberately suppressed to the threshold of the Early Stage Nascent Soul.

It wasn't that the Demonic Lord didn't want to give a stronger trump card, but that he didn't dare to.

If it wasn't controlled well and the Seal was blown open directly, it wouldn't be restraining the Heavenly Dao, but releasing a Soul Transformation being.

This was the Soul Devouring Demonic Lord's cautious attitude.

He hadn't thought he would succeed this time; he was just making an attempt to test the strength of the Restriction first.

As for Bone Underworld? He was merely a chess piece.

Once things were gradually tested out, he would just send someone else in next time.

In any case, with the Lifespan of a Nascent Soul True Monarch, it was enough to support him in completing this series of plans.

But Lu Ming didn't know any of this.

He only knew that these Grotto-Heaven Disciples were all cheaters!

Summoning the power of a Nascent Soul True Monarch at the slightest disagreement—how was anyone supposed to play?

What gave him an even bigger headache was that his true body could not descend in person.

This was the Jiling Wasteland, the periphery of the Seal's location, right under the nose of the Heavenly Dao.

His true body had already refined fortune; once he appeared, he would likely be caught red-handed by the Heavenly Dao. He would rather face a Nascent Soul True Monarch than face the Heavenly Dao.

Therefore, he could only rely on this Clone and the human emperor banner to withstand this Nascent Soul-level attack.

What Lu Ming didn't know was that this very decision also successfully allowed him to avoid a crisis.

Lu Ming knew that since they had already dropped all pretenses, he couldn't leave any future trouble.

Bone Underworld had to be pulled up by the roots, and the human emperor banner could not be lost.

Lu Ming took a deep breath and began to fully activate the human emperor banner.