Thunder-Echo Ridge.

  The cliffs were steep and obsidian-black, appearing as if scorched by celestial fire. From time to time, arcs of lightning crackled across the rock face, briefly illuminating the desolate grey landscape.

  Chen Gensheng unfurled his ink-jade insect wings, flying toward the summit at an unhurried pace. From a distance, he spotted a figure standing at the edge of the peak, hands clasped behind his back, gazing out at the churning sea of clouds.

  It was Zhang Cuizhan. His elegant scholar’s robes had been swapped for practical combat gear, yet that pedantic, sour air of his remained unmistakable.

  Gensheng deliberately slowed down, halting in mid-air about a hundred yards from the summit, feigning caution as he scanned the surroundings.

  "Daoist Chen!" Zhang Cuizhan finally lost his composure and turned around, forcing an eager smile. "You’ve finally arrived! Any later and that thief Xiao Bai might have slipped away!"

  Gensheng sneered inwardly but kept his face expressionless as he slowly approached. Just as his feet were about to touch the solid ground of the summit, the hypocritical smile on Zhang Cuizhan’s face vanished, replaced by an undisguised look of ferocity and malice.

  "Die for me!"

  With a flick of his sleeve, a pitch-black, ghost-qi-laden banner surged into the sky. On its surface, countless distorted, wailing human faces were embroidered with blood-red thread, a sight that made one's skin crawl.

  Instantly, the air was filled with ghostly shrieks and divine howls. Thousands of bluish-black shadows swarmed out of the soul-banner, forming a massive cloud of ghosts that descended upon Gensheng with a soul-freezing chill.

  These specters were hideous and overflowing with resentment, clearly the souls of those who had died wrongful deaths in Qingzhou, refined into the banner through vicious methods. Zhang Cuizhan was confident that at such close range, a sudden ambush like this would result in even a fellow Middle-stage Foundation practitioner being devoured by ten thousand ghosts, leaving their soul utterly annihilated.

  Facing the overwhelming wave of malevolent spirits, Chen Gensheng opened his mouth.

  Over a thousand Soul-Devouring Corpse Wasps erupted from his maw. The black insect cloud collided with the bluish-black ghost cloud. Those specters, which a moment ago were baring their fangs and claws, met the wasps like hot butter meeting a glowing branding iron. Before they could even struggle, they were swarmed and devoured clean within seconds.

  This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

  Where the insect cloud passed, the ghost shadows vanished. In a few breaths, the thousands of fierce spirits were eaten until not a trace of yin-qi remained. The Soul-Devouring Corpse Wasps hovered in mid-air, unsatisfied, locking their target onto the soul-banner itself.

  Just as Zhang Cuizhan was about to risk severe internal injury to retract his banner, a thunderous roar tore through the void: "Useless!"

  A massive dark shadow ripped through the clouds and plummeted, slamming onto the summit with unparalleled pressure! Amidst the rising dust, a giant standing three to four meters tall slowly straightened his back. His muscles were knotted like gnarled roots, his skin a bizarre bronze hue, his eyes blood-red, and his breath searingly hot.

  It was the traitor Xiao Bai. But he no longer possessed a shred of his former handsome appearance; he looked like a ferocious beast crawled out of hell.

  "KILL!" He let out a roar that sounded nothing like a human voice. His pillar-like legs kicked off the ground, leaving two deep footprints in the hard rock. Before he even reached his target, the violent gale from his movement made the skin on one's face sting. This was Xiao Bai’s ultimate killing move—a secret technique that granted temporary physical sanctity!

  Facing the giant charging like a beast, Li Simin pressed both hands onto the massive Corpse-Refining Coffin on her back. A large, pitch-black head covered in lumps peered out unhurriedly from the gap.

  The Essence-Marrow Toad’s lantern-sized eyes gave a cold, indifferent glance at the bronze giant barreling toward Gensheng.

  "Croak."

  Its throat ballooned out, and it snapped its mouth wide enough to swallow an ox. A dense bolt of baleful煞 (sha) light erupted. Xiao Bai’s mountain-like body, propelled by irresistible momentum, had no way to change course. He watched helplessly as the light smeared squarely onto his chest, spreading rapidly across his bronze skin.

  "AH!" Xiao Bai let out a scream of agony, his massive body losing its trajectory and crashing heavily onto his knees before Chen Gensheng.

  "Didn't I tell you to watch out for that toad!" Zhang Cuizhan shouted in a rage, cursing the kneeling Xiao Bai.

  A strange silence fell over the summit. The thousand Soul-Devouring Corpse Wasps converged back into a black cloud, buzzing above Gensheng’s head. The Essence-Marrow Toad crawled slowly out of the coffin, its hill-sized frame shielding Gensheng and Li Simin. Its lantern eyes scanned back and forth between Zhang Cuizhan and Xiao Bai, as if considering who deserved the next mouthful of sha-light.

  Zhang Cuizhan’s expression was as ugly as it could be. He had planned this for so long, believing it to be flawless. He had never expected that the evolved corpse-wasps would be the natural bane of spectral souls. Between offense and defense, Gensheng had completely checkmated two Middle-stage Foundation practitioners.

  Zhang Cuizhan took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his rage and terror. The warm, scholarly smile returned to his face: "Daoist Chen, a misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding."

  He cupped his hands toward Gensheng, lowering his stance significantly: "Brother Xiao and I merely wanted to play a small joke on you, to test your strength. We meant no ill will. Your methods are truly divine and unfathomable; we are filled with nothing but admiration. Why fight to the death and let others benefit?"

  Seeing Gensheng remained unmoved, Zhang Cuizhan added hurriedly: "How about this, Daoist Chen? If you cooperate with us to open the 'God-Burial Pit' beneath Thunder-Echo Ridge, the treasures inside shall be split equally among the three of us! What do you say?"

  Gensheng took several steps back, keeping the Toad and Li Simin in front of him. He coldly spat out three words: "God-Burial Pit? Explain."