Chapter Nine: The Colossus of Spirits
Not only that, but the master of the Hundred Poisons Sect, the Immortal Jiuyou, after slaughtering each cultivator, would not allow their souls to reincarnate, instead refining their spirits into his Soul-Summoning Banner to wield them against his enemies. Such methods were unspeakably vicious.
When the Soul-Summoning Banner appeared, the Peony Fairy could not help but show a look of sorrow. Although she had cultivated for more than seven hundred years and considered herself well-versed in the ways of the world, this was the first time she had witnessed such a cruel life-bound artifact. The deeds of this Immortal Jiuyou were truly repugnant to the heavens.
Her beautiful eyes widened in anger; with such venomous methods, even if Immortal Jiuyou were to descend to the deepest hells, it would hardly suffice to wash away his sins.
She looked over at him and saw that he was shaking the Soul-Summoning Banner with his right hand, while his left hand traced a series of strange gestures in the air. After forming several incantations, the spiritual power around him converged on his left hand. With a sweeping motion, he infused all that power into the banner.
At once, the spirits of men and women trapped in the flag flew out, each wielding a weapon—every manner of the Eighteen Martial Weapons: saber, spear, sword, halberd, axe, battle-axe, hook, fork, whip, mace, hammer, dagger-axe, staff, cudgel, great lance, stick, pike, and trident.
What’s more, Immortal Jiuyou seemed utterly unconcerned with the “Suppress” talisman and the six spirit swords still assailing him. Not only did he pour his surrounding spiritual energy into the banner, but he also drew out the totality of his own power.
In that instant, the ten thousand souls bound to the flag surged forth as if they had caught the scent of prey. Clearly, Immortal Jiuyou had absolute faith in his life-bound artifact.
Yet, because he had summoned his artifact, his movement slowed, and two spirit swords pierced through him. Immortal Jiuyou, however, was utterly indifferent.
The Peony Fairy gazed at him, noting how he forced himself to wield this poisonous artifact despite his injuries, and judged that he must be at the end of his strength.
Still, to be the leader of a sect, Immortal Jiuyou’s cultivation could not be weak.
The Peony Fairy immediately grew vigilant. Moreover, since he was using his life-bound treasure, she could not afford to underestimate him.
...
Over ten thousand souls, wielding the Eighteen Martial Weapons, swept toward the Peony Fairy. Spirits knew no fatigue. Empowered by Immortal Jiuyou’s spiritual energy, each soul, when dispersed by the Peony Fairy, would simply reassemble and attack anew.
She found herself at a loss for how to counter them. In her heart, she thought: if this entanglement continues, I will eventually exhaust my spiritual power and fall prey to his schemes. When that happens and my strength fails, the outcome will be uncertain.
She recalled the tactic of capturing the ringleader to subdue the minions—only by killing Immortal Jiuyou’s true body could she disperse the host of souls.
The Peony Fairy parted her lips and uttered a single word: “Return.”
The word split into twelve and flew into the twelve spirit swords. Instantly, the six swords that had been attacking Immortal Jiuyou paused, turned, and sped to the Peony Fairy, stopping before her. The six swords that had pierced Elder Jin moments before also flew over. The twelve merged into a single blade and landed in her grasp.
Sword in hand, the Peony Fairy leapt into the air, rising above Immortal Jiuyou’s head. With a flourish, she raised the sword, spiritual energy coiling about it, making it shine brilliantly in the night sky.
She was gathering her power; when it peaked, she brought the blade down in a mighty arc toward her foe.
...
Immortal Jiuyou was still waving the Soul-Summoning Banner, preparing its most powerful attack—a massed assault of ten thousand souls.
He showed no fear as the Peony Fairy’s sword cleaved toward him, as if he expected it, making no attempt to dodge. Perhaps he intended mutual destruction.
As her sword fell, a giant blade of energy materialized. The descending force struck Immortal Jiuyou and instantly dissipated. Yet his physical body, surprisingly fragile, split cleanly in two as if it were made of tofu.
Immediately, his body shriveled rapidly, unlike Elder Jin before him, until it was flattened as thin as paper—then it exploded, and a golden core emerged, floating in the air.
No fragments remained—only a single golden core.
...
Was he dead?
The Peony Fairy found it unbelievable. But wait—where was the villain’s soul?
She spun around, her graceful figure moving in a flash.
“Too late!”
A hoarse voice echoed around the waterfall.
At that moment, the ten thousand spirits who had just been attacking her with their weapons ceased their assault. Instead, they rushed toward Immortal Jiuyou’s soul, and with every spirit that merged into him, his spectral form grew larger.
...
It turned out that his soul had fled his body when it was compressed and now stood behind the Peony Fairy.
By the time she realized it, less than half a minute had passed, and Immortal Jiuyou’s spirit had grown into a giant, still spectral in form, but towering dozens of meters high.
Watching the soul-giant grow, the Peony Fairy felt an inexplicable unease, as though heaven and earth themselves were becoming estranged from her.
She had never imagined that a single spirit could exert such oppressive force on a cultivator of her level.
She thought to herself: a soul from the Golden Core stage, yet it makes me feel my life is threatened.
Though Immortal Jiuyou was but a late-stage Golden Core villain, he now seemed beyond her ability to contend with. It seemed clear that, upon returning to the cultivation world, she must enter seclusion to cultivate diligently.
...
Reflecting on everything, the Peony Fairy realized that she had come here, making use of the season of nature’s renewal, intending to break through to the mid-stage Nascent Soul, only to have her presence detected.
No one in the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers would have betrayed her location; it could only have happened here in the secular world, with its highly developed internet.
Combined with the recent unusual scenery in the area, anyone with a keen mind could have guessed that a cultivator was in seclusion here.
She shook her head lightly, suppressing her anxiety. Her red lips parted as she uttered the word: “Break.”
The word flew into the golden talisman from before, which seemed to become charged, darting rapidly through the air.
Infused with spiritual energy, the talisman shot straight toward Immortal Jiuyou’s soul. When it reached its target, it burst into a brilliant light.
To the Peony Fairy’s astonishment, the light from the “Suppress” talisman had no effect whatsoever. It passed straight through the soul-giant, who only continued to grow.
As she stood there, stunned, the golden core suspended in the air suddenly exploded without any outside force.