Chapter 395: Zhou Wutai

The Giant Demon Race Old Ancestor gripped the Red Giant Axe in his right hand, and in that instant, his entire demeanor changed drastically, as if holding the axe transformed him into another person.

Streams of red Qi spread out from within the axe, drilling into the Giant Demon Race Old Ancestor's arm. One could see threads of red Qi now emanating from his facial features and seven orifices, making him look extremely hideous from afar.

This red Qi did not gather in front of him; instead, it was absorbed by the axe, forming a cycle.

The red Qi flowed from the axe into the Old Ancestor's body, then dispersed from his body to be absorbed by the axe. Every breath this process continued, the Giant Demon Race Old Ancestor's Aura grew stronger.

He hovered mid-air, looking down at Wang Lin with a ferocious sneer. Especially where his left arm had been chopped off by Xu Ligou moments ago, streams of red Qi surged forth, suddenly transforming into a red arm.

With a low roar, the Giant Demon Race Old Ancestor immediately tossed the axe in his right hand forward. Simultaneously, the left hand, completely reformed by condensed red Qi, grabbed the axe. At this moment, the red Qi shone intensely.

"Wang Lin, die!" the Giant Demon Race Old Ancestor roared, stepping forward. The axe in his hand instantly lifted high and chopped down furiously.

His speed was extremely fast; in the blink of an eye, he arrived before Wang Lin, his body following the momentum of the axe as it crashed down.

Wang Lin's eyes flashed. The Immortal Sword in his hand immediately lifted horizontally, clashing instantly with the Red Giant Axe.

"Boom!"

A sound that shook heaven and earth and pierced the Nine Heavens emanated from the point where the axe and sword collided.

Wang Lin felt a powerful force suddenly erupt from the axe. His body immediately shook, a trace of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, and he instantly retreated.

This retreat covered a hundred zhang.

Looking back at the Giant Demon Race Old Ancestor, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, but his feet seemed rooted, and he did not retreat a single step. However, his Physical Body visibly withered at a speed noticeable to the naked eye, shrinking by almost one-third in an instant.

Although the Giant Demon Race Old Ancestor was not skin and bones, he no longer possessed his previous feeling of strength.

A roar erupted from the Giant Demon Race Old Ancestor's mouth. At this moment, he resembled an ancient Vicious Beast, his eyes emitting dazzling red light. Holding the giant axe, he stomped forward, transforming into a red lightning bolt that furiously charged toward Wang Lin.

"Wang Lin, you brat, die!" the Giant Demon Race Old Ancestor roared, raising the giant axe in his hand and chopping down once more.

As Wang Lin retreated, cold light flashed in his eyes. He formed Hand Seals with his right hand, made a grasping motion forward, and softly uttered: "Soul Banner!"

The sky suddenly darkened, as if all the light had converged in front of Wang Lin. A massive Soul Banner, over three zhang tall, entirely ethereal and flickering like a bright flame, appeared in his hand.

This banner was three zhang high, but the banner cloth was even wider. It was entirely purple, and twelve golden lights flashed upon it, emitting a purple-gold radiance.

The moment this Soul Banner appeared, countless howling sounds rose from the earth, as if endless lone souls and wandering ghosts were wailing. Streams of black qi rapidly ascended from the ground, scrambling to flee in all directions.

The sky above was now dim and dark, obscured as if by black sand, and the sun and moon had fallen.

Looking back at the Giant Demon Race Old Ancestor, his lightning-fast charge immediately slowed. The Red Giant Axe in his hand emitted a violent buzzing sound.

A trace of shock and deeply hidden fear appeared in the red light of the Giant Demon Race Old Ancestor's eyes.

"This… this is the Soul Refining Sect's…" The Giant Demon Race Old Ancestor gasped. He vaguely recognized the origin of this banner, yet he dared not fully believe it. After all, the Soul Banner in his memory should absolutely not be in Wang Lin's hands.

But at this moment, the appearance of this Soul Banner was almost exactly the same as the item in his memory, leaving him no choice but to believe.

The Ten Billion Soul Banner was summoned and wielded by Wang Lin for the first time.

At this very moment, at the border of the Giant Demon Race, the Purple-robed Woman who had been observing the battle suddenly furrowed her delicate brows and muttered to herself: "Dun Tian drove me out of the Soul Refining Sect because he wanted Wang Lin to inherit the Legacy of the Ten Billion Soul Banner… Although this is a Phantom Sub-banner, its power is not something the Giant Demon Race Old Ancestor can resist."

The Purple-robed Woman sighed softly. She had probed Wang Lin's Dao Heart for a long time but could never find any clues. Only if he were unconscious might she succeed by using a Secret Technique.

Thinking of this, she took a step, about to move forward, but just then, she suddenly paused and looked back into the distance.

She saw a Purple-robed Man wearing a Straw Hat walking toward her step by step from afar.

"Miss Liu Mei, your opponent is me!" The man's voice arrived before he did.

The Purple-robed Woman glanced at the man with her beautiful eyes and said softly: "Possessing Junior Martial Uncle Yun Que's Departure Nether Straw Hat, Your Excellency must be one of the four people selected by the Senior Junior Martial Uncle. However, with your mere Middle Stage Soul Transformation cultivation, you are not enough to stop me."

The man laughed heartily and said: "Miss Liu Mei's cultivation reaches the heavens, and I am naturally no match for you. However, Old Senior Yun Quezi gave the order, and I, Zhou, dare not disobey. Why don't you and I share a drink and chat? I can report back shortly after, and that way, I'll have an excuse, won't I?"

The Purple-robed Woman tucked the strands of hair that the breeze had scattered behind her ear, revealing a smile like a blooming lily. She covered her mouth and said: "You are quite interesting. But you'll have to wait a bit. How about I share a drink with you after I go help the Giant Demon Race Old Ancestor?"

The man shook his head and chuckled: "No good. Wang Lin is an old acquaintance of mine. How could I let you leave?"

The Purple-robed Woman sighed softly, glanced at the man, and whispered: "Leave. I don't want to hurt you." Saying this, she moved her body, preparing to depart.

The man sat cross-legged on the ground, forming Hand Seals with both hands. With a movement of his Primordial Spirit, his Concept immediately manifested. Behind him, the phantom image of a youth barely reaching adulthood appeared. This youth had delicate features, and upon appearing, he looked toward the man, showing intense devotion.

The Purple-robed Woman paused again, turning to stare at the man. Her expression lost its previous charm, and a trace of deeply hidden cold ruthlessness emerged in her eyes. She whispered: "Dao of Severing Emotions… No wonder Junior Martial Uncle favored Your Excellency. To comprehend this Concept requires immense perseverance and a ruthless heart…"

Comprehending the relationship between master and Disciple, he uses intent to move thought, thought to accept a Disciple, emotion to raise a child, grace to bestow kindness, heart to form love, and sorrow to enter the divine. His every action was entirely dedicated to immersing himself wholeheartedly in this master-Disciple relationship.

When he finally comprehends his Concept and is about to reach Soul Transformation, that is the day he must kill his own Disciple—the Disciple who was both like a son and a student, on whom he had poured his entire heart and soul. Moreover, the Disciple must not die instantly but must endure countless agonies, allowing his own heart to experience bone-deep pain repeatedly. Only then can the overwhelming sorrow in his heart reach the final step of using sorrow to enter the divine!

Seemingly emotional, it is actually ruthless. Yet, within this ruthlessness lies profound emotion and genuine nature. This State of Mortal Transformation is absolutely not something ordinary people can comprehend.

Back then, when Wang Lin saw this person, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly; he knew he couldn't achieve this.

—

Wang Lin held the Ten Billion Soul Banner. His Primordial Spirit merged with the banner, and with a thought, the Ten Billion Soul Banner immediately danced without wind. A tremendous howling sound, piercing the Nine Heavens and shaking the Nine Earths, erupted from within the Ten Billion Soul Banner.

Countless souls frantically rushed out from the Soul Banner, appearing with roars, led by twelve purple-gold Nascent Soul Transformation Main Souls.

The Giant Demon Race Old Ancestor's expression changed drastically. He never expected Wang Lin to possess such a Magic Treasure. His heart felt bitter; had he known earlier, he would never have fought this person. Fleeing immediately would have been the best choice.

But now the arrow was on the bowstring and had to be released. If he retreated now, only death awaited him. He might as well go all out! A trace of madness appeared in the Giant Demon Race Old Ancestor's eyes. With a low roar, he charged again, moving three times faster than before. He furiously raised the giant axe and bellowed: "Ancestral Protection, help me slay this man!"

A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky at this moment. The lightning was red, and the instant it passed, the earth seemed to be stained blood-red.

The Giant Demon Old Ancestor was the one holding this lightning, though his figure became negligible and unremarkable beneath the might of the heavenly lightning.

At this moment, the entire sky contained only this one bolt of lightning, which suddenly descended toward Wang Lin. As the lightning fell, the silhouette of the Red Giant Axe inside was revealed.

Wang Lin stared at the expanse of red ahead, his gaze calm. He pointed forward with his right hand and softly uttered: "Soul Banner, devour!"

Billions of souls howled forth. As the red lightning approached, twelve Purple-gold Main Banners suddenly rushed out. Equivalent to twelve Nascent Soul Transformation Cultivators, these twelve Main Souls immediately formed Hand Seals with both hands, and various Divine Abilities instantly appeared.

A golden thread immediately appeared within the bodies of these twelve Purple-gold Main Souls, linking together to instantly form a Heaven-and-Earth Net, trapping the red lightning within it.

Simultaneously, surrounding the Heaven-and-Earth Net, hundreds of millions of souls seemed to instantly receive the Main Souls' summons. They rushed in from all directions with a fierce Aura that seemed capable of shattering the heavens and earth.

If viewed from high altitude, the twelve Main Souls formed a circle, surrounded by endless souls. At this moment, all those souls rushed into the circle.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

As the souls surged in, heaven and earth shook. The scene inside was completely obscured, and only the occasional miserable groan of the Giant Demon Race Old Ancestor could be heard.

But just then, a red light, as if splitting the heavens, hacked out from within, opening a gap. The Giant Demon Race Old Ancestor, now utterly skin and bones and seemingly devoid of any vitality, rushed out quickly, holding the giant axe.

After appearing, he immediately spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood, his eyes dim. He glanced back at Wang Lin with malice, preparing to flee, but it was already too late.

Those countless souls howled forth once more, and the twelve Purple-gold Main Souls let out bursts of sinister laughter, pouncing again.