While sealing the bronze door, the Xuan Turtle spat out a black stone mirror from its mouth, which flickered with lightning. It was the very stone mirror that could condense Water-Geng Divine Lightning.
With a loud crack of thunder, the stone mirror flew out and gently swayed, conjuring eight black mirrors of light.
A bolt of lightning struck one of the light mirrors and instantly rebounded into two bolts. These two bolts then shot towards two different light mirrors. Repeating this process, a field of black and blue lightning appeared before them.
If the two Nascent Souls within the skull head tried to force their way through the bronze gate, they would surely be trapped within.
Zhang Ling followed closely behind, with the sword light of seven flying swords, the flashing yellow quicksand, the gray mist of the Four Direction Flags, and the fierce attacks of the giant claws.
With a flick of his hand, he also released seven or eight high-level puppets, scattering them around. Forming an encirclement, they sealed off the skull head's retreat from all directions, above, below, left, and right.
These two were completely without a way out, yet they still stubbornly charged towards the bronze gate.
With a clang, the Xuan Turtle's bronze spear blocked the ghost-head staff. Pink fiendish soul threads wrapped around, trying to entangle the bronze spear.
The Xuan Turtle shook its body, and a black and red tail lashed out from its back. Strangely, the front end of this tail had a blood-red giant snake head.
This was a result of the Xuan Turtle refining most of the Xuanming Turtle Blood Essence it had absorbed, causing some changes to its physical body, making it closer to a turtle-snake spirit form.
The red giant snake flashed and spat out a ball of black ice mist, instantly freezing the pink fiendish soul threads into ice lumps. With another flick, it coiled towards the two Nascent Souls in the skull head.
They quickly used teleportation, barely dodging the attack. However, the distance to the bronze gate increased, and when they reappeared, they were already surrounded by Zhang Ling.
The gray mist transformed into wind swirls and swept over. Once they were trapped again by the Four Flags, it would be difficult to escape.
Knowing this, the two ghost cultivators' Nascent Souls suddenly let out a ghostly scream in unison.
Zhang Ling then witnessed a bizarre scene.
The two Nascent Souls in the skull head emanated gray Yin energy all over their bodies, intertwining together. The two Nascent Souls then began to merge.
In the blink of an eye, they merged into one Nascent Soul, the spirit body becoming slightly plumper. The expression on its small face would sometimes turn into that of a gaunt old man, and then in a flash, into that of an old white-haired woman.
"To force us to use forbidden techniques, we won't let you have an easy time either!" the Nascent Soul roared, its voice alternating between male and female, both shrill and hoarse.
"Spirit Attachment Soul Fusion Technique."
Zhang Ling's heart sank. It wasn't that he was frightened by their threatening words, but that he recognized this fusion technique as a secret art from the Underworld King's Manual.
The Spirit Attachment Technique is a way to rapidly increase cultivation by fusing with other spirit bodies. Such secret arts have many drawbacks. Generally, they fuse with spirit bodies without consciousness for better control.
Having two Nascent Souls with complete consciousness is very taboo.
Because excessive use of such secret arts can cause the consciousness to become extremely chaotic. The two Nascent Souls may be assimilated by each other, turning into a spirit body with chaotic consciousness, or a new independent will may be born, becoming uncontrollable.
At this moment, after the fusion of the two Nascent Souls, their cultivation increased greatly, and their aura was comparable to that of a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.
This is something that ordinary Spirit Attachment Techniques cannot achieve. The amplification seems more like a superposition of cultivation.
This is the Spirit Attachment Soul Fusion Technique from the Underworld King's Manual, which cannot be performed by ordinary two Nascent Souls. To perform this technique, they must cultivate the same type of cultivation method, and the two Nascent Souls must also place restrictions on each other. Only then can the cultivation have a great increase.
Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages. Performing this technique will greatly consume lifespan and has many limitations.
Zhang Ling immediately determined that the two fellows were using a forbidden technique from the Underworld King's Manual. This was because the methods used by these two in the previous battle were very similar to several secret arts in the Underworld King's Manual.
The fiendish soul threads used by the white-haired old woman, and the skull cloak that the old man transformed into to ambush him, also resembled the Heavenly Ghost Body in the Underworld King's Manual.
Adding to this the Spirit Attachment Soul Fusion Technique, Zhang Ling had an eighty to ninety percent probability that these two were cultivating the Underworld King's Manual.
While Zhang Ling's mind was racing, his hands didn't hesitate at all, attacking the fused Nascent Soul.
The fused Nascent Soul opened its mouth and spat out a strange round bead. It was a gray round bead, rapidly rotating and releasing a large area of gray Yin energy.
The black and pink skull head where they were hiding absorbed the Yin energy and swelled up, stretching and transforming into a ghostly shadow more than twenty feet tall. With a roar, an invisible shockwave repelled all the attacks.
The ghost had a single horn on its head, a blue face, and red hair. The hideous ghost face also had three dark ghost eyes.
The three ghost eyes flowed and converged into a single vertical emerald green ghost eye. With a sweep of its gaze, Zhang Ling immediately felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, his whole body feeling cold.
The ghost opened its big mouth and cackled strangely, and the single ghost eye moved.
"Not good, a soul attack."
Zhang Ling's expression changed in shock, and he immediately sensed an invisible force pressing down. He instantly realized something and, without thinking, mobilized all of his Divine Power to counterattack.
The scene seemed to fall silent, without any sound. The next moment, a circle of invisible sound waves rippled through the air, emitting an extremely sharp burst.
It was extremely unpleasant and ear-piercing.
Zhang Ling's body shook, and he took half a step back, his face a little pale.
The ghost naturally didn't feel good either, letting out a scream, and the Nascent Soul inside even fell to the ground, its face full of pain.
Speaking of which, this was the first time he had seen other cultivators use soul-type attacks. If his own soul wasn't strong, and he hadn't sensed it immediately and counterattacked instantly, using his divine sense to offset most of the impact, he might have been injured.
On the other side, the Xuan Turtle, which hadn't been greatly affected, took the opportunity to attack. Its red snake tail lashed out and缠住the ghost, releasing a large amount of Ice Soul Poison, intending to seal the ghost directly inside.
But this ghost still had other tricks. The single horn on its head fell off, transforming into a black knife, blocking the Xuan Turtle's tail attack. However, it was still disturbed by the cold poison, freezing half of its body.
The black bone giant claw grabbed over from the side, and with a loud bang, tore the ghost into pieces.
But the ghost didn't disappear. Like the skull cloak that the old man had obtained before, it divided into strands of Yin energy. Looking at it, it was like hundreds of ghost shadows, making it difficult to distinguish between real and fake.
But this time, these Yin energies didn't gather together. Instead, they scattered and fled.
Zhang Ling frowned, and the gray mist of the Four Direction Flags swept over, trapping a large part of the Yin energy. The other attacks also scattered a lot of Yin energy.
But there were still seven or eight strands of Yin energy heading straight for the bronze gate, quickly rushing into the lightning in front of the Xuan Turtle.
The black and blue lightning crackled wildly, and all these Yin energies were corroded and dissolved.
However, Zhang Ling still discovered that a blurry shadow had passed through. It flashed and disappeared into the giant gate.
The ice crystals that had been frozen by the Xuan Turtle on the bronze giant gate didn't provide any obstruction.
Zhang Ling's expression was unsightly. With a thought, the Xuan Turtle transformed back into human form and slapped the giant gate with one hand. The ice crystals on it instantly melted, revealing a gap.
But before the Xuan Turtle could chase in, the bronze giant gate trembled and closed with a bang.
Immediately afterward, the evil ghost pattern on the bronze gate seemed to come to life and let out a burst of ghostly laughter. Two balls of Yin wind emerged, transforming into a cyan tiger-headed ghost and a red bull-headed ghost. They were two seventh-order ghost beasts, fiercely pouncing towards the Xuan Turtle.
Without the slightest hesitation, the Xuan Turtle's two iron-black palms transformed into two beast claws, fiercely slapping the two ghost heads into green smoke.
It then slammed onto the bronze giant gate with a booming sound, directly shattering the giant gate, revealing the dark passage inside.
Taking advantage of this time, Zhang Ling collected the many attacks and puppets and took the lead in chasing after them. The Xuan Turtle also followed closely behind.
The passage was dark, filled with thick Yin fiendish evil energy. Zhang Ling didn't dare to be careless, and he summoned the Yellow Silk Umbrella and the rhombus shield to protect himself.
The passage was unknown how long. When divine sense probed into it, many winding forks could be observed, like an underground palace. The enemy didn't escape far and was still within the range of divine sense, making it easy to sense.
Zhang Ling chased after them. After turning a few passages, a great Yin wind suddenly arose ahead, and a large group of Yin souls and ghost creatures emerged. Looking at it, they filled the passage, numbering hundreds, including more than a dozen ghost creatures no weaker than the Golden Core stage.
They couldn't linger here. Zhang Ling flipped out the Thunder Spirit Shuttle, stimulated the Thunder Light Incantation in his body, injected Thunder Spirit Power, and activated the treasure. The Xuan Turtle also cleverly spun its body and transformed into a small turtle, lying on his shoulder.
With a flash of thunder, they rushed into the many Yin souls. Although these Yin soul ghost creatures were extremely fierce, they were still instinctively afraid of lightning, and they easily rushed past. In a few breaths, after turning a few corners, a spacious place appeared before them.
With a sweep of divine sense, it could be seen that this was a huge space, like a stone chamber. Rows of huge coffins were placed on the ground.
At this moment, the gaunt old man and the white-haired old woman's Nascent Souls had separated again and were floating above a jade green octagonal platform in the center, not knowing what they were doing.
With a sweep of his eyes, Zhang Ling noticed that there was also a blood-red coffin placed on the platform, from which some strange sounds were coming, as if it contained a living thing.
"Boy, you dare to chase after us. Then taste the flavor of ten thousand ghosts devouring your soul!" The white-haired old woman's Nascent Soul let out a sharp cry.
With constant muffled banging sounds, all the coffins exploded, and ghost heads, skeletons, and corpse monsters emitting a foul stench emerged.
Looking at it, there were as many as a thousand. Zhang Ling didn't pay too much attention, because most of them were low-level ghost creatures, and dealing with them would at most be a bit troublesome.
The Xuan Turtle on his shoulder fell to the ground, transforming into a giant turtle and spitting out a ball of black ice seal. The ice mist swept around, and most of the ghost creatures and zombies that rushed out of the coffins were frozen in place.
The remaining ghost creatures naturally couldn't pose a threat.
Flying swords, Heavenly Star Sand balls, and giant claws were controlled by Zhang Ling to attack.
"Go, we are no match for this person!" The gaunt old man's Nascent Soul shouted, opening his mouth and spitting out a mass of dark Yin energy, hitting an ancient token.
The two Nascent Souls seemed to be activating this token, which was crookedly carved with many ghosts. It was clear that it was not an ordinary thing.
Under the spellcasting of the two Nascent Souls, the token released green spiritual light, and the platform under their feet also lit up with a dim light. The two spiritual lights quickly intertwined and entangled together, turning into a jade green light罩, protecting the entire platform.
The platform shook and spun around, looking like another change was about to happen.
Zhang Ling thought this was some kind of defensive means, but the attacks he sent out easily passed through. The green light didn't seem to have any defensive power.
But the enemy was right in front of him. Without thinking too much, many attacks swarmed up, easily forcing the two Nascent Souls into a corner.
For some reason, the two Nascent Souls didn't leave the platform, but kept using teleportation to dodge the attacks.
Although the platform was not small, the area was always limited.
In a moment, the black ancient giant claw seized an opportunity. Taking advantage of the three flying swords forcing the white-haired old woman's Nascent Soul, it grabbed and shattered the old woman's Nascent Soul.
Seeing this, the gaunt old man's Nascent Soul also let out a scream. It was unknown whether it was out of anger or if it was also affected to some extent, but the Nascent Soul's body became even more illusory.
"We have cultivated for thousands of years, but we never thought we would end up like this. Since that's the case... then so be it. Boy, you won. But wanting to catch this old man's Nascent Soul is wishful thinking, haha..." The gaunt old man's Nascent Soul laughed wildly, as if he had fallen into a state of madness with confused consciousness.
The illusory Nascent Soul swelled up.
Self-detonation?
Zhang Ling quickly used Thunder Escape Technique to distance himself.
But the next moment, he discovered that the dim green light curtain covering the platform, which could be easily passed through just now, could no longer be passed through, sealing the space on the platform.
Zhang Ling's expression then became unsightly. Without thinking, he quickly mobilized his spiritual power to strengthen his defense, and the Heavenly Star Sand also gathered into a thick sand wall in front of him.
A Nascent Soul self-detonating in such a small area would definitely increase the destructive power many times over. It was possible that he would perish together with him.
With a thought, the Xuan Turtle also rushed in, becoming a giant turtle and blocking in front of him, its whole body covered with a layer of black and silver spiritual light.
To prevent accidents, the Xuan Turtle hadn't rushed in, but had only assisted him in the battle from the outside.
But now, facing true life and death, Zhang Ling hesitated slightly and still let the Xuan Turtle in to take the disaster for him.
After all, there was still some difference between his main Nascent Soul and his second Nascent Soul. When it came to a critical moment, he would naturally prioritize himself.
Moreover, the Xuan Turtle was a demon cultivator, and a turtle demon with amazing defensive power at that. It also had a regenerative body and had cultivated several demon race secret arts.
There was still a high probability that it could withstand this attack.
At the same time, Zhang Ling's left hand was wrapped with circles of black vines, quickly spreading all over his body, forming a wooden armor, wrapping himself in it.
This was the Saint Demon Armor Divine Ability he had cultivated, using vines and True Demon Qi to perform it. The defensive power was even better than his defensive ancient treasure.
Unable to escape the platform, Zhang Ling released many defensive methods, ready to endure the power of a Nascent Soul cultivator's self-detonation.
Giant claws, flying swords, and other attack methods also quickly attacked the old man's Nascent Soul.
However, the imagined self-detonation didn't arrive. After the old man's Nascent Soul swelled up, it transformed into a disheveled evil ghost.
It also didn't attack him, but lightly swayed and fell onto the red coffin, transforming into countless dense gray-green runes imprinted on the coffin.
"Sect Master, this old servant has tried his best."
In the end, the evil ghost dissipated, leaving only an ethereal sigh.
