Sun Lingtong didn’t ambush beforehand. Instead, he left the ready room and headed deeper.

Without Ning Zhui by his side, Sun Lingtong was effectively a ghost, unable to claim rewards or open doors.

Therefore, Sun Lingtong waited for the Golden-Blood War Ape Da Sheng to open the door first, then squeezed in after him.

The Dragon-Turtle Fire Spirit, seeing this, gnashed its teeth in anger!

Meng Chong took the lead, breaking through the second and third stages, bringing sixteen similar puppets with him into the ready room.

In an instant, the speedrun, progress, and Qi refining leaderboards were filled with names.

The leaderboard only recorded the top ten, and many were ranked in the teens, not qualified to be listed.

Ning Zhui exhaled a breath of stale air, a subtle joy in his heart.

In this way, he would have a very reasonable explanation for why his name wouldn’t appear on the leaderboard when he entered the ready room in the future.

If the leaderboard had been empty before, his absence would have been a huge flaw.

By using the enemy, Ning Zhui had resolved this hidden danger.

“Charge, charge, charge…”

Meng Chong advanced with unstoppable force. With him leading the way, the sixteen puppets behind him were safe and sound, coasting all the way to Room Nine.

“Finally here!”

Sun Lingtong was hiding in a corner, having applied layers of disguise, showcasing the Non-Empty Sect’s mastery of concealment.

Sun Lingtong peered at the outside world through two small holes.

Rumble rumble rumble…

Meng Chong laughed heartily, locked in a fierce battle with the Golden-Blood War Ape Da Sheng.

After charging all the way, he finally found the opponent he was meant to challenge, his fighting spirit soaring, his body crackling with lightning, fighting with gusto.

As for the other members, they were engaged in a chaotic firefight with numerous Kung Fu puppets and spell puppets, without any formation, the battlefield a chaotic mess.

Sun Lingtong endured for a short while, and when he saw the time was ripe, he secretly chuckled and remotely ordered the Nether Envoy Qi Bai to act.

The Nether Envoy Qi Bai was lying flat in a specially crafted coffin, buried beneath the floor tiles.

Qi Bai didn’t show his face, casting his spells while lying down.

Immediately, mournful wails of yin spirits and howls of ghostly wraiths arose.

All sorts of beast souls emerged from the earth, lunging at the Reform Team.

Where did these beast souls come from?

This was thanks to a clever idea from Ning Zhui.

After learning about the Nether Envoy Qi Bai, he thought of the first stage of the Buddhist Sect.

There were many coffins there.

The coffins sealed and stored many corpses, including demon beasts and spiritual plants.

Did these have souls?

Most likely, yes.

Because constructing spiritual rhyme mechanisms required preserving them as completely as possible.

The more complete the flesh, soul, magic power, essence blood, divine thought, etc., the better.

Thus, Ning Zhui brought Sun Lingtong and the Nether Envoy Qi Bai to the first stage of the Buddhist Sect.

With the aid of the Buddha Heart Demon Seal, the souls in these coffins were all summoned.

The Nether Envoy Qi Bai took the opportunity to replenish a large amount of fighting power.

The Reform Team had just defeated all the Kung Fu and spell puppets and were watching the battle between Meng Chong and Yuan Da Sheng, a moment of fatigue and relaxation.

Caught by surprise, many people reacted slowly, struck by the ghosts, their own souls impacted and even bitten into, causing them to cry out in pain.

The scene descended into chaos.

The air temperature plummeted, and yin spirits rose, flying in the air.

The City Lord’s Reform Team was thrown into disarray, scattering in all directions.

“An ambush?”

Meng Chong glanced over when he could, but the next moment, he was counterattacked by Yuan Da Sheng, sent flying and crashing into a wall.

“Roar!”

Yuan Da Sheng roared to the sky, beating his chest, displaying his heroic spirit.

Then, he hooked his index finger at Meng Chong, his provocation extremely strong.

Meng Chong glared instantly, actually being looked down upon by a mechanical construct.

He growled and charged up, once again engaging Yuan Da Sheng in a fierce battle.

After a few rounds, Yuan Da Sheng suddenly abandoned his defense, reaching out his arms to embrace Meng Chong.

A flash of light sparkled in Meng Chong’s eyes, “A flaw!”

Rampaging Thunder Rush!

He flew out like lightning in an instant.

Yuan Da Sheng crossed his arms, embracing empty air.

Almost at the same time, Meng Chong appeared behind him in a flash.

Meng Chong aimed at Yuan Da Sheng’s back, delivering a heavy blow.

Just as he succeeded, a black shadow appeared silently, attacking him.

Meng Chong didn’t expect this and failed to dodge in time, struck in the back by the black shadow.

It was the Nether Envoy Qi Bai, who had been lying dormant, waiting for the right moment.

With just this one blow, Meng Chong lost his ability to move, his soul forcibly extracted from the puppet body.

Meng Chong: ?

The Reform Team, fleeing in disarray, pursued by a large number of beast souls, finally awoke to the situation.

“Young Master Meng Chong!”

“Save the young master!”

“Another special mechanical puppet has appeared.”

Ignoring their own safety, they rushed towards Qi Bai.

Qi Bai retreated silently and swiftly.

Yuan Da Sheng jumped in front of everyone, becoming an insurmountable obstacle.

“Ah!”

Meng Chong screamed.

His soul fell into Qi Bai’s hands, like a full balloon being punctured, rapidly shrinking.

Nine Revolutions Soul Devouring Technique!

Although Qi Bai was dead, his Golden Core remained, and the Nine Revolutions Soul Devouring Technique remained.

In life, he easily extracted Sun Lingtong’s soul.

This time, the surprise attack succeeded, and he also captured Meng Chong’s soul.

He activated the Nine Revolutions Soul Devouring Technique, devouring Meng Chong’s soul.

Meng Chong grasped Qi Bai’s arm with both hands, kicking his legs wildly, instinctively trying to use his innate talent of Rampaging Thunder Rush.

But Sun Lingtong was prepared, accurately ordering: “Use the Soul-Shaking Throat Drum!”

The Nether Envoy Qi Bai’s Adam’s apple trembled slightly, emitting a drum sound.

The drum sound struck Meng Chong squarely, and the latter immediately felt the world spin. His arms and legs drooped limply like noodles, and he no longer struggled.

Qi Bai seized the opportunity to fiercely devour his soul.

When Meng Chong’s soul shrank to its limit, on the verge of shattering, the Life-Hanging Thread on his head was triggered. It gently shook and extracted him from the fairy palace, sending him back to his physical body.

Without Meng Chong, the Reform Team, though numerous, was no longer a threat.

Under the combined attack of the Golden-Blood War Ape Da Sheng and the Nether Envoy Qi Bai, they were quickly captured, their souls extracted and devoured.

Before their souls completely dispersed, they were sent back to their bodies by the Life-Hanging Thread.

“We won!”

“Too easy!”

Sun Lingtong walked out of the corner, clapping his hands, very excited.

He started walking, hurrying to the Nether Envoy Qi Bai, giving it an order.

Qi Bai squatted down, extending its palm, which adhered to Sun Lingtong’s puppet body.

The next moment, pure soul essence was poured into Sun Lingtong’s soul.

Sun Lingtong looked up, took a deep breath, and cried out in satisfaction.
His original soul was injured, and although he received treatment from the Phoenix Soul Blood Fragrance Pill, he was still some distance from complete recovery.

However, after the assassin obtained Soul Essence, the injuries to his soul rapidly healed, reaching a peak state. He then continuously surpassed his limits, growing swiftly and powerfully.

“Wonderful, truly wonderful!” Sun Lingtong exclaimed, his eyebrows dancing with joy.

“Stop, stop!” He called out in time.

He had only absorbed half of the Soul Essence; he wanted to leave the other half for Ning Zhuo.

“The injuries to my soul have completely healed!”

“From now on, all Soul Essence will be left for Xiao Zhuo. The more his soul grows, the more Illusory Truth Lotus Seeds he can obtain!”

He shouted towards the Golden-Blooded War Ape, “Xiao Zhuo, come here, there’s something delicious to eat.”

Ning Zhuo, through Yuan Dasheng, witnessed the entire process, unconsciously swallowing his saliva.

It had been a long time since he had absorbed Soul Essence.

Han Ming lost it, and Qi Bai was made into a mechanical puppet; only now had he regained the means to acquire Soul Essence.

“The City Lord’s Mansion is large and wealthy; treating Meng Chong and the others’ soul injuries will be easy!”

“This is excellent!” Ning Zhuo couldn’t help but imagine the future.

With the Underworld Envoy Qi Bai, Ning Zhuo suddenly realized that all the cultivators participating in the trials were resources for his cultivation.

“Speaking of which, when will the three families’ joint modification team collectively enter the palace?”

The Myriad Ghost Forest!

The Underworld Valley!

The main sect of the Soul Devouring Sect was located here.

The Soul Lamp Tower!

Countless soul lamps quietly burned. The vast majority of them displayed a green flame, but a few soul lamps burned in other colors.

Among these thousands of soul lamps, a gray-white soul lamp suddenly went out.

The disciple on duty initially thought he was too sleepy and hallucinating, but after rubbing his eyes and taking a closer look, he was immediately terrified and stood up.

“No, this is bad! True Disciple Qi Bai’s soul lamp has gone out!”

The disciple ran, throwing himself before an elder and kneeling to report.

“What?” The elder couldn’t sit still and immediately stood up!

“Is it Qi Bai? Blind Judge Qi Bai’s soul lamp?” The elder confirmed again.

The disciple nodded hastily.

The elder’s face was solemn. He hurriedly rushed to the Soul Lamp Tower and, upon seeing the extinguished soul lamp, he had no more illusions.

“My sect’s true disciple has fallen.” The elder’s face was extremely gloomy, and he sighed deeply as a terrifying killing intent spread.

The disciple on duty beside him felt as if he had suddenly arrived in the dead of winter, and his teeth chattered involuntarily.

The Soul Lamp Tower Elder did not linger; he immediately left the tower and went to the Soul Devouring Main Hall to report.

In the Soul Devouring Main Hall, the current Soul Devouring Sect Master and several sect elders were discussing important matters.

“Next year will be our sect’s once-a-decade disciple competition. The specific content of the competition can be finalized this time!”

“A powerful soul beast has appeared in the Soul Crystal Mine of Ghost Shadow Mountain, with combat power comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator. It is greatly interfering with our sect’s important task of mining Soul Crystals. The sect needs to send elders in a timely manner to eliminate it!”

“The Ghost Mother White Bone Lotus in the Child Ghost Valley has accumulated for more than twenty years and will bloom in three years. Today, we heard that true disciples of major orthodox sects are secretly plotting to destroy the branch sect’s station in Child Ghost Valley and destroy the Ghost Mother White Bone Lotus!”

“Recently, the Blood Fiend Sect has repeatedly created friction in the middle reaches of the Ghost Cry River. According to intelligence, it is being led behind the scenes by the newly promoted elder Xue Shouren of the Blood Fiend Sect. It seems that he has big plans. This person is a traitor to our sect and knows a lot about our sect. Now he has joined the Blood Fiend Sect and become an elder. If he is not contained, he will become a major problem in the future.”

The Soul Devouring Sect was a major demonic sect. Its power was not limited to one area; it also established branch sect stations widely, extending its tentacles to multiple cultivation countries.

The position of Sect Master was not easy to hold; one had to handle countless affairs every day.

“Urgent report!”

“Our sect’s True Disciple Qi Bai’s soul lamp has been extinguished, confirming his death!”

The Sect Master and elders immediately stopped their discussion and looked at the reporting disciple.

The Sect Master’s face was gloomy, “Has a soul-summoning been attempted?”

The disciple quickly said, “The Soul-Summoning Banner was used seven times in a row, but Qi Bai’s soul did not return. The two elders at the summoning platform both judged that Qi Bai’s soul had been completely destroyed!”

The Sect Master slammed his hand on the armrest in anger, “Good, good, our sect has lost a true disciple. Who did this? Investigate the truth. Revenge will surely be taken!”

End of Chapter