Chapter 124: At Last, the Debt of Gratitude from Years Ago Is Repaid

Fighting on two fronts was something Nan Luo could barely manage in the past, yet he had never been able to exert much combat power while doing so.

Things were different now. Although his primordial spirit was trapped within the Taiyin Stele—regardless of his future, or whether he would ever be free again—his strength was dozens of times greater than before he had become ensnared. The longer he merged with the Taiyin Stele, the more he sensed the insurmountable chasm between the peak of the Divine Realm and the Dao Realm.

He did not believe he had crossed into the Dao Realm, but he felt as though he had touched the door knocker. Yet, by aligning himself with the spiritual veins of the mountains and rivers, and integrating with the heavenly power that the Taiyin Stele continuously encompassed, he was currently able to unleash combat power no less than that of the Dao Realm.

Nan Luo called this the "False Dao"—a state where one’s magical power and command over the forces of heaven and earth were on par with those of the Dao Realm, even if one’s understanding and application of the Great Dao remained significantly lacking.

The greatest utility of the Soul-Entangling and Spirit-Destroying Banner lay in its ability to fuse with his own divine abilities while imbuing them with the banner's innate, sinister poison. It could inflict harm invisibly; whether it was flesh or primordial spirit, once struck, one’s body would perish and one’s spirit would dissipate. To this day, no one had ever survived being struck by his baleful winds. Even magical treasures, if caught in the wind, could lose their spirituality entirely, their owner’s consciousness within them instantly extinguished.

With a shake of the Soul-Entangling and Spirit-Destroying Banner, a wisp of black wind spilled forth.

In the void, that wisp of black wind behaved like a living creature—sometimes like a small black insect, other times like the runic symbols upon the banner itself. With a mere twist, it began to drill into Mount Luoling.

Wisp by wisp.
Thread by thread.
It seemed infinite.
Sinister, terrifying...

In the blink of an eye, the runes formed by those wisps of wind wove a giant web across the sky, twisting together in an inexplicably eerie fashion.

Suddenly, Qingqing felt as if the void itself had become a banner, and those runes were the markings upon it.

"This... could it be... is he using the void as a banner to refine the living beings of this mountain?"

The banana leaf fan in Qingqing’s hand could not help but wave, and a fierce, violent wind surged out. The void rippled, but those black, rune-like wisps of wind merely drifted aside, as if they had simply bypassed the gale.

It was like a small boat floating on the water; even if a fish beneath the surface caused a ripple, the boat would only bob slightly. The black runes, linked together, merely drifted gently; they were completely unaffected.

Qingqing refused to give up, waving her fan repeatedly, but the result remained the same... It was as if those black wind runes were mere phantoms, completely untouched by the force.

The runes transformed by the black wind moved like black caterpillars, burrowing through the void—some fast, some slow; some appearing clumsy, others appearing extremely illusory and bizarre.

They descended slowly, pressing down upon Mount Luoling with the intent of utterly eradicating every living thing on the mountain.

Qingqing could not help but panic. She glanced back toward the Luoling Cave and saw a scene that chilled her to the bone: a cloud of five-colored mist was diffusing from the cave, as if a monster capable of swallowing clouds and spitting out fog lay within.

Intuition told Qingqing that something had gone wrong inside. Just as she was about to rush in, a rainbow-colored streak of light suddenly cut across the sky, circled above Mount Luoling, and dove straight toward the mountain. Trailing closely behind the seven-colored light were two streaks of radiance—one red, one black. Seeing the seven-colored light plunge into Mount Luoling, they quickened their pace, but failed to intercept it, and watched as it dove headlong into the web of black wind runes spanning the sky.

Da Feng saw the seven-colored light crash into the black wind runes and his mouth split into a grin, revealing a set of bone-white teeth.

These black wind runes were the embodiment of all his divine powers. He was confident that no matter who entered, they would find only a path to death.

These sky-filling runes possessed not only the sinister poison of the Soul-Entangling and Spirit-Destroying Banner but also his own inherent divine arts. Most importantly, these black wind runes had formed a runic array. Among the Wu clan, combat techniques and divine abilities were the norm, but this method of runic formation was also a specialty of the clan—mysterious, unpredictable, and capable of harming others invisibly. However, many of these techniques were extremely cumbersome and slow to take effect, which was why few in the clan practiced them. Yet, if someone were truly willing to study these secret arts, even an opponent with far greater power would inevitably fall victim to a sneak attack and meet their end.

But moments later, Da Feng was filled with wonder, for the seven-colored light was twisting through the runes, seemingly able to trace the path of the formation without triggering it in the slightest.

He frowned, thinking to himself, *What kind of sacred being is this?*

Surprise was one thing, but he was no saint. How could he allow the intruder to pass through unhindered, even if the intruder had not yet affected him?

He shook the Soul-Entangling and Spirit-Destroying Banner, and the runes made of black wind began to stir. Suddenly, the once slow and orderly black runes became chaotic, like ants whose nest had been disturbed.

The speed of the seven-colored light plummeted, struggling to avoid the now-erratic runic formation. However, all these changes were under Da Feng's control. The two streaks of light that had been following the seven-colored streak stopped outside the formation, watching the scene intently. They looked at the seven-colored light trapped within, then at Da Feng, who was shrouded in a mass of black wind, their eyes flickering with uncertainty.

Da Feng did not even turn his head, as if he hadn't seen the two at all. A faint smile hung on his lips, giving him an inscrutable air.

The two individuals were the Daoist Mosquito—with his protruding forehead, sharp mouth, and thin-slit eyes—and a man with a scarred face, bald head, and skin covered in scales, who was hideously ugly, known as the Luo man.

"Heh heh, Brother Mosquito, what shall we do now? The prey has run into someone else's net. This is going to force us into a conflict with others..." the hideously ugly Luo man chuckled, his voice surprisingly gentle and melodious.

The Daoist Mosquito remained silent for a moment before addressing Da Feng: "I am Mosquito Qing. May I ask if Your Excellency is the Soul-Entangler of the Wu clan, Da Feng?"

Da Feng had vast divine powers and was notoriously difficult to deal with; even those with higher magical power could be worn down to death by him. Moreover, because he held the Soul-Entangling and Spirit-Destroying Banner, he was known throughout the Great Wilderness as the "Soul-Entangler."

"Heh heh, I dare not claim the title of Soul-Entangler, but Da Feng is indeed my name," Da Feng said with a sinister laugh, still not turning around, as if he did not regard the Daoist Mosquito and his companion at all. He merely flicked the banner from time to time to keep the seven-colored light trapped.

"Heh heh, so it is truly the Soul-Entangler. Mosquito has been tracking this wretch for a hundred million miles. I wonder if the Soul-Entangler might allow me to capture this person myself?" The Daoist Mosquito spoke with extreme courtesy. He did not want to create complications; this place was not like the fierce, desolate lands of the West... the power of the Wu clan was immense, and their Great Shamans possessed vast supernatural abilities, especially this Soul-Entangler, who was particularly troublesome.

"Oh! ...Heh heh, easy, easy." Da Feng still did not turn around. He spoke with a smile, but there was no intention of making it easy. The banner in his hand did not stop for a single moment.

The Daoist Mosquito’s eyes turned icy in an instant. He was not a benevolent soul either—he was a creature who had grown by paving his path with bones—and he could not tolerate such insolence. Just as he was about to act, the ugly Luo man beside him chuckled, and the Daoist Mosquito took a deep breath, suppressing his rage.

The Daoist Mosquito held back, but Da Feng suddenly turned around at that moment. With his harmless, child-like face, he smiled eerily: "Heh heh, there is killing intent. You want to make a move?"

The Daoist Mosquito’s thin-slit eyes narrowed further, and a faint, bloody light spilled from the cracks...

Da Feng merely looked back, spoke his piece, and then turned away again. After such a provocative remark, he seemed completely indifferent, as if he were certain that the Daoist Mosquito would not dare to act, or perhaps he had endless traps waiting for him.

This was partly due to Da Feng’s personality, but more so it reflected the general attitude the Wu clan held toward other living beings.

The ugly Luo man suddenly laughed: "Soul-Entangler, please do not misunderstand. Brother Mosquito is merely frustrated because that person stole his peerless treasure, which is why he momentarily lost his composure."

"Heh heh, a peerless treasure? What in this world is worthy of being called a peerless treasure? I would love to see it," Da Feng laughed sinisterly.

The Daoist Mosquito glanced at the Luo man with some surprise, then immediately understood... Judging by Da Feng’s attitude, it was clearly impossible to capture the person trapped within the black wind formation under his nose.

No excuse would work. By saying this, the opponent might become suspicious, unable to discern exactly what he was after or why he had been tracking the person.

Having heard the Luo man’s words, the Daoist Mosquito also caught on. Although he did not fear this Great Shaman, he did not want to fight him, so he calmed down, wanting to see who exactly Da Feng was trapping.

Da Feng seemed not to care at all. He shook the Soul-Entangling and Spirit-Destroying Banner, and the black wind began to drill through the void with renewed, frenzied intensity.

Suddenly, the seven-colored light, which had been dodging the countless black wind runes, burst open.

A block of snowy rock appeared in the void, and a soft white light held the black wind runes at bay. Sitting slumped upon the white rock was a woman in purple, her complexion ashen, holding a seven-colored whip in her hand.

She was weak and powerless. A wound on her left shoulder seemed to have festered, and black blood was still oozing from it.

Da Feng looked at the purple-clad woman who had revealed herself, frowned, and then chuckled: "Is this the person you were chasing? A peerless treasure, what is it, heh heh."

Ignoring the Daoist Mosquito’s increasingly ugly expression, he shook the banner violently, and the black wind runes in the void surged toward the purple-clad girl like a tidal wave.

"Ah..."

Suddenly, a scream came from Mount Luoling. A figure shot out from the Luoling Cave—it was Peng Meng. His face was pale, and he fled with great speed; it appeared he had suffered a great loss.

A giant, five-colored hand manifested in the void, appearing as solid as reality itself, and rapidly lunged toward Peng Meng, as if determined to capture him.

Peng Meng was fleeing toward the high altitude where Da Feng stood. Da Feng ignored him, instead shaking the banner with all his might, seemingly intent on breaking through the soft light emanating from the white rock in the shortest possible time.

Seeing that he was about to be seized by the five-colored hand, Peng Meng suddenly wrapped his cloak around himself and vanished into the void like the wind.

The five-colored hand did not stop; instead, it surged with even greater force toward the black wind runic array.

The giant hand was like a small mountain, its fingers as solid as stone, and even the lines on the palm were clearly visible.

It whistled through the air, stirring up fierce gales and leaving a trail of five-colored smoke and clouds in its wake.

Surging and majestic! Its target was none other than the purple-clad woman trapped within the black wind runic array.