Jiang Lu patted the Myriad Soul Banner at her waist.
Jiang Lu curled her lips into a smile. The souls of demonic cultivators would surely satisfy the Myriad Soul Banner even more. If she had the chance, upgrading it to a Human Soul Banner wasn't out of the question, and she could even dream of a Divine Soul Banner.
The villagers, knowing a Goddess had descended, secretly gathered at the entrance of the village. Countless pairs of curious and astonished eyes watched Jiang Lu.
She truly did not look like a mortal.
They were likely saved. The heavy stone weighing on everyone's hearts was finally lifted a little.
Night fell—
Jiang Lu sat on a tree branch, her figure concealed by the lush leaves. The wood-attribute aura she emanated blended her seamlessly with her surroundings.
Her divine sense spread out across a hundred li, enveloping the entire county.
“Old man, do you think the Goddess can really help us?”
“She definitely can. We don't have any other choice now.”
“With the Goddess's descent, could what Daoist Qianxun said really be coming true?”
“Shh! Do you want to die?”
“...”
“What did Daoist Qianxun say? Do you know?”
Jiang Lu, listening intently in all directions, asked upon hearing this.
“Daoist Qianxun is an accomplished master of this region,” the tree spirit replied. “A few months ago, he prophesied that the world would fall into chaos and that immortals would enter the mortal realm to assist the human emperor in ascending the throne.”
“I see,” Jiang Lu murmured.
It was true that immortals had entered the world to slay evil spirits, but she remained noncommittal about assisting a human emperor to the throne.
Hmm?
Her eyes flashed as she focused her divine sense in one direction.
They were here!
Several hulking figures split into two groups and swept into the village.
The chirping of insects and barking of dogs in the village instantly ceased, leaving only a dead silence.
The villagers huddled together inside their homes, their faces pale with terror. They tightly covered their mouths, not daring to make a single sound.
They stared at their tightly shut wooden doors with anxious, terrified eyes.
In an instant, Jiang Lu sensed their auras. It was indeed demonic cultivators.
Although they tried to conceal it, their demonic energy was so dense that mere attempts at hiding it were futile.
Jiang Lu swept her senses over them. They only had the strength of the late-stage Qi Condensation realm left. It seemed they were severely injured.
Strike while they're weak!
However, since they had appeared here at the same time, she had to kill them all together. None could be allowed to escape, or they would surely inform the other demonic cultivators.
If they went into hiding, her mission would become much more difficult.
They stood outside the village, their crimson eyes searching for something within, filled with greed.
A compass dial appeared in one of their hands, radiating a gloomy, resentful aura.
These were the souls of the deceased humans, which had been extracted into this compass dial to guide their way.
The stronger the resentment within the compass dial, the more the humans in this area could help them increase their strength.
Her dark spiritual energy followed behind her wood spiritual energy, quietly surrounding them and forming a large net that enveloped them completely.
They remained completely oblivious.
With a flash of her figure, Jiang Lu appeared behind them.
Suddenly!
The needle on the demonic cultivator's compass dial began to spin wildly. Startled, a trace of panic flashed across his pale face. What is happening?
The compass dial is out of control!
Realizing something, they whipped around and saw the figure standing behind them.
Jiang Lu stood holding the Myriad Soul Banner, dark spiritual energy swirling around her as she looked at them with a cold expression.
“A cultivator!”
“Not good!”
“Run!”
With just one look, they were intimidated by the aura emanating from Jiang Lu. Without time to think, they turned and fled.
Has a cultivator from the cultivation world tracked us down?
Judging by her aura, she was at least in the late stage of the Foundation Establishment realm. Meanwhile, their strength was suppressed, and they were heavily injured!
They stood no chance!
Their only sliver of hope now lay in fleeing.
“Where do you think you're running?”
Jiang Lu's clear voice rang out, echoing throughout the entire space enveloped by her divine sense.
To the demonic cultivators, it sounded like the whisper of a demon.
To the villagers, it sounded like the arrival of a savior.
Jiang Lu twirled the Myriad Soul Banner in her hand. It spun a few times before planting itself firmly in front of them.
The dark spiritual energy around Jiang Lu surged toward them, tightly binding them within a few breaths.
Demonic cultivators possessed numerous escape methods, so Jiang Lu did not dare to let her guard down even for a moment.
The Myriad Soul Banner in her hand glowed brightly.
“No—”
Roars of despair erupted from the demonic cultivators' mouths, filled with endless resentment!
Two souls mixed with black mist were sucked into the Myriad Soul Banner. Jiang Lu unleashed a stream of spiritual fire, instantly turning their physical bodies to ashes.
Their storage bags and compass dials fell to the ground, and Jiang Lu burned them all to cinders. Who knew what disgusting things were inside? To prevent evil techniques from spreading in the mortal realm, it was best to destroy everything.
The resentful wails within the compass dials echoed endlessly.
As the Myriad Soul Banner swept over them, several souls merged into it, serving as nourishment for the banner.
Since its creation, the Myriad Soul Banner possessed its own sentience, capable of distinguishing good from evil, right from wrong.
The souls of the wicked would be firmly captured and imprisoned within the banner by its dark winds.
But when kind-hearted souls drew near, the surface of the banner would emit a purifying golden light, gently washing away the karma clinging to their spiritual bodies and dissolving their countless sufferings.
Once the dust of their karma was completely cleared, it would release them to peacefully reincarnate, never disturbing innocent, good souls.
After destroying the compass dials, Jiang Lu made her way to the location of the other two demonic cultivators.
By now, they had already entered the village. Sinister, eerie laughter echoed throughout the entire village.
They walked toward a courtyard, seemingly already having picked out a target.
That laugh is hideous.
With a flash of her figure, Jiang Lu landed right in front of the two, blocking their path.
They halted in their tracks, and their laughter abruptly stopped.
The resentful souls inside the compass dial in their hands seemed to sense the aura of the Myriad Soul Banner, causing the needle to tremble violently.
Their hands shook as they exchanged a glance.
They let out heavy, ragged breaths.
Without a word, they lunged to attack Jiang Lu.
Jiang Lu swept her Myriad Soul Banner through the air, creating sharp whooshing sounds.
The surrounding spiritual net tightly bound them within its confines.
The violent, tyrannical magical power of the demonic cultivators swept past Jiang Lu's side.
Jiang Lu dodged to the side, and with a few swift movements, she kicked them both to the ground.
Her dark spiritual root power poured out, binding them securely.
The Myriad Soul Banner immediately drew their souls inside. With a wave of her hand, Jiang Lu unleashed her spiritual fire, burning them to ashes just like before.
Sensing that all the demonic energy in the air had vanished, she exhaled a sigh of relief.
The remaining demonic cultivators were likely in a similar state, heavily injured.
They could only feed on human essence to recover their strength.
Jiang Lu turned her gaze toward the imperial capital. It seemed her guess had been correct.
She kept her divine sense active for the entire night. Only after confirming that there wasn't a single trace of demonic energy left in the entire region did she withdraw her aura.
There were indeed quite a few wild beasts that, like the ancient banyan tree, had cultivated a sliver of spiritual awareness. However, there was no spiritual energy in this mortal world. If they wanted to cultivate human forms, their only path was to dedicate themselves to doing good and transform through merit.
Cultivating was no easy task for them, and since they had no negative karma clinging to them, they clearly hadn't committed any atrocities. She briefly scanned them with her divine sense and paid them no further attention.
As Jiang Lu was lost in thought, she suddenly resonated with the Heavenly Dao of this realm.
A flash of light streaked across the sky in an instant, unnoticed by anyone.
Jiang Lu returned to the banyan tree and merged a drop of spiritual liquid into its trunk.
“You played a crucial role in slaying the demonic cultivators this time,” Jiang Lu said. “This is Wood Spiritual Liquid, which can boost your cultivation by a hundred years. If you remain dedicated to doing good, the day will come when you can finally achieve the Dao.”
Upon hearing this, the tree spirit was naturally filled with immense gratitude.
“Thank you, Goddess!”
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