Chapter 319 — Sorcery of Soul Sacrifice

" Ban Gongcuo suddenly gave the order; at once, all his subordinates erupted together, blade orbs spanning the sky, countless streaks of blade-light raining down on Shen Mu, while the three Witch Kings crossed paths and worked their witch arts, dragging the two white bats down out of the air. Shen Mu laughed aloud, lifted his garment to cover himself, and vanished; the next instant he appeared beside the great witches and the officers and men of Mangdi State.

The Sorrowless Sword soared up, and countless sword-lights burst from the Taotie pouch, shooting out in every direction. Shwish!

— eight thousand swords stabbed into the earth, covering the ground for a hundred zhang in every direction, blood dripping from their hilts; only the two great witches of the Seven-Star realm had escaped the calamity, fighting off the countless sword-lights and keeping the flying swords from piercing their hearts, but they were badly frightened all the same.

"The teleporting garment? " Ban Gongcuo's heart clenched.

Shen Mu had struck far too fast, teleporting straight to their side by means of the garment and slaughtering without mercy.

Shen Mu raised a hand and pointed; the Sorrowless Sword soared up, countless sword-lights revolving around it as it slashed down at one of the Seven-Star great witches! Golden wings blazed into being behind that great witch, beating again and again, and numberless golden feather-swords flew out to meet his blow in a thunderous collision. Shen Mu, outmatched, was sent flying; still in midair, he wrapped himself in his garment and vanished.

The next instant he reappeared behind the great witch, fingers spread wide, and the Sorrowless Sword and the eight thousand swords came whistling over. Just then, Ban Gongcuo spun where he stood and vanished. Shen Mu hastily twisted his hand and slapped behind him; with a tremendous boom, their palms collided, and both men landed.

Ban Gongcuo had once entered the Youmo Cult, had cultivated the Great Nurturing Youmo Sutra, and had even contended for the position of cult master.

He had likewise cultivated the cult's teleportation art. Though the art demanded extremely high skill in mathematical reckoning, with the foundation of the Daoist arithmetic classic, his mastery of teleportation surpassed even Shen Mu's. The Dragon Qilin and the three demon monks came charging over, while the two Seven-Star great witches soared into the sky — only to be overtaken by the three demon monks, who shook their bodies and became three Golden-Winged Rocs plunging at the two great witches.

The Dragon Qilin opened his mouth and roared, a pillar of flame surging toward Ban Gongcuo.

Ban Gongcuo dared not meet it head-on; his form flickered, vanished, and reappeared at the side of the three Witch Kings.

The three Witch Kings were busily beating the two white bats, which were extraordinarily resistant: battered again and again by a great witch of the Life-Death realm and two great witches of the Heaven-Man realm, they were still jumping and lively — truly thick of skin and tough of flesh.

"Gongmu, you deal with the two white bats! The other Witch Kings, kill the three bald donkeys!

" Ban Gongcuo cried fiercely.

"Whatever happens, they must be eliminated!

" Witch King Gongmu was a great master of the Life-Death realm, more than enough to suppress the two white bats; even if he could not beat these two strange bats to death, he could keep them from going to Shen Mu's aid.

And the two Heaven-Man realm Witch Kings, together with the two Seven-Star great witches, ought to make short work of the three demon monks and the Dragon Qilin — after all, none of the three demon monks nor the Dragon Qilin had cultivated to the Heaven-Man realm! He had just spoken when he suddenly saw Shen Mu take a black jar out of the Taotie pouch, and his scalp went numb. "Run!

" he said sharply. He drove the teleportation art and vanished at once.

His realm had reached the Six Harmonies, but he still could not teleport very far — only six or seven hundred zhang.

He looked back and saw Shen Mu dash the black jar to the ground with a crash: the jar was already cracked, so why not smash it outright.

Dense black smoke spread violently in every direction, and in an instant it had enveloped a hundred-odd zhang in all directions. Witch King Gongmu and the other two Witch Kings had already flashed away, escaping before the black smoke could catch them; they had survived the calamity, but their hearts were still pounding with dread.

The corners of Ban Gongcuo's eyes twitched wildly.

That was the witch poison he had refined in his past life, savage in its virulence!

Let it touch a soul or a primordial spirit, and it would corrode the soul and dissolve the spirit; even a great master of the Life-Death realm would be sent down to the Yellow Springs within a few breaths! Shen Mu's smashing of the jar was plainly a declaration of mutual destruction — they would all take the road together!

"No! This black smoke is not like the witch poison I refined!

" Ban Gongcuo's heart suddenly jumped. The smoke did resemble his witch poison somewhat, but he was, after all, a grand master of witch poison, and he saw through the trick at once: the black smoke was nothing but smoke — not witch poison!

Clearly that wretch surnamed Shen had not been idle last night; he must have stealthily made a black jar and filled it with black smoke. He carried two Taotie pouches, and when he refined things inside a Taotie pouch, no one could notice what he was refining.

"Damn it, I've been tricked! " Ban Gongcuo's face turned iron-blue.

He was just about to charge back when he saw that the two Seven-Star great witches had already been finished off by the three demon monks, and the two white bats had climbed up again, lively and bouncing.

He was on the verge of charging back when he suddenly saw Shen Mu take out another black jar from the Taotie pouch — and hesitated. Shen Mu roared with laughter and called out, "Brother Ban, shall we part ways here? " Ban Gongcuo snorted coldly, flicked his sleeves, and turned his gaze to the three demon monks.

Suddenly he shouted, "Monk Ding Ming!

" The three Golden-Winged Rocs each folded their wings and turned back into three demon monks, bird claws on human bodies, draped in loose black robes.

Monk Ding Ming looked up. "I am here," he said.

Ban Gongcuo bowed low, and behind him there appeared a phantom of a god-demon standing upon an altar, which also bowed deeply to Monk Ding Ming. Monk Ding Ming cried out in alarm and, against his will, revealed his true form as a Golden-Winged Roc; from within his body came boom after boom of great splitting sounds, his three souls and seven spirits rent asunder, and he fell dead to the ground!

Even Shen Mu was chilled to the bone.

Monk Ding Ming was a great master of the Seven-Star realm, yet had been bowed to death with a single bow — so this was the divine power by which the Great Venerable slew living souls with a salute, the very power that had made even the Butcher dare not reveal his true name?

"How is it countered? " The thought had no sooner occurred to him than Ban Gongcuo, his face rather pale, called out again: "Monk Ding Zhi!

" Ding Zhi kept his mouth shut and made no answer.

Ban Gongcuo bowed; the god-demon phantom on the altar behind him bowed as well, and Ding Zhi gave a single cry and died on the spot.

Blood seeped from the corner of Ban Gongcuo's mouth.

He smiled coldly and looked at Monk Ding Jue, and Ding Jue went cold all over, spread the wings on his back, and fled with a beat of his pinions. "Ding Jue!

" Ban Gongcuo bowed.

Ding Jue, still in midair, had his souls scattered and his spirits dispersed; the Golden-Winged Roc's corpse plummeted to the ground. Ban Gongcuo spat out a mouthful of blood, shot Shen Mu a vicious glare, and turned away.

"If it were not for the false name you use, killing you would be easier than turning over my hand! Let's go!