"Young Friend Song, do you have any way to break the formation?"
After pondering for a while, the three Fusion ancestors still couldn't come up with a good solution, so they turned to Ian Song for help.
Ian Song shook his head. "Seniors, you overestimate me. If Senior Song Yan were here, with his mastery of formations, he could probably break it."
Isn't that just stating the obvious?
Right now, the entire Prime One Church is hunting Ian Song. He must have hidden himself somewhere by now—how could they possibly find him? What they didn't realize was that the very Ian Song they were chasing was standing right in front of them.
Dongcang Commandery, Beimang Mountains, within the Ghost-God Sect.
An elder guarding the Soul Shrine hurried toward the sect master's palace.
Yinyang Gale's residence was a pure-black palace forged from Yin-Fiend Jade. Even from a distance, you could feel the dense yin miasma. Ordinary cultivators wouldn't last long here—their limbs would stiffen and their thoughts would slow.
But for Yinyang Gale, who cultivated the Ghost-God Canon, training in such a yin-saturated place was actually a huge advantage.
"Sect Master, your subordinate Ghost Seven has urgent news to report!"
The Soul Shrine elder arrived at the black palace, nervously calling out.
Bang!
The tightly shut palace doors swung open with a boom, and a voice called out from inside, "Come in."
Elder Ghost Seven bowed and stepped into the hall, then knelt before the elder seated cross-legged atop a black lotus. "Sect Master, something terrible has happened! The true-spirit fire left in the Soul Shrine by Young Master Tiger Gale has gone out."
The Soul Shrine is a special place. Every important member of the Ghost-God Sect places a true-spirit fire in a soul lamp there. As long as their soul isn't completely destroyed—even if their Golden Core or Nascent Soul is wiped out—any remnant soul can follow the fire's guidance back to the Soul Shrine and merge with it.
The Ghost-God Canon includes a secret technique that lets you implant a fused true-spirit fire into a pregnant woman. When the child is born, there's a chance to recover memories from a previous life.
Of course, the odds are extremely low. But even if the memories don't return, it's still a kind of rebirth.
That's why only high-level or important figures in the Ghost-God Sect qualify to store a true-spirit fire in the Soul Shrine.
Tiger Gale might not have great talent, but as the young sect master, he still kept a true-spirit fire in the Soul Shrine, just in case he was ever killed and needed a shot at rebirth.
But now, his true-spirit fire has gone out. That means Tiger Gale's soul was shattered completely—not even a remnant survived.
When Yinyang Gale heard the news, his already pale face turned even darker. Gritting his teeth, he growled, "Send people to investigate. Find out who killed Tiger!"
He might have been disappointed in his second son, but Tiger was still his child. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to tear the killer to pieces.
"Yes, sir!"
Ghost Seven accepted the order and left the hall. But as he walked away, furious roars erupted from inside, sending chills down his spine and making him hurry off even faster.
Right then, Drake Gale arrived.
He entered the hall and, seeing his father's stormy expression, was startled. "Father, did something happen?" he asked quickly.
"Your younger brother was killed—his soul completely annihilated!" Yinyang Gale spat out.
"What?"
Drake Gale was stunned. Tiger Gale's talent was so poor that he'd never been a threat to Drake's position, so the brothers actually got along well. Tiger was lazy and never meddled in sect affairs, making him even less of a rival. Drake felt genuinely guilty and loved his brother.
Drake's eyes burned with anger. Gritting his teeth, he demanded, "Who killed my brother?"
"I've already ordered an investigation. We should have news soon!"
Drake Gale nodded. "If I find out who harmed my brother, I'll skin him alive and torture him for forty-nine days before killing him!"
At that moment, a hint of hesitation appeared on Drake's face.
"Speak freely," said Yinyang Gale.
Drake Gale said solemnly, "Yes, Father. My men reported that a light-screen appeared over the Qilian Mountains, displaying a mysterious cultivation outline. I suspect an ancient cave estate or inheritance is about to emerge there!"
He then recited the cultivation outline.
After hearing the outline, Yinyang Gale felt a subtle change in his Ghost-God true essence, cultivated to its peak. Alarmed, he realized how profound the outline was—the senior who left this legacy was no ordinary expert.
He immediately decided to lead all the Ghost-God Sect experts to the Qilian Mountains.
At the valley in the Qilian Mountains, more than half an hour had passed. The array masters from the three clans were still investigating, but hadn't found any clue how to break the formation.
More and more rogue cultivators were gathering around the mountains, along with small clans and minor sects. But with Soul-Split experts from the three clans blocking the mountain road, they could only linger nearby, hoping to get a share of the spoils.
For a moment, the three Fusion ancestors grew increasingly impatient and frustrated.
The Jin clan ancestor couldn't help but curse at the array masters: "Useless fools! Our clan spent so many resources training you, and you can't even break a simple illusion array. What's the point of keeping you around?"
None of the array masters dared talk back, but they were deeply frustrated. The illusion array was set by at least an Earth-grade array master, while the best among them was only entry-level Profound-grade. How could they break it?
"Sister Jin, why are you so upset? Maybe I can help!"
Just then, a booming voice echoed, and a giant cloud drifted in from the horizon.
In the blink of an eye, the cloud flew closer. Everyone looked up to see a tall, broad-shouldered man with a wide nose, big eyes, and flaming red hair standing atop the cloud. Behind him stood dozens of Soul-Split experts.
The three Fusion ancestors' expressions changed drastically when they saw him.
The Chen clan ancestor stepped forward and greeted the red-haired man descending from the cloud. "So it's Altar Master Xie! Forgive us for not welcoming you sooner."
"Greetings, Altar Master Xie."
"Respect to Altar Master Xie!"
The Jin and Ning clan ancestors also bowed respectfully.
"Haha, no need for such formality, friends."
Terry Xie laughed loudly, his gaze landing on the valley. With a smirk, he said, "I have a few decent array masters under me. Why not let them give it a try? What do you think, friends?"
The three ancestors' faces turned ugly at Terry Xie's suggestion, their eyes blazing with anger.
Without hesitation, Terry Xie waved his hand. "Since you three discovered it, I'll take a loss—I'll take seventy percent, and you can split the remaining thirty. How about it?"
"Isn't that a bit too greedy, Altar Master Xie?"
The three ancestors' faces turned ugly at Terry Xie's suggestion, their eyes blazing with anger.
"Isn't that a bit too greedy, Altar Master?"