This sorceress clearly possessed an extraordinary identity.
Yet, her first words upon standing were an invitation for her martial uncle to join their demonic sect.
Upon hearing this, her martial uncle simply laughed:
"Righteousness and evil have been irreconcilable since ancient times.
To ask this humble monk to join the demonic sect is sheer folly."
Her martial uncle refused without hesitation.
The sorceress, upon hearing his words, did not show any anger.
She merely offered a faint smile and stated calmly:
"Then I shall kill all of you."
With that, she extended her slender fingers and waved them forward.
In an instant, the phantoms and zombies that had been suspended and standing around them seemed to be fully activated.
They all opened their eyes.
In that moment, a chilling aura began to reverberate outside the demon palace.
One by one, the phantoms raised their heads, and the zombies lifted their arms.
The four-legged monsters also tilted their heads, beginning to growl ominously.
Seeing this, everyone present felt a jolt of alarm, sensing impending danger.
They knew these creatures were about to make a deadly assault.
These phantoms and zombies constituted more than half of the enemy force,
A total of six to seven hundred beings.
If so many malevolent spirits were to swarm them together, they would likely be unable to withstand the onslaught.
As everyone stood in stunned disbelief.
From within the horde of spirits, ten yellow-robed vengeful spirits suddenly emerged.
As soon as these vengeful spirits appeared, they let out piercing shrieks and charged directly at them.
All the hovering spirits began to move.
With swift whooshes, they drifted towards them.
The horde of corpses on the ground erupted in savage roars and leaped towards them in a stampede.
Witnessing this, everyone's hearts sank by half.
Even with the strongest will and no fear of death,
Facing such a formidable array, their backs grew cold.
Her martial uncle's expression turned grim as he raised his broadsword:
"Charge with me! Kill!"
With that, he slashed towards the weakest point in the formation of demons and spirits.
I followed closely behind.
Infected by my martial uncle's fearless aura,
I too let out a yell:
"Kill!"
Mo Ting, Xia Qiu Xi, and even Aunt Yun Xia, at this moment, also shouted in unison:
"Kill!"
As Taoist priests of the Bai school, from the moment they joined,
A single concept was ingrained in everyone:
"Defend righteousness, die defending it."
As Daoists who walked in darkness and straddled yin and yang,
Everyone clearly understood what their path entailed.
They knew how perilous their work was.
Martyrdom was the ultimate destination for the vast majority of their peers.
It was also the highest honor for a Daoist.
Today, the five of us faced not a handful of spirits, but a demonic sect, a cult.
Thousands of malevolent beings, a dense assembly of spirits.
Zombies, demonic spirits, and malevolent specters were everywhere.
Behind them, the demonic Daoists were all practitioners of evil, ferocious and cruel.
Under such circumstances, everyone understood clearly.
The possibility of breaking through was virtually nonexistent.
Yet, no one conceded defeat.
They still wished to use their last breath to fight for that sliver of hope.
"Roar..."
"Howl..."
The roars of the demons and spirits echoed through the mountain forest and the demon palace.
The spirits descended like a dense rain, swarming towards them.
Her martial uncle swung his sword, killing as he went.
The hum of his sword energy preceded him, clearing a path.
Old Mo and I followed on either side, battling the malevolent spirits.
Aunt Yun Xia, with Xia Qiu Xi, unleashed a torrent of golden sword energy, the master and disciple charging into the zombie horde.
In an instant, the spirit swarm was thrown into disarray, spirits falling and sustaining casualties, zombies being shaken to death or injured.
A fierce battle commenced.
We were surrounded by hundreds of demons and spirits.
At this point, even with her martial uncle's profound cultivation and the blessing of divine summoning, breaking through the encirclement was difficult.
Soon, her martial uncle was wounded.
A zombie ambushed him, biting his shoulder.
Although her martial uncle twisted the zombie's neck, he had contracted corpse poison.
"Martial uncle!"
I hurried to his side, looking at the black tooth marks on his shoulder.
Her martial uncle waved it off dismissively:
"I'm fine, keep close!"
Her martial uncle, carrying his broadsword, continued to charge forward.
"Ah!"
Suddenly, another scream rang out.
Turning, I saw Old Mo being clawed on the back by a vengeful spirit.
His clothes were torn, and had it not been for the piece of zombie skin he had tied to his back earlier,
This attack would have snapped his spine.
"Old Mo!"
My martial uncle and I turned simultaneously. My martial uncle leaped forward, sweeping away the spirits with his sword.
I formed a hand seal and shouted:
"Heaven and Earth, boundless! Yin and Yang, without law! Destroy!"
As I spoke, I unleashed a sword strike.
With a thunderous boom of protective energy,
I, at the early stage of Profound Core, unleashed a sword energy comparable to what a Dao Body realm cultivator could produce.
Shattering the spirit that had attacked Old Mo into soul fragments.
However, the "Destroy" technique was far too draining for me.
This use of the "Destroy" technique had nearly depleted the spiritual energy in my dantian.
No matter how the true qi flowed, it was difficult to replenish my Dao qi...
"Old Mo, Old Mo..."
My eyes welled up.
I helped Old Mo to his feet.
Old Mo was panting, blood continuously flowing from his back.
His body trembled; this injury had greatly affected him.
However, there was no trace of fear on his face. Instead, he gritted his teeth, trying to stand:
"I, I'm fine.
I am, after all; Son of Light. Arbiter of Destiny. Urban Exorcist. Mo."
He said the last word, "Mo," through gritted teeth, with great weight and gravity.
The words struck me with equal weight and gravity.
"Brother! I've made you suffer."
I spoke from the bottom of my heart.
This was all because of me.
Had it not been for helping me obtain the Soul Stone, Old Mo would not have been injured and brought to the brink of death, struggling to even speak now.
But as soon as Old Mo managed to stand,
Two more screams erupted from the other side.
"Ah!"
"Master, ah!"
I turned sharply and saw Aunt Yun Xia and Xia Qiu Xi injured by two four-legged monsters.
They both collapsed, spitting blood.
A pack of zombies began to rush towards them with hungry roars...