Martial Peak

Chapter 2542 – No Way to Advance or Retreat

The cultivators’ conversation naturally entered Yang Kai’s ears; however, instead of feeling reassured, he became more vigilant and asked quietly, “Is it true that Yin Souls don’t come out when the wind blows, Old Ban?”

“Generally, yes. It’s because the Astral Wind is so powerful that not even the Yin Souls here can resist it and are likely to be blown away,” Old Ban paused and continued, “However…”

“However?”

“It’s not absolutely true all the time. The Yin Souls do not come out not because they can’t, but because they choose not to. This old man has only seen them come out once during such a time, so it’s very rare. Little Brother, you can rest…”

All of a sudden, Old Ban stopped talking and stared at the entrance of the cave with a look of utter horror. There, he saw ten semi-transparent figures bursting out from the strange fog.

The figures were humanoid but somewhat distorted, making it hard for one to discern their true form.

However, no matter what they were, the cold and violent auras around their bodies were unmistakable.

As soon as they left the strange fog, one by one, their blurry facial features became ferocious and terrifying, as though they were looking for someone to bite.

“Damn it, they’re here! Whose big mouth was it that jinxed us?!”

“Be careful, everyone!”

At the entrance of the cave, several cultivators shouted and sprung to their feet, preparing to fight. As soon as these Yin Souls rushed in, they would be the ones to bear the brunt of the attack with no way to advance or retreat. Thus, they could only choose to fight.

In an instant, flashes of light from summoned artifacts appeared one after another and rushed toward the Yin Souls.

Naturally, none of the cultivators who attacked were weak. If they were, they wouldn’t have gotten a spot in the cave; however, when their attacks fell, the Yin Souls were hardly affected, their bodies faltered for a moment, but none of them died.

“Damn it… they’re all at the Ghost General level!” Someone exclaimed, their face paling.

Yin Souls also had a hierarchy, from Ordinary Ghost to Ghost Generals, Lords, and finally, Kings. Naturally, each one was stronger than the last.

Ordinary Ghosts were so weak that even Old Ban could deal with them easily, but if a Ghost General or Ghost Lord appeared, Old Ban would be completely helpless. As for the Ghost King they had encountered previously, it was essentially the overlord of the Ancient Lands Passageway and not even an Emperor Realm Master would dare to look down on it.

Previously, Old Ban and Zhang Ruo Xi couldn’t resist it at all. If it weren’t for Yang Kai’s protection, they would’ve died right there and then.

Therefore, when the cultivators inside the cave heard that the Yin Souls were at the Ghost General level, their faces changed greatly and every single one of them could feel the danger they were in.

None of the attacks that landed on the Ghost Generals caused fatal damage. They merely paused before charging forward even more ferociously.

However, the cultivators at the entrance were clearly veterans who knew how to deal with these Yin Souls. They all stood there calmly, prepared and with heavy expressions on their faces, before suddenly releasing Soul Attacks one by one.

The invisible attacks landed fiercely on the Ghost Generals’ bodies.

The majority of the Ghost Generals wailed and were wiped out in an instant, while the surviving ones flickered dimly. They were obviously injured, but since they couldn’t feel the pain, they still lunged forth while baring their teeth and brandishing their claws.

There was another outbreak of Spiritual Energy, and the rest of the Ghost Generals suffered the same fate as their former companions.

Seeing this, several cultivators at the entrance of the cave breathed out a sigh of relief. Although they were not afraid of these Ghost Generals because of their cultivation, they were now avoiding the Astral Wind and naturally didn’t wish for any more unexpected developments. Fortunately, there were not many of these Ghost Generals, so they could still be easily eliminated.

“There are more!” Yang Kai suddenly turned solemn and warned.

“What?” The faces of those people at the entrance of the cave changed, but before they could ask anything more, they saw first-hand what Yang Kai meant.

From the strange fog, another group of Ghost Generals rushed out, each one having the same ferocious aura as the last group.

*Xiu xiu xiu…*

More and more Yin Souls poured in, but this time, their auras were mixed. Some were Ordinary Ghosts while others were Ghost Generals, and there were even a few Ghost Lords in their midst!

In the blink of an eye, the entire cave was surrounded by Yin Souls. There were so many of them that the cultivators felt as though they had fallen into the Netherworld.

*Gudong!*

Someone gulped as everyone was looking at the entrance of the cave with a dark and uneasy expression.

“How… How can this be?”

“Why are so many Yin Souls coming out when there is still the Astral Wind?”

“What the hell is going on here?!”

“Just shut up and start killing if you don’t want to die!”

The cultivators who had just settled down cried out in alarm again. They couldn’t believe what they saw and in that moment of hesitation, the Yin Souls launched a new wave of attacks.

The few people at the entrance of the cave had no choice but to push their Spiritual Energy and Source Qi madly to help them kill off the invading Yin Souls.

Shrill screams rang out one after another, and one by one, the Yin Souls disappeared; however, their numbers seemed to be endless. The cultivators at the entrance fought for quite some time, but although their attacks were effective, the number of Yin Souls wasn’t decreasing at all. Rather, it was increasing.

Such a situation made them desperate!

The most effective way to kill a Yin Soul was to wait until they drew close and then use a burst of potent Spiritual Energy to scatter them. However, Spiritual Energy was not inexhaustible. Every time an attack was used, a lot would be consumed, and once one’s Spiritual Energy was exhausted, they would only be able to wait for death.

Moreover, excessive use of Spiritual Energy was likely to damage the foundations of one’s Soul, which was something no cultivator desired.

Within the time it took to brew a cup of tea, the group at the entrance of the cave was already pale and soaked in cold sweat. It was evident that they had exhausted their Spiritual Energy reserves.

“Hey, brothers in the back, could you lend a hand? I can’t hold on for much longer.”

“That’s right, hurry and come help us! If we die, the next wave will be up to you. You can’t hide back there forever!”

“Can someone replace me for a while? I want to take a rest. My Spiritual Energy is almost exhausted. This one would be endlessly grateful.”

…..

Inside the cave.

The remaining nine people in the back watched on with heavy expressions. Although they knew that the cultivators at the entrance were right, who would dare to go up and take their place in this time of crisis? What if they went up and no one dared to take their place once their Knowledge Sea was exhausted? How miserable would their death be then?

It was every man for himself; therefore, although their expressions were grim, none of the people inside the cave said anything, let alone step forward to replace the cultivators at the entrance.

“Old Ban, you don’t think it’s…” Yang Kai suddenly looked at Old Ban and asked quietly.

It only took a moment for Old Ban to understand what Yang Kai meant and he nodded slightly, “It’s possible.”

Generally, Yin Souls would not appear during the Astral Wind period, so the situation now was quite strange. Moreover, judging from the way the Yin Souls were moving and staring into the cave, it seemed that they bore a grudge against a single person.

This reminded Yang Kai of the Ghost King!

The Ghost King had suffered a loss at Yang Kai’s hands, so perhaps this incident was related to that. Since the Ghost King wasn’t Yang Kai’s opponent, it decided to take advantage of this opportunity to mobilize the Yin Souls in the passageway in order to wear down Yang Kai.

However, despite knowing the truth, he had no way to escape. If the Yin Souls continued attacking, they would reach him sooner or later.

If so, then Yang Kai was the culprit, and everyone else was simply implicated because of him.

Just as Yang Kai and Old Ban were communicating secretly, a man inside the cave suddenly stood up and shouted, “Everyone, at this time of life or death, we have to work together if we want to survive!”

“Exactly! We need to work together! This wonderful Brother has such a profound sense of justice! Hurry and help me fight for a while! This one will thank you with twenty million Source Crystals after this!” A Third-Order Dao Source Realm Master hurriedly responded. He was pale and barely hanging on. He almost couldn’t resist pulling the one who spoke over so he could finally rest.

The one who spoke looked at him and said, “Please wait a moment, friend. This one will discuss with the others. It won’t be long.”

“What? We’ll die if you do that!”

“Hmph, we’re over here fighting with our lives on the line, while you are in the back relaxing. Do you think we’ll just let that happen? If you people don’t come and help, then don’t blame us for ‘accidentally’ letting some Yin Souls inside!”

“That’s right! If we’re going to die, then we’ll drag you all down with us!”

“Please be patient and allow this one thirty breaths of time to come up with a satisfactory plan!” The man inside the cave said.

As soon as his words fell, the cultivators at the entrance stopped clamouring. The man’s words sounded sincere, and they also wanted to see how he would deal with this.

Moreover, holding on for thirty more breaths of time was not hard to do.

Seeing that they had no objections, the man cupped his fists and said, “He Feng from the Qi Family Fort greets fellow cultivators!”

“Qi Family Fort!” Yang Kai was startled and he turned to look at He Feng, coincidentally meeting his gaze.

Qi He Feng smiled at him, while Yang Kai couldn’t help but snort.

[Does he recognize me?]

[If he does, he wouldn’t be smiling like that.]

“So, it turns out that you’re from Qi Family Fort! I have long admired your family!”

As soon as Qi He Feng reported his background, several people revealed looks of approval; after all, Qi Family Fort was a great force that existed near the Ancient Lands, so it held some prestige here.

Qi He Feng didn’t waste any words and went straight to the point, “I believe our current situation is clear to all. If the friends at the entrance were to exhaust their Spiritual Energy and fall, the attacks would fall on us next. It seems that there is no end to this wave of Yin Souls, and if they continue to pour in here, this Qi reckons only a handful of us will be able to survive.”

“Thus, this Qi would like to ask you all to set aside your personal opinions, cooperate sincerely, and fight together. Only then will we have a chance of surviving!”