Ghost cultivators.
These are an aberrant type of cultivator, considered a branch of demonic cultivation.
His name was Liu Chen, the previous Sect Master of the Lihuo Palace. However, he had cultivated demonic arts, leading to a qi deviation.
Consequently, all elders of the Lihuo Palace activated a grand formation and sealed him within the [Forbidden Land].
The reason they did not kill him was out of consideration for his past contributions to the sect.
However, this mercy led to a great disaster. The Grand Elder of Lihuo Palace was Liu Chen's good brother.
Under Liu Chen's instigation, the Grand Elder secretly helped him set up a soul-sacrificing formation. One day, he suddenly opened the Forbidden Land and, relying on the formation and his own terrifying strength, absorbed the souls of the entire sect.
The Grand Elder who resided in the back mountain was also betrayed by his good brother; he couldn't save his own life.
Liu Chen, with this massive influx of souls, broke through to the Void Returning stage in one go.
The price, however, was that the souls he devoured contained too much resentment, which constantly tormented his spirit and caused his current repulsive appearance.
But he didn't care, for his heart had been demonized, and his body had become half-human, half-ghost. This was also why he could live for so long.
He thought he would be free to roam the world from then on, but little did he know that after his entire sect was annihilated, he suddenly lost contact with the world, disappearing!
Moreover, he hadn't left the Forbidden Land, which was then sealed again. He couldn't break this seal and remained trapped in this accursed place.
However, no matter how long one lived, it wasn't immortality. Bai Nianchen was right; his time was running out. He even had to dissipate his cultivation to exchange for a little more lifespan.
If they hadn't arrived, in another year or two, he, Liu Chen, would have completely vanished from the annals of history.
But, fortunately for Liu Chen, the strongest among the newcomers was only at the early Golden Core stage, which was like serving him on a platter!
Someone had arrived, which meant a passage out of Lihuo Palace had appeared!
Furthermore, there were several hundred fresh souls outside. If he could devour all their souls, his cultivation would at least recover to the late Nascent Soul stage!
Thinking of this, Liu Chen was extremely excited!
Black smoke transformed into ferocious ghosts, roaring as they charged towards the group!
Even in his weakened state, Liu Chen was still a Nascent Soul stage cultivator! Not to mention that he had once reached the Void Returning stage; he was far stronger than ordinary early Nascent Soul cultivators!
These densely packed black ghosts would have instantly killed ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators.
But the people before him were by no means ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators.
Bai Nianchen formed hand seals and shouted, "Form the array!"
The other three immediately showed a hint of nervousness, but a month of practice had given them perfect synchronicity!
"Eastern Azure Dragon!"
Li Qingyun moved to the east, planting array flags one by one! He then summoned azure lotuses, blocking the black ghosts that howled towards him!
"Azure Dragon is in position!"
A ray of azure light emerged from beneath his feet.
Bai Nianchen dodged attacks while loudly commanding, "Western White Tiger!"
Luo Xiaowei unleashed a sword energy, as if a candle dragon was sweeping through, repelling the black ghosts. He then rolled backward.
At the calculated position, he planted the array flag.
"White Tiger is also in position!"
Qin Xiaoxiao, located in the south, was somewhat flustered, wildly swinging her great axe!
For a moment, ice shards splattered everywhere, and she heard Luo Xiaowei shout, "Are you hitting air? Plant the flag quickly!"
Only then did she remember her task. In her haste, she planted the pre-prepared array flag into the ground.
"In position, in position! Vermillion Bird is also in position!"
Bai Nianchen converged his hands into a Tai Chi symbol, his eyes flashing with brilliance: "Reversing Yin and Yang!"
The ghosts controlled by Liu Chen lunged into empty space, while Bai Nianchen had already teleported away.
He appeared in the northern position and planted the array flag into the ground.
"Northern Black Tortoise! Take your position!"
Forming hand seals, the four directions connected, and a murderous aura permeated the area!
"Four Symbols Destroy Heaven!"
Then, behind Li Qingyun, an azure dragon emerged. Behind Luo Xiaowei appeared a white tiger. Behind Qin Xiaoxiao was the Vermillion Bird, and in front of Bai Nianchen was a ten-meter-tall Black Tortoise.
This was a killing array!
Chu Yang using this as a reward for second place itself indicated the formidable nature of this array.
When Liu Chen saw them activate such a powerful array, he sneered, "With such a powerful array, how much strength can you unleash in your hands? It's like ants trying to shake a tree!"
He did not move his body violently throughout, instead opening his mouth wide and roaring forward!
Instantly, a chilling wind swept through, and bloodied figures crawled out of the graves, emitting a foul stench.
These were some missing elders from the sect that the Grand Elder had sent to him as sustenance. The weakest among them was a Golden Core stage expert, all of whom Liu Chen had refined into blood slaves.
In the cultivation world, this fellow was an out-and-out great devil.
The Four Divine Beasts continuously attacked the evil entities summoned by Liu Chen, but the appearance of these blood slaves greatly increased the pressure on everyone!
However, the preparations made over this past month were far from over.
Bai Nianchen took out an array disk and anxiously shouted, "Young friend Qingyun!"
Li Qingyun understood. He also produced an array disk!
Under their simultaneous control, the Four Symbols Destroy Heaven array once again unleashed even more terrifying killing power!
The power of the Four Divine Beasts was doubled. This array disk also contained two Four Symbols Destroy Heaven arrays.
At this moment, three arrays were superimposed.
What was originally capable of only unleashing the power of the late Golden Core stage could now even threaten early Foundation Establishment stage cultivators.
However, maintaining these three arrays consumed an immense amount of energy!
Bai Nianchen's face quickly turned pale. He sat cross-legged and said, "The array's operation is entrusted to this poor monk!"
Liu Chen was stunned. He saw the purple radiant light emanating from Bai Nianchen...
"Holy crap! Innate Dao Body! How can a physique like this belong to an old man?"
Seeing that Bai Nianchen couldn't continue fighting head-on, Li Qingyun directly threw the array disk to Luo Xiaowei!
"Brother Wei! You help Daoist Bai operate the array! I'll go flank the rear!"
Luo Xiaowei took the array disk and froze, "Damn! I haven't coordinated with Daoist Bai before!"
But looking at the blood slaves before him, charging towards him with overwhelming blood energy, Luo Xiaowei gritted his teeth and directly threw the array disk to Qin Xiaoxiao, "You operate the array with Daoist Bai! My sword is still more reliable!"
"Clang—"
Thunder and purple fire clashed, and a sword curtain descended, momentarily blocking the Golden Core stage blood slave. However, Luo Xiaowei was quickly pushed back a few steps!
"Damn it! Even the small fries are this difficult to deal with!"
A towering ancient tree emerged from the sky, with azure lotuses gathering around Li Qingyun, heading towards Liu Chen.
Liu Chen was stunned again: "Enlightenment... Enlightenment Dao Tree? How can it possess the power of the Enlightenment Dao Tree? What kind of monster is this? Is it a Daoist prodigy from some super sect?"