Heaven's Devourer

Even Jiu Ying couldn't react to the sudden changes, let alone Wu Yu. 

When the surroundings were filled with bloody mist, the word “trap” struck Wu Yu immediately. 

That's right, it was definitely a trap. 

He Taozi had gone missing and there were 10 piles of corpses below him. It was clear that the other party had made preparations and was waiting for the arrival of all the Shushan disciples. 

When Ye Jingming and the rest arrived and before Jiu Ying could even leave, they realized that the world they were in were completely flooded by the blood ocean that swamped them in an instant. 

The only thing they could see and sense was the bloody mist. 

"The real culprit that you guys are looking for will be appearing soon." Jiu Ying let out a deathly smile. Amidst the bloody mist, dangers were everywhere. The dense bloody mist formed a kind of isolation. Soon, Wu Yu noticed that other than Jiu Ying, who was just beside him, he could no longer see the rest or hear their voices. 

Jiu Ying frowned deeply and informed Wu Yu, "This is a spirit design! Get out, quick!" After which, he immediately flapped his huge wings and prepared to charge out. 

"Yeah!" Wu Yu understood the situation. Once they were trapped within the spirit design of the other party, they would be in grave danger. He had long witnessed the prowess of spirit designs. The Heavenly Sword Sect was able to buy months of time by simply using the 10,000 Swords Formation. The spirit design by the ghostly cultivator would likely be even more powerful. 

Jiu Ying led the way and Wu Yu followed closely behind. 

At this moment, Jiu Ying wasn't his enemy. 

Jiu Ying stopped after charging for less than the time of ten breaths. With a bitter look, he said, "Part of the effects of this spirit design is hypnosis. It can even distort my senses and direct me to run in circles. It seems like it will be hard to get out!" 

Otherwise, with their speed, they would have charged out of the boundary shrouded by the bloody mist in a very short time. 

Wu Yu had noticed this too. He was charging in a straight line constantly a while ago. However, the surrounding bloody mist still seemed endless. In fact, his sense of direction was dishevelled. It was as though the entire heavenly continent had been shrouded in the bloody mist. 

As for the four other members, they seemed to have completely disappeared from their vicinity. No matter how much Wu Yu shouted to them, he couldn't hear a response. 

"The other party is truly terrifying. I'll advise you to stay close to me." Jiu Ying wasn't intimidated. Instead, he was observing the surroundings calmly. 

He was rather arrogant and had huge confidence in himself. 

Just as he finished his words, Wu Yu noticed a change in the surrounding bloody mist all of a sudden. To his astonishment, the bloody mist was gathering and coalescing into various evil ghosts right in front of their eyes. Each one of them was a zhang tall with sharp teeth and claws and had savage looks. From the moment they appeared, they had been shrieking and shouting while staring at Wu Yu and Jiu Ying with intense thirst for blood. 

Hu!

In an instant, an endless amount of "bloody ghosts" charged all at once towards Wu Yu and Jiu Ying while screaming. 

Wu Yu understood that hypnosis was just a part of this spirit design. As for these bloody ghosts, it was probably the other effect. 

He drew his Yin Yang Dao Sword and held one in each hand. A stream of Pure Yang Voidbreaker Strike and a stream of Enigmatic Yin Spirit-Seal Strike blew dozens of bloody ghosts into smithereens instantly. 

Jiu Ying was even more impressive. By exhaling a breath, he blew all the bloody ghosts into dust. A gust of grey wind swept ahead and cleansed the area ahead of him. 

However, the issue was that the moment these bloody ghosts exploded into bloody mist, they immediately formed new bloody ghosts. After which, they would pounce behind and join the attacks on Wu Yu and Jiu Ying. 

"The bloody ghosts are just a part of the spirit design. If we don't destroy the spirit design, there will be endless amounts of bloody ghosts. However, we can't possibly leave ourselves open to the attacks of these bloody ghosts... Just the hypnosis and bloody ghosts effects of this spirit design are enough to exhaust us completely." 

When Wu Yu fought with the bloody ghosts, he took a glance at Jiu Ying. He noticed that Jiu Ying was largely cold with a little frustration. Clearly, even he did not have any other solutions at this moment. 

At this moment, all they could do was exhaust their Jindan essence to withstand the endless attacks of these bloody ghosts. However, they didn't have a solution to escape from the spirit design. 

If this continued on, Wu Yu knew that they would be in deep trouble! It was especially so as they did not know the situation of Ye Jingming and the rest. In fact, they had not even seen the appearance of their enemy. 

"Vajra Transformation." After some time, Wu Yu decided to just transform his body to the Vajra Body. In this case, even if the bloody ghosts attacked, bite, or attempted to shred him relentlessly, they wouldn't succeed or have any effects. 

"If you just want to be a coward, you won't make it out forever." Jiu Ying snorted. He was getting a little impatient as he growled angrily, "What kind of rat stays hiding?! If you want a fight with me, spare me your tricks and come out to fight." 

To his surprise, just as he finished his words, a savage, creepy and dark voice that sounded like a rat in a sewer sounded amidst the bloody mist. It was the voice of a man laughing lightly. "I've not expected a lively small demon to fall into my cage. It seems like my rewards today are indeed bountiful." 

He was the culprit of the massacres of the cities. 

He wasn't savage-looking, he looked more despicable, salacious, and filthy! 

Wu Yu recalled the miserable conditions of the various cultivators. Rage burned strongly in his heart as he asked, "Who are you? How dare you commit such heinous crimes in the territory of Shushan. It's a shame that I've already noticed the severity of this incident and have reported to my seniors. In less than three days, you will definitely be dead.” 

Upon hearing Wu Yu, the other party laughed mockingly. "Oh, young disciple of Shushan, you are still too young to play these games with me. Your Senior Brother He had too much confidence in himself and therefore lost his life to me. I have gouged his heart out and made him the core corpse of my Ghost Isolation Array. Today, I have crafted a miniature version of the Ghost Isolation Array to prevent you from leaking news of this situation outwards. At the same time, it's to round you guys up and make you all the core corpses of my Ghost Isolation Array." 

Upon hearing his reply, Wu Yu broke out in cold sweat. 

He could tell that the other party knew their movements like the back of his palm. He even knew about the personality of He Taozi and had resorted to the miniature version of the Ghost Isolation Array to attract the group over. 

Wu Yu noticed something horrifying. 

"He said that he needs core corpses for his Ghost Isolation Array. In that case, was letting the city lord of Qingsang City off to leak the news and attracting Shushan disciples over a part of his plan from the very beginning......?" 

"When we weren't here, only Qingsang City encountered this massacre. Once we had arrived, the Lan Ling Sect and the Sky Fissure Sword Sect encountered mishaps in succession. If Senior Brother He has already died in battle...."

"He massacred constantly and gouged out their hearts... Could it be that this has something to do with the Ghost Isolation Array?" 

Wu Yu took out the Message Talisman that Shen Xingyu had given him. Jiu Ying saw Wu Yu, shook his head, and said, "Everything within this miniature Ghost Isolation Array is under his control. If we can't get out, the message talisman will most likely be unable to get out. Even if you released it, it would only be intercepted by him." 

The other party had crafted the miniature Ghost Isolation Array to attract Shushan disciples in to prevent them from leaking news of the place and reporting to Shushan. 

However, if He Taozi died in battle, the Soul Hall in Shushan should know about it. They would also send others over to check. The only issue might be that they couldn't reach here in time. Moreover, if the other party dared to do so, it's clear that he had the confidence to achieve his objective before the arrival of other Shushan disciples. 

Jiu Ying continued, "In that case, what he is going to do next is kill all the Shushan disciples." 

Just as Jiu Ying completed this sentence, a voice sounded from amidst the bloody mist once again. He laughed sheepishly and said, "That will include you, young demon. You are a pleasant surprise for I, Ghostly Wings of the Black Mountain. Using the body of a demon as a core corpse might have better effects than Shushan disciples. I had initially disguised myself as a demon to divert their attention away. Who would have expected a real demon to come along. You have really helped me out big time. I got to award you with a presentable death." 

Ghostly Wings of the Black Mountain! 

One could immediately tell that it was the name of a ghostly cultivator, and the identity of the culprit was finally revealed. 

Wu Yu was pondering about how to charge out of the spirit design while buying time for himself. He growled angrily and agitatedly, "Damn you, ghostly cultivator! What do you want? How dare you kill Shushan disciples here. Our people from Soul Hall won't let you off!" 

The other party chuckled. "It's great to be young! Haha! You even dare to threaten me before your death! I have killed countless people and dug out countless hearts. Every time I held them in my hands, it felt like they were struggling in my grasp. The palpitation is such an amazing feeling. Tell me, do you think the heart can think? Do all our thoughts originate from this strange thing? For example, if you love someone, is it your heart that falls in love? Such a charming treasure tastes a lot better than you can imagine." 

After finishing, he laughed unrestrainedly. Within the miniature Ghost Isolation Array, bloody mist raged on and the entire spirit design was shaking. 

Jiu Ying suddenly turned solemn and said to Wu Yu, "I believe your seniors are separated. Unable to charge out, they can only face this ghostly cultivator one by one. They are most likely in danger...." 

Although he knew they were in danger, Wu Yu was overwhelmed himself. He knew he couldn't possibly save them when his own life was hanging by a thread. All he could do was ally with Jiu Ying and hope they could find a glimmer of hope to survive. 

Crash!

The sea of bloody mist raged on. 

Ghostly Wings of the Black Mountain got agitated and chuckled. "I'm a unique talent. The truth is, I know about the giant force, Shushan, that is in the vicinity. However, I still couldn't resist the temptation to come to this place, which is miles away from the East Sea. Do you know why? That is because the location of this place is too attractive. 10 forces are established on ten Spiritual Array Focal Points. Moreover, the arrangement of these 10 Spiritual Array Focal Points is extremely suitable for the Ghost Isolation Array. I'm afraid this is the best location on the heavenly continent. There's no other option. After looking at the map, I could only make my way through the seas and come over. As long as I kill all the people in these ten places and place them on the Spiritual Array Focal Points, I will be able to craft the perfect Ghost Isolation Array. Once I succeed, I'll immerse myself within the Ghost Isolation Array and refine my Jindan for 10 days and nights straight. Based on records, at my current realm, this old man will be able to advance to the Violet Kingdom of the Inner Sea Realm in 10 days and add a hundred years to my longevity!" 

His laughter was eerie, perverted, and chilling. 

"Naturally, with your heart in my Ghost Isolation Array, it will be even more perfect. In 10 days and nights, I'll use the Ghost Isolation Array to exhaust 10 years of spiritual qi from these places.”

Wu Yu knew that the actions of ghostly cultivators could be extremely outrageous and vicious. However, these perverted actions were undoubtedly great in increasing their cultivation level quickly. After all, ghostly cultivators were a group of people who would even slay their kin if they could get stronger.