Long River Eternity

"Fortunately, you used your domain in time, otherwise I and those villagers would have been in trouble." Yang An said with a smile, a hint of relief in his tone.

"I always felt that he exuded a strange aura and the fluctuations of his soul were too strong. I didn't expect that he was actually a soul." Ye Tingxue frowned, his expression solemn.

"Let's go back first, and talk while we walk." Yang An comforted the pale-faced villagers beside him, and said in a gentle tone: "It's okay. You guys should hurry back to the village. That black-faced man shouldn't come back for a while."

Several villagers thanked Yang An and Ye Tingxue repeatedly with gratitude, and then ran back to the village as if fleeing from a disaster, still feeling anxious.

On the way back to Kangen City, Yang An asked curiously, "What exactly is the soul body you mentioned just now?"

"A soul body is formed by separating a strand of one's own soul and then condensing it into an external incarnation. Only people with extremely powerful soul power can do this. However, after all, it is formed by one's own soul, and once it is hurt, it will backfire on the original body. It is very rare for someone to self-destruct his soul body without hesitation like the black-faced man did. I guess his soul body is not formed by his own soul, but condensed from his soul magic weapon." Ye Tingxue explained seriously, with deep thought in his eyes.

"Can you condense a soul body?" Yang An asked curiously.

"When I use the Heavenly Soul Body, the little man that emerges from my brow can actually be considered a soul body. As for using the soul body as a substitute like he did, I haven't tried it yet, but I believe there should be no problem." Ye Tingxue said confidently.

"Is there a time limit and quantity limit for the condensation of soul bodies? Master said that the places attacked by ferocious beasts are not limited to the Eastern Wasteland, but are spread across every corner of Pangu Continent." Yang An frowned, feeling a little uneasy.

"Without the help of external forces, the more the soul is condensed, the more its impact on me will increase exponentially. However, if we use magic tools, we may be able to reduce this impact." Ye Tingxue's tone was a little hesitant, and it was obvious that she was not sure.

At this time, the two had returned to the city gate and landed on the ground. Yang An thought of the injured Yu Shiqi and asked again: "How is the combat power of that soul body?"

"Usually, it's less than one-tenth of my power." Ye Tingxue was stunned for a moment after saying this, and then realized that the soul body couldn't possibly have the ability to seriously injure Yu Shiqi. "The one who attacked Yu Shiqi was most likely me! If Yu Shiqi was also injured by the soul body's self-explosion, it would be impossible for her to condense a soul body again so quickly. I'm very likely still nearby!"

Yang An nodded, his heart tightening: "You're right. And I've long suspected that the black-faced man was hiding in the city, otherwise why would those villagers be attacked as soon as they left the city?"

"If it's really as you said, he is in the dark and we are in the light, so our future actions will be very passive." There was a hint of anxiety in Ye Tingxue's tone.

"Now that things have come to this, let's go back and check on Yu Shiqi's situation. I hope to learn more about the black-faced man from her." After Yang An finished speaking, the two of them hurried back to the City Lord's Mansion.

When they arrived at the gate of the City Lord's Mansion, only a small number of villagers were still queuing up to register. Walking through the crowd, Yang An saw that Yu Shiqi, supported by her maid, was helping to distribute subsidies together with Butler Liu and comfort the sad villagers.

Although he was still thin, his spirits had improved a lot, no longer as listless as before. However, his expression was filled with worry.

When Yu Shiqi saw Yang An and Ye Tingxue return safely, the worry on Yu Shiqi's face disappeared instantly, and she waved to them with a smile.

"I heard from Butler Liu that you might have gone to capture the black-faced man. Are you okay?" Yu Shiqi stepped forward and asked with concern.

"It's okay, it's just a soul. We wanted to intercept and kill the villagers who were returning, but we dispersed them. How are you? Why don't you rest for a while?" Ye Tingxue said.

"I'm fine. I'm just a little weak because I haven't eaten or absorbed spiritual energy for many days. Come on, let's go in and talk." Yu Shiqi pulled Ye Tingxue up and walked towards the mansion.

Arriving at the reception room, after everyone sat down, Ye Tingxue couldn't wait to ask, "City Lord Yushi, can you tell me about your encounter with the black-faced man? Was it his real body or his spirit that hurt you?"

The concubine of the Rain Master thought for a moment, then said unwillingly, "The other day I was visiting a village near the site of a previous beast attack, and I happened to see that black-faced man wandering around the village. He looked suspicious, so I approached him to ask, but he attacked me without a word."

"I've heard of the soul you mentioned. Its combat power is less than one-tenth of my own. It was definitely not the soul that injured me. That black-faced man fought with me for a long time. If he hadn't used his strange magic weapon at the end, I would have defeated him."

"What kind of magic weapon does he use?" Yang An asked.

"It was a banner, with black air coming out of it, which was very strange. Once the banner was sacrificed, my red and green snakes instantly lost their combat effectiveness." Yu Shiqi recalled.

"It's the Soul-Killing Banner! He drives away ferocious beasts and kills humans just to refine the Soul-Killing Banner. It's so despicable!" Ye Tingxue said angrily, baring his fangs.

"What is the Soul-Killing Banner?" Yu Shiqi asked curiously.

"I also heard from my master that the Soul-Slaying Banner was created by a genius named Yu Yuan from the Yu family on Penglai Island in the East China Sea. It was originally created to deal with unexpectedly born evil spirits. It is a powerful magical weapon second only to my master's Demon-Summoning Banner. Because of the power of the Soul-Slaying Banner, the prestige of the Yu family has continued to rise, and they even have the potential to rival the Eastern Wilderness Wood Sect."

"Until a Yu family patriarch named Yu Hua inherited the Soul-Slaying Banner. He unexpectedly discovered that the Soul-Slaying Banner's power would be greatly enhanced after absorbing human souls. Unwilling to allow the Yu family to continue to remain isolated, he used the Soul-Slaying Banner to slaughter demons and human cultivators, absorbing their souls in an attempt to rule over the entire Eastern Wilderness."

"In the end, he was killed by Donghuang Taiyi above the East China Sea, and even the entire Yu family was wiped out. The Soul-Slaying Banner was handed over to Di Jun by Donghuang Taiyi, and was destroyed using the Golden Crow's true sun fire." Ye Tingxue narrated slowly.

"Could it be that the black-faced man is the remnant of the Yu family?" Yu Shiqi guessed.

"Those are all things from the ancient times. Whether anyone survived or not, only Donghuang Taiyi's generation knows." Ye Tingxue shook his head helplessly.

"Since the Yu family failed once, is there any way to restrain the Soul-Slaying Banner?" Yang An asked.

"Master didn't say, but I think the Sun's True Fire that destroyed the Soul-Slaying Banner and the True Dragon Power of Donghuang Taiyi that defeated Yu Hua may have the ability to restrain it. I wonder if my Heavenly Soul Body can fight against such a huge number of souls." Ye Tingxue was worried.

"My power of chaos is difficult to deal with something as intangible as the soul. It seems that the opponent this time is more difficult." Yang An frowned.

"It's my turn to protect you this time." Ye Tingxue said with a smile, patting his chest.