Unlike regular ghostrunes, ghostrune kings weren't only limited to lifting and throwing objects. They could also directly attack one's soul. The people gripping their heads in pain had been attacked by the soul attacks of the ghostrune kings, causing them to be completely defenseless against the hail of stones.
The weakest part of any cultivator was the soul, and the moment one's soul was injured, one's mind would be affected. The effects of an injured soul varied from losing one's mind or even dying through the withering of one's soul.
The geniuses no longer dared to stay on the platform. All of them started leaving at the fastest speed they could muster. The other people on the cliff also started fleeing everywhere.
There was only a tiny path leading up the cliff, and in this situation, the path became filled with people while chaos ensued. A large number of people were pushed off, and they started falling down the cliff.
"Ahhhh!"
Screams filled the air. As for Liang Zhuangmin and Hua Honglou, they survived the calamity thanks to Xiang Shaoyun, who had dragged them off before all that happened. But that did not mean they were completely out of danger. After all, they still had to help the members of Red House and Free Society escape.
"Honglou, use your crossbow to protect our people and leave with them," said Xiang Shaoyun.
"How about you? Are you not leaving with us?" asked Hua Honglou, who sensed that Xiang Shaoyun had decided on something.
Xiang Shaoyun shook his head. "I'm not leaving. These ghostrunes won't be able to do anything to me."
"Brother Yun, this is not a joke. You have to leave with us too!" Liang Zhuangmin persuaded.
"Just trust me, big brother. I'll cover your retreat. Go," said Xiang Shaoyun firmly.
Right this moment, a large number of stones rained down on them. With the Purple Lightning Saber in hand, Xiang Shaoyun slashed repeatedly, sending numerous lightning energy sabers toward the stones, turning them into powder. But since only a small number of ghostrunes had reached this far, Xiang Shaoyun was able to protect everyone's rear all by himself.
When Liang Zhuangmin and Hua Honglou saw that Xiang Shaoyun had made up his mind, they did not dally around and immediately rushed the others to leave. But even without them rushing them, the others were already fleeing madly after witnessing what had just happened on the cliff.
Finally, a few ghostrunes arrived and surrounded Xiang Shaoyun. Instead of attacking with stones, they flapped their ghostrune wings, causing several odd light waves to ripple out around them.
Wave after wave of the rippling light spread out, and anyone who looked at them were hit with a dizzy spell. Xiang Shaoyun was no exception as he felt his vision going blurry, and even his soul was starting to be affected.
Right this moment, the Nether Dragon Soul Headband in his head activated, stabilizing his soul and helping him regain clarity. And the first thing Xiang Shaoyun saw upon regaining his clarity was a few massive boulders smashing down at him from above. He quickly dodged to the side.
Bang! Bang!
The boulders crashed into the ground, creating numerous craters as the ground shook repeatedly.
"What a close call," Xiang Shaoyun muttered. He knew the Nether Dragon Soul Headband was able to defend against all soul attacks, but even so, he was nearly hit.
"The ghostrunes have a weak physical body, but their unique attacking methods are too hard to deal with," muttered Xiang Shaoyun as he started retreating as well.
The only reason he had stayed behind was to buy more time. He had not intended to fight these ghostrunes to the death. In any case, he could already sense the location of the soul raising stone. He had to go harvest it. Moving at an astonishing speed, Xiang Shaoyun headed straight toward an important area of the ghostrunes.
Although a large number of ghostrunes had been sent to attack the humans, a large number of them still remained back home. A short while later, some ghostrunes appeared around Xiang Shaoyun. The ghostrunes did not have much variety in their attacks. They would either attack by throwing objects or by dazzling their opponents with their ghostrune wings.
Xiang Shaoyun did not fear either of these attacks. His Purple Lightning Saber was swung around madly, destroying all the objects the ghostrunes threw at him. He even took the chance to slash at the ghostrunes that couldn't escape in time.
Just like that, the ghostrunes were killed by him. After killing a few ghostrunes and scaring the rest away, he continued on his way. The escaped ghostrunes started shouting for reinforcements. Soon, a large number of ghostrunes flew over from the distance.
Xiang Shaoyun understood that if he allowed himself to be surrounded by these ghostrunes, he would definitely be dead. He might be able to defend himself against the objects thrown by a few ghostrunes, but if a few hundred ghostrunes were throwing objects at him at the same time, even if he wasn't killed by the thrown objects, he would be killed by exhaustion.
Left with no choice, Xiang Shaoyun activated his White Tiger Wings and shot away like an arrow let loose from a bow. In his optimal condition, he could fly at a speed comparable to even Kings. Thus, regular ghostrunes would not be able to match his speed.
With his Nether Soul Domain, he constantly sensed the area in front of him, allowing him to know about any obstacles he might encounter. But since he was already very close to the ghostrunes' home, it was practically impossible to continue advancing without encountering any ghostrunes. Ghostrunes kept appearing everywhere, all of them attacking him without mercy.
Unfortunately, their ghostrune wings seemed ineffective against Xiang Shaoyun. They were also weak in close combat, and it did not take long for a few dozen ghostrunes to die under his saber. He did not waste any time and moved on the moment there was an opening.
The other ghostrunes were about to give chase when a ghostrune king arrived and said, "Leave. I will deal with this human."
He was speaking the ghostrune language. Thus, only the ghostrunes understood what he said. With one command, the massive number of ghostrunes retreated like a receding tide. Then, the ghostrune king flew toward Xiang Shaoyun at an incredibly fast speed. This ghostrune king had a high cultivation level, and it did not take him long to catch up.
"Human, for intruding upon my race's forbidden area, die!" the ghostrune said to Xiang Shaoyun through soul transmission.
"Oh, this is your race's forbidden area? Great! Now you got me even more curious!" replied Xiang Shaoyun.
"You are really seeking death. Very well. Die!" said the ghostrune king with a nasty smile before blasting an incorporeal force of soul power toward Xiang Shaoyun's head.
Soul power had no shape or form and was very hard to detect. Only one with a sufficiently sensitive soul would be able to sense it. As for Xiang Shaoyun, he was able to sense the soul power through the Nether Dragon Soul Headband. Thus, he did not need to fear soul attacks.
Right after the soul power entered Xiang Shaoyun's head, the Nether Dragon Soul Headband completely stopped it before it could even do any harm to him. But Xiang Shaoyun still pretended to be hit, and he fell from the sky, gripping his head and wailing.
The ghostrune king smiled smugly and said, "Nobody can stop the innate ability of the ghostrunes."
After saying that, he lifted a stone spike and threw it at Xiang Shaoyun.