There were tens of thousands of ghostrunes residing at their heartland. The sheer amount of them was enough to kill off all the humans here if they so wished. Fortunately for the humans, the ghostrunes rarely left their home and would only send small groups out to deal with the humans most of the time.
The reason for that was because they loved the aura drifting about in their home environment, and they enjoyed staying in their territory. Although Xiang Shaoyun was heading deep into their heartland, he wasn't exactly confident he could face the massive army of ghostrunes there.
The only reason he even dared penetrate so deeply was thanks to Devouring Ghost he now had in his head. The ghostrunes had weak physiques, but their souls were powerful enough to protect themselves.
The moment Xiang Shaoyun approached the heartland, a large number of ghostrunes flew toward him. They attacked directly, sending numerous rocks and trees flying toward Xiang Shaoyun.
"I still haven't fought enough, so a fight is always welcomed!" said Xiang Shaoyun with a surging battle intent.
If the Myriad Sword Sect and Devil Blood Society people heard this, they would probably curse him because if he hadn't fought enough, why had he fled from them? In truth, Xiang Shaoyun did not flee because he was scared. He simply did not want to waste any time on them.
He had been in here for about half a month, and the time to leave was approaching. He had to make use of the remaining time to look for a soul raising stone. That was why he had decided to run and charged straight into the heartland of the ghostrunes.
Xiang Shaoyun was not intending to fight these ghostrunes on land. A pair of wings sprouted from his back, and with a flap of those wings, he shot to the sky before attacking with his fists. Two purple dragons flew out and shot toward the ghostrunes.
Rumble! Rumble!
The dragons wreaked havoc, turning numerous rocks and trees into powder. The lightning attack of the dragons would either seriously injure or outright kill any ghostrunes they touched. Xiang Shaoyun no longer held anything back as he flew about and punched repeatedly, sending one purple dragon after another flying from his fists, filling the area with lightning attacks.
The ghostrunes that had welcomed him did not have high cultivation levels, and all of them ended up dead under Xiang Shaoyun's continuous attack. After killing the ghostrunes, Xiang Shaoyun dissolved some spirit crystals within his astral cosmos sea to replenish his energy. It was then that he noticed the increase in his cultivation. The ninth-stage was getting nearer and nearer.
Looks like continuous battles are really helpful. I need to reach the ninth-stage before leaving this place, Xiang Shaoyun decided.
Just as he was about to continue his journey, even more ghostrunes appeared. Their greatest advantages were their ability to attack from afar with soul power and their ability to fly. However, their weakness was very clear as well—their poor ability to defend.
As Xiang Shaoyun could both block the soul attacks of the ghostrunes and fly, the ghostrunes held no superiority over him. The only thing they could do was die. He fought ferociously, charging straight into the midst of the ghostrunes with a flap of his wings. He punched relentlessly, sending the power of lightning and vicious gold everywhere through his fists. The ghostrunes had no way of defending themselves against him, and just one punch was enough to kill a ghostrune when hit.
Their specialty of throwing attacks were completely nullified, as Xiang Shaoyun was flying in their midst. Whenever they attacked, it was very easy for them to harm their own companions instead. Just like that, another group of ghostrunes were defeated.
"Human, you are getting too cocky. You dare intrude on our territory?" shouted a newly arrived ghostrune king.
The ghostrune king immediately unleashed a soul attack by forming a soul formation with his soul power. Soul attacks had never failed this ghostrune king before, but this time, he failed.
"Your soul power is useless against me," said Xiang Shaoyun with a sneer. He flapped his wings and charged at the ghostrune king before jabbing with his finger.
Triple Star Destroying Finger!
Instantly, he jabbed three consecutive times, sending three beams of finger energy forward. Strands of flame energy were suffused in the beams shooting toward the ghostrune king.
Flapping his ghostrune wings, the ghostrune king avoided Xiang Shaoyun's attack. At the same time, strands of unique power spread out of his wings as he tried to daze Xiang Shaoyun's mind.
Unfortunately for the ghostrune king, Xiang Shaoyun was completely immune to the bedazzlement attack as well. Xiang Shaoyun closed in on the ghostrune king and sent out a few punches. However, the ghostrune king was not the same as a regular ghostrune. He had much faster reaction time and was able to keep avoiding Xiang Shaoyun's attacks. Even as he moved about to dodge the attacks, he still had the time to lift more objects before slamming them at Xiang Shaoyun.
"You are not as stupid as the others, but you won't be able to escape death," Xiang Shaoyun sneered. He unleashed all his strength and drew his Purple Lightning Saber before sending a saber energy that turned into a bolt of lightning shooting at the ghostrune king.
Again, the ghostrune king avoided the attack. But would he be able to keep it up? Xiang Shaoyun started slashing his saber madly, innate purple lightning suffused in each of the saber energies he sent out, making each of the attacks incomparably dreadful. After dodging a few attacks in a row, the ghostrune king was finally hit.
The power of lightning was merciless, instantly scorching the ghostrune king’s body black. He started dropping from the sky. Xiang Shaoyun pressed on with another slash, cutting the ghostrune king into two.
But before Xiang Shaoyun could even celebrate the victory, about a dozen ghostrune kings appeared and surrounded him. They attacked him with both soul attacks and telekinetic attacks, with the rocks and trees sent by the telekinetic attacks posing the biggest threat to him.
The similar sensation as to when he was in the limit rooms returned to him. He was forced into a defensive position where failure would result in death. In a way, this intense situation squeezed more potential out of him.
"Come! This will be a good training session!" Xiang Shaoyun bellowed madly before fully focusing on defending himself. A golden energy barrier formed around him, the dragon and tiger around him roared repeatedly, and his saber was swung again and again to parry the incoming attacks.
Lightning energy splashed everywhere, and rumbling thunderclaps reverberated throughout the area. But being on the defensive for too long would always lead to an eventual defeat. Xiang Shaoyun was able to block most of the incoming attacks, but he still missed some as they crashed mercilessly into him.
Bang! Bang!