Heh heh…
Suddenly, a creepy and sinister laughter that sent shivers down the spine sounded from up ahead. The sound was dripping with malice as it echoed through the valley.
Ye Yunfei's gaze swept forward, discovering that the laughter was coming from a patch of pitch-black woods.
The woods were filled with trees of deep black. These trees weren't very tall, roughly two to three meters high, entwined with wisps of dark mist. Occasionally, a few ethereal shadows would flash among the trees and disappear, making the place appear ghostly and malevolent.
Heh heh…
Vaguely, one eerie laughter after another, each carrying endless malevolence, continuously emanated from that stretch of dark woods.
This laughter contained a bizarre type of law that could affect the Soul Body.
Upon hearing it, a person's Soul Body would become affected, swaying and trembling as if trying to break free from the body. From the depths of the heart, a sense of dread would be born.
The impact on Ye Yunfei, Hu Miao, and Huang Shang upon hearing the eerie laughter from the woods wasn't too severe, at least for now.
However, the five students couldn't withstand it. Each of their faces showed expressions of terror, their bodies swaying unsteadily. The Soul Bodies within their Soul Seas were like drunks, stumbling and wavering.
With a thought, Ye Yunfei released a strand of Soul Power, enveloping the five students.
Immediately, the five students regained their clarity.
"So close! Just now, my Soul Body felt like it was about to leave my Soul Sea and fly towards those woods!"
"Me too!"
The five students were still shaken, recalling their recent experience.
"Master, it seems there really are ghosts! This ghostly sound has a hallucinatory effect on Soul Bodies," Hu Miao couldn't help but say to Ye Yunfei.
"What's there to fear? Senior Huang is a ghost himself. Moreover, he's an advanced ghost who knows cultivation," Ye Yunfei said with a smile.
Ghost cultivators were, in a certain sense, ghosts themselves!
"That's Yin Wood! And so much of it!" Suddenly, Ye Yunfei recognized the origins of that pitch-black woodland.
"Senior Huang, this is Yin Wood, perfect for you!" Ye Yunfei immediately said to Huang Shang.
Yin Wood contained vast amounts of yin energy and was a precious treasure for ghost cultivators.
"Indeed, I can sense it too. These trees seem to offer tremendous benefits to my cultivation!" Huang Shang was also staring at the patch of pitch-black woods, his eyes gleaming.
"Let's go. We'll head over and cut down all this wood," Ye Yunfei said, stepping towards the dark woods.
"Be careful. There's definitely something strange about these woods," Huang Shang warned.
No sooner had Huang Shang's words fallen.
Whoosh!
A dark shadow had already rushed out from the pitch-black woods, lunging towards Ye Yunfei like lightning.
It was a monster with a flickering, indistinct form, its body constantly twisting. It didn't seem like a solid entity, but more like a pitch-black shadow!
"A Soul Devouring Beast!" Ye Yunfei couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
Soul Devouring Beasts were extremely rare and unusual demonic beasts. They specialized in feeding on the Soul Bodies and Soul Power energy of living beings, making them terrifyingly bizarre creatures.
"Excellent. The bodies of Soul Devouring Beasts contain vast amounts of Soul Power!" Ye Yunfei stared at the shadow lunging towards him, his eyes glowing.
Although these Soul Devouring Beasts were bizarre and terrifying, for Ye Yunfei, they were rare treasures!
Whoosh!
With a thought, Ye Yunfei summoned the Heavenly Soul Sword, sending it to strike the approaching Soul Devouring Beast.
Gwaaa...
The Soul Devouring Beast, struck by the Heavenly Soul Sword, let out a shrill cry and swiftly retreated. Its body had been pierced by a hole from the Heavenly Soul Sword, yet it still moved freely.
Seeing this, Ye Yunfei frowned slightly.
It seemed this Soul Devouring Beast would be difficult to deal with. At his current Soul Power level, even the Heavenly Soul Sword he wielded had only managed to injure this beast!
Right at that moment.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
From that patch of Yin Wood, Soul Devouring Beasts began to surge out one after another. For a moment, yin mists churned, and a fierce, baleful aura pervaded the air.
At the very least, there were hundreds!
Their gazes were filled with deep resentment, staring fixedly at Ye Yunfei and his group as if confronting bitter enemies, pouncing over in a frenzy.
Heh heh…
All the Soul Devouring Beasts were constantly emitting waves of eerie, sinister laughter. This laughter carried a powerful offensive effect against Soul Bodies.
Aah! Aah!
The five students immediately grabbed their heads and screamed in agony, looking utterly tortured. Even Hu Miao and Huang Shang were affected, struggling as they mobilized their Soul Power to resist the strange laughter.
With a thought, Ye Yunfei transferred Hu Miao, Huang Shang, and the five students into the Illusory Shadow Pagoda.
"Alright, let's see just what you beasts are capable of!" Ye Yunfei sneered.
In the next moment, Ye Yunfei activated the Heavenly Shadow Robe and continuously executed movement techniques, dodging the lunges of the Soul Devouring Beasts.
Though the bodies of these beasts were ethereal, their clawed paws appeared sharp and fearsome, gleaming darkly. Every lunge tore through the air, shadows of claws swirling with chilling intent.
However, Ye Yunfei's movement speed surpassed theirs, allowing him to evade them easily.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Ye Yunfei continuously wielded the Heavenly Soul Sword, attacking the Soul Devouring Beasts.
The Heavenly Soul Sword's attack speed was extreme, capable of striking hundreds of times within a single breath!
Each time the Heavenly Soul Sword struck one of the beasts, its body would be pierced by another hole, and its aura would noticeably weaken.
"These Soul Devouring Beasts are truly difficult to deal with." Ye Yunfei couldn't help but shake his head with a bitter smile.
He knew very well that if it weren't for his formidable Soul Power and mastery of an advanced Soul Power martial skill like the Heavenly Soul Sword, facing so many Soul Devouring Beasts, he would certainly lose.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
What secretly shocked Ye Yunfei was that during the fight, even more Soul Devouring Beasts rushed out from that patch of dark woods, launching a frenzied assault on him.
In the end, the number of Soul Devouring Beasts approached a thousand!
This gave Ye Yunfei a severe headache!
However, Ye Yunfei had also hardened his resolve. Regardless of the cost, he tirelessly unleashed the Heavenly Soul Sword, launching frenzied attacks on the Soul Devouring Beasts.
Their bodies were continuously punctured with holes by the Heavenly Soul Sword, yet the vitality of these beasts was astounding. To them, these wounds seemed like mere scratches!
Gradually, due to the enormous consumption of Soul Power, Ye Yunfei began to feel dizzy and disoriented, his head spinning.
His Soul Body had become significantly weaker.
"Luckily, before coming to the Divine Fall Land, I prepared a fair number of Dao Pills specifically for replenishing Soul Power."
With a wave of his hand, Ye Yunfei retrieved over a dozen jade bottles from his spatial ring. Opening all the lids at once, he opened his mouth and inhaled.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Pills flew one after another into Ye Yunfei's mouth.
Rumble! Rumble!
Waves of potent medicinal energy erupted within Ye Yunfei's body. Only then did his Soul Body feel much better.
After half an hour had passed.
Finally, Ye Yunfei noticed that some of the Soul Devouring Beasts were beginning to falter, their auras growing faint and weak, breathing their last.
"Hah! Have you beasts finally had enough?! Now it's my turn to attack you!" Ye Yunfei exclaimed joyfully.
Whoosh!
Ye Yunfei's figure flashed, and with a grab of his hand, he seized one of the Soul Devouring Beasts.
The beast, now feeble and on the brink of death, offered no resistance.
"Devour!" Ye Yunfei activated a technique specifically designed to absorb Soul Force Energy.
Huu!
Immediately, the Soul Force Energy contained within the Soul Devouring Beast was continuously absorbed by Ye Yunfei and transmitted into his Soul Sea.