Qin Shou was completely dumbfounded.
His Dao Protector—
A Ninth-Layer Golden Core cultivator—
Had actually been killed in a single strike.
Instantly.
How was that possible?
Who exactly was this person?
Why was someone so terrifying hiding in this godforsaken place?
In his previous life, he had investigated Chu Yuli for years.
Never once had he heard of her having a master.
Not once.
Mo Yu slowly turned around.
His cold gaze settled upon Qin Shou.
The moment their eyes met, Qin Shou shuddered.
His body instinctively tried to retreat.
However, the instant he moved, an invisible pressure descended upon him.
The fear of death surged through his body like a tidal wave.
His face turned pale.
In his despair, a trace of madness flashed through his eyes.
"You forced my hand!"
"If I'm going to die, then we'll die together!"
He gritted his teeth and swallowed a blood-red medicinal pill.
Boom!
The seal Mo Yu had placed on him shattered instantly.
Without hesitation, Qin Shou summoned the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.
Using the banner itself as fuel, he activated a forbidden secret art that drastically increased the strength of the souls imprisoned within.
The black banner cloth began to burn.
A pungent smell of scorched flesh filled the air.
Amid the crackling flames came countless shrill screams.
It sounded like thousands of vengeful ghosts wailing in agony.
The next moment—
Thousands upon thousands of resentful souls burst forth from the burning banner.
They filled the sky like a black tide.
Dense.
Endless.
Like a swarm of locusts blotting out the heavens.
Cold winds howled.
Ghosts wailed.
Wolves howled.
The chilling sounds made one's scalp go numb.
Chu Yuli's face turned pale.
Instinctively, she retreated behind Mo Yu.
True Monarch Xuanfeng's expression changed drastically.
"It's a Ten Thousand Soul Banner!"
"Damn it!"
"The leading banner spirit has already reached the Nascent Soul Realm!"
His face became increasingly grim.
Then he looked toward Mo Yu.
"Fellow Daoist, if we join forces, perhaps we still have a chance to escape."
"If I can return to the villa and report this matter, reinforcements will arrive and eliminate this evil cultivator."
Mo Yu remained silent.
His eyes calmly watched the sea of resentful souls surging across the sky.
He hated evil cultivators.
Deeply.
In this life, the people who had taken him in and cared for him had all died at the hands of evil cultivators.
As far as he was concerned—
Every last one of them deserved to die.
Without the restraint of the banner, the countless resentful souls immediately locked onto the three living beings present.
Carrying chilling Yin Qi that seemed capable of freezing blood itself, they lunged forward.
"Fellow Daoist!"
True Monarch Xuanfeng urged anxiously.
Mo Yu finally spoke.
"No need."
Xuanfeng froze.
For a moment, he thought Mo Yu had given up resisting.
Then—
Mo Yu casually flicked his finger.
A tiny strand of pale-white flame drifted into the sea of souls.
The moment it landed—
Boom!
The flame exploded outward.
In an instant, it transformed into an endless ocean of white fire.
The sea of flames swept across the sky.
Countless resentful souls were engulfed.
Yet strangely, they did not scream in pain.
Instead, they released long sighs of relief.
As though they had finally found liberation.
One by one, the souls transformed into specks of spiritual light before peacefully dissipating between heaven and earth.
Meanwhile, Mo Yu silently observed the Nether Ghost Fire.
After devouring such a massive number of resentful souls, its strength had increased tremendously.
When he first obtained it, it was roughly equivalent to the Core Formation Realm.
Now—
It had already reached the Nascent Soul level.
Not bad.
Very not bad.
True Monarch Xuanfeng stood there completely stunned.
His mouth hung open wide enough to fit an egg.
Is this something a Golden Core cultivator can do?
Could the Nascent Soul Realm Villa Master of Xuanjian Villa accomplish this?
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible.
The young man before him was definitely a Nascent Soul cultivator.
Perhaps even—
A Late stage Nascent Soul Realm powerhouse.
At that moment, Mo Yu's calm voice sounded.
"Fellow Daoist, I have a few questions for this person."
Xuanfeng immediately understood.
He cupped his fists respectfully.
"Senior, this junior is an elder of Xuanjian Villa."
"If Senior is interested, you are welcome to visit our villa as an honored guest."
The moment he finished speaking, he transformed into a streak of light and fled into the distance.
In the blink of an eye, he vanished beyond the horizon.
He wasn't stupid.
What if he accidentally learned something he shouldn't know?
That would be a disaster.
Watching him flee so decisively, Mo Yu couldn't help but admire him slightly.
A wise man survives longer.
He then walked toward Qin Shou.
"Answer my previous question."
His voice was calm.
"Why did you try to harm my disciple?"
Qin Shou's entire body trembled violently.
Cold sweat soaked his robes.
The Nascent Soul banner spirit he had relied upon as his greatest trump card had been erased as easily as dust.
His legs gave out beneath him.
Thud!
He fell to his knees.
His forehead slammed against the ground.
"Senior!"
"This junior is actually a reborn individual!"
"I didn't want to kill her!"
"But hundreds of years from now, she will kill me!"
"So I acted first!"
His voice trembled violently.
"Senior, please spare my life!"
"I am willing to serve you like a dog or horse!"
Mo Yu frowned slightly.
"A reborn individual?"
He silently asked the System.
"System, are you sure he isn't a Child of Destiny?"
The System immediately replied:
[A Child of Destiny is not something any random cat or dog can become.]
[He's far too trash.]
Mo Yu: "..."
Even with a rebirth cheat, he wasn't qualified to be a Child of Destiny?
That was genuinely impressive.
At that moment, Yan Xi's clear and melodious voice echoed from the ring.
"Little Yu."
"I think I know what he means."
Mo Yu raised an eyebrow.
"Sister Yan Xi, you know?"
Yan Xi nodded.
"I once saw records concerning this phenomenon in the Immortal Realm."
Her crimson eyes flickered slightly as though recalling an ancient memory.
"The Nine-Leaf Fate Grass."
"An immortal plant born in response to a great heavenly calamity."
"It possesses nine leaves."
"Each leaf allows one person to glimpse the future."
"The person with the greatest destiny among the nine will shoulder the responsibility of saving the world."
"They also see the farthest into the future."
Her gaze landed on Qin Shou.
"He should be one of those nine people."
"But clearly..."
"He isn't the chosen one."
Mo Yu immediately understood.
So that was the explanation.
His so-called rebirth wasn't actually rebirth at all.
He had merely glimpsed a future timeline.
As for the true Child of Destiny among the nine...
That was another matter entirely.
Regarding some future world-ending calamity—
Mo Yu couldn't care less.
Who knew how many centuries away that would be?
Future problems belonged to Future Mo Yu.
Present Mo Yu only dealt with present problems.
His gaze returned to Qin Shou.
A thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.
If he could access this guy's memories...
Then he could discover the opportunities Chu Yuli would obtain in the future.
And intercept them first.
Perfect.
With a flick of his sleeve, he summoned his treasure.
The Ten Thousand Soul Banner—
No.
Wrong.
The Human Emperor Banner.
An ancient black banner appeared out of thin air.
Purple Qi swirled across its surface.
Cold winds howled around it.
A terrifying aura spread outward, causing one's heart to tremble involuntarily.
The Human Emperor Banner possessed countless wondrous abilities.
One of them was extracting fragments of memory from captured souls.
Only fragments.
But that was more than enough.
The moment Qin Shou saw the banner, his face changed dramatically.
After all, he himself had cultivated a Ten Thousand Soul Banner.
How could he not understand Mo Yu's intentions?
He immediately began kowtowing frantically.
"Senior!"
"No matter what you ask, I'll tell you everything!"
"But soul-searching won't let you obtain all my memories!"
"I'll cooperate!"
"I'll cooperate completely!"
Mo Yu smiled faintly.
"I don't care."
"Evil cultivators deserve to die."
"Besides..."
"If I let you live, I'm afraid I wouldn't sleep well at night."
The Human Emperor Banner slowly rose into the air.
Qin Shou's pupils contracted violently.
The fear of death overwhelmed him.
"Wait!"
"My grandfather is a Soul Transformation Realm cultivator!"
"You can't kill me!"
Mo Yu paused.
"Soul transformation?"
A trace of amusement appeared in his eyes.
Seeing this, Qin Shou hurriedly shouted:
"That's right!"
"If you kill me, my grandfather will definitely hunt you down!"
Mo Yu fell silent.
His fingers lightly tapped against the banner pole.
As though genuinely considering the consequences.
Seeing this, confidence slowly returned to Qin Shou's eyes.
Just as he was about to continue persuading him—
The corners of Mo Yu's lips suddenly curved upward.
"Very well."
"As you wish."
Qin Shou froze.
What?
The next moment—
The Human Emperor Banner fluttered violently.
Black Qi surged across its surface.
An overwhelming suction force erupted.
"NO—!"
Qin Shou only managed half a scream before his soul was forcibly extracted.
In an instant, he was sucked into the banner and refined.
Silence returned.
Mo Yu licked his lips.
His smile became increasingly pleasant.
"Soul transformation cultivator?"
"I like these buy-one-get-one-free deals the most."
At that moment, Yan Xi's curious voice sounded once more.
"Little Yu."
"Where did you get that soul banner?"
Her gaze remained fixed upon the Human Emperor Banner.
There was something strange about it.
Something familiar.
Something impossible.
For a fleeting moment, she thought she sensed a trace of...
Grandmist Violet Qi.
Then she immediately dismissed the idea.
Who in their right mind would use Grandmist Violet Qi—
A supreme treasure coveted by immortals—
To refine a soul-devouring banner?
That would be utterly absurd.