Vivid mountains and rivers swirled across its surface as light flowed, solidifying the illusory seal until it seemed like a true mountain falling from the sky.

The crushing pressure rushing toward him made Chi Huo Old Ghost’s chest tighten, leaving him breathless.

He instinctively wrapped himself in the great crimson banner, while the other two frantically took out their Magical Artifacts, Talismans, and Secret Treasures, attempting to find a sliver of a chance at survival beneath the descending seal.

BOOM—

The great seal crashed down without mercy. A sickening CRACK echoed out as the Foundation Establishment Early Stage Cultivator’s Protective Spiritual Artifact was crushed to smithereens.

"No... don’t... Leader, save me..."

He screamed frantically, hoping his leader would come to his aid.

But no one answered his pleas and shouts. He could only watch helplessly as the great seal shattered his Protective Spiritual Gang before he exploded into a cloud of blood mist in utter despair.

He was like a praying mantis trying to stop a cart; his death failed to slow the seal’s advance in the slightest. Now tinged with a splash of fresh red, the solidified seal crashed down heavily upon Chi Huo Old Ghost and the leader of the Taotie Demon Hunting Team.

RUMBLE—

Dust and smoke billowed up over the Nameless Mountain Range. The peaks crumbled, leaving a vast, square-shaped crater in their place.

As the great seal in his palm dissipated, a flash of surprise crossed Song Changsheng’s eyes. This was the first time he had used the Mountain-Flipping Seal in actual combat, and he hadn’t expected its power to be so immense. Not only had it leveled a small hill, but it had also blasted out a crater dozens of feet deep.

If a small mountain could be so easily obliterated, the fate of the three who had faced the Mountain-Flipping Seal head-on was easy to imagine. The weakest of them, the Foundation Establishment Early Stage Cultivator, had been instantly turned into a mist of blood. The other two now lay in the crater, barely breathing.

Song Changsheng waved his sleeve, dispersing the thick smoke. He descended on his sword to the edge of the crater and gazed down upon Chi Huo Old Ghost and the leader of the Taotie Demon Hunting Team.

Both men were in a wretched state. The Spiritual Light from the crimson banner in Chi Huo Old Ghost’s hand had grown dim, and a large gash was torn through the fabric. He was embedded in the crater wall, his chest caved in, and he continuously coughed up blood and pieces of his internal organs.

The arrogance he had shown earlier was completely gone. His eyes were fixed on Song Changsheng as a rattling gurgle escaped his throat.

The Demon Hunting Team’s leader was in slightly better condition. Bronze fragments littered the ground around him—the remains of a Low-Grade Spiritual Artifact that had shattered after absorbing the brunt of the damage.

But he was a Foundation Establishment Great Perfection Cultivator, after all. Though gravely injured, he hadn’t completely lost his ability to fight. He struggled to his feet, climbing out of the man-shaped indentation in the ground.

Song Changsheng watched him without blinking. After a moment, he frowned. "I’ve never seen a Foundation Establishment Great Perfection Cultivator this weak. You’re not him, are you? Or should I say, this isn’t your real body?"

"*Cough, cough*... So you saw through it. Friend, name your terms. What will it take for you to let me go?" the blood-soaked Demon Hunting leader asked weakly.

"What, abandoning your friend? He’s still breathing, you know," Song Changsheng said with a leisurely air, folding his arms and glancing at Chi Huo Old Ghost.

"Hmph. He’s useless. What’s abandoned is abandoned. Just let me go, friend, and we can pretend today never happened. You’ll even receive a generous ransom."

As Chi Huo Old Ghost watched in despair, the Demon Hunting Team’s leader abandoned him without a second thought.

A smile touched Song Changsheng’s lips. "I can consider letting you go, but first I want to know why the Taotie Demon Hunting Team, which has always dominated the north, has come all the way down south."

The leader’s expression remained unchanged as he responded, "The northern part of the Daqi Cultivation World has become a battlefield for two Major Sects. We couldn’t make a living there anymore, so we came south."

"That sounds perfectly reasonable. But do you take me for a three-year-old? Tell me your real purpose, or you can say goodbye to this avatar of yours!" Song Changsheng’s tone was frigid, his eyes filled with killing intent.

The Demon Hunting Team leader’s expression faltered. Although this was just an avatar, he had poured a quarter of his Divine Soul into its Sea of Consciousness to make it more convincing, which was how it maintained a Foundation Establishment Great Perfection cultivation.

If this avatar were to be destroyed, he would lose a quarter of his Divine Soul. While not a fatal blow, it was still an unacceptable loss.

"Friend, are you sure you want to make an enemy of the Taotie Demon Hunting Team?" the leader said in a cold voice.

Song Changsheng glanced around, an amused look on his face. "You’re the ones who chose to make an enemy of me. Now, talk or die. You have ten breaths to decide."

"You! Fine. I’ll think about it."

The Demon Hunting Team leader frowned, pretending to consider the offer. But in the next instant, a burst of power erupted from within him, and he shot toward the barely conscious Chi Huo Old Ghost. It seemed he intended to take his former ally down with him.

’I knew you wouldn’t submit so easily.’

But Song Changsheng had been on guard the entire time; there was no way he would let the leader succeed. His form flickered, and he instantly appeared in front of Chi Huo Old Ghost. His qi and blood surged as he slowly threw a punch.

SQUELCH—

The punch caved the Demon Hunting Team leader’s chest in. His already mangled organs were instantly pulverized. The leader’s eyes bulged as he vomited a great mouthful of blood, then collapsed heavily to the ground.

A miniature, nearly transparent figure emerged from his corpse’s head. It roared with a savage expression, "You just wait! I’ll make you wish you were dead!"