The ghost fog rolled in, its mighty momentum had already caught the attention of the zombies within the community.
However, as the sun hadn't completely set, the zombies didn't take action immediately.
Lu Yan remained unfazed, striding towards the center of the community.
As the first building fell within the ghost fog's range, the number of vengeful spirits released within had already reached seventy.
A massive number of vengeful spirits surged into the building, reaping over two hundred common zombies within mere seconds.
An extraordinary zombie at the mid-stage of Qi Cultivation let out a shocked roar, but from within the void shrouded by darkness, dozens of ghost claws pierced into its body.
The extraordinary power protecting its soul shattered almost instantly; the attacks of dozens of vengeful spirits at the second level of Qi Cultivation were simply irresistible for a mere mid-stage extraordinary zombie.
Its soul was extracted in an instant, sent into the rolling ghost fog to begin the refinement ritual.
The entire process lasted even less than ten seconds, all the zombies were cleared, leaving behind only stark white bones and souls under refinement.
Lu Yan's steps didn't pause, he continued walking towards Building No. 7 at the very center.
He was like Death wandering within the ghost fog, with every step he took, a large number of zombies were reaped, leaving behind a field of wandering souls waiting to be refined by the Soul Banner.
Inside Building No. 7, the extraordinary zombie of Qi Cultivation peak—Blood Mustache—had not even had time to react, and all the zombies within the community had already perished, leaving only Building No. 7 which had not yet fallen within the ghost fog's range.
"Roar!!!"
Blood Mustache instantly flew into a rage, the massive deaths of his zombie underlings reminding him of the previous incidents in the community.
"It's that thief!"
In his fury, Blood Mustache ignored the scorching sunlight outside, his many blood tendrils dancing madly as he charged towards the dense ghost fog.
Lu Yan saw only a fleeting shadow, as Blood Mustache stepped into the ghost fog, his surroundings began to emit a glow resembling moonlight.
Dozens of vengeful spirits charged at Blood Mustache but were all repelled by the extraordinary power surrounding him, within seconds they were already close to Lu Yan.
Lu Yan could even smell the rotting stench on Blood Mustache, see the tentacles formed by his twisted flesh, yet Lu Yan's expression remained calm.
"Boom!!!"
A thunderous crash sounded just over thirty meters from Lu Yan, like a landslide, the large stretch of ground was upheaved, forcibly creating a deep pit in place.
Blocking Blood Mustache's path stood a towering figure, like a solid wall, it was the Soul Banner Master Soul Warrior!
Benefiting from the warrior's loyal help in suppressing the backlash of vengeful spirits, after resolving the crisis, Lu Yan had put considerable effort into nurturing him. The zombie wandering souls that the Soul Banner hadn't time to refine all fell into the warrior's maw.
Compared to before, the warrior had grown nearly twice as tall, with a body exceeding four meters clad in pitch-black armor resembling a Dharma Guardian General; his cultivation had reached the sixth level of Qi Cultivation, a mere step away from entering the late stage.
Amidst the ghost fog of the Soul Banner, as the primary soul, the warrior could receive the blessing from the top-grade magical artifact, coupled with the defensive Ghost Armor Technique could fend off Blood Mustache's attacks.
Successfully obstructing Blood Mustache, dozens more vengeful spirits flew out from the Soul Banner, while Lu Yan gripped a Spirit Stone in his hand to replenish the consumed magical power to maintain the vengeful spirits' existence.
The overwhelming vengeful spirits inundated Blood Mustache instantly, with over a hundred ghost claws stabbing into his body at each moment, the extraordinary power shielding his soul dimmed visibly.
"Many ants can bite an elephant to death" was fully realized at this moment, and what's more, even though the vengeful spirits were at the second level of Qi Cultivation and not as strong as Blood Mustache, they were by no means insignificant.
Blood Mustache finally felt an unprecedented fear.
The extraordinary power around him exploded instantly, blasting away a large number of vengeful spirits, and Blood Mustache rapidly fled towards Building No. 7.
Accompanied by a roar from Blood Mustache's mouth, hundreds of zombies poured out from within Building No. 7, the only remaining zombies in the community.
Just as the zombies appeared, the twisted flesh tendrils behind Blood Mustache flew, piercing into the bodies of those zombies.
Corpse after corpse was strung together by his blood tendrils, forming a super giant zombie composed of interlocked remains, its body over twenty meters tall.
"What kind of extraordinary ability is this?"
Lu Yan's pupils trembled, revealing a shocked expression for the first time.
He could clearly sense that this super giant zombie was not just an empty shell, at the moment of its formation, Blood Mustache's peak Qi Cultivation breath was faintly breaking through towards the Foundation Establishment Stage.
"I absolutely cannot let him breakthrough!"
Lu Yan's expression turned grave, over two hundred vengeful spirits poured out of the Soul Banner, and the ghost fog spread to engulf the super giant zombie.
The warrior ahead showed a ferocious expression, his black armor flickered with a cold light, and in the next moment, all vengeful spirits were donned with a faint armor.
Talent Skill: Ghost Armor Skill!
Empowered by the Ghost Armor Skill, over two hundred vengeful spirits charged at the super giant zombie.
The massive handpiece of the super giant zombie formed of corpses lifted, the extraordinary power atop it as solid as substance, crashing down upon the vengeful spirits, causing the old buildings to collapse under the extraordinary power.
The next moment, piercing cries exploded through the air, the ghost fog inside resembled a purgatory.
The wail of one vengeful spirit might only frighten common folk, but the simultaneous wails of over two hundred vengeful spirits were enough to shatter the soul of a late-stage Qi Cultivation expert, even causing the super giant zombie's movements to halt momentarily.
In just an instant, over two hundred vengeful spirits had latched onto the super giant zombie, their sharp ghost claws trying to pierce through Blood Mustache's surrounding extraordinary power.
But at this moment, Blood Mustache revealed a sly smile, the dense extraordinary power on the twisted tentacles surged again, engulfing the leading two vengeful spirits.
The remaining vengeful spirits were also blasted away, had it not been for the protective Ghost Armor Technique, that single attack would have been enough to annihilate dozens of vengeful spirits.
Lu Yan's eyes flickered, and he turned to command:
"Do not attack the extraordinary zombie, separate the souls of those ordinary zombies!"
Upon his words, numerous vengeful spirits broke away from the blood tendrils' pursuit, swarming like locusts into the body of the super giant zombie, their ghost claws hooked and separated countless zombie souls, transforming them into decayed white bones.
Blood Mustache attempted to stop it in terror, but he found that there were simply too many of these vengeful spirits, and they could ignore physical attacks, the extraordinary power he could muster alone was utterly unable to stop them.
As more zombies turned into white bones, the massive super giant zombie collapsed like a construct made of blocks, and without external support, over two hundred ghost claws pierced into Blood Mustache's body.
A ferociously looking zombie soul was forcibly extracted from its body, the rotten flesh crumbling into stark white bones.
Lu Yan put down the second Spirit Stone that had been drained dry, and waved to retract most of the vengeful spirits.
Only the warrior, holding the Blood Mustache zombie soul in both hands, respectfully presented it to Lu Yan.
The ghost fog began to contract, engulfing the Blood Mustache zombie soul, the primary soul refinement had begun.
The sky gradually darkened, and as the rising moon ascended, the Soul Banner in Lu Yan's hand began its final transformation.
The banner surface seemed woven from the night itself, with golden threads outlining the Night Parade of Hundred Demons Scroll, on either side of the Soul Banner hung two evil ghost statues shrunk dozens of times as if decorations.
One had a blue face and sharp teeth, its body robust like a Dharma Guardian General.
The other was draped in a blood robe with shadowy figures swarming, as if fused with countless ghostly beings.
Both evil ghost statues kept their eyes closed, as if in slumber.
A spiritual light from the moonlight descended upon the magical artifact, as the evil ghost statues opened their eyes and spiritual essence began to bloom within them.
The supreme magical artifact, the Hundred Souls Banner, is complete!