Chapter 890 - 394: Demonic Objective, Guessing Identity

Since the Righteous Demon war began, Nascent Soul battles had broken out almost every year. Yet, thus far, very few Nascent Soul True Monarchs had actually perished. This was simply because Nascent Souls were notoriously difficult to intercept. In Qian Shi’s eyes, even if a few more Righteous Dao True Monarchs joined the siege, they wouldn’t be able to stop his Nascent Soul from escaping.

"Lin Fan, I will remember today’s grudge!" Leaving behind a few harsh words, he flew toward the horizon, intending to find a suitable disciple to possess.

But in the very next instant, he suddenly crashed into a massive net.

"Oh no!" Qian Shi True Monarch’s expression drastically changed. He never imagined that Li Chang’an would possess a Treasure specifically designed to target Nascent Souls.

"What is this thing? Why can it block my Nascent Soul?" He struggled with all his might. His entire Nascent Soul glowed as he attempted to break through the large net.

But with a name like the Trapped Soul Net, how could it let him break free so easily? After several failed attempts, an ominous premonition swelled in Qian Shi’s heart.

He thought, "No, I still have hundreds of years of lifespan left! I absolutely cannot fall here!" Steeling his resolve, he continued to burn his lifespan and squeezed out the origin essence of his Nascent Soul, striking the Trapped Soul Net at all costs.

In a flash, his Nascent Soul radiated a dazzling light, as bright as a blazing sun, its aura rising continuously. But right at this moment, a shadowy streak flew from Li Chang’an’s hand, instantly piercing into his Nascent Soul.

"Ahhh—"

Qian Shi True Monarch let out a miserable shriek. The light around him immediately dimmed, and the process of burning his lifespan was forcibly interrupted. That pitch-black Soul Suppression Nail was deeply embedded between his eyebrows, exuding an eerie chill. It made his entire body feel ice-cold, as if his very Nascent Soul was about to freeze over.

"What is this now?" Panic filled Qian Shi’s heart, his previous arrogant madness completely gone.

Li Chang’an smiled faintly. "This is the Soul Suppression Nail, a Treasure specifically meant for Nascent Souls. You are quite fortunate, Daoist Qian Shi. You are the first Nascent Soul to enjoy a taste of this nail."

"Soul Suppression Nail?" Hearing this name, Qian Shi grew even more terrified. He hadn’t expected Li Chang’an to have two such rare Treasures in the Cultivation Immortality Realm.

"Lin Fan, who on earth are you? From what era are you a Cultivator?" he shouted, convinced that Li Chang’an was not a Cultivator of the current era.

But Li Chang’an did not answer. He simply continued his attack.

"Go!" Another Soul Suppression Nail shot out, turning into a streak of cold light that instantly pierced Qian Shi True Monarch’s Nascent Soul.

He screamed again, his entire body trembling slightly. Extreme agony and biting cold continuously spread through his Nascent Soul, making him wish for death.

But it was not over yet. Immediately after, the third, the fourth, the fifth... One Soul Suppression Nail after another flew out, relentlessly driving into his Nascent Soul.

After all seven Soul Suppression Nails were embedded, Qian Shi True Monarch’s Nascent Soul could no longer move an inch. His expression was fixed in pain and despair. His entire Nascent Soul had been completely frozen, its surface coated in a layer of frost.

"Collect!" With a sweeping wave of Li Chang’an’s hand, Qian Shi’s Nascent Soul instantly transformed into a streak of light and flew into the Forbidden Soul Bottle. Afterward, he extracted the seven Soul Suppression Nails from the Nascent Soul, cast several restrictions, and sealed the Forbidden Soul Bottle.

With this, the battle was completely over. Qian Shi True Monarch, who had run rampant across the Righteous and Demonic Battlefield for years, had fallen by Li Chang’an’s hands just like that.

Li Chang’an summoned the short sword into his hand and examined it closely. He murmured, "The material of this sword is average, and its Tier barely reaches Tier Four. The reason it was capable of Array-Breaking must be due to a surge of power hidden within it."

After the Array-Breaking, the short sword was cracked all over, already in a half-ruined state. Li Chang’an could sense it. Within it, a trace of residual power still lingered. This power was remarkably strong, carrying a faint aura of gloomy coldness. It far exceeded all the Nascent Soul True Monarchs he had seen before; even Blood River True Monarch could not compare.

He thought, "Could it be Celestial Nether True Monarch?"

After pondering for a moment, Li Chang’an shot out a surge of Magical Power, shattering the short sword. The residual power inside the short sword dissipated along with it. He utilized his Artifact Refining Techniques to directly refine the fragments into base materials, storing them in his Storage Pouch.

Afterward, Li Chang’an collected Qian Shi True Monarch’s mangled corpse and Storage Pouch. He also retracted the Array and the Corpse Fragrance Demon Flower, erased all traces and auras, and swiftly sped away from the area.

Half a day later, Li Chang’an returned to Changqing Mountain. He entered the depths of his immortal cave, opened Qian Shi True Monarch’s Storage Pouch, and inspected the Treasures inside.

Qian Shi True Monarch’s Cultivation Technique was called the Thousand Corpses Demon Technique, which required the use of corpses for cultivation. Because of this, his Storage Pouch was filled with corpses of various Cultivation levels. Li Chang’an did a rough count; there were at least over a hundred thousand of them.

He thought, "These corpses are useless to me personally, but they can be used to cultivate Poisonous Insects." After some thought, he entered the Underground Palace deep within Changqing Mountain. He took out all the corpses and placed them separately into the secret rooms used for breeding Poisonous Insects.

Aside from these corpses, all that remained in the Storage Pouch were some ordinary Demonic Treasures. Li Chang’an carefully took inventory. Among them were several types of Treasures needed for the Venerable Soul Banner to advance to Tier Four. As for the rest of the Treasures, most could only be sold when the opportunity arose or traded with Demonic Cultivators for Souls.

He thought, "There are quite a few Souls, though—a full ten million."

With a flick of his mind, Li Chang’an took out dozens of Treasures that contained Souls. Among these Treasures, the smaller ones held tens of thousands of Souls, while the larger ones contained upwards of a million. Although Qian Shi True Monarch did not rely on Souls for his cultivation, he still stored ten million of them. After all, Souls were hard currency. Within the Demonic factions, Souls were often far more useful than Spirit Stones.

"Collect!" Li Chang’an brought out the Venerable Soul Banner and absorbed all the Souls into it.

The Evil Soul stood to the side, looking like a hardworking farmhand for a landlord as it diligently counted the number of Souls. "Good heavens! Did you go and ransack the Nether Soul Sect, sir? How did you suddenly get your hands on so many Souls?"

"I just killed a Fake Soul, that’s all. How would I have the capability to ransack the Nether Soul Sect?"