Chapter 155: Purple Talisman

Song Nianqiang’s current soul division was far from sufficient to contend with the fourth-tier ghostly entity. Song Nianqiang was well aware of this, but in order to buy time for the big man, he had to make a final effort.
A golden blade-shadow cut through the space-time, instantly striking toward the phantom. However, given the phantom's strength, it easily dodged the attack. Song Nianqiang’s strike was not intended to deal a real blow to the phantom; its primary purpose was to clear away the black mist surrounding the phantom.
Like a sudden gust of wind, after the golden blade-shadow passed through the black mist, the black mist began to dissipate rapidly, and finally, the phantom's body reappeared before Song Nianqiang's eyes.
"Gugu..." The phantom drifted back and forth in mid-air, emitting gurgling sounds from time to time, as if it were communicating with Song Nianqiang. However, Song Nianqiang could not understand a single word. Yet, Song Nianqiang did not dare to act rashly. Even if there were two of him, they probably wouldn't be a match for that phantom, so every minute he could stall now was a minute gained.
The tone of the phantom's voice grew higher and higher, until it finally neared a roar. As the phantom's emotions grew agitated, Song Nianqiang became increasingly focused, his eyes fixed dead on the phantom in mid-air. The golden blade in the hand of his soul clone flashed with bursts of golden light, illuminating Song Nianqiang's face.
At the end of it, the phantom clearly showed an impatient expression. With a flash of its figure, it lunged straight at Song Nianqiang. The soul clone showed no fear whatsoever, stepping forward bravely. Wielding the golden blade in its hand, it slashed directly at the phantom's forehead. But the phantom's movements were too fast; not only did the golden blade miss, but the soul clone was kicked squarely in the chest by the phantom.
The soul clone instantly dimmed. This blow had indeed inflicted heavy trauma upon the soul clone. The phantom's strength was truly no joke—a single kick had almost caused Song Nianqiang's soul clone to dissipate.
After delivering that kick, the phantom retreated, hovering a few dozen centimeters high as it stared at Song Nianqiang. It seemed puzzled, though what puzzled it was why this person's execution of this technique was so weak. Back then, that person was a terrifying existence who could sweep across the entire hell relying solely on a single clone. Could it be that its own strength had skyrocketed over the years? But this thought was dismissed by the phantom almost as soon as it arose.
The only explanation was that the person before it and that other person were simply not in the same league. The trace of wariness that had previously existed in the phantom's heart instantly vanished entirely, and the gaze it cast upon Song Nianqiang became even more chilling and sinister. "Gugu..." The phantom cried out again for a moment, as if mocking its own previous timidity.
With a shift of its form, the phantom transformed into a vague, shadowy blur and charged directly at Song Nianqiang's true body. This startled Song Nianqiang immensely; he had no ability to go toe-to-toe with the phantom in a direct physical clash. Fortunately, the soul clone reacted quickly enough, flashing in front of Song Nianqiang's main body to take the phantom's attack for him once more.
However, this time the soul clone did not let the phantom retreat so easily. The golden blade, radiating golden light, slashed straight into the phantom's shoulder, bringing the phantom's movement to a sudden halt. Otherwise, not only would the soul clone have been finished, but Song Nianqiang standing right behind it would have been doomed as well.
Deep within the phantom's mind, there were clear memories of the golden blade's terrifying power. Back then, that person's golden blade had wreaked havoc across hell, and even the combined forces of the twelve great ghost kings could do nothing against him. Instead, they were driven back step by step by that person's golden blade, ultimately forced to reach a certain agreement with him.
When the phantom saw the golden blade slashing down toward it, its heart tightened instantly, and its movements suffered a brief stutter. Forgetting about Song Nianqiang entirely, it hastily retreated backward. It had no desire to be struck by the golden blade. Even the twelve great ghost kings of the past dared not take the golden blade head-on, let alone a fourth-tier ghostly entity like itself.
To the phantom's dismay, however, the golden blade still managed to clip it. Yet, although the phantom suffered a minor injury, it was far from fatal and posed virtually no serious problem.
Looking at Song Nianqiang with perplexity, the phantom finally put down its suspended heart. Since your strength is so incompetent, then don't blame me. Thinking this, the phantom moved once again, this time faster and more viciously than before. Although humans could not touch a phantom, it did not mean a phantom could not touch humans. In fact, if the big man had known from the very beginning that the phantom was a fourth-tier ghostly entity, he wouldn't have simply walked right through its body.
If it were hit by this attack from the phantom, Song Nianqiang would surely die without an intact corpse. At this critical juncture of life and death, Song Nianqiang gathered almost all the magical power in his body, violently channeling it into the soul secret technique. Before you could blink, the phantom's foot had already kicked against the collar of Song Nianqiang's chest. At that moment, a flash of golden light erupted from Song Nianqiang's body, and a large golden saber abruptly burst forth from within him.
Without any warning, the phantom was poked squarely by this golden saber. At that instant, it felt a sharp pain in its foot and hurriedly retreated. It had no wish to be hacked into pieces by the golden blade; if it died here, it would truly be game over.
Not everyone who dies in this world transforms into a ghostly entity; those who do are only a tiny fraction. Otherwise, over the thousands of years from ancient times to the present, hell would have long been overcrowded. What kind of people specifically turn into ghostly entities has always been a subject of research for the ghost-catching community, but unfortunately, there is still no definitive conclusion to this day.
Two consecutive Song Nianqiangs emerged from his main body, and then Song Nianqiang felt the strength in his entire body instantly drain away. His body swayed and he almost collapsed to the ground. Yet the results were remarkably prominent: up to this point, Song Nianqiang was finally able to achieve a three-fold soul division. And this was not merely a three-fold soul division—its power had also multiplied exponentially.
If Song Nianqiang's soul clones were to slash the phantom with a blade now, the phantom would definitely not have it as easy as before; at the very least, it would certainly suffer. This time, the phantom landed on the ground, fixing a burning gaze upon Song Nianqiang's two soul clones as if pondering something.
Although Song Nianqiang's soul power had skyrocketed, he still dared not engage the ghostly entity in direct hand-to-hand combat. The formidable reputation of the fourth-tier ghostly entity was deafening to Song Nianqiang, and he was well aware of his own capabilities.
Seeing Song Nianqiang's two soul clones, the phantom could not help but take a step back. There was no help for it—that person's soul secret technique had left it with too much shock. Back then, a single soul clone could sweep across hell, and now there were two standing right before him. Although their power wasn't as terrifying as that person's, the phantom had to weigh the risks carefully before rashly charging in.
The man and the ghost were locked in a standoff when suddenly, a powerful wave of energy surged from behind Song Nianqiang. Without looking, Song Nianqiang knew this was generated by the big man. He just didn't know what kind of talisman the big man had drawn; the power of a purple talisman certainly shouldn't be this massive. Could it be one of those forbidden talismans?
Song Nianqiang couldn't figure it out, so he stopped trying. However, the phantom opposite him likewise sensed the energy fluctuation emanating from the big man's direction, and couldn't help casting a glance over there. Yet its line of sight was blocked by the big man himself. The energy fluctuations coming from the big man grew increasingly violent, forcing the phantom to treat the situation with utmost seriousness.
After merely a few breaths, the phantom was forced to take measures, because the energy fluctuations radiating from the big man were beginning to threaten its own existence. With no other choice, the phantom rose once more to a height of several dozen centimeters and flew toward the big man.
With Song Nianqiang standing in front of the big man, he naturally wouldn't let the phantom interrupt the big man's talisman-drawing. Therefore, with a shift in Song Nianqiang's mind, the two soul clones lunged forward. Identical figures holding identical golden blades, they pincer-attacked the phantom from the left and right.
With no alternative, the current soul clones possessed more than double their original strength, forcing the phantom to treat them with gravity. Its body came to an abrupt stop in mid-air, and then it charged toward one of the soul clones. However, that soul clone did not engage the phantom head-on; instead, it retreated rapidly to one side.
Originally, the phantom wanted to pursue it, but a golden blade slashed instantly from its other flank. Left with no choice, the phantom had to dodge to the side. It lacked the courage to take a direct hit from the golden blade now, but its evasive maneuver happened to intersect with Song Nianqiang's other soul clone, causing the golden blade to strike the phantom dead-on, without the slightest deviation.
"Gugu!!!" Perhaps due to the excruciating pain, the phantom let out a miserable screech, plummeted rapidly toward the ground, and then vanished into thin air in a flash. Song Nianqiang had already activated his Yin-Yang eyes, but now he could no longer see where the phantom had gone.
Back on the rooftop, a gruesome and terrifying gash appeared across the phantom's chest—this was inflicted by the soul clone's golden blade. Regrettably, the power of this single strike was not enough to kill the phantom. However, at that exact moment, a dazzling purple radiance soared from the big man's location, and a talisman gradually transformed from yellow to purple.