Chen Yi, at a speed so inconceivably fast by the standards of the Void Realm's inhabitants, found Hu Tiangong.
This former son of the Demon Emperor, the Young Master of the Demon World, after witnessing his own world being conquered and destroyed by the Alien Races while being utterly powerless to stop it, had remained sunk in a dazed state as a wandering soul and wild ghost for a full thirty thousand years.
"Hu Tiangong! Do you want to fight one more battle!"
Hu Tiangong was aimlessly drifting about when he suddenly heard Chen Yi's voice.
He looked around in confusion and saw Chen Yi, who possessed a physical body, his entire being radiating dazzling golden light.
"You... a human? How did you get to our Demon World? You know who I am?"
"Toss those worthless little questions aside for now. Answer my question: do you want to fight one more battle!"
"Fight who, exactly?"
"With your people, the Demon Tribe, and march across the sea of stars!"
"Stop joking around. My people and I are nothing but a group of wandering souls and wild ghosts with nowhere to go, abandoned by heaven and earth in this desolate corner. What sea of stars is there left to march across?"
"Follow me! I'll take you all to the Real Realm. You wandering souls still have your uses. Instead of sinking further into the ruins of the Demon World, why not bare your claws and fangs against this world once more!"
Hu Tiangong remained skeptical and uncertain.
A random person suddenly appears, talking about going to the Real Realm to fight a war. Who could possibly believe that?
Hu Tiangong asked, "Can you bring us back to life?"
"More or less."
Chen Yi was referring to leveraging Second Sister's connections to let them become Ghost Cultivators.
"Can you let us take revenge on the Dragon-Man tribe?"
"Should be possible."
Chen Yi meant he could send them to fight the Dragon-Man tribe in the Real Realm.
Hu Tiangong looked at Chen Yi's godlike appearance descending from the heavens and felt that the other party had no real reason to toy with a lone wandering ghost like himself.
"Alright, I'm in! What do you need me to do?"
"Use your influence to gather all the souls of the Demon Tribe for me!"
The Ten Thousand Souls Banner, upon hearing this, was none too pleased.
"You wild ghost, who exactly are you looking down on?"
After being reforged by Chen Yi, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner had already stepped into the ranks of Spiritual Treasures.
If Chen Yi was currently a dimensional reduction strike among cultivators,
then the Ten Thousand Souls Banner was likewise a dimensional reduction strike among the Spirit Artifacts of the Void Realm.
Storing every soul in the Demon World might put some strain on it, but absorbing seven or eight out of ten was well within its capabilities.
As long as he saw Second Sister again in the seventh simulation, an army of Demon Tribe soldiers measured in the hundreds of millions would thunderously rise on the Ghost Cultivator track!
Though there was one small problem.
The combat strength of this army was rather weak.
After all, the highest cultivation realm in the Void Realm was only the Qi Transformation stage.
But once they became Ghost Cultivators, they could continue improving along the Ghost Cultivator path.
These were all matters for later.
First, take the people - no, the souls - away.
Chen Yi planted the Ten Thousand Souls Banner on the spot, then flew off to find the Qilin Beast.
Hu Tiangong began running around in all directions, rallying the Demon Tribe souls, sending them scattering to quickly notify Demon Tribe souls across the Demon World.
Telling them,
their days as wandering souls and wild ghosts were over.
A war god of the Real Realm named Chen Yi was recruiting soldiers and buying horses. As long as they were willing to follow him, they could one day go to the Real Realm and be reborn, then once again do battle across this world!
Setting everything else aside, being able to be reborn - which soul that had wandered for thirty thousand years could resist such temptation?
"We swear to die serving the Young Master! We swear to follow God Yi!!"
The Demon Tribe was ecstatic, roaring at the top of their lungs, lining up in orderly formation and flowing into the Ten Thousand Souls Banner like rivers merging into the sea.
The banner's surface gradually expanded, growing larger, its thickness increasing many times over from what it was initially.
"Oh! So many, completely stuffed, I'm so full!"
Though somewhat uncomfortable, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner wasn't one to be trifled with.
It employed its Spirit Artifact arts, refining a portion of the Demon Souls in exchange for power, carving out an even more expansive soul power space within the banner.
Hm?
You mentioned it refined a portion of the Demon Souls?
Don't worry about such trivial details.
At the Ancient City Ruins in the Demon World, the Qilin Beast's soul was trapped here by the Soul-Binding Chains.
Chen Yi stood aloft in mid-air, arms crossed over his chest, his presence imposing.
"Qilin Beast, I can save you, but you have to promise me one thing."
The Qilin Beast's soul raised its heavy head, its aged gaze slowly focusing on Chen Yi.
"How curious. A human Guardian from the human world appears in my Demon World. What was that you just said?"
The old fellow's ears weren't what they used to be, so Chen Yi simply repeated himself.
"What is it you want me to promise you? I am a soul that has been dead for thirty thousand years. If not for this pile of chains, I would have long since scattered into nothing. What could I possibly do for you?"
"I can take you to the Real Realm and grant you the ability to fight once more, but I want you to fight for me and follow me!"
The Qilin Beast didn't move at all. Not a static scene freeze frame.
"The human Guardian has lost his mind."
Remembering that the Qilin Beast had helped him twice in previous simulations, Chen Yi chose to free him directly.
A single slash from the Heavenly Dragon Blade sent the blade light flying toward the Soul-Binding Chains, splitting into over a dozen streaks mid-flight, cleaving every single chain into two pieces.
The Qilin Beast regained his freedom, staring blankly at Chen Yi.
"You seem to possess power that transcends the Void Realm..."
Before Chen Yi could answer,
the Ancient City Ruins began to tremble violently.
A domineering, ferocious voice boomed from beneath the earth.
"Who dares to act recklessly in my territory!! ROAR!!!"
Huo Feihuo burst out from underground, scorching magma erupting like fireworks from beneath the earth.
The ground was cracking apart, fissures spreading in all directions, searing red firelight glowing from within the crevasses.
"Huo Feihuo is here! Who dares..."
A giant burning hand suddenly materialized beside Huo Feihuo, grabbing hold of him, then smashed open the world barrier and tossed him straight through it.
The entire process was so fast that Huo Feihuo didn't even have time to cry out for mercy.
The Qilin Beast again froze in disbelief.
Then it dropped to one knee, facing Chen Yi's direction.
"I am willing to follow you! It's just..."
"Speak."
"I am still the Demon Tribe's Guardian. If I truly go to the Real Realm, I'm not sure whether there might be some complications."
"The Demon World is already gone. What complications could there be? Also, remember this: you are the Demon Tribe's Guardian, not the Demon World's Guardian. There are plenty of your Demon Tribe still in the Real Realm."
Chen Yi was in the exact same situation.
He had now inherited the position of human Guardian.
But there was no need to worry that going to the Real Realm would cause his powers to lose effectiveness the way the Five Element Root Vessels had in the Void Realm plane.
Even upon arriving in the Real Realm, the authority of a race's Guardian would still persist.
In other words, for Chen Yi, the most significant benefit of becoming a Guardian - "accelerated cultivation speed" - was now a permanent upgrade, no matter where he went.
Chen Yi brought the Qilin Beast back to where the Ten Thousand Souls Banner stood.
Seeing Demon Tribe members from all over queuing up to enter the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, the Qilin Beast was utterly awestruck.
"Milord, who exactly is our enemy, that you would need to rally such a massive army?"
Chen Yi said calmly, "Last time, I was surrounded, intercepted, and hunted by all kinds of armies. This time, I will overturn the heavens and reverse the future!"

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