The Great Elder left as soon as he said it, probably eager to return and ponder Ning Beichen's Nine Heavens Tathagata Divine Palm. He didn't care about the Zhou family's predicament, which astonished Ning Beichen. Was this guy not an ally? If Ning Beichen had such a person in his own family or subordinate, he would have slapped them to death, not let them run wild. Did he think their rice was free? Wasn't this a case of raising a white-eyed wolf? Ning Beichen believed the Zhou family patriarch shared his feelings and thoughts, but he was helpless. He couldn't command the Great Elder, nor could he defeat him. Other than frustration, he could do nothing.
"Now that your Zhou family's Great Elder has lost, do you have anyone else you can call out?" Ning Beichen snapped back to reality, no longer wasting his brainpower on the Great Elder, who was supposed to be an ally.
"I'll fight you." The Zhou family patriarch had no other choice but to step forward himself. Having witnessed the might of Ning Beichen's Nine Heavens Tathagata Divine Palm earlier, he was, in fact, terrified. But no matter how scared he was, as the patriarch, he couldn't back down.
"Forgive my bluntness, but you are no match for me. Call someone else, call out your Zhou family's ancestor." Ning Beichen glanced at the Zhou family patriarch. His cultivation was not as high as the Great Elder's.
"If you want to see our Zhou family's ancestor, you'll have to defeat me first." The Zhou family patriarch said angrily to Ning Beichen. This was the first time in a long while that he had been looked down upon, especially by a young man. At this moment, he could only stand firm. He could not surrender to Ning Beichen. Once he surrendered, the Zhou family would be finished, and he, as the patriarch, would also be finished. The Zhou family belonged to the Zhou people, but not to him alone. There were countless old foxes in the Zhou family waiting for him to make a mistake. If he didn't make a mistake, where would those old foxes get a chance to rise?
The Zhou family patriarch opened a wooden box and took out a soul sword. This soul sword sealed the soul of a powerful demon. Above beast kings were demons. Demons were very rare and extremely powerful. A single demon could easily destroy a city or slaughter a sect. It could be said that demons were the most terrifying beings in this world. Even the lowest-level cat demon was hundreds of times more powerful than a beast king. Beast kings like the Golden Lion and Rhino King were mere playthings in front of demons. Thus, as soon as the soul sword was revealed, all the beasts in the Zhou family city trembled. Ning Beichen also felt an extremely terrifying aura emanating from the soul sword in the Zhou family patriarch's hand.
"It's a Demon Soul Sword! I didn't expect the Zhou family patriarch to possess a Demon Soul Sword. Ning Beichen is in trouble now." People from various major powers nearby, seeing the Demon Soul Sword in the Zhou family patriarch's hand, were all shocked, as there were only a few Demon Soul Swords in existence among the aristocratic families.
This aura made Ning Beichen feel somewhat uncomfortable, akin to the feeling of encountering an ill omen in his own world. "Could there be an ill omen in the Zhou family patriarch's sword?" Ning Beichen speculated in his heart. Although the aura made him uncomfortable, Ning Beichen was not overly concerned. In his previous world, he could still contend with ill omens, let alone now that his realm and strength had both improved. Ning Beichen feared neither demon souls nor ill omens.
"Boy, I'll give you one chance to surrender." The Zhou family patriarch held the soul sword and said to Ning Beichen with a ferocious grin.
"No need. Make your move. I'll let you attack first." Ning Beichen said to the Zhou family patriarch.
"Fine, you asked for it." The Zhou family patriarch had no way out. He had even revealed the Demon Soul Sword, so he had to fight even if he didn't want to.
"Kill!!!" With a wave of the Demon Soul Sword, a demonic wind swept through the entire city. An evil aura surged into the sky, accompanied by eerie sounds. To others, only the demonic wind and sounds were visible; nothing else could be seen, making it difficult to dodge attacks from the Demon Soul Sword, which was its terrifying aspect. However, to Ning Beichen's eyes, this demon soul was clearly visible. It was not an ill omen, but a demon soul. Ning Beichen's knowledge of demons was limited, so he didn't know what kind of demon soul it was. It looked somewhat human-like, with a distorted and grotesque appearance, like a lump of rotten dough.
The demon soul aggressively charged towards Ning Beichen. Without Ning Beichen's special vision, one would not be able to see the demon soul's attack, and would only focus on the Demon Soul Sword. Therefore, with a Demon Soul Sword, even a master whose strength far surpassed one's own could be killed. The Zhou family patriarch originally did not want to use the Demon Soul Sword, but without it, he was not confident he could defeat Ning Beichen.
"Die, die, die..." A series of killing sounds reached Ning Beichen's ears as the demon soul arrogantly charged at him. However, the next moment, the demon soul's arrogant shouts abruptly stopped because Ning Beichen's palm easily caught it. The power of his Crossing the Sea of Suffering Shore technique instantly enveloped the demon soul. The arrogant demon soul became terrified and struggled desperately in Ning Beichen's grasp.
"Spare... spare my life." To Ning Beichen's surprise, he heard the demon soul beg for mercy. This showed that it was not an idiot.
"Spare you? Don't be foolish." Ning Beichen tightened his grip, causing the demon soul to emit a series of ear-splitting screams. Ning Beichen's Crossing the Sea of Suffering Shore technique, whether it had some connection to Buddhism or not, Ning Beichen had discovered early on that it was very effective against various ghostly and malevolent entities. Therefore, the Demon Soul Sword, which caused fear among cultivators, was not a threat to Ning Beichen.
Ning Beichen listened to the demon soul's plea. He initially intended to ignore it but then thought of something. He relaxed his fingers and said to the demon soul with a smile, "It's not impossible for me to spare you. Bring me the Demon Soul Sword, and I'll spare you." The demon soul hurriedly agreed to Ning Beichen's request, or rather, his threat. Ning Beichen released his grip, and the demon soul fled back in a sorry state. Due to the eerie wails and the pervasive demonic energy, no one heard the exchange between Ning Beichen and the demon soul.
The Zhou family patriarch had no idea that the demon soul in his Demon Soul Sword had betrayed him. Just as he was about to use the Demon Soul Sword to attack Ning Beichen, the sword suddenly slipped from his grasp and flew towards Ning Beichen. The Zhou family patriarch was stunned, thinking the Demon Soul Sword was going to attack Ning Beichen on its own. He didn't pursue it and even felt a bit gleeful. However, when the Demon Soul Sword reached Ning Beichen, it acted like a dog trying to please its master, showing no intention of attacking.
"What in the devil!" Then, everyone watched as the Demon Soul Sword obediently landed in Ning Beichen's hand, wagging back and forth as if trying to curry favor with him, looking like a complete sycophant.