"Big brother Yin Hui, what do you mean by that? Is there something inside your bag of holding that can take these three down?" Yu Zhuwa asked.

Yin Hui responded with a slight nod.

"That's right. Yu Zhuwa, stay inside that shadow. If you expose yourself, you might get hurt when the fighting begins."

Yin Hui tapped his bag of holding and seven demonic looking snow leopards came out. Each of them possessed red eyes and had a bloodthirsty expression. At the head of the pack was a leopard twice the size of the rest, with fur as dark as the night sky.

The three cultivators took several steps back at the sight of the leopards.

"Spirit Manifestation spirit beasts! Each of them seem to have some kind of unique mutation as well! How did this brat acquire such powerful servants?!"

"Attack. The souls will go to whoever deals the killing blow." Yin Hui commanded.

As Yin Hui gave the word, the seven snow leopards charged towards the three cultivators.

"The two of you hold these beasts at bay! I'll go after the boy! I refuse to believe a Spirit Waking cultivator can fully control these Spirit Manifestation spirit beasts! He must be using some kind of treasure given to him by that girl!"

One of the Spirit Manifestation cultivators took out a small dagger and went straight for Yin Hui. He flew over the reach of the snow leopards and threw his dagger. As the blade soared through the air, it multiplied into a hundred copies of itself and descended upon Yin Hui.

"Take that brat! Each of those daggers have enough power to take down a peak Spirit Waking cultivator! With a hundred of them flying towards you, dodging will be impossible!"

Yin Hui did not move and instead raised his right hand.

"Black leopard! Come to me!"

In the blink of an eye, the black leopard rushed over to Yin Hui's position and shielded him from the falling daggers. Afterwards, Yin Hui climbed onto the leopards back and both of their bodies began to sublimate into black smoke.

The Spirit Manifestation cultivator who threw the daggers at Yin Hui gasped in shock.

"What is this technique?!" He took out another dagger and threw it at the cloud of smoke. The dagger multiplied once more and descended upon the black smoke.

However, none of the knives made contact and every single one of them passed through the smoke as if there was nothing but air.

"Impossible!"

"Charge!" Yin Hui shouted.

The roar of a snow leopard filled the area as Yin Hui and the black leopard rushed toward the Spirit Manifestation cultivator. Unlike the others, the black leopard had the power of flight. Once it got close enough to the cultivator, one of its paws materialized and dealt a severe blow to the man's torso.

"Agh!"

Falling to the ground, the cultivator took out a medicinal pill and popped it into his mouth. Immediately, the wound he received began to close, leaving behind only a tiny scar across his chest.

"Be careful! This black leopard has a strange ability that allows it to turn itself and whatever is on it into a cloud of smoke! However, when it attacks it materializes! We need to coordinate our attacks in order to seize that opportunity!"

Hearing no response, the cultivator angrily turned his head towards where his teammates were supposed to be.

"Did you not hear me? Ignore those other leopards, we need to deal with this black one first--"

The cultivator's eyes widened as he saw the bodies of his two comrades being torn apart by the other six snow leopards. They seemed to have been killed before they could retaliate as their bags of holding were still unopened.

"These leopards aren't just consuming their flesh. They are also devouring their qi and soul essence as well!"

Using his spiritual sense, the remaining Spirit Manifestation cultivator noticed that bits of qi would leave the corpses of his fallen allies with every bite the leopards took.

"I must report this to Lord Kai! If these leopards make it to the castle and devour our men, they could become a threat to Lord Overseer!"

However, before the Spirit Manifestation cultivator could take off into the air, the black leopard materialized and crashed hard on top of his body. The cultivator coughed out a mouthful of blood as his body was pinned down by the giant beast. He tried to reach for his bag of holding, but another hand had already reached down and snatched it.

"Those multiplying daggers of yours are pretty useful. I'll be sure to use them carefully when we raid the outpost." Yin Hui said with a smile.

"Damn you... You don't know who your dealing with. Lord Overseer isn't just the person in charge of the border. He's also an elder of the Tao Clan! One of the Tang's most loyal allies!"

"Tao Clan..." Yin Hui clenched his fists. As soon as the surname Tao was brought up, feelings of rage and anger that could only be surpassed by the Tang swelled within his mind.

"That's right. My suggestion is to hide somewhere in the outskirts and assume a new identity. While you have caused us some trouble, the damage isn't completely unforgivable. We are preoccupied with the upcoming threat of the Yan Clan, so we will most likely not spare the effort to hunt you down should you choose to flee."

"My feud with the Tang and the Tao is irreconcilable. Even if they won't go after me, I will not stop until I exterminate every single one of them!"

The Spirit Manifestation cultivator shook his head.

"You don't understand, the Tang Clan is unstoppable. If they want you dead, you will die. Within this province, the Tang control the lives of everyone. The rebelling Yan are no exception."

"That girl who accompanied you may be a peak Spirit Manifestation cultivator, but it is still not enough to defeat Lord Overseer. Even if you somehow manage to defeat him, you will no longer have a future in this province."

Yin Hui had heard enough. He motioned towards the black leopard and the Spirit Manifestation cultivator's head was torn off his body.

"I know I don't have a future in this province. That is why I won't be staying for very long. However, I will return one day and when I do, the rivers will run red."

Activating the Evil Fiend Devouring Technique, the soul of the Spirit Manifestation cultivator emerged from the corpse. Yin Hui did not absorb it himself and instead fed it to the black leopard.

The snow leopards had so much demonic qi within them that their bodies were nearly identical to Yin Hui's. Therefore, they also inherited the ability to absorb the souls of the cultivators they defeated. While they could naturally do this by consuming the corpse, the benefits were greater if the soul was properly extracted.

After consuming the Spirit Manifestation cultivator's soul, the leopard grew by ten percent. It's energy levels flared and its cultivation increased. The other six snow leopards also got stronger after devouring the other two cultivators. With their appetites satiated and their task completed all of them returned to Yin Hui's bag of holding.

"Wow big brother Yin Hui, that was amazing!" Yu Zhuwa said as he exited the shadow he was hiding in.

"Did you get those leopards during the time we were separated inside the pass? Now that you have them even Spirit Manifestation cultivators will not be an issue!"

Yin Hui gave Yu Zhuwa a soft pat on the back.

"Those Spirit Manifestation cultivators did not possess an ethereal spirit. I feel like even though they were defeated relatively easily, fighting a real Spirit Manifestation cultivator would be difficult. Even with the leopards it would be a lengthy battle and I would definitely not be able to contend against three at once."

"I see. At least sister Su Jia said that the fortress is mostly comprised of weaker cultivators. With the amount of souls you can harvest there, the leopards are bound to get stronger!"

"Alright alright, a little less optimism and a bit more realism. We don't know for sure how things will go until they do. However, I got to say that your skill with the Lurking Shadow spell seems to be improving."

Yu Zhuwa let out a beaming smile at Yin Hui's praise.

"I know! I may not be able to jump from shadow to shadow just yet, but my individual melding never fails anymore!"

"I guess the best method of improvement is real life and death experiences." Yin Hui said

Boom~

An ear-shattering sonic boom echoed from the sky above.

"That must be Su Jia."

"Do you think she will be alright?" Yu Zhuwa asked.

"Her opponent is a peak Spirit Manifestation cultivator. Even if a piece of her soul is missing, I'm certain she is going to win."

"How are you so sure? Aren't they both peak Spirit Manifestation cultivators."

Yin Hui shook his head.

"When I had obtained that sliver of spiritual sense back in the pass, I got a glimpse of Su Jia's true power."

"Then does that mean..." Yu Zhuwa gasped.

A wry smile left Yin Hui's face.

"That's right. Su Jia is a Virtue Seeking cultivator!"