Li Qingfeng slowly came to.
Dim yellow lamplight, darkness at his side.
The scent of decay and rot lingered in the air.
A heavy smell of wine mingled with the fresh scent of earth.
He took a deep breath, catching an inexplicable fermented fragrance.
"Where is this?"
Li Qingfeng climbed up from the wooden boards, his eyes still filled with confusion and tension.
He remembered that he seemed to have passed out.
In the middle of battle, no less.
In his panic, he did not even know what he was looking for. He simply grabbed hold of everything around him.
Only when he saw the Soul Banner standing quietly to one side did Li Qingfeng finally let out a long breath.
In such a short time, he had lost too much.
If he lost the Soul Banner too, there would be little hope of avenging himself in this lifetime.
The Sword Hairpin had not been lost, and the Storage Talisman was still stuck intact inside the lining pocket over his chest.
Pushing aside the stone slab before him, Li Qingfeng finally realized that he was in his family's cellar.
Only, he was not in its shallow section, but sealed inside a half-man-high hole.
A white stone slab blocked the entrance to the hole.
The cellar contained packed earth and neatly arranged flat granite slabs.
Most wealthy households had such places, either to store gold, silver, and treasures, or to keep aged wine.
Should war break out, the grain stored inside could save lives.
Or one could wait in the cellar until the marauding soldiers had passed before emerging.
Clearly, the Li family's cellar was not large and was only used to store wine.
Inside that hole, massive claw marks could be seen.
There was no need to think about it. Ghost Brother must have carried him back, dug out a place for him to hide, and concealed him there.
It had also been Tu Shan Jun's only option.
At the time, Li Qingfeng's remaining spiritual power had already been insufficient to support their return to the Mountain God Temple.
They could only stop nearby.
The most dangerous place was the safest place.
The Li family had been raided and exterminated, yet the people from the Prefectural Governor's Mansion had not discovered this small hidden chamber. They would never have imagined that they would return here.
No matter how the Prefectural Governor's Mansion had discovered the Li family, judging by Zhang Wanlong's reaction at the time, he might not have recognized Li Qingfeng.
Just as that newly appointed advisor had likewise failed to recognize Li Qingfeng immediately.
In Tu Shan Jun's view, this matter was riddled with doubts.
Tears gushed forth like a spring as Li Qingfeng silently wept while clutching the Soul Banner.
Tears as large as beans fell onto the banner's surface.
He did not dare make a sound.
Even inside this hidden cellar chamber, he still could not make a sound.
The soldiers sealing off the Prefecture City were like vultures and hounds that could smell rotting flesh.
The slightest disturbance would be noticed by them.
These people rarely considered what was right and what was wrong. Carrying out orders had become instinct.
High office, generous pay, and tempting gains were the carrots driving them onward.
They ran tirelessly.
They pursued.
Li Qingfeng fell to his knees, his body trembling as he hugged the Soul Banner and wailed bitterly.
Though his face was twisted in terror and anguish, not a sound escaped him.
Snot and tears mixed with dirt, staining his robes and his once handsome face, which was now covered in blood and grime.
Within the Soul Banner, Tu Shan Jun touched his sole remaining eye.
He did not know how to comfort others.
Life still had to go on.
Sometimes, one had to bear it alone.
Li Qingfeng cried until he was exhausted, or perhaps his body had already been too weak. He fainted once more.
He clutched the Soul Banner tightly, as though grasping his last life-saving straw.
Winds and clouds swept across the skies, while the distant sun hung high.
Li Qingfeng entered the dream world once more.
Atop a lofty mountain.
He wore a blue scholar's robe, tears streaming endlessly down his face.
Still without a sound.
Upon seeing the Main Soul evil ghost within the Soul Banner again, Li Qingfeng dropped to his knees with a thud and smashed his forehead against the ground.
"Ghost Brother, I want revenge."
"Help me."
"I beg you."
Li Qingfeng trembled as he prostrated himself, his eyes tightly shut.
Tu Shan Jun was at a complete loss, his face full of shock and astonishment.
He hesitated slightly.
It was not that he hesitated over whether to help Li Qingfeng.
They were people in the same boat, crossing the river together through storm and wave.
He simply had not expected Li Qingfeng to do this.
Scholars and officials possessed pride, believing that there was gold beneath a man's knees.
Men of learning would rather break than bend.
As a xiucai, Li Qingfeng was undoubtedly proud as well.
He had every right to be proud. Passing the xiucai examination at his age meant he was unquestionably among the outstanding.
In the future, he would pass the provincial examination, then become a jinshi, perhaps even the top scholar.
He would lead armies abroad and serve as minister at court, govern the nation and bring peace to its people, leaving his name in the annals of history.
At last, he would draw a perfect full stop to his life.
Yet today, he knelt before ghosts and gods.
He prayed for ghosts and gods to help him take revenge.
He did not ask the living world; he asked ghosts and gods.
Perhaps this was the final measure left after all other paths had failed.
Tu Shan Jun helped Li Qingfeng to his feet.
All emotion had long vanished from his scarlet ghostly eye.
He said nothing, merely placing a hand on Li Qingfeng's shoulder.
He gave it a pat.
As though a dam had burst.
Li Qingfeng began to smile, his eyes narrowing into crescent moons, yet the tears streaming down his face would not stop.
No matter how he wiped them away, they seemed endless.
To take revenge, they needed to advance at least one more level, perhaps even two.
After absorbing the Baleful Intent-heavy Living Souls and yin ghosts of fifty-two Black Armor Soldiers, along with the Living Soul of that newly appointed advisor, the Soul Banner now contained one hundred and five yin souls and ghostly entities.
Though their quality varied greatly, they had barely managed to gather a hundred ghosts.
Tu Shan Jun's strength had also risen another step.
Of course, he was still far from breaking through to the strength of the sixth level. These unranked yin souls and ghostly entities were nowhere near enough to let him improve again.
After that battle, he had suffered grave injuries and urgently needed Baleful Intent and Living Souls to repair his ghostly body.
That young immortal master was still stationed at the Prefectural Governor's Mansion.
Nor were the Black Armor Soldiers of the Prefectural Governor's Mansion pushovers. Once Li Qingfeng appeared, he would draw the encirclement of a military formation.
Ordinary yin souls and ghostly entities did not even dare approach a military formation.
A surge of dense Baleful Intent would shatter them, leaving Zhao Shixian's Living Soul as the only one that could be of use.
But if they released that Qi Refining Third Layer yin soul again, the burden on Li Qingfeng would be enormous.
He could not sustain it for long at all.
Even at his peak, Li Qingfeng could only support Tu Shan Jun in battle for twenty or thirty breaths.
To break through that young immortal master's defenses in so short a time—
It was not entirely impossible, only exceedingly difficult, unless they seized an especially good opportunity.
But from that man's answer, it was clear he would never allow Li Qingfeng to kill Zhang Wanlong.
The young immortal master protected Eight Directions Prefecture City and slew demons and monsters, yet he alone could not slay the Prefect, nor would he permit anyone else to slay the Prefect.
That was why he would rather trade injury for injury than wound Tu Shan Jun and crush Li Qingfeng.
Li Qingfeng himself had also suffered serious injuries and needed time to recuperate.
In the end, it all came down to strength.
No one knew how long he slept before Li Qingfeng woke again.
He no longer cried.
He took out medicine from the Storage Talisman, applying some internally and some externally as he tightly bound his wounds.
He ate some dried rations and drank water.
Some color returned to Li Qingfeng's pale face.
The old wounds had barely gone when new wounds arrived.
His injuries were numerous, and he had lost too much blood.
He needed time to heal.
Drawing upon his spiritual power, he took out the Yin Soul Pill. Li Qingfeng looked at the egg-sized soul pill in his hand, his expression resolute, then raised his head and swallowed it.
Pure spiritual energy transformed into roaring spiritual power, and he absorbed it all.
The abilities evolved by the High-Grade Artifact Soul Banner were plain to see.
Sure enough, just as Tu Shan Jun had expected, the most dangerous place was the safest place. Few soldiers ever set foot in the sealed Li residence.
The supplies in the Storage Talisman could still last for some days, so Li Qingfeng did not need to move elsewhere.
Within the Prefecture City, he could still gather information.
So long as Li Qingfeng was not seen by the immortal master stationed there, no one would notice that he was a Qi Refiner.
Another five days passed.
Qi Refining Second Layer.
Yet Li Qingfeng's injuries showed no sign of recovery.
Before you continue