Zhang Wanlong exchanged a palm strike with Li Qingfeng.
This time, he reacted in time.
He even withstood Li Qingfeng's full-force blow.
Though he had fallen into the disadvantage, his head had not been smashed apart as directly as imagined.
"You didn't expect that, did you?"
Zhang Wanlong grinned viciously and drew his longsword, slashing at Li Qingfeng.
Clang.
The three-foot Soul Banner swept up, blocking Zhang Wanlong's two-handed sword.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time."
"I made ample preparations for this."
Zhang Wanlong spoke in a low voice, madness flashing through his eyes.
Tu Shan Jun inside the banner was somewhat surprised as well.
The last time he had seen Zhang Wanlong, he had merely been an ordinary man. Though he had practiced internal arts, his skill had been utterly mediocre.
Yet now, upon seeing him again, the man had already become a Qi Refiner.
He appeared to be beyond the Qi Refining First Layer, too.
The strength of his body far surpassed what it had once been.
That was precisely why he could withstand Li Qingfeng's palm strike.
Every layer of the Qi Refining stage increased the body's strength, but the improvement was indeed limited.
The leap from mortal to cultivator was the true qualitative transformation.
All later strengthening occurred upon that foundation.
Without a body-tempering cultivation art and deliberate tempering, there would be no great improvement.
"So Zhang Wanlong also used the Spirit Demon Foundation Fusion Art. How did he gather everything needed?" Tu Shan Jun wondered inwardly.
Yet the answer became clear at this moment.
Two months ago, he had still been an ordinary man, but now he was already a Qi Refiner. He must have used that vile art.
The simplified Spirit Demon Foundation Fusion Art required three people with spirit roots, and they had to be people who had already sensed qi, to perform the ritual.
Even if one of the original four unqualified people remained, he would still need to find two more people who possessed spirit roots and had sensed qi.
All that could be said was that Zhang Wanlong's luck was good. He had actually found two such people.
Tu Shan Jun's expression remained unchanged.
Even if Zhang Wanlong had become a cultivator, it did not matter.
"You used people as medicine too?!"
Li Qingfeng sent Zhang Wanlong flying.
He immediately understood why Zhang Wanlong had become a Qi Refiner.
It was exactly the same as Zhang Gui's situation.
Li Qingfeng was not overly surprised.
When he had failed to kill Zhang Wanlong with a single palm strike, he had already more or less guessed it.
Guessing was one thing, but Li Qingfeng's heart was filled with fury.
If he was a Demon Cultivator, then what were Zhang Wanlong and his son?
They were eating people!
"I know you're here. Why don't you open your eyes and take a look?" Li Qingfeng drew his sword and looked around, as though searching for something. He was looking for the immortal master guarding Eight Directions Prefecture City.
He only wanted to ask what, exactly, a Demon Cultivator was.
Was someone holding a Soul Banner a Demon Cultivator, while a Prefect who ate people was not?
The young immortal master lowered his eyes and sighed faintly.
He stepped out from the shadows and faced Li Qingfeng directly.
Zhang Wanlong had been blasted three or four zhang away by the Soul Banner.
He barely steadied himself, only to find that his two-handed sword had already broken into two pieces.
How could an ordinary forged weapon compare with an artifact, much less a High-Grade Artifact?
Seeing the immortal master appear, Zhang Wanlong felt somewhat guilty as well.
But when he thought of his only son's tragic death, that trace of guilt instead turned into rage.
A savage expression surfaced on Zhang Wanlong's hateful face as he roared, "This is all because of you!"
That was right.
He was capable of anything.
The last imprisoned unqualified person.
The headless corpse of his only son.
And the third person with a spirit root whom he had ordered the steward to find after Zhang Gui's death.
Zhang Wanlong had originally already resolved to stake everything on one throw. He had planned to use the guarding immortal master's injuries to kill him and seize power.
Unexpectedly, after five months, he had truly found another person with a spirit root.
Gathering three people was what had granted him the power to resist Li Qingfeng.
"What I protect is not justice, but the peace of the Prefecture City." The young immortal master shook his head. He clearly knew what justice was in this world, yet he also understood that justice was not what he protected.
The Five Spirit Sect was indeed a sect of immortal masters, but it likewise required Attendants.
To cultivate immortality, wealth, companions, methods, and land were all indispensable.
And wealth stood first among them.
Every year, Great Liang offered Spirit Stones to the sect. Thus, disciples of the Five Spirit Sect took on the responsibility of slaying demons and monsters within Great Liang, ensuring that ghosts and strange phenomena could not harass the common people.
If they encountered Demon Cultivators, they would naturally cut them down with a single sword.
For Demon Cultivators were equally dangerous people who would harm ordinary folk.
The young man did not know how to explain it. He too was powerless to act otherwise and could only fulfill his own duties.
Tu Shan Jun within the banner watched everything coldly.
Not every member of the righteous path was like Hou Boxu. People like that were too few.
Most were like this guarding immortal master, concerned only with doing their own duty.
Li Qingfeng did not ask again. He no longer needed anyone else to uphold justice for him.
Because he held power in his hands.
"Then let us see the truth beneath our hands."
Li Qingfeng shouted furiously.
The dharma power around him surged as it poured madly into the Soul Banner.
The ghost-faced banner expanded to over a zhang. The ferocious ghost face began to move, and its once-blinded eye had been restored. A pair of scarlet eyes fixed upon Zhang Wanlong.
Anyone could survive today—except Zhang Wanlong. He had to die!
The instant his more-than-seven-foot body hit the ground, it charged straight at Zhang Wanlong.
Wen Lichun had already been dumbfounded.
His Spirit Official Dharma Eye flickered. He could tell that Li Qingfeng was likely still in the early Qi Refining stage. Even with an artifact, he should not have been able to stir up much of a storm.
But what in the world was this thing that had leaped out?
A powerful vicious ghost standing a full seven feet tall, its scarlet hair draped over its shoulders, its thick arms broad enough for horses to gallop across.
Most notably, two inches above its brow bones were a pair of fleshy horns.
Judging by that vicious ghost's appearance alone, it was no ordinary ghost.
The instant the vicious ghost appeared, the temperature in the surroundings plummeted, and an immense aura spread forth.
"Good mother, what is that?"
The stout Attendant opened his eyes wide, staring dumbfoundedly at Tu Shan Jun's back.
"You've grown stronger again."
The guarding immortal master held his dharma sword horizontally before Tu Shan Jun, his expression grave.
Every time he saw this vicious ghost, he felt that its aura had become more powerful.
Moreover, the liveliness in its eyes was beyond anything an ordinary ghost within a banner could possess.
He had seen many stronger ghosts, yet all of them were inferior in terms of intelligence.
Unlike this one before him.
Cunning and cautious, yet utterly unhesitating when it was time to be ruthless.
It truly made one's heart shudder.
Tu Shan Jun did not know what the guarding immortal master was thinking. His scarlet ghost eyes were fixed on the young man as well.
He was looking for an opportunity.
An instant.
So long as there was an instant in which he could pass the young immortal master.
Tu Shan Jun could smash Zhang Wanlong's head apart.
"Slay the Demon Cultivator! Dead or alive!" Wen Lichun's words jolted the stout Attendant awake. The two formed horns, trapping Li Qingfeng between them.
Li Qingfeng was utterly fearless.
His Spirit Official Dharma Eye could tell that only the smiling man would be difficult to deal with. The other's flickering spiritual light was basically on par with his own.
That meant he was only at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer or Third Layer.
Although Tu Shan Jun's body was imposing, his speed was not the slightest bit slow. One could only see shadows flicker before he had already appeared several zhang away.
"Five Spirit Sword Art."
The guarding immortal master's body was enveloped in a golden light talisman, gleaming with radiance as his dharma power fully supported the ebony flying sword.
It grew upon meeting the wind, becoming a three-foot longsword that barred Tu Shan Jun's path.
Roar.
A shrill ghostly howl condensed into sound waves, sweeping up the surrounding black mist and turning it into rolling waves.
Tu Shan Jun completely concealed his body within the black mist.
In the blink of an eye, he had already closed in on Zhang Wanlong.
Seeing that it was ineffective, the young immortal master joined his middle and index fingers into a sword gesture, drawing the ebony sword into his hand. He actually intended to entangle Tu Shan Jun in close combat.
Tu Shan Jun's current body was fully capable of meeting force with force.
The Demon Ape Mind-Settling Fist also gave full play to its agile and ever-changing advantages.
Like an ape.
His long arm came smashing down like a spear.
The paving stones beneath his feet cracked one after another, spreading across a wide expanse.
As he twisted, leaped, and shifted, sand flew and stones rolled.
Sword light whirled, but Tu Shan Jun did not fear it in the slightest, trading injury for injury.
Boom.
The roaring demon ape condensed into fist intent, striking directly at the soul.
"Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts."
Li Qingfeng shook the Soul Banner, the more-than-zhang-long banner like a crescent-bladed halberd.
As the sound of tearing through the air rang out, over a hundred vicious ghosts crawled from the banner's surface.
Yin energy ran rampant, and black mist spread everywhere.
The hundred ghosts condensed into a terrifying ghost creature the instant they emerged from the Soul Banner.
It erupted suddenly, unstoppable by anyone.
Tu Shan Jun directly merged into the ghost creature formed by the hundred ghosts and charged at Zhang Wanlong.
Before you continue