Don't Cry

The Immortal Master in charge of guarding the city stared at the ferocious ghost in shock.

He had actually forgotten to defend himself.

The first thought that surfaced in his mind was the same.

This was not something one could block simply because one wished to.

Tu Shan Jun did not spare the Immortal Master another glance and headed straight for Zhang Wanlong.

Zhang Wanlong froze as well.

Amid the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts just now, he seemed to have seen someone.

His only son, Zhang Gui.

"So that was it," Zhang Wanlong murmured vacantly.

"My son."

"Ah!"

Before his words had faded, an enormous ghostly hand pierced straight through his head.

Tu Shan Jun dug out Zhang Wanlong's living soul.

Deprived of support, Zhang Wanlong's headless body collapsed to the ground.

It did not even raise a ripple.

Zhang Wanlong had misjudged the Soul Banner and misread Li Qingfeng.

That was why he had lost his life.

Having survived three assassination attempts, Zhang Wanlong certainly had his methods.

In the end, he had even managed to fight back from the brink, using the Spirit Demon Foundation Fusion Art to gain power.

Unfortunately, in Tu Shan Jun's eyes, that power was far too weak.

If not for this Immortal Master repeatedly obstructing him, everything could have ended that very night.

The affairs of the world were ever-changing, and fate even more impossible to fathom.

The Prefect was dead.

The Immortal Master remained silent. For some reason, it felt as though something heavy in his heart had fallen to the ground.

He let out a long breath on his own.

The two Attendants from the Liang capital had faces full of shock and astonishment.

Leaning on the Soul Banner, Li Qingfeng staggered upright.

The Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts had drained half his spiritual power in an instant.

But as long as he could take revenge, that was enough.

As the hundred ghosts returned to the Soul Banner,

Li Qingfeng's great vengeance was finally repaid.

"Hahahaha!"

Li Qingfeng laughed.

He laughed wildly.

His laughter was hoarse.

Tears streamed down from the corners of his eyes.

"Father, Mother!"

"Wubao."

"The spirits of my Li family's one hundred and three dead can finally rest in peace."

"I, Li Qingfeng, have avenged you."

He cried out without restraint.

He no longer cared in the slightest whether his identity was exposed.

There was nothing left in this mortal world worth caring about.

Tu Shan Jun stood at Li Qingfeng's side, one hand resting on Li Qingfeng's shoulder as he swept his gaze around.

Wen Lichun's eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at the Soul Banner in Li Qingfeng's hand.

The stout Attendant was the same.

This Soul Banner artifact was definitely not ordinary.

Even with his Qi Refining Fourth Layer cultivation, he could sense an immense threat from it.

It was absolutely not an ordinary artifact.

"Could it be mid-grade?"

"Or perhaps a High-Grade Artifact!"

Wen Lichun unconsciously tightened his grip on the longsword in his hand.

The sword he held was merely an ungraded artifact refined from iron essence.

Compared to that one, it was like a crudely made child's toy.

He had not expected to encounter an artifact suspected to be of the high-grade tier here.

And it just so happened that they were carrying out official business.

Kill someone, seize their treasure.

Perfectly justified.

The two exchanged a glance.

Wen Lichun could likewise see Zhu Dun's astonishment, as well as the greed buried in his eyes that he could not conceal no matter how hard he tried.

This was also the first time the Immortal Master had seen the Soul Banner driven at full force, with such devastating power.

At that moment, he had truly felt death.

If he had stood before Zhang Wanlong, he would undoubtedly have died.

"A demonic-path artifact is actually this formidable."

Even he, at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, could not help but feel his heart grow heated.

With such a treasure aiding him, it would be equivalent to gaining a trump card capable of defeating opponents of the same realm.

However, when he thought of the matters within his sect, the Immortal Master could not help but hesitate.

After all, they belonged to the righteous path. Using ordinary demonic-path artifacts was one thing.

But the refining method for this Soul Banner was far too cruel. It also required a constant supply of living souls to replenish its baleful intent.

Once or twice would be fine, but if it happened too often and the sect discovered it, there would be trouble.

Though he could withstand an investigation, at most receiving some punishment,

the Soul Banner in his possession would most likely be confiscated and destroyed.

And if the sect's punishment proved severe, his cultivation might be crippled and he could be expelled from the sect.

"Esteemed disciple of the Five Spirit Sect, the two of us are Rogue Cultivators serving as Attendants in Great Liang."

"This Demon Cultivator murdered the Prefect. We ask the esteemed disciple to assist us in taking this fiend down with all our strength."

Wen Lichun looked at the young Immortal Master and then spoke to persuade him.

The Immortal Master neither agreed nor disagreed, remaining where he stood.

Seeing that the young man from the Five Spirit Sect neither refused nor accepted and simply stood there blankly, Wen Lichun did not press further. Instead, he turned to his colleague.

The stout Attendant had already sealed off the doorway, afraid that Li Qingfeng would escape.

Li Qingfeng rose to his feet, tightened his grip on the Soul Banner, and backed toward the door.

He fixed a fierce stare on the stout Qi Refiner guarding the entrance and barked, "Move aside."

"Demon, after killing the Prefect, do you think you can still leave unscathed?"

Wen Lichun looked at Li Qingfeng with a smile and added, "You are not leaving today unless you put down the artifact in your hand."

The two of them were determined to obtain it.

When that ghost had killed Zhang Wanlong just now, they had already fought Li Qingfeng once.

Now that Li Qingfeng was seriously injured, did he still think he could turn the tables with his wounded body?

Did he think they would simply move aside for him?

Dream on!

Li Qingfeng gave a scornful laugh.

If he gave up the Soul Banner, then he truly would not be able to leave.

Once he lost the artifact in his hand, he would be like a tiger stripped of its fangs, fit only to be slaughtered. How could he be foolish enough to dig his own grave?

"Destroy the Soul Banner and cripple your cultivation. I can let you leave," the young Immortal Master said.

Wen Lichun and the stout Immortal Master were both stunned.

They had not expected a disciple of the Five Spirit Sect to propose destroying the Soul Banner while also trying to spare this man's life.

Whether he was spared or not did not really matter. For them, as long as they had a corpse to account for, that would do. But the Soul Banner could not be destroyed.

This artifact was at least mid-grade, perhaps even high-grade.

If it turned out to be some ancient treasure, destroying it would be far too great a pity.

Their greed would not allow them to destroy such a treasure either.

In their eyes, this outstanding disciple of the Five Spirit Sect had likely been moved by the Soul Banner as well and wanted to cut in. That was why he used such righteous-sounding words to claim the Soul Banner for himself.

Once this man brought the Soul Banner back to his sect, where would they find him?

When that time came, whether it had been destroyed or not would not be entirely up to his word?

Li Qingfeng bared his teeth and glared fiercely at the remaining Qi Refiners, enunciating every word clearly. "As long as my life remains, the banner remains!"

The banner was his life.

Wanting the Soul Banner meant wanting the life of Li Qingfeng.

He shook it violently.

Black mist churned, and Tu Shan Jun had been waiting for this moment all along.

He hooked Li Qingfeng around the waist beneath his ribs and charged straight for the main hall doors guarded by the stout Immortal Master.

"You dare look down on me!"

The stout Attendant roared.

As he stirred his spiritual power, a turtle-shell artifact manifested over his body.

"Manifest."

It was formed from hexagonal plates fitted together, covering the stout Attendant's body.

Protecting Li Qingfeng, Tu Shan Jun wore a savage expression. With a furious roar, he slammed forward like a mountain-shaking demonic ape.

Boom!

The stout Attendant was rammed back several yards, trenches a foot deep carved beneath his feet.

Yet he still blocked Tu Shan Jun's path.

"Demon, do not flee."

Wen Lichun took out a palm-sized bronze bell.

He shook it.

The sound waves struck directly at the soul.

Tu Shan Jun felt his ghostly body affected.

He actually stalled for a moment.

A flying sword trailing sword light shot forward, whistling as it pierced through his shoulder blade.

It passed clean through and circled back through the air.

The owner of the ebony flying sword wore a resolute expression.

He could not let Li Qingfeng leave. If Li Qingfeng became a great demon in the future, it would bring disaster.

Black blood flowed from the wound.

Li Qingfeng, tucked beneath Tu Shan Jun's ribs, looked tense.

He hurriedly pressed both hands over Tu Shan Jun's wound.

"No, don't die."

"I'm begging you."

Li Qingfeng shook his head hard, his voice choked with tears. "I can't get away anymore."

"Ghost Brother, you should go."

"Leave me behind."

"Take the Soul Banner. The spiritual power I have left is enough for you to escape."

The ten-foot Soul Banner had already shrunk to a foot in length, and Li Qingfeng held it out to him.

Seeing Tu Shan Jun suffer such a grave wound, Li Qingfeng's tears would not stop flowing.

He had already lost everything. Only Ghost Brother remained.

Having taken revenge, even his life could be left behind.

"I know you can understand me."

"Go. Go as far away as you can!"

Tu Shan Jun laughed.

"Since you call me elder brother, how could I abandon you and leave?"

"Don't cry."

"I'll take you and kill our way out!"

His voice rumbled like a muffled bell.

Like the furious howl of a vicious ghost.

Hoarse.

Yet every word rang clearly in Li Qingfeng's ears.

Li Qingfeng froze.

Even the tears on his face seemed to congeal.

"Alright!"