On the Road

The carriage wheels creaked and groaned as they turned.

In the twilight glow, the wheels crushed and kicked up dust, speeding along the main road.

They swept past bushes and thickets.

The woods on either side rapidly receded.

Leaving the swarms of wild beasts far behind.

The coachman cracked his whip, urging the horses on.

The three carriages had formed a considerable convoy, flying flags with a black background. Even if they encountered mountain bandits, the bandits would absolutely not dare to rob carriages displaying this flag.

The old Hundred-Household Officer munched on dry rations, washing them down with cold water.

His gaze, sharp as a hawk's, scanned the darkness of the woods.

It seemed as though something was faintly flickering within, trailing them from a distance.

The old Hundred-Household Officer furrowed his brow, the wrinkles on his face piled up like they had been carved and chiseled by knives and axes.

"Hurry up, this place feels a bit eerie."

If the Immortal Master had still been alive, they naturally wouldn't need to be this nervous, fearing something might go wrong.

But things didn't go as planned.

They had come to the Prefecture City.

More than twenty people, two Immortal Masters.

When they left, there were still more than twenty people.

However, the two Immortal Masters were now lying quietly in the back compartment of the carriage, their life force extinguished.

As summer arrived, the temperature rose, and the solid ice in the ice cellar couldn't hold up.

So, when they were in Eight Directions Prefecture City, they had asked a doctor to perform preservation treatment.

This was to prevent the bodies from becoming unbearably smelly and potentially causing an epidemic, which would be troublesome.

They needed to see the person alive or the body dead.

They needed to transport the Immortal Masters' remains back to Liang Capital.

All the remaining items and scattered belongings were carefully collected, not daring to move them even slightly.

All these things had to be brought back to the Hall of Offerings in Liang Capital.

As dusk deepened, the things lurking in the dark woods were like sharks that had smelled blood, staring intently at the convoy with wide eyes.

Tu Shan Jun woke up.

After his Magic Power was exhausted, his body also collapsed and turned into black smoke, returning to the Venerable Soul Banner.

He had been slowly repairing his body during this time.

Li Qing Feng's living soul had entered the Venerable Soul Banner.

It wasn't that Tu Shan Jun had actively summoned the soul; rather, after Li Qing Feng's death, his living soul was automatically absorbed by the Venerable Soul Banner.

It had no consciousness and wasn't lucid.

It appeared listless and confused.

It couldn't speak, nor could it listen, just like other living souls.

Tu Shan Jun remained silent for a long time.

His expression was complex.

Annoyance.

Hesitation.

And the unfulfilled promise surged into his heart.

Tu Shan Jun opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

What use would it be to speak?

It would only be comforting himself. Did he really expect Li Qing Feng to be able to hear him again?

Even surrounded by evil ghosts, Tu Shan Jun still felt very lonely.

He had become as solitary as he was before.

Fortunately, he was no longer as powerless as he was at the very beginning.

But he clearly possessed power, yet he couldn't fulfill his promise.

How frustrating a thing this was.

"He died because I wasn't strong enough."

"I couldn't save him because I wasn't strong enough," Tu Shan Jun murmured softly.

His voice was hoarse and unpleasant, like the buzzing of iron sheets rubbing against each other.

ear-piercing.

It was even more exasperating.

Tu Shan Jun had thought the Banner Master would be special, or that the Venerable Soul Banner would grant some preferential treatment.

However, it seemed even the Banner Master had no immunity.

This also ruled out the possibility that Zhao Shi Xian was faking it.

With so many living souls and Yin Ghosts from Qi Cultivators added to the Venerable Soul Banner, its power had greatly advanced, and it had firmly reached the Qi Condensation Sixth Layer.

Banner Name: Venerable Soul Banner

Banner Master:

Grade: High-Grade Magic Tool

Soul Banner Integration (Passive Solidification): Absorbing Sha Qi and living souls can enhance the Soul Banner's ability and grade.

Backlash (Passive Solidification): When the Banner Master's strength and Spiritual Sense are insufficient to suppress the Soul Banner's Master Soul, the Master Soul can actively backlash against the Banner Master, refining them into a Banner Slave.

Soul Absorption: Extracts living souls from dead bodies and absorbs living souls and Yin Ghosts with strength lower than the Master Soul. (Current Master Soul Strength: Qi Condensation Sixth Layer).

Spirit Storage: The Soul Banner can store Yin Soul Ghost Creatures. Currently stored (109/1000).

Repair: Consuming a certain amount of Sha Qi and living souls can repair the Soul Banner and the Master Soul.

Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts: All thousand ghosts in the Soul Banner can be released, converging into a Night Parade Soul Technique for attack.

Soul Gathering into Pills: The Soul Banner absorbs wandering Yin Souls and Sha Qi to condense Yin Soul Pills. Yin Soul Pills can assist the Banner Master in cultivation (one pill/twelve hours). Devouring Sha Qi Yin Ghosts can accelerate the process of condensing Yin Soul Pills.

Zhang Wan Long's living soul had the strength of the Qi Condensation Second Layer.

After using Soul Inquiry, there was no difference from what he got from Zhang Gui.

The Sturdy Supporter seemed to be at the Qi Condensation Third Layer, close to breaking through to the Fourth Layer.

"Soul Inquiry."

[Extraction:]

[Turtle Spirit Embryonic Breathing Technique]

[Qi Condensation Foundation Cultivation Method (Elementary)]

The Turtle Spirit Embryonic Breathing Technique, as the name suggested, was a technique for concealing one's aura.

It could effectively restrain one's presence and also cover up the spiritual light belonging to a Qi Cultivator, which was quite remarkable.

As for the Qi Condensation Foundation Cultivation Method, it seemed very ordinary, with nothing special about it.

It was a common commodity.

Any Cultivator who had just entered Qi Condensation could buy this cultivation method for half a Spirit Stone at the Cultivator Market. It was the most widely circulated cultivation method, with no doubts about its practice.

However, its progress was slow.

Looking at the Sturdy Cultivator's bone age, he was at least over thirty.

At this age, being only at the Qi Condensation Third Layer, he probably had no future in this life, let alone seeking immortality and the Dao.

However, although this person did not fare well in the world of Qi Cultivators, he was successful in the secular dynasty.

He even joined the Hall of Offerings.

In the future, he could branch out and form a small family.

By passing down the cultivation method, there would always be descendants with good Spiritual Roots who could step onto the Immortal Path through it.

After extracting the Sturdy Cultivator's skill seeds, Tu Shan Jun turned to look at the middle-aged Qi Cultivator who called himself Wen Lichun.

"Soul Inquiry."

[Extraction:]

[Bell Control Technique]

[Nether Spirit Cultivation Method (Incomplete)]

[Artifact Refining Insights (Pseudo)]

Three skill seeds flew into Tu Shan Jun's mind.

Tu Shan Jun immediately understood the intricacies of this technique.

It was actually a specialized Dharma Incantation for controlling the Soul-Capturing Bell.

It was this thing that affected his ghost body, which was why the battle was so frustrating and made him irritated.

A method for controlling an object was somewhat useless to Tu Shan Jun.

However, this Qi Condensation cultivation method had some depth. It was complete in all five elements and not low in grade.

Looking at Wen Lichun's experience, this cultivation method progressed even faster.

Seeing the bigger picture from the small, just looking at the first three layers, it was even more exquisite than the Blood Fiend Great Method.

Unfortunately, it was an incomplete cultivation method, with only the mental cultivation method and circulation routes for the first three layers.

However exquisite it might be, it still presented significant issues for future advancement.

Although Tu Shan Jun could acquire the insights and experiences of others, he was still a novice in cultivation. He was capable of referencing and guiding others, but completing a cultivation method was out of the question.

This was simply not something a beginner could accomplish.

Without extensive accumulation, even a genius could not achieve it overnight.

What truly piqued Tu Shan Jun's interest was the Artifact Refining Insights (Pseudo).

This item turned out to be Wen Lichun's own compiled artifact refining experience.

While he couldn't refine true Magic Tools, he could refine Pseudo Magic Tools that weren't Ranked.

These Pseudo Magic Tools weren't particularly important to Qi Cultivators, but in the mundane world, they could be considered divine weapons and sharp tools.

Furthermore, people progress. The ability to research and gain insights from artifact refining notes alone already indicated that this person had decent comprehension.

All this knowledge benefited Tu Shan Jun.

Qi Cultivators truly had all sorts of strange and wonderful things on them. It was just a pity that Tu Shan Jun himself was merely a Soul Banner and had no way to take all their Storage Talismans.

Time passed unnoticed on the journey.

Within the Soul Banner, there was no cycle of sun and moon.

Tu Shan Jun could only count the Yin Soul Beads to mark the days. In these past few days, the Venerable Soul Banner had spontaneously absorbed the wandering Sha Qi from heaven and earth, condensing seven Yin Soul Beads.

This meant seven days had passed.

If calculated from that day, today should be Li Qing Feng's seventh day mourning.

Tu Shan Jun's expression was as usual, only a complex look flashed in his eyes.

Achieving immortality!

This further solidified Tu Shan Jun's desire to achieve immortality.

Perhaps achieving immortality could resolve his current situation.

Reverse Yin and Yang, restore his human body.

Then, break free from the cage and live a different life.