Pursuer

Tu Shan Jun opened the scarlet status panel.

Banner Name: Soul Banner

Banner Master: Zhao Shixian

Rank: Mid-grade Artifact

Banner and Soul as One (Passive, Permanent): Absorbing baleful qi and living souls could enhance the Soul Banner's abilities and rank.

Backlash (Passive, Permanent): When the banner master's strength and divine sense were insufficient to suppress the Soul Banner's Main Soul, the Main Soul could actively backlash against the banner master and refine him into a Banner Slave.

Soul Collection: Extract living souls from dead corpses and store living souls and yin ghosts weaker than the Main Soul. (Current Main Soul strength: 'Qi Refining Second Layer'.)

Spirit Storage: The Soul Banner could store yin souls and ghostly creatures. Current storage: (fourteen/one hundred).

Repair: Consuming a certain amount of baleful qi and living souls could repair the Soul Banner and its Main Soul.

Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts: All hundred ghosts within the Soul Banner could be released, gathering into a night-walking soul art to strike forth.

Having absorbed enough baleful qi and the Qi Refining First Layer yin soul, the Soul Banner's rank rose to mid-grade, and it also gave rise to a new divine ability.

'Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts.'

As the Main Soul, Tu Shan Jun immediately comprehended the ability of this spell.

The living souls within the banner could connect through the Soul Banner, transforming into a night parade of a hundred ghosts and launching an assault with their branches linked and breath united.

Its exact power remained unknown, but it should have been an extremely powerful spell.

The offensive art of a Mid-grade Artifact, especially one like the Soul Banner, was inherently formidable.

What he had gained now was even a soul-attacking spell, more frightening than ordinary physical attacks.

Even with such an extraordinary offensive art, Tu Shan Jun still played dumb and made no unusual move.

As long as Zhao Shixian did not know that he was alive, Zhao Shixian would not be on guard. Then the day he backlashed against Zhao Shixian would not be far off.

Zhao Shixian was beside himself with joy. The ten-foot Soul Banner shrank under the impetus of his magic power until it was only a foot long, like a command flag from the mortal world.

However, he was also deeply puzzled. Why had this happened?

He had never heard of an Artifact Embryo from within the sect evolving in rank after refinement, nor had he heard of any treasure that could actively evolve in rank.

Even if such things existed, they were mostly legends, utterly beyond his reach.

Yet one had appeared right before his eyes.

It had merely devoured the Chaos Burial Mound and the Sha Stones he carried, yet it had risen by an entire major rank. Even the strength of the Main Soul within the banner had risen along with it.

How could this not astonish him? It even filled him with unease.

Could a treasure capable of increasing its rank keep advancing as long as it had enough baleful qi? Supreme-grade Artifacts, Dharma treasures, spirit treasures...

Zhao Shixian did not dare think further, because he did not even know the names of more powerful artifacts. He could think of none.

"Fortune! This is my, Zhao Shixian's, fortune—the fortune to attain the Dao!"

"Ha ha ha!"

Zhao Shixian's eyes burned with fervor. He had made up his mind. Under the pretext of refining an artifact, since he had already left the sect, he did not intend to return from this trip.

With this Soul Banner, even as a Rogue Cultivator, he could support his own cultivation.

He was merely a pseudo-spirit root cultivator with a Four Spirit Root, with little presence in the sect.

He had only entered the sect in his early twenties. After cultivating for more than four years, he had barely reached Qi Refining Third Layer. With talent like this, he could forget about obtaining a Foundation Establishment Pill in his lifetime, much less receiving special cultivation from the sect.

Without a Foundation Establishment Pill, a pseudo-spirit root cultivator's immortal path was as good as cut off entirely.

But things were different now. He possessed this supreme treasure that could rise in rank by absorbing baleful qi. Would he still need to worry about cultivation resources in the future?

Exploring dangerous lands, killing others for treasure, seizing resources...

All of it was better than waiting to die in the sect, becoming an outer sect steward in the end, and wasting away his entire life.

"I can't rush this. I need to verify it again. Perhaps this sort of advancement will only happen once." Zhao Shixian gripped the Soul Banner and suppressed his excitement.

He had even considered selling the Soul Banner in exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill.

But the matter was simply too unbelievable. If those great figures decided to silence him in order to keep the secret, the loss would far outweigh the gain.

Moreover, he still needed to verify whether this increase in rank would happen again in the future. If it only happened once, it might have been a coincidence.

He still had to return to the sect, and he still needed to collect resources. Even this treasure would become as useless as chicken ribs.

Within the banner, Tu Shan Jun watched Zhao Shixian's face shift between light and shadow, and he began to suspect that this Demon Cultivator had discovered something.

Though Zhao Shixian was not very strong and his spirit root aptitude was poor, he was indeed an ascetic cultivator. Aside from his daily meditation and cultivation, he only practiced spells.

In two days, Zhao Shixian wiped out another village. Using the same method, he found the village chief and lured people onto the formation with white steamed buns and silver.

With a sweep of his magic power, the formation activated, and the mortals within were refined into blood baleful qi.

Tu Shan Jun had considered saving them, but if he rashly initiated a backlash with his Qi Refining Second Layer cultivation, he would certainly be no match for Zhao Shixian at Qi Refining Third Layer.

For the sake of revenge, he chose to watch everything unfold with his own eyes.

To accomplish great things, one must endure!

The more he saw, the harder his heart became.

Tu Shan Jun could only swear silently in his heart, "I will definitely refine Zhao Shixian and avenge you all—and myself."

As the blood baleful qi replenished the banner, another thirty living souls merged into the Soul Banner. Though this did not raise the Soul Banner's rank, it allowed Tu Shan Jun to touch the threshold of Qi Refining Third Layer. The replenished baleful qi and living souls let him break through once more.

Zhao Shixian had now completely confirmed that this supreme treasure could absorb baleful qi and increase its rank.

Though the Soul Banner had not risen in rank this time, the infusion of baleful qi still made its banner cloth more exquisite, while the ghost faces upon it became lifelike.

The main shaft became rounder and smoother, and another portion of its impurities was expelled.

The current Soul Banner ranked among the better Mid-grade Artifacts.

Even its Main Soul had reached Qi Refining Third Layer.

Who could have imagined that two days ago, this Soul Banner had still been an Artifact Embryo? It had only been refined into a low-grade artifact, and even its Main Soul had merely been at Qi Refining First Layer.

Zhao Shixian stroked the Soul Banner in delight. The banner in his hand was no longer as cold and hard as it had been at first. It was like profound cold jade, carrying a faint chill. "A fine treasure. With the Main Soul advancing to Qi Refining Third Layer, I have gained an assistant of the same realm."

"Demon, I've finally found you!"

The fierce shout exploded beside him like thunder from level ground.

Zhao Shixian, who had just put away the Dharma stone formation, abruptly changed expression. He knew that voice all too well.

That Righteous Cultivator who had pursued him for two days.

Under the banner of exterminating demons and defending the Dao, he had fought Zhao Shixian. The wounds on Zhao Shixian's body had been inflicted by that cultivator's flying sword.

Tu Shan Jun, within the banner, was utterly helpless.

Don't make a sound. Zhao Shixian is in the midst of his delight, his mind relaxed. If you had launched a surprise attack first, wouldn't you have seized the initiative?

That pursuer had actually warned him first, exposing his own position instead.

Zhao Shixian snorted coldly. "You've chased me for so long that there can be no peaceful end between us. Since you insist on courting death, I'll grant your wish."

With the Mid-grade Artifact Soul Banner in hand and his condition fully restored, Zhao Shixian did not fear the Qi Refining Fourth Layer Righteous Cultivator who had caught up.

"Take my sword!"

The young Righteous Cultivator who had pursued him was not old, appearing to be only around twenty.

Without another word, he pulled the Daoist Hairpin from atop his head and flung it forward. The hairpin transformed in the wind into a three-foot azure flying sword, circling at his side.

Driven by magic power, it flew straight for Zhao Shixian's head.

Zhao Shixian brought forth the Soul Banner. Urged by blood light, the Soul Banner instantly grew to ten feet.

The ghost face on the Soul Banner was savage as it fluttered in the wind.

It resembled a general's battle standard.

In Zhao Shixian's hand, the main shaft displayed even greater might. The banner cloth wrapped tightly around the shaft, turning it into something like a halberd as it tangled with the three-foot flying sword.

The clash of metal and stone rang without cease.

Rather than retreating, Zhao Shixian advanced. Within a few breaths, he had already reached the young man's front.

Tu Shan Jun within the Soul Banner grew excited. As long as they fought, regardless of the outcome, Zhao Shixian would definitely let down his guard. This was his perfect chance to backlash against him.