Choice

Old Xiang lit a stick of incense.

Then he bowed again to the Soul Banner.

Afterward, he sent his inner qi through the meridians in his palm and into the Soul Banner.

After swallowing a Yin Soul Pill, Old Xiang had indeed grown stronger.

He desperately hoped to obtain a second one.

Since the treasure needed inner qi, then he would give it inner qi.

Until every bit of inner qi in his body had been exhausted.

The little black banner spat out another black bead the size of an egg.

Old Xiang carefully cradled it in his palm.

This undoubtedly reinforced his belief. The treasure truly could produce heavenly treasures capable of increasing a person's strength.

The prerequisite for all this was inner qi.

"Not bad. You catch on quickly."

Tu Shan Jun was quite satisfied with Old Xiang's ability to understand.

If this continued, then once he had enough mana, Tu Shan Jun would be able to cast the Dream Entry Art and pull Old Xiang into a dream.

He cooked and ate.

He even brewed all those medicinal herbs he had usually been reluctant to use.

Old Xiang stared blankly at the medicines he had made to replenish qi and blood.

They had all originally been meant to lay a solid foundation for Xiang Wen.

Now, there was no longer any use for them.

After replenishing his qi and blood and eating, he had regained some strength.

Once some of his inner qi had recovered, he heated the kang bed and sat cross-legged upon it, his five centers facing heaven.

Old Xiang swallowed another Yin Soul Pill.

A needle-like chill bored into his heart and carved through his bones.

It felt as though it could freeze a person's flesh and blood into solid ice.

Heat rose from the kang bed, enveloping Old Xiang.

Cold and heat met, cancelling each other out. Old Xiang circulated his family's inherited martial arts cultivation method.

Inner qi surged through his meridians.

An unknown, pure power merged into his meridians, settling into his dantian and transforming into inner qi.

Old Xiang did not faint.

He withstood the erosion of the Yin Soul Pill.

The inner qi in his dantian visibly swelled.

The inner qi then fed back into his body, nourishing hidden injuries while strengthening his physique.

The newly gained abundant strength actually fused directly into his five viscera and six bowels.

Boom!

Old Xiang felt as though he had opened a great door.

The door he had long been unable to enter.

The Organ Refinement Realm.

In other words, a first-class expert in this world.

Two Yin Soul Pills had directly allowed a second-rate expert past his prime to become first-class and step into Organ Refinement.

His inner qi became ceaseless, his five viscera and six bowels forming a cycle.

Old Xiang abruptly opened his eyes, a sharp gleam flashing through them.

Though he had only one arm left, his body was remarkably coordinated, as if a precision instrument had been activated as a whole.

His skin and flesh were tough, his bones and blood surged, and his organs breathed without cease.

"A rare first-class expert in this world, the Organ Refinement Realm!"

"It worked."

Old Xiang did not feel joy. None of this had come easily.

If not for the belief that he had to avenge them supporting him, he would have frozen to death alive the first time he swallowed the black bead.

His success had been built upon the deaths of his wife and child.

If he could choose, Old Xiang would rather never have broken through at all, so long as his wife and child were safe.

"If I had obtained power sooner..."

Old Xiang's eyes reddened as he clenched his fist.

If he had gained power earlier, then as an Organ Refinement expert, even if he had grown old, the Embroidered Uniform Guard would not only have refrained from stripping him of his hereditary Hundred-Household post, he might even have gone a step further.

Unfortunately, the hardest thing in this world to seek was "if."

Tu Shan Jun watched Old Xiang without saying anything.

Cheap sympathy was useless.

People always found it difficult to recognize the role power played.

Little did they know that it was precisely because one possessed power that the world around them became beautiful.

Only then would others treat them kindly.

If one said it was too late, that was not necessarily so.

Because it was difficult for people to obtain power beyond the scope of their understanding.

Tu Shan Jun let out a faint sigh. His thoughts had once churned as well. If only he had obtained power earlier.

There was no use thinking too much.

Tu Shan Jun cast aside his distracting thoughts.

He prepared to choose an introductory scripture.

Since Old Xiang had already become a first-class expert and his inner qi had greatly increased, there was now an opportunity to cast the Dream Entry Art.

He just did not know which of the qi-refining cultivation methods in his possession suited Old Xiang.

Without question, the Nether Spirit Art was superior to the other cultivation methods.

But the Nether Spirit Art only had the formulae and mental methods for three levels. In the future, he would either need to switch cultivation methods or find the complete manual.

So, he still had to consider it further.

Meanwhile.

A family had been exterminated in one night, followed by a day and night of cultivation.

Even though Old Xiang had become an Organ Refinement expert, he still felt exhausted.

Clutching the Soul Banner, he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

"Enter the dream."

Wind and clouds swept across the Cultivation Cliff.

Above his head was a bright blue sky and broad daylight.

Old Xiang's expression was one of shock.

He stood rooted to the spot, at a complete loss.

Everything was so unfamiliar, yet so real.

Wisps of pale gray mist dissipated, while a tattered black robe fluttered in the wind.

Old Xiang saw a towering figure.

A green face, crimson-red eyes.

Its expression was terrifying, yet solemn.

Long scarlet hair hung down in wild disarray.

The edges of its black robe were torn, as though ripped apart by some creature's claws.

Powerful.

Its might was unmatched.

It was simply like a living Ghost King.

"Evil ghost!"

Old Xiang trembled.

He had seen ghosts before, but none possessed the terrifying pressure of the being before him.

This evil ghost with horns growing from its forehead.

"Did a ghost enter my dream, or did some demon and monster sneak into my home?" Old Xiang waited calmly.

He raised his fists into a stance, intending to use his inner qi.

He could not die yet.

Tu Shan Jun could indeed enter dreams and alter his appearance.

But once the banner master could use mana to summon him, what emerged would inevitably be his true body.

If the two appearances differed, distrust would arise. Tu Shan Jun thus felt it was better to appear in his true form.

Better to frighten him now than later.

Tu Shan Jun said nothing and opened his palm.

In the center of that cyan ghost hand, with its oval, rough dark-red nails and palm devoid of lines, lay a black bead.

Old Xiang's eyes immediately widened.

Of course he recognized what the bead was.

Was it not the very thing he had eaten?

"But why does this towering evil ghost possess black beads?" Old Xiang could not understand.

Since Old Xiang had already recognized the Yin Soul Pill, it also confirmed Tu Shan Jun's identity.

Using black mist, he condensed the Nether Spirit Art and the Blood Fiend Art.

Both could rapidly grant strength.

One was upright and balanced, yet could likewise quickly raise one's strength.

The other required baleful blood qi.

The best method was to use a Blood Fiend Array.

Tu Shan Jun felt that the Blood Fiend Art could actually be used.

There were so many death-row prisoners in the prison. If he refined a batch of them, he could immediately gain formidable strength.

"Cultivation methods?"

"Immortal master cultivation methods."

Old Xiang had already forgotten how many times he had been shocked.

It had truly shattered everything he knew.

Not only did the evil ghost possess black beads, it had even produced two cultivation methods.

"What does this mean? It wants me to choose one of two?" Old Xiang examined the strengths and weaknesses of the cultivation methods.

After comparing them, he chose the Nether Spirit Art.

The Blood Fiend Art was indeed good, but baleful blood qi affected one's mind.

He did not want to become like that. If possible, he would rather preserve his sanity while taking revenge.

Of course, that was because he had a choice. If he did not, then only one path would remain.

Tu Shan Jun directly crushed the Blood Fiend Art and imparted the Nether Spirit Art to Old Xiang.

After Old Xiang memorized it thoroughly, he looked at Tu Shan Jun. "What do you want?"

He felt that even if kindness existed in this world, it could not possibly come from ghosts and monsters. The other party definitely had some scheme.

So Old Xiang simply asked directly.

Tu Shan Jun froze. He had not expected Old Xiang to remain so wary of him, even taking the initiative to ask what he wanted.

After thinking briefly, Tu Shan Jun used black mist to form words.

"Souls."

"Powerful souls."

"Death-row prisoners in the prison."

Old Xiang's mouth fell open in shock.

This Red-Haired Fiend was far too clever.

It actually knew about the death-row prisoners in the prison.

And what it demanded were powerful souls.

Did that mean he needed to kill people in order to gain power?

Given the intelligence displayed by the evil ghost before him, Old Xiang felt a chill run down his spine.

Tu Shan Jun did not explain much before driving Old Xiang away.

Since he had chosen a cultivation method, he only needed to cultivate step by step. There was no need to remain at the Cultivation Cliff.

Old Xiang suddenly jolted awake and threw off the blanket.

Before his eyes were the familiar ceiling, bed, and room.

It was reassuring.

"Was it a dream?"

Old Xiang muttered to himself doubtfully.

If it had been a dream, it had seemed far too real.

As though it had truly happened.

He unconsciously loosened his hand, only to discover that he had been gripping the Soul Banner the entire time.

Old Xiang swallowed and picked up the soul banner.

He suddenly recalled the words that had once appeared on the banner, condensed from black mist.

"Could the words on it have been written by him?"