Divine Banner

His inner qi had been completely transformed into mana.

Nourished by mana, his meridians became even tougher.

The cracks that had once been there vanished without a trace.

Even most of the hidden injuries he had accumulated in his early years had healed.

Although Qi Refiners had not yet reached the stage of extending their lifespans, his previously reduced upper limit on longevity had been raised by a great deal.

So long as he did not wield weapons again in the future, living past a hundred would pose absolutely no problem.

He might even reach one hundred and twenty or thirty.

Yet none of that mattered to Old Man Xiang.

What mattered was that he—he now possessed power.

Power that ordinary people could hardly match.

Though he was only at the third level of Qi Refinement, as long as his mana and strength were not exhausted, no expert from the worldly martial realm could kill him.

Neither could Xue Yi.

Nor could soldiers formed into a military formation.

Bind Banner Master?

"Yes."

Tu Shan Jun let out a long breath. He had finally raised another Banner Master.

It was somewhat regrettable that Old Man Xiang had not transformed all his inner qi into mana, leaving his strength far from outstanding.

Still, the third level of Qi Refinement was enough to wield the Soul Banner and sustain Tu Shan Jun's ghost body in battle.

With his sixth-level Qi Refinement strength, so long as Old Man Xiang remained cautious and did not court death himself, would he not be able to swagger sideways through Liang Capital?

As mana flowed into the Soul Banner,

the soul banner immediately returned to three feet in length. The ghostly face on its banner grinned savagely, no longer resembling the little toy it had once been.

"I don't know what this artifact was originally called, but it needs a name. We can't keep calling it an artifact."

"I think we'll call it the Ghost-Faced Divine Banner."

Banner Name: Ghost-Faced Divine Banner

Banner Master: Xiang Hu

Grade: High-Grade Artifact

Banner and Soul as One (Passive Solidification): Absorbing baleful intent and Living Souls can enhance the soul banner's abilities and grade.

Backlash (Passive Solidification): When the Banner Master's strength and divine sense are insufficient to suppress the Soul Banner's Main Soul, the Soul Banner's Main Soul can actively backlash against the Banner Master and refine him into a Banner Slave.

Soul Storage: Extract Living Souls from dead corpses and store Living Souls and yin ghosts weaker than the Main Soul. (Current Main Soul strength: "Sixth level of Qi Refinement".)

Spirit Storage: The soul banner can store yin souls and ghostly creatures. Current storage: (194/1,000).

Repair: Consume a certain amount of baleful intent and Living Souls to repair the soul banner and Main Soul.

Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts: All thousand ghosts within the soul banner can be released, gathering into a night-walking soul art that erupts with devastating force.

Soul Gathering Pill: The soul banner absorbs wandering yin souls and baleful intent to condense Yin Soul Pills. Yin Soul Pills can assist the Banner Master's cultivation (one pill per twelve hours). Devouring baleful intent and yin ghosts can accelerate the process of condensing Yin Soul Pills.

After the battle at Eight Directions Prefecture City, and after Li Qingfeng's Living Soul was finally taken in, there had been one hundred and nine Living Souls and yin ghosts.

Later, Old Man Xiang killed twenty-three gutter rats from the Wild Dog Gang.

Over the next month or so, he picked up another sixty-two Living Souls from the prison, bringing the total to one hundred and ninety-four.

But ordinary people's Living Souls provided limited enhancement to Tu Shan Jun's strength. They had merely loosened the bottleneck at the sixth level of Qi Refinement; the seventh level was still far away.

Tu Shan Jun also understood that if he wanted to grow stronger, he had to seek out ghosts and fiends with profound cultivation and bizarre abilities.

Or else kill Qi Refiners and take their souls into the banner.

There was no other way.

Old Man Xiang looked into the soul banner.

Inside was a small world shrouded in gray mist.

Countless yin souls and ghostly creatures stood packed together in dense ranks.

At the center of that world stood a towering evil ghost.

His wild red hair hung loose and unrestrained.

His tattered black robe covered most of his body, yet the powerful physique beneath it, muscles knotted like coiling dragons, could still be seen.

He had a solemn blue-green face, with ghost horns growing from his forehead.

Though his expression was indifferent, his scarlet ghost eyes were exceptionally lively, clearly showing that his intelligence was far from ordinary.

Among the many yin souls and ghostly creatures with identical expressions and vacant eyes, he stood out at a glance.

"It's him!"

Old Man Xiang recognized him instantly. Surprise flickered across his face, yet it also felt only natural.

That towering evil ghost was the one who had taught him cultivation techniques atop the cliff in his dreams and shown him the black bead...

Old Man Xiang did not know what to call him.

A ghost, or a man?

For now, he would call him a man. With the Red-Haired Ghost's level of intelligence, he was no different from a human.

At first, Old Man Xiang had been highly vigilant, fearing that some ghostly thing had entered his dreams to claim his life.

But little by little, he had come to trust him.

No matter what, when he had been at the end of his road, this man had been the only one to extend a helping hand.

Whether man or ghost, he had shown him kindness.

What are you staring at? Do you think you can stare flowers into bloom? Tu Shan Jun muttered inwardly.

Still, now that the Banner Master had reached the third level of Qi Refinement, Tu Shan Jun taught Old Man Xiang the two spells, the Spirit Official Dharma Eye and the Banner Control Art.

Without the Spirit Official Dharma Eye, a Qi Refiner was like a person afflicted with severe nearsightedness.

Without the Banner Control Art, control over the Soul Banner would be extremely crude.

It was now called the Ghost-Faced Divine Banner; Soul Banner had become its old name.

It was one thing if he could not use Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts properly, but if he did not even understand how to summon Tu Shan Jun, he would be unable to bring out his strength.

When the time came, he had better not use the soul banner as a close-combat weapon.

Old Man Xiang saw the two spell texts condensing from black mist upon the soul banner.

There were incantations, mana circulation routes, hand seals, and an entire series of auxiliary methods.

At the same time, he came to understand the divine banner's power.

Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts could actually release every yin soul and ghostly creature inside the divine banner, unleashing a powerful assault.

The divine banner could also absorb wandering baleful intent and spiritual qi to condense Yin Soul Pills.

If it could take in yin souls, the process could be drastically shortened.

Old Man Xiang clenched the three-foot Soul Banner. At last, he had gained the strength he had once dreamed of.

No one could stop him anymore.

At that moment, dawn was just beginning to break.

Sunlight gathered into a single point and blossomed.

As though the curtain of night had been drawn aside, the whole of Liang Capital was steeped in newborn sunlight.

It awakened Liang Capital and roused its sleeping people.

Yesterday evening,

the Attendant Tower welcomed a sect Qi Refiner.

The paulownia wood and green bricks glimmered faintly, stopping the Qi Refiner's footsteps.

But he was not kept waiting long.

Cultivators in the mortal world were more sensitive to their own kind and could usually tell at once whether someone was a cultivator.

The Spirit Official Dharma Eye could reveal the approximate strength of a person's spiritual radiance.

Although the spiritual radiance of the Qi Refiner who had come today was not especially strong, the calling card he presented bore the name of the Five Spirit Sect.

Though the rogue cultivators of Liang Capital lacked knowledge and experience, they still understood the Five Spirit Sect's status. It would not be an exaggeration to call it the sect standing behind Great Liang.

However, the Five Spirit Sect did not interfere with the workings of mortal dynasties. It merely received Great Liang's offerings and dispatched disciples to the various Prefecture Cities to guard each region.

To demonstrate that it did not participate in worldly affairs, it had not sent disciples to guard Liang Capital.

That instead made the Great Liang imperial family breathe a sigh of relief.

They hoped immortals would protect their borders and bring peace to their people, but they did not want an aloof existence standing above the imperial family's heads.

Because of this, Great Liang established the Attendant Tower and recruited rogue cultivators from among the people.

Heavenly treasures, scattered Spirit Stones, cultivation manuals, and scriptures were offered as payment.

The one who came out to greet him at the gates of the pavilion complex was the old man in green robes. Cupping his hands, he asked, "From which great house does this visitor come?"

"I am Mo Qi of the Five Spirit Sect. Greetings, fellow Daoist."

The immortal master stationed there—no, Mo Qi—returned the salute with cupped hands.

"I dare not accept such a title. This poor Daoist is Lu Chengyi." The green-robed Daoist repeatedly declined the honorific.

Mo Qi was too young, and his cultivation was not low. A few decades from now, he might well become Lu Chengyi's senior. Setting that thought aside, Lu Chengyi asked, "What brings fellow Daoist here?"

"I am the guardian of Eight Directions Prefecture City. A month ago, I joined fellow Daoists from the Attendant Tower in exterminating a Demon Cultivator. Unfortunately, two fellow Daoists died, while I suffered grave injuries and fell unconscious. Only today have I recovered from my wounds. I have come to pay respects to the two fellow cultivators and to verify the Demon Cultivator's cultivation manuals, protective artifacts, and the like."

Once Mo Qi said this, Lu Chengyi immediately understood. The immortal master guarding Eight Directions Prefecture City had come to claim his share of the spoils.

By rights, they should have given the other party a portion, but they had long since divided everything up cleanly.

Rogue cultivators were already impoverished. This was no different from snatching food from a tiger's mouth—it would sour relations.

Yet this disciple of the Five Spirit Sect had been forthright, directly stating his purpose without beating around the bush.

Either he had never struggled through the world's dust and hardships, or he was genuinely candid.

The other party was candid, but they found it difficult to speak. Lu Chengyi hesitated. "This..."

"Is there something difficult to say?"

"Please forgive us, honored disciple."

Mo Qi frowned. He could forgo the other things, but he had to take the Soul Banner.

Seeing Mo Qi frown, Lu Chengyi felt that he could not shoulder this matter alone.

Should the other party later bring sect elders to demand answers, he alone could not bear the blame.

"How about this? Honored disciple may stay here for now. Tomorrow, this poor Daoist will gather all the fellow Daoists, and we will explain the matter clearly to you."

Mo Qi had no other choice.

Lu Chengyi was an old hand, slick as an eel, making no promises and unwilling to take responsibility.

The other party simply intended to gather everyone together when the time came.

The rogue cultivators who had received benefits naturally would not want to loosen their grip. With strength in numbers, they would find it easier to negotiate.

Left with no alternative, Mo Qi could only nod in agreement. "Very well."