Myriad Souls Banner

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Myriad Souls Banner
Original Name	万魂幡
Alias(es)	Soul Banner
Type	Ancient magical Treasure Artifact
Occupation/Role	Refines bodies and souls; stores, commands, and converts souls into power
Affiliation	No permanent allegiance; successively wielded or sought by Yue Tianqi, the Old Emperor, Li Xuanxiao, Bai Jing, and others
Status	Active; responds docilely to Ling Xuanxiao's original body 467
First Appearance	Chapter 86

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Initial recorded deployment	86 87	Yue Tianqi identifies it as an artifact that refines bodies and souls until they vanish without trace. When deployed, it releases innumerable vengeful spirits and suppresses Lu Ziyin.
Old Emperor's Dao-linked state	232 233	The Old Emperor connects his Dao to the banner, using its spirits to remain undefeated against multiple opponents despite dropping from the Tribulation Crossing Stage.
Merged demonic state	235 236	The Old Emperor swallows and merges with the banner, replacing his Dragon Qi Golden Seal and returning to the Tribulation Crossing Stage at the cost of entering the demonic path.
Soul formation manifestation	237	Souls within the banner condense into a great formation that traps Lingxu in a blood-red vortex and destabilizes cultivators' heart lakes.
Stored Golden Core souls	348	The banner contains twelve Golden Core-stage cultivator souls, excluding scattered lesser souls.
Improved conversion efficiency	425	Its conversion of absorbed cultivation into usable power rises to roughly 80%, compared with a much lower earlier return.
Peak saturated state	436	After devouring eight powerful cultivators' souls, it reaches a saturated peak state and nearly overloads Li Xuanxiao through violent feedback.
Autonomous battlefield feeding	455	It breaks free of Li Xuanxiao's control and independently devours residual souls, death qi, resentment, and the remnants of both human and demon combatants.
Subdued by original Ling Xuanxiao	467	After violently rejecting Nangong Wan, it answers Ling Xuanxiao's summons and becomes as docile as a pet in his hand.

Background / History

Origin

The banner was one of two Treasure Artifacts obtained by the Old Emperor after his transmigration, the other being the Ascension Platform. The Old Emperor later claimed that the banner could help a transmigrator evade Heavenly Tribulation during the path toward ascension. 239

The Old Emperor initially considered the artifact too evil to use and intended to seal it away. After repeated cultivation setbacks, however, he began using it against people he deemed evil, then death-row prisoners, before ultimately abandoning any distinction between acceptable and unacceptable sacrifices. 239

Coiled Dragon City Incident

The banner first becomes publicly known when Coiled Dragon City's Lord, Yue Tianqi, admits that he used it to dispose of citizens killed for his cultivation. He describes it as an ancient artifact capable of refining both bodies and souls. 86

Yue Tianqi unleashes the artifact against Lu Ziyin, filling the battlefield with black energy and vengeful spirits. The banner's evil energy corrodes Lu Ziyin's sword hand and forces him into retreat before Li Xuanxiao extracts him underground. 87

Using the banner inflicts a backlash on Yue Tianqi. Golden Armored Guards suppress the agitated artifact with Buddhist incantations, and Yue Tianqi is ultimately killed by its backlash as the banner disappears. 88

The Old Emperor's Weapon

Li Xuanxiao eventually connects the banner to the Great Xia Old Emperor, concluding that the emperor intended to use war and mass disappearances to supply it with souls. 92 119

The Old Emperor repeatedly employs the banner through proxies and in person. It is used against Tribulation Crossing cultivators, hung over Shushan to blanket the sect in demonic energy, and used to capture demons escaping the Demon Suppressing Pagoda. 172 174 176

When cornered by Lingxu, the Old Emperor merges with the banner despite the risk of being controlled by it. The fusion restores his Tribulation Crossing power but subjects him to the torment of the countless souls he absorbed. 235 236

After his defeat, the Old Emperor gives the banner to Li Xuanxiao as a deliberate final inheritance. He destroys Li Xuanxiao's Nascent Soul in the hope that Li Xuanxiao will be forced to rely on the artifact and repeat his descent into blood sacrifice. 239

Li Xuanxiao's Possession

Li Xuanxiao initially recognizes the banner as a path to damnation and intends to free the souls imprisoned within it rather than use it. 239

Despite this resolve, he later employs the banner in an underground Buddhist hell, absorbing the souls of tortured prisoners and using captured monks as temporary attackers. The artifact grows stronger as it absorbs more souls, increasing Li Xuanxiao's control over it. 328

Li Xuanxiao hides the banner beneath Divine Grass Mountain as a last resort. It is sealed inside a dark-red treasure box, but reacts when he awakens inside Di Nüfeng's lotus-platform formation. 326 331

The banner later vanishes from its hiding place. The Sword Spirit claims ignorance despite controlling Divine Grass Mountain, and Li Xuanxiao cannot determine whether she is lying. 331

Later Transfers and Conflicts

Bai Jing finds the banner after Li Xuanxiao leaves it behind. She uses it against Xiangshan Academy, stabs herself with it to absorb its power, and temporarily matches Wang Tingzhi at the cost of her life. 339

When Li Xuanxiao returns, the banner leaves Bai Jing's body at his call. It then kills her and absorbs her soul. 340

The Self Corpse version of Li Xuanxiao later uses the banner against the Old Guard Captain and absorbs him. During a later clash, the Self Corpse causes the banner to absorb him before it escapes independently. 352 365

After Li Xuanxiao's death, Nangong Wan inherits the artifact but cannot control it. The banner's backlash severely injures her until Ling Xuanxiao's original body arrives and summons it into his hand. 466 467

Appearance

The Myriad Souls Banner is a black banner covered in twisted, ferocious runes and patterns. Its surface often displays distorted faces or suffering soul phantoms, while black mist and evil energy coil around it. 87 176 445

• Its cloth flutters even without wind and produces mournful cries resembling the wails of countless souls. 172 466
• Its patterns can resemble ferocious evil spirits, twisted souls, or dark-red dried bloodstains. 340 346
• When active, it can form a black vortex, a curtain of demonic energy, or a darkness-filled barrier around a battlefield. 87 174 428
• At peak saturation, its runes glow intensely and its pole hums as though close to bursting. 436

Abilities & Skills

Soul and Body Refinement

The banner can refine a victim's body and soul, causing both to disappear without trace. 86

• Absorbs the souls of cultivators, demons, ordinary civilians, and battlefield dead. 224 348 455
• Can take a target's body and soul directly when pierced into them. 344
• Draws in residual souls, death qi, resentment, vital blood, cultivation, and even divine-soul origins. 455 456
• Is described as able to absorb souls without a known limit, regardless of their origin. 326

Vengeful Spirit Summoning

The banner releases stored souls as vengeful spirits and demonic apparitions. 87 172

• Spirits swarm enemies with claws, fangs, and soul-corroding resentment. 87 233
• It can deploy enough spirits to overwhelm high-level cultivators and delay Lingxu's pursuit. 177
• Its spirits may be controlled as temporary combatants, though weak absorbed souls can be destroyed quickly. 328
• Released souls can form an army capable of wearing down an opponent over several days. 429

Power Conversion

Absorbed souls and cultivation can be converted into energy for the wielder. 348

• Refined energy flows into the wielder's limbs, bones, meridians, and dantian. 348 456
• Conversion efficiency later reaches approximately 80%. 425
• The banner can supply enough power to support breakthroughs, including Li Xuanxiao's Body Integration advancement. 456 460
• It may also help repair its wielder's body after extreme injury. 436

Domain and Formation Creation

The banner can turn its soul reserves into large-scale battlefield control.

• It creates barriers of black smoke filled with wandering vengeful souls and malevolent spirits. 428
• It can condense its souls into a great formation that creates a blood-red vortex and disrupts enemies' divine souls. 237
• The Old Emperor uses it to envelop the ancient battlefield in resentment and challenge several powerful cultivators simultaneously. 232 233

Physical and Energy Devouring

The banner functions as both a weapon and an absorber of enemy attacks.

• It can strike opponents directly with its pole and force them into retreat. 352
• It swallows sword light and continuously devours an opponent's Dharma power through powerful suction. 344
• It can absorb the power of a White Phosphorus Great Serpent from inside its body. 435
• Li Xuanxiao uses it to control guards and laborers before absorbing them into the banner. 437

Autonomy and Backlash

The banner is dangerous even to its wielder.

• Yue Tianqi suffers a fatal backlash while trying to maintain control. 88
• The Old Emperor risks being controlled by the banner when he connects his Dao to it. 235
• Li Xuanxiao struggles to merge its power without being consumed by its malevolent energy. 346
• The artifact resists Li Xuanxiao's attempt to reclaim control and later escapes after absorbing the Self Corpse. 365
• It abandons Li Xuanxiao after the Battle of Luofeng Valley to feed on the dead without restraint. 455
• It violently attacks Nangong Wan's Sea of Consciousness when she attempts to channel spiritual energy into it. 467

Known Wielders and Custodians

• Yue Tianqi — City Lord of Coiled Dragon City; uses the banner to dispose of massacre victims and fight Lu Ziyin before dying from its backlash. 86 87 88
• The Old Emperor — Original known owner after transmigration; uses the banner for blood sacrifices, warfare, and demonic cultivation before leaving it to Li Xuanxiao. 119 236 239
• Li Xuanxiao — Receives it from the Old Emperor, hides it beneath Divine Grass Mountain, then repeatedly uses it for soul absorption, combat, and cultivation advancement. 239 331 348 460
• Bai Jing — Uses it in grief-driven revenge against Xiangshan Academy; ultimately dies when the banner returns to Li Xuanxiao. 339 340
• Self Corpse Li Xuanxiao — Uses it against the Old Guard Captain and later causes it to absorb him before it escapes. 352 365
• Nangong Wan — Possesses it after Li Xuanxiao's death but is severely injured when she attempts to control it. 466 467
• Ling Xuanxiao's original body — Effortlessly summons the banner and suppresses its resentment through a deeper power. 467

Limitations

• The wielder's own strength limits the level of souls they can safely absorb; Li Xuanxiao avoids taking souls far above his cultivation because his body may not endure them. 348
• Absorbing multiple powerful souls can leave the artifact saturated and inflict catastrophic physical and spiritual backlash on its user. 436
• Its power carries intense demonic energy, resentment, and impurities that can destabilize or consume the wielder. 236 346 456
• Even when under a wielder's control, the banner may resist commands, retaliate, or act independently. 365 455 467