Primordial Breath Ten Thousand Spirit Banner

Above the Cloud Sea, Liu Xin took the initiative to soften his stance. "If my two junior brothers are willing to turn swords into plowshares with Liu, Liu am willing to present you with a superior Dao Book."

"At a time like this? You're not joking, are you?"

Lu Yang laughed at that. "Senior Brother Liu, we're all Sacred Sect Disciples. Why put on an act? By now, it's already a fight to the death between you and us."

"..."

Liu Xin did not answer, merely darkening his expression at once.

Because Lu Yang was right. At this moment, the ones truly unwilling to reconcile were no longer Lu Yang and Xiao Shiye, but Liu Xin and Fairy Qingchen.

The reason was simple: the Sacred Sect Rules.

"So long as no one finds out, the Sacred Sect Rules are as good as nonexistent. But by the same token, once you are discovered, the Sacred Sect Rules will truly live up to their name."

Lu Yang sneered. "This certainly isn't your first time setting up ambushes in secret and robbing fellow disciples. No one discovered it before, that's all. But now, once I leave and report this to the Law Enforcement Hall, when the truth comes to light, Senior Brother Liu, you will almost certainly die."

"You jest, Junior Brother."

Liu Xin's cheek twitched slightly. "You and I can sign a Dharma Contract, agreeing that what happened today will not pass through a sixth ear. That way, I'll naturally be at ease."

"Really?" Lu Yang asked.

Of course not.

Only the dead truly put people at ease!

"Qingchen!"

With a low shout from Liu Xin, the ever-silent Fairy Qingchen finally spoke. Her crimson lips parted slightly as she slowly uttered a single syllable:

"Open!"

Before her voice had faded, the surrounding Cloud Sea changed again. In an instant, towering majestic peaks manifested, trapping Lu Yang and Xiao Shiye in their midst.

Clearly, it was another formation!

"Did you really think I feared your Heavenly Demon Blood-Dissolving Divine Light?" Liu Xin actually recognized Lu Yang's divine ability. With a cold laugh, he produced a Banner fluttering in the wind. "Perfect. My Primordial Breath Ten Thousand Spirit Banner still lacks a main soul to hold the fort. Today, I'll use you to consecrate it!"

"Go!"

Before Liu Xin had finished speaking, Lu Yang had already merged with his Sword Pellet and flown forward in a slashing strike. The overwhelming stench of blood made Liu Xin swallow the mockery he had yet to finish.

"Return, souls!"

Liu Xin formed a hand seal and fiercely shook the Ten Thousand Spirit Banner in his hand. At once, two hazy streams of White Qi emerged, gradually taking human shape amid the rising vapor.

Lu Yang did not slow down, slashing with his sword.

Under Liu Xin's command, the two figures likewise raised their true qi and charged boldly to meet him. With a boom, both were shattered by Sword Qi.

Liu Xin had just been about to go out and join forces with the two Banner Spirits he had summoned, but at the sight, he immediately shrank back.

"Qingchen, strike now!"

Fairy Qingchen's pretty face tightened at his words. She removed a Phoenix Tail Hairpin from her hair and threw it forth, whereupon it transformed into a streak of Golden Light that shot toward Lu Yang's brow.

Yet before the Phoenix Tail Hairpin could approach Lu Yang, another flash of Precious Light appeared out of thin air and stopped it. It was none other than Xiao Shiye, the Multi-Treasure Boy.

Nor was that all. Xiao Shiye swept his sleeve, flinging out more than ten magical treasures in one breath. Their quality varied greatly, some fine and some poor, yet every one of them radiated intense Precious Light. And after he activated them, these treasures actually exploded in midair!

Rumble!

The exploding Precious Light was like a host of little suns, directly blocking the killing formation Fairy Qingchen had laid down and nearly blowing the formation apart from within!

The extravagance of that scene made the corners of the other three's eyes twitch.

Xiao Shiye was indeed unlike Lu Yang and possessed no formidable Spells or divine abilities, but when he fought others, he clearly had no need for such fancy tricks.

All he had to do was throw out magical treasures and self-destruct them.

This tactic made Liu Xin's already gloomy expression grow even uglier. He simply waved the Ten Thousand Spirit Banner in his hand, summoning dozens of Banner Spirits in an instant.

These were all the gains Liu Xin had harvested from ambushing and killing fellow disciples over this period.

"All of you, go reinforce the formation."

Upon receiving Liu Xin's command, the Banner Spirits immediately moved, each landing in a different part of Fairy Qingchen's formation to bolster it and enhance its power.

Fairy Qingchen's heart settled at the sight. A small Banner also appeared in her hand, which she shook forcefully. The towering mountains manifested by the formation immediately responded, locking down Heaven and sealing off all directions. At the same time, they protected her and Liu Xin tightly, blocking Lu Yang's Sword Light.

Only then did Liu Xin smile in satisfaction before shaking the Ten Thousand Spirit Banner once more.

He had obtained this extraordinary treasure together with the Primordial Dao Scripture during a chance encounter years ago. It was the greatest reliance he had possessed in fighting others throughout his cultivation.

The Banner was said to require one main soul, two protectors, and Three Corpse Gods.

The Dao gave birth to one; one gave birth to two; two gave birth to three; three gave birth to all things. Only when these six positions were filled, together with ten thousand souls, could this treasure be considered complete.

It sounded simple, yet Liu Xin had painstakingly refined it for more than ten years without success. Gathering ten thousand souls was easy enough—he only needed to slaughter a city in the mortal world when he had the time. But the six crucial positions had never been filled. Forget the two protectors; he had not even gathered all the Three Corpse Gods.

Even so, this treasure's power remained considerable.

"Kill them!"

Liu Xin shook the Banner, and over ten thousand souls flew out in succession. Unlike the Banner Spirits that had cultivation, these souls were vengeful ghosts formed from ordinary mortals who had died with resentment in their hearts.

Their quality was poor, but their numbers were immense.

Summoned by Liu Xin now, they were like towering waves, a vast black mass crashing down and instantly drowning Lu Yang's figure.

More importantly, these were fleshless vengeful ghosts. They did not fear Lu Yang's Blood-Transforming Divine Light at all!

Yet Lu Yang remained utterly fearless.

The Blood-Transforming Divine Light was his strongest method, but not his only one. After refining the Sword Pellet, his Divine Firmament Sword Control Art was equally formidable!

With a thought from Lu Yang, the Sword Pellet rapidly split into dozens, then hundreds, of Sword Lights. His figure began shifting and flashing between them, neither confronting the vengeful ghosts nor the Banner Spirits head-on. When the enemy advanced, he retreated; when they tired, he struck. He actually began waging guerrilla warfare against the Banner Spirits.

This was the true advantage of a Sword Cultivator.

One sword strike, then a retreat of a thousand miles; then an attack from another direction, exhausting the opponent until they revealed an opening, followed by a single sword for Decapitation.

Before long, Lu Yang had slaughtered the ten thousand vengeful ghosts until they were scattered in all directions and utterly routed.

On the other side, Xiao Shiye had also gone all out. He threw out several superior magical treasures and detonated them without hesitation, shaking the formation that had only just stabilized until it was turbulent once more.

Watching the situation gradually turn unfavorable, Fairy Qingchen could not help looking toward Liu Xin. "Senior Brother."

"Don't panic. I'm not panicking, so why are you?"

Liu Xin remained composed. Xiao Shiye was one thing, but he refused to believe that Lu Yang could slaughter so freely with his sword escape technique without depleting any true qi or Dharma Power.

This was also his fighting strategy.

First, he would release unimportant Banner Spirits to wear down his opponent. Once their true qi was nearly exhausted, he would bring out his trump card and settle the battle in one stroke.

In truth, unless he had no other choice, he did not wish to use his trump card. That Banner Spirit was simply too valuable, and its identity in life had been exceedingly sensitive. Once anyone saw it, they could not be allowed to live. Otherwise, even the slightest rumor leaking out would doom him beyond redemption.

"Fine. You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child."

After weighing it for a moment, Liu Xin finally raised the Banner in his hand and gave a respectful bow. "A powerful enemy has arrived. To break this predicament, I ask Senior Brother to lend a hand."