Greed

The demonic-looking young man immediately showed a hint of surprise: "Hundred Soul Banner?"

"You, a mere Mid-Stage Qi Refinement cultivator, how can you wield such a treasure?"

Demonic Soul Banners, as magical artifacts explicitly forbidden by the righteous sects, were not even openly used by the major demonic sects. However, many cultivators secretly refined them in the dark.

But there were also differences between Soul Banners.

For an ordinary Soul Banner to advance to a Top Grade Magic Tool, a Hundred Soul Banner, it required either refining the souls of thousands of mortals or slaughtering hundreds of cultivators.

Such large-scale slaughter was almost impossible in the current environment where the demonic path was in decline.

Even if a lucky person did refine a Hundred Soul Banner, once used, they would inevitably be locked onto by the righteous sects through deduction methods. With the entanglement of karmic retribution from the slaughter, there was almost no possibility of hiding.

These circumstances led to the scarcity of Hundred Soul Banners in the cultivation world.

Ordinary Top Grade Magic Tools were already treasures that Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators could only hope to encounter by chance, let alone the Hundred Soul Banner, which had established a fearsome reputation among Top Grade Magic Tools.

It was rumored in the cultivation world that those who held the Hundred Soul Banner were invincible below the Golden Core stage. While there was some exaggeration in this, sweeping away cultivators of the same level with the power of the Hundred Soul Banner was completely effortless.

And such a precious Top Grade Magic Tool was actually taken out by a small Mid-Stage Qi Refinement cultivator, which made the demonic-looking young man somewhat disbelieving for a moment.

However, Lu Yan did not give the demonic-looking young man a chance to think. With a flick of the Hundred Soul Banner, a full two hundred Fierce Ghosts rushed into the dense Ghost Mist, pouncing towards the demonic-looking young man.

The demonic-looking young man's expression changed, but the hand seals he formed were not slow at all.

Second-Tier High-Grade Spell · Red Lotus Protection Spell!

The hand seals transformed into a slowly blooming blood-colored lotus that enveloped the demonic-looking young man. The charging Fierce Ghosts collided with the protective spiritual light, and violent roars stirred up ripples in the Ghost Mist.

No matter how the Fierce Ghosts attacked, the protective spiritual light showed no signs of being shaken. Instead, when the Fierce Ghosts' soul bodies came into contact with the blood-colored spiritual light, their bodies actually began to show signs of corrosion.

The demonic-looking young man did not rush to counterattack. Instead, his gaze examined the Soul Banner in Lu Yan's hand. The brief exchange allowed him to keenly sense the unusual aura on this Hundred Soul Banner.

"This Hundred Soul Banner actually doesn't have much karmic retribution left from slaughter, and there are even very few negative emotions like resentment and fear. It's so clean it doesn't look like a demonic path magical artifact at all."

The Fierce Ghosts let out sharp wails. The ghost energy of two hundred Vengeful Souls transformed into a giant, eerie ghost claw, carrying a hint of blood-colored radiance as it heavily slammed down.

A huge roar erupted within the courtyard. The Red Lotus Protection Spell finally began to change a little. Its radiance dimmed by several points, and cracks began to appear on the protective spiritual light.

And the demonic-looking young man, protected by the spiritual light, swept his divine sense over the Fierce Ghosts in front of him. When he noticed the absence of the Fierce Ghosts' Heaven and Earth souls, he instantly understood, and an uncontrollable look of ecstasy appeared on his face.

"So that's it. You are the lunatic rumored to be refining the Ten Thousand Beast Banner in Witch Mountain!"

Letting out a crazy laugh, the demonic-looking young man's eyes, as he looked at Lu Yan, were filled with chilling greed.

"The sect sent me to investigate the matter of Ten Thousand Spirit Mountain, suspecting that Ten Thousand Spirit Mountain was slaughtering spirit-blooded wild beasts in the Witch Mountain area to extract special bloodlines.

But I didn't expect that someone was actually harvesting the souls of spirit-blooded wild beasts, and that person even delivered himself to me. Truly, the Demonic Venerable is protecting me!"

"Your Hundred Soul Banner is different from other Demonic Soul Banners. It must have the effect of harvesting spirit-blooded wild beasts.

The rumor that the Ten Thousand Beast Banner is refined by slaughtering wild beasts is pure nonsense, but if the souls of spirit-blooded wild beasts are used to feed the Vengeful Souls and Fierce Ghosts within the Soul Banner through special means, it has some credibility.

It's just a pity that both this Hundred Soul Banner in your hand and the method for collecting beast souls will become mine!"

The moment the words fell, the protective spiritual light of the Red Lotus Protection Spell shattered with a bang. Two hundred Fierce Ghosts rushed forward and extended their ghost claws towards the demonic-looking young man.

As long as these ghost claws pierced into the demonic-looking young man's flesh, no matter if he was a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator, his soul would absolutely not be able to withstand two hundred Fierce Ghosts comparable to Mid-Stage Qi Refinement cultivators.

But just then, the demonic youth moved.

He raised his right hand, and a pure white bell appeared in his grasp.

He gently shook his wrist. Though the bell was smaller than a palm, it emitted a hoarse sound like a dying person struggling, and visible ripples spread out from it in all directions.

"Ugh!!!"

Almost instantly, the ghost claws extended by the two hundred Fierce Ghosts shattered, and their soul bodies dimmed at a visible speed. Every Vengeful Soul showed a look of terror on its face, instinctively fleeing into the distance.

The Demonic Path Magical Artifact, White Bone Bell!

Lu Yan recognized the bell in the demonic youth's hand at a glance. It was one of the Demonic Path Magical Artifacts recorded in the Demonic Path Magical Artifact Secret Records.

Unlike the Soul Banner, which prioritized the subsequent refining method over the crafting materials, crafting the White Bone Bell required refining the bones of powerful beings and sealing the last remnant souls of those beings before death using special techniques. The complexity of the crafting process was such that even true artifact refiners might not succeed.

The White Bone Bell in the demonic youth's hand was clearly a High-Grade Magic Tool of extremely high quality, a great killer specifically designed to destroy divine souls.

Glancing at the fleeing Fierce Ghosts, the demonic youth did not pursue them to eliminate them all.

In his eyes, this Hundred Soul Banner was already his possession, and these Fierce Ghosts should also be his property, so he naturally wouldn't exterminate them.

Holding the White Bone Bell, the demonic youth slowly walked towards Lu Yan, speaking with a light chuckle:

"If you had Foundation Establishment cultivation, or if I didn't have this White Bone Bell in my hand, you might have a chance of winning with this Hundred Soul Banner.

But now, facing me, you have no chance of winning at all."

"I can give you another chance. Voluntarily offer up the Hundred Soul Banner and tell me the secret about you. I can let bygones be bygones and take you as my servant, joining the Red Lotus Demonic Sect.

If one day I can become the Sect Master of the Red Lotus Demonic Sect, you can also rise with the tide and become an elder of the Red Lotus Demonic Sect."

Lu Yan did not speak, merely shaking the Soul Banner, trying to control the fleeing Fierce Ghosts to merge into the Ghost Mist.

The rolling Ghost Mist, covering the sky and the sun, swept over, making the darkness in this Netherworld Domain even deeper. A giant ghost claw, gathering the power of the Fierce Ghosts, slammed down.

"Stubborn!"

The demonic youth made a detached evaluation, shaking the White Bone Bell in his hand.

The deathly wail, like a dying creature, sounded again, and the ripples spread out to meet the giant ghost claw.

However, this collision far exceeded the demonic youth's expectations.

The giant ghost claw only paused slightly before continuing to descend towards him. The ripples blew away the overwhelming Ghost Mist, revealing the strange creature beneath the Ghost Mist.

It was a terrifying creature seemingly stitched together from hundreds of Fierce Ghosts, their souls connected to each other. The White Bone Bell, not fully activated, was actually unable to shake this colossal being.

The next moment, the ghost claw clenched into a fist, and a roaring sound shook the earth!