You, Too, Think You're Worthy of Entering the Soul Banner?

Cheng Yu cast Lu Yan a deeply surprised glance.

Lu Yan's question was most likely related to what had happened at Bamboo Forest Market.

That immediately reminded him of the incident at Bamboo Forest Market. Behind it, the owner of the spirit talisman shop had sought out a large number of ordinary people as workers, luring them into cultivating a Cultivation Technique and refining the Soul Banner.

Could the Hundred Soul Banner in his hands be the one that went missing at Bamboo Forest Market?

But how did he refine the Soul Banner into a Hundred Soul Banner in such a short time? Could refining beast souls really not be a baseless rumor?

Cheng Yu's pupils suddenly contracted. Lu Yan's words instantly made him connect many dots.

However, faced with Lu Yan's threat, Cheng Yu forcefully suppressed the doubts in his heart and spoke frankly:

"I don't know the exact details of what happened at Bamboo Forest Market. I only heard roughly that a Demonic Path Cultivator was secretly refining a Soul Banner in the market. In the end, a strange fire killed the Demonic Path Cultivator, and the Soul Banner vanished without a trace.

"There was a Peak Qi Refining cultivator named Li Zhaoheng among Bamboo Forest Market's upper management. Using the excuse that it might attract an investigation from the Azure Parasol Sect, he forcibly covered up the matter.

"Originally, the matter should have ended there. Who could have known that Gongyang Xuanming would suddenly die at Bamboo Forest Market?"

"Gongyang Xuanming was the biological son of a Golden Core elder of the Demon Refining Sect. He himself possessed Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivation and had been hiding in Bamboo Forest Market for several years.

"But Gongyang Xuanming, whose identity had been concealed flawlessly, suddenly died. A Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator from the Demon Refining Sect and more than a dozen Outer Sect Disciples also died alongside him.

"With so many cultivators dead, it immediately attracted an investigation from the Azure Parasol Sect. Only after a thorough investigation did they uncover Gongyang Xuanming's true identity, as well as the truth about the Soul Banner being refined at Bamboo Forest Market."

"The Azure Parasol Sect elder was furious and purged the entire upper management of Bamboo Forest Market. The Direct Disciple originally in charge of Bamboo Forest Market was punished as well, stripped of the position of guarding the market."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yan nodded slightly. What had happened in the Xianxia Version was not much different from the Urban Version.

In the Urban Version, Li Zhaoheng had been in charge of the Underground Factory fire case. At Gongyang Xuanming's instruction, he had suppressed the existence of the Underground Factory beneath the site of the fire.

Afterward, Lu Yan killed Li Zhaoheng and Gongyang Xuanming, attracting an investigation from the upper levels of Luo City and bringing many matters to light. They simply had not been revealed openly.

The only difference was that, in the Xianxia Version, an Azure Parasol Sect Direct Disciple had been implicated. Without a doubt, it was the Jade Polishing Fairy, Ji Xingyao.

"Since Ji Xingyao was affected in the Xianxia Version, even losing her position as the market's guardian, then even if there can't be a complete correspondence in the Urban Version, there should still be some kind of reflected impact.

"In the Urban Version, she was only a down-and-out internet celebrity. How could she possibly be connected to the bizarre deaths of Myanmar's powerful figures? And what kind of impact would she suffer?"

After thinking it over again and again, Lu Yan could only think of her concert.

The murders had occurred only a few hundred meters from the concert venue. Even if the matter had not spread among the public, those wealthy shopping-mall owners had probably learned something about it.

Even if Ji Xingyao had nothing to do with the murders, as long as she was touched by the matter in the slightest, those shopping-mall owners certainly would no longer be willing to invite her to hold concerts.

"That down-and-out internet celebrity is probably going to become even more down-and-out."

Lu Yan clicked his tongue inwardly in amazement. Back then, he had formed a good relationship with Ji Xingyao, hoping to rely on her influence to settle down safely.

Who could have imagined that, with one turn of events, he would be able to suppress even a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator with ease, while Ji Xingyao, this Direct Disciple, had become increasingly down-and-out, even losing her position as Bamboo Forest Market's guardian?

Under her name, there should now only be Azure Valley Market, this last market for Rogue Cultivators. For a dignified Direct Disciple to end up in such a state, there was truly no one else like her.

Perhaps the identity of an internet celebrity reflects how Ji Xingyao's identity is beyond her control, far less dazzling than the glamour of a Direct Disciple on the surface?

Seeing Lu Yan sink into thought, Cheng Yu became even more certain of his guess.

"Is there anything else you want to ask?"

Lu Yan raised his head, looked at Cheng Yu, and nodded.

"I'm very satisfied with your answer."

As he spoke, Lu Yan lightly waved the Soul Banner. Bloodbeard, whose body had melted away by more than half, stepped out from among the host of ghosts and approached.

"As your reward, I'll have him eat a little faster and do my best to let you suffer less."

Cheng Yu's expression instantly changed. Panic filled his face as he said:

"You're going to let this Peak Qi Refining main soul eat me?"

"Of the three main souls in your Hundred Soul Banner, two are merely at Peak Qi Refining. I'm a dignified Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator of the Red Lotus Demonic Sect, yet you're not going to refine me into a main soul?"

Lu Yan cast Cheng Yu a strange look.

"Why would I refine you into a main soul?

"You clearly aren't the sort to behave. Even if you became a main soul, you'd certainly be plotting rebellion against your master. I'm not going to fall for your trick."

The face of Cheng Yu's Divine Soul turned green. The reason he had answered Lu Yan's questions so readily was that he wanted to cooperate with Lu Yan, then peacefully enter the Hundred Soul Banner and cling to life.

No Demonic Path Cultivator who possessed a Soul Banner would easily let an opportunity to refine a main soul slip away. Only by repeatedly defeating powerful enemies and refining their souls in full could one raise the Soul Banner's upper limit.

Looking throughout history, all the Demonic Path Overlords who had refined Soul Banners had relied on the many powerful main souls within them to display their might, rather than on the vast numbers of Vengeful Souls and malevolent ghosts.

When their cultivation was low, the gap between Vengeful Souls, malevolent ghosts, and their enemies was not that great. At the drop of a hat, hundreds of Vengeful Souls and malevolent ghosts could pile up and kill a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator through sheer numbers.

But once one reached the Golden Core or even Nascent Soul Realm, no matter how many Qi Refining Stage ghost creatures there were, they would struggle to amount to anything. At that point, there were only two choices.

One was to cultivate those low-level ghost creatures to the Foundation Establishment Realm. Thousands upon thousands of Foundation Establishment ghost creatures appearing at once could force even a Golden Core True Person to retreat.

But the resources consumed to cultivate thousands of Foundation Establishment ghost creatures were horrifying. If one refined souls by slaughtering mortals, it would require at least hundreds of thousands, or even tens of millions, of mortal souls.

Even the most heinous demon would not have the nerve to slaughter so many mortals. Thus, almost no one chose this path.

The other path was to rely on sufficiently powerful main souls. The vast numbers of Vengeful Souls and malevolent ghosts served mainly to help the main souls form a ghost domain or to slaughter low-level cultivators.

Powerful main souls were no weaker than cultivators of the same realm. Once unleashed, they were more than capable of crushing powerful enemies.

Precisely because of this, after defeating powerful enemies, Demonic Path Cultivators who held Soul Banners would never waste their souls instead of refining them into main souls.

Those defeated cultivators were also willing to accept this choice. Becoming a main soul at least left them with a chance to resist, sparing them immediate death and the dissolution of their soul.

But Cheng Yu had never imagined that there would be someone like Lu Yan, who refused to play by the rules. He was actually allowing a Qi Refining Stage ghost creature to casually devour a precious Foundation Establishment Divine Soul.

In his terror, he shouted:

"I have the Red Lotus Demonic Sect's inheritance techniques! I also have the demonic sect's treasures and clues to an ancient ruin!

"Let me become a main soul in the Hundred Soul Banner. I can provide you with information and let you command me!"

The lofty sect cultivator had become so humble in the blink of an eye, even taking the initiative to request entry into the Soul Banner. Lu Yan could not help but reveal a hint of a smile as he asked softly:

"You, too, think you're worthy of entering the Soul Banner?"

He had far too many secrets. A main soul that possessed intelligence and might rebel was an extremely unstable factor to him. He would never allow such a creature to exist.

Bloodbeard's huge mouth tore Cheng Yu's Divine Soul apart, swallowing it completely amid one shriek after another of mournful agony.