The Demonic Path Overlord's Standard Kit

Shaking his head, Lu Yan dismissed the jumbled thoughts in his mind and turned his attention to the spell.

"Come to think of it, I killed Steward Chu in self-defense two months ago. That still counts as killing someone. Maybe I've already accumulated some karma?"

With that thought, he followed the spell's description, forming the Red Lotus Treasure Seal with his fingers and attempting to cast Red Lotus Karma Fire.

Yet no matter how Lu Yan circulated his Cultivation Technique, he could never find any trace of karmic force, much less ignite the Red Lotus Karma Fire.

After trying for quite some time, Lu Yan finally gave up.

"Steward Chu killed so many innocent workers, and his capitalist practices were enough to hang him from a streetlamp. Killing him counted as ridding the people of a menace.

"There definitely wasn't any karmic burden. I might even have earned a little merit instead."

Lu Yan could not help but grumble.

Though he had failed to learn the spell, Lu Yan was not particularly disappointed. Cultivating the Red Lotus Karma Fire Sutra had been his only option from the start. Whether it came with an exclusive spell or not, this was the only Cultivation Technique he could practice.

As for spell techniques, he still had a large pile of spirit talismans in his Storage Bag.

The ones he had taken from the Spirit Talisman Shop, together with the several dozen already in his Storage Bag, added up to more than a hundred spirit talismans—enough to last him for a while.

Once he had dealt with the Demonic Path Cultivator's trouble, he could make another trip to the Xianxia Version and gather some proper spells.

Besides that, Lu Yan had things in hand that were even more practical than spells.

With a thought, a small sword resembling a jade hairpin and a black banner as long as his arm fell into his hands.

Picking up the Flying Sword Magical Item, Lu Yan began pouring mana into it. But the pure mana he had gained after his breakthrough vanished in an instant, like a clay ox sinking into the sea.

Frowning slightly, Lu Yan increased the flow of mana. Only after pouring nearly half the mana in his entire body into the Flying Sword Magical Item did the jade sword, no longer than his index finger, wobble its way into the air.

Lu Yan's expression changed slightly. He cultivated a top-grade Demonic Path Cultivation Technique; the purity of his mana far surpassed that of an ordinary Rogue Cultivator at the First Level of Qi Refining.

Yet even so, it took nearly half his mana just to barely control this Flying Sword Magical Item. That was enough to prove that this flying sword was undoubtedly a Mid-Grade Magic Item.

"First Level of Qi Refining mana is still too scarce. Even if I can barely control it, I can't use it in battle. I can only put it on the shelf for now."

Somewhat helplessly, Lu Yan put away the Flying Sword Magical Item and turned his attention to the Soul Banner.

He reached out and picked up the Soul Banner. After mana flowed into it, the Soul Banner, silent for two whole months, finally changed.

Three Vengeful Souls suddenly flew out of the Soul Banner. Their faces were twisted and their forms illusory, and their mouths released mournful wails that pierced straight into the soul as they scattered through the room.

If an ordinary person heard those wails for too long, their soul would gradually weaken.

Holding the Soul Banner, Lu Yan could sense that one more Vengeful Soul had yet to fully take shape and still dwelled within the banner.

"The souls of more than twenty cultivators produced three Vengeful Souls.

"As for the remaining incomplete Vengeful Soul, I must have taken the Soul Banner away too early, preventing this Demonic Path Magical Artifact from fully forming. It only barely became a low-grade magic item.

"But that's a good thing too. If the Soul Banner had fully formed, I might not have been able to control it easily. At my current stage, though, it isn't much of a burden."

Lu Yan shook the Soul Banner and gave an order.

"Silence!"

The three Vengeful Souls instantly stopped their howling and obediently flew before Lu Yan.

Lu Yan began nurturing and refining the magical item with his mana. This was the most basic form of refinement, allowing a cultivator to wield a magical item more effectively.

An hour later, Lu Yan slowly opened his eyes, having understood the Soul Banner's precise effects.

First was the ability to command Vengeful Souls. Each Vengeful Soul possessed the strength of the early Qi Refining Stage and could ignore physical attacks.

Such a trait was nothing remarkable in the Xianxia Version, where any random spell could harm a Vengeful Soul. But in the Urban Version, where supernatural power did not exist, the Vengeful Souls' characteristics were practically invincible. Unless one used wide-area heavy weapons or weapons like flamethrowers that relied on the high heat of fire, ordinary firearms could not harm them at all.

Moreover, Vengeful Souls were formless and intangible. Only those with powerful souls could detect their existence; ordinary people could not perceive them whatsoever.

Vengeful Souls could directly attack and devour souls. Sacrificed souls could strengthen them, while some powerful souls could be sealed directly into the Soul Banner.

The Soul Banner's concealment and its ability to ignore physical attacks made Lu Yan immediately realize that, in the Urban Version, it was far more effective than ordinary spells.

After the Soul Banner underwent its initial refinement through circulating mana, it began to shrink, and Lu Yan stored it in his palm.

"Demonic Path Cultivation Technique, a spell that requires accumulating karma to cultivate, and this Soul Banner that gets fiercer the more it kills... No matter how I look at it, this is the standard kit of a Demonic Path Overlord, isn't it?"

Lu Yan muttered inwardly.

Seeing that night had already fallen outside, Lu Yan knew it was the perfect time to put his plan into action.

After changing into an inconspicuous set of black clothes, Lu Yan hurried out of his home.

Half an hour later, Lu Yan appeared at a hotel.

Standing before the room's window, Lu Yan looked toward a building several hundred meters away. The words Luo City Police Department were clearly displayed upon it.

Ever since leaving the Underground Factory and returning home, Lu Yan had kept an eye on its subsequent developments while cultivating.

When he had set fire to the Underground Factory, it had only been to conceal his tracks. Though the spirit fire mixed with a trace of spiritual energy had been hot, it was not true spirit fire. It could not completely burn the corpses inside the freezers. Once the flames went out and the scene was investigated, something would surely be discovered.

In the Urban Version, organ trafficking was a major case. By relying on the Luo City Police Department to follow the trail, there was hope of finding the person behind Steward Chu.

Based on the pattern of Version Updates, Steward Chu's boss in the Urban Version was very likely the Demonic Path Cultivator from the Xianxia Version.

But contrary to Lu Yan's expectations, once the fire was extinguished, the matter simply ended. There was no further news of any bodies being discovered, nor any progress in the organ trafficking case.

It was as though the underground organ factory and the corpses within it had never existed at all.

That only made the situation more complicated.

At first, Lu Yan had intended to use the Luo City Police Department to search for traces of the Demonic Path Cultivator. But now, it seemed someone within the Police Station was tangled up with the Demonic Path Cultivator.

It felt just like back in Bamboo Forest Market, when Lu Yan had worried that the Demonic Path Cultivator might be secretly manipulating the market's upper ranks.

Someone in the Luo City Police Department had helped the Demonic Path Cultivator erase the clues, but was that act itself not also a clue?

"Go."

Lu Yan spoke softly. A ghost behind him passed through the hotel window and slowly drifted toward the Police Station.

Inside the hotel room, Lu Yan formed a hand seal, and deep light bloomed in his eyes. Images seen by the Vengeful Soul began to appear before him.

The Police Station had long since gotten off work. Only a few duty officers remained, idly chatting away.

They had no idea that a Vengeful Soul was drifting through the Police Station.

After a while, the Vengeful Soul stopped before a door. Three words were clearly written on it.

Records Room.