Not Betraying Deep Affection!

Xiao Tasha frowned slightly. Chen Huan quickly said, "Junior Sister, don't mind this lowly servant. Once the Soul Summoning Banner is refined, I'll hand her over to you for torment."

After speaking, he cast an extremely cold glance at his cousin and said in a chilling voice, "Junior Sister Xiao has deep affection for me. Even if I was initially uninterested in romance, over time, flesh and blood can't remain unmoved, can they? How could I bear to betray her good intentions? How could a lowly servant like you, who only pursues the Great Dao and lacks understanding, comprehend true affection?"

His cousin let out a cold "ha" of laughter but said nothing further.

Xiao Tasha assumed she was speechless and felt a surge of joy. She burned a drop of her vital blood, urging the Mother Array to accelerate the refining process. Suddenly, a flash of light flickered on the Soul Summoning Banner, its aura fluctuating. She quickly shouted, "Senior Brother! Quickly drip your vital blood into it. From now on, you will be the master of this Soul Summoning Banner, and the vengeful spirits within will no longer be able to resist!"

"Good!" Chen Huan had planned for years, and with his goal about to be achieved, his heart couldn't help but race. He quickly cut his fingertip, forced out a drop of vital blood, and flicked it into the Soul Summoning Banner. Upon receiving the drop of vital blood, the Soul Summoning Banner quickly stabilized. At the same time, Chen Huan felt a connection to it; with just a thought, all its functions became clear to him.

The vengeful spirits within, who had hated him to the bone moments before, were now completely subservient, unable even to conceive of resisting him.

"Good! Good, good, good!" Chen Huan reached out, and the Soul Summoning Banner left its position, flying into his palm.

He caressed the banner surface, overjoyed.

Xiao Tasha swayed precariously, panting. She noticed that he didn't immediately come to support her as he usually did, and a hint of resentment flickered in her heart. However, she quickly reconsidered. Their group had worked tirelessly since joining the sect to refine this Soul Summoning Banner. Now that their long-cherished wish was fulfilled, his elation might have caused him to overlook her.

She then leaned towards him and called out in a sweet voice, "Senior Brother." Just as she was about to remind him of her hard work, Chen Huan looked up and smiled faintly at her, saying, "Junior Sister, I almost forgot about you."

"It's nothing..." Xiao Tasha thought he was apologizing and felt a sweetness in her heart. She spoke softly, but before she could finish, the sound of a giant tree falling echoed from not far away, followed by a spiderweb enveloping the Mother Array—the Human-Faced Spider had caught up!

Xiao Tasha's face changed. Disregarding her weakened state, she urged Chen Huan, "Senior Brother, hurry and go! I'll control the array to cover for you for a while. We'll use a Breath Concealment Talisman later to meet..."

Before she could finish, she felt a chill in her chest!

She froze for a moment before realizing: Chen Huan held the Soul Summoning Banner in one hand, while the other was pulling a still-beating heart from her chest.

"Senior Brother... you... you..." Xiao Tasha was utterly terrified and bewildered. She tried to speak, but blood began to gush from her mouth, and she collapsed limply.

"Junior Sister Xiao, don't blame me." Chen Huan, while activating the Soul Summoning Banner to form a black cloud that enveloped him and fled towards Luoshan City, grabbed her corpse for the talismans and artifacts to devour. He said calmly, "You yourself said that Huang Xian and Zhang Zhongqin are now severely injured, and the timing isn't right, so the effect might not be good."

"I have no choice but to use Junior Sister's soul and flesh to replenish them."

"Junior Sister, you have such deep affection for me, even deceiving your own cousin who always treated you well into the Soul Summoning Banner. You surely wouldn't want my years of hard work to fail at the last moment, would you?"

"Moreover, the Soul Summoning Banner will be with me day and night from now on, never leaving my side. As its vengeful spirit, Junior Sister will be able to accompany me at all times, which I'm sure you'll be happy about."

"In this way, I haven't ultimately betrayed Junior Sister."

"Chen Huan thanks Junior Sister for your lifelong love."

"When I return to the sect, I will definitely find a blessed spot in the back mountains of Huaiyin Peak and establish a cenotaph for you as your husband, offering sacrifices every year!"

As his words ended, all the blood from Xiao Tasha's corpse vanished. The surface of the Soul Summoning Banner rippled like water, and Xiao Tasha appeared within it, her face lifelike but her expression vacant.

Chen Huan reached into the banner and stroked her face, saying gently, "Good Junior Sister, stay inside obediently. Senior Brother will now fulfill his promise and take you to safety."

Meanwhile, Pei Ling had already fled to the edge of the forest, but his spiritual energy was completely depleted. Not only could he not use the Blood Snail Evasion Technique, but his vision swam and doubled, making him feel on the verge of fainting.

He knew that if he lost consciousness here, he would likely die. He drew the Aversion to Life Saber and slashed at his own arm!

The pain cleared Pei Ling's head somewhat, but this situation wouldn't last... Pei Ling forced himself to calm down. He took a deep look at Luoshan City in the distance, but instead of heading directly there, he recalled a glimpse he had caught from the air on his way in. He changed direction and, with great effort, made his way to the nearest official road leading to Luoshan City.

Luoshan City was much larger and more prosperous than Luquan City. Pei Ling didn't have to wait long by the roadside before a caravan passed by.

Seeing his disheveled state, they looked surprised and uncertain. The caravan's guards even reached for their swords, casting wary glances at him.

"I am a disciple of the Chongming Sect!" Pei Ling was at his limit, having to lean on the Aversion to Life Saber just to stand. He raised his sect token high and shouted, "I have urgent sect business to report to City Lord Duanmu. Escort me into the city immediately... Those who disobey will face the full force of sect law!"

The caravan members' expressions changed. A guard, upon receiving his leader's signal, said, "Forgive my presumption," and nervously stepped forward to verify the token. He immediately dismounted and knelt on the ground, "Shen Family Business obeys your command!"

Before the group had finished kneeling, they heard a "thump." Looking up, they saw Pei Ling had collapsed unconscious on the ground.

At the same time, in the forest, Chen Huan was sent tumbling several yards through the air, crashing heavily into a towering ancient tree. He spat out a mouthful of blood and fell to the ground.

He didn't even dare to look back, controlling the Soul Summoning Banner and fleeing!

Almost the moment he left, a pool of venom fell, instantly withering the surrounding vegetation and causing the very ground to emit a miasma.

"Damn it... what did that brat Pei Ling do to this monstrosity?!" Chen Huan had completely lost the composed demeanor he had when scheming against his companions. His face was ashen, and his appearance was disheveled. As he fled through the forest, his mind raced, "He's only at the fourth level of Qi Cultivation. Even if he accidentally attracted the Human-Faced Spider's attention, it should have given up by now after chasing him this far. Why hasn't this Human-Faced Spider gone back, as if it has an irreconcilable hatred, and why is it becoming even more frenzied?!"

"Isn't it supposed to be laying eggs? Isn't it afraid its nest will be discovered if it leaves for so long?!"

Just then, the sky above darkened, and a spiderweb descended!

Chen Huan frantically changed direction, but as soon as he dodged one, the Human-Faced Spider's abdomen rose high again, and another spiderweb shot out.

After all, chasing these cultivators for so long, even a Foundation Establishment stage demonic beast, despite its inferior intelligence compared to humans, was capable of devising some strategies.

"Monstrosity!" Chen Huan cried out in shock and rage. Seeing that he couldn't dodge in time, he reluctantly sacrificed the Soul Summoning Banner to block it, his heart aching.

A mournful cry was heard. After all the painstaking effort, the newly refined Soul Summoning Banner, which was powerful for the Qi Refining Stage, faced the enraged attack of a Foundation Establishment stage demonic beast. It was almost defenseless, a crack appearing on its surface! Chen Huan sensed that two of the vengeful spirits within had instantly vanished.

With a few more attacks like this, this high-grade talisman artifact, rarely seen in the Qi Refining Stage, would likely be destroyed on the spot.

Chen Huan's heart bled, and he hated Pei Ling to the bone, "This brat better return to Luoshan City safely. Once I get back, I'll deal with him personally!"

PS: This is the recommendation period for the new book, and performance is crucial! Please collect! Please vote with recommendation tickets! Please invest!

PS: Thanks to Ji Ru for the reward to the protagonist.