Refining the Banner

The Golden Crow cultivating in the Sacred Realm felt a stifling sensation, yet no matter how it calculated, it couldn't grasp the reason. In the vastness, it felt as if it had been stabbed, but couldn't pinpoint where it hurt. Could it be that I've been cultivating too eagerly, becoming impatient and restless?

No, it's the little Golden Crow. Has something happened? But I can sense its existence, and everything is proceeding according to my plan. I'm searching for flaws in this world, or rather, a way to control it.

This is what it means to be human. It's best to keep a low profile when on someone else's turf, otherwise, you won't even know how you were tricked.

Dao Lord Lu Ya, however, was extremely satisfied. After dealing with this little Golden Crow, he imprinted his divine sense within it. It would be absolutely undetectable unless refined. How could the Golden Crow Daoist possibly re-refine the little Golden Crow he had already completed? Without delay, he hurried to the great hall where Great Immortal Yang Mei was refining the Star Banner to observe the situation.

At this moment, Great Immortal Yang Mei addressed the assembled gods and demons: "Fellow Daoists, please hand over your innate spirit treasures first. We shall begin refining the Star Banner!"

The gods and demons were still reluctant. Each of these spirit treasures represented countless efforts and countless heartaches. To have them destroyed just like that, could anyone willingly give them up? This was not the first time Great Immortal Yang Mei had urged them, yet no one stepped forward.

Dao Lord Lu Ya watched this scene and sighed inwardly, "I suppose I'll be the bad guy."

He moved, and three clones emerged, each holding an ancient sword, surrounding the crowd. He mobilized his full cultivation and shouted at them, "Fellow Daoists, have you forgotten your promise in the great hall? Have you forgotten your own crisis?"

The crowd was startled. What formation is this? An boundless killing intent rushed towards them. Immediately, four individuals couldn't withstand the overwhelming killing intent. These four instantly summoned their respective refined spirit treasures: the Eight Trigrams Banner, the Five Elements Ring, the Purple Lightning Hammer, and the Yin Yang Sword. These four spirit treasures were all condensed from elements of Chaos, be it the Five Elements, wind, rain, thunder, or lightning. Each had its own unique uses after being refined.

The four individuals erased the primordial spirit imprints within these spirit treasures. The spirit treasures seemed to sense impending doom, and with a sudden flash, they flew towards the heavens. The four quickly used their abilities to capture them, and they still thrashed about restlessly.

No matter how heartbroken they were, they couldn't afford to offend Dao Lord Lu Ya. One after another, they summoned their spirit treasures and erased the primordial spirit imprints. Five individuals took positions according to the principles of the Five Elements' mutual generation and restraint. These five shone brilliantly like five stars. They corresponded to the five internal organs of the human body: the heart stores spirit, the liver stores soul, the spleen stores thought, the lungs store the ethereal soul, and the kidneys store essence. This provided a continuous flow of vitality to the stars, allowing the myriad stars in the sky to possess spirit, soul, thought, ethereal soul, and essence. These five individuals were to provide the essence and qi for the main banner.

Great Immortal Yang Mei meticulously explained the incantations for refining the main banner of the Star Banner. Each person was taught thirty million hand seals, with every thirty million hand seals forming one cycle. Each type of seal was different, allowing the five individuals to comprehend them thoroughly before beginning the refinement.

With Great Immortal Yang Mei at the center, six individuals each wielded a spirit treasure, unleashing an immeasurable torrent of hand seals and igniting the primordial spirits within them. Under the guidance of their primordial spirits, the six individuals' hands continuously shifted through incantations, melting the six spirit treasures. They continuously infused profound formations and incantations into the magical treasures. The six individuals rapidly executed streams of hand seals. In a short period, one hundred and eighty million hand seals were imprinted into the spirit treasures. They shouted in unison, "Break!"

The six innate spirit treasures instantly shattered, releasing six masses of Chaos Spiritual Qi. This qi was chaotic and murky, exuding boundless essence and flowing with the rules of the Great Dao.

The six individuals glanced at them and continued to rapidly strike their hands. The six masses of qi gradually merged into one, slowly condensing together. The Chaos Spiritual Qi gradually coalesced into a treasure: a hazy great banner. On the banner, constellations appeared, with three hundred and sixty-five main stars and eighty-four thousand secondary stars, faintly visible within the banner.

This main banner could be considered the core of the formation, capable of activating the Star Dou Great Array.

Next, corresponding to the power of the seven celestial bodies of the sun, moon, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Venus, and Saturn, twenty-eight secondary banners were refined. Below each secondary banner were twelve sub-banners.

The two individuals who had been cultivating and comprehending in the Taiyin Blessed Land opened their eyes. Two beams of golden light shot towards the Chaos.

Xuanhuang retracted the Pure Qi above his head and said, "Fellow Daoist, the power of this Star Dou is extraordinary. Just the artifacts used to set up the array have destroyed so many spirit treasures in the Chaos. They were all born from Chaos, similar in level to our spirit treasures."

Pangu nodded and said, "This Star Dou Great Array is connected to the essence and qi of the three hundred and sixty-five stars, as well as the essence and qi of the Four Spirits of Heaven and Earth, which transform into four-dimensional power. They are truly showing me great respect."

Xuanhuang smiled faintly and said, "Perhaps the stars in that region will finally be perfected."

Pangu said, "I wonder how many of these gods and demons will remain. The Great Dao wants us to engage in slaughter, but it is actually for the development and destiny of this universe. It is an inevitable outcome of the Great Dao's self-evolution."

Xuanhuang said, "The four directions above and below are called 'yu' (universe), and the past and present are called 'zhou' (time). But now, it is still dominated by the undifferentiated Chaos. This universe can hardly be called a universe yet, as heaven and earth and all things are not manifest. I don't know how Yang Mei will evolve heaven and earth. We have been silently watching. I know your thoughts, but others do not. They regard you as the foremost executioner who slaughters chaotic beings, a blade in the hands of the Great Dao, wanting to eliminate you as quickly as possible. Will Yang Mei evolve heaven and earth? They will still deal with you, brother."

"Let's look at the over a thousand chaotic beings who have already perished. How many of them fell at our hands? Were they not because their hearts were impure, and they slaughtered each other in the name of the Great Dao? Yang Mei is setting up this Star Dou Great Array. The thousand chaotic beings have a thousand different thoughts. If we knew their intentions, and if you, my friend, were to abandon self-destruction, I believe this world would surely be annihilated, and Chaos and the Great Dao would both be annihilated."

Pangu was about to retort when he heard Xuanhuang continue, "This Chaos belongs to the Great Dao, not to you. It's not something you can abandon just because you wish to. The Great Dao's method of evolution is also not something we can decide."

Pangu sighed, "Perhaps I was wrong. The Great Dao gave me a mission, yet I evaded it." He bowed to Xuanhuang, "Thank you, fellow Daoist."

Pangu said, "I observe that you seem to have made a great breakthrough, fellow Daoist. Three green lotuses have gathered above your head, which is truly profound and mysterious."

Xuanhuang said, "I don't know either. There is no cultivation method; it seems to have grown naturally. The three green lotuses also seem very far from me."

Pangu pondered for a moment and said, "There are too many mysteries in this world, and the Great Dao is not something we can fathom."

Xuanhuang said, "Alas, how foolish mortals are, trying to control the Great Dao."

Pangu let out a long sigh, which lingered for a long time, drifting in the Chaos and stirring up countless emotions.

But how many people understood these emotions? Everyone was busy with deception, scheming for fame and fortune.

As the Star Banner took shape, the Four Spirits of Heaven and Earth's comprehension deepened, and their cultivation of the mental techniques reached a new level. Because this might be a matter of life and death, no one dared to slack off, especially the Golden Crow Daoist. He was ambitious and understood the value of his own life even more.

The Golden Crow Daoist was considered intelligent. Among the Four Spirits, his comprehension of the Dao was the most profound. Although some hidden injuries had caused his cultivation to decline, no one could match him.

He used the Way of Severing Corpses to refine a little Golden Crow avatar. Although it benefited others, it also showed his extraordinary nature.

He was also the first to refine an avatar. This avatar was like a golden deity, with a unique and handsome appearance, phoenix-like eyes, and an imposing demeanor. He wore a flowing golden dragon robe, exuding kingly presence, and his entire body radiated a golden halo. There was a three-legged Golden Crow mark on his brow. Every gesture exuded infinite dominance.

This dominance formed an invisible pressure that spread outwards. Everything around him trembled under the pressure. If it were to spread, this place of seclusion would surely be reduced to nothingness.

The regal figure retracted his aura and bowed to the Golden Crow Daoist, "Greetings, my true self." He then turned and stepped into a lotus, sitting cross-legged on the lotus platform.

The Golden Crow laughed heartily, then activated his divine sense, communicating with the little Golden Crow. He smiled mysteriously and thought, Yang Mei, let's see how I seize this world. Let's see how I deal with you all later. He then turned and left his secluded cultivation place, heading towards the great hall where the Star Banner was being refined.

Little did he know that all of this was being secretly manipulated by Dao Lord Lu Ya. Nothing within the little Golden Crow could escape his notice. He chuckled coldly, "I wonder who is dealing with whom."

The Golden Crow Daoist saw Dao Lord Lu Ya and quickly bowed, "Thank you, Dao Lord, for imparting the supreme mental techniques to us. With this life-saving divine ability, we will surely repay you handsomely in the future."

A voice of extreme fervor echoed, "Indeed, it should be. If Dao Lord has any commands, we will certainly obey."

Following this, E Xiao and Xuanwu turned and flashed over, quickly bowing to Dao Lord Lu Ya.

The Golden Crow Daoist thought to himself that these two had also managed to cultivate their first corpse god so quickly, which was remarkable.

E Xiao then said, "I wonder how Great Immortal Yang Mei is doing. I still have one or two spirit treasures here. I can also contribute a little."

Dao Lord Lu Ya said, "Thank you, fellow Daoist. No rush, let's wait for Daoist Long Ming."

Just then, Long Ming also emerged from seclusion, followed by a Dragon King. The Dragon King had a human body and a dragon head, wearing a Taoist robe. This was one of his three corpse gods.

Long Ming bowed and said, "It is truly miraculous. With my Dragon King avatar, my Green Wave Blessed Land will have someone to guard it." He then said to the Dragon King, "I trouble you, fellow Daoist."

The Dragon King immediately stepped on clear waves and headed into the depths of the Chaos.

The Golden Crow teased Long Ming, "You're too impatient. Who would covet that little lake of yours?"

Long Ming's face flushed slightly, "Peace of mind, peace of mind."