The night was as black as ink. In the courtyard of the funeral home, Uncle Nine stood with his hands behind his back, gazing up at the starry sky.
The aura around him was completely different from half a month ago. No longer did he possess the restrained sharpness of a Qi Refinement cultivator; instead, he carried a smooth, profound presence that blended with his surroundings, like a bottomless lake. This was the change brought by the Foundation Establishment realm of an Earth Master.
Yet there was little joy over his breakthrough in his brow. Instead, it was clouded by an unshakable layer of worry.
Mo Yuan silently entered the courtyard and stopped half a step behind Uncle Nine. He could clearly feel the mountain-like pressure emanating from his master, but he also keenly sensed that concern.
"Master," Mo Yuan said softly.
Uncle Nine did not turn around. His low voice reached Mo Yuan's ears with perfect clarity. "At the Foundation Establishment realm, spirit and qi become one. Only when one senses heaven and earth does one realize how insignificant one truly is—and how turbulent the undercurrents of this world are. The matter of the Black Fiend Sect is far more complicated than we imagined."
He slowly turned, his gaze sharp as lightning as it fell upon Mo Yuan. "Combining the files you brought back with what my divine sense discovered after my breakthrough, the Black Fiend Sect's arrangements in the Provincial City are certainly not just for awakening a corpse king.
"They have used evil arts to steal the yin qi of the earth veins and secret techniques to gather the resentment of living souls. What they seek is likely the forging of a supreme evil artifact capable of throwing yin and yang into chaos."
"A supreme evil artifact?" Mo Yuan's heart tightened. Magic items were divided into four grades: low, middle, high, and supreme. Low-grade items were common, middle-grade ones were already precious, and high-grade ones were treasures capable of suppressing an entire sect.
As for supreme-grade magic items, they often possessed nascent powers that could move mountains, overturn seas, and interfere with the laws of the world. If one were successfully forged, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Correct." Uncle Nine nodded. "And the waters of the Provincial City run deep, with all manner of people gathered here. Aside from the Black Fiend Sect, other cultivation forces are entrenched here, and the authorities also have a special department overseeing supernatural matters. We must proceed with caution every step of the way."
He paused and looked at Mo Yuan. "Your cultivation has reached the seventh level of Qi Refinement. You possess an extraordinary treasure and considerable combat strength.
"But remember, the Provincial City is not Ren Family Town. Powerful people are everywhere. Never let your talent make you arrogant. Think things through before you act. Your Soul Cleansing Banner has advanced to high grade, and its ability to deliver souls from suffering is exceptional. It may prove highly useful on this journey."
"I understand, Master." Mo Yuan nodded solemnly. He knew well that as his cultivation rose and the circles he encountered expanded, the challenges he faced would become entirely different.
The next day, Uncle Nine called Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng before him and carefully instructed them to guard the funeral home. If they encountered anything they could not handle, they could seek help from Awei, the town security captain—though Uncle Nine had expressed doubts about Awei's abilities, he was still an official force.
Afterward, Uncle Nine and Mo Yuan traveled light as they set out for the Provincial City.
After reaching Foundation Establishment, Uncle Nine could ride the wind at low altitude for short periods, moving far faster than a galloping horse. But to accommodate Mo Yuan and avoid drawing too much attention, they still chose to travel by carriage, though it moved much faster than an ordinary one.
Several days later, a city far grander and more prosperous than Ren Family Town appeared before them. Towering city walls, bustling crowds, endless traffic, and thunderous clamor filled their vision.
Amid the rich atmosphere of everyday life, Mo Yuan keenly sensed several auras of cultivators, strong and weak alike, hidden beneath the city's prosperous facade, along with faint traces of sinister yin energy.
Uncle Nine had clearly sensed them as well. He said quietly, "Conceal your aura. Let's find a place to settle in first."
Rather than choosing a bustling inn, the two rented an old residence with a small courtyard in a relatively secluded alley in the western part of the city.
Once they had settled in, Uncle Nine took out his compass and closed his eyes to sense the surroundings. The divine sense of a Foundation Establishment cultivator spread soundlessly over half the city like flowing mercury.
After a moment, he opened his eyes and pointed north. "The yin fiendish aura is strongest over there, and there are fluctuations from an array. It should be an important Black Fiend Sect stronghold.
"There are several righteous auras in the east, likely belonging to local cultivation families or sects. As for the south... the auras are mixed, and there seems to be a hint of official influence."
"Master, what should we do next?" Mo Yuan asked.
Uncle Nine pondered for a moment. "The Black Fiend Sect has operated here for a long time. Their stronghold must be heavily guarded, so a direct assault is not the best option. We need to learn their exact plan and the progress of that evil artifact's refinement first.
"Tomorrow, I will visit an old friend living in seclusion here. He is well informed and may be able to provide some clues. You may investigate the city on your own, but be careful. Pay particular attention to whether there have been many disappearances or strange deaths recently. Those may be related to the Black Fiend Sect's collection of living souls.
"Remember, safety comes first. Do not try to show off your strength if trouble arises."
"Yes, Master."
The next day, Uncle Nine went out to visit his friend. Mo Yuan changed into plain blue cloth robes, suppressed his cultivation to appear to be around the third or fourth level of Qi Refinement, and blended into the crowds of the Provincial City.
He first visited places where information gathered, such as teahouses and taverns, and listened in silence. Sure enough, he heard scattered rumors: the old mining district in the north had been unsettled lately, with strange sounds at night; black qi often lingered around the mass graves outside the city; and members of several wealthy merchant families had inexplicably fallen into deep, unending sleep.
Afterward, Mo Yuan wandered seemingly at random through places heavy with yin energy, such as the City God Temple and funeral homes, sensing in secret. Outside an old funeral home in the west of the city, where incense offerings were sparse, he came to a stop.
The Soul Cleansing Banner trembled faintly within his sea of consciousness, conveying a clear message—there were powerful resentful soul auras inside, and more than one. They seemed to be imprisoned by some sort of force.
Mo Yuan's gaze sharpened. This was very likely a temporary soul-capturing site of the Black Fiend Sect. He did not alert the enemy, merely memorized the location, and prepared to investigate again that night.
At dusk, Uncle Nine returned to the residence with a grave expression.
"The situation is not good," Uncle Nine said in a deep voice. "According to my old friend, the Black Fiend Sect is indeed refining an evil artifact called the Ten Thousand Souls Banner. It requires the collection of ten thousand living souls and tempering with an extremely yin earth vein.
At present, they have collected more than half the souls. The refinement site is most likely deep within the abandoned Profound Yin Mine north of the city. It was once an ancient battlefield, where yin veins converge. It is the perfect place to refine this sort of evil artifact."
"The Ten Thousand Souls Banner..." Mo Yuan sucked in a cold breath. If the banner were completed, it would undoubtedly be a supreme evil artifact. Countless lives would suffer.
"More troublesome still," Uncle Nine continued, "the local cultivation families led by the Li Family seem to have reached some sort of understanding with the Black Fiend Sect. They are turning a blind eye.
"The Special Affairs Investigation Department, meanwhile, is plagued by internal conflict and cannot form an effective force. If we want to stop them, we will likely have to rely mainly on ourselves."
Mo Yuan told Uncle Nine about his discoveries during the day, especially the abnormality at the old funeral home.
A sharp glint flashed in Uncle Nine's eyes. "Good! Tonight, we will investigate that funeral home. If we can save the trapped living souls, we can both disrupt the Black Fiend Sect's plans and accumulate merit, while also obtaining more intelligence."
At the third watch of midnight, thin clouds obscured the moonlight. Mo Yuan and Uncle Nine arrived outside the abandoned old funeral home like two ghosts, without making a sound.
A simple disorientation array and warning talismans had been placed around the funeral home, but to Uncle Nine, now an Earth Master, and Mo Yuan, who possessed Primordial Comprehension, they were as good as nothing. The two slipped inside with ease.
The funeral home was filled with chilling yin energy. In the center of the main hall was a blood-red array. Seven or eight blurry living souls struggled and wailed in agony within it, their soul power being slowly drawn away and fed into a small black flag at the array's core. Two black-robed men stood guard beside the array.
Uncle Nine made a hand gesture, and Mo Yuan understood. He silently took out the now high-grade Soul Cleansing Banner. Without even needing to wave it, he moved his thoughts, and clear radiance flowed naturally from the banner like spilled mercury, instantly covering the entire hall!
Purification Domain, unfold!
The two black-robed men only felt an irresistible force of peace descend upon them. Their evil cultivation techniques could no longer circulate, and an inexplicable calm arose in their hearts, nearly robbing them of any desire to resist. Meanwhile, the living souls within the array felt unprecedented warmth and relief.
"Who goes there?!" the black-robed men cried out with difficulty.
Uncle Nine's ghostly swift figure and a Body-Fixing Talisman were their only answer. At nearly the same moment, Mo Yuan controlled the Soul Cleansing Banner. Its clear light shot forth like a ribbon, directly severing the connection between the blood-red array and the living souls, then gently drew those weakened souls into the banner's inner space to nourish them.
The entire process was clean and efficient, completed within the span of a breath.
Uncle Nine subdued the black-robed men and was about to interrogate them when his expression suddenly changed. "Not good! This array has a self-destruction mechanism connected to the main array! We've been discovered!"
The moment his words fell, a muffled explosion suddenly sounded from the direction of the Profound Yin Mine in the north of the city. A powerful evil aura surged into the sky!
Uncle Nine made an immediate decision. He struck the black-robed men unconscious with a palm and said to Mo Yuan, "The plan has changed. The Black Fiend Sect's main array has been alerted! We must go to the Profound Yin Mine immediately and destroy the Ten Thousand Souls Banner before it is fully refined!"
Master and disciple exchanged a glance, each seeing resolve in the other's eyes. The next instant, their figures shot upward, becoming two streaks of light as they sped toward the place north of the city where the yin fiendish aura was strongest.
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