Chapter 154: Chapter 148: Soul Refining Banner! 6.0

Qi Yun gazed up at the completely sealed Yin Ruins.

A flicker of understanding crossed his eyes.

’So the Holy Sect really did plan all of this in advance.’

The next second, he instinctively tried to activate Gathering Form and Scattering Qi, intending to silently slip into the nearby fissure of the Earth Temple.

However, as he began the Spell, the qi around his body felt as if it had sunk into a thick, viscous swamp, making it impossible to fully dissipate and become invisible.

’Hm?’

’Is the Earth Evil Qi here so dense that it’s even interfering with Magic?’

’Tsk, why is this so difficult right from the start?’ Qi Yun mused, his brow furrowed.

’This Earth Temple really isn’t so easy to get into.’

Since a subtle approach was out, a direct one would have to do!

His gaze hardened. No longer hesitating, Qi Yun gripped the large, pitch-black banner that had been resting beside him. The cold, heavy sensation that spread through his hand helped steady his Heart and Spirit.

He slowly rose to his feet. The tail of the banner dragged on the ground with a soft RUSTLE as he strode steadily toward the deep fissure, which pulsed with a vast aura of Earth Fiend.

His movement was like a boulder dropped into a still lake.

The other disciples from the Three Sects within the Yin Ruins had been startled and suspicious because of the seal, but most were still observing the situation or trying to contact the outside world.

But now, seeing this unremarkable-looking Holy Sect Disciple with his strange Black Banner daring to be the first to walk toward the Earth Temple’s fissure, everyone’s minds began to race!

Before, with the Foundation Establishment Masters of the Four Sects watching like hungry tigers outside, a balance of power had been maintained. No one dared to make a rash move, fearing they would become a common target.

But now, the Yin Ruins had been mysteriously sealed. The inside and outside were cut off. Those outside couldn’t see in, and no information could get out.

What did this mean?

It meant the rules were temporarily suspended!

It meant... first come, first served. Might makes right.

"He’s trying to get into the Earth Temple first!"

"We can’t let him take all the opportunities for himself!"

The moment the thought arose, so did killing intent!

The next second, greed flared in the eyes of a Fengduo disciple standing near the fissure. Her figure shot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring. With a flash of fiery light, she transformed into a crimson Flowing Light, rushing toward the fissure at extreme speed, trying to barge in before Qi Yun!

But just as the Fengduo disciple’s figure flashed past, Qi Yun glanced out of the corner of his eye.

He didn’t even turn his head. The arm holding the Soul Refining Banner just swept out in a seemingly casual motion!

"WHOOSH—!"

The pitch-black Soul Refining Banner seemed to come alive. Its surface rippled, kicking up a terrifying gust of wind that was as heavy as a mountain and chilling to the bone!

The focused gale, though unleashed later, arrived first. Like an invisible black python, it swept with pinpoint accuracy toward the speeding Fengduo disciple.

"BANG!!!"

A dull thud, like striking tanned leather, exploded outward!

The Fengduo disciple’s forward momentum came to a dead stop, as if she had run head-on into an invisible mountain. Her Protective True Essence shattered instantly!

She didn’t even have time to scream.

Her entire body was sent flying backward even faster than she had charged forward, smashing violently onto the ground dozens of yards away.

"PTHOO—"

She spat out a mouthful of blood. The Fengduo disciple struggled to get up, only to discover in horror that her arms were limp and useless, like wet clay.

Her bones had been shattered inch by inch, leaving her arms twisted and deformed.

A single, light swing, without even making direct contact.

The wind from the banner alone had crippled the arms of a Qi Refining Late Stage Cultivator.

This scene made all the other cultivators who had been itching to move freeze in place, and they drew in a sharp, cold breath.

’Damn! This guy has absolutely no chivalry.’

The gazes that fell upon the Black Banner in Qi Yun’s hand were now filled with terror.

On the field, the only man dressed in the robes of the Cyan Sect, whose aura was calm and profound, now lowered his crossed arms. His sharp gaze locked onto the Soul Refining Banner in Qi Yun’s hand as he said in a low voice:

"That is one heavy banner."

He had clearly seen through the technique.

Qi Yun’s swing had seemed casual, but the power contained within it was condensed to the absolute limit.

The large banner looked light, but its true weight was likely beyond imagination.

Furthermore, the wind from the banner was laced with a Yin Sha Power that could erode one’s qi and blood and rattle their Divine Soul. It was truly a vicious and domineering power.

Qi Yun paid no mind to the reactions around him, not even sparing a glance for the crippled Fengduo disciple.

He continued his unhurried pace, holding the Soul Refining Banner like a Soul Hooker from the Netherworld, approaching the Earth Temple’s fissure step by step.

The surface of the Soul Refining Banner stirred on its own in the dense Earth Evil Qi, emitting an increasingly dark and profound light.

He arrived at the edge of the fissure, which resembled the gaping maw of a monstrous beast.

A wave of Earth Evil Qi, even denser and heavier than that within the Yin Ruins—like molten lead—billowed out as a Yin Wind, buffeting him. It made his robes flap loudly and his skin crawl with cold.

He took a deep breath. The Earth Evil Qi flooded his lungs, bringing a slight stinging pain, but it also invigorated his spirit.

"Wind-Still Pill... Wind-Still Pill... Foundation Establishment Method... Foundation Establishment Method..." After muttering this back and forth a few times, the hesitation in Qi Yun’s eyes finally vanished completely.

He suddenly turned around and raised the heavy, pitch-black Soul Refining Banner high into the air.

Then, he slammed it down into the ground at the edge of the fissure!

"THUD!"

The banner’s pole sank a few inches into the earth, standing firm and steady.

The banner’s surface stirred on its own, and the dark Magic Patterns upon it seemed to come alive. They began to slowly circulate, emitting a heart-pounding, cold aura.

After doing all this, Qi Yun showed no further hesitation. He leaped forward, and his figure plunged into the deep, distorted fissure, disappearing from sight.

"What does he think he’s doing? Does he really think leaving a stupid banner behind can stop us?!"

"How arrogant! Does he really think he’s a Foundation Establishment Master? It’s just a single Magical Artifact!"

"Are all Holy Sect members this ignorant of their own limits?"

Qi Yun’s actions immediately drew a torrent of ridicule and angry curses from the disciples of the Three Sects.

The female Fengduo disciple whose arms had been shattered by Qi Yun’s banner now had a frosty expression, her beautiful face slightly twisted with resentment.

As a disciple of Fengduo, her status was respected.

Her Sect excelled in the Beast Taming and Spirit Suppressing Method, and their healing arts were considered the best in the Northwest.

An injury that would have crippled an ordinary Cultivator had already been fully healed under the effects of Fengduo’s Secret Medicine and unique Vitality Technique. Only her slightly pale complexion betrayed what had happened.

But how could she endure such a humiliation?

"A mere Evil Artifact dares to block the path of Fengduo! Break for me!" she shrieked, her voice filled with fury.

Before her words had even faded, hundreds of phantom Spiritual Birds—each with a unique form and majestic appearance—materialized in the air behind her.

The various Spiritual Birds cried and shrieked as a vast amount of vitality and Spiritual Power converged into a dazzling, seven-colored rainbow that enveloped her body.

The rainbow light surged like a raging sea, or like a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix. It carried a ferocious aura capable of tearing anything apart as it charged fiercely toward the lone, standing Black Banner!

With a single strike, she intended to crush this unsightly Evil Banner and the arrogance left behind by that detestable Holy Sect disciple to dust.

Just as the devastating rainbow light was about to touch the Soul Refining Banner—

"VMMMM!!!"

The seemingly dormant, pitch-black banner suddenly trembled violently!

The bizarre Magic Patterns that had been slowly flowing across its surface erupted with a monstrous black light.

Billowing Yin Sha Evil Qi surged forth like the floodwaters of a broken dam on the Nether River.

In an instant, it formed a region of darkness in front of the banner so dense it seemed solid!

Immediately after, countless large hands shot out from within the roiling black qi—pale, withered, and bloodless, yet sinewy and bulging with terrifying, monstrous strength!

The hands varied in size, but each one emanated a thick aura of death and malice. Their nails were sharp and black, and the ghostly images of twisted, struggling faces could be seen on their skin.

"CRACK!"

Several of the leading pale, ghostly hands did not dodge, but instead shot out with pinpoint accuracy to grab the front of the stunningly powerful, seven-colored rainbow!

The expected scene of the ghostly hands being torn apart by the rainbow light did not occur.

Instead, the incredibly condensed rainbow light was gripped tightly by these hands as if it were a solid object.

A horrific, cringe-inducing crunching sound filled the air.

The ferocity on the Fengduo disciple’s face instantly turned to horror.

She felt as if her condensed Hundred Birds Rainbow had smashed into an immovable wall of death, its forward momentum grinding to a halt!

But that wasn’t all!

The countless pale, ghostly hands suddenly exerted their strength in unison.

"RRRIP—!!!"

As if tearing silk, the brilliant, seven-colored rainbow was brutally ripped and torn by the ghostly hands, twisting and deforming as its Spiritual Light rapidly dimmed!

The phantom birds contained within let out mournful cries as they scattered and dissipated.

At the same time, an irresistible force traveled back along the rainbow light and slammed into the Fengduo disciple!

"Ah!"

She only had time to let out a short cry of alarm before the immense force yanked her off the ground, pulling her helplessly toward the roiling black qi and the ferocious, pale hands!

The ghostly hands, like piranhas that had scented blood, scrambled forward, about to tear her to shreds and drag her into the all-devouring Soul Refining Banner.

The eyes of the Cyan Sect disciple, who stood with his arms crossed, shone even brighter, a look of eager anticipation on his face.

[Soul Refining Banner 3.0: Resentful Soul capacity doubled.]

[Soul Refining Banner 4.0: Resentful Souls can now devour each other to increase their strength, but cannot exceed the banner’s limit.]

[Soul Refining Banner 5.0: Increased overall Magic power, synchronously improving the quality of the Soul Refining Banner as a Magical Artifact.]

[Soul Refining Banner 6.0: Increased Resentful Soul incubation speed.]

In half a year, Qi Yun had already updated this rarely practiced Ghost Dao Technique to version 6.0.

And out of five updates, four of them had been dedicated to boosting the stats of the Resentful Souls within the banner.

Rapidly generated Resentful Souls, a doubled capacity limit, and a cannibalistic, Gu-refining-like system for self-improvement...

The many Resentful Souls within the Soul Refining Banner were now far from the cannon fodder they were normally perceived to be.

And with the complete dominion of the Soul Refining Banner over them...

Their power was absolutely terrifying!

...