Soul of the Revered Banner
Chapter 47: The Divine Banner

All internal energy was completely converted into spiritual power.

Under the nourishment of spiritual power, the meridians became tougher and more resilient.

The previous cracks disappeared.

Even many of the hidden internal injuries from earlier years were mostly healed.

Although a Qi Refining cultivator had not yet reached the level of lifespan extension, the upper limit of lifespan that was previously compressed due to physical damage was now greatly increased.

In the future, if he no longer used his sword, living past a hundred years posed absolutely no problem.

He might even live to one hundred and twenty or thirty.

But none of this mattered much to Old Xiang.

What mattered was that he now possessed power.

Even though it was only Qi Refining third layer, as long as his spiritual power and physical strength held out, no mundane martial artist could possibly kill him.

Not even Xue Yi.

Not even trained soldiers in a military formation.

[Bind banner master?]

“Yes.”

Tu Shanjun let out a long breath, he had finally cultivated another banner master.

Although it was a bit regretful that Old Xiang hadn’t converted all his internal energy into spiritual power, so his strength wasn’t at its peak. Even so, Qi Refining third layer was enough to wield the Revered Soul Banner, enough to maintain his ghostly form in battle.

With his own strength at Qi Refining sixth layer, as long as Old Xiang was careful and didn’t seek death on his own, he could move unchallenged in Liang City.

As spiritual power flowed into the Soul Banner, the banner instantly recovered to its full length of three feet, and the ghostly face on the surface grinned hideously, no longer like a mere toy.

“I don’t know what this magical weapon was originally called, but it needs a name, we can’t just keep calling it ‘magic treasure’.”

“I think… let’s call it the Ghost-Faced Divine Banner.”

...

Banner Name: Ghost-Faced Divine Banner

Banner Master: Xiang Hu

Rank: Superior-Grade Magical Tool

Abilities;

Banner-Soul Unity (Passive): Absorbing fiendish qi and living souls enhances the banner’s power and rank.

Backlash (Passive): If the banner master’s cultivation and spiritual sense cannot suppress the banner soul, the soul may devour the master and refine them into a Banner Slave.

Soul Harvest: Extracts souls from the dead and traps ghostly spirits below the banner soul’s strength. (Current primary soul's strength: Qi Refining Sixth Layer)

Soul Storage: Stores ghostly souls within the banner. (Current: 194/1000)

Repair: Consumes fiendish qi and souls to mend the banner or heal the primary soul.

Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts: Releases all stored ghosts within the banner to unleash a coordinated soul-art assault.

Soul Condensation Pill: Converts absorbed wandering yin souls and fiend energy into Yin Soul Pills, which aid the banner master’s cultivation. (One pill every twenty-four hours. Absorbing more spirits accelerates the process.)

After the battle in Eight Directions County, absorbing Li Qingfeng’s soul, the banner stored 109 souls.

Later, Old Xiang killed 23 gutter-trash members from the Wild Dog Gang.

In the following month, he picked up 62 more souls from the city prison, bringing the total to 194.

However, ordinary human souls contributed little to strengthening Tu Shanjun’s power, just barely loosening his Qi Refining Level 6 bottleneck, still far from reaching seventh layer.

Tu Shanjun knew clearly that to grow stronger, he had to find powerful or strange ghostly entities.

Or else kill Qi Refining cultivators and collect their souls into the banner.

There was no other path.

...

Old Xiang looked into the banner’s interior.

It was a small world, filled with gray mist.

A densely packed crowd of ghostly spirits stood upright.

In the center of this world stood a tall, fierce ghost.

Wild red hair flowed unbound.

A tattered black robe draped over his muscular body.

His solemn green face bore a ghostly horn on the forehead.

Although his expression was calm, the blood-red ghost eyes gleamed with intelligence, clearly no mindless spirit.

Among the many blank-faced, vacant-eyed ghostly creatures, he stood out at a glance.

“It’s him!”

Old Xiang immediately recognized him, surprised yet not entirely unexpectant.

This was the ghost who, in his dreams, had passed on the cultivation method atop the cultivation cliff and had given him the black beads.

Old Xiang didn’t know what to call him.

Ghost… or human?

Let’s call it human for now, with the red-haired ghost's level of intelligence, there’s little difference.

At first, Old Xiang had been very cautious, fearing the dream was a ghostly plot to steal his life.

But over time, he gradually came to trust him.

No matter what he truly was, when Old Xiang had been at the end of his rope, he had been the only one to lend a hand.

Be it ghost or man, that much was a favor owed.

“What are you staring at? Think you’ll see something new?” Tu Shanjun muttered silently.

Still, since the banner master had reached Qi Refining third layer, Tu Shanjun decided to teach Old Xiang two spells: Spirit-Seer Eyes and Banner Control Art.

Without Spirit-Seer Eyes, a Qi Refining cultivator would be like a person with severe myopia.

Without the Banner Control Art, one’s control over the Soul Banner would be crude and clumsy.

If he couldn’t use the Night Parade of One Hundred Ghosts properly, or even summon Tu Shanjun himself, then there was no way to fight effectively.

Better not let him treat the Soul Banner as a melee weapon.

Old Xiang saw the two spell manuals condensed into black mist on the surface of the banner.

Incantations, spiritual power circulation paths, hand seals, all the supporting components were there.

At the same time, he fully grasped the divine might of the banner.

The Night Parade of One Hundred Ghosts could release all the stored ghosts at once, dealing a devastating blow.

The banner could also absorb ambient baleful qi and spiritual energy to condense Yin Soul Pills.

If more ghost souls were collected, this process could be greatly accelerated.

Old Xiang tightly gripped the three-foot-long Soul Banner. He had finally obtained the power he had once dreamed of.

Now, no one could stop him.

...

At this moment, dawn was breaking.

Sunlight burst forth at a single point.

Like the night’s curtain was being pulled back, all of Liang City was bathed in the newborn light.

It awakened the city and roused the sleeping populace.

The previous evening, the Offering Pavilion had welcomed a Qi Refining cultivator from a sect.

The bronze-green pinewood bricks shimmered faintly, blocking the visitor’s steps.

But he was not kept waiting long.

In the mortal world, cultivators were sensitive to their kind and could often sense if another was a practitioner at a glance.

The Spirit-Seer Eyes could roughly assess the strength of someone’s spiritual light.

Today’s visitor wasn’t especially powerful, but his visiting card bore the name of the Five Spirits Sect.

Even though Liang City’s scattered cultivators were not well-learned, they knew the Five Spirits Sect’s status, arguably the sect standing behind the Great Liang Kingdom.

However, the Five Spirits Sect did not interfere in worldly affairs. It merely accepted tribute from Great Liang, dispatching disciples to guard major cities in each county.

To make this stance clear, the Five Spirits Sect deliberately did not assign a guardian to Liang City.

This actually relieved the imperial court. While they appreciated the peacekeeping powers of Immortal Masters, they did not want an unfathomable superhuman figure hanging over the throne.

In response, Great Liang established the Offering Pavilion, recruiting loose cultivators from among the people.

They used spirit herbs, scattered spirit stones, and cultivation manuals as payment.

From the pavilion’s main gates emerged a green-robed elder, cupping his hands respectfully: “Which great force do you represent?”

“I am Mo Qi of the Five Spirits Sect. Greetings, Fellow Daoist.”

The guardian Immortal Master or rather, Mo Qi returned the gesture.

“Not worthy of such respect. I am Lu Chengyi,” said the green-robed old Daoist hurriedly.

Mo Qi was so young and yet already had a decent cultivation. In a few decades, he might become a senior cultivator. Better to be humble.

Without further delay, he asked, “What brings you here, fellow Daoist?”

“I am the guardian of Eight Directions County. A month ago, I fought a demonic cultivator alongside cultivators from the Offering Pavilion. Sadly, two of them perished. I too was gravely wounded and unconscious until recently. I’ve come both to pay respects to the fallen Fellow Daoists and to confirm the demonic cultivator’s manuals, artifacts, and other belongings.”

Hearing this, Lu Chengyi immediately understood.

So this was the Guardian Immortal of Eight Directions County, here to reclaim the spoils of war.

By rights, they should have given him a share.

But they’d already divided up the loot long ago.

Loose cultivators were often poor, this was like stealing meat from a tiger’s mouth. It could easily escalate into conflict.

Yet this Five Spirits Sect member was forthright, openly stating his purpose without scheming.

Either he hadn’t been worn down by worldly dealings yet, or he truly was just honest.

His honesty made their own position awkward.

Lu Chengyi hesitated. “This is…”

“Is there a difficulty you cannot speak of?”

“Please forgive us, honored guest.”

Mo Qi frowned. He could let go of other things, but the Soul Banner must be reclaimed.

Seeing him frown, Lu Chengyi realized he couldn’t shoulder this alone.

If Mo Qi brought in his sect elders later, he’d never survive the blame alone.

“How about this, honored guest, please stay the night. Tomorrow, I’ll summon the other Daoist friends. We’ll explain everything to you together.”

Mo Qi had no better options.

Lu Chengyi was a slippery old fox, making no promises and taking no responsibility.

So instead, he’d gather everyone who had taken a share. With numbers on their side, it would be easier to talk or deflect.

Helpless, Mo Qi could only nod: “Very well.”

(Chapter End)