Soul of the Revered Banner
Chapter 48: Suspicion

The next day.

The sun was high in the sky as Mo Qi finished his morning cultivation and arrived at the Reception Hall of the Offering Pavilion.

Except for those out on missions, all the remaining members were present.

Including the green-robed old Daoist, there were six people in total:

A bald, scabbed monk.

A rotund man in ornate robes who looked more like a merchant lord.

A silent, downcast middle-aged man.

A beautiful woman in a gauzy dress, appearing no older than thirty.

A slender man with a goatee, who touched his mustache and narrowed his eyes, casting a glance over Mo Qi.

The six clearly had already been informed, Mo Qi’s arrival didn’t surprise them.

Perhaps as early as yesterday, they had begun discussing how to deal with this high-level guest from the Five Spirits Sect.

Mo Qi’s eyes gleamed with spiritual power as he observed their expressions, looking for anyone resembling Li Qingfeng.

To his surprise, although these people carried faint traces of baleful qi, killing aura, ghost energy, and yin qi, they were all extremely weak, far inferior to the demonic cultivator he had once encountered.

“I’ll make the introductions,” said Lu Chengyi, cupping his hands with a smile. “This is Daoist Mo of the Five Spirits Sect, the Guardian Immortal of Eight Directions County.”

The five others exchanged glances, then also cupped their hands: “Greetings, Fellow Daoist Mo.”

“I don’t deserve such courtesy.”

Mo Qi politely returned the gesture, not putting on airs despite being a sect cultivator.

He knew that among these loose cultivators, his own strength was not necessarily the highest. Besides, since he was asking them for something, better to stay humble and avoid accusations that the Five Spirits Sect bullied others.

“I’ll speak frankly. Back in Eight Directions County…” Mo Qi repeated to everyone what he had told Lu Chengyi, though he intentionally downplayed the Soul Banner’s importance and emphasized the demonic cultivator’s strength.

After all, once the demonic cultivator died, his spiritual aura dispersed, making it impossible for them to verify his power.

Thus, Mo Qi only requested to examine the demonic cultivator’s manuals and magical artifacts, hoping to take just one item.

He couldn’t have risked his life and walked away with nothing, letting these people who hadn’t lifted a finger to reap all the spoils.

If anyone had a right to complain, it would’ve been the two cultivators who died that day.

Everyone exchanged looks. Then Lu Chengyi stepped forward and spoke for them all: “The two deceased Offering Pavilion members and the demonic cultivator have already been buried. Their manuals and artifacts have been recorded and stored in the treasury. There are clear accounts.”

“The account records are handled by Fellow Daoist Liu.”

Hearing his name, the rotund man smiled and retrieved a ledger from his storage talisman.

He channeled spiritual power into it, and the ledger enlarged into a hovering illusion, with glowing text.

“Last month’s entry,” he read aloud:

“Daoist Wen and Daoist Zhu perished. Their storage talismans held two cultivation manuals, one spell scroll each.”

“One low-grade soul-capturing bell, one damaged turtle shell, originally a low-grade magical tool.”

Although Tu Shanjun had shattered the shell’s protection, the item itself only cracked. It had dropped from a low-grade magical tool to a pseudo-magical tool. It could no longer channel spiritual power and had limited use.

“Additionally, a demonic beast thigh bone, snake orchid herb, one bottle of non-graded Yuan-gathering Pills.”

“Three spirit stones.”

“Various mundane items, several dozen taels of silver. Since neither man had heirs, the items are held in trust by the Offering Pavilion.”

“As for the unknown demonic cultivator: one mid-grade magical tool hairpin sword, one cultivation manual, one graded talisman, two non-graded Yin pearls, and one set of tiger bones.”

That was all that remained from the three.

Mo Qi’s expression shifted slightly, the hairpin sword the demonic cultivator never used was actually a mid-grade magical tool, same as his own wooden sword.

Apparently, the demonic cultivator had run out of power and couldn’t summon his flying sword. Otherwise, the outcome of that battle might have changed.

But among the listed items, there was no mention of the Soul Banner.

A flicker of surprise flashed in Mo Qi’s eyes, quickly hidden behind his usual impassive face. His gaze swept across the room but no one showed any reaction.

If only one or two had been this calm, it might’ve meant nothing. But all six?

A superior-grade magical tool like the Soul Banner should’ve caused fierce contention among loose cultivators. How could they be sitting here so peacefully?

“Could they have failed to notice the Soul Banner?”

He immediately dismissed the idea. They were all cultivators, there was no way they wouldn’t recognize a magic tool.

Either someone embezzled the Soul Banner, or it never reached their hands at all.

Perhaps it got lost en route, or someone else took it, someone who knew its value.

As Mo Qi quietly watched them, they were watching him too.

It had been a month already, and they still hadn’t decided who would keep the mid-grade sword.

Everyone wanted it, but none could offer sufficient resources to trade for it.

Seniority meant little; in terms of strength, their strongest member was only sixth layer Qi Refining.

Late-stage Qi Refining cultivators weren’t interested in staying stuck as mere Offering Pavilion cultivators in the secular world. They preferred to go all-in toward advancement and seek enlightenment opportunities.

Now that Mo Qi had arrived, everyone silently agreed if he asked about the hairpin sword, they would unite against him.

After a long silence, Mo Qi finally asked, “Is there anything missing?”

“Honored guest-” one of the cultivators began to object but paused, as if hearing something unexpected.

The beautiful woman quickly interjected, “If the honored guest doubts us, you may open the treasury and verify it for yourself.”

“The treasury is sealed by formations,” Lu Chengyi explained with a smile, “and has three gates, each requiring a different key.”

“I hold the golden key on behalf of everyone.”

“The silver key is kept by Fellow Daoist Liu,” he gestured toward the rotund man, who nodded toward Mo Qi.

With a hand seal, the ledger flew back into his hand, and the floating text vanished.

“I have the copper key,” said the tall, thin cultivator with a goatee.

As he spoke, he pinched his beard and drifted into deep thought.

Only two people had not spoken:

The quiet, solemn middle-aged man.

And the scab-headed monk who had been silently chanting scriptures this whole time.

Mo Qi shook his head, he didn’t follow through.

Their offer to open the treasury was just a formality.

Opening the treasury would only offend everyone further.

Besides, since no one had mentioned the Soul Banner, there was no way it had been stored there.

Maybe one person could fail to recognize a magical artifact but all of them? Impossible.

He needed to investigate from the very beginning.

Mo Qi suspected that whoever first handled the bodies might have hidden the Soul Banner.

Even though the mid-grade sword was tempting, the Soul Banner was worth far more.

“Who handled the bodies that day?”

All eyes turned to Lu Chengyi, who did not deflect and replied calmly: “I did. I brought a disciple and collected the corpses.”

There were witnesses, so his words could be verified.

Later, accompanied by Lu Chengyi, they visited the cemetery and saw the graves of the two Offering Pavilion cultivators and the demonic cultivator.

Clearly, there was nothing to be found.

Mo Qi didn’t intend to dig up the graves, if the Soul Banner was buried with the demonic cultivator, that was better than someone using it in secret.

Thus, the matter ended unresolved.

Mo Qi received the low-grade Soul Capturing Bell and three spirit stones pooled together by the others.

As the sun dipped toward the west, he boarded his carriage and returned to Eight Directions County.

The county city could not be left unattended.

Moreover, the sect had sent a talisman order commanding him to return and report to a senior investigating the incident.

There was no time to delay.

Mo Qi now had a splitting headache.

Because he had failed to report the appearance of a demonic cultivator, he would surely be reprimanded.

Now he had no clue where to investigate next.

If the Soul Banner was gone, so be it. Fate did not favor him.

After Mo Qi left, the loose cultivators also dispersed.

They all harbored suspicions but had no solid leads and each left with a heavy heart.

The goateed tall cultivator, keeper of the copper key fell into deep thought.

Returning to his residence, he pondered the odd behavior of that high-level visitor.

“He showed no surprise when the mid-grade sword was mentioned. And all his questions revolved around the demonic cultivator as if he believed the demon possessed something, and he was trying to find it.”

“Perhaps a scripture.”

“Or… a treasure.”

He pinched his beard again and took out a manual from his storage talisman.

Truth be told, he was nervous.

Everyone had glanced at the Blood Fiend Grand Method, but because of its side effects, they had avoided it.

However, it resembled his own techniques, so he bought the original for half a spirit stone.

He had feared that the honored guest might demand to see it, he’d been on edge all morning.

But surprisingly, Mo Qi came and left in a rush.

“The Blood Fiend Grand Method… a Blood Fiend Sect technique.”

“It contains two spells, Spirit-Seer Eyes and Banner Control Art.”

“Nothing too unusual.”

As he flipped through the manual, the three characters “Blood Fiend Sect” suddenly caught his eye.

“Why would a Blood Fiend Sect demonic cultivator be a sword cultivator?”

“Could there be another magical artifact?”

“And that sword, it radiated pure spiritual light, not like a demonic weapon.”

“Could it be there’s still a primary magical tool unaccounted for?”

The goateed cultivator suddenly sat upright.

If the demonic cultivator’s main artifact hadn’t been claimed by Mo Qi, then it must still be on the body.

“Old Daoist Lu was the first to get the news…”

“Could it be… he secretly kept it?”

(Chapter End)