Soul of the Revered Banner
Chapter 54: My Path

Shizhu closed his eyes.

That palm strike from the immortal master had left him severely injured, he couldn’t even crawl.

Now he watched helplessly as a foot wrapped in glowing light came crashing down toward him.

The pressure in the air was so overwhelming that even breathing became difficult.

He could clearly see the dirt on the sole of the cultivator’s boot, getting closer and closer.

He knew, he was going to die.

He even envisioned it, his head bursting open on the ground like a rotten watermelon, blood and brains spilling everywhere.

He didn’t mind dying himself. But he couldn’t fulfill the task Old Xiang had entrusted him with.

“Ugh…”

Nothing happened.

Shizhu realized he was still conscious.

He opened his eyes.

The goateed immortal master remained frozen mid-kick, eyes lifeless and body stiff, utterly motionless.

On the outside, there was no movement at all.

But within his sea of consciousness, all was chaos.

“Who demon dares intrude in my sea of consciousness?” Zhou Liang’s soul form shouted furiously into the darkness of his sea of consciousness.

At the same time, he braced himself.

Whatever this presence was, being able to infiltrate a cultivator’s sea of consciousness meant the other side was not simple.

From the darkness, Tu Shanjun stepped forward, cracking his neck, revealing sharp fangs.

“An evil ghost’s backlash?” Zhou Liang immediately recognized him, this was the ferocious ghost depicted on the Soul Banner.

His expression turned grim.

Why did the backlash have to happen now?

He frantically channeled his spiritual power, glaring at the towering ghostly figure. Teeth clenched, he barked, “I am the banner master! How dare you!”

Tu Shanjun stepped in close.

He grabbed Zhou Liang’s soul by the throat and yanked him out of his spirit platform¹.

His hoarse voice questioned, “Why were you seeking Xiang Hu?”

He didn’t ask about Li Qingfeng’s corpse, it was too large to hide, not something this man could’ve concealed.

Zhou Liang’s mouth fell open in utter shock.

He was stunned.

No, he had never even imagined such a scene.

Even when the souls inside the Soul Banner had a hint of awareness, they acted only on instinct.

But this one… not only was it intelligent, it could speak. Clearly. Logically.

Unheard of.

Unthinkable.

“Answer me,” Tu Shanjun growled, tightening his grip.

“A disciple of the Five Spirits Sect came from Eight Directions City,” Zhou Liang sputtered. “I merely pieced things together from what he said…”

Tu Shanjun’s expression darkened, so he had indeed come chasing.

“Where is he now?”

Zhou Liang’s eyes darted. He almost blurted out that the man had already left but stopped himself and lied, “He’s still a guest at the Offering Pavilion.”

Tu Shanjun laughed. “Trying to lie to me?”

Zhou Liang’s face twitched. Not good.

“Last month… that demonic cultivator’s sword-hairpin weapon, who has it?”

Zhou Liang was startled.

No wonder that man came to Liang City seeking the Soul Banner. This thing really is extraordinary…

And the ghost was asking about the very weapon that had belonged to the demonic cultivator.

Could the sword-hairpin be the key to controlling the Soul Banner?

Zhou Liang couldn’t help thinking, if that were true, then using his own power to forcibly bind the banner was as good as suicide.

He wanted to resist but he was no match for the primary soul of the banner.

He might have spiritual power, yes - but inside the sea of consciousness, it was the strength of the soul that counted. spiritual power was nearly useless here.

And Zhou Liang, with his weaker soul, had no chance against Tu Shanjun.

After a long moment, Zhou Liang finally softened. “I don’t know…”

Tu Shanjun pressed down on his head, purplish-black fingernails digging into his scalp, making Zhou Liang’s eyes go wide in agony.

Like a fish dragged from the water, Zhou Liang gasped desperately for breath, his eyes rolling back.

“If you won’t be honest, then die.”

Tu Shanjun’s crimson eyes showed no pity as he gradually closed his claw-like hand.

No one, not even a cultivator could withstand this kind of spiritual torture.

Zhou Liang saw the cold indifference in Tu Shanjun’s eyes, he was no different from a bug or an ant in his view.

This ghost clearly didn’t care whether he got any information from him or not.

Seeing Zhou Liang refuse to cooperate, he decided simply to crush his soul.

“I… I’ll talk.”

The words barely escaped his clenched teeth, faint as a whisper.

The pressure on his throat instantly eased.

Zhou Liang coughed violently, gasping for breath.

“The sword-hairpin is a mid-grade magical tool. They couldn’t decide who should have it, so it’s being kept in the Offering Pavilion’s treasury.”

“But without me, you’ll never get inside that treasury.” Zhou Liang was quick to frame his usefulness.

“Let me go, and I’ll help you retrieve it.

“Stick with me, you won’t regret it.”

“We can team up. Hunt down the other loose cultivators in Liang City. Gather enough spirit stones and move on to a wider world.”

Zhou Liang kept rambling about how useful he could be to the ghost and the benefits they could gain together.

He didn’t understand ghosts. Or Soul Banners.

But he did understand greed and the power of wealth.

Enough rewards could convince even evil spirits to work for you.

Tu Shanjun’s face remained calm, but a violent glint began to flicker in his red ghostly eyes.

Zhou Liang really was good at talking.

Tempting words. Seductive ideas.

A perfect little schemer, greedy, cautious, and smooth-tongued.

A waste of talent not to be a lobbyist or persuader.

In the world of cultivation, there was no shame in killing friends, stealing treasures, deceiving allies.

Tu Shanjun had only one reply: “Bullshit.”

He tightened his grip on Zhou Liang’s soul. The sales pitch stopped cold.

Tu Shanjun lowered his voice, crimson eyes glaring straight into Zhou Liang’s soul, his expression twisted:

“Your words remind me of a very bad memory.”

“That makes me very angry.”

“The treasury…” Zhou Liang gasped, finally recalling the ghost’s earlier question.

Maybe he still thought that answering would spare him.

But he had underestimated Tu Shanjun’s wrath.

In truth, the moment Tu Shanjun had begun the backlash, Zhou Liang had already lost the right to live.

With brutal force, Tu Shanjun ripped Zhou Liang’s soul out of his sea of consciousness and threw it into the Soul Banner.

With his cultivation at the sixth layer of Qi Refining, he had no trouble overwhelming Zhou Liang, who was only at the fifth layer.

Not to mention, Tu Shanjun had practiced the Three Forms of the Demon Ape Fist, which strengthened his soul even further. Zhou Liang stood no chance.

With a new Qi Refining fifth layer soul added to the banner, Tu Shanjun’s power increased yet again.

The spirit platform in Zhou Liang’s mind now stood vacant.

Tu Shanjun directly took control of his body.

Unlike the first time he had backlashed against Zhao Shixian, where it had been clumsy, like dragging around a corpse…

Zhao’s body had been riddled with injuries, even pierced through the heart by Hou Boxu’s sword. It couldn’t hold together, which made everything exhausting.

This time it was different. Heavy, yes but bearable.

There was still more than 90% of Zhou Liang’s spiritual energy left in his dantian. Only the part used to activate the Soul Banner was gone.

Tu Shanjun rolled his shoulders, slowly adjusting to the new body.

His joints cracked loudly.

He looked down at Shizhu, still lying on the ground and slowly retracted his foot.

If Zhou Liang had merely taken the Soul Banner and left, Tu Shanjun wouldn’t have attacked him.

But what he absolutely shouldn’t have done was refuse to let things go after taking it.

He even dressed it up nicely, saying that becoming a soul servant within the banner was an honor.

Since Zhou Liang thought it was such an honor, Tu Shanjun decided to let him experience it firsthand, to see just how “honorable” it truly was to be refined into the Revered Soul Banner.

As for saving Shizhu?

To say he didn’t care at all would be a lie.

Tu Shanjun’s heart tilted slightly in favor.

Not by much.

“Thank Old Xiang,” he muttered. “If it weren’t for your connection to him, I wouldn’t have interfered.”

“I truly do despise demonic cultivators…”

“But… how am I any different?”

He lifted his head slightly, though he didn’t speak those words aloud.

He turned to leave.

Now that he had a Qi Refining cultivator’s body, it was time to reclaim Li Qingfeng’s corpse and the lost sword-hairpin weapon.

But just as the goateed immortal turned to go, Shizhu struggled forward and wrapped his arms around his leg.

Blood spilled from his mouth, but his gaze was unwavering.

“You… can’t take it away.”

(Chapter End)

¹ Spiritual platform is the core of a cultivator's sea of consciousness, often the seat of the soul.