Soul of the Revered Banner
Chapter 65: Fetal Breath

Wen Yue stared blankly at Tu Shanjun, who had just spoken in human tongue.

His mouth hung wide open in astonishment.

For a moment, he didn’t know what to say.

He stood dumbfounded on the spot.

Though the voice was hoarse and the words not particularly clear,

He had unmistakably heard Tu Shanjun speak.

The dreaded ghost of the Cultivation Cliff...

Had spoken!

Wen Yue had once wondered whether the malevolent ghost of the Cultivation Cliff could speak.

He had even imagined what it would be like when the teacher finally did.

But he never thought it would be like this.

The moment the ghost spoke, a deep shiver coursed through him.

Not from fear but from sheer excitement.

Tu Shanjun did not press Wen Yue. He cared little for empty titles or false reverence.

Even if Wen Yue did not observe the rites of a disciple, so long as Tu Shanjun found him pleasing to the eye, he would still teach him what he knew.

The stronger the banner master became, the more baleful qi and living souls he would gather in the future, which meant Tu Shanjun himself would grow stronger too.

To Tu Shanjun, nurturing a banner master was like an investment.

A thousand words, ten thousand thoughts,

All Tu Shanjun wanted was to grasp tightly onto his own fate, to no longer be at the mercy of others.

He needed to take hold of his destiny, and he needed a banner master who would earnestly help him grow stronger.

The banner master and the soul banner complemented one another.

One’s life not being in one’s own hands breeds fear.

Pinning hope on others was the most foolish of decisions.

Thus, even if he had to start from scratch in cultivating a new banner master, Tu Shanjun harbored not the slightest complaint.

He had patience.

And he could afford to wait.

“I…”

“Teacher, please accept my formal bow.”

The words came tumbling from Wen Yue’s mouth as he bowed once more.

Every motion was proper, every rite exact.

This was something Tu Shanjun had never encountered before, he hadn’t expected a disciple’s ceremony to be this meticulous.

But to Wen Yue, it didn’t matter, a master is a master.

If the master has the knowledge, the disciple should bear the burden.

“Tu Shanjun.”

Wen Yue silently repeated the name in his heart.

Even just hearing the name gave one the sense of a lofty personage.

It only confirmed Wen Yue’s suspicion about the ghost god of the Cultivation Cliff.

Perhaps this man had once been an exalted expert who fell in some catastrophe, now only a remnant soul remained, quietly clinging to life within the soul banner.

Just like those legendary immortals in storytellers’ tales, who fell from the heavens and now wandered the mortal realm, a dragon stranded in the shallows, a tiger humbled in flatlands.

From his practice of the Blood Fiend Grand Method, Wen Yue naturally understood what a soul banner was.

Tu Shanjun was the primary soul, the malevolent ghost who presided over the Revered Soul Banner.

But nowhere in the Blood Fiend Grand Method was it written that main soul ghosts possessed such intelligence.

In fact, it stated the opposite: most ghosts within soul banners were of low intellect.

More importantly, Tu Shanjun had not redacted any of the techniques of the Blood Fiend Grand Method, nor had he removed the detailed introductions about the Revered Soul Banner.

Such frankness, such openness, Wen Yue could not help but respect him even more, and felt as though he had found a kindred spirit.

Judging from his bearing and presence, Tu Shanjun was clearly no ordinary being.

Had he not already performed the disciple’s ceremony, it would not have been inappropriate to form a sworn brotherhood instead.

At this thought, Wen Yue felt he had been young and impulsive.

He had assigned himself a lower seniority right from the start.

It was but a small musing of his heart. In truth, he already felt immensely fortunate to have taken Tu Shanjun as his teacher.

Tu Shanjun had no idea about the grand imaginary plays Wen Yue had concocted in his mind.

After thinking briefly, he waved his ghostly hand, black mist coalesced into words, floating before Wen Yue’s eyes:

"There are Qi cultivators within the city. Now that you are a cultivator, your spiritual aura will be discovered."

Wen Yue nodded. That was indeed the case.

The Spirit-Seer Eyes could help him observe other Qi cultivators.

But his own spiritual light would not be concealed by it.

If the loose cultivators of the Offering Pavilion discovered that he had become a cultivator, there would be trouble.

Wen Yue looked toward Tu Shanjun with hope in his eyes.

Since Tu Shanjun had mentioned it, perhaps there was a solution.

Surely he couldn’t just stay holed up in the marquis’ estate forever.

“Teacher, do you have a method you can teach me?”

Tu Shanjun swept his ghostly hand again, and a scripture appeared before Wen Yue.

The scripture floated, dotted with faint glimmers of light.

Incantations and circulation routes were laid out clearly.

“Turtle Spirit Breath-Holding Technique”

This technique could conceal spiritual light and aura.

Unless the observer’s cultivation was significantly greater than Wen Yue’s, they would be unable to see through him.

Tu Shanjun did not oversee Wen Yue’s cultivation, he merely placed the technique before him. If he wanted to learn it, he could do so himself.

It was not some profound art. Understanding it through the scripture alone was enough.

Wen Yue committed the entire technique to memory, then asked several questions about parts he didn’t fully grasp.

Tu Shanjun was glad to answer.

Aside from when he spoke his name, all other communications were conveyed through black mist forming words.

The scriptures and commentary were all there, unless one were especially dim-witted, studying them thoroughly a few times would suffice.

Afterward, Wen Yue cupped his hands and asked, “May I ask if Teacher requires this disciple to do anything in return?”

Tu Shanjun made no attempt to hide his response.

"Baleful Qi, Yin Souls."

Those were the two things the soul banner needed.

Whether it was blood baleful qi, yin baleful qi, or some other form, it all served to enhance the soul banner’s power and quality.

The same went for Yin Souls.

Of course, if the souls were strange or unusually malevolent, all the better. Tu Shanjun might even be able to extract skill seeds from them.

“This disciple shall remember.”

"There is something for you, retrieve it yourself from the soul banner."

As Tu Shanjun waved his hand and scattered the black mist that had formed the words, Wen Yue suddenly awakened in the bath.

“Chu Jiu, what hour is it?”

“Replying to young master, it’s already midday. You slept for two hours.”

Wen Yue touched the bathwater, it was still warm.

Chu Jiu really was loyal and reliable, his work always neat and timely.

He stood up.

To avoid attracting attention, Wen Yue did not use spiritual power. He wiped himself dry manually.

Then he retrieved the item from the soul banner.

“Storage Talisman.”

Wen Yue exclaimed in delight.

This talisman was the item Tu Shanjun had told him to fetch.

It was part of the spoils Tu Shanjun had taken after devouring Zhou Liang, now given to Wen Yue for his own use.

Wen Yue opened the talisman and found a low-grade magical robe inside.

Stacks of scriptures and classic texts, along with several materials that had just entered the ranks.

Four long rectangular spirit stones, their edges worn smooth from use.

In the various bottles and jars were common healing medicines, not yet of any grade, and a few scraps of leftover silver.

Tu Shanjun had even left behind a detailed explanation of each item, so Wen Yue wouldn’t embarrass himself in front of the Offering Pavilion’s loose cultivators.

A generous gift for a disciple’s ceremony.

Wen Yue happily stored the talisman close to his body.

He patted his chest, feeling the talisman secure and snug against him.

Then, Wen Yue began cultivating the Turtle Spirit Breath-Holding Technique.

As the name implied, the technique mimicked a spirit turtle’s deep slumber, allowing one to withdraw all presence and conceal the spiritual light of the body.

With this technique, once Wen Yue entered the introductory stage, even other Qi Refining cultivators might not be able to detect his cultivation if they drew near.

Wen Yue had the patience to endure. Until he succeeded, he would not walk about recklessly, nor would he use his spiritual power.

After five more days, with frequent guidance from Tu Shanjun, Wen Yue finally reached the introductory stage.

Wen Yue took a long, deep breath.

That breath immediately transformed into a thin mist that enveloped his body, obscuring the spiritual light emanating from him.

Now, Wen Yue appeared no different than a normal Innate expert.

Even among martial artists, it was hard to distinguish Innate masters from others with the naked eye.

Unless one fought directly, a martial artist’s strength was difficult to judge, one could only rely on experience gained from walking the jianghu.

Tu Shanjun observed clearly from within the soul banner, this technique had produced fine results.

It was a very useful auxiliary spell.

After tying up loose ends, Wen Yue left the estate with Chu Jiu in tow.

After being cooped up for so many days, it was time to get some air.

(Chapter End)