Chapter 376: Ten Thousand Souls Banner

The strong smell of blood made Deputy Sect Master Shi uneasy, fearing there was more than one ancient Integration Stage cultivator here. If he were even unluckier and encountered a Tribulation Transcending Stage cultivator, he would be in serious trouble.

He felt a pang of relief, fortunate that he had brought Lu Yang along. Even if he met an unfortunate end, would the Heavenly Court Sect allow their Young Sect Master to perish in this place?

“I know very little about demonic blood sacrifices, so I’ll have to trouble Deputy Sect Master Shi with investigating this small village’s situation,” Lu Yang said earnestly, which was the truth.

Deputy Sect Master Shi didn’t decline. He walked to the outermost hut, pushed open the door, and found it empty. Bowls and chopsticks were on the table, as if the residents had been about to eat when something unexpected happened, making them vanish without a trace of struggle or resistance.

Deputy Sect Master Shi opened several more doors, finding largely the same scene: signs of life were present, indicating people had clearly lived there, but for unknown reasons, everyone had vanished. It was as if someone had stopped time, moved people away one by one, and then allowed time to flow again.

Tao Tianye felt a chill seeing this, as it eerily resembled the ghost stories she used to read wrapped in her blanket at night. She cautiously clutched Lu Yang’s sleeve, immediately feeling much more at ease.

“Deputy Sect Master Shi, have you discerned what happened here?”

Deputy Sect Master Shi analyzed, “As far as I know, there are two ways to achieve this: spatial confinement or time stoppage. Spatial confinement would be manageable; an Integration Stage cultivator skilled in spatial magic could do it. Time stoppage, however, would be terrible. To stop time, at a conservative estimate, one would need to be at the Tribulation Transcending Stage!”

“To my knowledge, no one has ever truly stopped time. Even for a Tribulation Transcending Stage cultivator, it’s merely a theoretical possibility!”

Lu Yang nodded, “The Immortal of Ages can do that.”

“The Immortal of Ages?” Deputy Sect Master Shi was surprised; he hadn’t heard of this immortal.

Lu Yang nodded, “The Immortal of Ages controls the Dao Fruit of Ages. In terms of understanding time, they were unrivaled in ancient times.”

“Such a thing exists?!” Deputy Sect Master Shi exclaimed, losing his voice. The Dao of Time was obscure and difficult to comprehend, even for beginners. He hadn’t imagined an ancient immortal could make time their Dao Fruit. How terrifying would such a Dao Fruit be once unleashed!

Tao Tianye was also moved. Why did Senior Brother Lu casually mention immortals? Judging by Deputy Sect Master Shi’s strong reaction, it must be something even a Nine Nether Sect Deputy Sect Master didn’t know. Where did Senior Brother Lu learn this? Had the gap between herself and Senior Brother Lu already grown this wide?

Deputy Sect Master Shi’s shocked expression gradually faded. He blinked, then turned to Lu Yang and asked, “Oh, right, I had a momentary lapse. What did you just say?”

“Nothing,” Lu Yang replied. He had thought Integration Stage cultivators could be immune to the Immortal’s memory-altering characteristic, but it seemed even a late-stage Integration powerful being like Deputy Sect Master Shi couldn’t resist it.

“The probability of the perpetrator being a Tribulation Transcending Stage cultivator who can control time is low. I’m more inclined to believe it’s an Integration Stage cultivator capable of spatial confinement.”

From the moment he stepped into the small village, Lu Yang’s brow remained furrowed. So many deaths, and such eerie ways of dying. How terrifying must the culprit be? Killing people right under the court’s nose, unnoticed. If Huai’an Village was like this, what about other villages? How many people had the culprit killed?

Deputy Sect Master Shi crouched down and picked up a handful of dirt. As he gently rubbed the originally dark brown soil, a dark red color was revealed. Seeing Lu Yang and Tao Tianye’s confusion, he explained, “Too many people have died here, so the soil has been tainted with their blood! But because of this, I’ve confirmed one thing!”

“What?”

“The bloody aura here is immense, but the smell of blood shouldn’t be so faint. Someone must have transferred the bloody essence elsewhere!”

“I recall that bloody essence can be refined into a Myriad Soul Banner, a powerful artifact of the demonic path?” Lu Yang mused, recalling his knowledge of demonic arts.

“Exactly. Refining Soul-Summoning Banners, Spirit-Guiding Banners, and Myriad Soul Banners all require bloody essence and resentment.”

Deputy Sect Master Shi looked confident. He ground the soil into powder, tossed it into the air, and with a rapid single-handed seal, cast a black mark. The soil powder converged with the black mark, drifting through the air like silk, floating towards the distance.

“Let’s go, follow it. If they had refined the bloody essence on the spot, it would be troublesome to find. But since they moved it away before refining it, I can use the residual bloody aura to locate the true refining site!”

Deputy Sect Master Shi pulled Lu Yang and Tao Tianye into the air and flew hundreds of miles in one breath, landing in a mountain range.

“The aura stops there!”

Deputy Sect Master Shi pointed to a nearby location. The three exchanged glances, nodded, held their breath, and walked forward.

Suddenly, Deputy Sect Master Shi and Lu Yang simultaneously halted. Lu Yang instinctively pulled back Tao Tianye, who was about to walk ahead. Tao Tianye looked ahead at the lush trees and birdsong, seeing nothing different from any other place.

Deputy Sect Master Shi looked at Lu Yang in surprise, not expecting him to react as quickly as himself. “You see it too. One more step and we’ll be inside a barrier!”

Lu Yang nodded, “In ancient times, this was called a ‘Ghost Blocking Wall Array.’ Anyone who stepped into it would lose their direction, become disoriented, and eventually be trapped and perish within.”

“It’s still called a Ghost Blocking Wall Array now.”

Setting up a Ghost Blocking Wall Array here, clearly to prevent entry, surely indicated a secret!

“Not just that, the Ghost Blocking Wall Array also conceals multiple other formations that can isolate everything from the outside. At the same time, those inside cannot detect anything outside!”

“Someone must be cultivating inside the array and doesn’t wish to be disturbed by the outside world!”

“I smell a faint trace of blood. It’s leaking from the formation!”

“Judging by the array’s setup, it wasn’t done by a Tribulation Transcending Stage cultivator.”

“If it’s not Tribulation Transcending Stage, then it’s manageable.”

The two analyzed the array, speaking back and forth, and deduced what was happening inside: an Integration Stage cultivator had set up an array in the mountains to refine bloody essence and cultivate undisturbed, likely connected to the Huai’an Village tragedy.

Tao Tianye quietly followed behind, struggling to keep up with Lu Yang’s pace. Why could Senior Brother Lu converse so smoothly with an Integration Stage cultivator on such matters? When Tao Tianye performed missions, she met excellent Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators. They would speak eloquently in front of her, seeming to know everything, but would stammer nervously when facing a Soul Transformation Stage cultivator. If they met a Void Refinement or Integration Stage cultivator, they couldn’t even speak properly. Compared to Senior Brother Lu, they were far inferior.

Deputy Sect Master Shi chuckled. He loved nothing more than disturbing others’ cultivation, especially if it could cause an ancient Integration Stage cultivator inside to suffer a qi deviation!

He pulled out an octagonal sledgehammer from his storage ring. He tossed it upward, and the hammer inflated like a balloon, becoming as large as a small mountain, each sharp edge glinting coldly. The octagonal sledgehammer plunged downward, like a meteorite falling from the sky, its momentum overwhelming.

*Crack—*

The massive octagonal sledgehammer made a cracking sound as if it had struck something.

Deputy Sect Master Shi rubbed his hands, then pressed down again with force. The octagonal sledgehammer gained new power and shattered the invisible barrier.

*Crack—crack—crash—*

As the barrier shattered, the smell of blood surged forth.

Tao Tianye’s beautiful eyes widened in disbelief at the sight before her. There was no longer any scene of birdsong and fragrant flowers. The trees were withered, blood flowed like rivers, the earth was stained red, ghostly shadows flickered, and a chilling wind howled. In the very center sat a withered old man, with a blood-red tattered banner propped beside him.

“Who are you!” the old man suddenly opened his eyes, automatically ignoring Lu Yang and Tao Tianye, and stared intently at Deputy Sect Master Shi, gritting his teeth. His array shouldn’t have been discovered; the only loophole was the leaking bloody essence, which only a seasoned demonic cultivator could detect. What reason would a seasoned demonic cultivator have to destroy his array when they had no grievances against him?

“I’m your grandpa!” Deputy Sect Master Shi burst out laughing, waved to recall the octagonal sledgehammer, and then swung it directly at the old man.

The withered old man grabbed his tattered banner and dodged, muttering incantations as he moved.

Deputy Sect Master Shi paid no mind. In his other hand, he held a bone scythe, hitting and hacking at the withered old man. He could tell that his breach of the array had caused the old man to suffer a backlash, and the old man was in a very poor state. *Beating a dog when it’s down!*

“Is this all you’ve got? You’re truly a disgrace to ancient cultivators!”

“And refining a Myriad Soul Banner? That’s child’s play to me!”

“Die, old man!”

Deputy Sect Master Shi displayed immense power. The withered old man retreated steadily, unable to launch any decent attacks.

*Boom—*

The octagonal sledgehammer and the bone scythe simultaneously descended, smashing the withered old man into the mountain.

“Good, good, good, the younger generation is truly formidable!” The old man, enraged, laughed instead. He walked out of the mountain cavity, his tattered banner shimmering with light.

Deputy Sect Master Shi clicked his tongue. “I was careless.”

“Careless about what?” Tao Tianye asked.

Deputy Sect Master Shi pointed at the withered old man and spat. “I was too caught up in the fight earlier and didn’t notice this old man was refining the Myriad Soul Banner while being beaten. Now the Myriad Soul Banner is complete, and he’s not easy to deal with.”

The withered old man’s face was so grim it looked as if water could drip from it. His words, squeezed through clenched teeth, gave an extremely uncomfortable feeling.

“This Venerable One happened to obtain a vast amount of bloody essence, perfect for refining the Myriad Soul Banner. Today, I’ll let you, a junior of later generations, know this Venerable One’s true power!”

“Myriad Soul Banner, rise!”

A chilling, bone-piercing wind howled. The surrounding winds converged on the withered old man, and countless ghostly figures appeared behind him, massive in size and numbering tens of thousands. As the old man laughed heartily, the Myriad Soul Banner was completely refined, and the ghost outlines became increasingly clear.

Lu Yang recognized the appearance of these ghosts: pigs, cows, sheep...

“Huh?”

All four people present were stunned.