Chapter 4: These Days, Even the Ten Thousand Souls Banner Needs Packaging

Behind this Return-to-Void realm great cultivator were twelve Soul Transformation cultivators, and seventy-two Nascent Soul cultivators.

Click—a soft sound, the visor of the helm automatically opened, revealing a face of extraordinary handsomeness.

Taishang Dao Sect's Xiao Ning!

As a Return-to-Void realm great cultivator who had only just advanced not long ago, he needed to hold a post for a hundred years at the Xiang Jianzong branch of the Ancient Cultivator Response Department.

Looking at the crimson array patterns fading below, he was about to extend his divine sense to search, when a streak of flowing light came from nowhere, slicing across the sky and hovering before him.

Within the hazy Bai Guang was a sword-shaped jade talisman the size of a palm.

"Martial Uncle, this isn't from the Xiang Jianzong's…" a Soul Transformation cultivator behind him began, then hesitated.

"Mm, it is a Xiang Jianzong talisman command."

A Xiang Jianzong talisman command was used by cultivators of Xiang Jianzong Elder rank and above to transmit messages to Xiang Jianzong disciples.

Hearing this, everyone behind him was indignant.

"The Xiang Jianzong has gone too far!"

"Our Taishang Dao Sect is also a Xian Sect—usually them looking down their noses at us is one thing! But now they actually dare treat us as subordinates!"

"Martial Uncle! Let's just crush it, then report to the sect and make the Xiang Jianzong give us an explanation!"

Everyone chimed in one after another, looking righteous and furious, yet not a single person laid a hand on the talisman command hovering in midair.

Each and every one of them had mastered the essence of the 'Way of Prudence.'

True Person Xiao Ning was somewhat speechless.

Yet in the time it took to say those few words, that Xiang Jianzong talisman command seemed to have grown impatient waiting. With a flash of Bai Guang, it actually shot straight into True Person Xiao Ning's brow.

Everyone turned pale with shock and hurriedly retreated backward, leaving True Person Xiao Ning standing alone on the spot.

The talisman command contained only one sentence.

'The one emerging from seclusion in Xuanjian City of Sword Province is a member of our Xiang Jianzong—no need for concern.'

The vast voice echoed, and the jade talisman, having fulfilled its mission, exploded apart, transforming into a roaming purple sharp aura that circled within his sea of consciousness.

Grand Void Evil-Slaying Sword Qi.

Only sword cultivators of great power who had surpassed the Return-to-Void realm could unleash it. It was the material he urgently needed for refining his art, something he had long sought in vain—yet now it had come to him of its own accord.

Was this paying the reward in advance?

But at least tell me what I'm supposed to do!

"Martial Uncle, are you alright?" another Soul Transformation cultivator called out loudly.

Looking at the martial nephew who had distanced himself so far, the corner of True Person Xiao Ning's eye twitched.

In recent years, no one knew what had happened within the Taishang Dao Sect, but a trend of 'steady and steady cultivation' had emerged, and many people had been influenced by it.

The number of cultivators within the sect who practiced breath-concealment and avatar divine abilities had grown considerably.

Not to mention anything else, among this group of martial nephews who had come with him, there might well be avatars.

"The Xiang Jianzong is a Zhengdaoxian Sect, and has always had a good relationship with our Taishang Dao Sect. You don't need to be so cautious."

"Martial Uncle speaks rightly."

"But you can't be sure no one is impersonating them either. Better to be careful."

Who would dare impersonate a Xiang Jianzong talisman command?

True Person Xiao Ning muttered inwardly.

Enough!

"This Xiang Jianzong talisman command is a Purple Sword talisman command. The one emerging from seclusion nearby is a Xiang Jianzong cultivator. We just need to have a word with the city mayor later."

The Purple Sword talisman command was a high-grade talisman command, only one tier below the Ancestral Sword talisman command.

It seemed the one emerging from seclusion this time had no small status.

One of the four great Elders of the Xiang Jianzong? Or perhaps some Xiang Jianzong Supreme Elder they didn't know about? "Yes!"

Everyone answered in unison, then followed True Person Xiao Ning as they descended toward the city below.

…………

On the outskirts of Xuanjian City, as the great city-protecting array was shut down, a youth wearing a white tracksuit walked in unhurriedly.

His features were ordinary, his temperament sunny and easygoing, instantly putting people at ease.

But before he had taken a few steps, he suddenly stopped and looked up into the distance.

One Return-to-Void, twelve Soul Transformation, seventy-two Nascent Soul.

"Not bad, not bad—all disciples of a Xian Sect, souls pure and clean."

It was not in vain that three years ago he had used bloodline as a guide to cast a spell, deceiving that fool of a younger brother into walking to his death, and gathered all the materials in one stroke. Otherwise, in this day and age, to hunt a top-grade Return-to-Void realm living soul without any hidden dangers would truly be a thousand times difficult.

Not to mention that vast number of auxiliary souls.

The Qidaxian Sect ruled jointly—even at his current realm, he did not dare slaughter mortals wantonly.

"Sigh~"

With a soft sigh, a small silver-white banner appeared in the youth's hand, its entire body flowing with luminous light, with dragon and phoenix phantom images leaping within it, like an immortal artifact from legend.

This was the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, a classic demonic Dao artifact.

However, because times had changed, great powers of the demonic Dao had also improved upon it.

Otherwise, with that original gloomy, yin-energy-laden version, before you even finished refining your treasure after collecting the living souls, the great powers of the righteous Dao would already be blocking your door.

"Refining an artifact is truly not easy."

Actually, now wasn't the best timing either. An ancient cultivator was emerging from seclusion—god knew what realm he was.

If it happened to be some old monster at the level of a Xian Sect Supreme Elder, he might get slapped dead in one strike.

But the opportunity was hard to come by…

He had been plotting this Ten Thousand Souls Banner for a long time—even his own younger brother had been refined into it.

A Void Return realm cultivator from the Supreme Dao Sect was right before his eyes; that single person's divine soul alone was worth two ordinary Void Return realm cultivators.

If he used this Xiaoning True Person as the primary soul to refine this Ten Thousand Souls Banner, he was confident he could advance to the next realm within a hundred years.

In a flash of thought, two dark purple beads glowing with a ghostly light were taken out by him; with a refinement of magic power, the purple light within the beads faded, becoming pure white and flawless.

He released his grip, and the pure white beads fell to the ground, but they did not shatter — instead, they melted directly into it.

The beads kept sinking, falling, and finally seeped into the formation base of the city's protective grand array.

Hum~ a soft sound rang out, and a phantom clear light rose from the formation base, shooting toward the high heavens.

"There are still three hundred sixty-four locations."

The moment his words fell, one after another phantom figure stepped out from his body, dashing toward the city — more precisely, toward the locations of the formation bases within the city.

If this protective grand array had not just been activated, he could not have so easily reversed its nature.

…………

At Xuanjian City No. 3 Middle School, because the protective grand array had been shut down, many people who had been inside the classrooms earlier came outside.

"Announcement: Void Return realm great cultivator Xiaoning True Person has arrived in our city with the Ancient Cultivator Negotiation Team."

"The protective grand array has been shut down."

"To ensure the personal safety of all citizens, please do not leave the schools or the various sect stations for now, and await further notice."

The announcement quickly sounded out, spreading throughout the entire city.

For a time, the tense atmosphere within Xuanjian City eased considerably.

Regardless, with a Void Return realm cultivator stationed here, even if the ancient cultivator who had emerged from seclusion truly intended to cause trouble, stopping him would be considerably easier.

Zhang Yunlu came outside the classroom, feeling the gradually calming spiritual energy, and looked into the distance.

She saw beams of clear light rising into the high heavens, transforming into two enormous phantom images — a dragon and a phoenix — that circled above Xuanjian City, weaving through the clouds and mist, incomparably magnificent.

"Worthy of a Void Return realm cultivator — even his entrance is grand." She could not help but sigh in admiration.

"Grand?" Xu Xing walked to her side, looked up at the dragon and phoenix phantom images shrouding all of Xuanjian City above, and said, "This thing, I'm afraid, wasn't made by that Xiaoning True Person."

"Huh?"

Not Xiaoning True Person?

Then who could it be?

"Among demonic cultivators, there is a type of magic artifact that is extremely vicious yet quite easy to refine — it requires collecting many living souls, and also needs the divine soul of one or several great cultivators as the primary soul."

"You mean… the Ten Thousand Souls Banner?"

This kind of forbidden magic artifact had not been refined by cultivators for a very long time.

"Correct." Xu Xing nodded and continued explaining, "But collecting living souls — whether the massive number of auxiliary souls or hunting the divine souls of powerful cultivators — is prone to problems. To address this, great powers among the demonic cultivators designed a formation."

Hearing this, Zhang Yunlu recalled the ancient history she had seen on the Spirit Web, and her heart could not help but tighten.

"Soul-Subduing Formation? You don't mean to say…"

"Quick reaction." Xu Xing praised her, his gaze still fixed on the dragon and phoenix phantom images. "The one above our heads is the Soul-Subduing Formation — and an improved version at that."

Now they even had to package the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, making it look like an immortal sect's treasured artifact.

Begging for data, begging for support!! (End of this chapter)