Chapter 404: Human Banner United, Ultimate Transformation

Jiutai's eyes flashed with a chilling killing intent.

Since he was born, any cultivator who offended him, if not his match, has never left his side.

The person before him dared to wound his appearance and even caused him to lose face before Zhang Miao, touching his reverse scale; Jiutai must slay Muya to dispel his great hatred.

"Your companion looks dangerous; aren't you going to make a move?"

Zhang Miao was surrounded by his companions from the Taiyin Shengdi, speaking jokingly.

The Netherworld Sunflower Purple Corpse Controlling Spirit Technique's power is terrifyingly overwhelming; even dealing with it leaves him flustered, Lei Wuya gives him a feeling of extreme danger, and if he acts out of concern for his companion, Zhang Miao believes he can seize the chance to probe some of Lei Wuya's methods.

When he himself collides with it, he will also have some preparation.

"In the Earth Origin Realm, Muya has never met an opponent; underestimating his strength will surely exact a painful price."

Lei Wuya's face was as cold as ice, his sharp eyes fixed unblinkingly on the battlefield.

Muya moved like a ghost weaving through the layers of Netherworld Sunflower's killing intent, handling it with ease, utterly effortless.

Muya is a member of the Mu Family branch in Huanyu; his father, so that their Mu Clan branch could return to the main clan, participated in the Mu Clan competition, but the son of the Mu Clan chief, Mu Changdong, unjustly provoked them, causing Muya's father's cultivation level to be abolished; Muya sought revenge for his father and thus had no choice but to enter the Primordial Spirit Realm for training.

Don't look at Muya's usual unserious appearance; he is in fact a genuine tough guy.

Lei Wuya once personally witnessed Muya, when entangled with an enemy in a stalemate, suddenly draw the spur from his shoulder and stab it into the enemy's neck artery.

For someone who is so bloody even toward himself, sparing no one, how could his cultivation level and realm strength be weak? Thus Lei Wuya, seeing Muya dodge while entangled with Jiutai, did not worry about his own safety.

"Hmph, stubborn dead duck."

"I want to see just how that fleeing fellow dodges Jiutai's Netherworld Sunflower attack."

Zhang Miao's eyes flickered with amusement, equally confident in the power of the Netherworld Sunflower Purple Corpse Controlling Spirit Technique.

Clang clang clang

The entire space was filled with the sound of shattering earth and stone, withered wood snapped by the Netherworld Sunflower; Muya frolicked in the Netherworld Sunflower's dance, emitting a hehehe laugh, practically driving Jiutai mad.

"Faster, faster…"

"Netherworld Sunflower, give me a bite of them!"

Jiutai's eyes flashed with crimson light, his whole person exuding wickedness.

His originally swollen, ferocious face, as he unleashed the Netherworld Sunflower Purple Corpse Controlling Spirit Technique and overdrew his vital blood, the ferocious face spread with many purplish-red evil markings, upon which strange symbols intertwined, completely restoring his originally ferocious face to pristine condition.

The two Netherworld Sunflowers seemed infused with some mighty power, purple-red electric patterns covering them, they roared violently toward the heavens, and their bodies shot up dozens of zhang in an instant.

The originally fang-covered withered-person sunflower disk suddenly split into four petals, each bearing upright fangs, icy chill piercing to the bone.

Moreover, from the center of those four petals, a long crimson tongue suddenly protruded, flat and round, appearing and instantly locking onto Muya at high speed to pursue him.

Boom.

The huge tongue lashed around a massive boulder, smashing it to pieces, then lashed again toward Muya, who had just dodged a calamity, to chase him once more.

Rumble rumble rumble…

The surrounding battlefield echoed with earth-shaking sounds, huge pits everywhere.

Rip…

That crimson Netherworld Sunflower tongue was so fast that, without warning, as Muya tried to dodge again, it shot up from deep underground and tightly coiled around his ankle.

Then the Netherworld Sunflower tongue spread rapidly over Muya's body at high speed, tightly wrapping him up like a zongzi.

As the Netherworld Sunflower tongue kept tightening, the sound of breaking bones echoed through the space, making all cultivators present feel their scalps go numb.

"Why aren't you making a move yet!"

"Perhaps it could still save your companion's life."

"Otherwise, once swallowed by the Netherworld Sunflower, he will surely perish completely."

Zhang Miao looked at Muya's miserable state, his face showing excitement and exhilaration.

As long as Jiutai isn't held back by Muya, he can join Jiutai in attacking Lei Wuya, with at least an eighty percent chance of victory.

However, as soon as his words fell, Lei Wuya stared fixedly at the battlefield, not responding to Zhang Miao at all.

Lei Wuya simply stood in place, his expression utterly calm, as if nothing had happened.

Zhang Miao was extremely curious about this.

He turned his head to look at Muya, wrapped in the Netherworld Sunflower tongue; Muya's body under violent compression, streams of blood visible to the naked eye quickly covered the entire tongue.

"Hahaha, you run, then run for old lady."

"Now fallen into the old lady's hands, you will surely be unable to live or die."

Jiutai was slowly lifted by the Netherworld Sunflower's thin vines, then slowly drifted to Muya, bound by the Netherworld Sunflower tongue, and said with a face full of arrogance.

He even calculated the position of Muya's skull and threw a punch at his face to avenge the kick to the face.

Boom.

However, just as Jiutai's fist was about to withdraw, the Netherworld Sunflower seemed to have touched something most terrifying, suddenly letting out a hysterical roar.

At the same time, the crimson tongue wrapped around Muya, like a deflating balloon, suddenly sprouted countless tiny holes; innumerable black mists condensed into black evil rays that shot out from within.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh…

The Netherworld Sunflower seemed to feel excruciating pain; its four petal lips snapped shut, severing the crimson tongue, the blood on the wound pouring out wildly across the ground, instantly filling every ravine on the earth.

Woo woo woo…

The entire forest, with a sound of shocking heavenly violence, was filled with yin winds; Muya's originally withered black body had a Myriad Soul Banner hovering above his head.

Around his withered body, myriad souls wailed; vengeful spirits surged like water, quickly entering his body through his seven orifices, and in the blink of an eye his withered, mummy-like physique rapidly swelled, immense life force swiftly appearing at his dantian.

Then it frenziedly nourished Muya's limbs and bones.

"Using bone as the rod,

refining skin as the banner,

absorbing the five viscera and six bowels into the eleven major yin meridians.

I am the Myriad Soul Banner, and the Myriad Soul Banner is me."

Mu Ya's voice of all things resonated throughout the entire space, and the Ten Thousand Soul Banner atop his head sank into the space between his brows, completely merging with Mu Ya.

The mysterious runes that previously only appeared on the Ten Thousand Soul Banner now appeared one by one on Mu Ya's body.

Mu Ya's black hair danced wildly, his feet stepping on the constantly rolling ghost tide as he stood in the void, swallowing all the light in the sky.

At this moment, all the cultivators of Taiyin Shengdi present were as silent as cold cicadas, their hearts utterly unsettled; they had not expected that Mu Ya, whose essence had been drained by Ming Kui, would suddenly undergo such an extraordinarily strange transformation.

All the cultivators of Taiyin Shengdi gazed at the Mu Ya floating in the air, facing him was not facing a person but a supreme evil weapon that could devour them completely, leaving not even scraps.

"You, what exactly have you done?"

Jiu Tai looked at Ming Kui's wounded, bleeding body; even his own body was affected, his face turned deathly pale, and the evil patterns covering his face caused the blood vessels on Jiu Tai's face to bulge, looking extremely shocking.

Mu Ya's face showed a brilliant smile, surrounded by the surging nine massive ghost tides, his body exuding a domineering aura of supremacy.

When he first saw the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, he had once made a bold guess: if he used himself as a medium to let the Ten Thousand Soul Banner completely merge with him, would the banner then erupt with even greater power?

However, the Golden Peng King and the Tiger King had once told him that the Ten Thousand Soul Banner had appeared only a short time ago, and by that time no cultivator had yet achieved the state of human-banner unification.

But they had once warned Mu Ya.

The Ten Thousand Soul Banner is a derivative of the utmost extremity of death, capable of harboring endless yin spirits for use, while the human body relies on yang essence as the foundation for sustaining life; if one rashly merges the Ten Thousand Soul Banner with oneself, taking in countless vengeful souls and ferocious ghosts into the body, not to mention the excruciating pain akin to death by a thousand cuts, even a slight mistake would cause the body to suffer backlash, leading to death and the disappearance of the Dao.

Mu Ya only gained great inspiration after seeing Daoist Priest Qingwei lecture, the Shangqing Sect's Shangqing Great Cavern True Scripture giving him great enlightenment.

Since the countless vengeful souls and wild ghosts cannot be subdued, one should instead communicate, nurture, and share a single entity, using the divine soul as the master of the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, the body as the banner cloth, and refining oneself into the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.

Mu Ya has always been attempting this method of human-banner unification, trying to exhaust the vital energy of his body.

Jiu Tai's Ming Kui Purple Corpse Controlling Spirit Technique, with the Ming Kui condensed from supreme corpse qi, can devour human yang essence and blood for use, completely draining the residual yang essence within Mu Ya's body.

Now Mu Ya has finally achieved his wish, realizing human-banner unification, taking a step that others would find hard to stake their lives on and hard to surpass.

"You petty little way, you dare to ask this venerable one?"

Mu Ya, hearing Jiu Tai's words, his voice became icy cold to the extreme; the surging ghost qi spread in all directions, enveloping the entire space in darkness, with mournful ghost wails echoing in every direction.

"Don't think that just because you look like this, I'll be afraid of you."

Jiu Tai looked at Mu Ya, his whole body shrouded in ghost qi, appearing extremely yin and evil; even though he was comparable to him, he suppressed his inner fear and spoke.

This caused the clothes on Jiu Tai's back to start becoming damp, especially the strange power that Mu Ya occasionally emitted, making his body feel a chill.

Jiu Tai also no longer intended to contend with Mu Ya; he set off to return to Zhang Miao's side.

Wuu wuu wuu.

However, at this very moment, the ghost tide behind Mu Ya surged violently, countless lonely souls and wild ghosts carrying strange black mist coalescing in the space at a speed visible to the naked eye, and in an instant formed a black, translucent ghost wall before Jiu Tai.

On that ghost wall blew gusts of yin wind, and various ghostly faces appeared on the bricks, all waving skeletal hands with bared teeth and claws, lunging to grab Jiu Tai.

The terrifying power was extremely strong, and in an instant it flung Jiu Tai away.

「Since you can help this seat undergo transformation.

Fortunately, leaving Ming Kui behind will also help this seat reach a higher level. »

Mu Ya stared at Jiu Tai, and a cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He looked at Ming Kui beside Jiu Tai; Ming Kui seemed to possess low intelligence yet could understand his words, baring its teeth and claws as it let out a frantic howl at him.

The purple yin-cold power erupting from Ming Kui's body made him feel the eleven yin meridians in his viscera extraordinarily agitated, and he greatly desired Ming Kui to become nourishment for those eleven yin meridians.

A cold light appeared on Mu Ya's face.

He has now completely merged with the Ten Thousand Souls Banner; his interior is the space inside the banner, his viscera transformed into the eleven great yin meridians, which are the foundation for the wandering souls and ghosts stored in his dantian to survive and cultivate.

Once those eleven great yin meridians are fully nurtured, the power of countless ghost puppets will be added to him; with every gesture he will not only possess the power to destroy heaven and earth, but also command an army of ghost cultivators, making him the sovereign of innumerable ghost cultivators, ruling over the four quarters of the netherworld.

「Impossible, if you want my Ming Kui you'll have to kill this old lady. »

Jiu Tai, hearing Mu Ya's words, quickly placed Ming Kui behind him.

His expression was extremely tense, as if he were guarding his most precious thing.

Since childhood, he has been ostracized due to his personality and orientation; moreover, being born on a yin year, yin month, yin day, and yin hour, he bears a yin‑yang body, and anyone who has prolonged contact with him will suffer inexplicable misfortune, all meeting disastrous deaths.

Therefore, as a child everyone around him kept their distance; even when his Taiyin Shengdi master Jiu Wang Zhi found him, it was in a potter's field, and at that time he was still deeply buried in rotting corpses.

Jiu Wang Zhi said his fate was that of a person the god of death could not find, plus he was innately lacking in emotion and possessed an extremely yin body, so from childhood he was made to cultivate the Ming Kui Purple Corpse Command Technique.

Ming Kui is the sole living spirit he refined from countless ancient corpses by extracting corpse qi, and also his most trusted companion, having accompanied him to adulthood; the two have long been inseparable.

Upon hearing Mu Ya's words, Jiu Tai's heart filled with alarm, and he immediately went on guard.

「Rest assured, if he dares to hurt you, he'll have to kill me first. »

Jiu Tai gazed at the gradually agitated Ming Kui, speaking softly to soothe it, causing its emotions to gradually calm.

A hint of surprise appeared in Mu Ya's eyes; he did not expect the effeminate person before him to also have such a gentle side. However, having merged with the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, his internal organs have transformed into eleven nascent yin meridians, and Ming Kui is the essence of ancient corpse qi condensed, a supreme yin treasure, the ideal specimen for the growth of those eleven yin meridians.

Mu Ya felt the strong yearning of the eleven yin meridians, and his gaze gradually turned cold.

In the world of cultivation, the strong prey on the weak; strength is revered, there is no mercy, only strength.

「Hmph, I'd like to see whether your Ming Kui is formidable or my myriad resentful spirits are superior. »

A cold smile appeared on Mu Ya's face as he opened his mouth to speak.

He stepped upon the ghost tide and moved forward, causing the entire space to tremble violently.

Nine huge black dragons surged out of the ghost tide, all lunging to tear at Jiu Tai and Ming Kui.

Seeing this, Jiu Tai was shocked, he suddenly bit his tongue tip, pouring vigorous qi and blood into Ming Kui's body, he pushed the Ming Kui Purple Corpse Command Technique to its limit, commanding Ming Kui to unleash all its power to tear at the nine huge ghost dragons.

Howl howl howl.

Ya ya ya ya.

Two kinds of extremely yin and evil sounds rang out in the air; the nine ghost dragons and two huge Ming Kui circled in the middle, tearing at each other without restraint. Although Ming Kui was at a disadvantage, it showed no weakness, ripping large chunks of flesh from the necks of the nine ghost dragons and swallowing them.

The entire sky was filled with the scene of the two great evil beasts battling; the pervasive ghost qi and ferocious corpse qi mingled together, winds rose and clouds surged, heaven and earth lost their color.