Chapter 99: Top-grade Spiritual Artifact!

The yin qi here is very dense.

After Yunhe's efforts, he finally managed to draw several beast souls of second-tier demon beasts into the Hundred Ghost Banner.

Although they are not living souls, they are beast ghosts that have occupied some parts of this gloomy ghostly haunt; yet, like ghost cultivators, they are likewise a great tonic for the Beast Soul Banner.

They even enhance the Beast Soul Banner more than some living souls would.

After all, beast ghosts and ghost cultivators are born from gathered yin qi, condensing it within themselves, making them most suitable for such spiritual artifacts as the Beast Soul Banner and the Hundred Ghost Banner.

Just as the main soul in the Thousand Souls Banner of the Blood Rite is a ghost cultivator he himself cultivated over a hundred years of planning.

At present, Yunhe's Beast Soul Banner contains over a hundred ordinary beast souls and six second-tier beast souls, more than can be counted on one hand.

Although it seems like only a small increase, the Beast Soul Banner in his hand now appears capable of exerting power surpassing that of a high-grade spiritual artifact.

Especially within this ghostly haunt, it makes Yunhe feel like a fish in water, able to come and go as he pleases.

Wuu—

A dark banner floated before him, the little fox closely following at his feet, whimpering softly.

Staying long in a place with such dense yin qi is not good for it.

However, the help the little fox has provided during this time is not insignificant.

Beast ghosts combined with the ghostly haunt always produce some murky ghostly miasma that can obscure vision, interfere with Demon Sense perception, and cause demon beasts to unwittingly step into dangerous places.

But the spirit fox is adept at sensing, understands illusion arts, and can discern good from bad, thus saving Yunhe much unnecessary trouble.

"Hurry up and recover; later, if we truly face that rotting wood jiao, you wouldn't want to just stand by and watch, would you?"

While speaking, Yunhe took out an inferior-grade fostering pill from his storage bag and stuffed it into the little fox's mouth.

Upon hearing 'rotting wood jiao,' the little fox's eyes firmed and it nodded heavily.

But when he ate the fostering pill, which was extremely suited to a demon beast's palate and contained spiritual energy, the little guy couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

Wuu-wuu—

After a few chomps, he swallowed the fostering pill, feeling the warmth rising within; his body, which had grown cold and stiff from the yin qi, gradually began to recover.

The little guy furtively glanced at Yunhe's towering figure, his eyes filling with strong curiosity.

Why does he always produce such strange and wondrous things?

First, that strange banner that gathers yin qi and can even absorb beast souls, and then those pills it can't get enough of.

Could it be that he has awakened the memories of his bloodline inheritance?

Thinking this, the little fox's eyes slowly brightened.

It's possible!

Upon further thought,

This is a good thing; perhaps we can actually exact revenge.

Moreover, the stronger Wang Yue is, the safer Huanhu Dao becomes, right?

Yunhe glanced sideways at the little guy lost in thought; seeing it sometimes frown, sometimes nod in delight, he couldn't help but find it amusing.

Suddenly.

Yunhe's expression turned solemn, and the little fox stopped its wandering thoughts, its back slightly arched.

Before them.

The surging yin qi roiled.

Then they saw a beast soul resembling a goat burst forth from the yin qi, its body solidified with thick ghostly qi, appearing exactly like a second-tier beast ghost.

However, its expression was somewhat panicked, as if it were fleeing from something.

Upon seeing Yunhe and the little fox, it almost instinctively ran toward them.

But the next second.

Roar!!

A bellow came from where the goat-like creature had charged out.

Immediately after, a black tiger demon appeared before them.

This tiger was enormous, its eyes like bells, and as it roared it spewed emerald green phosphoric fire, immensely formidable.

The goat beast soul swept up by the emerald green phosphoric fire, after a fierce wail, turned into strands of extremely pure black qi, which was swallowed into the black tiger's belly as its jaws opened and closed; its body flickered with a hazy glow, as if it had condensed somewhat.

It was actually a late-stage second-tier tiger-shaped beast ghost!

Moreover, it seems its spiritual intellect has awakened, granting it the ability to devour other beast souls to enhance itself.

Actually, in most cases, whether ghost cultivators or beast ghosts, they are born under special conditions and coincidences, having little relation to their former lives.

They retain no memories or abilities from before, and at birth their consciousness is mostly chaotic and lacking spiritual intellect, so they can only linger in one place and grow naturally.

Only when their cultivation base reaches a certain level, or when they encounter an opportunity, might they develop spiritual intellect and awaken wisdom.

And the difficulty and requirements for ghost cultivators and beast ghosts to develop spiritual intellect are far greater than those for ordinary demon beasts.

Of course, cases like the Wang Clan's forefather Wang Pei, who voluntarily turned to the ghost path, are exceptions.

Upon seeing Yunhe and the little fox, especially when it noticed the eerie banner hovering before Yunhe, the tiger ghost did not instinctively attack but instead sensed a strong threat.

After grinding its teeth and baring its fangs on the ground, it actually began to retreat slowly.

Naturally, Yunhe would not allow it to have its way.

"Such tiger ghosts ought to be the master soul of the Beast Soul Banner!"

He whispered softly and formed a hand seal.

In an instant, the Gloomy Banner's ghostly qi surged, and as the banners howled, a large number of beast souls surged forth, especially the six that had reached second tier; led by them, they swept toward the tiger ghost in a posture ready to devour it like a whale.

Seeing this, the tiger ghost instantly felt the threat increase sharply, drew a deep breath, and bellowed.

Roar——!!

The surging ghostly qi rampaged, actually managing to block, albeit briefly, the onslaught of over a hundred howling beast souls.

Then, a scene that surprised Yunhe somewhat appeared.

The tiger ghost's huge head tilted, and on its other neck a large bulge visibly swelled out at a speed visible to the naked eye; then a black light flashed, and a slightly smaller tiger head suddenly grew there.

It actually turned into a two-headed tiger ghost!

And with the appearance of the second tiger head, the ghostly aura on this tiger ghost surged greatly again, almost causing the little fox to cry out in surprise.

At this moment.

The four tiger eyes glared, and as the mouth opened and closed again, two clumps of green phosphorescent fire surged forth.

In an instant.

The large number of ordinary beast souls that surged out of the Beast Soul Banner actually turned into black mist and dissipated under the scorching of the phosphorescent fire; even those six Second Stage beast souls showed signs of struggling.

Without the protection of the Beast Soul Banner, those Second Stage beast souls might well have been burned directly to ash.

"Two-headed. Interesting."

Yunhe dared not delay.

Ordinary beast souls are easy to come by here, but Second Stage beast souls are hard to find.

He immediately slapped his storage bag, and a fiery red sphere rose into the air.

Cry——

As the hand seal was unleashed, a large number of flame‑clad Li Birds cried out and rushed toward the green phosphorescent fire without hesitation.

For a moment, the two kinds of fire collided wildly, firelight scattering and sparks flying.

But the phosphorescent fire, condensed from ghostly aura, was clearly overcome by the Li Fire released from the Li Fire Pearl, and moreover the two‑headed tiger obviously could not sustain this phosphorescent fire for long.

In no time, the phosphorescent fire vanished, and the Li Birds swooped down onto the two‑headed tiger ghost, eliciting its painful wails.

At the same time.

Yunhe stepped forward.

"Ang!!"

Rolling thunder burst forth suddenly.

Compared to demonic beasts, these ghosts are obviously more afraid of lightning and thunder; the tiger ghost's body stiffened abruptly.

The next second.

The Li Birds flew back, and hundreds of beast souls, with a surging momentum, enveloped the tiger ghost; amid its continual struggling and roaring, they were drawn into that great banner.

Motion and sound stilled in an instant.

The banner's misty light flickered slightly, and Yunhe could clearly feel the Beast Soul Banner's power surge.

He could not suppress a hint of joy in his eyes.

"Supreme Spiritual Artifact!"

After absorbing this Second‑Stage Late‑Stage two‑headed tiger ghost, which still possessed some marvelous traits, into this banner, the artifact's power finally reached the level of a Supreme Spiritual Artifact!

In one leap it surpassed the Xuanwu Bracelet and the Li Fire Pearl, becoming the most powerful weapon in Yunhe's hands.

Moreover, that two‑headed tiger ghost is quite extraordinary; as the main spirit of this banner, it will certainly exert a not‑weak effect in magical combat.

"Now I, even relying solely on this banner, should have no problem against an ordinary Second‑Stage Late‑Stage demonic beast, right?"

"If it were in the hands of a Cultivator Body, an ordinary Foundation Establishment Late‑Stage cultivator would also find it hard to contend."

This made Yunhe's confidence greatly increase.

A good Spiritual Artifact can greatly enhance a cultivator's combat ability, and also give him a sliver of confidence for the impending righteous‑demon great war that may break out.

"Roar——!!"

Suddenly.

Before Yunhe could enjoy his joy for long, a roar came from the dense yin qi.

"It's that guy again?"

This was not the first time Yunhe had heard this sound.

Last time, after killing those few Wood Sprites in the Horned Viper's nest, this fellow's roar had come from the dark passageway below.

At that time Yunhe thought it was a third‑stage demonic beast and fled in fright.

But this time the opponent appeared on the wasteland outside the Abyss Ravine, giving Yunhe a different feeling.

It might be because he had gone to Zou City, fought the Wang Clan Ancestor's divided soul, or perhaps because he had searched the soul of the Wang Clan Ancestor's remnants, giving him a deeper understanding of ghostly aura and ghost cultivators.

He felt.

That roar seemed to be a bit lacking in vigor.

After a slight hesitation, Yunhe said to the little fox:

"Wait here, stay hidden, I'll go check."

Hearing this, the little fox showed a nervous expression.

"It's fine; I can leave anytime I want."

Having said that, he again cast the hand seal, and his form gradually shrank under the effect of the divine ability 'Ruyi'.

At the same time, the Beast Soul Banner's flag was furled, the misty ghostly aura enveloping it and merging with the surrounding ghostly aura.

Thereafter he fled toward the source of the sound.

As for the little fox, being able to escape from the Rotted Wood Jiao's grasp naturally shows its own ability; after Yunhe left, a hazy light rose on its body and its form gradually faded into hiding in a corner of the illusion.

Yunhe proceeded unevenly, cautiously, drawing near to the source of the sound.

The surrounding ghostly aura grew ever denser.

After passing through layers of ghostly mist, he finally saw the source of the sound in a broken‑stone grove.

What appeared before Yunhe's eyes was, surprisingly, a ghostly creature of extraordinarily strange appearance.

Its body was like a chicken's, covered in black, white, and gray three-colored feathers, and behind it trailed three extremely slender and rather handsome tail feathers.

The neck was like a snake's, thin and long, also covered with fine, dense scales that glowed with a faint light.

But its head resembled a bird's, bearing a sharp beak, with narrow eyes covered in gray-white feathers.

Most importantly, it actually, like that tiger ghost, possessed multiple heads!

More precisely, it had three heads!

Amid the intertwining slender necks, the three heads seemed each possessed sentience, constantly communicating with each other.

Seeing this strange creature, a name suddenly popped into Yunhe's mind.

Ghost Chariot!

However, the Ghost Chariot has nine heads; this monster, though miraculous, has only three heads.

And what made Yunhe pay more attention was, not far from it, a section of white bone that gleamed with brilliant radiance.

The reason the ghostly aura here is so thick seems to be closely related to this bone, whose origin from what kind of creature is unknown.

Suddenly.

Yunhe's whole body tensed.

Because, among the distant three-headed giant bird, one of its heads' gaze actually fell upon the place where he was hiding!

(End of chapter)