Chapter 24: Do Good Deeds to the End

"Retrieve!"

At Chen Ye's command, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner fell into his hand.

With a slight shake of the long banner, the bitter cries of Monk Ku'e could be heard coming from within.

The Ten Thousand Souls Banner emitted the wailing of ten thousand ghosts, mixed with mournful howls; Chen Ye could not distinguish who was suffering.

On another Ten Thousand Souls Banner, Mo Ci's human face turned into streaks of ink, reminding Chen Ye: "Let these wronged souls take their revenge, and they will not be fierce enough."

Seeing the trembling white banner, Chen Ye smiled and said, "Master, when did you learn this trick?"

Previously, Mo Ci had to use the white banner to roll up charcoal for writing; now he could manifest text directly.

"I just figured it out. Don't interrupt. This Ten Thousand Souls Banner is a supreme treasure for you. If you truly let these wronged souls fulfill their wishes and disperse on their own, this treasure will be half-ruined."

Chen Ye comforted him, saying, "Master, rest assured. Before I have drained all the knowledge of this demon, I will keep a breath of life in him. As for the other wronged souls, you cannot expect me to suppress them and prevent them from taking revenge, can you?"

"Why not? They were not killed by you. The Ten Thousand Souls Banner is not used this way. It is meant to torture fiercely, cultivating the ferocious and violent qi of these wronged souls. When released, use spells to mislead them, making them see everything as their own enemy; only then will there be the terrifying momentum of ten thousand ghosts devouring people. Once they torture that monk, the violent qi will dissipate quickly."

Mo Ci shook with rage three times, and the manifested text became fierce and clawing.

Do not think the Ten Thousand Souls Banner is common merchandise; this particular banner is a masterpiece. Whether in materials or refinement techniques, it is of the highest quality. If its great power were wasted due to Chen Ye's feminine benevolence, that would be truly a pity.

Chen Ye, however, did not care, and smiled, saying, "Master, how do you calculate this? I might as well use this Ten Thousand Souls Banner to exchange with Miss Su for more sword talismans."

"Do you really think those sword talismans are ordinary spiritual talismans? Sword talismans of that power are likely life-saving treasures given by the elders of Su Chunyi's sect; this young girl certainly could not refine them herself."

This line of text from Mo Ci surprised Chen Ye. His cultivation time was short and his cultivation level low; his ability to appraise treasures indeed could not compare to Mo Ci, this several-hundred-year-old old demon.

If this were true, the favor owed would be too great; Chen Ye felt somewhat embarrassed.

However, owing a great favor is not necessarily a bad thing. Reciprocity is what constitutes friendship. Chen Ye had also promised Su Chunyi to investigate the troublesome matter of the boy and girl; the more profound this karmic bond, the better.

Chen Ye said to Mo Ci, "In doing things and being a person, the greatest taboo is being a fence-sitter, wavering left and right. Master, if you help someone, help them to the end. If you are to cooperate with Miss Su, then do not expose the demon's true nature halfway through."

No new text appeared on the white banner for a long time.

Mo Ci knew Chen Ye's words made sense. Recalling his own life, he had made this mistake more than once. When doing evil, he was not ruthless enough, failing to cut the weeds and remove the roots; when doing good, he was greedy, always thinking of taking advantage.

The result was that after several hundred years, his cultivation barely reached the Profound Mystery realm; in a whole lifetime, he did not even have a single friend with whom he could speak.

Chen Ye's talent was better than his own, and his will was firmer; in the future, he would surely go further than him.

"Very well, you consider it yourself."

The white banner fell silent, and no more text appeared.

Chen Ye did not disturb him and continued with his own tasks. First, he had to erase all traces of the battlefield to prevent Su Chunyi from detecting Mo Ci's presence upon her return.

After cleaning the battlefield, Chen Ye recounted his gains once more.

All the pills were stored safely. Although most were harmful, there were two bottles of pills for cultivation and healing that could be used immediately.

He retrieved the *Sutra of the Earth Store Bodhisattva's Fundamental Vows* that had been blown away by the explosion. Having endured the Vajra Staff attack, it remained completely undamaged. Unfortunately, this treasure could not be refined. If it could be forged into a protective treasure, it would be a hundred times more powerful than the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

Besides that, there was the golden Buddha that had been split open earlier, but it had now turned into gray-black metal. He did not know what material it was, but he estimated it might be of some use, so he temporarily set it aside.

If he could extract all the knowledge of that demon, this adventure would truly be a massive profit.

Chen Ye muttered to himself, "Indeed, a horse does not grow fat without night grass, and a man does not become rich without sudden windfall. No wonder everyone wants to be a demon; killing people and seizing treasures is so profitable. Would it not take a hundred years to accumulate such wealth on one's own?"

Whistling a cheerful tune from his hometown, Chen Ye began digging holes again, preparing to rebury those corpses.

He continued to slowly cast the Transporting Art, digging one hole, then placing the corpses inside and filling the earth to bury them.

Chen Ye was not in a hurry. Now that his Qi Sea had condensed, sitting in meditation was of little significance, and spiritual energy flowed continuously; casting such minor spells was not difficult.

"Consider it practicing spells."

Chen Ye muttered to himself, digging from sunrise until noon. Although he was sweating profusely, he had only buried half the bodies.

After most of the day passed, while Chen Ye was busy and sweating profusely, suddenly a sword light descended from the sky; it was Su Chunyi.

However, Chen Ye was buried in digging holes, and his ears had not yet recovered, so he did not hear the sound of the sword qi flying.

Only when Su Chunyi walked to his front did Chen Ye exclaim in surprise, "Miss Su? How did you return so quickly?"

Originally, it took Su Chunyi several days to chase down Monk Ku'e. Monk Ku'e's soul had only just entered the Ten Thousand Souls Banner not long ago; how did Su Chunyi manage to return?

Su Chunyi explained, "I found that demon. Unfortunately, I only severed his physical body, allowing his soul to escape. Worrying that Mr. Chen might be in danger, I hurried back. However, it seems I still arrived too late."

Su Chunyi spoke simply, but her spiritual energy within her body was nearly exhausted; barely standing steady was already difficult.

The sword strike that killed Monk Ku'e had been her all-out effort. Su Chunyi's spiritual energy had originally been consumed by eighty percent. Upon discovering that Monk Ku'e's soul had escaped, Su Chunyi also thought of the various life-saving methods of the Demonic Sect and the purpose of that corpse pit.

With her heart worried about Chen Ye, Su Chunyi did not wait to recover and returned by riding her sword.

Chen Ye pointed to his own ears and explained, "Miss Su, my eardrums were injured; I cannot hear very clearly."

Hearing Chen Ye say this, Su Chunyi noticed the traces of blood remaining by Chen Ye's ears. She hurriedly took out a medicine bottle, poured out a pale green pill, and handed it to Chen Ye.

Chen Ye asked nothing and directly stuffed the pill into his mouth.

This unknown pill melted instantly upon entering the mouth, turning into countless pure energies that drilled into Chen Ye's four limbs and hundred bones.

At this moment, Su Chunyi grabbed Chen Ye's hand.

The young girl's hand was not soft as if having no bones; on the contrary, it was exceptionally strong. Her long fingers held Chen Ye firmly, as if fearing he might struggle free.

Chen Ye had just shown a puzzled expression when a pure stream of spiritual energy was sent from Su Chunyi's palm. Chen Ye felt only warmth in his palm; that spiritual energy mixed with the power of the pill and surged toward Chen Ye's two ears.

Chen Ye felt his ears become slightly itchy. In a short moment, the buzzing noise disappeared, and the shattered eardrums were healed so easily.

With Chen Ye's own methods, it would take at least half a month to recover. The pills of such high sects are indeed powerful. No, what is powerful is not just the pills, but also the spiritual energy Su Chunyi guided over, which could precisely mobilize all the medicinal effects to treat Chen Ye's two ears.

Without Su Chunyi's intervention, completely repairing the ear injury would probably take another one or two hours.

Chen Ye let go of Su Chunyi's hand and said gratefully, "Thank you."

Su Chunyi smiled and said, "It is a trivial matter, not worth mentioning." However, after speaking, Su Chunyi looked toward the ghostly, eerie Ten Thousand Souls Banner nearby, then said to Chen Ye, "I imagine Mr. Chen has encountered many dangers. Regarding the whereabouts of that demon and the secrets within this pit, may I ask Mr. Chen to enlighten me?"

Hearing this, Chen Ye's heart remained completely calm.

If previously he had listened to Mo Ci, treating the Ten Thousand Souls Banner as his own property and torturing the resentful souls within it fiercely, then now he would be unable to clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River.

But now, Chen Ye picked up the Ten Thousand Souls Banner and said confidently to Su Chunyi, "Miss Su, I only know of that demon's possession and rebirth. As for the evil deeds he committed before, why don't we ask these victimized resentful souls?"