Chapter Sixty-Two: The Banner of a Thousand Souls

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However, faced with the threat of the Demonfire Talismans, the old man had no time to consider carefully. He hastily activated his magical flying sword, slashing down, and formed hand seals to conjure two tongues of flame to intercept the small fireballs flying toward him.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Spiritual power and demonic energy were fundamentally different forces. When the withered old man’s fireball technique collided with the fireball released by the Demonfire Talisman, an explosion erupted instantly.

Unable to evade, the protective aura around his body twisted violently. Fortunately, it did not shatter, but the old man’s expression remained grave, for the second Demonfire Talisman—split by his flying sword into two smaller fireballs—had already struck.

He retreated swiftly, casting the fireball technique again to block the attack. Explosions sounded continuously.

Passive defense could not solve his predicament. As he desperately countered the Demonfire Talisman’s power with spells, he also controlled his flying sword to strike fiercely at Xiao Wenzi.

Yet, to his astonishment, Xiao Wenzi’s figure blurred a short distance away and, incredibly, split into three.

“What kind of sorcery is this? Could it be the legendary Triple Manifestation of Primordial Qi...?”

With the invisibility talisman enhancing his true form, Xiao Wenzi was nearly impossible for ordinary qi-refining cultivators to discern. The old man extended his spiritual sense but found the aura of all three figures identical—each nearly transparent, devoid of any demonic energy.

There were only two possible explanations: either the opponent used a secret art or talisman to mask his aura, or his cultivation was vastly superior, rendering him impossible to detect.

Given the circumstances, the old man leaned toward the latter.

The unknown is always the most terrifying. His imagination so unsettled him that he froze—the flying sword hung in midair, and even the flow of spiritual power to his protective aura faltered.

It was not until he heard the sound of cracking under the barrage that he snapped back to reality.

But it was too late. The force from the blasts penetrated the cracks in his shield, tearing his clothes and forcing him to cough up blood, his aura rapidly waning.

“You old wretch, die!”

Seizing the moment, Xiao Wenzi had used the Demon Shadow Technique precisely to startle his foe. Seeing the old man’s shock, he swiftly exchanged for three more Demonfire Talismans, infusing each with demonic energy and unleashing their power, then retreated with the Swift Demon Technique without hesitation.

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After all, the Demonfire Talisman was a formidable charm capable of threatening even a thirteenth-layer qi-refining cultivator. Unleashing three in succession would surely force the old man to fight for his life, and Xiao Wenzi knew his own body could not withstand the aftermath.

Though the Demon Shadow Technique was more illusion than substance, it was highly effective for intimidation. Whenever his true body moved, the two phantom doubles would mimic him, splitting off in different directions.

However, the flaw of this technique was obvious: if the user only tried to escape, the illusion was convincing, but in the act of attacking, the phantoms produced no spiritual fluctuations—an attentive eye would quickly notice.

In truth, even without the illusion, the withered old man now had no time for concern.

The three demon fireballs—each capable of matching the attack of a thirteenth-layer qi-refining cultivator—hurtled toward him. Already grievously injured, he could do nothing but desperately defend; there was nowhere to run.

With no alternatives, the old man cast a venomous glare at Xiao Wenzi. As his right hand directed the flying sword in a slashing motion, his left slapped his storage pouch, producing two talismans. He triggered them without hesitation, forming layers of protective light screens.

But that was not enough. Knowing low-grade defensive talismans would be of limited use, he funneled spiritual power frantically into his protective aura. The shield, freshly cracked, mended itself and grew denser.

As the three fireballs arrived almost simultaneously, his flying sword intercepted only one, leaving the other two to crash against his outermost shield.

Hummmm—

The first demonic fireball struck the shield, instantly spreading and engulfing the entire earthen-yellow barrier. The second fireball joined, and in a flash, flames covered the shield completely.

Pop! The lower-grade earth defensive talisman’s barrier lasted but a moment before bursting like a bubble, exposing the water-blue shield beneath.

The old man’s pupils contracted. From within the demonic flames, he sensed the threat of death. Without further hesitation, he struck his storage pouch and drew forth a black banner, biting his tongue to spit several mouthfuls of blood onto it.

The Thousand Soul Banner was not a treasure he had refined himself but had acquired by chance from a mortally wounded dark cultivator.

He remembered clearly: a month earlier, while searching for spirit herbs in the Blackrock Forest, he had stumbled upon a battle where that Dao-robed cultivator faced off against several others. Despite being outnumbered three to one, the man had slain two and gravely wounded another before finally falling.

When the Daoist perished alongside his foe, the old man had claimed the spoils.

Yet, the Thousand Soul Banner, though powerful, was beyond his current cultivation to fully command.

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More vexing still, during that fight, the Daoist and his enemies had exhausted nearly all their talismans, and only magical tools and spirit stones remained. Had there been more talismans, he would not have been forced into such dire straits by a mere mosquito demon.

In the end, it was his own greed and carelessness—believing himself invincible after acquiring a high-grade magic tool—that led him to attempt to take advantage of the situation, only to court disaster.

When the banner absorbed his blood, a great wind of sinister ghosts erupted, enfolding his withered body.

He had already recognized the banner as its master with blood, but could not fully refine it. Drawing the evil spirits out with blood was the utmost of his ability.

Bang! Bang!

According to the principles of the five elements, water counters fire—but if the fire is strong enough, it can evaporate water.

With the two small fireballs joining the fray, the water-blue barrier from the lower-grade water talisman and the protective aura around the old man both burned away in succession.

The slightly diminished flames surged toward the evil wind surrounding the old man.

In the immortal cultivation world, most demonic and ghostly entities fear fire. Were it not for the old man’s desperate effort—spitting several more mouthfuls of blood to drive the spirits—they would have immediately shrunk back into the banner.

Sizzling and howling filled the air, but the evil spirits managed to dissipate the full force of the Demonfire Talismans.

Meanwhile, Xiao Wenzi had already flown more than ten meters away. At such a distance, the explosion from the Demonfire Talismans should not have reached him.

Still, he was cautious. While activating his demonic energy shield, he quickly exchanged for a Demon Shield Talisman and triggered it.

Two thick gray barriers appeared around him, but instead of a wave of explosive force, only the wails of vengeful spirits swept the area.

Seeing the sudden emergence of sinister ghosts that neutralized the Demonfire Talismans’ power, Xiao Wenzi’s heart thudded with unease.

At that moment, spiritual energy in the cave surged violently—Chu Xiner had finally broken through her bottleneck and advanced to the Eleventh Heaven.