Chapter 23: Innate True Qi Myriad Spirits Banner

Above the sea of clouds, Liu Xin took the initiative to back down: “If you two junior brothers are willing to turn hostility into friendship, I am willing to offer a superior Dao book as a gift.”

“At this point? Are you joking?”

Lü Yang chuckled when he heard this: “Senior Brother Liu, we’re all disciples of the Primordial Saint Sect, what’s with the act? Right now, you’ve already reached a point of no return with us.”

“.”

Liu Xin didn’t reply, but his expression darkened abruptly.

Because Lü Yang was right—at this moment, the one who truly had no intention of reconciliation was no longer Lü Yang or Xiao Shiye, but Liu Xin and Qing Chen Fairy.

The reason was simple—the sect rules of the Primordial Saint Sect.

“Although so long as one isn’t caught, the sect rules may as well not exist—but conversely, once discovered, those rules become absolutely binding.”

Lü Yang sneered, “This probably isn’t the first time people like you have ambushed and robbed fellow sect disciples in secret. It’s just that no one caught you before. But now, all I need to do is leave and report it to the Law Enforcement Hall, and once the truth is revealed, Senior Brother Liu, you will be as good as dead.”

“You must be joking, Junior Brother.”

Liu Xin’s facial muscles twitched slightly: “You and I could sign a legal contract agreeing never to speak of today’s events to a third party. That would certainly put my mind at ease.”

“Really?” Lü Yang retorted.

Of course it was fake.

Only the dead are truly trustworthy!

“Qing Chen!”

With a low shout from Liu Xin, the previously silent Qing Chen Fairy finally opened her mouth. Her crimson lips parted slightly, and she slowly uttered a syllable:

“Open!”

As soon as the word left her lips, the surrounding sea of clouds shifted again.

In an instant, towering peaks manifested, encircling Lü Yang and Xiao Shiye in the center.

Clearly, it was another formation!

“Did you really think I feared your Heavenly Demon Blood-Transforming Divine Light?” Liu Xin surprisingly recognized Lü Yang’s divine power, and sneered coldly as a flag billowing in the wind suddenly appeared in his hand: “This ‘Innate True Qi Myriad Spirits Banner’ still lacks a main soul to oversee it—today, I’ll use you to consecrate it.”

“Go!”

Before Liu Xin finished speaking, Lü Yang had already merged with his Sword Pill and slashed forward in a flash, the overwhelming stench of blood forcing Liu Xin to swallow back his unfinished mockery.

“Return to me, souls!”

Liu Xin formed a hand seal and shook the Myriad Spirits Banner vigorously.

Instantly, two wisps of hazy white Qi surged out, gradually coalescing into human shapes.

Lü Yang didn’t stop—he brought his sword down in a single strike.

The two silhouettes, under Liu Xin’s guidance, also activated their True Qi and charged forward fearlessly. But with a thunderous boom, they were shattered by the sword aura.

Liu Xin had initially intended to join forces with the two summoned spirits, but seeing them so easily destroyed, he quickly retreated again.

“Qing Chen, attack now!”

Qing Chen Fairy’s delicate face turned solemn. She removed a phoenix-feather hairpin from her hair and flung it forward.

The hairpin instantly transformed into a golden beam of light aimed at Lü Yang’s brow.

But before the phoenix hairpin could reach Lü Yang, another beam of treasured light appeared out of nowhere and blocked it—it was none other than Xiao Shiye, the many-treasure boy.

And that wasn’t all. Xiao Shiye spread his sleeves wide and, in one breath, flung over a dozen magical tools into the air.

Although the quality of these treasures varied, without exception, they all radiated intense spiritual light. Yet, the moment he released them, they all exploded mid-air!

“Boom rumble rumble!”

The erupting spiritual light was like mini suns, directly intercepting Qing Chen Fairy’s killing formation, and nearly blowing the formation apart from within!

Such a lavish display made the corners of the other three people's eyes twitch involuntarily.

Unlike Lü Yang, Xiao Shiye had no powerful spells or divine powers, but when it came to dueling, he didn’t bother with any tricks.

All he needed to do was throw out his magical treasures and detonate them—that was enough.

This tactic made Liu Xin’s already gloomy face even darker. He simply waved the Myriad Spirits Banner in his hand, and instantly summoned dozens of spirit banners.

These were all trophies Liu Xin had gained from ambushing and murdering fellow disciples over the past while.

“All of you—reinforce the formation.”

Following Liu Xin’s command, the summoned spirit banners moved immediately, each falling into place around Qing Chen Fairy’s formation to strengthen and enhance its power.

Seeing this, Qing Chen Fairy felt reassured. She also brought out a small banner, shook it forcefully, and immediately the towering mountains conjured by the formation responded.

They locked down the heavens and sealed off all directions, shielding both her and Liu Xin while blocking Lü Yang’s sword light.

Only then did Liu Xin smile in satisfaction and shake the Myriad Spirits Banner again.

This precious treasure was something he had obtained during a fortuitous encounter alongside the 【Innate Dao Book】. It had since become his greatest reliance in spell duels.

The banner followed the principle of one main soul, two guardians, and three corpse gods.

As the Dao gave birth to One, One to Two, Two to Three, and Three to all things—only by completing these six positions and combining them with ten thousand souls could this treasure be considered perfected.

It sounded simple, but despite ten years of painstaking refinement, Liu Xin still hadn’t succeeded.

Gathering ten thousand souls was manageable—he just had to make time to slaughter a mortal city—but securing those six core roles had remained elusive. He hadn’t even completed the three corpse gods, let alone the two guardians.

Even so, the power of this treasure was already formidable.

“Kill them!”

Liu Xin shook the banner, and thousands of souls surged out.

Unlike the previously summoned spirits with cultivation, these were all wrathful ghosts—mortal souls twisted by hatred.

Though their quality was poor, their numbers were immense.

Once summoned by Liu Xin, they resembled a monstrous tidal wave, engulfing Lü Yang’s figure in an instant.

What made things worse was that, as ghosts without flesh or blood, they were completely immune to Lü Yang’s Blood-Transforming Divine Light!

But Lü Yang remained fearless.

Although the Divine Light was his strongest technique, it wasn’t his only one.

After refining his Sword Pill, his 【Divine Firmament Sword Control True Formula】 was just as fearsome!

With a mere thought, Lü Yang’s Sword Pill split into hundreds of sword lights. His figure began to flit among the light, teleporting unpredictably.

He didn’t face the ghosts head-on—instead, he retreated when they advanced, and struck when they were tired, turning the fight into a game of guerrilla warfare against the spirit banners.

This was the true strength of a sword cultivator.

Strike once, retreat a thousand miles, then attack again from another angle—forcing the enemy into exhaustion, exposing flaws, and finally, decapitating them in one clean blow.

In no time at all, Lü Yang had slaughtered the ten thousand ghosts into scattered fragments, breaking their formation.

On the other side, Xiao Shiye had also gone all out, hurling several superior magical treasures and detonating them violently, shaking the barely stabilized formation into chaos again.

Seeing the tide of battle turn, Qing Chen Fairy couldn’t help but glance at Liu Xin. “Senior Brother…”

“Don’t panic. I’m not worried—why are you?”

Liu Xin still appeared calm.

He wasn’t concerned about Xiao Shiye, and he didn’t believe Lü Yang could continue using his sword escape and killing techniques without exhausting his Qi and magic.

That was his battle strategy.

First send out expendable spirits to deplete the enemy’s strength.

Once their Qi ran low, he would unleash his final trump card to secure victory in one stroke.

Truthfully, if not absolutely necessary, he didn’t want to use his trump card.

That spirit banner was simply too precious—its identity in life was dangerously sensitive. If anyone saw it, no witnesses could be allowed to live. Even the slightest rumor could doom him forever.

“Well, if you’re unwilling to sacrifice the lamb, you’ll never catch the wolf.”

After a moment of consideration, Liu Xin still raised his banner and bowed respectfully: “A powerful enemy approaches. To break this deadlock—I humbly ask for your aid, Senior Brother.”