Black mist began to seep out from Old Liu's body.
With a wave of his hand, a pitch-black, smoke-rolling banner flew out from within him. It swelled with the wind, growing to a height of several zhang!
On the surface of this banner, you saw many human faces. They desperately tried to rush out from within, gnashing their teeth with ferocious expressions, emitting terrifying, ghostly wails!
"The Ten Thousand Souls Banner?!"
You recognized it on the spot.
Because in the first simulation, also in this year, when you were forty, a Demonic Path Martial Artist wielding a Ten Thousand Souls Banner had carried out a massacre in Baiyun County, and had also caused your daughter's death.
"Oh? Boss Chen, you recognize this treasure too? It truly is a treasure, its reputation is indeed widespread."
Old Liu gently stroked the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, his face wearing an expression of loving it too much to put it down.
The serial killer who had been tailing you all this way was none other than Old Liu!
No wonder he would often disappear for periods of time.
It wasn't that you hadn't suspected him.
But Old Liu had only ever displayed strength at the Body Refining Realm in front of you, and had never exposed the Ten Thousand Souls Banner. You simply couldn't connect him with the villain capable of slaughtering an entire village.
You carefully recalled the memories from the first simulation and realized you hadn't actually seen the Demonic Path Martial Artist's face.
It might very well be the same person.
But it could also be another person who had found the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.
"Cough! Those villagers... they welcomed us so warmly, and those children... how could you bring yourself to do it?!"
Old Liu didn't care in the slightest.
"As long as I can nourish the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, it will feed back cultivation to me. With my terrible aptitude, in just six short years, I've reached the Soul Tempering Realm! How would that be possible through normal cultivation? This is truly... a good treasure..."
His eyes were already filled with a strange obsession.
"Don't be foolish! Look at your hair! Look at your sunken cheeks! It's not feeding you, it's using you! This is an evil object! Throw it away, quickly!"
Old Liu had aged extremely fast over these six years.
Before, you thought it was old military injuries flaring up. Now it seemed clear the Ten Thousand Souls Banner was consuming his life force.
Old Liu's face suddenly turned ferocious, his voice becoming shrill, as if hundreds or thousands of living beings were stuck in his throat.
"So what?! Doesn't gaining strength require paying a price?!"
"Old Liu... are you still Old Liu? You are truly terrifying!"
"That's right! Only by making others fear you, will you not be bullied!!
What kind of broken world is this! Broken world! Broken world!
I abided by the law, and those officials used me as a scapegoat, had me conscripted!
My family was kind and honest, and those wicked villagers ate them out of house and home!!
And what about General Sun Cheng'en, whom you admire?! Wasn't he forced to death as well?!
Why do you care about those villagers' lives?
Surviving yourself! Getting stronger! That is the natural order, the only true way!!"
Old Liu seemed like a completely different person at this moment.
As he spoke, he stepped closer to you, one step at a time.
Although you had just broken through to the Spirit Gathering Realm, Old Liu was now at the Soul Tempering Realm and had a great killing weapon, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, in his hands. Killing you would be as easy as turning over his hand.
"Come on, Chen Yi! I won't hurt you. Whether in the military camp or escaping from Yan Pass, you helped me many times! I am a man who repays kindness. Let's share this great treasure, how about it?"
Old Liu was shrouded in sinister demonic aura, his eyes even glowing with a green light.
He was more terrifying than those ghostly faces flickering in and out on the banner's surface.
Your 「Spider Sense」 was going crazy. You knew he was lying to you. Most likely, Old Liu was about to die of old age, and the Ten Thousand Souls Banner wanted to find the next sucker.
At this point, Old Liu was most likely already completely controlled by the evil object.
"Old Liu, you can go crazy slowly by yourself. I want to live a few more years!"
Your hand reached into your sleeve pouch and pulled out a red iron pellet.
This was one of the many Spirit Artifacts Sun Cheng'en had given you, called the "Smoke Escape Pearl."
You forcefully threw the Smoke Escape Pearl to the ground. Thick smoke rapidly filled the entire Lingfeng Pavilion. Simultaneously, a gentle breeze flew out from the pearl, supporting your feet and greatly increasing your running speed.
Taking advantage of the thick smoke obscuring Old Liu's vision, you fled at full speed.
"Hahaha! You think you can escape?!"
Old Liu didn't even bother pretending anymore. He brandished the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, driving the wraiths within to pursue you through the thick smoke.
Those incorporeal monsters wrapped around your body. Instantly, you felt unbearably heavy all over, even your eyelids struggling to stay open.
"Righteous Sun Formula, Triple Suns Herald Prosperity!"
The Shen family's "Righteous Sun Formula" was an extremely yang External Technique. Activating it could, to some extent, disperse yin-evil wraiths.
However, you were still doomed.
As soon that Ten Thousand Souls Banner unfurled, the surrounding smoke was absorbed clean in the blink of an eye.
"Chen Yi! You can't run!"
Old Liu, with his astonishingly exaggerated facial expressions, tongue lolling, eyes glaring, face twisted in ferocity, pounced to kill you.
Before he arrived, the evil ghosts did.
You were submerged by countless evil ghosts. Excruciating pain wracked your entire body, and your life force rapidly drained away!
"Looks like this round ends here..."
Suddenly, shadows flickered all around Lingfeng Pavilion!
Sword beams sliced through the air from a distance, forcing Old Liu back and incidentally dispelling the evil ghosts on your body.
"Audacious demon! Cease harming others!"
"Today, the eighteen sects of Sanjiang Prefecture will act on behalf of heaven to execute you, demon!"
"Fellow cultivators, we must destroy this Ten Thousand Souls Banner! We cannot let it bring further disaster to the mortal realm!"
Probably, Old Liu had made a slip-up while massacring Lingfeng Pavilion.
The people of Lingfeng Pavilion had managed to send out a distress signal.
The eighteen sects of Sanjiang Prefecture had gathered, intending to join forces to execute Old Liu, the wielder of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.
This was the fate of those who dabbled in the Demonic Path—everyone had the right to kill them.
Old Liu snorted coldly.
"With this great treasure of mine, you think a bunch of worthless rabble like you can capture me?!"
The first wave of martial artists arrived, numbering thirty to fifty. They launched a ruthless attack on Old Liu without hesitation.
Old Liu completely demonized, demonic marks appearing on his face.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!!"
From within the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, all the wraiths poured out. They wailed and howled, unleashing mental assaults, wrapped around people to weaken them, and some wraiths could directly attack physical bodies!
Demonic aura billowed!
Under the siege of several dozen people, Old Liu could still resist.
Until three martial artists whose bodies shone with golden light joined the battle. Old Liu turned and ran without a second glance!
These three were at the Golden Body Realm.
The gap between a Golden Body Realm martial artist and a Soul Tempering Realm martial artist was far greater than the gap between Soul Tempering and Spirit Gathering. Old Liu had a very clear understanding of his limits, so he fled with astonishing speed.
"After him! We absolutely cannot let him escape!"
You had cheated death.
But Old Liu's earlier attack had severely damaged your vitality. Now, even breathing felt exhausting.
In your dazed, semi-conscious state, you heard people talking around you.
"There's still a survivor here."
"He had his vitality directly drained by the Ten Thousand Souls Banner. He won't live. Let's hurry and chase the demon!"
"Ah! It's the benefactor! Master, let me take care of him..."
"Do as you please!"
In your hazy state, you saw a large, round face, and then you fell unconscious...

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