57: Free your hands

"Human... human emperor banner?"

Tian Yun was first bewildered; not just anyone could be called a Human Emperor.

When he clearly saw the glowing black soul banner, he instantly understood something.

His entire body trembled violently.

"A soul banner... This is a soul banner! You... you are actually a Demonic Path Cultivator. The Han Family, how audacious! If the Immortal Dynasty finds out, they will surely execute your entire clan!"

"Unless you release this old man, otherwise—"

Tian Yun struggled to reach out, trying to retrieve his quasi-immortal jade token to transmit this shocking secret.

However, he discovered that his jade token had already been damaged in the battle, and his face was immediately consumed by despair and fear.

"Otherwise what?"

Lu Xian smiled, pondering how to make him even more terrified.

The great terror between life and death seemed insufficient; he needed to feel something even more frightening than death.

After a moment of thought, Lu Xian let out a strange laugh: "Hehehe, you might as well stop struggling, it's all in vain!"

"After I return, I will naturally send your entire Tian Family to reunite with you. Don't worry, not one of your sons or grandsons will escape. The Han Family has its own methods to handle things cleanly... Rest in peace!"

Indeed, these words struck the deepest fear in Tian Yun's heart.

Today, all three of them were lost here, with only his weakest Fourth Brother remaining at home, utterly incapable of resisting.

"No... impossible!!!"

The more Tian Yun thought about it, the more terrified he became. The Tian Family, established by his father's generation, had existed for a hundred years and absolutely could not be destroyed in his hands!

"Senior Han, spare my life! My Tian Family is but an ant, a speck of dust, I beg you..."

He trembled all over, somehow mustering a burst of strength, struggling to crawl towards Lu Xian's feet to plead.

Lu Xian's eyes narrowed; this was the moment!

He activated the hundred souls banner, suspending it above Tian Yun's crown. A dense black light shot out from the banner, entering the top of his head!

The light in Tian Yun's eyes rapidly dissipated, and his crawling motion froze.

"Ah—"

He let out a non-human shriek, as if seeing the Avici Hell.

Lu Xian continued to inject magic power, and the black light intensified.

A moment later, a nearly transparent soul body was forcibly extracted from Tian Yun's shell and absorbed into the banner.

Immediately after, he casually draped the hundred souls banner over Tian Yun's corpse.

malicious souls require essence blood and Evil Qi for nourishment. With readily available resources, Lu Xian naturally wouldn't use his own.

The corpse rapidly shriveled, and in an instant, only a skeleton wrapped in human skin remained.

"Tsk tsk, as expected of Demonic Path methods, the efficiency is astonishing... It's just a pity that the light effect is black. If it were a brilliant gold, it would be more befitting the grandeur of the 'human emperor banner'."

Lu Xian remarked with emotion as he watched this scene.

For the next hour, he manipulated the soul banner, continuously refining it.

It takes some effort to transform a living soul into a malicious soul that can be commanded. The stronger the person's power in life, the longer it takes.

As a Great Perfection of Qi Refining, Tian Yun would require at least three hours.

Outside the Immortal Cave, Du Huaigu barely stabilized his injuries and waited quietly.

As the sky turned dark, Lu Xian still hadn't appeared, and he couldn't help but feel uneasy.

But a thought of the other party's terrifying power put his mind at ease.

"I have truly witnessed Fellow Daoist Han's power; I don't think there will be any problems. It's just... is he really a young master from the Han Family?"

At this moment, even Du Huaigu himself began to hesitate.

Upon careful consideration, he again felt it was impossible.

If he were truly a young master of the Han Family, how could he have befriended that foolish Qing Hong two years ago?

The night passed without a word, and dawn broke in the east.

There was still no movement inside the Immortal Cave, and Du Huaigu couldn't help but get up and pace back and forth at the entrance.

The next moment, the Formation light barrier at the entrance quietly dissipated.

Lu Xian, in a black robe, slowly walked out, a look of satisfaction on his face.

"Fellow Daoist Han, about this matter...?"

Du Huaigu quickly stepped forward to ask.

"No need to worry. My methods of handling things are much cleaner and more decisive than yours," Lu Xian said casually.

"Yes, yes," Du Huaigu said, looking embarrassed.

It was indeed his oversight to let Tian Yun hide a contingency plan initially.

"Then what about the cooperation?"

"It will proceed as usual. Although there were some twists this time, the outcome is acceptable. Fellow Daoist Du, you must be extremely cautious in your future actions. Do not suffer a setback in an unexpected place again; it's not every time This Han will be there to sort things out for you."

Lu Xian didn't say too much, stopping at just enough.

Details regarding hidden sources of goods and confidential identities had already been settled last time.

Du Huaigu let out a long breath, a huge weight finally lifted from his heart.

This meant that the Opportunity for the Du Family's rise was secured!

"This old man will be more careful in the future," he solemnly promised.

This trip was indeed perilous, but everything was worth it.

"Alright, the first batch of goods will be handed over in a few days. This Han will take his leave first; Fellow Daoist, please make yourself at home."

Lu Xian couldn't wait to go home and test the function of the malicious soul, so he took out his top-grade Flying Sword and transformed into a black shadow, departing swiftly.

Only Du Huaigu was left stunned in place, letting out a bitter laugh after a long while.

He walked into the mountain cave, confirmed that not even a trace of ash remained inside, then slapped two acceleration talismans on himself and sped towards Qingyun City.

Without Lu Xian's profound magic power to freely control his sword, traveling on foot was more reliable for him... Shantytown, first Immortal Cave backyard.

Looking at the somewhat messy Spirit Field and Chicken Coop, Lu Xian flipped his wrist: "Come out, Tian Da, Tian Er, Tian San!"

In an instant, gusts of cold wind swept out from the hundred souls banner.

Three somewhat solidified malicious souls appeared before his eyes.

"Master, what are your orders?"

Tian Da made a very uncomfortable sound.

Lu Xian could feel a slight disturbance in his Divine Soul, but to his powerful Divine Sense, it was almost negligible.

Tian Da was naturally Tian Yun. Because he was the strongest and had his soul extracted in extreme fear, he retained approximately the power of the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining after transformation, and his intelligence was relatively intact.

He could still grow with continued feeding.

If specialized ghost Dao Spell could be found, they could even be used in combat.

Tian Er and Tian San, however, due to their Dantian being shattered and their hearts filled with despair, lacked sufficient fear during extraction. Their power only remained around the Third Layer of Qi Refining, and their intelligence was low, preventing them from speaking and only allowing them to execute commands.

"Tian Da, from now on, you are responsible for managing the Chicken Coop. Every morning, feed the mortal grain and collect the spirit eggs."

"Pay attention to whether any mortal chickens transform into Spirit Bird. If so, house them separately. Maintain the total number of Spirit Bird at 20 and mortal chickens at 16. As for that crane..."

Lu Xian pointed to Crane Heavenly Emperor dozing in the corner, "Just feed it two catties of spirit grain daily; don't cause any trouble."

The life and death of the malicious souls were at his command. Fundamentally, they had no self-awareness, only faithfully executing orders like Puppets. Lu Xian didn't worry about secrets being exposed.

"Yes, Tian Da accepts the order!!!"

"Tian Er, you are responsible for weeding the Spirit Field. Harvest the star stamen grass promptly when it matures and store it properly. Do not touch the soul settling tea tree next to it in the slightest..."

Lu Xian specifically instructed, fearing that the Yin Evil Qi and spirit tea might interact and cause unknown mutations.

Tian Er remained silent, but his soul body moved slightly, as if understanding.

"Tian San, go feed the several Adamant Antelopes and Gray-Backed Yak in the adjacent livestock pen. Stop when they gain a thousand catties of meat..."

After distributing the three tasks, Lu Xian felt completely relaxed.

Counting the days, there was still one year and five months until the Cangye Sect's triennial recruitment ceremony.

Next, apart from the monthly delivery of goods and profits,

He would enter true seclusion, fully striving to break through to a higher Realm.

The battle yesterday gave him the most direct understanding of the combat power of Five Spirit Simultaneous Cultivation.

A cultivation of the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining was enough to crush the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining and even Great Perfection, which further strengthened his determination to continue on this path.

Having arranged everything, Lu Xian turned and returned to the Cultivation Chamber, slowly circulating the long-unpracticed Primordial Art.