Hou Linkun’s martial arts skills were not proficient, so he naturally spent effort on other aspects. This pipe hidden weapon was precisely commissioned by a skilled craftsman to be made for his self-defense.
However, just as the golden needle shot out, a sword light had already descended.
With a swish, the golden needle was cut in half by the flash of light.
Then, another flash of the sword light came, and Steward Xu, who was somewhat panicked and hesitant and planning to escape, felt a chill on his neck, as a thin line of blood began to seep from it.
When he tried to turn his neck, there was a tearing sound, and the whole neck fell down, rolling onto the ground.
Hou Linkun, hearing the commotion beside him, was scared and lifted the pipe again, only to see a flash of light in front of him.
When the light vanished from his retina, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, and then endless darkness consumed him.
The pipe naturally fell to the ground with a crash, the golden needle shot out and deeply embedded in the floor.
"If I had known today, why bother with the past?"
Bai Ziyue sighed softly, pointing again at the scroll, causing the swordsman’s figure to slowly fade away.
The cloth banner quivered, and the endless fog of Yin Qi retracted into it.
Only then did he turn and leave.
In the graveyard on the west side of Qinghe Town.
After killing Hou Linkun and Steward Xu, Bai Ziyue did not leave the city immediately but instead came to the graveyard.
Perhaps because his skills were high and he was bold, he directly entered the central area of the graveyard, lighting a stick of Soul-Attracting Incense.
Wisps of smoke spread out, and not long after, Bai Ziyue felt shadows emerging from beneath the ground.
Ordinarily, Bai Ziyue would have already acted to cut down these Yin Souls and ghostly beings.
But this time, Bai Ziyue stood still, pulled out a cloth banner from his bosom.
Soul-Gathering Banner!
This cloth banner was the Magical Artifact he obtained from Zhang Yuchang, known as the Soul-Gathering Banner.
The entire afternoon, apart from patiently waiting for nightfall, Bai Ziyue spent refining this 24 Forbidden Dharma Artifact.
The moment he refined this artifact, he understood its function and knew its name was Soul-Gathering Banner.
The Soul-Gathering Banner trembled lightly, releasing a powerful suction force.
Soon, a Yin Soul within ten or so meters of Bai Ziyue, without even struggling, turned into a stream of light and was drawn into the Soul-Gathering Banner.
After that, Bai Ziyue clearly felt the power on the Soul-Gathering Banner grow somewhat stronger.
"This Soul-Gathering Banner itself doesn’t have much power; all of its abilities rely on the refinement of more Yin Souls inside it. The more Yin Souls and the stronger they are, the greater the power of the artifact will be.
But these Yin Souls, whose strength is weak, even weaker than an External Forging Martial Artist, cannot significantly enhance the power of this Soul-Gathering Banner."
Thinking , Bai Ziyue meticulously used the Soul-Gathering Banner’s power to absorb all ghostly beings drawn by the Soul-Attracting Incense.
Soon, Bai Ziyue sensed that there were many more Yin Souls within the Soul-Gathering Banner.
The weakest of these Yin Souls was equivalent to the little ghost Bai Ziyue had encountered before, which could be dissipated by the power of a martial artist’s Qi and Blood with little effort.
The strongest was comparable to the female ghost he had encountered at his aunt’s house, though possessing some skills, still not very powerful.
Fortunately, the large quantity made the Soul-Gathering Banner feel somewhat filled.
"The power of this Soul-Gathering Banner does not simply increase with more Yin Souls; without distinguishing the main from the secondary, it becomes difficult to control."
Thinking this, Bai Ziyue channeled his Spiritual Power again.
In an instant, the dozens to hundreds of Yin Souls within the banner became frenzied, beginning to bite, attack, and devour each other.
This was an inherent ability of the Soul-Gathering Banner, allowing Yin Souls to devour each other, much like raising venomous creatures, with only the strongest surviving in the end.
By then, though the total number of Yin Souls decreased, the remaining one would be much stronger than the previous souls and could naturally become one of the Soul-Gathering Banner’s main souls.
As a 24 Forbidden Dharma Artifact, the Soul-Gathering Banner could hold up to twenty-four main souls. Even if each main soul’s strength was limited by the material to only that of Peak External Forging level Yin Souls, releasing all of them at once would be enough to make even Peak of Inner Cultivation or Inner Power Realm martial artists retreat.
Thinking this, soon the Soul-Gathering Banner, which initially contained over a hundred ghostly beings, had just one left.
This was a lean-looking ghost soul, but his soul body was almost solid, his eyes fierce and brutal, resembling the fiercest evil spirit or fierce ghost in the world, terrifying and ferocious.
"Judging by this soul body’s solidity, even a martial artist in the External Forging of Tendons and Bones realm would be no match."
Looking at this Yin Soul, Bai Ziyue felt quite satisfied.
This was just one Main Soul. When all twenty-four Main Souls are released together, the scene would surely be overwhelming. Just like when Zhang Yuchang controlled numerous ghostly beings to charge at him...
"Since you’re the first Main Soul, I’ll give you an opportunity. Let’s see how far you can go."
Bai Ziyue suddenly thought of the Corpse Refinement he had killed a few days ago, and the Corpse Bead he had extracted from its head.
The Corpse Bead was round in shape but extremely hard. It contained a fearsome Yin Attribute energy, making it a rare Yin Attribute treasure.
Thinking he couldn’t use it himself, he decided to see what changes the Main Soul would undergo after swallowing the Corpse Bead. Without hesitation, he reached into his money pouch and took out a porcelain bottle.
With a gentle crush, the porcelain bottle shattered, revealing the Corpse Bead inside.
With a slight toss, the Corpse Bead formed an arc and fell directly into the Soul-Gathering Banner.
At the moment the Main Soul sensed the Corpse Bead approaching, its entire Soul Body trembled with excitement. It roared, not quite loudly, and rushed to the Corpse Bead, swallowing it whole.
Humming sounds erupted from the Soul-Gathering Banner as the Soul Body trembled violently.
Immediately, the aura of the Soul Body surged rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it reached the formidable level of a Peak External Forging Martial Artist.
The Yin Soul let out a roar of excitement, seemingly showcasing its newfound power.
Bai Ziyue glanced at the burnt-out Soul-Attracting Incense and moved to another location, where he lit another stick of Soul-Attracting Incense on a high slope.
Soon, many Yin Souls were drawn in by the Soul-Attracting Incense and continuously merged into the Soul-Gathering Banner, becoming nourishment and resources for it.
Almost every so often, Bai Ziyue would change locations.
Thus, as the moon in the sky gradually descended, six Main Souls had already gathered onto Bai Ziyue’s Soul-Gathering Banner.
The strongest naturally was the one that initially swallowed the Corpse Bead, which Bai Ziyue named Soul Boss, possessing the strength of a Peak External Forging Martial Artist. The others were named Soul the Second, Soul the Third, and so on, slightly weaker, with combat power comparable to External Forging of Tendons and Bones Martial Artists.
These Main Souls each had a fierce and terrifying aura, like starving beasts. Once released, they would surely unleash combat power far exceeding their own strength.
"With this, my Soul-Gathering Banner should be able to exhibit some power."
Pleased, Bai Ziyue slightly beckoned, and the six Main Souls, under the control of the Soul-Gathering Banner, transformed into beams of light and re-entered the cloth banner.
"It’s a pity that the Yin Souls within the Soul-Gathering Banner cannot increase my Soul Energy.
Otherwise, with the number of Yin Souls dying today, even if each one’s individual power isn’t strong, the sheer volume would be enough to increase my Soul Energy Points by thousands.
Though due to today’s intense drawing of Yin Souls for the Soul-Gathering Banner, it seems there won’t be any Yin Souls in this graveyard for a long time."
With a slight sigh, Bai Ziyue finally put away the Soul-Gathering Banner.
Immediately, a scroll appeared in his hand, and with a slight touch on it, a gigantic eagle materialized before him.
It was the effect of the Summoning Class Dharma Treasure, the Eagle Swordsman Painting.
Without much hesitation, Bai Ziyue leapt onto the eagle’s back, firmly grabbing its neck.
Although there were still some differences between the summoned eagle and the real one, its form and solidity were close enough to the real thing.
An astonishing eagle cry erupted, and the eagle’s form spread its wings like a roc. It swiftly soared into the sky, transforming into a beam of light and disappearing from sight.
The wind whistled past his ears.
Feeling the thrill and excitement of flying in the air, the sense of being able to step on everything beneath him filled him with immense joy and a longing to truly master the ability to fly.
In less than a minute, Bai Ziyue, riding the eagle, arrived at a mountain peak.
As he jumped off the eagle’s back, the eagle turned to dust and vanished due to its Spiritual Power being exhausted.
"It’s a pity. If it were just about flying, this eagle could only maintain sixty seconds, maybe even less. Otherwise, I could truly enjoy wandering through the void with this eagle."
Bai Ziyue felt wistful, appreciating the Eagle Swordsman Painting more.
Though the eagle’s flight time was short, its speed impressed him greatly. It was indeed convenient for travel.
For instance, in less than a minute, he had crossed at least a dozen miles.
If not for accommodating him, Bai Ziyue intentionally slowed the eagle’s speed. He could have crossed an even greater distance.