"Can't you tell, Fellow Daoist, that with each additional banner, the demands placed upon the wielder grow ever more exacting?"
Qin Sang had not let success get to his head after forging such valuable treasures. He remarked casually, "Constrained by my cultivation and divine consciousness, even if I were handed a true top-grade magic treasure, I likely could not bring out more than a fraction of its power. A banner-formation magic treasure like this is even more demanding. At my current realm, controlling six or seven at once is roughly my limit. Such strength is still not enough to contend with a Nascent Soul Patriarch! It will be a long while before I can unleash the full might of all eighteen demonic banners."
He had calculated this thoroughly long ago.
With demonic banners, more was not necessarily better. One had to act within one's means; only when controlling them effortlessly during combat could their true combat prowess be brought to bear.
Of course, even if he could only wield six demonic banners simultaneously, their power was already formidable, enough to rival a high-grade magic treasure. It was a supreme treasure that other Core Formation cultivators could only dream of possessing.
Bai said nothing more. After resting for a brief moment, he returned to the ghost mist once again to lure out more souls of the deceased.
Demonic banners took shape one after another.
Gritting his teeth and toiling like a beast of burden, Bai finally helped Qin Sang forge fifteen demonic banners.
*Whoosh!*
Under the urging of Qin Sang's true essence, the final demonic banner vibrated, its surface flapping noisily in the wind.
Then Qin Sang flicked his fingers.
The three Ten Directions Yanluo Banners he already possessed flew out from his sleeves, followed by the fifteen newly refined demonic banners rising into the air together. They wheeled around one another in a circle, faintly revealing the embryonic outline of a demonic banner grand formation.
Even with Qin Sang's calm temperament, he could not help but feel a surge of excitement. This would likely be his strongest magic treasure for a long time to come. After forming his nascent soul in the future, he would be able to overpower cultivators of the same rank with this treasure alone.
After all, among Nascent Soul Patriarchs, those fortunate enough to acquire a top-grade magic treasure were few and far between.
"Congratulations on forging such a magnificent treasure, Fellow Daoist."
Bai cupped his hands in congratulations, the delight in his eyes hard to conceal. The cage and obsession that had haunted him for countless years were finally at the point of being resolved.
Qin Sang smiled faintly. "Fellow Daoist, you may now lead me to collect the demonic fire. I hope the flaw in the demonic restriction you mentioned earlier can indeed be exploited without any mishaps."
"Rest assured," Bai replied with complete confidence. "Not a moment passes that I do not think of breaking this restriction and walking free. How could I let an error slip by at a time like this? Fellow Daoist, follow me..."
Before his words had completely faded, Bai released all the remaining souls and vanished into the ghost mist with a flicker.
Qin Sang withdrew his avatar and the phoenix wings, leaving only the two-headed hou at his side, and leapt forward, chasing after Bai into the depths of the ghostly land. Before long, he saw Bai come to a halt up ahead.
Their current location happened to be where Bai had previously concealed the Flying Yaksha.
Having recently borne witness to a fierce battle, most of the surrounding bone mountains had collapsed. Crisscrossing ravines cut through the terrain, shattered bones lay everywhere, and wandering souls drifted about in complete disarray.
Only now did Qin Sang have the chance to examine the area closely.
Scanning the surroundings back and forth, he found nothing out of the ordinary. Finally, his gaze fell upon the bone mountain that Bai had blasted open, and he thought to himself that something else must be hidden beneath it.
Even the Heavenly Eye Butterfly could not discern the secrets concealed here, likely due to the demonic restriction and the transcendence grand formation.
"Disperse!"
Bai shouted loudly as corpse qi surged across his body, unleashing an eerie wave of fluctuation.
Swept up by the wave, the surrounding souls reacted as if encountering their natural nemesis, shrieking in terror as they fled in all directions. In an instant, the area around them was cleared bare.
Bai then flickered down toward the mangled bone mountain and waved his hand, sending out streaks of spiritual light that carved a passageway leading straight down to the base of the bones.
Flickering to the entrance of the passage, Qin Sang extended his divine consciousness inside. Confirming there was no danger, he stepped through.
Walking through a passage composed of ghastly white bones, Qin Sang felt a stir in his heart. Staring at Bai's back, he fell into deep contemplation.
He wondered what Bai and his companions had undergone back then to meet such a tragic end.
Throughout this vast ghostly land, bones were piled high as mountains and the dead souls were beyond counting. If they had all been cultivators in the past, it was unimaginable just how monumental that war must have been.
The seal on the Hall of Seven Kills.
The cultivation world of today torn apart into fragments, with storms raging everywhere.
Did they have any connection to that ancient war?
Unfortunately, Bai had lost his memories; otherwise, Qin Sang might have been able to catch a glimpse of those ancient secrets.
Qin Sang gave an involuntary sigh in his heart and silently followed behind Bai until they reached the bottom of the bone mountain. The pitch-black ground appeared rather eerie—a color born of soil soaked through with blood and dried over ages, standing in stark contrast to the pale, morbid bones.
The ground seemed empty, but as Bai waved his hand, a burst of light flared, revealing a flight of stairs. Below appeared to be a sizable cavern.
Following Bai inside and taking in the sights of the underground cavern, a flicker of surprise crossed Qin Sang's eyes.
The cavern was fairly spacious, yet its ceiling was low; Qin Sang could barely stand upright.
At the center of the cavern stood an archaic altar. The stone pillars atop it bore the heavy marks of age, as if they had rested in silence for countless years, decaying along with the bones outside.
Beside the altar lay a stone coffin, its lid pushed open and its interior completely empty.
The altar and stone coffin were the only things in the cavern.
Qin Sang gazed intently at the altar.
Even with his attainments in spiritual formations and restrictions, he could not fathom the altar's purpose. He could only guess that it might be the formation core of the grand formation meant to transcend the departed souls.
When Qin Sang shifted his gaze to the stone coffin, Bai gave a bitter smile and said, "This is where I slumbered. Had you not barged in by chance, Fellow Daoist, it would have been my eternal resting place. Back then, my original body left this coffin behind perhaps with a premonition that he would never see the light of day again."
"Trapped here and enduring endless solitude, Fellow Daoist, your endurance is far beyond what ordinary men could bear," Qin Sang remarked with a sigh.
"Once I forgot time itself, I grew used to it."
Bai smiled carefree, then pointed toward the altar. "Your first task, Fellow Daoist, is to collect the demonic fire from the demonic restriction around the altar. This is the most crucial spot, and also the easiest to handle. Once this section of the demonic restriction is unraveled, moving on to the other locations will be far simpler. As long as the demonic restrictions at these key points are all broken, activating the ghost mist and the grand formation will allow us to forcefully shatter the demonic restriction..."
"Wait..." Qin Sang cut Bai off. "The moment the restriction shatters, the commotion will surely be immense. With nowhere to hide within the ghostly land, won't we be caught in the backlash as well? Where should we conceal ourselves then, and how are we to elude the senses of the person waiting outside?"
Bai said confidently, "There is no need to worry, Fellow Daoist. Before breaking the restriction, I will guide it slightly, directing a portion of its force to strike directly at the entrance. Furthermore, there are actually spots here untouched by the shockwaves. We need only wait for the impact to subside before departing immediately, and I will harness the remaining power of the ghost mist to help conceal us. Caught off guard by the blast, even if that person is not grievously injured, he will have no leisure to look elsewhere—the perfect opportunity to slip away..."
"Fellow Daoist's plan is quite thorough! If so, I also have a treasure that may be of help. That person is a top expert after all; only by preparing a few more methods of concealment can one truly feel at ease..."
After listening, Qin Sang pondered for a moment, then retrieved a piece of red gauze from the Qianjun Ring—the ancient treasure, the Red Yuan Gauze, which he had obtained from the youth surnamed Fang.
Chapter 941