How Could Getting Struck by Lightning Every Month Yield No Gains?

A sinister wind brushed over them, and the scene instantly fell silent, save for the wailing of various ghostly spirits echoing across the area. "Oink, oink—" "Moo—" "Baa—" Whether it was the withered old man or Vice Cult Master Shi, both were Body Integration cultivators with thousands of years of experience, yet neither had ever witnessed such a scene. Vice Cult Master Shi's expression faltered. Just a moment ago, he had declared with grave seriousness that things were troublesome, that the enemy had succeeded in refining the Myriad Soul Banner. Judging by the current situation, even if the other party refined ten Myriad Soul Banners, it probably wouldn't count as trouble. The withered old man had never imagined he would refine such things either. He had merely passed by the small village by chance, discovered that its concentration of bloody aura was astonishingly dense and exceptionally suitable for refining a Myriad Soul Banner, swept away every trace of bloody aura, and picked a secluded spot to race against time to forge it. With a formidable enemy before him, he had succeeded in refining the Myriad Soul Banner at the final critical juncture. He had been on the verge of sacrificing the enemy's blood to the banner to unleash a million vengeful ghosts to claim their lives. Yet this was the pile of nonsense he had summoned? Gritting his teeth, the withered old man formed hand seals with both hands, driving the Myriad Soul Banner once more. "So be it! Human or livestock, since they could be refined into the Myriad Soul Banner, they all count as vengeful ghosts!" Seeing the withered old man continue to employ the Myriad Soul Banner, Vice Cult Master Shi arrived at the same thought. This Myriad Soul Banner might look comical, but its power was not to be underestimated! "Go, devour them!" The withered old man laughed wildly and barked the command, intent on burying Lu Yang and his companions right here! The pigs, cattle, and sheep scattered in all directions. If not for the Myriad Soul Banner tethering them, they would have long since vanished without a trace. A few pigs even nudged the withered old man with their snouts before ambling off elsewhere. The withered old man: "..." Vice Cult Master Shi: "..." "Senior Brother Lu, is this what Body Integration stage battles are like?" Tao Yaoye sent a voice transmission to Lu Yang. Lacking experience, this was her first time encountering a battle between Body Integration cultivators, and she could not make heads or tails of this fighting style. Lu Yang thought to himself, *I'm seeing this kind of crap for the first time too.* "Fairy, why are livestock refined into a Myriad Soul Banner impossible to control?" In the spiritual space, Immortal Fairy doubled over with laughter, unable to catch her breath for a long time. "Hahaha, what a fool! Refining a Myriad Soul Banner with livestock—why didn't he just refine it with bugs? Hahaha..." Only after she caught her breath did she explain to Lu Yang, "The essence of a Myriad Soul Banner is commanding souls. The souls that can be commanded must belong to living beings with spiritual intelligence, such as humans and demon beasts. The higher the cultivation of the human or demon beast in life, the heavier their resentment, and the greater the banner's power. "A herd of livestock without spiritual intelligence—you actually expect them to understand orders and attack?" "Yet I seem to recall that infant souls can also be refined into a Myriad Soul Banner? Infants don't have spiritual intelligence either, do they?" "Infant souls can indeed be used to refine a Myriad Soul Banner, but there is one thing you overlooked. Demonic cultivators do not refine an infant soul into the banner immediately. This process takes several years. Over those years, the infant soul's size doesn't change, but its intellect gradually matures until it reaches an age where it can comprehend orders. Only then is the refining considered complete." Before Immortal Fairy attained immortality, she had dealt with demonic cultivators extensively. In the chaotic ancient era, demonic cultivators could be found everywhere, and her understanding of them ran even deeper than Vice Cult Master Shi's. At the end, she even exhorted Lu Yang, "You must study diligently in the future. Don't end up like this old illiterate." Having obtained the answer, Lu Yang relayed it to Tao Yaoye, earning an admiring gaze from her. *Senior Brother Lu is so knowledgeable and well-read.* *Wait... why does Senior Brother Lu know so much about the demonic path?* ... Tossing aside the Myriad Soul Banner, the withered old man brought out a necklace. Every bead on the necklace was a miniature skull, each face ferocious with a distinct expression. This was his natal magical treasure, the Eighteen Generations Clan Necklace. To forge this necklace, the creator had to marry, bear children, and multiply their clan until reaching the eighteenth generation of descendants. Then, they would harvest the life of the most outstanding descendant from each generation, subject them to agonizing torment, and refine them into individual beads, before stringing all eighteen beads together using the intestines of their wife as thread. The withered old man hurled the Eighteen Generations Clan Necklace into the air. The necklace snapped apart, and each skull bead swelled in size, transforming into white-bone craniums that drifted in the sky to tear and bite at Vice Cult Master Shi. This move alone was formidable enough that the vast majority of Body Integration cultivators would not dare confront it head-on. "Haha! You old fellow are ruthless enough, refining even eighteen generations of your own descendants into a demonic artifact! Eighteen generations of descendants bound by blood, all originating from you in the end, so you wield this necklace as naturally as your own limbs!" Vice Cult Master Shi's expression did not waver. He recognized the necklace's origins, but so what? To rise to the position of demonic cult vice cult master right under the nose of those who attained the Dao, his means were beyond anything this withered old man could imagine. Gripping his Great White Bone Scythe, barbs sprouted from its shaft and pierced his palm. Absorbing the blood from his palm, a crimson line emerged down the center of the Great White Bone Scythe. *Whoosh!* Vice Cult Master Shi swung the Great White Bone Scythe. A brilliant radiance descended from above, illuminating the entire mountain peak in a blinding flash, severing six of the eighteen demonic heads in one stroke. The withered old man's face shifted drastically. "How can your scythe's affinity be even higher than my necklace's?!" Vice Cult Master Shi strode forward, clashing with the remaining demonic heads. "Bullshit! To forge this scythe, I pulled out my own bones and nourished them day and night with my blood to keep them alive after leaving my body, before finally refining my bones into a scythe! "No matter how close your ties with eighteen generations of descendants are, how could they ever compare to me and my own bones?!" "Lunatic!" the withered old man cursed furiously. Extracting all of one's bones to refine into a magical treasure took centuries and left one exceptionally vulnerable to ambushes. If anything went wrong, one would suffer severe depletion of vitality at best, or perish entirely at worst. "Hehe, it's all thanks to Cult Master Qin holding me in high regard and protecting me throughout the refining process!" The two fought with fierce intensity. The withered old man unleashed an endless stream of demonic arts, the eighteen demonic heads constantly reforming to disrupt Vice Cult Master Shi's offensive. Meanwhile, Vice Cult Master Shi transformed into wisps of afterimages, elusive and unpredictable, his Great White Bone Scythe reaping death in a way that kept the withered old man from daring to fight at close quarters. "I establish a rule here: [Except for myself, everyone within a radius of five hundred zhang shall move sluggishly]!" The withered old man mobilized the power of rules to restrict Vice Cult Master Shi's movements. Instantly, Lu Yang and Tao Yaoye felt as if they were trapped in a mire, barely able to move. Vice Cult Master Shi let out a cold laugh. His divine soul projected out from his body. While his physical body might move sluggishly, his soul remained completely unaffected! Switching weapons, his soul raised a giant sledgehammer and smashed it down toward the withered old man. "You think you're the only one who can establish rules? I establish a rule here: [Within a radius of five hundred zhang, no one may use demonic artifacts]!" The Eighteen Generations Clan Necklace turned dim and lusterless, and the eighteen demonic heads vanished. "Reduced to mere soul form, and you still dare posture before me?!" The withered old man charged Vice Cult Master Shi with his bare body, only to be knocked flat by a swing of Vice Cult Master Shi's hammer. He cried out in disbelief, "How is this possible?! How can your soul be so powerful?!" The withered old man was exceedingly confident in his own soul—soul arts were his specialty—yet in sheer soul strength, he was actually inferior to Vice Cult Master Shi! "If you got struck once a month by heavenly lightning worth a billion, you'd be like this too!" Vice Cult Master Shi roared in anger. He put his life on the line every month to endure a lightning tribulation—how could he not reap some gains from it?!