novelapdf Chapter 1 Soul Refining Banner
Chapter 1 Soul Refining Banner
The Great You Kingdom, the White Bone Sect, Fu'an Market.
"Don't miss out! Authentic Netherworld Sword Talisman, usable even at the first level of Qi Condensation Realm, easy to carry, kills silently, great price, bulk discounts available!"
"Top-grade Qi-Gathering Pills, only two bottles left, 50% off clearance sale! Don't miss out, or you'll have to wait another year!"
"We buy all kinds of spiritual herbs at fair prices. We buy whatever we have, no matter how little!"
"For sale: a rubbing of the top-tier martial arts manual, 'Broken Gate Saber.' Buy now while supplies last!"
"Buying termites, larger quantities, higher prices, cash on delivery and spirit stones exchanged, fair and honest!"
……
In the market square, vendors from all walks of life shouted their wares, creating a bustling and lively atmosphere.
A tall, burly man, carrying a large sword the size of a door on his shoulder, scoffed disdainfully:
"Holy crap, someone's actually buying termites? Those things are disgusting, what's the point of buying them?"
A thin, monkey-faced young man standing nearby curled his lip and chimed in:
"What's so strange about buying termites? Apparently, someone has developed a folk remedy: soaking termites in alcohol can increase stamina."
"Although the effect is not significant and can only prolong the time slightly, it is not even a spiritual medicine. At most, it is of some use to cultivators below the third level of Qi Condensation. However, after people spread the word, the business of brothels has improved a lot. The purchase price of white ants is not low now."
The burly man carrying the knife looked on in surprise: "Holy crap! Is that true? I really didn't know that."
The skinny, monkey-like young man chuckled:
"I've tried that white ant wine, and it does have some effect, but it's not very noticeable."
"The funniest thing is that I saw someone buying foxtail grass at the market yesterday."
The burly man carrying the knife asked incredulously:
"Skull, are you sure you're not mistaken? You're collecting spirit herbs, right? What use is foxtail grass? Who would want that stuff?"
Upon hearing this, another cultivator nearby burst into laughter:
"To be precise, we're buying whole foxtail grass plants, not magical herbs!"
"Whether it's dried or freshly harvested, we want it all, roots and stems included."
The burly man carrying the knife stared wide-eyed, speechless.
"No way? Our White Bone Sect actually has such an idiot? Buying foxtail grass to make soup? We need to pay for that stuff? Haha—!"
……
"Can foxtail grass really be used to make Soul Refining Banners? Is it just something made up in a fragmented text?"
As the setting sun cast its golden rays, the surroundings were bathed in a golden-red hue.
Inside a small wooden cabin, Chen Jie stared at a hundred bundles of foxtail grass in front of him and muttered to himself.
He was the one who was ridiculed and regarded as a fool in the marketplace.
to be frank,
Anyone who pays a high price to buy foxtail grass will be considered out of their mind.
This grass is the most common wild grass.
Aside from being boiled in water for drinking when there is frequent or urgent urination, it has almost no other uses, and it can be found everywhere in the mountains and fields in astonishing quantities.
of course,
Digging up the whole plant is indeed troublesome.
Foxtail grass has a well-developed root system, some of which can be more than a foot deep. It takes a lot of effort to dig up a whole plant.
Normally, unless someone urgently needs to boil water to treat an illness, no one would bother to dig it up, let alone spend money to buy it.
Chen Jie's act of buying ten bundles of foxtail grass for a single low-grade spirit stone in the market is simply a case of being a sucker.
These days, spirit stones are so hard to earn!
If you dig it yourself, you can dig up at least a bundle a day, and you can save up a low-grade spirit stone in ten days.
Spending money to collect wild grass, what else could it be but foolishness?
For an inner disciple of the White Bone Sect, a low-grade spirit stone might be nothing more than the cost of a meal.
But for the vast majority of outer disciples, it was a huge sum of money.
After spending ten low-grade spirit stones to collect the foxtail grass, Chen Jie only had three left, leaving him penniless.
"The materials are almost all ready. I hope we can succeed this time!"
Chen Jie took a deep breath and silently cheered himself up.
The making of the Soul Refining Banner requires extremely yin materials such as yin wood, black iron, and animal hides.
After it is made, it still needs to be forged with blood crystals, yin jade, soul-suppressing stones, runes and essence blood. Finally, one's own divine consciousness imprint must be applied to it before it can be controlled.
laugh--!
Chen Jie threw a bundle of foxtail grass into a large iron pot, and flames roared up at the bottom of the pot.
These foxtail grasses are all the same size, each three feet long, fresh and green, and exuding a faint wild grass scent.
"All the foxtail grass must be kept intact, boiled to extract the juice, and it must be boiled into a thick consistency before it can be used to make yin wood."
As Chen Jie added grass to the iron pot, he muttered to himself.
"A Soul-Separating Vine and a Frost Grass must be added to the juice, crushed and stirred, and then the prepared locust wood stick is put in and boiled for two hours before it can be made into Yin Wood."
Among the materials used to make the Soul Refining Banner, the most difficult to obtain is Yin Wood.
It is the essence of pure Yin, the bone of a ghost artifact!
Regardless of its grade, the Soul Refining Banner must be based on Yin Wood.
Without Yin wood, the soul banner will collapse within three days, and the soul will dissipate.
Ordinary Yin wood needs to be settled in Yin places for decades or even hundreds of years. Some top-grade Soul Refining Banners use ancient ebony that has been settled underground for tens of thousands of years. It is almost immortal and can communicate with spirits. It is the best of Yin wood.
therefore,
Other materials for the Soul Refining Banner can be found, but Yin Wood is hard to find.
While simmering the foxtail grass, Chen Jie crushed the Soul-Separating Vine and Ice Grass that he had prepared beforehand and slowly added them to the liquid.
He carefully followed the instructions in the fragments of the Soul Refining Banner, proceeding with each step with utmost care.
An hour passed, and the rich scent of grass filled the entire house, but this was only one-sixth of the process. There was still a long way to go before all one hundred bundles of foxtail grass could be boiled into juice.
The next day, as dawn broke, the liquid in the iron pot was already boiling, bubbling and gurgling.
By this time, the juice had long since lost its greenish-blue color and turned into a thick, ink-like liquid, emitting a pungent, earthy smell.
"Finally, it's over! Success or failure hinges on this!"
Chen Jie carefully placed the prepared locust wood stick into the sap.
boom!
A blue flame suddenly shot up from the locust wood stick.
"What's going on? Why is there suddenly blue flame?"
Chen Jie's heart tightened, and his palms sweated with nervousness.
This was his first time making a Soul Refining Banner, so he was inevitably a little flustered.
After the Yin wood is made, runes need to be engraved on it to draw upon the primordial energy of heaven and earth.
Each rune is equivalent to a small magic array; the slightest deviation could lead to failure.
Therefore, the process of making the Soul Refining Banner is complicated and cannot tolerate any carelessness.
Even the lowest grade Soul Refining Banner costs several thousand spirit stones, which is far beyond Chen Jie's means.
This is also why he insisted on making it himself.
A Qi Condensation Realm cultivator, with the aid of the Soul Refining Banner, can increase their combat power several times over, and does not require excessive mana consumption when using it.
Chen Jie is currently practicing the "White Bone Heart Sutra".
With his cultivation at the first level of Qi Condensation, if he had the Soul Refining Banner to help him, he would have the strength to fight even a cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Condensation.
call--!
Inside the cabin, Chen Jie took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
With a solemn expression, he picked up a talisman brush and dipped it into a bottle containing a mixture of cinnabar, allowing the brush tip to absorb the cinnabar.
He prepared for half a year in order to refine the runes, practicing the art of drawing runes every day.
Looking at the locust wood stick already soaked in foxtail grass juice, every detail of the runes clearly appeared in Chen Jie's mind.
Then, he picked up the talisman brush, which was soaked with cinnabar, and wrote the strokes swiftly and decisively, without any hesitation.
Intricate red lines flowed rapidly from the tip of the pen, completed in one go.
The black locust wood, soaked in sap, combined with black iron and animal hide, formed the prototype of the Soul Refining Banner.
After Chen Jie engraved the runes on it, it immediately emitted a dark, jade-like luster.
Fine beads of sweat appeared on Chen Jie's forehead as he focused intently, his expression becoming increasingly focused.
After an incense stick had burned, he completed the final stroke of the rune.
hum!
The moment the brush touched the paper, all the runes on the black locust wood lit up, and the entire Soul Refining Banner emitted a hazy glow, faintly exuding a sinister power.
After a moment, the halo slowly faded away.
Soul Refining Flag - Done!
"I did it! I did it!"
Inside the cabin, Chen Jie gazed at the Soul Refining Banner in his hand, his heart pounding with excitement.
On the Soul Banner, runes intertwined to form an array, radiating a chilling aura. A faint light flowed along the rune patterns on its surface, as if a cold, sinister power was surging within it.
From any perspective, this Soul Refining Banner is flawless.
-
The White Bone Sect is one of the top sects in the Great You Kingdom, belonging to the Demonic Sect, and possesses formidable strength.
The sect has a history of thousands of years, and it even has a Demon Lord at the Nascent Soul stage guarding it, which intimidates all directions and no one dares to provoke it easily.
Whether in the Great You Kingdom or the entire Southern Region, the White Bone Sect is undoubtedly a behemoth.
Remnant Soul Valley is an ordinary valley under the jurisdiction of the White Bone Sect.
Because it was once an ancient battlefield, filled with malevolent energy and haunted by remnants of evil spirits, it was designated as a residence for outer sect disciples. Most of the residents here are cultivators at the Qi Condensation Realm.
In a corner of the valley, there is an ordinary cave dwelling, with extremely simple furnishings:
A stone bed, a stone platform, several stone stools, and a black iron cabinet.
Outside the cave dwelling stood a small wooden hut, next to which was a large pot for boiling foxtail grass.
Chen Jie sat cross-legged in the cave, his eyes slightly closed, his hand tightly gripping the newly made Soul Refining Banner. His fingertips continuously formed hand seals, circulating the "White Bone Heart Sutra" to condense his true essence and divine consciousness.
The cultivation methods of the demonic sects are completely different from those of the righteous sects.
Righteous disciples value cultivation talent, and place importance on spiritual roots, comprehension, and physical constitution.
The Demonic Sect does not reject those with useless or mixed spiritual roots, but places more emphasis on temperament and physique.
Many disciples with useless spiritual roots, who were considered "waste" by the righteous path, were able to make rapid progress in their cultivation after entering the demonic sect.
The criteria for judging outstanding disciples of the Demonic Sect are: a physique with innate Yin energy, a destiny with malevolent energy, deep-seated obsessions, and an innately resilient spirit.
in fact,
Chen Jie has spiritual roots, and they're quite good.
If he had joined a righteous sect, he might have achieved something great.
But he just had to join the White Bone Sect!
Although he had a strong will, he was not ruthless enough, lacked killing intent, and was not of pure Yin constitution. Within the White Bone Sect, he could only be considered an ordinary person.
Most of the disciples who entered the sect at the same time as him have already broken through to the fourth level of Qi Condensation or above, but he is still stuck at the first level of Qi Condensation.
call--!
Chen Jie put down the Soul Refining Banner, looked up at a jade pendant hanging on the stone wall of the cave, and sighed inwardly:
"Unbeknownst to me, I have been in this world for three years."
An indescribable sense of loneliness quietly welled up in my heart.
He is not from this world, but from the modern civilization of the Blue Star city.
Three years ago, on his way home from get off work, he passed by the Pearl River Park in Guangfu City and saw a vendor selling what appeared to be unearthed jade artifacts. Out of curiosity, he spent two hundred yuan to buy the jade pendant.
But that very evening, an accident occurred.
As he lay in bed, the jade pendant suddenly transformed into a black hole, instantly swallowing him whole.
Immediately afterwards, a series of deafening roars, thunderclaps, and the howls of beasts echoed in my mind.
After a bout of dizziness.
He was then transported by the jade pendant to a world called Canglan.
In the month or so since he transmigrated, he has gone through many hardships, teetering on the brink of death several times, and narrowly escaping with his life.
later,
He happened to save an outer sect elder of the White Bone Sect who was injured while on a mission.
Grateful for his kindness, the other party took him back to the White Bone Sect and accepted him as an outer disciple.
All outer disciples of the White Bone Sect can inherit the basic cultivation method of the "White Bone Heart Sutra".
According to the sect rules, outer disciples must break through to the third level of Qi Condensation within three years and to the sixth level of Qi Condensation within twenty years.
If they fail to meet the standards, they will be demoted to menial laborers and forced to work for the sect for the rest of their lives.
Now that the three-year period is almost up, Chen Jie is still stuck at the first level of Qi Condensation.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will inevitably be demoted to a menial job during the year-end performance review.
This is also why he was so eager to create the Soul Refining Banner to enhance his combat power.
There are three core methods for crafting the Soul Refining Banner: Soul Refining, Soul Extraction, and Spirit Locking.
Soul Refining: Refine the souls of the dead, eliminate impurities, purify the resentment and evil energy, and seal them within the Soul Banner, making them condensed and indestructible. They can also advance through mutual devouring, continuously becoming stronger.
Soul Extraction: Forcibly extracting the soul of a living person to arouse their resentment and evil energy. The method is cruel and ruthless, but the souls obtained by this method are more powerful.
Locking the Soul: Using talismans, secret techniques, and array patterns to lock the soul, preventing it from escaping and turning against you, thus stabilizing the banner.
Waaah—!
A gust of cold wind swept by, and a phantom image appeared within the Soul Refining Banner—this was the main soul that the Soul Refining Banner had just condensed, and also the central core of the Soul Refining Banner.
To strengthen the main soul, the Soul Refining Banner must refine more dead souls for it to devour and purify.
At this moment, the main soul has just been formed and has no intelligence; it only has the instinct to devour the souls of the dead.
However, Chen Jie's divine sense imprint has already been engraved on the main soul. As it continues to grow, the divine sense imprint will become more and more profound, and it will always be under Chen Jie's control.
puff!
Gazing at the phantom of the main soul, Chen Jie flicked his finger, causing a drop of blood to seep out.
Blood and essence nourish the soul!
This is one of the methods for cultivating the main soul of the Soul Refining Banner.
"There are only three months left until the year-end performance review. I hope I still have time!"
Chen Jie silently recited this in his heart.
Currently, the Soul Refining Banner's main soul is still weak and unable to form combat power.
He planned to have his main soul devour enough dead souls within three months, striving to reach the combat power of the third level of Qi Condensation.
The level of a Soul Refining Banner is determined by the number of souls within the banner and the strength of the main soul:
Ten Soul Banners, Hundred Soul Banners, Thousand Soul Banners, Ten Thousand Soul Banners... up to a billion, a hundred billion Soul Banners.
The more souls there are, the stronger the power.
Furthermore, a cultivator's cultivation level also determines the grade of the Soul Refining Banner they can control.
Qi Condensation Realm cultivators can only control low-grade magic artifacts like the Ten Soul Banner.
Mid-grade magic artifacts like the Hundred Soul Banner can only be controlled by Foundation Establishment cultivators; otherwise, they are very likely to suffer backlash.
Night had fallen, and Chen Jie finished his cultivation and slowly put away the Soul Refining Banner.
suddenly,
The jade pendant hanging on the stone wall suddenly lit up with a light, which rushed straight into his mind.
next moment,
A black vortex appeared out of nowhere, resembling the "black hole" that had swallowed him years ago.
Whoosh!
The jade pendant and talisman disappeared along with the light, and Chen Jie was swallowed by the black hole once again.
The scene from three years ago replayed itself, my mind was incessantly filled with the sounds of thunder and lightning and the wailing of ghosts.
After a moment of dizziness, Chen Jie slowly opened his eyes, looked around, and instantly his eyes filled with tears, his nose tingling with a soreness.
It's activated!
Finally activated the jade pendant and went home!
The rented room remained unchanged, the phone sat quietly to the side, everything was exactly the same as when he left.
"That's not right! I've been in the Canglan World for three years, the landlord couldn't possibly have left the rental vacant for that long!"
He quickly picked up his phone, only to find that it still had power.
What happened? It's been three years, there's no way the phone still has power!
The next moment, he saw the time on his phone screen and was completely dumbfounded!