Chapter 18

Waking up from his cultivation, Qin Sang couldn't help but smile, unable to hide his joy.

He raised his arm to take a look, then pinched it, seemingly finding no difference from before, unable to discern what benefits this breakthrough had brought him.

He channeled a portion of his qi to his fingers, and after a moment, a faint blue aura appeared on his fingertips.

Is this what Bai Jianglan meant by externalizing true qi?

Qin Sang was curious and tried to gather the aura into the shape of a sword, but found it impossible. Unwilling to give up, he suddenly thrust his finger at the bamboo table beside him. With a "bang," not only did he fail to pierce the table, but he also felt a sharp pain in his fingertip.

"Right," Qin Sang suddenly slapped his forehead, "I almost forgot about the Yama Banner!"

Qin Sang hurriedly pulled open his shirt, untied the cloth wrapped around his chest, and took out the items inside. He set the others aside and held the Yama Banner in his hand.

This small banner exuded an eerie aura and was the weapon of the black-robed man. Qin Sang had dared not defy the *Yinming Scripture* and had refrained from using it for a whole year.

Now that Qin Sang had broken through to the second level, according to the cultivation technique, he could control the Yama Banner.

Qin Sang examined the banner back and forth, thinking of the mummy, feeling hesitant.

The demons on the banner seemed lifelike, as if they would leap out at any moment. Even if it was a cultivator's weapon, it might also be a demonic or evil artifact.

But since he had already cultivated the technique of a demon, wasn't it too late to worry about these things now?

Qin Sang gritted his teeth, made a decision, and grabbed the Yama Banner with both hands.

He followed the steps in the book, circulated the technique, and channeled the qi in his body into his meridians, guiding it to his palms, and finally into the Yama Banner.

Qin Sang stared intently at the Yama Banner, feeling very nervous.

A blue aura enveloped the Yama Banner, and the dark banner suddenly glowed. The demons on the banner seemed to move, and Qin Sang thought he was seeing things.

In the next moment, the aura surged and was instantly absorbed by the Yama Banner.

Immediately, an incredibly strong suction force came from the Yama Banner, and the remaining qi in Qin Sang's dantian rushed out.

Qin Sang was shocked and tried to pull the qi back, but it was futile. In a panic, he shook his hand, but the Yama Banner was like it was glued to his palm, firmly adhering to it.

Helplessly watching his hard-earned qi being drained by the Yama Banner, Qin Sang felt like crying but couldn't.

At this moment, another strange phenomenon occurred.

The Yama Banner moved on its own, the banner fluttering. The demon on the banner faced Qin Sang, blinked, and grinned, then suddenly leaped out of the banner.

Qin Sang had never seen such a terrifying sight, screamed in terror, but had nowhere to hide, and could only watch as the terrifying demon pounced on his face.

Qin Sang felt a powerful impact, his mind went blank, and he immediately regained consciousness, realizing he was still conscious.

"Where am I? What about that demon?"

Qin Sang opened his eyes wide, but saw only endless darkness.

Where was this place?

Had he been killed by the demon, and was this the underworld?

Qin Sang was extremely puzzled. He looked down and was startled to see that his body had shrunk to the size of a palm, was transparent, and faintly glowed blue, with a faint yellow light surrounding him, making him look like a ball of light.

Why had he become like this? Was this his soul?

Where had the demon gone?

Qin Sang widened his eyes, lifted his transparent legs, and tried to take a step, but suddenly flew a great distance.

At this moment, he suddenly heard a terrifying roar from the depths of the darkness. He looked up and saw a black shadow flying out of the darkness—it was the demon!

The demon was much larger than Qin Sang, with blood-red eyes fixed on him, full of greed, and moved at an astonishing speed, pouncing like a fierce beast.

Just by the size comparison, Qin Sang felt incredibly weak. Seeing the demon coming, he was terrified and fled like a headless chicken.

His speed was much slower than the demon's, and he was easily caught.

"Whoosh!"

The demon's figure was like the wind, blocking Qin Sang in an instant, grinning, and opening its huge mouth to swallow him.

Qin Sang was filled with despair.

Unexpectedly, just as the demon was about to swallow him, the layer of yellow light around his soul suddenly emitted infinite light, and a Buddha statue appeared in the golden light.

The Buddha statue was missing an arm, sitting in a lotus position, eyes lowered, radiating light, and the weak Qin Sang was inside the Buddha's body.

"Amitabha!"

A loud Buddhist chant echoed in Qin Sang's mind, like a great bell, and he opened his mouth in shock.

The Buddha statue remained still, but the demon was terrified, as if it had encountered its natural enemy, and turned to run, losing all its arrogance.

This... wasn't this the jade Buddha from his previous life?

Qin Sang didn't pay attention to the fleeing demon but stared at the broken arm of the Buddha statue, his heart filled with great waves. He had worn the jade Buddha for thirty years in his previous life and had seen it as his last thing before dying. How could he forget it?

The jade Buddha was a family heirloom from his mother, originally damaged, with one arm broken, in the same position as the Buddha statue.

Qin Sang had thought he was a wandering ghost in this world, but he never expected the jade Buddha to follow him in this form and save his life.

"Mom... Dad..."

Qin Sang cupped his face with both hands and cried out loud for the first time, but no tears came.

After venting his emotions, Qin Sang quickly calmed down and thought about his situation, but the endless darkness around him made him feel lost.

"The jade Buddha saved me, so I might not be dead. Could this be inside my body? How can I get out? The demon is still outside, will it try to eat me again?"

Unexpectedly, as soon as Qin Sang thought about leaving, he felt a dizziness, and his vision changed, revealing a familiar room.

Qin Sang's heart tightened, noticing he still held the Yama Banner in his hand. He quickly threw it far away and saw a black shadow in the corner of the room—it was the demon.

The demon was curled up in the corner, looking at Qin Sang with fear, trembling.

Qin Sang's body was stiff, but seeing the demon's state, his fear diminished.

"It's afraid of the jade Buddha."

"The jade Buddha is inside me, fused with my soul, so it's also afraid of me."

"Can I command it or control it?"

Qin Sang was thinking about these things when he suddenly heard a "bang, bang" knocking on the door, followed by Old Wu's "ah, ah" questioning.

His previous outburst might have woken Old Wu.

With so many secrets, he couldn't open the door.

"I..."

Qin Sang quickly thought, just about to explain, when he saw the demon suddenly pounce into the bamboo wall, and he inwardly cursed.