Chapter 19

*Thud!*

After a muffled sound outside, there was complete silence.

Qin Sang hurriedly covered the things on the bed with a quilt, rushed out the door, and saw Old Wu collapsed at the wall, motionless.

A black aura surged from Old Wu's body, and then a demon emerged from inside him, holding Old Wu's soul in its mouth. Seeing Qin Sang, it immediately spat out Old Wu's soul and hid in the corner.

Qin Sang stood frozen, at a loss.

Old Wu's soul stood still, ethereal like a grayish-white mist, expressionless, with no trace of life in his eyes, staring straight ahead, making the scene quite eerie.

It seems different from my soul. Old Wu's soul is as tall as he was in life. Could it be because I have been cultivating the *Yinming Scripture*?

Qin Sang scolded himself for still having the mind to think about such things, quickly squatted down, and placed his fingers in front of Old Wu's nose, feeling no breath. Checking his heartbeat, it had stopped.

He's dead.

Qin Sang raised his head, his expression complex, and softly called out, "Old Wu, do you still recognize me?"

Old Wu's eyes turned to Qin Sang, paused, and said in a voice without any fluctuation, "I recognize you."

Qin Sang was taken aback. He had asked casually, never expecting Old Wu's soul to answer. Old Wu was mute, yet his soul could speak.

Looking closely now, Old Wu's soul appeared much younger than when he was alive, and his back was no longer hunched.

Qin Sang speculated that being mute, old, and hunched might just be the physical appearance caused by illness and hardships, and the soul would not be affected?

After all, Old Wu was only forty years old, so a young soul was normal.

In the previous life, a forty-year-old could still be called young.

Staring at Old Wu's soul, with a demon crouching nearby, Qin Sang felt uneasy and more guilty. Although he had no close relationship with Old Wu, they had lived under the same roof for half a year, and Old Wu had died because of his rashness.

"Old Wu, there's a head for every wrong and a master for every debt. The one who killed you is that thing. Look clearly. If you become powerful in the underworld and want to take revenge, remember to find it."

Qin Sang pointed at the demon in the corner, earnestly advising, but felt it was hard to deceive himself, "Old Wu, do you have any unfulfilled wishes? Oh, right, your family... Are any of your family members still alive? Your two sons, is there any chance they could have survived?"

Old Wu said in a calm tone, "I have no family."

Qin Sang was at a loss, not knowing what else to say. He felt uncomfortable under Old Wu's stare and wanted to advise him to let go. Since he was already dead, he should quickly reincarnate. Standing there motionless, what was the point?

Qin Sang felt that for Old Wu, death might not be a bad thing. Reuniting with his family in the underworld was better than living like a walking corpse.

But he also felt it was too shameless to say such things and couldn't bring himself to say it.

The room was deathly silent. After a while, Old Wu's soul wavered, melted into a wisp of soul mist, and drifted toward the demon.

The demon glanced at Qin Sang, cautiously raised its head, and inhaled the soul mist, then retreated.

Qin Sang didn't know how to stop it, staring at the demon, helplessly watching it devour Old Wu, realizing that this thing was definitely a menace.

If he couldn't control the demon and let it run rampant, countless innocent people would be harmed. Enemies were one thing, but what if it was a family member or friend?

Qin Sang could only be relieved that the one who knocked on the door earlier wasn't the old Taoist or Mingyue.

His goal in seeking immortality was longevity, not to become a murderer. If he couldn't control the demon, he would rather put the *Yanluo Banner* away.

Qin Sang stood up, took a step, then stopped, turning to look at Old Wu's body in thought. Since Old Wu died at his doorstep, he needed to clean up the mess to avoid trouble.

While Old Wu's body was still soft, Qin Sang carried him, kicked open his door, laid him on the bed, and covered him with a quilt.

Old Wu's soul had been directly taken, leaving no external injuries. Even the coroner from the government would find nothing.

After cleaning up every detail, Qin Sang backed out of the room, closed the door, and leaned against the wall, letting out a long breath, still feeling heavy-hearted.

Glancing at the demon, Qin Sang walked back to his room, picked up the *Yanluo Banner*, and recalled the content of the scripture, but didn't know how to return the demon to the banner.

Frowning for a moment, Qin Sang had to resort to his old trick, channeling a thread of qi from his body into the *Yanluo Banner*.

The *Yanluo Banner* section detailed how to control the *Yanluo Banner*.

This time, the demon didn't pounce. Qin Sang silently recited the scripture. When he finished, the *Yanluo Banner* moved on its own, the black pole suddenly glowing with a deep, dark light, the three characters "Yanluo Banner" especially bright. These lights gradually moved toward Qin Sang's palm and finally merged into his body.

Immediately, many characters surged into Qin Sang's mind.

Qin Sang was secretly amazed. After reading through the text, he found that it not only explained the *Yanluo Banner* and the demon within but also included a spell to refine the *Yanluo Banner*.

It turned out that the *Yanluo Banner* was not a divine weapon as Qin Sang had guessed, but a tool to assist in cultivating the *Yinming Scripture*.

However, the demon in the *Yanluo Banner* called Yanwang was weak, but after being refined by the spell, it could be controlled to fight enemies, so the *Yanluo Banner* could勉强 serve as a weapon.

But the *Yanluo Banner*'s greatest use was to assist in cultivating the *Yinming Scripture*.

Even with the help of medicinal baths, it took Qin Sang half a year to cultivate the first level of the *Yinming Scripture*. It was easy to imagine that reaching higher levels would be even more difficult, taking many years to reach the highest sixth level.

With the help of the *Yanluo Banner*, it would be different.

After the demon in the banner devoured human souls or yin energy, it would produce a soul pill. The cultivator could take the soul pill and hold it in their palm during cultivation, using its power to greatly increase the speed of cultivation.

Of course, the *Yanluo Banner* was not without risks. The text warned cultivators not to be too greedy and to use the *Yanluo Banner* with caution to prevent the demon from devouring the master.

Reading this, Qin Sang was also frightened.

The *Yanluo Banner* was a relic of the black-clothed man, who was strong enough to suppress the demon. But he had only cultivated to the second level of the *Yinming Scripture*, which was why the demon in the banner had tried to devour him.

If not for the protection of the jade Buddha, he might have already drunk the River Styx.

This incident also gave Qin Sang a warning. There were too many strange things in this world, and he must be cautious in everything he did.

Thinking of the jade Buddha, Qin Sang was thoughtful.

Since the demon feared the jade Buddha, did he not need to worry about being devoured?

But remembering the terrifying moment when the demon pounced, Qin Sang decided to be more cautious. After all, he didn't know how strong the jade Buddha was and whether it could always suppress the demon.

After memorizing the spell, Qin Sang began to refine the *Yanluo Banner*.

When the refinement was complete, Qin Sang felt a strange sensation. The *Yanluo Banner* seemed to be connected to his blood, becoming a part of his body.