Chapter 184: Refining the Banner

After leaving the inn, Chen Luo headed towards the Yuquan Chamber of Commerce. However, he had barely taken a few steps when he encountered Su Linlin again.

“Senior.”

Su Linlin noticed him as well and promptly stopped, greeting him with a radiant smile.

This woman possessed an innate charm, her beautiful eyes shimmering like pools of water. Several passersby glanced back repeatedly, while some couldn’t resist approaching her. This flirtatious nature was inherent in vixens, along with their clan’s unique abilities.

“It seems our paths are destined to cross,” a hint of amusement graced Chen Luo’s face. He was determined to acquire the fox race’s ability to perceive vital energy. From what Su Linlin mentioned earlier, there was also an ancestral mountain where all their departed elders were interred. Paying respects at such a place would be essential; otherwise, even his conscience might ache!

“Is Senior planning to change identity cards?” she asked.

“How did you deduce that?”

“Senior arrived in Blackstone City just yesterday, so this morning you must have been disturbed by temporary identity card issues. Anyone with sufficient strength would naturally go to update their identity card for peace and quiet.” Su Linlin responded with a smile.

She seemed to love laughing.

When she smiled, her lips curved slightly upward, revealing two small canines. Her eyes crinkled into crescents, like tiny moons, evoking an irresistible sense of closeness. Even Chen Luo, without consciously trying to control his feelings, found himself growing somewhat fond of her.

“No need to go to the Jade Spring Chamber for a new identity token; it can be handled at the market directly. If you were to go through the chamber first, you’d still end up here eventually—and even pay an extra fee along the way.”

“Oh?”

“In Blackstone City, your identity token is linked to housing. If Senior has accommodations here, their temporary token will become permanent. Within the city, there’s only one entity authorized to sell houses: Blackstone Mountain, led by Patriarch Blackstone,” Su Linlin explained.

“Lead the way, then,” Chen Luo said, casually tossing her a spirit stone as payment.

“Many thanks, Senior.” Su Linlin caught the spirit stone and politely expressed her gratitude.

“Given your cultivation level, why don’t you take on more missions?” Chen Luo asked offhandedly as he followed behind her.

“Missions are too risky, and I can earn more with these smaller tasks,” Su Linlin replied.

Could I make more money from these small tasks? Chen Luo scrutinized Su Linlin before him, lost in thought.

The pair walked briskly, soon arriving at the market district.

Su Linlin led Chen Luo away from yesterday’s bustling trade area, steering them into a narrow alley behind. The noise level dropped instantly as they entered. Here, Chen Luo spotted numerous shops selling medicinal pills, alongside stalls for spirit talismans and artifacts. The cultivators running these establishments were mostly in the late stages of Qi Refinement, with some even reaching the pinnacle of that realm.

Compared to the street vendors earlier, the quality here was noticeably higher.

After passing through this neighborhood, they quickly reached the boundary where the three major factions met. Before them loomed a massive black stone mountain, its peak piercing the sky. This was the territory of Blackstone Mountain, and the shop Su Linlin sought was nestled along its cliffside.

“Both housing and identity tokens in Blackstone City are managed by cultivators from Blackstone Mountain,” Su Linlin explained. “Regardless of who you’re looking for, Senior, your path will inevitably lead here. Rather than wasting resources on intermediaries from the Jade Spring Chamber of Commerce, it’s far more efficient to handle matters directly.”

As Chen Luo entered the cave, he saw a row of rooms for rent or sale hanging at the entrance. Below each listing were details about the benefits and spiritual energy intensity.

“Third-class?”

A familiar sense of déjà vu washed over him.

When Chen Luo saw the prices, his entire body froze. Three hundred thousand spirit stones! For a fourth-class courtyard on the fifth layer of Blackstone Mountain!

Above that were first-, second-, and third-class listings. Each price was exponentially higher than the last. By the time he reached the first-class offerings, the cost had multiplied so many times that Chen Luo could practically smell his own poverty.

Elder An’s lifetime savings would barely make him a lower-middle-class resident in Blackstone City.

At the very peak of Blackstone Mountain lay a node connected to a tier-3 spiritual vein. This was where Patriarch Blackstone practiced cultivation, and no one else was allowed near it.

“I’ll rent,” Chen Luo decided.

Counting the spirit stones in his possession, he opted to rent instead of buy, choosing the cheapest option available.

“A second-class cultivation room is 10,000 spirit stones per month.”

Chen Luo handed over 10,000 spirit stones for a black identity token. With this, he’d have access rights to the second-class cultivation room until the time was up—no need to worry about identity tokens again during that period.

Clutching their identity tokens, Chen Luo and Su Linlin ascended to the third floor where the second-tier cultivation chambers were housed.

As they stepped onto the floor, a surge of spiritual energy enveloped them. Here, cultivating would be several times faster than outside.

The second-tier chambers were sparse—only eight in total—with vast spaces between each. They were far more impressive than those at the Sacred Lake Immortal Sect.

Approaching with his token, Chen Luo watched as the formation above the immortal’s cave lit up automatically.

After a deep rumble, the stone door swung open.

Inside, he found a spacious interior. Beyond the meditation room lay facilities on both sides: to the left was the pill-concocting workshop and the earthflame forge for equipment crafting, while the right side housed a study filled with books suitable for Qi Refinement Realm cultivators. A writing desk stood ready with ink, brush, paper, and even three sets of materials for drawing talismans—all provided free of charge.

“Not bad, not bad,” Chen Luo nodded approvingly. Compared to the cultivation rooms at the Sacred Lake Immortal Sect, these accommodations were indeed superior, catering to alchemy, artificing, and even talisman drawing. It seemed well worth the price.

“I’ll take my leave now,” said fox spirit Su Linlin respectfully from the doorway. Without entering, she bowed once more before descending the mountain.

Chen Luo cast a glance at his departing guest but uttered no words of farewell.

Once the figure had left, he casually closed the stone door behind them.

Until news came from Lady Bai Gu and her group, Chen Luo had no intention of venturing outside. He stepped into his cultivation chamber, triggering the spirit-gathering array within. The air instantly thickened with spiritual energy, which surged up from the ground.

The abundant spiritual energy eagerly permeated his body; without even trying, his cultivation technique began to spin on its own accord.

Chen Luo settled cross-legged onto the floor, placing yesterday’s purchase—the bone scroll—to one side along with the soul banner.

In matters of soul banners, quantity reigns supreme, thought the ordinary human brain Chen Luo had acquired at the market. Preserve only the main soul’s vicious resentment; the banesouls serve as disposable troops, needing no special nurturing.

This fellow must have been a madman in life. His method for refining soul banners differed greatly from most evil cultivators. Typically, they would consider both the banner’s capacity and the potential backlash from the banesouls. But this lunatic ignored such risks entirely, channeling all power directly into the soul banner and absorbing any excess into himself.

He had essentially become part of the ‘soul banner’ itself.

The method Chen Luo sought to emulate was that of ‘entering the Dao through artifacts,’ a concept deeply rooted in his obsession. However, he had no intention of replicating it entirely; instead, he aimed to borrow insights from the soul banner’s craftsmanship.

“First, refine the primary souls.”

With a wave of his hand, Chen Luo retrieved three banesouls from another storage pouch. As soon as these small orbs appeared, they released a chilling aura, significantly lowering the cave’s temperature. A layer of frost formed on the table, while the three orbs continuously emitted resentment—a testament to the hardships endured by their former hosts during life.

Banesouls like these were typically found only in places like the Demon Cult Region. In the seven major kingdoms, such items would have long been “eliminated as demonic entities” by now.

Grasping one of the banesoul orbs, Chen Luo reached for the soul banner and channeled spiritual energy into it. Instantly, the eight banesouls within flew out. They swirled around the cultivation room, seeking targets to attack.

The three unbound banesoul orbs also became active, darting about chaotically. However, when Chen Luo attempted to refine them into the soul banner, the three unbound banesoul orbs began to resist fiercely. The eight banesouls already in the banner displayed clear signs of repulsion towards the newcomers.

The soul banner’s material is insufficient; it needs strengthening.

Within his external brain, the consciousness of an artificer immediately provided feedback. Among the four cultivation arts, Chen Luo’s proficiency in artificing was the weakest. When he had left the Sacred Lake Immortal Sect, he hadn’t bothered to excavate graves at Holy Fire Peak. As a result, even the most powerful artificer’s brain he possessed was only that of a first-rank master—an obvious lag behind his other skills.

The array patterns can be modified; adding banesouls will require adjusting their layout.

A second-rank array master’s approach was far more lucid, offering a detailed solution.

Clutching the banesoul orb, Chen Luo decided on impulse to visit the nearby earthflame chamber.

The room’s temperature was scorching hot. Upon entering, Chen Luo felt waves of distorted heat envelop him. At the very center, where the earthflame point lay, molten lava roiled and bubbled.

He removed the soul banner, tossing it onto the earthflame with a single motion.

As the earthflame’s power surged, the eight banesouls emanating from the banner instantly retreated. Golden threads began to emerge across its surface, dense and intertwining, forming unique glowing nodes.

Chen Luo settled into a cross-legged position, both the array master and artificer brains within his external apparatus becoming active. Exhaling a stream of spiritual energy, he ignited a spirit fire above the lava. Amplified by the lava’s intense heat, the flames blazed hotter still, their color shifting to pure white.

He raised his right hand, beginning to make continuous adjustments on the surface of the soul banner.

Bit by bit, thread by thread, he refined it.

Each alteration required a significant expenditure of spiritual energy. Only a cultivator like him, who had ‘dual-cultivated’ both artificing and array formations, could perform such modifications. As the changes progressed, the colors of the soul banner deepened, and the formation markings on its surface became increasingly complex. Dimly, signs of an impending advancement began to emerge.

Time trickled away.

One day, two days…

Until the seventh day arrived. The glow of the soul banner suddenly vanished; all the visible patterns disappeared, and the banner transformed into an unremarkable small flag, falling from above the earthflame.

Swiftly, Chen Luo extended his hand, capturing three ownerless banesouls and pressing them into the banner.

This time, there was no resistance whatsoever.

After absorbing the power of these three banesouls, the formation markings on the soul banner flickered once more but quickly faded away. The spirit fire below also dimmed, and the intense heat in the room gradually receded.

With a wave of his hand, Chen Luo drew the soul banner into his grasp, a hint of satisfaction crossing his features.