Chapter 209 - 201: Daluo Apotheosis
Using Foundation Establishment Magical Power to fuel a Qi Refining technique would certainly increase its potency, but it was like channeling a great river through a tiny creek.
Not only would it fail to display the full might of the Foundation Establishment Realm, but it would also feel awkward and inappropriate.
Therefore, Qi Yun was in dire need of techniques that truly matched the Foundation Establishment Realm.
’This is the perfect opportunity. I can use this Daluo Decree to transform an old technique and test its Inference of Ten Thousand Skills ability...’
At that thought, the cyan-gold radiance representing the Daluo Decree swirled within his mind, exuding a profound Dao Rhyme.
’But which one should I transform...’
His gaze swept over the various techniques he had mastered.
Finally, his gaze slowly came to rest upon the Soul Refining Banner.
This technique was arguably one of the most versatile and frequently used in his arsenal.
In battle, ten thousand souls would pour forth, their cries shaking ghosts and gods alike.
In defense, a black mist would billow out, eroding all manner of magic.
In his daily life, the numerous Resentful Souls nurtured within the banner were tireless "Talisman Workers," creating immense wealth for him with extreme efficiency.
Its malleability was second to none among all his techniques.
’It’s you, then.’
With his mind made up, Qi Yun no longer hesitated.
He focused his mind, activating the cyan-gold light of the Daluo Decree Divine Technique within him!
In the next instant, a condensed beam of cyan-gold divine light erupted from the source of the Divine Technique, instantly shooting into the Magic Technique Panel linked to his Divine Soul.
It precisely enveloped the line of text that read "Soul Refining Banner"!
VMMMM—!
On the panel, the words "Soul Refining Banner," once sharp and clear, suddenly blurred. They were completely covered and saturated by a thick, profound layer of cyan-gold Dao Rhyme!
A transformation at the most fundamental, foundational level was taking place.
A few breaths later, the panel flashed. The text became clear again, but its content was now completely different.
[Magic Technique update complete. This is a major version update. Technique effects have been adjusted as follows.]
[Technique Removed: Soul Refining Banner]
[Technique Added: Human Emperor Banner]
"Human Emperor Banner?" Qi Yun was slightly taken aback.
’That name... is quite a big change.’
With a flicker of his thoughts, he tried to activate this brand-new technique.
Then, with a great wave of his hand—
WHOOSH!
A ray of deep black light flew from his sleeve, unfurling before him.
A banner, roughly ten feet long, hovered in the air.
Its staff was no longer the ghastly white of bone. Instead, it had become a dark, golden material that looked as though it were forged from Dragon Blood Divine Wood, feeling both gentle and majestic.
The banner itself was no longer the gloomy, gray-black color of dense Yin Qi. It now presented a deep, profound black, across which the faint phantoms of mountains, rivers, and even entire nations seemed to flow.
It exuded a magnificent aura, one of dominion over all spirits and of peace brought to the cosmos.
The malice, sinister cold, and Evil Qi that once clung to it had all vanished without a trace.
In its place was an imperial might that inspired awe, compelling all who saw it to prostrate themselves in worship!
The banner swayed gently, and the surrounding Spiritual Qi naturally converged upon it. Faint sounds of wind and thunder accompanied its movements, with no trace of the former ghostly howls.
How could this possibly be the same Demonic Magical Artifact used to command souls and enslave ghosts?
Qi Yun could clearly feel that his connection to this new banner was much closer, an extension of his body that he could command as easily as his own arm.
Within the banner, the Soul Bodies once filled with resentment had been cleansed and transformed by this imperial aura. They had become pure and powerful, turning into loyal "Soldier Generals" rather than enslaved "Resentful Souls."
The Daluo Decree’s Inference of Ten Thousand Skills... it was this terrifyingly powerful!
It had directly transformed a dark and sinister Soul Refining Technique into a grand and righteous Venerable Secret Technique!
Qi Yun looked at the completely transformed Human Emperor Banner, a brilliant light flashing in his eyes.
The power of this Venerable Divine Technique had exceeded his expectations.
Grasping the Human Emperor Banner, countless exquisite insights and the vast, profound essence of the Dharma Gate flooded his mind, a sudden and total enlightenment.
In a single moment, he had grasped all of the Dharma Gate’s core mysteries and operational principles, knowing them by heart.
"Excellent! Truly profound beyond measure!
It’s far more than just a step above the old Soul Refining Banner. The difference is like that between the clouds and the mud!"
Qi Yun satisfyingly appraised the Treasure Banner in his hand, which now radiated an imperial aura, sensing the immense power and myriad wondrous uses contained within.
His thoughts stirred. He formed a hand seal for a Spell and tapped it lightly toward the Human Emperor Banner.
VMMMM—!
Mysterious light flowed across the banner’s surface.
The faint Magic Patterns of mountains, rivers, and nations upon it seemed to spring to life.
The next moment, a full eight hundred incredibly solid figures surged forth from the banner. They landed on the ground and became eight hundred proud beings with clear, sharp eyes.
"We greet our Lord!"
All eight hundred True Spirits knelt on one knee and bowed in salute. Their voices were perfectly synchronized, ringing with a metallic quality. The sheer force of their presence was so staggering that the very air in the courtyard seemed to freeze.
Looking at these clear-eyed, orderly, and pure-powered True Spirits, a flicker of surprise crossed Qi Yun’s eyes, which then turned to heartfelt admiration.
"Not bad. Not bad at all!
Their Soul Bodies are condensed, and their intelligence is intact... What top-tier laborers!"
Qi Yun chuckled softly. Compared to the muddle-headed Resentful Souls of before, the performance of these True Spirits—whether in Talisman Making, handling chores, or even Array Formation for battle—would surely be far more efficient.
However, just as he was about to further test the other wondrous uses of the Human Emperor Banner, he suddenly felt a stir in his heart!
A sudden premonition, almost imperceptible yet filled with clear malice, washed over him.
It was as if an invisible thread from the void was attempting to wrap around the trajectory of his fate and pinpoint his very existence.
"Hm?" Qi Yun hummed, raising an eyebrow. ’Someone is trying to divine my location.’
He was now a Foundation Establishment Master, and his Spiritual Sense was far more acute than during his Qi Refining Stage.
His perception of this sort of karmic prying was exceptionally clear.
He immediately lowered his gaze and centered his mind, without needing to use any specific magic.
Relying solely on the inherent Status of a Foundation Establishment Master, which was naturally in tune with the Great Dao, he let his consciousness sink into the unseen and began to divine with his fingers.
The scene before his eyes shifted, and a vast, hazy mist appeared.
Deep within the mist, countless fine, intricate, invisible threads representing karmic connections were snaking toward him, attempting to coil around him.
Deducing karma and perceiving the secrets of heaven was one of the fundamental abilities of a Foundation Establishment Master.
It was as natural as breathing, not some specific magic or Divine Technique.
’Hmph. A coward who hides in the shadows,’ Qi Yun sneered inwardly.
He chose neither to defend passively nor to sever the connection.
Instead, he followed the strange stirring in his heart and the encroaching threads of karma, brazenly launching a counter-divination!
His powerful Divine Sense, blended with the Venerable Daoist Intent from his Daluo Ten Thousand Laws Dao Foundation, surged upstream along the invisible thread of karma!
In an instant, the hazy mist churned violently, and countless blurry lines and blocks of color rapidly morphed and combined before him.
Finally, they sketched out the blurry but distinctly featured silhouette of a person.
...
「Meanwhile, deep within a palace complex lush with Spiritual Qi in the distant Wuji Holy Sect.」
Inside the Flower Moon Hall, a restrictive barrier of light slowly dissipated.
An old man in a brocade robe, his face grim and his eyes filled with sixty years of accumulated resentment, slowly stepped out of a seclusion chamber.
It was none other than the Flower Moon Hall Master, Song Kun—the man who had been framed by the joint efforts of Yang Cuan and Qi Yun, and sentenced to sixty years of confinement!
Today, his sentence finally complete, he had emerged from his seclusion!
Sixty years of pent-up frustration and rage made his face so dark it looked like it could drip water.
Yang Cuan was a Foundation Establishment Master, just like him, so revenge would require long-term planning.
But that junior from the Outer Mansion who had killed his only son and caused him to suffer this heavy punishment—Qi Yun!
He had to die!
"A mere ant from the mortal world who got lucky enough to enter the Inner Mansion, and he already doesn’t know his place!
Not only did he kill my only son, he even caused me to be sentenced to sixty years of confinement!" The Flower Moon Hall Master’s face was frigid, his voice as cold as ice.
"I’ll skin you, tear you bone from bone, and perform Soul Extraction and Refining!
Only then will the hatred in my heart be sated!"
The moment he emerged, he impatiently cast a Secret Skill to divine Qi Yun’s whereabouts, vowing to find him and exact the most brutal revenge!
However, just as his divination was about to lock onto a location and a cold smile appeared on his face—
PFFT!
His body trembled violently. As if struck by a heavy blow, the Flower Moon Hall Master let out a muffled groan, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
His vision went dark. Through the endless fog of karma, he faintly saw a pair of cold, majestic eyes—like a god looking down on an ant—glance at him with utter indifference.
The rebounding Daoist Intent carried a Supreme Realm that transcended the Ten Thousand Laws, a level of power he could not comprehend. It struck his very Heart and Spirit!
"How is this possible?!" The Flower Moon Hall Master’s face went pale with horror, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"That little bastard... He... his aura... How can it be... that of a Foundation Establishment Master?"
What he sensed was no longer the aura of the Qi Refining Realm junior from his memory.
Instead, it was a vast, profound pressure unique to the Foundation Establishment Realm, one that carried the magnificent might of the heavens.
It was even more immense, more terrifying, than the pressure he himself exuded as a veteran Foundation Establishment Early Stage Master!
Back in the Cyan Mountain Daoist Temple, Qi Yun slowly opened his eyes, a cold glint flashing within them.
’So, it was you... Flower Moon Hall Master.’
’I had planned to settle our sixty-year-old score at a later date.’
’But since you’re actively seeking death...’
’Then I shall oblige.’
...