CHAPTER 367: CHAPTER 352: TEST AND HARVEST [4 UPDATES, PLEASE SUBSCRIBE]

The Ghost Luo Banner given by Master Cyan Yang turned out to be a trap specifically for Golden Core Stage Ghost Generals, something Zhouyang had never anticipated.

He had already escaped the Ghostly Mist Peak, planning to flee directly to the place where Xu Zhengyang and other Golden Core Stage cultivators were stationed.

Yet upon hearing the anguished and terrified scream of that Golden Core Stage Ghost General, he couldn’t help but glance back towards the mountaintop, and then he stopped.

Since the Golden Core Stage Ghost General had been captured and suppressed within the Ghost Luo Banner, and the Bone General had been severely injured by his Qianyang True Flame, why would he need to run?

At that moment, he turned his Sword Light beneath his feet and charged back.

At this time, the Bone General was still struggling to extinguish the Qianyang True Flame on its body. Upon seeing Zhouyang’s return, and witnessing its old adversary being ambushed and trapped in the Ghost Luo Banner, the highly intelligent demon immediately used the Earth Escape Technique to flee into the lower mountain peak and left the area.

Fleeing when defeated is entirely normal for these demons trapped in the Sealed Demon Cave.

If they hadn’t persisted with such tactics, how would they have survived for so long without being completely wiped out by the Profound Sun Immortal Sect disciples?

In a place like the Sealed Demon Cave, once these high-tier demons set their mind on escaping, even Golden Core Stage cultivators would find it difficult to locate them.

After all, the Heaven and Earth Laws in this grotto heaven naturally favored these demons.

Zhouyang didn’t care much about that, as he never intended to kill a Tier Five demon.

The fact that the Golden Core Stage Ghost General fell victim to the Ghost Luo Banner wasn’t due to his efforts. In truth, had he known the Ghost Luo Banner had such an effect earlier, he would have thrown it to the Golden Core Stage Ghost General long ago.

However, in doing so, perhaps the Golden Core Stage Ghost General might have suspected deceit and not fallen into the trap.

Thus, seeing the Bone General escape, he merely glanced at it and then immediately hurried to the black banner, reached out to pull it up and took it in his hand.

At this moment, the black banner had become much stronger due to the capture of a Golden Core Stage Ghost General. On its dark surface, a faint image of a green-faced, fanged evil ghost appeared.

Zhouyang knew that the image of the evil ghost was the true form of the Golden Core Stage Ghost General.

This unfortunate being was suppressed within the Ghost Luo Banner, and relying solely on its own power, escaping seemed nearly impossible.

Moreover, if a Golden Core Stage Demon Cultivator were to refine this demon artifact, they could gradually use the artifact’s power to turn it into a ghost slave, forever unable to escape the artifact’s control.

Looking at the black banner in his hand, Zhouyang hesitated.

The original words from Master Cyan Yang merely instructed him to place the Ghost Luo Banner at the mountaintop of Ghostly Mist Peak, without any guidance on how to handle the subsequent situation.

Now that the Golden Core Stage Ghost General had been captured and suppressed within the banner, was there still a need to leave it here?

If this demon artifact remained here and the Bone General managed to refine it, wouldn’t it enhance its power out of nowhere?

But these are merely his thoughts, wishful thinking!

"So, is this part of the test as well?"

Zhouyang furrowed his brows as he looked at the black banner in his hand, unable to make a decision for a moment.

Ultimately, after some thought, he placed the black banner back in place and then sat beside it, crossed his legs, and took out elixirs and spirit stones to meditate and restore his magical power.

His injuries this time were not light; that arrow from the Bone General was indeed vicious to the extreme, nearly costing him his life.

Now, in order to recover quickly from his injuries, he disregarded any reluctance and directly took a Tier Four Middle Grade Healing Spirit Pill, the Rejuvenation Discontinuity Pill.

This Rejuvenation Discontinuity Pill was primarily refined using a Tier Four Barbaric Beast Heart and the Tier Four Spirit Elixir, Thousand-year-old Blood Ginseng, possessing extremely strong regenerative and reparative abilities. Though this regeneration ability didn’t reach the level of limb regrowth, it was more than sufficient for healing Zhouyang’s current injuries.

As soon as the pill was ingested, with its medicinal power spreading, the dead skin and flesh scorched by Qianyang True Flame on his shoulder began to peel away in pieces, revealing tender flesh covered with a blood membrane.

Then the flesh began to quickly expand and grow, closing from all sides towards the center of the wound, eventually covering the entire wound, restoring it to its pre-injury state.

The process of flesh regeneration was fast and painful; Zhouyang clenched his teeth without making a sound as he watched this scene unfold.

Once the wound was fully healed, he then started refining the excess medicinal power to restore his magical power.

He sat and cultivated for most of the day before he fully restored his magical power.

With his injuries healed and magical power fully restored, Zhouyang finally had the opportunity to address the matters he hadn’t managed earlier.

Due to his previous battle with the Golden Core Stage Ghost General and the Bone General, the other evil ghosts on Ghostly Mist Peak either perished in the aftermath or fled to watch from a distance.

And with the capture of the Golden Core Stage Ghost General and the severe injury and escape of the Bone General, those spectating ghosts were frightened away to a distance.

After these ghosts fled, the ghostly mist covering the mountain, without the power of these ghosts to maintain it, gradually began to thin and dissipate.

Zhouyang also discovered something noteworthy: the rapid dissipation of the ghostly fog over the entire mountain was not just due to the loss of the ghosts’ power maintaining it, but also related to the "Ghost Luo Banner" demon artifact.

This demon artifact was planted at the mountain peak, waving on its own without wind, actively absorbing the power of the ghostly fog across the mountain.

In just the better part of a day, at least one-tenth of the ghostly fog on the mountain had been absorbed by this demon artifact.

And having absorbed so much of the ghostly fog’s power, the demon artifact’s aura grew significantly stronger compared to before.

"Something’s not right, this demon artifact isn’t right!"

Zhouyang gazed at the black banner on the mountain peak with a look of shock and doubt, his eyes filled with amazement.

If the demon artifact had absorbed a Golden Core Stage Ghost General and thus increased in strength, that would be understandable.

But for it to grow stronger by merely absorbing some Yin Qi and ghostly fog, that was inexplicable.

Whether magical or demon artifacts, none were known to absorb external Spiritual Qi or demonic Qi to elevate their rank—only cultivators or demon cultivators could achieve such a feat!

"Unless, unless this demon artifact is not a Tier Five Demon Artifact, but rather a more advanced demon artifact!"

Zhouyang’s complexion changed drastically as he blurted out, his face full of shock.

If the "Ghost Luo Banner" was originally a Tier Six Demon Artifact, then it would make sense that it could absorb external energy to enhance its own power.

Because that was not enhancing, but restoring.

Damaged Tier Six spiritual and demon artifacts, as long as not too severely damaged, have the ability to absorb Spiritual Qi or demonic Qi to regain their power, a capability only spiritual artifacts above Tier Six possess.

"I see now!"

"I understand, Master Cyan Yang had me place this [Ghost Luo Banner] demon artifact here not just to use it to secretly subdue and capture the Golden Core Stage Ghost General, but also to utilize the pure Yin Qi here to repair this Tier Six demon artifact!"

"But why would he want to repair such a damaged Tier Six demon artifact? Wasn’t Profound Sun Immortal Sect always a forefront force in demon eradication? Why would Master Cyan Yang think of repairing a demonic spiritual artifact?"

Zhouyang’s face shifted between a look of sudden realization with a broad smile and a frown of deep confusion, his emotions fluctuating greatly.

He was completely baffled by Master Cyan Yang’s contradictory actions and could not understand the reasoning behind them.

Yet he quickly decided not to dwell on it, as he knew that once the "Ghost Luo Banner" demon artifact had absorbed all the ghostly fog’s power, he just needed to take it back to Master Cyan Yang.

Indeed, he had understood Master Cyan Yang’s true intention behind giving him the "Ghost Luo Banner."

So in the days that followed, Zhouyang focused on guarding the mountain’s peak at Ghostly Mist Peak, waiting for the "Ghost Luo Banner" to absorb all the ghostly fog’s power.

Simultaneously, he took the opportunity to search the mountain to see if there were any additional gains.

And indeed, he found something valuable.

This valuable find was familiar to him—it was a crucial material for refining Tier Three and above Puppet Beasts, "Yin Soul Stone."

"Yin Soul Stone" material is only naturally nurtured in places with strong Yin and evil energy, and the reason Ghostly Mist Peak attracted the Golden Core Stage Ghost General and many ghostly beings was that this place was a high-quality Land of Yin and Evil.

The "Yin Soul Stones" Zhouyang found here were of high quality and substantial quantity.

Among them, there were as many as fifteen "Yin Soul Stones" suitable for refining Tier Four Puppet Beasts, and over a hundred suitable for refining Tier Three Puppet Beasts!

No matter how wealthy Zhouyang was, collecting such a large amount of "Yin Soul Stones" made him very happy.

With these "Yin Soul Stones," he could completely form an army of Puppet Beasts in the future. Whether he used these Puppet Beasts for combat or left them to protect the Zhou Family, it would be a significant advantage.

About ten days later, the ghostly fog’s Yin Qi had finally completely dissipated, and the aura emitted by that "Ghost Luo Banner" demon artifact had gradually surpassed that of a Tier Five Demon Artifact.

When Zhouyang finally pulled up the demon artifact to leave Ghostly Mist Peak, that fleeing White Bone General had not appeared again, realizing there was a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator scheming in the background and dared not risk its life.

Without any incident, after leaving Ghostly Mist Peak, Zhouyang proceeded directly to the station of Xu Zhengyang and the Golden Core Stage Cultivators.

Though there were still days left until the one-month period, there was no need for him to stay for the outcome of exterminating demons and evil spirits.

He was confident that regardless of Chen Style’s tactics, there was no way he could be surpassed in the competition.

He was bound to win!

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