Chapter 4: The Mountain Stronghold's Horrific Nightmare (Part 2)

  Xiao Ziyang looked through his eyelashes and glanced at the person seven or eight zhang away from him with his peripheral vision.

  As he got closer, he saw that the man was wearing a deep black cloak and was quite tall. Because he had his back to Xiao Ziyang, he couldn't see his face clearly, but from the loose skin behind his ears and his gray hair, it could be seen that this person's age was probably not young.

  He first stood at the edge of the platform, looked down at the mountain stronghold that had fallen into a deep sleep, and seemed to nod in satisfaction.

  He took two steps back, sat down cross-legged, and pulled something out of his bosom, holding it in his hands.

  Seeing that person's action, Xiao Ziyang knew that he might be able to see soon what thing could cause that terrible pink skull, his heart beating somewhat faster.

  He hastily closed his eyes again and adjusted his mood.

  When Xiao Ziyang opened his eyes again, he couldn't help but be shocked!

  A black flag about a foot in size floated before the man, rising and falling with his murmured incantation.

  A dark flag emitted a faint, icy blue glow and slowly grew larger as the person's incantation progressed.

  Suddenly seeing this scene, Xiao Ziyang almost couldn't maintain his turtle-breathing state, he hastily closed his eyes again and forced himself to calm down.

  But he couldn't calm down his accelerating heartbeat. There really are immortals in this world!

  Xiao Ziyang closed his eyes and forcibly suppressed the fear in his heart. After more than a dozen breaths, he finally stabilized his tortoise-like state.

  When he opened his eyes again, the black flag had transformed into a high and wide banner, about ten feet long and two feet wide, fluttering in the cold wind. The dim light on the flag was even more intense.

  On the banner, seven blood-red skulls were embroidered. As the banner fluttered in the wind, the seven skulls seemed to come alive.

  Xie Qingcang was a loose cultivator, to be precise, a demonic cultivator. He was only at the third layer of Qi Refining and had just entered the Condensation Period, but with this Seven Ghost Banner left behind by his ancestors, he had once killed a Qi Refining fourth-layer cultivator who had reached the Sensory Awakening stage.

  Don't look down on the method of sensing, the difference is only a layer. The period of sensing, as the first major pass on the road to immortality, is also called the entrance pass. Only after passing through it can one be considered a true immortal master. The gap between those who sense and those who don't is as vast as heaven and earth!

  It can be seen from this that the seven ghosts flag is extraordinary.

  The Seven Ghosts Flag is a magical artifact that, once refined with a law enforcement tool, has a fixed power that differs from others. However, many magical artifacts can increase their power through external means. For example, this Seven Ghosts Flag can grow in power by devouring the souls and flesh of ordinary people!

  Xie Qingcang was causing trouble in his hometown of Xiliang Country, Jinzhou. He provoked a group of powerful scattered cultivators and was forced to flee northwest, always thinking about returning to take revenge.

  This seven-ghost banner is Xie Jingcang's only hope for revenge. With his innate nine-rank miscellaneous spirit root, he was already blessed by his ancestors to cultivate to the condensation period, let alone cross the sensory boundary, which he didn't even dare to think about.

  The first two layers of Qigong, nourishing Qi and refining the spirit, belong to the preparatory stage of cultivation. Practitioners at this stage have no magical powers, cannot cast spells or control magical instruments, and are not considered immortal masters.

  Xie Qing's warehouse barely condensed successfully, and his cultivation stagnated. In the realm of cultivating truth, his cultivation was considered to be as low as it could get. As a result, this person's divine consciousness coverage was also pitifully small, only about 7 or 8 square meters around him.

  Xiao Ziyang didn't know he was lucky, his hiding spot just happened to be outside the range of this evil cultivator's divine sense detection. Otherwise, no matter how good his turtle breathing technique was, he wouldn't have been able to evade the cultivator's divine sense.

  Xie Qing controlled the Seven Ghosts Flag, consecutively destroying five or six large mountain strongholds. This demonic device continuously devoured the souls and flesh of five or six hundred people, its power clearly greatly increased! This made him extremely delighted, feeling that revenge was within reach.

  Xie Qingcang gazed at the fake mountain below, a sly smile spreading across his face. With a decisive hand seal, he shot out several red and black spiritual lights towards the Seven Ghost Flag.

  Seven Ghosts Flag's eerie glow surged, and on the flag's surface, seven crimson skulls suddenly spewed out blood-colored flames that swirled around restlessly, as if they could no longer wait!

  Xie Qing's face changed, and he made a series of swift and decisive moves towards the black flag, but it seemed to have no effect. In desperation, he bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood at the black flag.

  Having received his refined blood nourishment, the seven skulls floating on the banner slowed down noticeably, and the boiling demonic flames on the ghost's body also calmed down a lot.

  Spitting out this mouthful of fresh blood, Xie Qingcang's heart ached to the extreme. His spiritual power was depleted, and he could recover it by meditating, but his vital energy and blood were also severely depleted, which would be extremely difficult to recover. Once they couldn't be recovered, it would shorten the lifespan of a cultivator! This mouthful of vital energy that Xie Qingcang spat out had at least cost him two years of his life!

  Xie Qing's face turned ugly as he stared at the black flag in front of him. For some reason, this magic artifact had been showing signs of losing control recently, and it was getting harder to suppress.

  Xie Jing didn't know that his ancestors had spent a lot of effort to suppress this mid-grade magic weapon, so that even low-level cultivators in the Condensation period could control it.

  Xie Jia had a prodigal son who stole two volumes of classics, including the control method written by Xie Jia's ancestors specifically for this seven-ghost banner.

  Xie Qing Cang was already in great danger operating the magical device with ordinary techniques, but he had always been lucky and hadn't encountered any backlash from the device.

  Now, he is using his half-baked knowledge to urge the demon device to devour flesh and blood, increasing its power, which is no different from drinking poison to quench thirst. This monk who has come out halfway does not know that what he is doing is no different from seeking death, yet he is still complacent.

  Xie Qing suppressed the surging energy in his chest, his hands weaving intricate patterns as he unleashed dozens of spells in a matter of moments, his fingers moving like fluttering butterflies.

  Under the urging of his law, the seven ghost flags were greatly prosperous, and the seven blood-colored skulls suddenly detached from the magic flag, swirling around him non-stop, with their mouths wide open towards him, issuing silent howls.

  Watching this strange scene, Xiao Ziyang could no longer maintain his turtle-breathing technique, and his heart began to beat wildly like a drum.

  Xie Qing Cang was now using all his mental energy to suppress the seven ghost heads that were about to break free, and had lost all sense of his surroundings. Not only could he not hear the sound of a heartbeat from ten zhang away, but even if Xiao Zi Yang spoke loudly at this moment, he would not have heard it.

  Xiao Ziyang was nervous for half a day, and when he saw that the immortal master seemed to be completely unaware of him, he suddenly realized that something was amiss.

  He carefully observed and found that the person's hands, which were swiftly pinching the key, were stable, but his body was slightly trembling, as if he was exerting great effort.

  A moment later, Xie Qing's body could no longer hold back the seven ghost heads, and he spat out two more mouthfuls of blood.

  The seven ghost heads calmed down again after devouring the essence and blood of Xie Jing's warehouse.

  He didn't dare to linger, pointing at the mountain stronghold with one hand and shouting in a low voice "Go!"

  Seven ghost heads flew around him for two more laps, seemingly very reluctantly drifting towards the mountain stronghold below. As they flew, the seven ghost heads gradually swelled against the wind, and by the time they arrived above the mountain stronghold, each one was as big as a cart wheel.

  Xie Qingcang once again struck out with his black flag, releasing over a dozen streams of spiritual energy that shot towards the seven ghost heads in the distance. The ghost heads shook violently before suddenly and silently exploding into nearly a hundred fist-sized red skulls that, under Xie's control, charged down towards the mountain stronghold.

  A shrill and terrifying scream echoed through the mountain stronghold.