The Devil Beside Us: Old Liu Drops the Act

Waves of eerie black mist began to emanate from Old Liu's body.

With a wave of his hand, a banner billowing with black smoke flew out from within him. Expanding in the wind, it grew to be tens of feet tall!

You saw countless human faces upon the banner. They struggled desperately to break free, their expressions twisted and ferocious as they let out terrifying, ghostly shrieks.

"The Ten Thousand Soul Banner?!"

You recognized it immediately.

In your first simulation, during this very year when you were forty, a demonic cultivator wielding a Ten Thousand Soul Banner had massacred the people of White Cloud County and killed your daughter.

"Oh? Boss Chen, you recognize this treasure too? As expected of such a precious artifact, its reputation precedes it."

Old Liu gently stroked the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, a look of utter infatuation on his face.

The homicidal maniac who had been trailing you all this way was none other than Old Liu!

No wonder he would frequently disappear for periods of time.

It wasn't that you hadn't suspected him.

But Old Liu had only ever revealed strength at the Body Refining Realm in front of you, and he had never exposed the Ten Thousand Soul Banner. You simply couldn't connect him to the villain capable of slaughtering entire villages.

You carefully recalled the memories from the first simulation and realized you had never actually seen that demonic cultivator's face.

It might really be the same person.

Or perhaps it was just someone else who had found the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.

"Cough, cough! Those villagers... they treated us with such hospitality! And those children... how could you bring yourself to do it?!"

Old Liu was completely indifferent.

"As long as I feed the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, it feeds cultivation back to me. With my poor aptitude, I reached the Soul Tempering Realm in just six years! How could that be possible with normal cultivation? This truly is... a wonderful treasure..."

His eyes were filled with an eerie obsession.

"Don't be stupid! Look at your hair! Look at your sunken cheeks! It's not feeding you; it's using you! That is an evil object! Throw it away, quickly!"

Old Liu had aged incredibly fast over these past six years.

You previously thought his old military injuries were flaring up, but now it seemed the Ten Thousand Soul Banner was consuming his life force.

Old Liu's face suddenly twisted into a grimace, and his voice became piercing, as if hundreds of souls were stuck in his throat.

"So what?! Doesn't becoming strong require paying a price?!"

"Old Liu... are you even Old Liu anymore? You are terrifying!"

"That's exactly right! Only when others fear you will they stop bullying you!! What kind of wretched world is this?! Wretched! Wretched! I obeyed the laws, yet those officials used me as a scapegoat and conscripted me! My family was kind and honest, yet those wicked people seized our property when we were vulnerable! And what about General Sun Chengen, whom you admire so much?! Was he not driven to his death?! Why do you care if those villagers live or die? Surviving! Becoming stronger! That is the only natural law, the only path that matters!"

At this moment, Old Liu seemed like a completely different person.

As he spoke, he stepped closer to you, inch by inch.

Although you had just broken through to the Spirit Gathering Realm, Old Liu was already at the Soul Tempering Realm and wielded a weapon of mass slaughter like the Ten Thousand Soul Banner. Killing you would be as easy as flipping his hand.

"Come, Chen Yi! I won't hurt you. Whether in the barracks or escaping from Yan Pass, you helped me many times! I am a man who repays kindness. Let us share this great treasure, what do you say?"

Old Liu was radiating demonic energy, and his eyes glowed with a green light.

He was even more terrifying than the ghostly faces flickering upon the banner.

Your [Spider Sense] throbbed wildly. You knew he was lying; most likely, Old Liu was about to die of old age, and the Ten Thousand Soul Banner was looking for its next sucker.

The Old Liu before you had likely been completely consumed by the evil artifact.

"Old Liu, go crazy on your own time. I plan to live a few more years!"

You reached into your sleeve pocket and pulled out a red iron pellet.

This was one of the many spiritual tools Sun Chengen had given you, called the "Smoke Escape Bead."

You smashed the Smoke Escape Bead onto the ground. Thick smoke instantly filled the entire Lingfeng Pavilion. Simultaneously, a gentle breeze emerged from the bead to support your feet, drastically increasing your running speed.

Taking advantage of the smoke obscuring Old Liu's vision, you fled at full speed.

"Hahaha! Do you think you can escape?!"

Old Liu dropped the act completely. He waved the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, commanding the spirits within to track you through the smoke.

As those incorporeal monsters latched onto your body, you immediately felt incredibly heavy, and even your eyelids struggled to stay open.

"True Yang Art, Three Yangs Prosperity!"

The Shen family's "True Yang Art" was an external technique of extreme Yang. Upon activation, it could dispel yin-aligned evil spirits to a certain extent.

However, you were still doomed.

As the Ten Thousand Soul Banner unfurled, the surrounding smoke was sucked dry in the blink of an eye.

"Chen Yi! You can't run!"

With a shockingly contorted expression—tongue lolling out, eyes bulging—Old Liu lunged at you with a ferocious grimace.

Before he even arrived, the evil ghosts reached you first.

You were submerged by countless evil ghosts. Severe pain racked your body as your life force drained away rapidly!

"Looks like this run ends here..."

Suddenly, silhouettes appeared all around Lingfeng Pavilion!

Streaks of sword light slashed through the air, forcing Old Liu back and simultaneously dispelling the evil ghosts clinging to you.

"Audacious demon! Cease your harm!"

"The eighteen sects of Sanjiang Commandery are here to enforce justice on behalf of Heaven and execute you, demon!"

"Fellow Daoists, we must destroy that Ten Thousand Soul Banner. We cannot let it plague the mortal world any longer!"

It seemed Old Liu had slipped up while slaughtering the people at Lingfeng Pavilion.

Someone from Lingfeng Pavilion must have sent out a distress signal.

The eighteen sects of Sanjiang Commandery had gathered to join forces and kill Old Liu, the wielder of the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.

This was the fate of those who dabbled in the demonic path: everyone had the right to punish them.

Old Liu snorted coldly.

"I have this great treasure! Do you think a bunch of clay chickens and pottery dogs like you can take me down?!"

The first wave of martial artists arrived, numbering between thirty and fifty. They launched a merciless attack on Old Liu.

Old Liu underwent a complete demonic transformation, and demonic markings appeared on his face.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!!"

The souls within the Ten Thousand Soul Banner poured out. Howling and shrieking, they unleashed mental attacks, wrapped around bodies to weaken them, and some even attacked the physical forms directly!

Demonic energy rolled in waves!

Even under the siege of dozens of people, Old Liu was actually holding his own.

It wasn't until three martial artists glowing with golden light joined the fray that Old Liu turned and fled without looking back!

These three were at the Golden Body Realm.

The gap between the Golden Body Realm and the Soul Tempering Realm was far greater than that between the Soul Tempering Realm and the Spirit Gathering Realm. Old Liu knew his limits well, so he ran incredibly fast.

"Chase him! We absolutely cannot let him escape!"

You had survived by the skin of your teeth.

But Old Liu's earlier attack had severely injured your vitality; even breathing felt exhausting now.

In your groggy state, you heard people talking nearby.

"There's still a survivor here."

"His vital essence was drained directly by the Ten Thousand Soul Banner. He is beyond saving. We must make haste and pursue that demon!"

"Ah! It is my benefactor! Master, please let me stay and care for him..."

"Do as you please!"

In your daze, you caught a glimpse of a large, round face before slipping into unconsciousness...