Chapter 187: Chapter 76: The Advancement of the Purgatory Banner

Wang Ping was a man of action. After hearing Tongyu Taoist’s explanation, he immediately had Yu Lian seal the Mountain Peak Dojo with Water Spirit Qi. He then informed the acolyte at the entrance to prevent anyone else from entering and disturbing them.

Once all the preparations were complete, he took out an ordinary Blood Pill and refined it with his True Essence. The next moment, a heavy inspiration combined with a bloody stench washed over him.

Wang Ping observed this ball of inspiration for a short while, then summoned the Purgatory Banner. When it came into contact with the energy gathered from the Blood Pill, dense, blood-red patterns formed on its surface. These patterns seemed to have a suction force, pulling in all the energy from the Blood Pill and digesting it completely in a matter of moments.

A quarter-hour later.

Dozens of ordinary Blood Pills had been completely devoured by the Purgatory Banner, but it showed no change whatsoever, as if a few drops of water had fallen into the Great Sea without a trace.

"You’re being too slow. You can take out all those ordinary Blood Pills and have it digest them at once," Tongyu Taoist said irritably, watching Wang Ping as if he were a child playing a game. "In its complete state, it can even imprison a Third Realm Primordial Spirit. This little bit of energy is nothing to it."

Wang Ping had actually wanted to do just that. The reason he was being so slow was to test the data on Tongyu Taoist’s spirit. After all, his enthusiasm for upgrading the Purgatory Banner had made Wang Ping suspicious.

"His emotions are the same as before: resentful, helpless, and decadent," Yu Lian reminded Wang Ping from within the Spirit Sea.

Understanding the situation, Wang Ping took out twenty Blood Pills at once after Tongyu Taoist finished speaking. But the energy they produced was still like a drop of water in the Great Sea, causing no particular reaction.

Half an Hour passed quickly.

All the ordinary Blood Pills in his storage bag were used up. The blood-red patterns on the Purgatory Banner’s black surface had become a bit more solid, not as illusory as before.

Next, Wang Ping was going to use the aged Blood Pills.

A twenty-year Blood Pill was consumed. The bloody stench and inspiration were a little stronger, but the Purgatory Banner still showed no major reaction. Wang Ping glanced at Yu Lian, who understood and flew up to reinforce the barrier around the Dao Field.

Half an hour later.

The comfortable Mountain Peak Dojo was now suffused with a bloody stench, making the area look like a battlefield that had seen days and nights of intense fighting. The heavy inspiration nearly caused the Spiritual Qi in the space to run rampant, forcing Wang Ping to reduce the Spiritual Qi produced by the Nine Extremes Array to its lowest level.

The Spirit Wood and the old locust tree in the garden, however, were thrilled. They reveled in the sudden burst of Spiritual Energy fluctuations from the Inspiration Realm, frantically absorbing all the bloody stench they could.

The Purgatory Banner floating before Wang Ping was now shrouded in a blood-colored aura. This was the reaction from two Centennial Blood Pills. The aura it emanated was so potent that even Wang Ping’s Second Realm spirit felt a trace of discomfort, as this aura was incompatible with the Dao he cultivated.

Fortunately, Yu Lian’s spirit was there to soothe him, allowing him to maintain his usual state of observation.

The blood-colored aura eventually condensed into a viscous mass of energy. The patterns on the Purgatory Banner’s black surface suddenly expanded outward, forming a strange two-zhang-wide area with the banner at its center. Then, in an instant, the energy from the Centennial Blood Pills was devoured completely.

The next moment, the bloody stench in the garden vanished, and the Dao Field returned to its clear, sunny state.

"Huh..."

Wang Ping was startled. He had felt a consciousness flash inside the Purgatory Banner. He looked at Tongyu Taoist in confusion. "Has an Artifact Spirit been born?"

"Most likely. It’s had a brief consciousness for a while now." A hint of vitality entered Tongyu Taoist’s tone.

"Was this your goal?"

"Yes!"

Wang Ping turned to glance at Tongyu Taoist. In his Primordial Spirit state, his thoughts had become much more active.

Yu Lian said from the Spirit Sea, "He’s probably been going stir-crazy during the nearly hundred years you’ve been in seclusion. After all, a Primordial Spirit Body can’t truly sleep. Even when resting, he can sense his surroundings."

An image subconsciously formed in Wang Ping’s mind: an old man, trapped in a small space, unable to move for nearly a hundred years, facing the same people and things every single day.

’This little old man must be lonely.’ Wang Ping sighed inwardly and took out another Centennial Blood Pill.

...

「Two days later.」

The Blood Pills in the storage bag were all gone. After the Purgatory Banner absorbed the last Centennial Blood Pill, its pole turned blood-red. The red patterns on the black surface became incredibly vibrant, linking together to resemble some sort of runic array, or perhaps a depiction of a blood-red ocean.

"Is it not enough?" Wang Ping asked, looking at Tongyu Taoist.

"It’s enough!"

The one who answered Wang Ping was a strange voice, neutral in tone, making it impossible to tell if it was male or female.

As the voice spoke, an ethereal figure shot out from the Purgatory Banner. The figure was connected to the banner, with only its upper body visible, resembling an acolyte. This must be the Artifact Spirit, manifested in the form it liked best.

"Greetings, Daoist..."

The ethereal figure first bowed to Wang Ping, then said, "Though the Dao you cultivate is different from mine, you possess a Dao Heart, so I can be wielded by you..." After speaking, it looked up at Yu Lian in the sky, who was about to take down the barrier. "Greetings, Fellow Daoist."

Yu Lian asked, "Your consciousness is very strange. Why is it the same as Wang Ping’s? Are you learning from him?"

"Yes!"

"Do you have a name?"

"I thought of one for myself. Call me Nether Water. I want to one day wash away the death in the Cosmos like the waters of the Netherworld."

"A fine ambition, but unfortunately..." Tongyu Taoist responded.

"It’s just a thought, nothing to find unfortunate. Fellow Daoist, you don’t have to be so pessimistic about everything." Nether Water also bowed to Tongyu Taoist. "To us, time is but a word. Why must you be so hung up on the gains and losses of a few hundred years?"

Tongyu Taoist looked like he wanted to say something, but in the end, it turned into a sigh. "Fellow Daoist is right. I have been too attached."

Wang Ping reached out, took the Purgatory Banner in his hand, and asked after examining it closely, "Will I still have to bear the negative side effects when I use it in the future?"

"Of course. That is a rule set when it was created. Unless you can break the rule, you must abide by it."

"Then what use are you?"

"With me here, you won’t have to waste your True Essence. I can absorb Spiritual Qi on my own and convert it into Nether Qi. When you want to use me, you just need to send me a thought. As for the negative side effects, I can help you transfer them to Fellow Daoist Tongyu."

"Why me?" Tongyu Taoist interjected.

"You need that tiny bit of humanity it brings, while the Daoist must do his utmost to avoid it. Isn’t it a perfect arrangement?"

"You really don’t know how to talk," Tongyu Taoist said, somewhat exasperated.

Yu Lian then landed on Wang Ping and communicated with him in the Spirit Sea: "This Artifact Spirit is imitating you, but it’s a poor imitation. It’s really annoying."