He looked at the two Seven Kills Sect assassins on the ground. Their eyes were vacant and they were drooling, having almost completely lost their sense of self due to a tenfold dose of Mind-Confusing Medicine.

Qi Yun rubbed his brow in frustration.

’I really need to find a way to learn a Soul-Searching Technique when I get the chance... A member of the Demon Sect who can’t even perform a Soul Search? How disgraceful!’

Casting a disdainful glance at the two incoherent assassins, Qi Yun began his slow, methodical interrogation.

The process wasn’t complicated. Under the drug’s influence, the two men answered every question asked of them. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Though their answers were somewhat muddled, by cross-referencing their statements, he managed to piece together the full story behind the Golden Ring.

As it turned out, the Golden Ring, which appeared ancient and indestructible, possessed no earth-shattering divine power of its own.

Its true value was that it was a key—one that unlocked a place of ancient inheritance.

The Seven Kills Sect had stumbled upon the existence of this place of inheritance many years ago.

Based on the fragmented information they had gathered, they deduced that the inheritance within likely belonged to the long-extinct lineage of Ancient Sword Cultivators.

These ancient methods, compared to the cultivation systems prevalent today, were often far more potent and direct.

They were particularly and uniquely effective when it came to the art of killing.

However, the drawbacks were just as obvious.

They came with numerous restrictions and taboos, the cultivation process was perilous, and many of their core philosophies even contradicted the current mainstream goal of cultivation: Seeking Longevity.

One was constantly at risk of suffering qi deviation, dying, and having one’s Dao obliterated.

But for a sect like the Seven Kills Sect, which revered the art of killing above all else, the drawbacks of the Ancient Sword Cultivator path were of little concern.

Even if many of the techniques were unsuitable for the Seven Kills Sect’s own disciples to practice, they could be used to raise Dead Puppets.

The Seven Kills Sect had a special Secret Skill for controlling and training Dead Puppets. Dead Puppets didn’t need to consider the long road of cultivation or Heart Demon Karma; they only needed absolute strength and killing power.

If they could obtain the Ancient Sword Cultivator inheritance and use it to train Dead Puppets, forging a legion of terrifying puppets skilled in the ancient killing arts, the resulting boost to the Seven Kills Sect’s overall strength would be immense!

Therefore, the Seven Kills Sect placed great importance on this suspected Ancient Sword Cultivator inheritance.

And the Golden Ring was one of the keys needed to enter that place of inheritance.

There were seventy-two of these standardized Golden Rings in total, scattered far and wide.

The Seven Kills Sect, using its power and influence, had secretly scoured for them and had already collected nearly thirty, distributing them to the various important branch Chapters under its command.

The one Qi Yun had previously confiscated had belonged to a certain Seven Kills Sect branch in the Northwest region.

The Seven Kills Sect assassin who had died at Qi Yun’s hands was supposed to return to his branch Chapter to report after completing an assassination mission against a Holy Sect Disciple, and he was carrying the Golden Ring.

Who would have thought that halfway through his journey he would run into a ruthless and devious character like Qi Yun? The simple task ended in disaster; the assassin was dead and the ring was lost.

The disappearance of the Golden Ring naturally drew the branch Chapter’s serious attention.

They immediately used all available channels to investigate and, through their extensive intelligence network built over years of assassinations, finally locked onto Qi Yun as the "murderer" and "ring-thief."

And that led to today’s meticulously planned ambush.

They just never imagined that their target was far more difficult to deal with than the intelligence reports described, and his methods even more ruthless and decisive.

Not only had the ambush failed, but the elite assassins they sent had been nearly wiped out.

Worse still, the secret of the inheritance key had been tortured out of them.

’Ancient Sword Cultivator inheritance... Seventy-two keys... Seven Kills Sect branch Chapter...’ Qi Yun stroked his chin, a glint flashing in his eyes.

This unexpectedly acquired Golden Ring seemed to have dragged him into quite a vortex.

However, risk and opportunity often went hand in hand.

The fact that even the Seven Kills Sect placed such importance on the Ancient Sword Cultivator inheritance spoke volumes about its value.

’The Seven Kills Sect won’t let this go easily,’ Qi Yun thought to himself, already calculating how to deal with this hot potato.

He glanced at the two now-useless Seven Kills Sect assassins on the ground, then casually flicked out two plumes of Nanming Demon Fire, reducing them to ash and completely erasing all traces.

It wasn’t safe to stay here; he had to leave as soon as possible.

The Seven Kills Sect was a troublesome foe.

As a sect specializing in the art of assassination, although they were smaller than the Yellow Springs Netherworld, the threat they posed was arguably even greater.

If he really got them on his tail, he could forget about peacefully searching for the Celestial Spirits and Earthly Fiends Acupoints.

After a moment of quiet contemplation, a plan formed in Qi Yun’s mind.

To truly escape the Seven Kills Sect’s pursuit, he had to make himself "disappear" from their sight completely.

This wasn’t just about physical concealment, but also about obscuring himself on a karmic level and completely resetting his identity.

’I have Wu Yushan’s Storage Ring, so I can temporarily block any divination or scrying attempts by the Yellow Springs Netherworld or the Seven Kills Sect.

As for whether using this Storage Ring will attract the Yellow Springs Netherworld’s attention... that’s a problem for later. First, I’ll deal with the Seven Kills Sect.’

’On top of that, I need to change my ’look.’

It’s not just about changing my face. My commonly used magic, the very attribute of the aura around me—it all has to change completely.

Only then will the Seven Kills Sect lose all clear leads and be left scrambling like headless chickens, unable to find any trace of me.’

His mind made up, Qi Yun no longer hesitated. He set off again, accelerating toward the core territory of the Wuji Holy Sect.

He needed to use the Holy Sect’s internal resources to complete this "metamorphosis."

...

「Several days later」

The shouts of battle, the roar of magic, and the crash of collapsing buildings all mixed together.

They turned this outer marketplace of the Yellow Springs Netherworld, known as the Yin Bone Collection, into a raging crucible.

True Cultivators from the Holy Sect had once again joined forces to attack the entire marketplace, locked in a fierce struggle with the stationed Yellow Springs Netherworld disciples and some hired Evil Cultivators.

Demon Fire burned the skies, Sword Qi crisscrossed the battlefield, Yin Souls shrieked, and Poisonous Miasma spread... The fighting was incredibly fierce.

The Holy Sect’s True Cultivators were ruthless in their methods and perfectly coordinated.

This clearly wasn’t the first time they had conducted such a cleansing operation.

And yet, amidst this chaos, one figure stood out as somewhat peculiar.

He wore an old, gray Daoist Robe that was washed-out and faded, even bearing a few patches.

He was tall and lanky, his face covered in unsightly pockmarks. He looked utterly unremarkable, even a little timid.

In his hand, he held a massive, jet-black banner that stood slightly taller than he was.

The banner’s surface was woven from some unknown material. It was dark and without luster, as if it could absorb the surrounding light, and it emitted a faint, cold, soul-capturing aura.

Unlike his fellow disciples, who were like tigers pouncing on a flock of sheep as they charged into the fray, the tall, thin man always lingered at the edge of the battlefield.

He never initiated an attack on the elite from the Yellow Springs Netherworld who were putting up a desperate resistance, nor did he show any interest in the Spiritual Materials and Treasures that might be hidden in the marketplace shops.

His attention seemed to be focused entirely on the lifeless corpses that had fallen to the ground.

Whenever the fighting moved on, or when his nearby sect-mates were distracted by new enemies, he would approach the corpses as stealthily as a ghost.

With a gentle wave of the massive black banner in his hand, its surface would unfurl like a living thing, stirring up a gust of Yin Wind and instantly pulling one or more corpses from the ground into it, where they would vanish.

The entire process was lightning-fast and completely silent.

After he was done, he would immediately resume his meek, harmless appearance, as if what had just happened was merely an illusion.

Occasionally, a fellow disciple would see his bizarre actions, but they would only frown slightly or mutter a few words under their breath—"That guy’s collecting his Banner Refining Materials again"—before paying him no more mind.

The magic cultivated by Holy Sect Disciples was weird and wonderful; plenty of them practiced Evil Skills related to souls and corpses.

As long as they didn’t target fellow disciples, no one would interfere much.

Feeling the slightly disdainful gazes from those around him, the tall, pockmarked man lowered his head, a dark smile playing on his lips.

’Seems like my acting is pretty decent...’

To completely escape the Seven Kills Sect’s shadow-like pursuit, Qi Yun had meticulously planned this "disappearance."

He first found a Holy Sect Marketplace, where he purchased a perfectly realistic human-skin mask and a thoroughly unremarkable outfit.

Next, he chose the Soul Refining Banner, an extremely obscure yet distinctive technique, as his disguise.

Conveniently, the materials for the Magical Artifact needed to craft the Soul Banner could all be found among Wu Yushan’s belongings, saving him a major expense.

He paid a painfully steep Artifact Refining fee to have an Artifact Refiner forge the sinister, Yin Qi-steeped Black Banner he now held.

He then spent twenty days gaining a preliminary mastery of the technique.

He also successfully twisted and disguised his own aura, making it cold and impure.

It was a world away from the aura he exuded when using his Sand Iron, Demon Fire, or Wood Skill techniques.

And he gave himself a very pleasant-sounding name: Zhang Mazi.

He then became "Zhang Mazi" and infiltrated one of the Holy Sect’s cleansing squads.

This allowed him to use the Holy Sect’s might to hide himself while also using the chaos of battle to openly collect corpses with his Soul Refining Banner.

It perfectly concealed the subtle fluctuations that might arise when his Devouring Essence ability consumed Blood Essence.

At the same time, he could absorb resources to enhance his Nether Spring Bone Technique.

It was, in a word, killing two birds with one stone!

...