Internal and external injuries take time to heal.

But Li Qingfeng paid them no mind, continuing to consume Yin Soul Pills day and night.

From one pill per day to three.

By slaying over fifty Black Armored soldiers, he had condensed fifteen Yin Soul Pills. Adding in the soul pills formed from gathering the roaming yin and baleful qi between heaven and earth, Li Qingfeng had consumed nine soul pills in the past five days.

At last, he broke through to the second layer of Qi Refinement.

But yin qi now clung to his body and his complexion was pale.

He looked more like a demonic cultivator than ever before.

His Blood Fiend Grand Method had deepened as well. The baleful blood qi it produced became even denser, making life unbearable for him.

If not for the powerful Mind-Ape Settles Will of the Demon Ape, he might already have been overwhelmed by the baleful blood qi and lost his mind.

Demonic cultivation techniques were inherently aggressive and risk-laden, made worse by Li Qingfeng’s relentless pill consumption.

Yin Soul Pills were undoubtedly valuable, rapidly converting purified spiritual energy into usable spiritual power.

They could be easily absorbed by the Banner Master.

But these pills were, after all, refined from yin spirits and ghosts, naturally infused with sinister energy.

Taking them in moderation allowed one to slowly dissolve the yin through spiritual power.

But consuming them in large quantities caused yin and baleful qi to accumulate, weighing down the body.

There was no dissuading him.

No way to even speak to him.

Tu Shanjun remained silent.

It’s fine. We’ll get through this.

As long as Zhang Wanlong is eliminated, we’ll flee far away.

Then, we’ll be free like birds in the sky, like fish in the sea.

Even if we’re hated and hunted as demonic cultivators, we’ll have finally stepped onto the path of cultivation.

Unstable foundation? So what.

Yin qi clinging to the body? That too could be fixed, Tu Shanjun believed that with the Soul Banner in hand, everything would be manageable in time.

Li Qingfeng, however, had no idea about Tu Shanjun’s inner worries.

He didn’t even know the ghost inside the Soul Banner could speak.

He simply believed he had stumbled upon a legendary stroke of fortune.

Even though the evil ghosts within the Soul Banner bore hideous faces, to him they were allies.

“Cough cough.”

A cough broke the silence. Li Qingfeng poured spiritual energy into the Soul Banner and drew out another Yin Soul Pill.

Five days had passed. Though he had broken through, his injuries had not improved. He would still need a month or so to recover.

Time flowed unnoticed in the pitch-black cellar.

Inside the sunless chamber, his only respite came through his dreams.

He’d lost track of time.

All he remembered was that the Soul Banner condensed one soul pill each day.

Including the original eleven, there were seventy-one.

His wounds had healed, but the yin qi entangling his body had grown heavier.

Yet his cultivation had reached its current peak, Qi Refining third layer.

It had taken two full months and seventy-one Yin Soul Pills, but at last, his cultivation had been pushed to its limit.

The day of breakthrough was the day he emerged.

Li Qingfeng stepped out of the underground chamber.

Sunlight pierced his eyes, causing him to squint.

His skin was pale and devoid of luster.

His hair was dry and withered.

The warm golden rays couldn’t thaw the chill in Li Qingfeng’s heart.

He lifted the Soul Banner and, eyes bloodshot, stared at the ghostly face upon it. “Brother Ghost, after hiding for two months, is it time for revenge?”

Buzz.

The Soul Banner trembled, as if responding.

It told him clearly-

Yes!

“Good.” Li Qingfeng’s expression lit with renewed determination.

He strode out of the side room.

But at that moment, he spotted firelight flickering in the courtyard of the Li residence.

His face darkened. Have they come to burn the house just because I didn’t show myself?

As he drew nearer, he saw only a single figure tossing paper offerings into a brazier.

The wind stirred the ashes.

The firelight was weak, completely overshadowed by the waning glow of dusk.

From outside the manor, one might not even notice anyone was burning offerings.

Stacks of paper money were fed into the brass brazier. The man seemed to be murmuring something.

“Yang?” Li Qingfeng was startled.

The person at his home was none other than his friend, Yang Lingu.

The figure, back facing Li Qingfeng, visibly trembled.

He turned around abruptly, eyes wide in disbelief. “Qingfeng? Are you… man or ghost?”

Li Qingfeng understood, he looked terrible. Like a wandering spirit.

But he hadn’t expected Yang Lingu to think he was dead and to come burn offerings in mourning.

“Zhang Wanlong isn’t dead. How could I be?” Li Qingfeng said flatly.

Today was the day Zhang Wanlong died.

Yang Lingu hadn’t yet recovered from the shock of seeing Li Qingfeng, when he heard the latter speak with chilling calm.

As if it was all predestined.

“You’re the assassin the Governor’s been hunting all this time?”

“You killed Zhang Gui?”

Yang Lingu finally pieced it together, Li Qingfeng was the very assassin Governor Zhang Wanlong had sought for so long.

Zhang Wanlong’s only son returned injured from the battlefield, only to be assassinated under mysterious circumstances. In rage, the governor locked down the entire county city to hunt the killer.

Many had suffered because of it.

Yang Lingu stared at Li Qingfeng in disbelief and even took two steps back.

Li Qingfeng saw this. A flash of pain appeared in his eyes, quickly buried under a rising fury.

“Zhang Wanlong and his son used human beings as medicine,” he said.

“Meng Zhen died boiled into a tonic by Zhang Gui.”

“Two others died with him.”

“A life for a life!” Li Qingfeng’s voice was calm but firm, resolute.

His fury had already passed. Now, he wanted revenge.

Meng Zhen’s death had been avenged. Zhang Gui’s head had been crushed by the Brother Ghost, no corpse-mender could fix that mess.

But the massacre of all 103 members of the Li clan… had yet to be repaid.

Shock filled Yang Lingu’s eyes. Mouth agape, as if hearing this for the first time.

Then, he fell to his knees and sobbed.

“Qingfeng, I wronged you.”

“I’m so sorry!”

Li Qingfeng frowned, puzzled by Yang Lingu’s display.

“Brother Yang, why this?”

Yang Lingu wept bitterly, pounding the ground in grief.

“After Zhang Gui died, Meng Zhen was branded an assassin. Even his family, the Meng clan, was wiped out.”

“But Zhang Wanlong still wasn’t satisfied. He purged three more families.”

“Everyone was terrified.”

“They eventually discovered my ties with Meng Zhen… and declared my whole clan guilty by association.”

“The governor said if I gave him useful information, my family would be spared the execution of all members.”

“To protect them… I…”

His voice trembled.

The joy of reuniting with his friend had vanished from Li Qingfeng’s face.

His eyes reddened, his body shaking.

He asked with disbelief, “You, sacrificed my entire Li clan… just to save your own family?”

“I’m sorry, Qingfeng.”

“I truly am.” Yang Lingu still knelt, head banging the ground, tears and blood mingling.

Li Qingfeng staggered, heart torn.

Disbelief, grief, rage all swelled within him.

His face twisted. With a scream, he yanked out the sword-hairpin and pointed it at Yang Lingu.

“You betrayed 103 lives of the Li clan… for your own!”

“I’m sorry!” Yang Lingu wept. “I’m so sorry.”

Li Qingfeng’s face twitched violently, crimson eyes blazing: “Do you even remember…”

“That pigeon, the one with the secret message…”

“It was you who told me about it!”

The sword-hairpin transformed into a three-foot longsword, aimed squarely at Yang Lingu.

Li Qingfeng’s hair bristled, his face twisted with fury.

He couldn’t understand, Meng Zhen had trusted Yang Lingu with even coded messages. They had clearly been closer friends.

The true culprits were Zhang Wanlong and his son.

Why didn’t Yang Lingu seek revenge?

Why… did he betray Li Qingfeng instead?

If he had only waited.

Waited for Li Qingfeng to grow strong enough to strike down Zhang Wanlong.

Everything could’ve been resolved.

Why?

Why had the betrayer… been Yang Lingu?

(Chapter End)