At the moment she heard that answer, Lin Huanhuan, though unsure where Dong Yuner had gotten that inspiration from, patiently expressed her own thoughts once more.
Dong Yuner got the answer she wanted and, comforted by Huanhuan, went back to rest.
Lin Huanhuan returned to her own room and sat down. Morning light streamed in through the window lattice, making her smile involuntarily.
‘Same as always.’
“Well, it’s time to formally take stock of my gains.”
Lin Huanhuan took out the Ten Thousand Soul Banner. As soon as it emerged into the outside world, it fluttered joyfully like a fish entering water. From the constantly dancing flag, one could see just how happy the banner was.
Even though the artifact spirit had already perished, the Ten Thousand Soul Banner still seemed to possess intelligence, loathing the storage space of the Qiankun Pouch; it had taken considerable effort to stuff it inside.
The banner swirled before her, its sharp tip tilting slightly upward, as if dissatisfied with Lin Huanhuan just standing there in front of it.
Lin Huanhuan knew what this meant. According to ancient methods, a magic tool of the Ten Thousand Soul Banner’s quality couldn’t be used casually—especially since she was not its true master.
Before taking out the banner, one had to “invite” it: first burn incense and bathe, then perform three kowtows and nine prostrations, and offer up some souls as tribute. After such a tedious ceremony, the banner would deign, depending on its mood, to decide whether to fight alongside the user.
But times were no longer ancient. After barely grasping the banner’s meaning, Lin Huanhuan was simply amused into anger.
“Ha, just a weapon, and you’re acting like you’re the boss? I have to go through all these methods to invite you? Your arrogance is way too much.”
“Invite you my ass! It’s your luck that I can use you. I can use you however I want. You have no room to bargain!”
The Ten Thousand Soul Banner was still swaying, not having processed what was happening, when Lin Huanhuan grabbed it and began to refine it directly.
Lin Huanhuan intended to forcibly complete the refinement and claim ownership, so the banner could no longer act so arrogantly toward her.
But the Ten Thousand Soul Banner had once been a top-tier magic treasure. In its prime, it wouldn’t even have bothered to consume someone like Lin Huanhuan. Now that it was being forcibly refined by her, how could it possibly be willing?
The moment it sensed Lin Huanhuan’s intent, the banner began to struggle violently. A black-purple wind started to howl out. This was the Soul-Breaking Wind, a technique that specialized in destroying souls—extremely harmful to the spirit!
Yet facing this danger, Lin Huanhuan didn’t let go. Instead, she smiled coldly and said calmly, “Stop this Soul-Breaking Wind immediately, or I’ll hand you over to the sect right now. This is the Lingyun Sect, founded by the Myriad Dharma Sovereign, with numerous Golden Core experts.”
“If I casually give you to a Golden Core cultivator, what do you think your fate will be? A Dao artifact long lost in the river of history, falling into the hands of a current Golden Core—it will only be dismantled and fed to their divine abilities. There’s absolutely no other path.”
“I’m different from the Huang family. I am a direct descendant of a Golden Core clan. Even without you, the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, my future achievements will be extraordinary. I don’t lack for inheritance. You can try to see if I dare to hand you over.”
The moment these words were spoken, the Soul-Breaking Wind, which had already made Lin Huanhuan’s soul ache slightly, dissipated without a trace. Even the banner, which had been struggling fiercely, reluctantly quieted down.
Watching this, Lin Huanhuan couldn’t help but think of a manga scene from her previous life. It wasn’t exactly the same, but the essence was similar.
She snorted coldly and cursed, “Wretched weapon! Bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Unless threatened, you don’t know fear. You had to taste the bitter end, huh.”
Faced with the insult, the banner began to struggle violently again. Lin Huanhuan didn’t stop it; she just stared coldly at it. The banner, afraid under her gaze, reluctantly settled down once more.
Only then did Lin Huanhuan sit cross-legged, holding the banner in her hands. Closing her eyes, she formed hand seals. Spiritual energy immediately flowed through her hands into the banner, coursing into areas that hadn’t seen spiritual energy in a long time.
At first, the banner struggled uncomfortably, having not been refined for ages. But Lin Huanhuan wasn’t polite with it. She simply punched it twice—thump, thump—and the banner immediately behaved.
The refining process wasn’t particularly tortuous. After all, with the Heart Demon guiding her, any mistake was corrected on the spot. Moreover, the banner’s current power was less than one ten-thousandth of its prime—how could it possibly resist?
The Ten Thousand Soul Banner probably never dreamed that one day it would be forcibly claimed by a mere Foundation Establishment ant, without being able to resist in the slightest. Back in the day, even the Superior True Man hadn’t treated it like this!
In the blink of an eye, a night passed. Lin Huanhuan opened her eyes and exhaled a mouthful of turbid breath. Seeing the golden sun rising outside the window, she was momentarily stunned, then realized—it hadn’t been just a few minutes, but an entire day!
“Still, it’s good. The Ten Thousand Soul Banner has finally been claimed by me. My soul imprint has been driven into the banner. From now on, it can no longer resist me; I can use it however I please.”
Saying this, Lin Huanhuan couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“Actually, I have to thank the fact that the Nether Moon True Person died long ago. With a full hundred thousand years having passed, the soul imprint left by the Nether Moon True Person inside the banner had already decayed severely. A gentle touch of my spiritual energy was enough to break it.”
“Also, in those hundred thousand years, the banner never claimed another master or left any other soul imprint, which made it so easy for me to succeed.”
After claiming the banner, she finally gained understanding of the old days. A hundred thousand years ago, after the Nether Moon True Person died, the Ten Thousand Soul Banner and two other treasures had shattered, completely vanishing from the world.
But no one knew that a fragment of the banner had remained in the world. After a full hundred thousand years of nurturing and recovery, it had barely regained some form. Later, the Huang family obtained it by accident, and after twenty years of offerings, it finally restored its shape.
Yet before the banner could cause bloodshed in the current world, Lin Huanhuan snatched it away and forcibly refined it. The whole process could truly be described as convoluted.
Lin Huanhuan couldn’t help but feel fortunate—her luck really was good.
After the claiming was complete, she finally learned what abilities the banner could currently display. First was storage: inside the banner was a unique space of about one hundred cubic meters, roughly the size of a standard classroom.
Normally, it was used to store souls enslaved by the banner, allowing injured souls to recover. Placing ordinary items inside was also fine, though they would slowly be corroded and decay.
The second function was spirit control: it could enslave souls that did not resist, making them serve the banner’s master, effectively immortal and undying. Of course, everything would be controlled by the master, who could order the souls to self-destruct at any time or use them to block attacks.
The last function was the Soul-Breaking Wind—the method the banner used to attack Lin Huanhuan yesterday. This was considered the banner’s main offensive ability, usable twice a day.