Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 114 Ultimately, defeat was inevitable.
In the quiet room, Qin Ze sat cross-legged on a black jade futon, his hands forming a mudra to draw upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

With each breath, two shimmering white dragons of energy converged in front of him.

Qin Ze's body was already overflowing with spiritual energy. Now, he refined the spiritual energy to a pure level, and the two white wisps of energy gained a touch of spiritual charm.

Of all things in this world, spiritual essence is the rarest.

Previously, Mo Ci had dispersed all his cultivation and hidden it in the Myriad Soul Banner, which led others to mistakenly believe that Mo Ci was a magical artifact with its own spiritual essence, making it an extremely rare item.

Qin Ze is now refining spiritual energy into a little spiritual essence, precisely for the purpose of refining treasures.

Qin Ze had already mastered body refinement, so absorbing more spiritual energy would be useless.

Upon reaching this level, one can either sense the mysteries of heaven and earth to comprehend supernatural powers, or refine magical treasures to enhance their power and wondrous uses.

Qin Ze held a bright pearl in his palm, and two streams of white mist slowly flowed into the pearl under his mental control.

This is the Mirage Pearl, a magical treasure possessed by every disciple of the Mirage Sect.

Every year, the sect needs to send disciples to dive into the deep sea to search for the demonic mirages that are over a hundred years old. Only the pearls produced by such demonic creatures can be refined into suitable mirage pearls.

The mirage is a creature that is born with the ability to create illusions, and the mucus inside its body has a strong hallucinogenic effect.

If a clam inhales foreign objects such as sand or gravel, it will continuously secrete mucus to coat them, preventing damage to its tender flesh.

Over a century, the foreign object encased in mucus will harden into a bead, which can then be used to refine mirage beads.

It doesn't even need to be refined; just put the powder and beads together, scrape off the powder after two or three days, and blow it on someone to put them into an illusion.

The mirage pearl in Qin Ze's hand was no ordinary item. It was a treasure bestowed upon him by the sect when he bravely went undercover at the Crimson Serpent Demon Sect. It was a mirage pearl in which a complete mirage demon had been refined.

As Qin Ze infused the two streams of spiritual energy into it, a layer of dreamlike light and shadow appeared, like a fine veil enveloping the surroundings.

A soft laugh came from somewhere, and when he looked around, a graceful figure had already surrounded Qin Ze.

One after another, beautiful women flaunted their charms before Qin Ze, but he remained completely unmoved. A moment later, the seductive sounds dissipated, transforming into hideous demons that bared their fangs and claws before Qin Ze.

Claws and fangs landed on Qin Ze, leaving streaks of blood.

His flesh was torn apart, exposing his bones, but he remained unmoved until the demons gnawed him into a skeleton.

In the blink of an eye, the evil spirits vanished, flesh grew back on the bones, and Qin Ze returned to his original appearance.

Only then did he open his eyes and swallow the mirage pearl.

Qin Ze breathed a long sigh of relief. Just now, if his mind had wavered even slightly, whether he had fallen into a gentle embrace or felt fear of the evil spirit, the effects on his physical body would have materialized.

This is the power of directly refining a mirage into a magical artifact, enough to fool even the most discerning eye.

Since his inner demons began to fester, Qin Ze has dared not use the Mirage Pearl casually, lest he be harmed by it.

This time, Qin Ze was spurred on by Chen Ye's challenge. In order to win this battle, he had to go all out.

Just as he was about to continue his cultivation, the door to the meditation room was opened, and Master Ziyan appeared in front of Qin Ze.

Qin Ze quickly said, "Senior Sister Ziyan, how could I trouble you to come over? Just call me if you need anything."

Master Ziyan stroked his long beard and said with emotion, "I heard that you suddenly went into seclusion to refine a magic weapon and I was worried that something might happen to you, but now it seems that you have subdued your inner demons."

Qin Ze shook his head and said, "Uncle-Master, you misunderstand. I have not subdued my inner demons. It's just that Chen Ye is too arrogant. I can't lose to him again and I can't let the reputation of the Mirage Sect be damaged."

Master Ziyan asked in confusion, "Why do you say that, nephew?"

Qin Ze could only explain why he had been challenged by Chen Ye, and Master Ziyan frowned as he listened.

"This matter seems to be more complicated than it appears. I met Chen Ye once before, and he is not one to seek fame and fortune; otherwise, he would not have handed over the leadership of the Loose Cultivator Alliance to someone else. Now, more than half a year has passed, and he has suddenly challenged me to a battle. There must be something else going on here."

Most cultivators don't care about reputation, since longevity has nothing to do with fame. However, if you can cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage, the world will eventually know your name.

Therefore, the so-called fighting arena is actually just a tool used by the five major sects to train their disciples. No one cares about the rankings on it, let alone the pitifully small so-called rewards.

Qin Ze asked, "Does Senior Uncle mean that this rogue cultivator has an even bigger conspiracy?"

"This……"

Master Ziyan didn't think Chen Ye was targeting the Mirage Sect, but he couldn't think of a reason for it at the moment.

After pondering for a long time, Master Ziyan had no choice but to say, "This matter is indeed a bit strange. However, since the other party has already challenged you to a duel, you cannot tarnish the reputation of my Mirage Sect. You must win this battle, and you must win it beautifully."

Qin Ze quickly replied, "This disciple understands."

"Your mirage pearl has considerable power, but Chen Ye's ability to force his way into the Burning Incense Sect's territory and escape unscathed is also extraordinary and cannot be regarded as an ordinary cultivator. He seems to be very good at controlling Yin spirits, and I don't know where he got the Myriad Soul Banner. The Qinghe Sword Sect even vouched for him, proving that he is not a member of the Demonic Sect."

"Although the Ten Thousand Souls Banner is the most common magic weapon of the Demonic Sect, it is also the most practical magic weapon. It should not be underestimated. Once you put on my Purple Cloud Smoke Canopy, the evil spirits will not be able to get close to you."

With a wave of his hand, Master Ziyan's palm was covered with a thin layer of purple energy, which gently landed on Qin Ze, giving him a hazy purple glow.

Master Ziyan then reminded him, "Since there are still several days before the agreed-upon duel, you should prepare well and not worry about anything else. I will send someone to find out what Chen Ye is really up to."

Qin Ze quickly said, "Thank you, Master Uncle." Master Ziyan nodded and then hurried away.

Qin Ze was full of confidence. This Purple Cloud Smoke Canopy was the treasure that made True Person Purple Smoke famous. Even cultivators of the same realm would find it difficult to break it. Chen Ye was only at the Qi Sea Realm. Even if he had a powerful magic weapon, he couldn't possibly hurt him.

Full of confidence, Qin Ze began his arduous training once again.

Magical treasures alone are not enough; I have wasted some time and there are still many things to prepare.

Before long, the Mirage Sect sent out many disciples to inquire about Chen Ye's situation. They didn't miss any information, such as what magical treasures he used, what spells he was good at, and what he had been busy with lately.

The disciples of the Mirage Sect were masters of disguise; almost every one of them was a master of disguise, posing as rogue cultivators to inquire about things. Although the Mirage Sect disciples were very secretive, and their illusions and disguises were flawless, they underestimated Chen Ye's reputation.

Even after being in seclusion for more than half a year, Chen Ye's name still enjoys extremely high prestige among the independent cultivators of Baihai Valley.

The sudden inquiries about Chen Ye by so many people naturally attracted the attention of those with ulterior motives.

After the formation of the Loose Cultivator Alliance, the exchange of information among the loose cultivators became much more frequent. In just three or four days, the matter of Chen Ye challenging Qin Ze, a disciple of the Mirage Sect, became common knowledge.

Why would Chen Ye, a mere rogue cultivator, dare to challenge the disciples of the five major sects?

Who is Qin Ze? Why is he being targeted by Chen Ye?
Is this a continuation of the previous conflict between the independent cultivators and the five major sects? Or does Chen Ye have some personal grudge against the Mirage Sect?
Nobody knows, but everyone wants to know.

As the saying goes, "a single hair can affect the whole body," and Chen Ye himself never expected that such a small matter would attract so much attention.

Fortunately, by the time everyone arrived to watch, the desolate fighting arena had already been rebuilt.

Chen Ye built an eight-foot-high platform using piled stones as a foundation, transforming the once barren land into a neat and grand structure.

However, no one cared whether the arena was good-looking or not. Many people didn't even know what the arena originally looked like. They just wanted to know why Chen Ye wanted to challenge the disciples of the Mirage Sect.

When Fu Lu Shou learned of this, they all came to inquire about it with concern.

Chen Ye could only honestly reply, "I was in seclusion for a while and only occasionally heard about the dueling arena, so I thought I'd have a friendly exchange with other cultivators. I really didn't mean anything by it."

The three men, Fu, Lu, and Shou, believed it, but others did not.

It's not that simple. If you want to spar, you can find anyone. There are plenty of powerful figures among the independent cultivators. Why choose the Mirage Sect?

The last time the rogue cultivators attacked the Mirage Sect's stronghold together, it was Chen Ye who rescued them all by himself.

Many people know that the Mirage Sect tried to persuade them to surrender three times, but they were refused each time. Even their disciples were injured. Do you think the Mirage Sect holds a grudge?
It's likely that the Mirage Sect lost face and finally found an opportunity for revenge, forcing Chen Ye to go to the arena to fight Qin Ze, wanting to make Chen Ye lose face and vent his anger.

Many people agree with this guess. In any case, Wei Changsheng alone ruined the reputation of most of the five major sects, and the Mirage Sect was also implicated.

The matter escalated to the point that even the leader of the loose cultivator alliance, Master Shan Heng, had no choice but to come to Chen Ye's door to inquire about the truth.

Chen Ye looked completely innocent, saying that he really just wanted to spar with someone, and who would have thought that it would become public knowledge? It wasn't him who spread the news.

Master Shanheng asked, "If you really just wanted to spar with someone, why did you renovate the entire arena? It even seems you reinforced it with magic, making it so grand. Is it really not for the sake of making a name for yourself?"

"This..." Chen Ye was speechless; this secret really couldn't be told to anyone else.

Seeing Chen Ye's expression, Master Shanheng thought he had guessed correctly, so he leaned closer and asked in a low voice, "I have heard that you have a close relationship with Su Chunyi of the Qinghe Sword Sect. Is that true?"

Chen Ye said frankly, "We sit down and discuss the Dao, and we are like-minded friends."

Master Shanheng then asked, "If I may be so bold as to ask, are you perhaps trying to steal the title of the number one in the duel so that the Qinghe Sword Sect will look at you differently?"

"Huh? How did this get involved with the Qinghe Sword Sect?"

Chen Ye looked at Master Shanheng with a face full of surprise. How come these rumors are getting more and more outrageous?

Master Shanheng sighed and said, "Then I don't understand. You are not doing this for fame, fortune, or love, so why make things so complicated? I am old, so please take it as me taking advantage of my age. But your status is not ordinary now, and every move you make attracts the attention of the rogue cultivators of Baihai Valley. If it is not necessary, I advise you to admit defeat."

Chen Ye asked, puzzled, "It was just a friendly spar, why admit defeat?"

Master Shanheng advised, "Even if you don't admit it, you'll most likely lose anyway. The competition has caused quite a stir, and the Mirage Sect will definitely not let Qin Ze lose to you in order to save face. How many magic treasures and talismans can a high-ranking sect give him? Qin Ze's cultivation is also higher than yours, how can you possibly win?"

Chen Ye laughed and said, "It seems that you don't think highly of me."

Master Shanheng was also very frank, saying directly, "Nobody has any faith in you. The black market has opened betting, and those who bet on you to win will get ten times the payout."

Chen Ye angrily shouted, "Who set up the betting platform? Did they give me a cut?"

Master Shanheng said helplessly, "Anyway, that's all I have to say. If you really want to go to the arena, I won't stop you. But this matter is of great importance, and I hope you will consider it carefully."

Chen Ye couldn't help but ask again, "What if I win?"

Master Shanheng gave Chen Ye a deep look and then said, "If you win, you'd better leave Baihai Valley as soon as possible, because the Mirage Sect will soon have cultivators at the Tongxuan Realm challenging you. Not only the Mirage Sect, but also Tianxin Island, Yunlu Immortal Sect and Fenxiang Sect will take action one after another until you lose."

"Young man, even if I'm being old and condescending, take my advice: winning one game doesn't mean you've truly won; in the end, you'll still lose."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye smiled slightly and said, "Then I will keep winning."

(End of this chapter)