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

Chapter 132 Ten Thousand Yin Souls Gather
"Kid, go and establish your own sect right here on these ruins. With this treasure, your disciples can live for hundreds of years without doing anything. In that long, they can develop something even without any cultivation resources."

The Venerable One looked on with envy. No wonder the Nirvana Sect could become a major demonic sect with just this stuff. Just smelling it could add hundreds of years to one's lifespan. If this couldn't make it a high-ranking sect, then the sect leader would be a complete waste.

But no wonder the Nirvana Sect didn't take this treasure when they were beaten to a pulp.

It turned out that it was simply impossible to move.

This underground palace is enormous, and the roots of the ginseng fruit have been embedded for countless years. To try to dig it out entirely would be like setting up a target for the righteous to hunt down.

The more the Lord thought about it, the more he felt cheated. He had put in so much effort, only to have it all benefit Chen Ye.

Chen Ye said helplessly, "Lord, don't you think about it? With my cultivation at the Qi Sea Realm, what kind of sect or school could I possibly establish?"

A lowly cultivator who establishes a sect will either be laughed at or beaten to death.

"What are you afraid of? Haven't you noticed that after meditating here for a few days, your superior body-refining technique will be perfected?" The Venerable pointed to the ginseng fruit and said, "This is much better than any kind of Qi-based body-refining technique."

"That's just the Gang Sha Realm."

Chen Ye has seen a lot now and knows just how powerful high-level cultivators really are.

Zhang Qi cleaved the earth thousands of miles away with his sword, creating an effect that truly scorched earth for miles around.

Even setting aside that level, the monk Fangyuan's palm strike that extinguished stars could wipe him off the face of the earth, leaving him completely wiped out.

If others find out about this huge treasure, wouldn't Chen Ye be courting death to establish a sect here?

In Chen Ye's opinion, such a large ginseng fruit could be shared between the two of them. They couldn't move it or chew it, so at worst, the Venerable One would eat the larger portion, and Chen Ye would suffer a loss and eat the smaller portion.

However, will this ginseng fruit that has taken root turn into a deadly poison, just like a potato that has sprouted?

Chen Ye thought for a moment and dared not make the suggestion, for fear that the Venerable One would pluck a leaf and force him to eat it first, which would be too unjust to die from poisoning.

The Venerable Lord seemed to be hesitant and pained, but finally gritted his teeth and said, "I don't care whether you like it or not, you have to set up this sect for me! Otherwise, I will suffer a huge loss this time, and you will have to return the brow bone of the Demon Lord Wujiu and sacrifice your own skull!"

Chen Ye felt an immense pressure, like a mountain or a sea, descend upon him.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the Venerable Lord is easy to talk to. He is actually at the Returning Void Realm, and with the power of the Crimson Serpent Buddha, he can hold his own against someone at the Dao Integration Realm.

If you wanted to crush Chen Ye, you wouldn't even need to lift a finger.

We can't gamble on whether he dares or not; when a demon goes mad, he's willing to risk his own life.

Chen Ye could only say, "Of course I also want to establish my own sect, but it's impractical. Venerable Master, don't you want my sect to be torn down by the five righteous sects the very next day after I establish it? With this treasure here, who wouldn't be envious? Even if the Qinghe Sword Sect doesn't try to take it, do you think I can stop the Burning Incense Sect?"

The Lord said fiercely, "That's none of your business. I have my own ways to cover it up for you. In this world, there are things I don't want others to know, and no one can figure them out."

Chen Ye found it hard to believe; this place had already been burned to ruins, it would be strange if righteous people didn't come to check it out.

It wouldn't be surprising to dig three feet into the ground; how could such a large underground palace not be discovered?

But since the Lord looked like he had lost his temper, Chen Ye didn't dare to say anything more, for fear that he would blow him to death with a single breath.

Chen Ye asked, "If the Venerable One insists on doing this, then I can only obey. But what use would it be to the Venerable One if I established a sect here?"

The Venerable One said helplessly, "You ruined my plan in Hundred Seas Valley. I originally intended to use this to threaten the five righteous sects, allowing my Crimson Serpent Holy Sect to become a side sect and move freely. Now I have no choice but to use another name. The sect is yours, but it also belongs to my Crimson Serpent Holy Sect, understand?"

Chen Ye sighed and said, "So you want me to be a puppet?"

"Puppet? You underestimate yourself too much." The Venerable Master laughed. "Chen Ye, haven't you realized your own value yet? With your abilities, there must have been many people who called you a cultivation genius along the way, right? I'll be the Supreme Elder, and you'll be the Sect Master. I won't treat you unfairly."

Chen Ye wanted to say, "I never thought of joining the Crimson Serpent Demon Sect," but he had no choice but to bow his head when he was under someone else's roof.

Don't listen to what the Lord says; you have to see what he does.

Chen Ye cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Then I can only obey, but I can only do my best. Your Majesty, don't expect me to really be a ruthless killer. I would rather die than do that."

The Venerable Lord scoffed, "Doing whatever you want is what makes a demon. Who told you that a demon has to kill countless people? In Hundred Seas Valley, did I kill even one person? It still caused those righteous people a lot of trouble. If it weren't for you causing trouble... Never mind, I won't say anymore. If I keep talking, I'll want to kill you. You are my greatest calamity!"

The two did not linger in the underground palace.

Back on the scorched ground, the Lord ordered Chen Ye to fill back the dug-out sand and soil, and then instructed him to plant the Ten Thousand Soul Banner in the ground, guiding him step by step to inscribe the formation on this scorched earth.

Fortunately, the spirits of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner were in sync with Chen Ye's mind, and with the combined efforts of tens of thousands of spirits, the formation was completed in no time.

As the last rune fell, Chen Ye felt that the scorched earth in front of him hadn't changed much, yet everything seemed to have changed. He could sense the mystery, but he couldn't put it into words.

This must be an extremely profound technique, making Chen Ye's heart itch with curiosity, wishing he could copy the formation right now and study it carefully. The Venerable Lord breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You're quite the expert at setting up formations, kid. Now I guarantee that no one can see through it."

"You flatter me. If Your Excellency has no further instructions, may I move freely?" Chen Ye asked.

"What do you want to do?"

Chen Ye pointed to the still-lingering black smoke in the distance and said to the Venerable Master, "The Nirvana Sect sacrificed over 100,000 people, and we've only gone halfway. I want to give the other vengeful spirits a place to rest."

The lord was silent for a moment, then said, "Go by yourself, I can't be bothered with you."

Chen Ye thanked him, summoned Black Whirlwind, and headed towards the remaining ruins.

The Banner of Ten Thousand Souls... Oh, it should be called the Banner of the Human Emperor now.

Searching through the ruins one by one, Chen Ye encountered no more surviving Nirvana Sect demons. Perhaps, as the Venerable Lord had said, only a few, the elite, survived Zhang Qi's sword strike, guarding the most crucial positions.

Perhaps some Nirvana Sect disciples will turn into vengeful spirits and be collected into the Myriad Souls Banner by Chen Ye, but he doesn't have time to distinguish them carefully now and will deal with them later.

After collecting all the vengeful spirits from the last ruin, Chen Ye sensed them and found that the Emperor's Banner contained a total of 188,978 vengeful spirits—truly a gathering of ten thousand ghosts.

With the added effect of this telepathic connection, it's true that whoever shouts a word will have tens of thousands of ghosts hear it, and then they go back and forth, making everyone's head ache from the noise.

Chen Ye could only try to weaken this sensory effect.

To be honest, this magic weapon is quite intelligent. Chen Ye blocked most of the telepathic effects, allowing only the spirits to hear his voice.

It's not about wanting to be a dictator, but there are some things that need to be made clear.

Chen Ye channeled his thoughts into the Human Emperor Banner and addressed all the wandering spirits: "Everyone, I only happened to be there and witnessed the Nirvana Sect slaughtering the innocent. I couldn't bear to see you all become wandering ghosts, so I invited you to enter this Ten Thousand Souls Banner. However, you are free to come and go here. If anyone is unwilling to be bound by this, you may leave on your own. As long as you do not harm others, you can choose for yourselves."

"However, if you choose to stay in my Ten Thousand Souls Banner, then we need to agree on three rules."

Having worked for many years, Chen Ye knew the importance of rules. These hundreds of thousands of spirits each had their own thoughts. They could cooperate against the enemy because of their shared hatred, but now that they had settled down, some of the spirits might have other ideas.

There are hundreds of thousands of them, and Chen Ye doesn't have many ways to restrict them. If rules aren't set in advance, there will definitely be big trouble later.

Chen Ye set very simple rules for them: all the spirits had to undergo interrogation using the four secret techniques of restraint, interrogation, and torture in order to screen out the Nirvana Sect demons who had infiltrated. Then, according to their own sins, they would be tortured every day until they repaid their sins, or be beaten to the point of never being able to reincarnate.

Secondly, it is forbidden to escape the Ten Thousand Souls Banner and harm people. Most of the spirits died unjustly and often harbor resentment towards all the living. Chen Ye's Ten Thousand Souls Banner has no gatekeepers; it relies entirely on the spirits inside to manage themselves. Hundreds might escape in the middle of the night and kill those nearby. Therefore, this rule must be strictly enforced; anyone found doing so will be treated as a demon of the Nirvana Sect.

As for the third condition, it is much more lenient; when necessary, Chen Ye will ask the spirits within the Ten Thousand Souls Banner for assistance.

Like digging the pit today, and dealing with the demon, we need everyone to work together. It's not just about working for Chen Ye, but also about protecting ourselves.

If you can agree to these three conditions, then stay; if you cannot agree, then leave on your own.

The method of mutual understanding allows Chen Ye's words to be transmitted to all the spirits without the slightest deviation.

Yang Chongguang and the other ghost soldiers who had followed Chen Ye for a long time naturally agreed immediately, and proudly boasted to the people next to them how magnanimous their benefactor was and how good their lives were with him.

But soon dissenting voices emerged: "Why listen to him? Wouldn't it be better if we seized the Ten Thousand Souls Banner and made our own decisions?"

“That’s right. Why should we obey the orders of a living person? With this magic weapon, we can go anywhere without being at his beck and call.”

"If a cultivator can sacrifice our blood, who can guarantee that he won't enslave us?"

"We are all children of the grasslands, and we should not obey the orders of the people of the Central Plains. Our ancestors are above, how can we worship a person from the Central Plains?!"

……

Such noises began to spread, and many spirits were agitated by these words, causing Chen Ye's Ten Thousand Soul Banner to vibrate incessantly.

Chen Ye sneered. He had long suspected that such people existed. Not only were they ungrateful, but they would do anything to seize power and profit. They couldn't distinguish right from wrong, nor did they consider the situation; they only knew how to scheme for their own selfish interests and incite trouble.

Among them might be chieftains of barbarian tribes, or demons of the Nirvana sect.

But it doesn't matter.

The Ten Thousand Souls Banner was ultimately Chen Ye's magic weapon.

With a wave of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, Chen Ye released thousands of Yin spirits. He calmly said to them, "If you don't agree, get out. If you want to cause trouble, die!"

(End of this chapter)