As soon as the Human Emperor Banner came out, I became the Lord of the Old Ones

Chapter 41: Blood and Black Banner
"Human Emperor Banner!"

Xu Yan spread out his five fingers, and between the interlaced lines of his palms, a flame gushed out that was thicker than blood, deeper than the night, and hotter than magma.

Whether it was the rusty, broken blood-red flying sword or the dying Styx waves, he grasped them all in his palms.

The eldest brother's residual soul and the will of the Lord of the Abyss were fighting fiercely, but unexpectedly, a force that seemed more ferocious and brutal than them would emerge.

After a moment of stagnation, they unleashed a power ten times more intense than the three evil spirits that Xu Yan had devoured in the previous round of investigation. Like a flood and a beast, they launched a "countercharge" towards the Human Emperor Banner.

At this moment, the Human Emperor Banner was like a python that had swallowed three large preys. Its belly was bulging so high that it was almost transparent and was about to burst.

But they had to face two porcupines covered with sharp thorns, frightened and angry, with their bloody mouths wide open.

As two evil wills surged into his palm, Xu Yan's right arm swelled abnormally at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The mycelium that originally grew in the eldest brother's body and the mark on Dr. Hyde's body appeared on his ever-expanding arm at the same time, still entangled, biting and gnawing at each other, turning his right arm into a battlefield of endless fighting.

Xu Yan's skin squeaked, and black and red smoke came out.

He felt like his palms, arms, shoulder blades, right eyeball and even the right half of his brain were about to explode.

But he dared not slow down his devouring speed, for fear that if he missed even a tiny bit, there would be a possibility that the monsters and demons would revive.

Countless images flashed before my eyes.

Sometimes it was the scene of the eldest brother refining the blood sword, with countless wronged souls surrounding him and screaming.

Sometimes, in the pitch-black depths, the indescribable ancient demon twists like a snake, wriggles like a worm, burns like fire, and lurks like a shadow.

These images washed over his cerebral cortex like waves, trying to cover his memory and consciousness and seize his control over this body.

Just when he felt his brain begin to boil and his body on the verge of collapse was about to turn into an appearance even more bizarre than that of his senior brother and Dr. Hyde—

You have partially devoured the 30,000-year-old evil spirit "Foundation-Building Monk He Qingzhi," Merit +4544.

You have partially devoured the 50,000-year-old evil spirit "Blade of the Deep (Fake)." Merit +5635.

You have partially devoured the 30,000-year-old evil spirit "Foundation-Building Monk He Qingzhi," Merit +3011.

……

[The merit value has exceeded 30000. Do you want to repair the Human Emperor Banner? ]

A series of red messages flashed like the breaking of dawn.

"Yes!"

Xu Yan was overjoyed and did not hesitate.

"boom!"

The residual soul ripples that had not been completely absorbed in the last round of investigation, as well as the evil will that had just been swallowed, were all transformed into the purest Hongmeng purple energy and poured into the dim Mars.

Mars explodes, and the magnificent picture unfolds again.

In a trance, Xu Yan saw the Wangou Guizhen Palace standing on the top of the mountain.

It was no longer covered with fungal mats and vines, looking as terrifying as a demon's heart, but it had regained its ethereal and golden splendor as it had when he stepped into the Human Emperor Banner.

However, the magnificent Wanpo Guizhen Hall seemed to have been pierced by a daring madman and had a huge hole in it, and it collapsed in half.

Crystal clear bricks, tiles and rubble fell around the hall like meteorites, smashing many members of the Wanhun Sect and leaving them with bloody heads, broken tendons and bones.

Hundreds of high-level cultivators, including the eldest senior brother, the Golden Core Elder Gu Chenzi and even the sect master himself, had no time to lend a helping hand. Instead, they gathered around the collapsed hall, staring at the air in stunned dismay.

Several elders who Xu Yan thought were very accomplished in Taoism were trembling and almost fainting.

"This is--"

Xu Yan followed their gaze towards the sky and saw the Human Emperor Banner, which was shining brightly and illuminating the nine heavens.

The Human Emperor Banner, which should have been enshrined in the innermost recesses of the Wanpo Guizhen Temple, worshipped by tens of thousands of disciples and even the entire cultivation world, was now draped over the shoulders of a lunatic. It fluttered against the raging winds unleashed by the collapse of the temple, its tail fluttering hundreds of feet away. It resembled both a blazing cloak and a journey strewn with thorns and flames, a journey that would never end. From the distance, Xu Yan couldn't clearly see the face of the lunatic who had punctured the Wanpo Guizhen Temple.

All you can see is that he was seriously injured and bleeding profusely. The word "full of holes" is not enough to describe it.

It was as if he had died thousands of times among mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and his shattered corpse was pieced together by an inexplicable force. Guided by the fire of revenge, he crawled out of the bottomless Netherworld and returned to the human world which was even more cruel than the Netherworld.

What was even more incredible was that this man's blood seemed to be highly contagious. It splashed onto the golden Human Emperor Banner, immediately corroding holes dotted around it, as if destroying the Human Emperor Banner's restrictions. From the depths of the holes, streams of black smoke with the howling of ghosts and wolves were summoned, winding their way from the head of the banner to the tail, turning the mighty treasure of the righteous path into the terrifying appearance that was now embedded deep within Xu Yan's soul.

Xu Yan knew that he was unlocking the eternal secret of the transformation of the Human Emperor Banner.

Maybe you can even learn the truth about the collapse of the cultivation world.

He opened his eyes wide, trying to see clearly who the madman was who was causing trouble in the Wanhun Sect.

As if sensing his gaze, the madman who had dyed the Human Emperor's Banner into a black banner of blood flames lowered his head slightly, and cast a gaze as sharp as a knife at the peeper who should not be there.

"boom!"

A flood of information flooded my mind.

The brain activates overload protection.

Xu Yan's eyes went blank.

When the blood banner and the blank space dissipated together.

Heaven and earth returned to peace.

[The Human Emperor Banner has been initially repaired, changing from "resurrected from the ashes" to "shattered"]

[Number of contractable spirits +1]

[New function is enabled, you can consume merit points, analyze residual souls, and obtain memories, skills, and techniques]

[Current Merit Value: 1122]

[Analysis of the residual soul...]

[Partial analysis of the 30,000-year-old evil spirit "Foundation-building Monk He Qingzhi" completed]

[Obtain the method to refine the "Blood Demon Mother and Child Sword"]

[The life level is insufficient, and the "Blood Evil Mother and Child Sword" cannot be refined temporarily]

[Analysis of the 50,000-year-old evil spirit "Blade of the Deep (Fake)" is in progress...]

【warn!warn!warn! 】

[The Deep Blade (fake) has not been devoured yet, so it cannot be analyzed! ]

The rapidly flashing images and the pain of brain damage made Xu Yan wake up instantly.

I found that my entire right arm had become as pale as paper and as thin as a stick.

However, the surface was branded with countless black runes, like an ancient demon insect with bared fangs and claws, exactly like Dr. Hyde.

Seeing him open his eyes, he put the five fingers of his right hand together and stabbed at his throat uncontrollably.

With the help of the black mark, the nails become sharper than a scalpel.

Xu Yan tilted his head subconsciously, the skin on his neck was torn, blood flowed like a snake, and a hot stream flowed along the collar into his chest.

He tried to grab his right hand which was twitching violently.

But he found that his right hand was burning hot, and the power contained in his flesh and blood was astonishingly great.

It was as if a terrifying existence from the old days, from the end of the Styx, was fighting with him for control of his right arm!

(End of this chapter)