At the entrance of the cave dwelling, the last group of men was dragged out of the beast-hide sacks by the maidservants and dumped haphazardly onto the ground.
They all came from Wangxian Town. At this moment, their eyes were shut and they were unconscious—it was clear that before they were delivered here, Ye Xun had already dealt with them using some method.
Standing to the side, Liu Meng calmly counted their numbers.
Suddenly, she felt a surge of spiritual power, appearing out of nowhere within her body!
Streams of pure and refined energy flowed through her meridians like tiny trickling streams, converging into the lake of spiritual power in her dantian.
Liu Meng was startled at first, but soon understood.
It was the maidservants!
Those maidservants who had been taught sub-techniques of the Mysterious Yin Art had begun dual cultivation with the imprisoned men!
Through the vicious feedback mechanism of this domineering demonic technique, half of the spiritual power the maidservants "earned" would be transferred back into her own body!
She didn't even have to do anything—simply sitting quietly in the cave dwelling, her cultivation would rise on its own!
"So powerful, and so cruel…" Liu Meng marveled inwardly, once again having her understanding of demonic sect techniques completely overturned.
Boom!
Even as her thoughts were racing, the spiritual power gathered within her reached a critical threshold.
The invisible barrier separating the first stage of Qi Refining from the second was shattered instantly under the unrelenting impact of spiritual power, without even the slightest resistance!
A stronger, more condensed aura erupted from her body!
Qi Refining, Second Layer!
And this was only the beginning.
The feedback of spiritual power from the maidservants showed no sign of stopping, endlessly pouring into her dantian, pushing her cultivation toward the third layer of Qi Refining!
At this pace, it would not be long before she broke through yet again!
After a while, she suppressed the waves of emotion in her heart, restored her usual cold and calm demeanor, and lightly ordered the trembling maidservants beside her:
"Take these men to the prison and guard them well."
"Yes, Mistress!" The maidservants hurriedly moved forward, dragging the unconscious men toward the dungeon deep within the cave dwelling.
Meanwhile, at the center of the Dead City to the north of the cave dwelling.
Liu Wu gradually began hearing sounds that should not have been there.
At first, it was a faint noise, like distant bustling voices drifting in from all directions—like the cries of a marketplace, mixed with the music of a tavern.
Then, a few laughing pedestrians suddenly appeared beside him out of thin air, brushing past as though he had been standing on this busy street all along.
He snapped back to his senses and looked around. The sight before him made his heart tremble violently.
Where were the ruins of the Dead City? Where was the withered locust tree?
What entered his eyes now was a grand, flourishing city, brightly lit and bustling with life!
Shops and taverns with ornate beams and painted rafters stood row after row. Pleasure houses hung with red lanterns were everywhere. The wide streets were crowded with people and carriages, a scene of peace and prosperity.
Though shocked, Liu Wu quickly calmed down.
He recalled the fat man's words:
—"Everything in Luofeng City is fake, except for the ghosts themselves."
If that was true, then this seemingly prosperous city must be fake!
But if everything was fake, how was he supposed to find the real Soul Banner?
After a moment of thought, he decided not to remain still. Mimicking the "people" around him, he moved with the flow of the crowd into a large nearby shop.
It appeared to be a "pet shop."
Inside were cages of all sizes, each containing common birds and beasts.
Some looked like small birds, some like puppies, others like ponies—all of them unusually docile, showing no resistance at all.
Many customers were eagerly choosing among them, haggling with the shopkeeper, and happily leaving with their cages once a deal was struck.
Liu Wu could make no sense of it, so he quietly withdrew and followed the crowd into another nearby shop—a cloth shop.
It was crowded as well. Many customers were carefully examining rolls of "fabric" hung up on display.
Something about them felt wrong. Liu Wu moved a few steps closer, focusing his eyes—and his heart skipped a beat.
Those were not fabrics!
They were clearly banners, neatly cut and ancient in texture!
Though blank, each one exuded a faint, chilling aura.
They were the very Soul Banners he had been desperately seeking!
He never expected that what he could not find even after searching all over the Three Talents Workshop would be openly displayed here like common goods.
And there were so many of them—an inexhaustible supply!
Suppressing his shock, he edged closer to a few customers who were asking the price, and listened carefully.
"Shopkeeper, how much for this banner?"
"Same as always. One spirit stone per piece, no bargaining."
"All right, I'll take two."
So cheap!
Liu Wu was stunned again.
Just one spirit stone for a Soul Banner—that was beyond his imagination.
Unfortunately, he didn't even have a single spirit stone on him right now.
While he fretted, a familiar voice suddenly sounded at his ear.
"Well, brother, fancy meeting you again! What a coincidence!"
Liu Wu turned sharply, and to his surprise, the smiling fat man had somehow squeezed in beside him.
He, too, was here to buy Soul Banners.
"So, have you picked one yet?" the fat man asked warmly, patting Liu Wu's shoulder like an old friend.
Liu Wu shook his head.
"Ah, no problem!" the fat man said with a carefree laugh. Turning to the shopkeeper, he shouted, "Two banners, please!"
He casually tossed out two spirit stones, grabbed the banners, and without hesitation shoved one into Liu Wu's hand.
"Here! Meeting is fate—this is my gift to you!"
Liu Wu gripped the icy-cold banner, his wariness rising. For a moment, he dared not accept it.
The fat man seemed to sense his suspicion. He chuckled heartily. "What's there to fear, brother? It's just an empty banner—what value could it have? Take it without worry. I wouldn't scheme against you over something this trivial."
"Besides, even if you doubt me, surely you can't doubt the shopkeeper here, right?"
Liu Wu finally took the banner. The fat man waved at him and walked off into the distance.
Staring at the Soul Banner in his hand, Liu Wu could hardly believe it. The thing he had struggled so hard to obtain was delivered to him so easily.
Indeed, information was everything.
What was impossible to find outside was sold here like cheap cabbages.
Yet just then, a thought intruded on his mind. He recalled the fat man's earlier warning—everything here was fake.
Could this Soul Banner also be fake?
And that fat man, who had just left—was he real, or not?
The fat man had said, only ghosts were real.
If that was true, then perhaps that fat man was actually a ghost.
But if he wasn't a ghost, then he must have been fake—a false version of the fat man.
And if he was fake, how could the Soul Banner he bought be real?
The more Liu Wu thought, the more confused he became. His mind seemed caught in a vicious loop.
At last, he forced himself to stop overthinking. For now, he just needed to leave this place and deliver the banner to Liu Meng.
But then another problem struck him.
How was he supposed to leave?
The road he had come from had vanished. All around him were only bustling streets and the endless noise of the crowd—no sign of any exit at all.