On the Corpse Mountain of Luofeng City, Liu Wu was still rushing toward the sect's cave-dwelling.
But even without trying, he knew — with his current speed, it was impossible to make it back in time.
More importantly, even if he did, with his meager strength of only Qi Refining, First Layer, he would be of no use at all.
In fact, even a few of the maids inside the cave-dwelling had higher cultivation than him!
Yet just like Liu Meng, none of them were able to do anything against those three terrifying ghostly beasts!
Thinking of this, Liu Wu decisively stopped in his tracks.
He carefully retrieved a crystalline blood bead from his robe and let a single drop fall upon the Soul Banner in his hand.
Buzz—
The instant the blood essence touched the banner, the fabric exploded with a blinding crimson radiance. An invisible bond instantly tied Liu Meng and the Soul Banner together as one.
This was Liu Meng's own blood essence. At this moment, the banner had accepted its master!
In that same instant, Liu Meng felt its presence. It was as if an unseen tether had been forged between her and the Soul Banner.
But that wasn't enough!
A blank Soul Banner was useless by itself.
What it needed was… souls!
Without hesitation, Liu Wu sat cross-legged upon the Corpse Mountain. His hands formed seals as he began to activate the secret art that Qin Shuang had passed down —
"The True Understanding of Condensing the Dao by Severing the Three Corpses!"
"The Mysterious Womb as the furnace, the soul as the guide…"
Under the tempering of this secret art, his very soul began to condense and refine, gradually transforming into the purest essence of all — a Stainless Soul Body!
…
Meanwhile, the bone-crafted flying vessel carved a bloody streak across the skies before slowly descending upon a vast basin.
Shen Qingyun followed the stream of people as they disembarked, immediately surveying his surroundings with sharp vigilance.
This place was Blood Banquet Valley.
Towering cliffs enclosed the basin on all sides like an inescapable cage. Sparse weeds grew across the barren ground, while the air carried a faint, nauseating stench of blood mixed with the damp odor of earth.
The crimson-robed immortal who had brought the hundred of them here said not a single word. With a flash of blood light, he shot skyward, vanishing into the clouds — leaving them behind.
The crowd fell into stunned silence, before erupting into clamorous unrest.
"Where did the immortal go? Why did he just leave us here?"
"Exactly! He brought us to this so-called immortal's paradise but gave no instructions! What's the meaning of this?"
"Where's the cultivation method? Isn't an elder supposed to pass down the arts? Why is there nothing here?"
"Don't panic! Maybe this is part of the trial! We only need to wait patiently, the immortal will surely return!"
Speculations spread like wildfire. Most still clung to their illusions, believing this to be some kind of test before fortune.
But Shen Qingyun's heart sank like a stone.
After all he had already witnessed, he knew better than to harbor naïve hopes.
This… was likely another method of devouring people.
He just didn't know what form it would take this time.
Silently slipping away from the others, Shen Qingyun melted into the cover of half-man-tall withered grass, cautiously moving toward the edge of the basin.
Soon, a solitary wooden hut appeared in his sight.
It was crudely built, as though hastily erected by some wandering hunter — completely out of place in this valley.
Shen Qingyun's wariness grew heavier. Moving quietly, he approached the hut, listening carefully at the door. Hearing no sound, he slowly pushed open the half-closed door.
Inside, the hut was barren, its only furnishing a dust-covered wooden table.
But atop that table lay an old book bound in animal hide.
On its cover, three large characters were scrawled with vigorous strokes:
"The Blood Banquet Manual" (血饗诀).
"The… Blood Banquet Manual?"
Shen Qingyun's heart skipped a beat. At once, he recalled the Mysterious Womb Manual he had once studied. There seemed to be a strange, unseen connection between the two.
He hurried forward, grasped the book, and flipped it open with eager haste.
Thanks to his prior experience with the Mysterious Womb Manual, he could already navigate the cryptic style of cultivation arts. Even so, the opening passages of the Blood Banquet Manual still made his head ache — its contents were just as obscure and sinister!
As he wrestled with its meaning, a cry rang out from outside — manic, triumphant.
"I found it! I found it! The secret to immortality — I've found it!"
The voice shattered the silence of the valley like thunder.
Instantly, countless others rushed toward the sound in frenzied madness.
Soon, more voices followed:
"The cultivation arts are inside the huts!"
"There are more huts! Each one has a manual!"
"Here too! Every hut has a manual!"
Shen Qingyun's heart lurched. So these wooden huts were not unique… and the Blood Banquet Manual was not the only one!
No longer daring to waste even a breath, he plunged all of his focus into reading.
At last, he understood.
This Blood Banquet Manual… was as twisted and evil as the Mysterious Womb Manual!
It demanded killing.
The general outline read:
"All creatures under Heaven carry spirit. Slay and devour them, seize their essence. While the feast of blood remains warm, my Dao endures eternal."
By slaughtering any living being, the cultivator could forcibly extract its life force, spirit, and very soul — converting it into pure energy to strengthen body and cultivation.
The more one killed, the faster one's power grew.
And of course… this included humans.
Cold sweat beaded on Shen Qingyun's forehead.
Now he finally understood why this valley resembled a cage.
The so-called "disciples" of Blood Banquet Valley were nothing more than bait for a grotesque gu-refining trial.
One hundred hopeful mortals, desperate to ascend the path of immortality, sealed within this prison — and gifted with a cultivation method that compelled them to slaughter one another to grow stronger.
Perhaps the sect did not even care who the "real" Shen Qingyun was. To them, the only truth was this:
When there was but one survivor left, that survivor would be the true Shen Qingyun.
Bang!
Suddenly, the flimsy wooden door burst open with a crash.
A burly man stormed in, his bloodshot eyes locked greedily upon the Blood Banquet Manual in Shen Qingyun's hands.
"Hand over your manual!" the man bellowed, his voice rough and beast-like. "It's mine!"