Chapter 446 - 396: The Strongest Version

"Banner, come!"

At these two words, the world fell silent.

The voice wasn’t loud, yet like an invisible ripple, it pierced through the cacophony of battle, the sonorous chanting, and the majestic might of hundreds of illusory sages and saints, landing deep within the Righteous Camp.

It reached the ears of a figure who had remained silent and inconspicuous all along.

The man was clad in a profound black Daoist Robe, holding a great banner of the same pitch-black color, lost among the ranks of Nine Kings Mountain.

Yet, in the instant those two words landed—

He moved.

He moved with such speed that the Divine Thoughts of several of his comrades nearby couldn’t even react!

The Profound Black Banner, which had stood motionlessly by his side, was suddenly raised high!

As the banner unfurled, not a hint of Magical Power escaped. Instead, an aura of utter silence—one of extreme, pure cold—lashed out like a viper’s tongue, instantly enveloping the three Nine Kings Mountain Masters beside him.

"TSS—!"

A soft noise.

The three Masters didn’t even have time to cry out. As the Profound Black Banner swept past, their bodies shriveled and turned ashen in an instant, like dead wood drained of all life.

Three Divine Souls were forcibly ripped out by the great banner. They let out a shrill wail in the void before being absorbed into the banner’s surface, vanishing without a trace.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

It was so fast that the surrounding Righteous Cultivators only reacted when the three shriveled corpses began to fall from the sky.

"XUAN PING!!!"

A furious, incredulous roar erupted from deep within the Nine Kings Mountain ranks.

Several Nine Kings Mountain Great Masters struck simultaneously. A terrifying flood of Talismans transformed into chains of Dao Principles that filled the sky, frantically pursuing the figure who had already become a streak of Escape Light.

But the Escape Light was too fast.

So fast that the moment the chains of Dao Principles touched the tail of his Escape Light, he shrugged them off with a simple flick.

The man was far too familiar with the methods of Nine Kings Mountain!

Just like that, he traversed the void, crossing the carnage-filled battlefield and the churning demonic clouds, speeding directly toward the deep blue figure who stood with his hands clasped behind his back.

Behind him, the gazes of countless Righteous Cultivators burned with shock and fury.

Before him, the titan of the Demon Dao whose very presence struck fear into the hearts of all Great Masters.

Yet, his eyes held not a trace of fear.

Only the relief and fervor of a man who had finally reached his destined moment.

"BOOM—!"

The Escape Light came to a halt.

Xuan Ping Master dropped to one knee in the void. With both hands, he raised the Profound Black Banner high, presenting it to the deep blue figure before him.

He lowered his head slightly. His voice was not loud, but it carried clearly to the ears of every onlooker.

"Lord!"

From behind, the enraged roar of a Great Master from Nine Kings Mountain carried from afar:

"Xuan Ping! How dare you defect to the enemy!"

Upon hearing this, Xuan Ping Master remained utterly still.

He merely turned his head slightly, casting a faint glance from the corner of his eye in the direction of the roar.

In that glance, there was no anger, no terror—only a faint, mocking disdain.

He then withdrew his gaze, a slight smirk playing on his lips. His chuckle wasn’t loud, but it was clear enough for those who had roared to hear every word:

"Bullshit."

"I have always been my Lord’s loyal servant."

"When was there ever a defection to speak of?"

As his words fell, a dead silence descended upon the battlefield.

The furious shouts ceased abruptly.

The Masters of Nine Kings Mountain stared, wide-eyed, at the back of the man kneeling before the Demon Dao titan, their faces masks of utter disbelief.

’Always has been?’

’A loyal servant?’

’Then his years of lurking within Nine Kings Mountain were all...’

Xuan Ping Master paid no mind to the shouts, the shock, or the incredulous stares.

He simply remained kneeling in the void, holding the great banner aloft, and waited.

Qi Yun lowered his eyes.

His vast, Cyan Gold eyes fell upon the familiar Profound Black Banner.

The Human Emperor Banner.

This artifact had been with him for many years. It had accompanied him from his humblest beginnings, a mere ant in the Qi Refining realm, and had witnessed his journey to this very day.

Later, he entrusted it to Xuan Ping, who carried it in secret while infiltrating the Righteous Camp, awaiting the opportune moment.

Now, at last, it had returned.

He stretched out his hand.

His fingers gently closed around the banner’s staff.

The instant his fingertips touched the staff—

An unprecedentedly brilliant divine radiance erupted from the depths of his Cyan Gold eyes!

[Daluo Decree]!

From the great unknown, a supreme will—one capable of Commanding All Skills and evolving the myriad heavens—surged forth from Qi Yun’s body, pouring directly into the long-dormant Human Emperor Banner!

At the same time, the [Magic Technique Panel] silently appeared before his eyes.

As light swirled across its surface, lines of text rapidly appeared, re-formed, and evolved!

[Magic update complete. This is a major version update. Magic has been reworked!]

Lines of text flickered wildly across the panel, each pulse accompanied by an indescribable tremor.

And just as the update reached its most critical moment...

Qi Yun slightly opened his mouth.

A profound light emerged slowly from his lips.

It was a cyan lotus.

It was the color of faint cyan jade, its petals unfurled around a budding core. An ineffable Dao Rhyme flowed across every single petal.

It was the cyan lotus formed from his [Heaven-Reaching Immortal Appearance]!

The cyan lotus slowly spun as it flew from his mouth, coming to a halt three inches above the Human Emperor Banner.

Then—

Strands of cyan radiance rained down from the heart of the lotus.

The cyan radiance was gentle and boundless, imbued with the supreme will of the Venerable Dao Foundation. Strand by strand, it seeped into the Profound Black Banner below.

"VMMMM—!!!"

The Human Emperor Banner trembled violently!

And at the instant the cyan radiance descended...

The wildly flickering text on the [Magic Technique Panel] suddenly froze solid.

Every jumping, flashing, and re-forming line of text froze in the exact same instant.

Then, a faint cyan glow began to suffuse the motionless text.

This cyan glow was identical to the one flowing over the Human Emperor Banner below. It was the color of the Venerable Dao Foundation, the Dao Rhyme of the [Heaven-Reaching Immortal Appearance], the very manifestation of Qi Yun’s Fundamental Dao!

Wherever the cyan glow passed, the once black-and-white text on the panel was dyed a noble and boundless shade of cyan.

[Magic update in progress...]

The line of text, which had been flickering, was now completely still.

Then it slowly faded away.

In its place appeared a new line of text—grander, more brilliant, as if inscribed by the Great Dao itself:

[Magic update complete. This is the current strongest version. Magic has been reworked!]

The current strongest version!

A phrase that had never before appeared on the [Magic Technique Panel]!

The light within Qi Yun’s Cyan Gold eyes suddenly flared!

He gripped the Human Emperor Banner with both hands and thrust it violently upward!

"BOOM—!!!"

The Profound Black Banner that had accompanied him for so many years, at this moment, finally began to undergo—

A fundamental transformation!

The first thing to change was the banner’s surface.

The banner’s surface, once black as ink with faint, flowing traces of blood-red light, now began to churn and burn like black jade cast into a Fierce Fire.

The blackness receded!

The blood-light dissipated!

In its place appeared an indescribable, brilliant yellow!

It was a noble, vast, and majestic yellow, as if it were the fundamental color condensing all legitimacy, all order, and all divine authority from across the myriad heavens and realms.

Upon the banner’s surface, the countless phantoms of Resentful Souls, once sinking and struggling, now all tilted their heads back and let out a long cry!

But in that cry, there was no longer pain, no longer resentment, no longer struggle.

Only the relief of liberation and the joy of rebirth!

Under the brilliant yellow light, the phantoms of the Resentful Souls began to undergo an astonishing transformation.

The bloodstains on their bodies faded away. Their savage features grew serene. Their twisted forms straightened.

Phantom after phantom re-formed upon the banner, transforming into solemn, dignified figures dressed in simple, ancient attire.

They no longer struggled or wailed. Instead, they stood silently upon the brilliant yellow surface, like the civil and military officials of an imperial court, awaiting their sovereign’s arrival.

Next to change was the banner’s staff.

Under the infusion of the cyan radiance, profound Dao Patterns began to appear on the once-plain black staff.

These Dao Patterns shared the same source as those of the [Daluo Heaven] within Qi Yun’s body. They resonated with the cyan lotus’s Dao Rhyme and were a direct manifestation of his Fundamental Dao.

The Dao Patterns spread, interwove, and coiled around the staff, finally coalescing into a series of ancient characters.

The characters were of no known script. Each one held an ineffable majesty and divinity, as if proclaiming the banner’s rebirth.

Just as the banner’s surface and staff transformed in unison—

The character for [Forbidden], spanning the Celestial Vault in a blaze of golden light, suddenly trembled.

Then, the [Forbidden] character transformed into a streak of Flowing Light and merged into the banner’s transforming surface.

Next, the cyan lotus hovering above the Human Emperor Banner drifted down and merged into the center of the banner, becoming a vivid, lifelike brand.

High in the Celestial Vault, the very sky began to shift!

The astral winds, which had been stilled by the presence of the hundreds of sages, began to howl once more.

But this was no ordinary wind. It was an indescribable, divine hymn that seemed to echo from primordial times.

Within that divine hymn was the sound of millions worshiping, of officials kowtowing, of an emperor ascending his throne, of a Celestial Constitution descending upon the world.

And amidst these world-spanning phenomena—

On the [Magic Technique Panel], the re-forming lines of text finally settled.

The radiance faded.

Three large, Cyan Gold words shone brilliantly in the center of the panel.

The three words were ancient, noble, and majestic, as if they embodied the very foundation of all order, all Law, and all divine authority in the world.

[Gods Sealing List]

As the three words appeared, Heaven and Earth roared in unison!

...