Chapter Ninety-Two: Counterattack (Five)

He looked at the treasures strewn across the ground and thought that this Sun really did possess an astonishing stockpile.

There were swords, a teapot, a shield, a straw figure, a hairpin, and an iron chain—things he had never seen before—as well as the blood-red spiderweb and the great black banner that he knew Sun had been using all along. Altogether, there were eight magical artifacts.

He said with a laugh, “Now I understand why the demonic lot are so mad for this. Robbing and killing really is the easy way to get rich.”

Bai Qiu murmured, “Duty and propriety. The righteous path does not forbid disciples from killing enemies and taking their treasures. What sets it apart from the demonic sects is that it does not allow attacks on those who are not hostile. For example, if I coveted your Thousand-Ribbon Shield, even if I wanted it badly enough to go mad, I still could not lay a hand on you. There is shamelessness, and there is being a gentleman. Enough nonsense—hurry up and choose!”

Sun Fanbai nodded. “There are eight treasures in all. To be fair, the five of us each take one. The rest can be entrusted to someone for safekeeping and, once the cultivators’ market opens, exchanged for treasures or immortal jade. Or, if anyone truly needs something, they may take two items, but they must compensate the others with immortal jade or something else. What does everyone think?”

All nodded. It was fair.

Sun Fanbai said, “Then Brother Shi, you choose first. Second, Master Yuanwu contributed the most in this matter. Without his Buddhist insight, we would have had great difficulty uncovering Shi Cai, and we would also have been unable to tangle with Sun Yue. I suggest Master Yuanwu choose second.”

“Third,” Sun Fanbai continued, “I suggest Shi Cai. If he had not abandoned darkness for light this time, we would also have had a hard time finding the clues to bring the truth into the open. Besides, Shi Cai will be cooperating with Bai Qiu in the future, so let us do him a favor and let him choose first among the remaining ones.”

Sun Fanbai went on, “As for the rest, Bai Qiu fourth, I fifth. What do you think?”

He shook his head. “I’m the one asking all of you for help. I can’t be first; I’ll be last.”

Sun Fanbai waved a hand. “Since we agreed that I would decide, and since you all consented, then listen to me. Otherwise, I shall take my leave.”

He spread his hands. “All right, then.”

Only then did he look down at the items and mutter, “It’ll take a long time to refine these before I can tell whether they’re junk. Choosing one is all down to fate.”

First item: teapot. He ignored it at once. He did like tea, yes, but in the heat of battle, if he suddenly pulled out a teapot, would that not be a little... absurd?

Second item: shield. If he guessed right, this black shield had probably just blocked the attack of the Water Spirit Orb. But he already had the Thousand-Ribbon Shield, so he ignored it.

Third item: straw figure. Hmm... when Sun had been restrained just now, it seemed he had suddenly turned into a straw figure while his true body escaped. This straw figure might be a life-saving treasure, though he did not know whether it was single-use or a true artifact. Hmm... undecided.

Fourth item: hairpin. Ignore it...

Fifth item: iron chain. It looked like a restraint-type artifact. He already had water-based techniques and frigid power, and binding spells were practically inexhaustible to him. Ignore...

Sixth item: blood-red spiderweb. He knew this thing. Earlier at White Gull Beach, this very artifact had sealed off his retreat, and just now it had fought Sun Fanbai’s Heaven-and-Earth Flaming Banner to a standstill. It had to be something good. Undecided.

Seventh item: black great banner. Sun had used this as well. Waving it could summon black-armored spirit soldiers. It was useful for suppressing the field, but not especially practical.

After thinking for a moment, he finally chose the straw figure. He thought to himself that he still had enemies, and staying alive was what mattered most. If this straw figure was truly a life-saving treasure, then he would have struck gold. But if it was a single-use item, then... he could only blame his own bad luck. He had also wanted to choose the blood-red spiderweb, but in his hands it would honestly not be of much use.

More importantly, Sun Fanbai was practically drooling over the blood-red spiderweb.

“I’ll take this straw figure!” he said, picking it up.

In truth, the best-known treasure among them was the blood-red spiderweb, because everyone had seen what it could do, and choosing anything else carried risk.

Everyone understood that he was making a concession, leaving the better thing for those behind him and gambling on his own luck.

Second was Yuanwu. Just when everyone thought he would politely refuse, and was about to persuade him, they saw Yuanwu slowly step forward.

Pointing at the black banner, Yuanwu said softly, “Would all of you permit this humble monk to take the black banner?”

He nodded. “Of course. Since you are second to choose, Master, you may take whichever you like.”

With palms pressed together, Yuanwu said, “Amitabha... This humble monk suspects that this is a soul-calling banner.”

“A soul-calling banner?” he asked.

Yuanwu nodded. “From the moment I saw that black banner, I sensed an aura of death within it. I fear even those black-armored spirit soldiers were formed from the souls of the dead.”

Sun Fanbai frowned. “The soul-calling banner is a treasure of the Ghost Gate. Ghost Gate is the foremost heretical sect, also known as the Ghost Cult. Three thousand two hundred years ago, its main altar was destroyed by the Ten Thousand Evils Sect. The righteous, demonic, and heretical factions then hunted down its disciples together and finally wiped it out. It is called the foremost heretical sect not because it had the most people, but because its cultivation methods were so sinister that even the Ten Thousand Evils Sect could not tolerate them. This banner, called a soul-calling banner, is a treasure of Ghost Gate. They kill to seize souls, refine souls through forbidden arts, and make those souls suffer beyond measure. The more miserable the soul becomes, the more powerful the banner grows.”

Bai Qiu added, “That’s right, I’ve heard of it too. The Ghost Gate master would distribute white banners to his disciples, and the disciples had to smear them with the blood of their closest kin, then with the blood of other people. After more than ten days, the white banner would be refined into a soul-calling banner. Ghost Gate was destroyed because its master was killed. Without him to distribute the white banners, the disciples could not continue their cultivation. And as for what mysteries those white banners held, and how they were refined, no one knows. Such a thing is harmful to the world; if one sees it, one must destroy it.”

Sun Fanbai nodded. “Just as Bai Qiu said. What is most terrifying about Ghost Gate is that even disciples with very low cultivation can still refine a soul-calling banner. Across the twelve states there are tens of millions of common people, and among them there will always be those who resent Heaven’s injustice. Those people can spend a few days learning the entry-level heart method to cultivate qi, and then they can control a soul-calling banner...”

Yuanwu stepped forward. “That is why I wish to take this black banner back with me, to Thunder Sound Temple, and ask my master to examine it. If it truly is a soul-calling banner, then my Buddhist sect will use its power to transcend the wronged souls trapped within it.”

Sun Fanbai said, “Indeed. Buddhist methods are the best way to deal with Ghost Gate. Master, when you return, please have your venerable teacher inspect it. If it truly is a soul-calling banner, it will surely cause a sensation throughout the twelve states. If Ghost Gate appears again, then we cultivators must join forces to destroy it, so that it may not wreak havoc upon the twelve states once more.”

Yuanwu nodded. “Amitabha. That is also my intention.”

The sudden mention of Ghost Gate startled everyone.

Next was Shi Cai, who walked straight forward and picked up the sword, muttering, “I was just short of a flying sword! I want this one!”

With that, Shi Cai tossed the sword into his spatial ring.

Fourth was Bai Qiu. After a round of polite back-and-forth with Sun Fanbai, he chose the black shield.

Bai Qiu tossed the black shield into his spatial ring and muttered, “What I lack most is a means of defense. I’ll take this shield.”

The last turn belonged to Sun Fanbai. By then, the remaining items were the teapot, iron chain, hairpin, and blood-red spiderweb.

Sun Fanbai smiled and shook his head, knowing full well that these people had deliberately left the spiderweb for him.

He did not hesitate. He took the blood-red spiderweb directly into his hands and bowed to the three.

He spread his hands and said, “That leaves the teapot, hairpin, and iron chain.”

He turned and looked at the others. “Do any of you want the remaining three?”

At that moment, Bai Qiu raised his hand. “Can I have the hairpin?”

He smiled. “What would you want a hairpin for, Little Bai? That is a woman’s ornament.”

Bai Qiu smiled back. “Unlike all of you, single and solitary, I am a man with a wife!”

He curled his lip. “Ha. I seem to remember someone telling me that his goal was the entire forest.”

Bai Qiu shoved him. “Go on, get out of here. I only love Jingjing!”

Sun Fanbai nudged him. “You don’t know this, but on the day we parted ways in Yongzhou City, Mo Jingjing’s methods were extremely cruel.”

He asked, “Oh? What happened?”

Sun Fanbai shook his head. “You’ll have to ask him yourself.”

He spread his hands. “Tch.”

“All right, all right!” Bai Qiu picked up the hairpin. “I’ll take it back for Jingjing, and then I’ll compensate each of you with a thousand spirit jades.”

Everyone waved it off, signaling that they could discuss it later.

Sun Fanbai asked, “Shi Qi, what do we do next?”

He smiled. “Wait.”

“Wait?” Bai Qiu asked.

He nodded. “No later than tonight, I think Sun Yue will definitely come for a sneak attack. He probably won’t give up on Sun that easily.”

Bai Qiu said, “So we...”

“Exactly,” he said. “We wait for the hare to stumble into the stump.”

That night, everyone rested inside the cave.

At the hour of the Ox, a dark figure slowly appeared outside the cavern, lurking in the darkness, making almost no sound at all.

It was none other than Sun Yue, who had fled by day.

贴着 the wall, Sun Yue slowly made his way into the cave.

Halfway in, he frowned, having caught an extremely strong smell of blood.

At that moment, an uneasy thought surfaced in his mind, and Sun Yue quickened his pace.

He strode into the cavern, and what greeted him head-on was the corpse of Sun, with its heart taken away!

Before he could even recover from the shock, he heard Shi Qi’s voice from ahead.

“I’ve been waiting for you!!!”

At once, blue light flashed before Sun Yue, and a Water Spirit Orb came crashing toward him.

Sun Yue hurriedly dodged, but Sun Fanbai’s Immortal-Binding Rope snagged his right foot.

In his desperation, Sun Yue hastily unleashed his blade and hacked at the Water Spirit Orb.

Boom!

The Water Spirit Orb exploded. The tremendous force threw Sun Yue off balance, blasting apart his topknot and scattering the mask from his face.

When the mask split open, the face beneath it was revealed to be unbelievably lovely, delicate and crystal-clear, the very image of a young maiden!

He cried out, “The famed Sun and Moon siblings, and the younger one is actually a girl?”

Sun Yue stared coldly at him and shouted, “Shi Qi!!! You are my brother, and I will never rest until you are dead!!!”

He smiled. “Then first get out of this cave before you say that!!”

The instant his words fell, Yuanwu’s cassock rose into the air and killed toward Sun Yue.