Chapter 50: Hidden Perils

As he stepped into the formation of Green Valley Market, the swirling mist concealed his figure, and Lu Yan finally let out a long sigh of relief.

Due to the unique nature of spirit marrow ore, which would taint nearby items with its potent spiritual energy, Lu Yan had deliberately stored it separately in a different storage pouch the night before. That pouch had become the core of today’s entire plan.

The spirit marrow ore was valuable enough that even most Foundation Establishment cultivators wouldn’t dare covet it lightly. It wasn’t something a mere Qi Refining cultivator could possibly possess. Even a true disciple would have to pay a steep price for such a resource, which lent Lu Yan’s bluff a layer of plausibility.

Meanwhile, the photograph he had obtained in the Urban version—from one of Ji Xingyao’s fans—became the final piece of evidence linking him to her.

Together, these factors solidified the illusion that he had some connection to Ji Xingyao.

This plan had been concocted in a rush, and its biggest uncertainty was whether Ji Xingyao still held enough sway to intimidate someone like Xie Yun.

In truth, Lu Yan knew next to nothing about the inner workings of the Green Wu Sect, its disciples, or the battle for true disciple status. His assumption about Ji Xingyao’s fall from favor was based entirely on her disgraced streamer status in the Urban version.

Which meant… Lu Yan had no way of knowing how much authority Ji Xingyao still commanded, or whether threatening to sever her cultivation path would be enough to make Xie Yun back down.

In short—this had always been a gamble.

If Lu Yan won, Xie Yun would live.
If Lu Yan lost, Xie Yun would die.

That’s right—from the very beginning, this scheme had never been about whether Lu Yan would survive. It had always been about Xie Yun’s fate.

Should the bluff fail, the existence of the Hundred Souls Banner would be exposed, and Lu Yan would have no choice but to kill everyone present to silence them.

What truly concerned him wasn’t the act of killing, but the repercussions that would follow.

Fortunately, at the critical moment, Ji Xingyao’s lingering authority as a true disciple of the Green Wu Sect had proven sufficient.

Though she might be a washed-up influencer in the Urban version, her name still held weight, enough to force Xie Yun into cautious retreat.

Still, there was one thing that left Lu Yan unsettled.

After he had presented the photo, he noticed the way Xie Yun looked at him had… changed, subtly but unmistakably.

“Did he… realize something?”

The thought flickered through Lu Yan’s mind, but he didn’t dwell on it. His gaze swept across the streets of Green Valley Market.

Since Xie Yun and his people had clearly set their sights on the market, they must’ve made preparations long in advance. Every shop along the street was shut tight. The usual high-level Qi Refining cultivators who managed the market were nowhere to be seen—only a few scattered cultivators stood dazed at the entrance, unsure of what to do.

As soon as they saw Lu Yan walk into the market, someone stepped forward, trying to ask for information.

“Fellow Daoist, what happened outside?”

Lu Yan didn’t even glance their way. He strode straight past them toward the market’s residential cave district.

Strictly speaking, the smartest thing for him to do now would be to leave Green Valley Market immediately—to flee beyond the borders of Green Wu Sect’s territory.

But in front of Xie Yun, Lu Yan had presented himself as someone close to Ji Xingyao. A mere mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator carrying a priceless spirit marrow ore—if he turned around and bolted the moment he passed inspection, even a fool would grow suspicious.

Thus, Lu Yan’s only real option was to enter the market and wait for the inspection to end before slipping away unnoticed.

“Let’s just hope nothing goes wrong in the meantime…”

With a quiet sigh, he returned to his cave dwelling, moving with practiced ease.

Seated cross-legged on a meditation cushion, Lu Yan began to reflect on the day’s events.

It struck him then—the danger posed by individual cultivators was limited. The real threat came from overwhelming trends and forces.

In the Xianxia version, the purging of the Hundred Souls Banner was a matter of orthodoxy—an unstoppable current. Even the demonic sects wouldn’t dare use such a weapon openly, let alone a lone rogue cultivator like him.

The Hundred Souls Banner gave him the power to kill Foundation Establishment cultivators across realms, yes—but it also brought with it immense hidden danger.

As long as he held the banner, the righteous sects could come knocking at any time.

This time it had been Xie Yun, an early Foundation Establishment inner disciple. Lu Yan had been able to use Ji Xingyao’s name to scare him off.

But what about next time?
What if it was a true disciple?
What if it was a Core Formation expert from the righteous path?

Lu Yan fell into deep thought. After a long silence, he muttered to himself:

“The power of the Hundred Souls Banner… has its limits after all.”

“If only I could refine a Thousand Souls Banner, or a Ten Thousand Souls Banner—if I could slaughter the entire zombie horde in the Apocalypse version and refine every last wandering soul into the banner—what righteous sect would dare stand in my way?”

His thoughts circled back to the same core issue: lack of power.

Giving up the banner? That would be like giving up food for fear of choking.

Everything he had gained in the Xianxia world had been earned through blood and fire in the Apocalypse version. Without those three grueling months of grinding zombies, he wouldn’t have any of this.

“But who knows when I’ll get to return to the Apocalypse version next? Refining a Ten Thousand Souls Banner and clearing out the entire Apocalypse world isn’t something I can do in just one or two visits.”

“Before I can wield the banner openly with true power, I should find a better way to hide it—just in case something like today happens again.”

With that thought in mind, Lu Yan began organizing his ideas. He identified two possible approaches to prevent today’s crisis from repeating.

First, he could obtain some kind of treasure that could shield its contents from divine sense—then hide the storage pouch holding the banner inside that treasure.

But that was a temporary solution at best. It still carried the risk of exposure if the pouch was ever opened.

Second, he could take inspiration from Core Formation cultivators and their lifebound magic treasures—items refined into the body and nourished by their essence.

If Lu Yan could absorb the Hundred Souls Banner into his body, he wouldn’t need to conceal it at all.

The only issue was—the banner wasn’t his lifebound magic treasure, and it was only a top-grade magical artifact, not even a spiritual weapon. Storing it in his body was purely a theoretical guess.

Without the appropriate refining method, there was no way to proceed.

“What a pain…”

After half a day of thinking, he still had no solution. So Lu Yan simply decided to shelve the matter for now.

The inspection outside Green Valley Market was still ongoing. He couldn’t flee during this time anyway.

So he pulled out the spoils from last night from his personal storage pouch.

After killing Cheng Yu of the Red Lotus Demon Sect, Lu Yan had been too busy celebrating his acquisition of the spirit marrow ore and cleaning up the scene to examine the rest of the loot.

Among them were two tomes he had only skimmed but never fully reviewed.

Given they had been stored alongside the Red Lotus Karma Flame Scripture, these books were likely far from ordinary.

With a wave of his right hand, the two books appeared in his palm.

The top one had four large characters etched into its cover:

“Profound Formations Manual”

(End of Chapter)