Qin Sang awoke from his cultivation, unable to suppress the smile tugging at the corners of his lips, his heart brimming with joy.

He raised his arm and examined it, pinching slightly to check if there were any changes. Everything seemed the same as before, revealing no apparent benefits from his recent breakthrough.

He channeled a portion of his qi into his fingers, and after a moment, a faint, hazy blue aura appeared around them.

"Could this be the manifestation of true qi that Bai Jianglan mentioned?"

Qin Sang wondered, intrigued. He attempted to shape the qi into the form of a sword, but found it impossible. Frustrated, he jabbed his finger at the bamboo table beside him. With a resounding

bang

, not only did the table remain unscathed, but a sharp pain shot through his fingertip.

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Right!" Qin Sang suddenly slapped his forehead. "I almost forgot about the Yan Luo Banner!"

He hurriedly unwrapped the cloth bound around his chest and took out the items hidden within. Placing the other objects aside, he focused on the Yan Luo Banner in his hand.

The small banner emanated an eerie aura, a weapon that once belonged to the man in black. Qin Sang had refrained from tampering with it for a year, adhering strictly to the teachings of the

Netherworld Scripture

.

Now that Qin Sang had broken through to the second stage, the scripture indicated he could finally wield the Yan Luo Banner.

Holding the banner, Qin Sang examined it carefully, thoughts of the desiccated corpse flashing through his mind, causing him to hesitate.

The image of the evil spirit on the banner was so lifelike, it seemed ready to leap out at any moment. Despite being a weapon of an immortal cultivator, it could very well be a demonic or evil artifact.

But he had already practiced the demonic cultivation method.

Isn’t it a bit late to worry about such things now?

Steeling himself, Qin Sang grasped the Yan Luo Banner firmly with both hands.

Following the steps described in the scripture, he circulated his qi, guiding it through his meridians toward his palms, and then directed it into the Yan Luo Banner.

Qin Sang stared intently at the banner, his heart pounding with anxiety.

The blue mist enveloped the Yan Luo Banner, which suddenly glowed faintly. The evil spirit on the banner seemed to twitch, but Qin Sang dismissed it as a trick of his eyes.

In the next instant, the mist swelled suddenly, only to be absorbed entirely by the Yan Luo Banner.

Immediately afterward, an immense force of suction emanated from the banner, draining the remaining qi from Qin Sang’s dantian in a frenzy.

Panic-stricken, Qin Sang tried desperately to pull the qi back, but it was futile. In his frantic state, he shook his hand violently, yet the Yan Luo Banner clung to his palm as if glued.

Helplessly watching the qi he had painstakingly cultivated being siphoned away, Qin Sang was on the verge of tears.

At that moment, something strange happened again.

The Yan Luo Banner began to move on its own, its surface fluttering despite the absence of wind. The evil spirit on the banner faced Qin Sang, blinked, and sneered before lunging at him.

Qin Sang had never encountered anything so terrifying. He screamed in horror, but there was nowhere to escape. All he could do was watch as the malevolent spirit pounced on his face.

He felt a tremendous force crash into him, his mind growing hazy before he suddenly regained consciousness, realizing he was still aware of his surroundings.

"Where am I? Where is that evil spirit?"

Qin Sang’s eyes widened in shock as he found himself surrounded by boundless darkness, unable to see anything.

What is this place?

Was I killed by the evil spirit and ended up in the underworld?

Utterly perplexed, Qin Sang looked down, only to be startled again. His body had shrunk to the size of a palm, and he had become entirely transparent, glowing faintly with a blue light, surrounded by a thin layer of yellowish glow, resembling a ball of light from the outside. Ŗ

How did I become like this? Is this my soul?

Where did that evil spirit go?

Qin Sang stared wide-eyed, trying to move his transparent legs. As soon as he took a step, he suddenly flew far into the distance.

Just then, he heard a terrifying roar echo from the depths of the darkness. Looking up, he saw the evil spirit, a dark shadow, flying toward him.

The evil spirit towered over Qin Sang, its blood-red eyes fixed on him with a ravenous gaze. It sped toward him with terrifying ferocity.

Compared to the evil spirit’s immense form, Qin Sang felt utterly feeble. Seeing the spirit rush at him, he was so terrified that he fled like a headless fly.

But his speed was far too slow, and the evil spirit quickly caught up.

Swish!

With a fierce rush, the evil spirit's shadow blocked Qin Sang in the blink of an eye. It sneered menacingly, its enormous, bloody mouth opening wide, ready to swallow him whole.

Despair washed over Qin Sang's face.

But just as the evil spirit was about to devour him, the yellow light surrounding Qin Sang's soul suddenly radiated with boundless brilliance. From within the intense golden light, a statue of Buddha emerged.

The Buddha statue had a broken arm, sat cross-legged, eyes cast downward, and its radiant light enveloped the tiny figure of Qin Sang, who found himself within the statue’s body.

"Amitabha!"

A grand and resonant Buddhist chant echoed in Qin Sang’s mind, like the tolling of a great bell, leaving him awestruck.

The Buddha statue remained still, but the evil spirit’s expression twisted in terror. It turned and fled as if it had encountered its worst enemy, abandoning all traces of its previous arrogance.

"I-Isn't that the Jade Buddha from my previous life?"

Qin Sang ignored the fleeing evil spirit and stared at the statue's broken arm, overwhelmed with emotion. He had worn that Jade Buddha for thirty years in his past life, and it was the last thing he saw before he died—how could he ever forget it?

The Jade Buddha had been passed down from his mother’s family, already damaged, with one arm broken, just like this statue.

Qin Sang had thought himself a wandering ghost who had somehow drifted into this world. He never expected that the Jade Buddha would accompany him in this form and even save his life.

"Mom... Dad..."

Qin Sang buried his face in his hands, weeping openly for the first time, though his soul could not shed tears.

After venting his emotions, Qin Sang quickly regained his composure, pondering his situation. But with nothing but endless darkness surrounding him, he felt a growing sense of bewilderment.

"The Jade Buddha saved me, so I might still be alive. Could this place be inside my body? How do I get out? The evil spirit is still outside, what if it still wants to eat me?"

As soon as the thought of leaving crossed Qin Sang's mind, he felt a wave of dizziness. Suddenly, his surroundings shifted, and the familiar room reappeared before his eyes.

Qin Sang's heart raced as he realized he was still clutching the Yan Luo Banner. He quickly threw it far away. As his gaze swept across the room, he spotted a dark shadow cowering in the corner—it was the evil spirit.

The evil spirit huddled in the corner, trembling and gazing at Qin Sang with a look of pure terror.

Though Qin Sang's body remained stiff, the sight of the terrified spirit eased much of his fear.

"It’s afraid of the Jade Buddha."

"The Jade Buddha is within me, merged with my soul, so it fears me as well."

"Can I command it, or perhaps control it?"

Just as Qin Sang was about to voice these thoughts, a sudden knocking on the door startled him, followed by Old Wu’s worried calls from outside.

He must have woken Old Wu with his earlier outburst.

With so many secrets at stake, opening the door was not an option.

"I—"

Qin Sang quickly adjusted his thoughts, ready to explain, when he saw the evil spirit suddenly dash into the bamboo wall. His heart sank.