Courtyard House: Time Traveler Not Yet a Ghost

Inside the tent, an elderly man with white hair, dressed in a black priest's robe, turned around in astonishment, a string of prayer beads clutched in his hand. His face was covered in wrinkles, his eyes were sinister, and a faint black aura swirled around him. This was none other than Yagyu Gensai, a high-ranking Onmyoji (yin-yang master) in the Japanese army. He had been tending to his shikigami (spirit medium) and had only spoken up when he sensed the abnormality of the barrier, never expecting the enemy to arrive so quickly and so strangely!

The two locked eyes.

Yagyu Gensai reacted extremely quickly, immediately reciting an incantation and forming a hand seal with his fingers.

But He Damin was even faster! The instant he slid into the tent, his right hand, already poised and ready, clenched into a sword-like shape. A point of pale golden true energy condensed at the tip of his finger, like a needle, and with lightning speed, he struck at the Yintang acupoint between Liu Shengxuan's eyebrows! This finger strike, seemingly effortless, combined the penetrating power of traditional Chinese martial arts with the exorcising properties of Taoist true energy—fast, accurate, and ruthless!

Yagyu Gensai only uttered half a syllable of his incantation, and only completed half of his hand seal.

"Pop!"

A soft sound, like a bubble bursting.

Yagyu Gensai's body stiffened abruptly, his eyes widened suddenly, and his pupils rapidly dilated. The black aura surrounding him instantly dissipated, and his hand, which was holding the prayer beads, fell limply to his side. A tiny red dot slowly seeped from between his brows, and then black, foul blood began to flow from all seven of his orifices.

The true energy from He Damin's fingertips not only shattered his skull, but also instantly pulverized his brain tissue and the very essence of his soul. A highly respected Onmyoji in the Japanese army was annihilated before he could even summon his shikigami.

Without even glancing at the fallen corpse, He Damin flashed to the corner of the tent. There lay a black lacquered wooden box, its surface covered with countless talismans. His spiritual sense detected a powerful, malevolent aura sealed within; it was likely a shikigami trained by Yagyu Gensai. Without hesitation, He Damin slapped a blazing fire talisman onto the box.

"Boom!" The wooden box, along with the shikigami contract item inside, turned to ashes in the pure yang true fire.

The entire process, from tearing up the tent to killing the man and destroying the box, took no more than three breaths.

Without pausing, He Damin followed suit and lunged at the nearby tent.

The killings proceeded efficiently and ruthlessly in the silent night.

These Yin-Yang Masters and accompanying monks may appear mysterious and powerful to ordinary people, and may even possess some strange magic. However, in the face of He Damin, who combines the experience of a top assassin, the martial arts of the Transformation Realm, the Taoist arts of Foundation Establishment, and a high-level soul weapon, especially when he is ambushed at close range, their resistance appears pale and powerless.

Some had their necks snapped in their sleep; others were stabbed in the heart with a dagger the moment they woke up, their true energy shattering their heart meridians; some barely managed to erect a spiritual energy shield, only to have it pierced through by the phantom of the Blood Soul Chain, their souls instantly sucked away; and one, seemingly a monk specializing in spiritual power, attempted to resist with a mental attack, only to crash headlong into He Damin's even more condensed and powerful soul energy barrier, turning himself into an idiot in the backlash, and being finished off with a subsequent palm strike.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, all twelve of the Japanese "superhumans" were dead. All that remained inside the tent were corpses, destroyed magical artifacts, and a gradually dissipating eerie aura.

He Damin stood outside the last tent, slightly out of breath. The continuous, high-intensity attacks had taken a toll on his spirit, true energy, and physical strength. But his eyes remained cold and sharp. In his spiritual sea, the Soul Refining Banner trembled excitedly—the absorption of the dozen or so "high-quality" souls had brought the total number of souls within the banner past the 1500 mark!

Om-!

The Soul Refining Banner suddenly erupted with an unprecedentedly intense crimson light! The banner surface expanded violently, and the hundred ghost patterns seemed to come alive, howling towards the sky! The dragon scale patterns on the banner pole shone with golden light, and phantom images of dragon scales appeared, coiling and swirling. The entire banner was undergoing some kind of profound transformation!

[The Soul Refining Banner has successfully advanced for the third time!]

[Blood Soul Chains evolve into "Netherworld Chains," imbued with "Soul-Eating Yin Fire," capable of burning souls and significantly increasing damage to spirits.]

[The Soul Banner's domain has been expanded to a radius of fifty feet, and the "Wailing of Vengeful Spirits" effect has been added, which can significantly weaken enemy morale and cause psychological panic.]

[The number of demonic phantoms summoned during the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons is doubled, their strength is increased, and they can briefly materialize to attack.]

[Unlock Ability: Soul Banner Projection - Can split into small Soul Refining Banner phantoms, attaching to objects or specific locations to form a continuous soul-absorbing/suppressing area.]

[Unlocked Ability: Soul Devouring Feedback - When the Soul Refining Banner absorbs souls, it can feed back a small amount of pure soul power to nourish the host's soul, accelerating soul cultivation.]

A flood of information rushed into He Damin's mind, and his spirits lifted. The improvement brought by the third advancement far surpassed that of before! Especially the two new abilities, [Soul Banner Projection] and [Soul Devouring Feeding], which were extremely practical.

But now is not the time for detailed study.

His gaze swept across the rest of the military camp. The "professionals" here were gone; all that remained were the hundreds of newly arrived Japanese soldiers, and... the "spoils of war" scattered around, which originally belonged to him.

It's time to move on to the next step.

He Damin emerged from his hiding place, no longer making any effort to conceal himself. He went to the parade ground in the center of the military camp, where a large number of weapon crates and supplies were piled up.

After the Soul Refining Banner advanced for the third time, its power increased greatly. It was a good opportunity to test its power on these Japanese devils and also to complete the final soul harvest and consolidate the newly acquired power.

With a thought, the Soul Refining Banner, which was suspended in the spiritual sea, trembled slightly. A surge of soul power, far more powerful, sinister, and terrifying than before, spread out from him!

[Soul Banner Domain - Full Activation]! Its range is fifty feet, covering most of the core area of ​​the military camp!

The effect of "Wailing of Vengeful Spirits" is activated!

In an instant, all the Japanese soldiers covered by the domain, whether on guard duty, patrolling, or resting in the barracks, felt a chilling cold rise from the bottom of their hearts, and countless mournful, desperate, and resentful wails exploded in their minds! It was as if thousands of wronged souls were crying, roaring, and demanding their lives from them!

"Ah—ghosts! So many ghosts!"

"Mom...I don't want to die..."

"My head... my head is going to explode!"

Panic spread like wildfire! Many soldiers suffered mental breakdowns, clutching their heads and screaming as they rolled on the ground. The once strict discipline of the military camp vanished without a trace.

Immediately afterwards, He Damin activated the upgraded [Night Parade of One Hundred Demons]!

More than twenty grotesque ghostly figures, several times more solid than before and even faintly entwined with black mist, burst forth from the Soul Refining Banner with shrill cries! They pounced on the soldiers who were caught in the chaos, not only tearing at their spirits but also inflicting real physical damage with their solidified ghostly claws!

At the same time, He Damin himself moved. Like a tiger among sheep, his figure flashed through the chaotic military camp. His dagger gleamed coldly, each strike precisely taking a life; his fists and feet contained hidden force, those struck suffered broken bones and shattered internal organs. He no longer deliberately pursued concealment, but instead carried out physical elimination at the most efficient speed.

Occasionally, when encountering small groups of Japanese soldiers attempting to organize resistance, the [Netherworld Chains] would shoot out like venomous snakes from the depths of hell. The chains burned with a ghastly green "Soul-Eating Yin Fire," instantly drawing away the soldiers' souls. Even their spirits would let out silent screams in the Yin Fire, turning into pure soul power that was absorbed by the Soul Refining Banner. At the same time, a trace of cool soul power would be fed back into He Damin's own soul, making him more and more energetic as the battle progressed.

This was a one-sided massacre.

The newly transferred 500 elite troops, plus the original 100 or so who survived and were responsible for guarding and cleaning up, totaling nearly 600 Japanese soldiers, were quickly reduced in number under the terrifying domain of the Soul Refining Banner, the harassment of the phantoms of a hundred ghosts, and He Damin's own highly efficient hunting.

Screams, gunshots (many of which were accidental shots fired in the chaos), ghostly wails, and the omnipresent cries of vengeful spirits intertwined to form a bloody symphony of death that echoed over the Fengtai military camp.

An hour later, the military camp fell silent once again.

It was even more utterly silent than last night.

On the parade ground, beside the barracks, and near the barbed wire, the bodies of Japanese soldiers lay in various poses. Blood soaked the earth, and the air was thick with the stench of blood and a deeper, more somber aura of death, as if the souls had been annihilated.

He Damin stood beside a mountain of supply crates, his body spotless, only his eyes as cold as ice. Within his spiritual sea, the "fulfillment" emanating from the Soul Refining Banner was stronger than ever before; the blood-red light on the banner's surface almost solidified, its power overwhelming. The total number of souls absorbed had already exceeded three thousand.

He didn't delay any longer and began collecting supplies.

Under the influence of his thoughts, the weapon and ammunition boxes, grain sacks, bundles of rifles and machine guns piled up on the playground, including several intact mortars and heavy machine guns, as well as the gold, silver, money, watches, pens and other valuables looted from the command post and corpses, all disappeared in large swaths as if swept by an invisible giant hand and were stored in the storage area of ​​the positive side of the Taiji Space.

This time, he took everything, leaving not a single bullet or silver dollar behind.

After all this was done, the eastern sky was already showing the first light of dawn.

He Damin took one last look at the hellish military camp, then his figure flashed, and he sped off towards Beiping City. His speed was several times faster than when he came, not only because he had used his lightness skill to its fullest extent, but also because of the soul power nourished by the [Soul Devouring Feeding] technique, which made him energetic and full of stamina.

As the first rays of dawn pierced the clouds and illuminated the death-shrouded land of the Fengtai military camp, He Damin's figure had already disappeared into the distant sunrise.

What's left for the Japanese high command is an even more perplexing, terrifying, and looted "supernatural wasteland." Meanwhile, He Damin's Soul Refining Banner has completed its third crucial advancement, elevating his strength and resources to a new level.

He Damin's spirit body had not yet entered the Taiji Yin-Yang Space to absorb pure soul power. Now, the Soul Refining Banner has undergone its third evolution [Unlocked Ability: Soul Devouring Feedback - When the Soul Refining Banner absorbs souls, it can feed back a small amount of pure soul power to nourish the host's soul, accelerating soul cultivation.]

Now there's another proactive feedback mechanism: it's no longer necessary to enter the Taiji Yin-Yang Space to absorb pure white soul power. The beginner's gift pack includes the Yin-Yang Space skills Soul Clone Technique, Memory Reading, Soul Control, and [Soul Refining Banner (Fragment): Can absorb and refine wandering souls and ghosts, turning them into pure soul energy for the host to consume and strengthen their soul]. Upgrading the Soul Refining Banner is the best choice.

The darkness of this chaotic world seemed to have become even more profound and unpredictable because of him.