Sixty years of blacksmithing, a single hammer blow forging a celestial being.

He quickly used Wood Release: Technique again.

And so they wandered back and forth through the woods with Lu Xue.

However, Lu Xue was relaxed and at ease, hardly expending any spiritual energy.

However, Li Ping'an below was frantically using Wood Release techniques, exhausting himself like a dog.

"Damn it! This won't do!"

Li Ping'an was extremely anxious.

Suddenly he looked at the ground beneath his feet and remembered something.

Yes! I remember what the witch Lin Yu said back then.

That demonic artifact of the Yin Ghost Sect is buried in the forest behind the Tongtian Sword Sect.

Isn't this the woods behind the mountain?

Upon realizing this, Li Ping'an suddenly understood.

Unbeknownst to him, he had somehow ended up in the forest where the demonic artifact was buried.

I don't know what the buried demonic artifact is.

Li Ping'an's heart stirred. He had no choice but to try anything, even if it seemed hopeless, and went to find that magical artifact.

I vaguely remember that Lin Yu said it was the tenth tree after entering the forest that day.

Li Ping'an used Wood Release Technique to dodge and avoid the Holy Maiden's attacks.

They followed the direction they had been told that day.

Sure enough, they found an unusual large tree in one place.

The soil under that tree looked fresher than in other places.

It was obviously recently excavated; this must be the place.

Li Ping'an's heart stirred, but how could he possibly find it now?

Another problem is, if you don't know how to use it after digging it up, wouldn't that be a waste of time?

What should we do?

Just then, the saintess unleashed another sword strike from the sky.

Li Ping'an dodged the sword energy.

Several trees behind them were neatly cut down.

However, Li Ping'an also fell flat on the ground and couldn't get up in time.

The saintess's eyes flashed with fierce light as she unleashed another sword strike.

"die!"

At this critical moment, Li Ping'an suddenly slid to his knees and roared.

"Alright! Lu Xue! Stop! I've thought it through! Let me do it myself!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Xue was slightly taken aback, then a kind smile appeared on her face.

"Brother Ping An! You've finally come to your senses!"

His tone suddenly became incredibly gentle.

Li Ping'an could only think to himself, "This woman's face changes faster than flipping through a book."

"I've really thought it through! Rather than being chopped into mincemeat by you, I'd rather leave myself with a whole corpse!"

Lu Xue laughed even harder when she heard this.

"Brother Ping An! If you had understood this long ago, why would I have gone to such lengths? Come on! End it yourself! From now on, my cultivation will be completely clear, without a single scratch! I will finally be able to cultivate the Dustless Sword Technique!"

Lu Xue was overjoyed to see that Li Ping'an had finally come to his senses.

He would have no doubts whatsoever.

Because Li Ping'an's life or death is now entirely in his hands.

Even if Li Ping'an tried to play tricks, he could simply strike with his sword and kill Li Ping'an.

So why not let Li Ping'an see for himself whether he truly wants to die or is trying to pull some trick?

However, none of this mattered to Lu Xue.

Li Pingan stood up, straightened his clothes, shook his head, and said.

"Before I kill myself, I want to dig my own grave! Then you can throw me in there, at least I'll have a place to be buried!"

Lu Xue nodded upon hearing this, "Okay!"

As Li Ping'an spoke, he took out the small sword from his pocket and began digging a hole under a tree.

Li Ping'an's purpose in digging the pit was naturally to dig out that magical artifact.

The spot he dug was under the tree with fresh soil.

As he dug, he silently prayed that there must be something there.

However, after digging dozens of times, a pit nearly half a meter deep had been dug underfoot, but there was nothing there.

Oh no! Could it be that the witch was just making things up to deceive me?

Li Ping'an's heart sank.

However, when he planted the sword in the soil again, he heard a cracking sound.

It seems to have encountered something hard.

Feeling the vibration from the sword, Li Ping'an was overjoyed.

There really is something inside!

There really was something inside!

Li Ping'an frantically dug and dug, shoveling out handfuls of soil.

In the blink of an eye, a huge hole was dug.

The things below were also clearly visible to Li Ping'an.

It was an umbrella that looked sinister and terrifying.

An umbrella!

Li Pingan picked up the umbrella and was slightly taken aback.

What kind of magical artifact is this?

I've heard of a magical artifact called the Soul Banner.

Such magical artifacts are very common among demons; there are both the Ten Thousand Soul Banner and the Soul-Guiding Banner.

The process of making this kind of magical artifact requires the soul of a person to be extracted.

After countless refinements, it was incorporated into this soul banner.

When used, it can summon the souls within the Soul Banner to attack.

It is an extremely insidious and ruthless magical artifact.

Slowly pick up this ritual implement.

Li Ping'an saw that the soul banner was covered with countless skulls and obscure runes.

He felt an extremely cool sensation coming from his fingertips, which then penetrated his body.

Such a powerful ghostly force.

Li Ping'an was taken aback.

The moment Li Ping'an grasped the soul banner, he seemed to hear countless heart-wrenching screams.

It came from that soul banner.

It made his scalp tingle instantly.

Meanwhile, Lu Xue, who was suspended in the sky, was getting impatient.

"Li Ping'an, does it take you this long to dig a hole? Are you done yet?! Don't try anything funny! Otherwise, I'll kill you with one stroke of my sword right now, leaving you not even a whole corpse!"

"It'll be ready soon!"

Li Pingan replied in a muffled voice.

"I need to dig this hole bigger, so I can lie down more comfortably!"

Upon hearing this, the saintess couldn't help but smile.

He was about to die, yet he still wanted to lie down comfortably.

However, she also knew that Li Ping'an might be plotting some other tricks.

As his childhood sweetheart, Lu Xue knew that Li Ping'an seemed honest on the surface.

In fact, he has an incredible number of clever ideas.

But that didn't matter; the saintess wasn't worried at all.

If he dares to make any unusual moves, I will simply chop him down with my sword.

She was curious and looking forward to seeing what tricks Li Ping'an was going to pull this time.

Li Ping'an has given her so many surprises along the way.

If he hadn't been chosen as the Holy Maiden, Lu Xue might have considered rekindling her relationship with Li Ping'an.

Unfortunately, that's no longer possible; a huge chasm now separates the two of them.

It can never be surpassed.

At this moment, Li Ping'an picked up the soul banner, his mind racing with thoughts.

This Soul Banner is such a treasure that even the Yin Ancestor was willing to lead a large-scale attack on the Tongtian Sword Sect to seize it.

It must be something extraordinary, with many wonderful uses.

Although the Yin Ancestor led his men to attack the Tongtian Sword Sect, his main purpose was probably to take advantage of the situation.

However, this is enough to show that this soul banner must have some extraordinary features.

Once unleashed, it will be absolutely unexpected.

However, how to use it was a bit of a challenge for Li Ping'an.

This is a demon's possession; he has never used it before.

Will there be any side effects, or even the risk of adverse reactions, if I use it?

But sensing the sharp killing intent emanating from behind him from time to time, Li Ping'an couldn't care less about anything else now.

He tried to infuse spiritual power into the soul banner.