Chapter 21: Refining the White Bone Banner, Returning to the Sect

After dinner,

Xia Yan divided all the survivors into two groups—one for the daytime and one for the night.

They took turns clearing out zombies 24 hours a day and dumping them into the Lotus Pond.

Originally, everyone was worried about where to pile the slain zombies, but now with the Evil Lotus, it was no longer an issue at all.

Gu Fan nodded in satisfaction.

After giving Xia Yan a few instructions, he made his way to the Blood Lotus Pool.

The Evil Lotus continuously absorbed flesh and blood, while the excess white bones were discarded to the side.

That was exactly what Gu Fan had been waiting for.

During his looting of the Han Family, he not only discovered the Evil Lotus but also found a method for refining an evil weapon that had been uncovered in some ancient ruins.

Gu Fan knew at a glance that this technique was intrinsically tied to the Evil Lotus.

The White Bone Banner!

Once successfully refined using white bones, it could instantly summon White Bone Warriors.

Moreover, as the banner’s level increased, the number of warriors it could summon would also rise.

In the later stages, it could even deploy tens of thousands of White Bone Soldiers with a mere wave of the hand—perfect for besieging cities and raiding strongholds!

However, refining it was exceedingly difficult in the current world of cultivation.

Just forming the banner required 1,600 skeletons!

There was no way Han Qian could have killed that many people, so to him, this spell was a mere novelty with no practical use.

But Gu Fan was different.

With the post-apocalyptic garden backing him, what difficulty was there in gathering a mere thousand or so bones?

The Evil Lotus only needed flesh and blood; the discarded bones were perfect for refining the White Bone Banner!

Gu Fan sat cross-legged on the ground and began following the refining technique.

He watched as the pile of white bones, stacked like a small hill, was continuously consumed.

Gradually, a half-human-tall White Bone Banner began to take shape in his hands!

The entire banner looked like it was carved from white jade, with three white jade skulls forming at its tip.

It resembled a work of art.

“Not enough yet!”

Gu Fan grabbed a large batch of bones from the pit and fused them into the banner.

Instantly, the banner trembled violently. Gu Fan continuously infused it with spiritual power, and when that wasn’t enough, he substituted with spirit stones!

Finally, after a dozen or so minutes—

With a low roar, Gu Fan gripped the White Bone Banner in his hand!

“Finally completed!”

Gu Fan looked at the white bone staff in his hand with delight.

From now on, as long as he kept feeding it bones, it would automatically refine them into qualified White Bone Warriors.

Thinking of this, he threw the remaining hundred or so bones into it.

After a while, he could feel the banner signaling that it was ready.

Then, with a wave of his hand—

A White Bone Warrior over two meters tall appeared before him.

He tested it briefly—it had the strength of a third-layer Qi Gathering Realm cultivator.

One hundred ordinary zombie bones could refine a single third-layer Qi Gathering White Bone Warrior.

What a bargain!

Gu Fan was overjoyed.

These ordinary zombies could be flattened with a casual punch from him—this was essentially free labor!

He imagined himself in the future, waving his White Bone Banner and unleashing thousands upon thousands of White Bone Warriors at the enemy—what a glorious sight that would be!

With that thought, Gu Fan stepped out of the hospital shelter.

He headed to a nearby shopping mall with a high zombie population.

With a single punch, he annihilated all the zombies.

Then he had Xia Yan lead people to haul all the bodies back and toss them into the Blood Lotus Pool.

The Evil Lotus gave off a pleased signal, continuously absorbing flesh and blood while separating the bones one by one.

Every time he had a batch of one hundred bones, Gu Fan would feed them into the White Bone Banner.

Finally, after the tenth White Bone Warrior was refined, he sensed that the banner had reached its current limit.

“The White Bone Banner can now hold ten White Bone Warriors at most. Looks like I’ll need to upgrade it soon.”

He stored away his newly acquired weapon and gave Xia Yan a few casual instructions.

He especially reminded her about feeding the Evil Lotus.

Then, with a turn, he vanished from the spot.

……

In the world of cultivation, the Immortal Boat slowly docked at the foot of the Heavenly Evil Sect mountain.

Gu Fan disembarked and walked up the mountain with his token in hand.

The first thing he had to do, naturally, was submit his completed task.

Inside the Mission Hall, the elder in charge of verifying tasks squinted at the young man before him.

“You’re saying Luoyang City was annihilated?!”

Gu Fan nodded solemnly.

“Everything I said is true. The sect can send disciples to verify it.”

The elder, with hair already white, raised his voice even higher.

“A small city with over ten thousand people, and you’re telling me it’s gone? Then at least explain the reason!”

Gu Fan was silent for a moment before speaking earnestly:

“Elder, here’s what happened. When I arrived, half the population of Luoyang City was already gone.”

“After continuous investigation, I discovered that the City Lord and several clan members were cultivating some kind of demonic technique! To rapidly increase their strength, they blood-sacrificed every living being in the city. Unfortunately, I uncovered their ritual, disrupted it, and killed them all!”

The elder scratched his head after hearing this.

He examined the disciple before him from head to toe.

It didn’t sound like a lie, but there were obvious holes in the story.

“I’ll report this to the higher-ups. You might be summoned later, so be prepared.”

Gu Fan bowed, received two spirit stones as his reward, and left the Mission Hall.

As he watched Gu Fan’s figure disappear, the elder chuckled meaningfully.

“The blood reek on him is nearly visible, shrouded in killing aura. When did such a figure appear among the outer disciples?”

……

Gu Fan had no idea what the elder was muttering behind his back.

By now, he was already on the path to the Inner Sect.

Having broken through to the Spirit Sea Realm, he was ready to upgrade to an inner sect disciple as soon as possible.

In the Heavenly Evil Sect, status and identity were everything.

At that moment, the disciples along the path couldn’t help but whisper as they saw Gu Fan.

He noticed that their gazes had shifted—from previous disdain to now terror and dread.

Not until he had walked dozens of meters away did he hear disciples start whispering behind his back.

“Who is that? The stench of blood is overwhelming—just how many people has he killed?”

“No wonder you don’t know him. I once saw Feng Hua and the others bullying him. I think his name is Gu Fan—a newcomer!”

“Newcomer? You’re saying that guy is a newcomer?”

“He’s terrifying. Isn’t he worried about being hunted down by the righteous sects?”

“Hmph, at this level, who kills who isn’t so clear anymore. That guy’s murderous aura is off the charts. I bet he’s already killed thousands!”

“Looks like another ruthless figure is rising in our Heavenly Evil Sect!”

At the front, Gu Fan slightly furrowed his brow.

‘Am I really that scary?’

Counting carefully, he’d only killed a few dozen people so far.

But thinking it through, it made sense.

The apocalypse world was littered with corpses.

Even zombies were essentially mutated dead beings.

No exaggeration to say that entire world reeked of death.

And Gu Fan, shuttling back and forth between the two realms, had naturally absorbed a lot of death and killing intent.

Not to mention his own murderous aura.

Hunting zombies had also sharpened his killing instinct.

Thinking of that, Gu Fan chuckled and shook his head.

In this world, good people were always bullied.

But now, as a supposed “villain,” people avoided him like the plague.

Just then, a stir broke out ahead.

Feng Hua and his group of cronies blocked the path.

Seeing Gu Fan approach, Feng Hua sneered, ready to threaten him—only to catch sight of the almost-tangible murderous aura surrounding him.

All the harsh words stuck in his throat. He couldn’t speak, nor could he stay silent.

In the end, he could only shout angrily:

“Gu Fan! I’ve been waiting for you!”

Gu Fan frowned, wondering why this man was so eager to die.

He slowly approached Feng Hua.

In a cold tone, he asked:

“What do you want from me?”

Now that Gu Fan was up close, Feng Hua felt the full pressure of his terrifying aura and killing intent.

His legs began to tremble.

“I… I just wanted to ask… when you’ll be collecting your spirit stones next month…”

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