Shaking his head, Lu Yan dismissed the chaotic thoughts in his mind and focused on the spellcasting.
"Thinking back, I reversed the situation and killed Shopkeeper Chu two months ago. That counts as having killed someone. Maybe I've accumulated some karmic force?"
With this in mind, he followed the spell's description, forming the Red Lotus Treasure Seal with his hand to attempt to unleash the Red Lotus Karma Fire.
However, despite how Lu Yan activated his Cultivation Technique, he couldn't find any trace of the karmic force, let alone ignite the Red Lotus Karma Fire.
After trying for a long while, Lu Yan finally chose to give up.
"Shopkeeper Chu killed so many innocent workers and behaved like a capitalist worthy of being hung from a lamppost. Killing him was eliminating a danger for the people.
There should be no karmic force; maybe I've even accumulated some virtue,"
Lu Yan couldn't help but comment with some sarcasm.
Although unable to learn the spell, Lu Yan wasn't too disappointed. Practicing the Red Lotus Karma Fire Scripture was his only option; with or without a dedicated spell, he could only cultivate this Cultivation Technique.
As for spellcasting methods, his storage bag still contained a large collection of Spirit Talismans.
He had obtained them from the Spirit Talisman Workshop, and combined with a few dozen in his storage bag, he had over a hundred Spirit Talismans, enough to last for a while.
Once he solved the troubles with the Demonic Cultivator, he could go back to collect legitimate spells in the Xianxia version.
Besides these, Lu Yan had something more practical than spells.
Thinking of this, Lu Yan's thoughts shifted, and a small sword resembling a jade hairpin and a black Soul Banner the length of an arm appeared in his hand.
Grasping the Flying Sword Magical Artifact, Lu Yan began to infuse it with magical power, but the pure magical power he just advanced seemed to vanish without a trace, like a clay ox into the sea.
Frowning slightly, Lu Yan tried to increase the infusion of magical power. Only after infusing nearly half of his body's magical power into the Flying Sword Magical Artifact did the finger-length jade mini sword slowly rise into the air.
Lu Yan's expression changed slightly. He knew that the Cultivation Technique he was cultivating was a superior demonic path technique, with magical power far purer than that of an ordinary Loose Cultivator at the first level of Qi Cultivation.
Yet even so, it was difficult to control this Flying Sword Magical Artifact with nearly half his magical power spent, indicating that this flying sword was definitely a mid-grade magical artifact.
"Magical power at the first level of Qi Cultivation is still too little. Even if I can barely control it, I can't use it to fight an enemy; I can only put it aside for now."
Slightly helpless, Lu Yan put away the Flying Sword Magical Artifact and then turned his attention to the Soul Banner.
Reaching for the Soul Banner, after infusing it with magical power, the Soul Banner, which had been dormant for two months, finally underwent a change.
Three vengeful spirits suddenly flew out from the Soul Banner. Their faces twisted and their forms illusory, they let out soul-penetrating wails that echoed throughout the room.
If ordinary people heard these wails for an extended period, their souls would weaken.
Holding the Soul Banner, Lu Yan could sense another vengeful spirit still not fully formed, residing within the Soul Banner.
"The souls of over twenty cultivators refined into three vengeful spirits.
As for the remaining unformed vengeful spirit, it should be because I took the Soul Banner prematurely, causing this demonic magical artifact to not fully form, only barely becoming a lower-grade magical artifact.
But this is also a good thing. A fully formed Soul Banner I might not be able to control easily, but at this stage, the burden on me isn't too great."
Reaching out to shake the Soul Banner, Lu Yan commanded,
"Silence!"
The three vengeful spirits instantly ceased wailing and obediently hovered before Lu Yan.
Lu Yan began nurturing and refining this magical artifact with magical power, the most basic form of refining, allowing the cultivator to better drive the magical artifact.
After an hour, Lu Yan slowly opened his eyes, understanding the specific effects of the Soul Banner.
Firstly, it was controlling the vengeful spirits; each vengeful spirit had early-stage Qi Cultivation strength and ignored physical attacks.
This trait wasn't remarkable in the Xianxia version, as any spell could harm a vengeful spirit, but in the urban version without extraordinary power, the vengeful spirits' characteristics were nearly invincible unless large-scale heat-based weapons or flamethrowers were used. Ordinary firearms simply couldn't harm them.
Moreover, the vengeful spirits were invisible and intangible, detectable only by those with powerful souls; ordinary people couldn't perceive them at all.
Vengeful spirits could directly attack and devour souls, and the sacrificed souls could enhance the vengeful spirits' strength. Some powerful souls could be directly sealed within the Soul Banner.
The Soul Banner's concealment and immunity to physical attacks made Lu Yan instantly aware that in the urban version, the Soul Banner's effects far surpassed regular spells.
With magical power circulating to complete the initial refining, the Soul Banner began to shrink and was stored into Lu Yan's palm.
"Demonic Cultivation Technique, spells that require accumulating karmic force for cultivation, and this Soul Banner that grows stronger with each kill—don't these all seem like typical tools of a demonic master?"
Lu Yan couldn't help but ponder.
Glancing at the darkening sky outside, it was the perfect time to execute Lu Yan's plan.
Changing into inconspicuous black clothing, Lu Yan hurriedly left his home.
Half an hour later, Lu Yan arrived at a hotel.
Standing at the window, Lu Yan gazed at a building several hundred meters away, on which the words "Luocheng Police Station" were clearly visible.
Since returning home from the underground factory, Lu Yan kept an eye on the aftermath development of the underground factory in his spare time during cultivation.
Back then, Lu Yan set the underground factory on fire simply to cover his tracks. Although the Spirit Fire infused with spiritual qi had high temperatures, it wasn't true Spirit Fire, insufficient to completely burn the bodies in the freezers, and once the fire was out, an investigation would certainly reveal problems.
In the urban version's environment, organ trafficking was a significant affair. Relying on the Luocheng Police Station's power could eventually trace back to those behind Shopkeeper Chu.
According to the version update's pattern, Shopkeeper Chu's boss in the urban version was likely the same Demonic Cultivator in the Xianxia version.
But to Lu Yan's surprise, after the flames died out, the matter was over. There was no news about any discovered bodies or progress on the organ trafficking case.
It was as if the underground organ factory and the bodies within it never existed.
This only made things more complicated.
Initially, Lu Yan intended to leverage the Luocheng Police Station to trace the Demonic Cultivator, but now it seemed someone within the police station was involved with the Demonic Cultivator.
This felt just like back in the Bamboo Forest Marketplace, where Lu Yan worried about the Demonic Cultivator secretly manipulating the upper levels of the marketplace.
Someone in the Luocheng Police Station had helped the Demonic Cultivator erase the clues, but wasn't this action itself a clue?
"Go!"
Lu Yan softly commanded as a ghost slipped through the hotel's window, slowly drifting towards the police station.
Inside the hotel, Lu Yan formed a Seal Technique with his hand, and his eyes emitted a deep glow, as the scene unfolded through the eyes of the vengeful spirit.
The inside of the police station had long since closed for the day, leaving only a few duty officers leisurely chatting.
They never noticed a vengeful spirit drifting within the police station.
After a long while, the vengeful spirit stopped at a door, where the words "Archive Room" were clearly written.