novelraw Chapter 194 : Obtaining the Divine Soul Technique
Chapter 194 : Obtaining the Divine Soul Technique
Chapter 194: Obtaining the Divine Soul Technique
Beneath a certain muddy swamp in Ghost-Seeking Pit, Ye Zhiqiu, whose whole body was wrapped in silt, felt a chill in her heart when she heard that sound.
‘Qiu Qianhai… he was actually caught up by the Blood Demon?’
As the thought flashed in her mind, Ye Zhiqiu immediately leaped out of the swamp. Her figure, like that of a wild wolf, skimmed the ground and quickly vanished.
Where she passed, only a few clumps of mud fell, without a single trace of aura leaking out.
Better a fellow Daoist dies than this poor Daoist.
No matter what.
She had to run first.
As for Qiu Qianhai, it could only depend on his fate.
Even if Ye Zhiqiu wanted to help, she was powerless.
It was just that deep down, she still hoped that this demonic cultivator named Qiu Qianhai could escape. After all, they had worked together, and at this moment, he was holding off the Blood Demon, buying her a chance to survive.
…
This was Ji Yuan’s first time experiencing the effect of the Sky-Escape Shuttle.
Only after experiencing it did he finally understand why Hu Li had been able to escape so easily back then.
No other reason—the effect was just too damn strong!
“Like riding the wind and chasing lightning” wasn’t even an exaggeration. It was even faster than when Hua Yaoyue carried him with her escape light—much faster!
No wonder someone would go as far as refining a flying treasure into their Life-Bound Magic Treasure.
The effort poured into forging a Life-Bound flying treasure was indeed well worth its reputation… Ji Yuan felt the fleeting streams of light around him, sighing endlessly in his heart.
The Talisman Treasure: Sky-Escape Shuttle carried him northward for nearly half an hour before it finally stopped. Ji Yuan then seamlessly switched to riding the Sky-Slicer Boat, continuing north.
After sensing his current location, he compared it against his map for a while.
Only then did he confirm—this half an hour of flying with the shuttle equaled nearly ten days of his own flight.
‘No wonder even Li Changhe at the peak of Foundation Establishment strongly recommends this flying treasure talisman.’
Ji Yuan glanced again at his Storage Pouch.
Inside, there was still one intact Sky-Escape Shuttle talisman.
Usable three times.
This was given to him during his visit to the Li Family, a gift from Li Changhe. The one he had just used up was a second-hand talisman, given to him after he had saved Li Changhe’s life.
That one only had its last use left.
‘This thing is good. If I get the chance, I must look for more. Or better yet, let Li Changhe act as a bridge—even if I have to spend Spirit Stones, it’s worth it.’
‘Buying this isn’t buying a talisman, it’s buying my own little life!’
But then he thought about how killing Ma Xingkong had cost him two talisman treasures, leaving only one final use of the Thousandfold Chains… Ji Yuan felt a pang of heartache.
‘If the harvest in your Storage Pouch doesn’t make up for my two talismans, when I return to Ghost-Seeking Pit, I’ll dig up your grave!’
But Ji Yuan didn’t rush to check Ma Xingkong’s Storage Pouch.
Instead, he first took out a Shapeshifting Talisman, changed his appearance and aura, then drew out Spirit Stones to recover his depleted dantian.
After consecutively using two talisman treasures earlier, even as a Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivator, he was nearly overwhelmed—the spiritual depletion was immense.
As he restored his dantian’s spiritual energy, he also reviewed this encounter with disciples of the Yin Ghost Sect.
This inevitably reminded him of his previous experience with the Ghost Island Lord.
He couldn’t help but note—both of these Yin Ghost Sect cultivators behaved in a similar fashion.
First, they called him “senior brother” and pretended kinship. Then, they immediately turned on him.
Yet in the end, both were successfully counter-killed by him.
So what was this?
“Brotherly Yin Ghost Sect?”
Heh, come to think of it, it sounded rather catchy.
On reflection, it made sense why the Ghost Island Lord was so eager to claim kinship—to obtain from Ji Yuan a “portion” of inheritance that did not exist.
After all, he came from Yunyu Marshlands, the so-called “slums of the cultivation world,” poor and with extremely scarce resources.
From the Yin Ghost Sect’s inheritance, he had gained methods to cultivate Yin Ghosts.
Along with the Yin Ghost Formation, a weapon that rendered him nearly invincible within Yunyu Marshlands.
Having tasted such benefits, it was only natural he would desire more of the inheritance. Thus, his eagerness to make a move on Ji Yuan was understandable.
But Ma Xingkong?
He was already at late Foundation Establishment. By reason, there was no need for such impatience, so brazen that he couldn’t even bother hiding it.
Meeting for the first time, and after barely a few words, he wanted to strike.
If Ji Yuan put himself in his place, he would either launch a surprise attack at once, or he would first befriend the person, wait until trust deepened, and then make his move.
The first method was risky, the second much safer—and possibly more profitable.
But neither would be like Ma Xingkong, trying to befriend someone and immediately attempting to strike at the same time.
Thinking it over, Ji Yuan came to only one conclusion.
The portion of the Yin Ghost Sect’s inheritance Ma Xingkong obtained—was powerful!
That was the only reason he would be so desperate to seize Ji Yuan’s share upon meeting him.
Otherwise, how could he have been unable to restrain himself for even a short while?
At that thought, Ji Yuan could barely hold back his urge to examine Ma Xingkong’s Storage Pouch immediately… the idea once sparked was impossible to suppress.
Yet he still forced himself to first recover to peak condition. Then he sought out a deserted mountain ridge nearby.
His flying boat dove down. Sweeping with Divine Sense, he found a cave, where he casually slew a hibernating black bear with a sword, then cast a few minor spells to clean the cave.
【Cave Dwelling】 activated.
The Stellar Whirl Cloud Barrier Formation surged to life, mist shrouding all directions, hiding the entire mountain ridge in fog.
Ji Yuan also spent some time driving out a few mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators residing in the formation, before finally retrieving Ma Xingkong’s Storage Pouch.
He had already roughly scanned Yin Tongzi’s belongings earlier—nothing exciting, not even a single talisman treasure. So he wasn’t in a rush to count those.
But Ma Xingkong’s pouch… with only a rough Divine Sense sweep, Ji Yuan’s eyes lit up. Soon, a talisman appeared in his hand.
Unlike common talismans, this one bore no ordinary runes. Instead, it was etched with a giant sword.
With a little refinement—
Talisman Treasure: Giant Stag Sword!
Still usable twice.
What a fine treasure! As expected of a late Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator, he truly possessed something this valuable.
Leaving aside other things, just this talisman treasure alone made up for Ji Yuan’s earlier losses. Everything else was pure profit.
After a moment of joy, Ji Yuan recalled the danger with a shudder.
What if Ma Xingkong had used this talisman first?
The Giant Stag Sword was a killing-type talisman treasure.
Of Ji Yuan’s talisman treasures, one was for trapping enemies, the other for escaping.
Not a single killing-type or defensive talisman among them.
Thinking carefully, he realized the only thing on him capable of blocking such an attack was the jade cup given by Hua Yaoyue.
That cup could resist even an attack from a Golden Core cultivator—naturally, it could withstand a talisman wielded by a Foundation Establishment.
But if it had come to that, even if he eventually killed Ma Xingkong, the cost would have been far too great.
‘Good thing I opened with talisman treasures myself. After all, as a mid-stage Foundation Establishment fighting a late-stage, of course I had to fight viciously. I had wanted to finish quickly and escape, lest the Blood Demon catch up.’
‘But look at Ma Xingkong—being a late Foundation Establishment striking at a mid-stage, he would never open with a talisman treasure. They’re too precious.’
‘If I put myself in that position, even against an early Foundation Establishment, I wouldn’t waste a talisman at the start. From now on, I must be cautious. The cultivation world is full of cunning old foxes. If I stumble into one who, like me, opens with talisman treasures… a mishap in a gutter like that would be disastrous.’
“Three times a day, I examine myself.”
After his reflection, Ji Yuan continued inspecting Ma Xingkong’s Storage Pouch.
Talismans, pills, Spirit Stones—these he swept past with only a glance. His focus was on locating the Yin Ghost Sect’s inheritance.
“This soul banner…”
As his thought stirred, a black banner appeared in his hand. At first glance, it looked much like a Yin Ghost Flag, but with one difference—golden embroidery traced its edges, lending it a more domineering presence.
Sharing the same origin as the Yin Ghost Flag, Ji Yuan could sense the aura of the Yin Ghost Sect on this banner.
Since that was the case, what was there to hesitate about?
He grabbed it in one hand and refined it at once!
After some time, Ji Yuan learned the true identity of this banner.
Its name was “Thousand Souls Banner,” a High-Grade Spiritual Artifact. At first, when it was newly refined, it had been called the “Hundred Souls Banner.” Later, it was gradually improved until it reached the Thousand Souls Banner stage.
Its quality had also risen from an Upper-Grade Magical Artifact to the category of High-Grade Spiritual Artifact.
“A Soul Banner—what a treasure to have obtained!”
Holding it in hand, Ji Yuan was overjoyed. From now on, he could finally say in battle:
“Fellow Daoist, danger lies ahead. How about stepping into my Human Sovereign Banner for safety?!”
Moreover, since this Human Sovereign Banner could be upgraded from a Magical Artifact to a Spiritual Artifact, it must surely improve further through condensing Yin Souls. This meant the inheritance Ma Xingkong had obtained must include the method of condensing Yin Souls.
Ji Yuan’s thoughts shifted.
If Yin Souls could be condensed, then in the future killing people could truly be used to the fullest extent, maximizing the “use of immortal materials.”
First was killing to seize treasures—the Storage Pouch, Spiritual Artifacts, and so on.
Next, the fresh blood of the slain could be absorbed by the Blood Marrow Pearl, to be used at a critical moment to boost his power.
After draining the blood, the corpse could be recovered and buried in the 【Grave Mound】, raising its grade. If by chance a transformation into a Corpse Servant was triggered, that would be another great asset.
Finally, there were the souls of the dead.
In the past, whenever Ji Yuan killed, that was the end of it—he had no secret method to deal with souls.
But now it was different. With this inheritance, after killing, he could refine the victim’s soul into a Yin Soul and store it in the Soul Banner.
A complete one-stop killing service.
Thus, it was born!
After refining the Thousand Souls Banner, Ji Yuan naturally thought of raising it to the Ten Thousand Souls Banner as soon as possible.
That being the case, where was the Yin Ghost Sect’s inheritance?
Could it be that it was not carried with him? Or perhaps after Ma Xingkong learned it, he destroyed it?
Ji Yuan searched through the Storage Pouch over and over, but found nothing. At last, he had no choice but to take out all the jade slips that recorded information and examine them one by one.
Most of them recorded Foundation Establishment-stage techniques or basic and intermediate spells—commonplace things of little use.
The only thing that caught Ji Yuan’s interest was a cultivation technique.
Its name: “Dragon and Phoenix Bringing Auspiciousness Technique.”
Although it could only be cultivated up to the peak of Foundation Establishment, the dual cultivation wonders it recorded still made him glance a few more times. Unfortunately, it was a technique.
Techniques could not be cultivated simultaneously.
Unless he abandoned the Canglan Nine Tribulations Sword Manual to switch to this Dragon and Phoenix Bringing Auspiciousness Technique, it was impossible.
“If only there were a dual cultivation spell.”
Ji Yuan thought to himself, but after finishing all the jade slips, he still hadn’t found the Yin Ghost Sect inheritance.
Damn it, could his luck really be this bad? Such a good thing, and Ma Xingkong used it once and directly destroyed it?
Or was the inheritance located somewhere, unable to be taken away—something that could only be learned by finding that place?
While pondering, Ji Yuan’s Divine Sense continued to comb through Ma Xingkong’s Storage Pouch. After a moment, he noticed something unusual.
At the spot where Ma Xingkong stored his Spiritual Artifacts, there was placed a Magical Artifact.
That in itself was odd. What was stranger was that this Magical Artifact was a Mid-Grade one, seemingly of little use, and it was shaped like a belt.
Belts were mostly defensive artifacts.
But whether defensive or offensive, they were of little use to a late Foundation Establishment cultivator like Ma Xingkong.
So why did he keep it?
The belt was leather-like, its material unknown, made perhaps of some beast hide. At its center, a gem was inlaid—it was clearly not an ordinary object.
After Ji Yuan took it out, a sweep with Divine Sense revealed nothing.
Only when he infused spiritual energy and refined it did he discover… this belt actually had a slight storage function!
The green gemstone at its center was a small Storage Pouch, only about a foot square in size, with just three items inside.
One jade slip.
Another jade slip.
And lastly, a skull-shaped ring.
At a glance, Ji Yuan knew these were the Yin Ghost Sect inheritance.
Because… flipping his hand, he drew out a ring exactly the same from his own Storage Pouch—the one he had kept since the Ghost Island Lord’s death.
Since it was connected to the Yin Ghost Sect, Ji Yuan had preserved it until now.
But the moment he took it out, a change occurred.
The two rings, like living things, immediately flew towards each other and merged.
With a crisp “snap,”
The two skull rings became one, but slightly different—the most obvious change being that where there had been one skull before, there were now two.
“What’s going on here?”
Ji Yuan carefully infused a wisp of spiritual energy into the ring, not daring too much.
As before, black mist rose from the skulls, forming a flamboyant “阴” (Yin) character above the ring, which lasted for two breaths before dissipating.
Two rings had become one, yet there was no other change?
His intuition told him that was impossible.
He faintly felt that the ring might only reveal its changes when worn—after all, rings were meant to be worn.
After some thought, Ji Yuan still didn’t dare try it. What if the change was harmful?
He decided to wait until returning to Misty Island and then test it on a Corpse Servant.
He wasn’t even willing to risk Tu Yue on it.
Next were the two jade slips.
Ji Yuan picked up the one on the left first and sent his Divine Sense in. A flood of memories entered his mind…
“Wherever the Soul Banner shines, all shall be my homeland… Condense Yin Souls… After death, never perish… Immortality may be attained…”
After carefully reading the contents, he found it was indeed the method to refine the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, and how to condense the souls of the dead into Yin Souls to store within it, making full use of everything.
Good stuff, accepted!
With both the Yin Ghost Flag and the Ten Thousand Souls Banner in hand, who would dare say Ji Yuan—oh no, Qiu Qianhai—wasn’t a demonic cultivator?!
Moreover, Ji Yuan even thought of a combo: first use the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, letting the opponent think Yin Ghosts were all worthless trash. Then, when they dropped their guard, unleash the two Yin Ghosts within the Yin Ghost Flag for a surprise attack, seizing the chance to finish them.
After learning this refining method, Ji Yuan then picked up the second jade slip.
As his Divine Sense entered, another flood of memory surged into his mind.
But compared to before, this time the content was much more complicated—so much so that his Sea of Consciousness even felt a sharp pain.
The contents were profound.
Once finished, Ji Yuan realized why—because this jade slip contained a cultivation technique. And not just any technique.
It was… a Divine Soul Technique!
Its name: Nine Chambers Soul-Suppressing Scripture.
But this technique was divided into upper and lower layers. The portion Ma Xingkong obtained was only the upper layer.
The upper layer was a soul-protection secret art, named Soul-Suppressing Bell. Its effect was to condense a golden bell outside the Divine Soul, providing constant protection.
The lower layer was a soul-type killing secret art.
Its name—unknown. Its effect—unknown. Its location—unknown.
In short, Ma Xingkong didn’t have it.
Thus, Ji Yuan understood why Ma Xingkong had been so desperate for his inheritance.
He must have thought Ji Yuan had the lower half of the Nine Chambers Soul-Suppressing Scripture.
Truly, the Soul-Suppressing Bell of the upper part wasn’t that useful.
Because ordinary cultivators didn’t even have soul-type offensive arts… oh wait!
Ji Yuan suddenly realized why Ma Xingkong hid himself in Ghost-Seeking Pit. It was because he had cultivated the Soul-Suppressing Bell!
The deadly Yin-Eroding Wind of Ghost-Seeking Pit posed no threat to him.
Earthbound Spirits could be avoided, and ghost walls weren’t so dangerous to a Foundation Establishment cultivator. No wonder he was willing to hide here.
For others it was hell, but for him, paradise.
Regardless, this Divine Soul technique was undeniably precious. If cultivated, it would give Ji Yuan a powerful new means.
If someone had a soul-type killing secret art, they could kill others—but not him.
Ji Yuan suddenly thought of something.
Liancheng Mountain.
The mutated Spirit Crystal Beast within the Spirit Vein—it could devour souls, couldn’t it?
Yang Taian had been killed by that thing. Ji Yuan had worried about it for a long time. But if he cultivated the Soul-Suppressing Bell, even encountering such a beast would no longer be a threat.
A fine thing indeed… after obtaining this second inheritance of the Yin Ghost Sect, Ji Yuan finally felt at ease.
That being so, the next step was to return to the sect quickly.
To cultivate the Nine Chambers Soul-Suppressing Scripture.
And to upgrade the 【Chicken Coop】.
Ji Yuan had not forgotten—the entire reason for this arduous journey was to upgrade the 【Chicken Coop】, in order to obtain the Three-Colored Spiritual Egg that could increase his dantian’s capacity.