Chapter Ten: The Soul Acquisition Technique

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The gray wolf protested softly, feeling wronged. Qinglan stepped forward and stood before the wolf demon, smiling faintly. “If you are an earth-element beast, then perhaps this…” She took out a deep brown spirit herb with rock-like patterns and handed it to the gray wolf.

Yuedong was somewhat surprised. “Is this… Thick Earth Ganoderma?”

The second-tier spirit herb Thick Earth Ganoderma requires extremely harsh conditions to grow, needing a strong earth spiritual energy environment and three hundred years to mature. It is exceedingly rare in the eastern region, where fire and wood energies predominate, and even more precious than Fire-Gold Vine!

The gray wolf’s nose twitched continually as it sniffed the sweet and rich earth elemental aura. Confirming this was a treasure greatly beneficial to its cultivation, its ears pricked up. Looking at Qinglan again, all the previous hostility and grievance vanished, replaced by a hint of docility.

Qinglan smiled slightly. “This is yours, consider it compensation.”

The gray wolf seemed to understand the female cultivator’s intent, gently using its paw to pull the Thick Earth Ganoderma closer.

The orange bird flew onto Qinglan’s shoulder, disliking being looked down upon by humans. Now, it regarded the girl with a hint of admiration.

Yuedong, seeing this rare occurrence, asked curiously, “Where did you get Thick Earth Ganoderma?”

Qinglan grinned slyly. “Mu Chenxue’s storage pouch ended up with me.”

Yuedong chuckled lightly—The Mu family heiress’s wealth truly ran deep.

The orange bird looked at Qinglan casually. “People like you are indeed rare.”

“Be careful not to die young,” it added.

Qinglan gave no reply.

Yuedong stepped forward. Unlike Qinglan, he had seen too much deceit and treachery, so he still did not trust this bird and was about to take his leave.

Before he could speak, the orange bird said, “You should know your captain has reached the Know-Subtle Realm, right?”

Yuedong nodded silently. From the moment he saw Chen Ying’s disdain toward the gray wolf, he had guessed as much.

Seeing his silence, the orange bird laughed. “Your formation masters focus on attack and defense, naturally making you the hardest to kill at the same tier. But when it comes to killing and taking lives, you’re far behind. Moreover…”

Its tone shifted. “Formation masters inherit ancestral Dao through formation diagrams. How many diagrams do you control?”

Yuedong, with only the Soundproof and Soul-Imprisoning formation diagrams to his name, was speechless.

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The orange bird’s voice, tinged with temptation, continued into Yuedong’s ears: “This treasure might not suit you, but there are a few diagrams in the treasury.”

...

In the end, the two decided to take a look.

Before departing, the orange bird glanced at the wolf demon and let out intermittent calls in a language the gray wolf understood.

“Wolf demon, these two have no murderous intent toward you, which is rare. But if you let your guard down against humans because of this, you will surely die at their hands—and it will be a miserable death. Take care.”

With that, it spread its magnificent wings, igniting firelight in the darkness and flew toward the depths of the forest, the two following behind. They crossed rolling hills and arrived beneath a concealed cliff.

The cliff was overgrown with weeds and intertwined vines, but with a light call from the orange bird, the vines and weeds swiftly withdrew, revealing a cave entrance hidden within the rock face, surrounded by a silvery-white barrier.

“Chirp!”

The orange bird opened its beak, and a clear, distant voice resonated. White sound waves radiated outward like keys unlocking a seal.

The barrier at the entrance twisted and deformed under the sound waves, blending with them. The large silver area was cut and scattered, entwining with blackness like a dance of yin and yang poles, soon vanishing without a trace.

With the barrier lifted, the orange bird led the way inside, followed closely by Yuedong and Qinglan.

Inside, the space was cramped and suffocating.

Yuedong took out a luminous night stone, dispelling the darkness and illuminating the winding stone path ahead.

After an unknown length of walking, the space gradually opened up, revealing a circular stone platform. Below it lay a clear water mirror, and atop the platform rested four long-sealed scrolls.

Qinglan sensed a powerful spiritual energy emanating from the scrolls, as if calling to her. In contrast, Yuedong saw nothing, appearing somewhat bewildered.

The orange bird, now nestled in a corner, scoffed. “Obviously, you’re too stupid. This inheritance isn’t suited for you.”

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Yuedong: “......”

Qinglan glanced at the orange bird.

It said softly, “Go, it’s for you, and you’re well suited.”

Qinglan focused and climbed onto the stone platform. Her fingers gently touched the surface of a scroll, and immediately a cold spiritual energy surged from her fingertips. The space around her abruptly shifted—she was transported into the realm beneath the water mirror.

A swirl of distorted silver light and purple energy flashed by, and when Qinglan regained her senses, a woman in purple robes stood quietly before her.

The woman’s skin was whiter than snow; her purple robe adorned with golden cloud patterns made her seem majestic and elegant.

Qinglan noticed mist swirling beneath the woman’s hem, which, upon closer inspection, was actually nothingness.

The woman’s gaze shifted slightly to Qinglan, her pupils shimmering with a nebula, causing the entire space to quake and ripple, evoking a faint terror.

After some time, calm returned.

With a smile, the woman softly asked, “Was it the orange bird that led you here?”

Qinglan respectfully bowed. “Yes, honored elder.”

The purple-robed woman nodded slightly, as if unsurprised by the bird’s choice. “Since it has chosen you, this inheritance shall follow its will.”

Her voice was ethereal, tinged with emotion. “Your talent… is indeed worthy of this soul seed.”

Qinglan did not grasp the weight of these words—for the soul arts elder of a top sect, who taught and passed on knowledge, to praise a disciple’s talent was a rarity occurring only twice in over a thousand years.

The woman lightly tapped her own brow, releasing a faint purple halo as fine as sand grains, swirling around her fingertips.

Qinglan felt the surrounding spiritual energy instantly grow dense to an extreme degree, yet simultaneously unfamiliar—this energy was profound and strange, not merely the simple five-element spiritual energy.

Sensing Qinglan’s confusion, the woman smiled and explained while sending the halo into Qinglan’s body: “When you reach a certain realm, you will realize that five-element spiritual energy is only the foundation. For now, you need not concern yourself with it.”

Her voice carried a lightness, as if having waited here for many years, finally finding a worthy successor. “Though the sect of old has long since vanished into the dust of history, this soul path inheritance remaining with you is fate.”