Chapter 108: How Did You Do It?

Chapter 108: Chapter 108: How Did You Do It?

The black robe fell with a clatter. Liu Chen glanced down and discovered more than a dozen Storage Rings hidden beneath it. The Meridian Passage Realm cultivator had clearly been no saint.

Liu Chen nudged the black robe aside. He used the Artifact Manipulation Technique to levitate the pile of Storage Rings, three of which emitted a chilling aura.

"Sir, those are Soul Rings. They’re a type of Magical Artifact for Ghost Cultivators, usually used to control Soul Slaves."

The female ghost’s voice came from the side just as Liu Chen’s gaze fell upon the chilling Soul Rings.

Liu Chen turned to glance at her, and she immediately backed away, putting distance between them. ’His master’s wife was right,’ he thought. ’The Soul Crossing Technique is the bane of all Ghostly Creatures.’

"Shouldn’t you be avenging him?"

Liu Chen picked up the coldest of the Soul Rings. Probing it with his Spiritual Power, he sensed that the ring and the female ghost before him shared a similar aura.

"Don’t be ridiculous, Sir. My master is this Soul Ring. Whoever controls the ring is my master. As for the Hundred Ghosts Elder... I’ve lost count of how many masters I’ve had."

The female ghost was quite candid. Each time the Soul Ring changed hands, its Soul Slave was remolded. The Hundred Ghosts Elder had been lecherous, and after receiving his brand, she had been influenced by his nature as well.

But now that the Hundred Ghosts Elder was dead, the brand on her soul had vanished. Recalling what she had experienced under his control, she felt a wave of disgust.

"Sir, you know the Soul Crossing Technique. Why don’t you do a good deed and help me cross over? My first master was my Dao companion, and I was truly happy back then, just being with him.

But we were both just mediocre cultivators. After we came to Fire Dragon Valley, he was killed by an Evil Cultivator. I only regain some measure of clarity when the ring changes masters. Otherwise, I’m just a Puppet, shaped by the desires of whichever Evil Cultivator owns me."

The female ghost spoke with sorrow. It wasn’t the first time she had made such a request, but no one was willing to give up a Soul Slave with the power of a Meridian Passage Realm cultivator—especially not one as attractive as she was. The Evil Cultivators certainly wouldn’t.

"Alright. But before I do, I want to know why Nangong Mu became a Wandering Soul and how you ended up here."

Liu Chen nodded. He had no interest in deeply contemplating whether love could blossom between a human and a ghost. Since he planned to help her cross over anyway, he might as well seize the opportunity to gather some intelligence.

"The Three Immortal Sects sealed the southern entrance to Fire Dragon Valley, and the Black Feather Dynasty sealed the northern one. The Hundred Ghosts Elder is a wanted man in the Great Xia Dynasty, so he could only leave through the north. As it happened, the Third Prince of the Black Feather Dynasty had just been killed by Nangong Ye.

The Hundred Ghosts Elder saw an opportunity to get out. After we found traces of the Nangong Family in the Black Market, we attacked. The original plan was to use Nangong Mu’s Wandering Soul to strike a deal with one of the other Princes of the Black Feather Dynasty, but the Fourth Prince, Yu Haolin, wanted Nangong Ye’s head instead.

While we were on our way to find the Second Prince, Yu Haoxi, Nangong Mu’s Wandering Soul started to fade. The Hundred Ghosts Elder wanted to Refine him into a Soul Slave before we went to find the Second Prince."

Liu Chen’s gaze fell upon Nangong Mu’s Wandering Soul, which was about to dissipate within the cave. ’If I bring this back to Junior Sister Ye,’ he mused, ’I can consider my mission from Master’s wife complete.’

"Sir, you know Nangong Mu?"

The female ghost couldn’t help but ask, hoping that if she made a good impression now, she might retain some shred of herself after becoming a Puppet again.

"An enemy."

Liu Chen nodded. ’A mission from Master’s wife, and an enemy of my Junior Sister,’ he thought. ’Calling him an enemy isn’t wrong.’

"Sir, you might not know this, but rumor has it that Nangong Mu has wives and concubines in droves, yet is exceptionally cruel. I always found that strange, but when the Hundred Ghosts Elder had me possess a Puppet to seduce him, I discovered that Nangong Mu is a Celestial Eunuch. He can only increase his Cultivation by performing the Yin Yang Replenishment Cultivation Technique with women..."

As the female ghost rambled on, Liu Chen couldn’t help but glance at Nangong Mu’s Wandering Soul. ’That’s a new one,’ he thought. ’To be in that state and still be so focused on raising his Cultivation through Yin Yang Replenishment... it’s almost inspiring, really.’

"By the way, Sir, Nangong Mu is a rare Fierce Soul. If you wanted a Soul Slave, you could absolutely Refine him into one. Wouldn’t that be a way to torture him forever?"

The female ghost looked at Nangong Mu’s Wandering Soul, which would dissipate in an hour, and suddenly spoke up. If this man had a Soul Slave, perhaps she would no longer be important. Perhaps she could finally achieve release.

"You know the method for Refining Soul Slaves?"

Liu Chen’s eyes narrowed. ’That’s a good idea,’ he thought. ’I’ll Refine Nangong Mu into a Soul Slave and take him back to Purple Bamboo Peak. If Junior Sister wants to keep him around to vent her anger, she can. If not, I can just cross him over. In any case, it will prove to Master’s wife that I haven’t forgotten the mission.’

"Sir, the Hundred Ghosts Elder’s most prized collection is in that most ordinary-looking Storage Ring. The technique inside has been perfected over several generations of Ghost Cultivators. If you learn it quickly enough, you might still have time."

The female ghost pointed to a very dilapidated-looking Storage Ring. When Liu Chen picked it up and scanned it with his Spiritual Sense, he discovered it contained a world of its own. It was far larger than an ordinary Storage Ring. Although it couldn’t compare to the one his master had gifted him, it was still leagues better than the most common sort.

A moment later, Liu Chen pulled out a pitch-black, ancient book.

"Intermediate Magic—Soul Control Technique."

Liu Chen flipped open the book, studied it briefly, and after memorizing it all, began to practice the Middle Grade Technique.

[Soul Control Technique Proficiency +10]

The Proficiency prompt appeared, much to Liu Chen’s satisfaction. This meant he had some Talent for this Middle Grade Technique.

After casting the Soul Control Technique ten times in a row, Liu Chen felt he had gained a basic understanding of its Spiritual Veins.

[Soul Control Technique: Beginner, 0/500]

The Soul Control Technique struck Nangong Mu’s Wandering Soul. Under Liu Chen’s control, an empty Soul Ring merged directly into the Wandering Soul.

A sinister feeling washed over him. Liu Chen narrowed his eyes, quietly waiting for the Soul Slave Refining to be completed. The Soul Control Technique consisted of two parts: Refining the Soul Slave and controlling it—or more precisely, signing a Soul Contract with it.

The former was self-explanatory. The latter, however, was not a simple matter of having the Soul Ring acknowledge a master. Once the Soul Contract was signed, the Soul Ring became useless. Relying on the ring’s master-recognition process could lead to a backlash from the Soul Slave; it was an emergency method for Cultivators who had not yet reached the Beginner level in the Soul Control Technique.

In fact, the Soul Control Technique explicitly stated that it was best to choose a Wandering Soul without Spiritual Wisdom for Refining. This not only eliminated the risk of backlash but, upon advancing the technique to a certain Realm, would even allow one to refine a Spirit Ghost. Contracting a Spirit Ghost was like having a surrogate who constantly refined Spiritual Qi for you.

Although Fierce Souls could also be refined, it was not recommended.

"Sir, how did you do that? Those Loose Cultivators before you had to prepare all sorts of miscellaneous things and would take several hours just to get to this step."

The female ghost, who had been keeping watch from a distance, drifted over again with a look of utter shock. Forget anyone else—the Hundred Ghosts Elder had studied this Magic for nearly fifty years and still hadn’t been able to do what Liu Chen just did.

"Talent."