Chapter 148: No Matter How You Look at It

“What are you talking about?”

Ye Linglong clenched her fists. If Ji Suyao hadn’t been standing a bit far from her, she would have undoubtedly smacked her carefree friend on the head. ‘Why would you just come out and tell Senior Brother what I’ve been confiding in you about?’

After a brief moment of frustration, Ye Linglong surreptitiously glanced at Liu Chen. When she heard the news of Nangong Mu’s death, she had imagined that her Senior Brother was the one responsible. Previously, even if she had guessed wrong, it wouldn’t have been an issue.

But now, if it turned out not to be her Senior Brother, wouldn’t that make things terribly awkward for them both?

“A gift for you two.”

Liu Chen shook his head, not dwelling on the underlying meaning of their exchange. Instead, he took two items from his Storage Ring and handed them over.

For Ye Linglong, it was naturally a Soul Ring—to be precise, the Soul Ring containing the Soul Slave, Nangong Mu. For Ji Suyao, it was the Fire-red Bamboo he had acquired shortly after entering Fire Dragon Valley. He figured a bamboo that could grow inside a volcano couldn’t be too shabby.

“What a beautiful piece of bamboo.”

Ji Suyao opened the brocade box right away and took out a stalk of crimson bamboo, her eyes filled with delight.

Just then, Ye Linglong, who had subconsciously assumed the Soul Ring was a Storage Ring, suddenly stumbled backward. The Soul Ring fell from her grasp and clattered to the ground, and the Soul Slave, Nangong Mu, instantly awoke from within it.

As Nangong Mu’s Spiritual Wisdom gradually recovered, he recognized Ye Linglong, though he didn’t know where he was.

However, Nangong Mu remembered that he was supposed to have been killed by a Ghost Cultivator calling himself the Hundred Ghosts Elder. Then, the Hundred Ghosts Elder was destroyed by another Loose Cultivator in the Meridian Passage Realm, and he himself was subjected to Refining and turned into a Soul Slave.

But why was he here, and why was he seeing Ye Linglong—the Furnace Cauldron he had once coveted, who was now a disciple of Purple Cloud Valley he absolutely could not afford to offend?

“Senior Brother, what is this?”

Ye Linglong couldn’t help but look toward Liu Chen. She simply couldn’t fathom how Nangong Mu could be inside a Storage Ring. Besides, wasn’t he supposed to be dead?

“I refined Nangong Mu into a Soul Slave. If you like, I can give him to you.”

Liu Chen spoke with perfect calm. Nangong Mu, who hadn’t yet grasped the situation, felt his entire Soul Body tremble. Now, he finally understood. The Purple Cloud Valley disciple before him, who looked to be only in the Body Tempering Early Stage, was the very same Loose Cultivator who had killed the Hundred Ghosts Elder!

Even more stunned than Nangong Mu were Ye Linglong and Ji Suyao. The kind and understanding Senior Brother they remembered was speaking calmly, but the information his words contained was like a blast of winter wind, making both of them tremble uncontrollably.

“Thank you for your kind offer, Senior Brother. I am eternally grateful.”

Ye Linglong took a deep breath, mustering the courage to speak. Nangong Mu standing right there was irrefutable proof. Her Senior Brother had not only gone after the Nangong Family, but he had even refined Nangong Mu into a Soul Slave. For his enemy, even the sweet release of death had become an impossible luxury.

“How do you want to handle Nangong Mu?”

Liu Chen snapped his fingers. Nangong Mu, feeling his world crumble around him, shrank back into the Soul Ring. The ring then floated up from the ground and landed steadily in Liu Chen’s palm.

“You can deal with him as you see fit, Senior Brother.”

Ye Linglong looked at the Soul Ring and quickly shook her head. She was grateful for everything her Senior Brother had done, but as for making Nangong Mu her Soul Slave and having him serve her for the rest of his existence, she didn’t think her heart was strong enough to handle it.

“Very well. In that case, take this Intermediate Magic.”

Liu Chen nodded and put away Nangong Mu’s Soul Ring. ‘Now that she’s seen him, Master and his wife are sure to find out. In that case, this Soul Slave version of Nangong Mu is no longer useful.’ Liu Chen planned to see if he could interrogate Nangong Mu for some Magic, Cultivation Techniques, and the like.

After that, he would let Nangong Mu’s True Spirit dissipate, allowing him to devolve from a Soul Slave into a Spirit Ghost.

“Celestial Thunder Technique?”

Ye Linglong was taken aback as she accepted the Secret Manual. This was the first time she had ever encountered an Intermediate Magic.

“I bought it from Nangong Ye. It’s a shame my plan to have someone else kill him didn’t work out, otherwise he wouldn’t be alive right now either.”

Liu Chen shook his head with a hint of regret. Ye Linglong and Ji Suyao, who were already reeling from the shock of the Celestial Thunder Technique, immediately snapped their gazes toward him.

They were more than familiar with the name Nangong Ye. He was the prodigy of the Nangong Family. Years ago, before they had even begun to cultivate, they had heard that the Nangong Family’s prodigy had been accepted into Qingxu Hall.

In fact, Nangong Ye’s achievements were a major reason for the Nangong Family’s arrogance, which had enabled Nangong Mu to act so wantonly. ‘Why does it sound like Senior Brother is talking about this prodigy as if he’s someone who could be killed at a whim?’

“Here. This is the Red Lotus Technique. It should be a good fit for you.”

Liu Chen handed the Secret Manual for the Red Lotus Technique to Ji Suyao. He had already learned it, so there was no point in keeping the manual.

“Thank you, Senior Brother.”

Ji Suyao accepted it with a grave expression. She was feeling quite panicked at the moment. Her Senior Brother’s actions since his return had completely shattered their prior image of him.

“Isn’t this a little too crazy?”

Inside the palace, Bai Qiulan, who was sitting beside Mo Xuan studying a map, couldn’t help but ask. With their level of Cultivation, they were naturally able to overhear the conversation between the three juniors, but it was precisely what she heard that made her blood run cold.

It wasn’t that Bai Qiulan had never killed anyone; she had slain plenty of Evil Cultivators during her trials. But to directly perform Refining on Nangong Mu and turn him into a Soul Slave was beyond her comprehension. What’s more, she had no memory of Liu Chen ever learning such a Magic.

“Nangong Mu is indeed a Soul Slave. If I had to assess him, I would classify him as a High Level Soul Slave. Besides retaining the Cultivation he had in life, he can even continue to cultivate. In this state, he’s stronger than many newborn Ghost Cultivators.”

Mo Xuan seemed rather calm. While Nangong Mu being subjected to Refining and turned into a Soul Slave was certainly unexpected, Liu Chen didn’t carry the soul-devouring aura of a Ghost Cultivator or Evil Cultivator. Thus, there was no need to worry about him being corrupted and undergoing a drastic change in personality.

“Where did he learn that Magic?”

Bai Qiulan looked over in astonishment. ‘Considering what Nangong Mu did, being turned into a Soul Slave isn’t that big of a deal. But where did he get the Cultivation Technique for it? Even the High Realm Ghost Cultivators we’ve encountered in the past couldn’t create such a Soul Slave through Refining. How did Liu Chen manage it?’

Furthermore, judging by Nangong Mu’s brief appearance, he clearly remembered everything. The other Soul Slaves she had seen before could only shriek and roar; one that could speak coherently was already considered powerful.

And that was to say nothing of the fact that, according to Mo Xuan, Nangong Mu could even continue to cultivate.

“Although I haven’t asked him, according to the reports gathered by the Hundred Affairs Hall, the Nangong Family disciples were killed by the Hundred Ghosts Elder. And by all accounts, the Hundred Ghosts Elder—a Ghost Cultivator who once wreaked havoc in the Great Xia Dynasty—should be dead.”

Mo Xuan’s expression was perfectly serene. Bai Qiulan glanced at his vibrant eyes; she didn’t need to guess to know that he was extremely pleased with Liu Chen’s performance. Whether it was killing the Hundred Ghosts Elder or the Refining of Nangong Mu into a Soul Slave, Mo Xuan was thoroughly satisfied.

“You had best ask him. There may only be a one-word difference between ‘Soul Cultivator’ and ‘Ghost Cultivator,’ but the way they are treated is worlds apart.”