The Uses of Netherworld Techniques

Spirit Communication Technique was a special method of communication. By tapping the Yintang Acupoint, it allowed the other party to view one's past from a third-person perspective. This was also how Ni Tian Er Xing had passed his memories on to him back then, except what Lin Manshan had experienced was no different from living through them himself.

"Perhaps Ni Tian Er Xing had used it at a higher level." Lin Manshan did not dwell on it.

Reincarnation Technique allowed one to actively transfer Soul Power to others. Naturally, it could also be withdrawn voluntarily.

Alchemy Technique used Soul Power to stimulate and refine medicinal effects, promoting absorption. Its principles bore some resemblance to the cultivation method of Life Weapons. It was a Netherworld Technique created by the battle-loving Nether Race to speed up recovery from injuries after battle. In addition, Nether Race people had a highly unusual way of identifying Medicinal Materials. Rather than inspecting them visually or tasting them, they wrapped the herbs in Soul Power and sensed their properties.

Soul Crossing Technique separated one's own soul and sent it into hell, where it could guide a dead person's soul back into their body. The deceased could not have been dead for too long, and the body had to remain intact.

If one possessed the Nether Race Physique, one could enter in the flesh. Ni Tian Er Xing had once used this method to save Bai Cai.

Soul Binding Technique restrained the souls of the living. After Ni Tian Er Xing's body had completely petrified, he had used this technique in soul form to drag Wu Geng's soul into hell for a conversation.

However, this move was a forbidden technique of the Nether Race. It required one's soul strength to far exceed the opponent's, or one would not be able to restrain them at all. It also demanded a high realm of mastery—at minimum, Breaking Extremes.

I can't use that at all right now.

Soul Refining Technique refined and devoured restrained souls, but one also had to endure the erosion of the deceased's memories. It was a forbidden technique of the Nether Race. According to Ni Tian Er Xing's memories, only those with the Nether Race Physique could use it, and only his teacher, Eternal Night, had ever done so. That was because devouring another's soul would contaminate one's own, affecting not only the mind but also the body, twisting the flesh and making it ugly.

After all, Soul Power was obtained by burning the soul. A contaminated soul would inevitably produce contaminated Soul Power.

"I don't think I'll ever use this Netherworld Technique in my life," Lin Manshan thought to himself. He had no desire to become ugly.

"Lastly, Beast Taming Technique. This is also the key to the plan." Thinking of this Netherworld Technique, he could not help muttering.

It involved separating a small portion of one's soul and injecting it into a beast, then using Soul Power as a conduit to issue simple commands and control it for scouting. It allowed one to observe a scene from an ultra-long distance through the creature's eyes, and one could also preserve memories within the beast's body for later viewing. Ni Tian Er Xing had once used this method to control lizards and spy on the battle between humans and the God Race, while secretly observing Wu Geng's group before ultimately deciding to form an alliance with them.

Its drawback was that it could only control weak creatures with low intelligence, such as lizards, birds, and spiders. The stronger a creature was, the more complex its memories and the tougher its body would be. To control it completely, one had to separate and inject an equivalent amount of soul and Soul Power, then review all of the beast's memories. Therefore, unless he wanted to become mentally ill, he had better not even consider controlling creatures with exceptionally high intelligence.

Moreover, separating too much of the soul would damage the Soul Origin. At best, it would turn him into an idiot.

"So risking my life and expending massive amounts of Soul Power to control powerful Spirit Beasts with this technique for combat assistance is obviously impractical. It's a losing deal." Lin Manshan pondered. "But using it to control little insects and birds to monitor Tang Hao and his son, and secretly learn their Ultimate Skills, really is a good idea."

He did not resent the phrase "secretly learn," nor did he consider himself a good person. In this world where the strong preyed on the weak, the first requirement for being a good person was possessing the ability to protect oneself. Everything else was nonsense.

If some nobleman barged into your home with his men and declared that he was going to kill your whole family, would you kneel down and reason with him?

Such a thing had not happened yet, but that did not mean it could not happen. Just think of the Catwoman in the original story's Auction House.

In truth, having read the original story, he had never believed any of its factions were good. They were all driven by interests, nothing more. Thus, he did not think there was anything particularly wrong with certain actions taken by the characters of those factions, including Tang San's revenge.

Leaving aside the fact that the Clear Sky Sect and Spirit Hall were already separate factions, Qian Xunji had attempted to kill Tang San's mother. He deserved it.

What truly displeased him was Tang San's hypocrisy. As for double standards, what human being did not have them?

If you wanted revenge, then take revenge. If you wanted to kill Spirit Beasts, then kill Spirit Beasts. Spirit Masters needed Soul Rings to cultivate; that was the law of survival, and there was nothing to say about it. But why insist on dragging in justice, doing it for the entire continent, eliminating evil for the people, or claiming Spirit Beasts were evil?

What fucking nonsense.

If wolves eating sheep and sheep eating grass counted as evil, then what did Tang San's daily meals of vegetables, fish, and meat count as?

Wasn't that the textbook definition of being a whore while demanding a monument to chastity?

Besides, every grievance had its culprit and every debt its debtor. If you wanted revenge, kill the person responsible. Why sweep everyone up in it and harm the innocent?

If humans did not even possess the most basic reverence for the lives of their own kind, then how were they any different from beasts? Thinking of Tang San using Hidden Weapons against the Gatekeeper outside Nuoding Academy, or slaughtering over five hundred Spirit Hall defensive Spirit Masters after returning from Sea God Island—and especially the ten-thousand-year plan in the sequel that caused countless commoners across the continent to die miserably—made Lin Manshan shudder with a chill from the depths of his heart.

As for his teacher Yu Xiaogang and father Tang Hao, it had been Yu Xiaogang's idea for Dugu Bo to poison Jialing Pass. Naturally, it also could not have happened without the indulgence of Tang San, who had already become a God. Afterward, Tang Hao had laughed heartily and said that, at worst, they would poison everyone in the Spirit Hall Empire to death. They simply regarded human lives as pigs and sheep. Such utter disregard for life, such complete absence of a moral bottom line—it had been difficult for him to accept when he first read that part.

"Come to think of it, I read the original version back then. It really was something. Too bad it was revised several times later, making Tang San look much better." Lin Manshan smacked his lips and reined in his indignant emotions. "Mm, the Clear Sky Secret Techniques, including the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, may offer something worth learning from in their methods of exerting force for my Blade Art. After all, blades and hammers are both weapons that emphasize strength."

The Blade Art Ni Tian Er Xing had created over ten years and named Yongye was distinguished most by its practicality in real combat. It simplified complexity, and it could also stack blade momentum. Every additional layer of blade momentum could multiply its attack power, making it incomparably domineering.

"If I can combine the force-exertion techniques of the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer with Blade Art, perhaps I can further improve my current Blade Art and use Soul Power to wield it, creating a Self-Created Soul Skill that can be used in the early stages." Lin Manshan's eyes flickered, then he sighed.

"Judging from my initial cultivation just now, my current human body does not seem very effective at cultivating Soul Power. Soul Power accumulates slowly. Even if my control over Soul Power reaches the Breaking Extremes realm, I probably won't have much Soul Power available to expend."

The Nether Race's use of Soul Power was mainly divided into three stages.

The first stage was the normal state. It primarily involved accumulating Soul Power and fighting by using Soul Power to enhance the body. The more Soul Power one accumulated, the stronger one's combat strength became. Nether Race Warriors who had not comprehended the realm of Destiny Artifact Infusion were basically all at this stage.

Of course, one could also learn Netherworld Techniques and spells to fight at this stage.

The second stage was the activation stage. Soul Power was activated, causing the entire body to glow green. All bodily functions were stimulated, as though one had been pumped full of adrenaline, comprehensively improving physical qualities and basic abilities. If one had already comprehended the realm of Soul Infusion, one could inject Soul Power into a Life Weapon, causing it to transform and unleash greater power. At this stage, the strength of the Life Weapon, the strength of the body, the amount of Soul Power, and one's personal skill were the most important factors determining combat strength. The quantity of Soul Power in particular provided an especially obvious boost to combat strength. As long as one had enough Soul Power and the body could withstand it, even an ordinary enhanced state could instantly kill a Breaking Extremes general.

Overwhelming skill with brute force—this was exactly that kind of situation.

Of course, once Soul Power entered the activation state, it would also be consumed slowly.

The third stage was true Soul Burning. Nether Race Warriors capable of reaching this stage were not far from truly attaining the Breaking Extremes realm, even if they had not quite reached it. Pushing Soul Power to this stage meant fully releasing one's power. The Life Weapon resonated with the soul, breaking through the shackles of its form and transcending the category of an artifact, producing unfathomable transformations and maximizing its might.

Soul Power would also be consumed rapidly as Breaking Extremes skills were unleashed. Once all accumulated Soul Power had been exhausted, one's own soul would begin to burn. If it was not stopped in time and reached the Soul Origin, it would be easy to scatter one's soul completely, leaving not even the qualification to reincarnate.

Therefore, unless they were fighting for their lives, Nether Race Warriors generally would not push their Soul Power to the Breaking Extremes realm.

"Unless I encounter a life-threatening situation, I should use as little Soul Power as possible and simply maintain its enhancement of my body." Lin Manshan sensed the still-thin Soul Power within him. "Besides, with Soul Power enhancing my body, even if I only use soul power and soul skills in battle, the combat strength I can display will definitely far surpass Spirit Masters of the same level. That's enough for ordinary situations."

"So what I need to do now is cultivate Soul Power diligently, solve this headache problem first, then experiment with Beast Taming Technique while practicing my Blade Art."

Possessing the memories and being able to execute them in sync with his body were still different matters.

"As for injecting Soul Power into my Martial Soul to complete Destiny Artifact Infusion and change the form of my Martial Soul, I should wait until after I absorb my First Soul Ring before trying it. Otherwise, it would be hard to explain if my Woodcutting Knife Martial Soul suddenly became a Great Blade. A Mutated Martial Soul combined with absorbing a Soul Ring could serve as an explanation."

For some reason, Lin Manshan felt that he could easily complete Destiny Artifact Infusion with his Martial Soul.

"Perhaps it's because a Martial Soul itself contains part of one's soul."

Lin Manshan closed his eyes and lay quietly, continuously thinking about the path he should take in the future.

Time passed bit by bit. With Soul Power enhancing his body's self-healing ability, Lin Manshan soon felt the soreness throughout his body slowly fading.

About two hours later, he moved his arms, slowly sat up, and jumped down from the bed.

Though his bones still felt somewhat sore, normal walking was no longer much of a problem.

Just as Lin Manshan was stretching in place to ease his discomfort, Old Jack's call suddenly came from outside the room.

"Xiao Wu, it's time for us to go to Tang Hao's house."

Perfect. I can observe the inside of Tang Hao's house and make it easier to hide small animals and plant True Eyes later. With that thought, Lin Manshan took small steps toward the door.

"Coming, Grandfather!"

PS: Sorry, these two chapters mainly introduced the power system, so they were a bit padded. Also, future daily releases will probably be around 8 PM.