Returning Origin Soul Art

Ding, congratulations to the host for obtaining the soul cultivation secret art "Returning Origin Soul Art" from an ancient ruin somewhere in the Great Thousand World.

"Hiss..." Upon hearing the words "soul cultivation secret art," Xiao Se could not help but draw in a sharp breath. "A secret art capable of tempering the soul and increasing Soul Power, and it even comes from the Great Thousand World... If a Dou Saint-level expert learned of this thing, they would probably be unable to resist killing and robbing for it. Not to mention those alchemists."

Letting out a deep breath, Xiao Se calmed his excitement and agitation. A flash of golden light passed through his hand, and a Jade Bamboo Slip appeared out of thin air in his palm. Stroking the special runes engraved on its surface, Xiao Se smiled faintly. His thumb and forefinger exerted force at the same time, crushing the Jade Slip into powder.

A milky-white glow quietly emerged from the shattered Jade Slip, transforming into a stream of scorching information that drifted into Xiao Se's mind. The Returning Origin Soul Art communicated with the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth to temper Soul Power...

Feeling the additional information in his mind, Xiao Se revealed a satisfied smile. He sat cross-legged and formed the Cultivation Hand Seal for the "Returning Origin Soul Art," tempering his Soul Power, which was still not particularly strong.

Two hours later, Xiao Se slowly opened his eyes and stretched lazily. Although his Soul Power had not improved noticeably, his mental state was better than ever, and it felt as though he had inexhaustible strength throughout his body.

"Long Kui, come over for a moment." Rising to his feet, Xiao Se called to Long Kui, who was embroidering nearby.

"Brother, what do you need Long Kui for?" Long Kui looked up when she heard him. Seeing that Xiao Se had exited his cultivation state, she immediately stored her embroidery tools in her Ring. With elegant yet swift steps, she walked over to him, affectionately hooked her arm around his, and smiled.

Xiao Se affectionately pinched Long Kui's fair little cheek and smiled. "Brother has a soul cultivation method for you. Try it and see whether you can cultivate it."

As he spoke, Xiao Se extended his ring finger and flicked it against Long Kui's forehead. His Soul Power quietly spread out, transmitting the cultivation method of the Returning Origin Soul Art into her mind.

Feeling the strange information that had suddenly appeared in her mind, Long Kui froze slightly, her thoughts falling into a daze. Only after a long while did she recover. She sat cross-legged, closed her eyes, and formed the exact same Cultivation Hand Seal Xiao Se had used earlier.

A bizarre scene unfolded. Blue rays of light suddenly appeared around Long Kui's body. As the blue light spun, it formed a small Wind Tornado in mere moments, spiraling around Long Kui from top to bottom.

Seeing this strange sight, Xiao Se smiled bitterly. "Why does it feel like this Returning Origin Soul Art was prepared more for Long Kui than for me? It is extremely suitable for cultivation by someone in a soul state."

Shaking his head in amazement, Xiao Se stopped dwelling on it. He chose not to disturb Long Kui and walked alone to another corner of the Stone Chamber. Taking out the Medicine Cauldron, he began refining Nurturing Spirit Liquid.

Time passed slowly, and in the blink of an eye, it was the following morning.

Xiao Se slowly opened his eyes. Looking at the ten neatly arranged bottles of Nurturing Spirit Liquid before him, he nodded in satisfaction and muttered softly, "I should barely count as a Second-Rank Alchemist now, right?"

Yesterday afternoon, Long Kui had entered an ethereal meditative trance. Naturally, Xiao Se had no mind to leave the Stone Chamber to practice his movement techniques and combat skills. While standing guard over Long Kui, he refined pills.

Whenever his dou qi was exhausted and his body grew tired, he would sit cross-legged on the stone slab and circulate the Burning Art and Returning Origin Soul Art to restore his dou qi and Soul Power.

Xiao Se discovered in surprise that the Burning Art and Returning Origin Soul Art could actually be circulated at the same time. Moreover, after the Returning Origin Soul Art communicated with the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth, the Burning Art absorbed dou qi much faster than before. This thrilled Xiao Se immensely. It was equivalent to gaining another cultivation cheat.

"Brother, the Returning Origin Soul Art you gave me is so amazing. The Soul Power I used up helping Brother subdue the Beast Flame yesterday recovered after just one night." Long Kui suddenly opened her beautiful eyes and exited her cultivation state. Rising to her feet, she threw herself into Xiao Se's arms, excitement appearing on her exquisite face.

Xiao Se nodded gently, tenderly stroking Long Kui's head as he smiled. "That's good. Let's head out."

"Mm." Long Kui nodded with a smile.

After leaving the Stone Chamber cave, Xiao Se caught a fat fish in the waterfall river and solved the problem of breakfast. He then practiced his movement technique and combat skills for another two hours, bathed in the river, changed clothes, and headed toward the Mittel Auction House.

...Mittel Auction House, Appraisal Room.

Gu Ni, the Second-Rank Alchemist of the Mittel Auction House, was currently staring blankly with his old mouth slightly agape at the ten Jade Bottles on the table before him, as well as the several hundred Jade Bottles on the floor.

"The ten bottles on the table are Nurturing Spirit Liquid. I need not say more about their effects. The one hundred and eighty bottles placed on the left side of the floor are First-Rank Pills, Hemostatic Powder. The one hundred and thirty bottles on the right are First-Rank Pills, Injury Pills. I would also like to ask your Auction House to sell them on my behalf. They all possess some healing effects. The Injury Pill is slightly special: it can be crushed into powder and applied to wounds to heal external injuries, or taken orally to speed up recovery from internal injuries." The hoarse voice startled Gu Ni awake.

His aged hand carefully picked up a Jade Bottle from the table. He raised it and sniffed it, then took out a silver needle and inspected it meticulously. The results greatly shocked Gu Ni. Every one of the ten bottles of Nurturing Spirit Liquid was of exceptionally high quality, far surpassing the bottle previously purchased by the Gale Family at an astronomical price. Several bottles had even reached the flawless grade.

Flawless meant there was not the slightest impurity—utter perfection.

Refining a Second-Rank Pill to the flawless grade was something even Third-Rank and Fourth-Rank Alchemists found difficult to achieve.

Then the person before him was very likely an alchemist of the third rank or above.

Taking a deep breath, Gu Ni turned to Xiao Se, his gaze full of reverence. "Sir, the quality of these ten bottles of Nurturing Spirit Liquid far exceeds that previous bottle. Gu Ni suggests promoting them for three days before selling them. By then, your returns will be maximized. As for these healing medicines on the floor, our Auction House is willing to purchase the Hemostatic Powder for one hundred and fifty Gold Coins per bottle, and the Injury Pills for two hundred Gold Coins per bottle. What do you think?"

Xiao Se was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, and his hoarse voice sounded once more. "You're not going to inspect them?"

Xiao Se had no objections to the prices. He vaguely remembered that in the original work, Yao Lao's Blood Coagulation Powder only sold for around one hundred Gold Coins per bottle. One hundred and fifty Gold Coins for each bottle of Hemostatic Powder and two hundred Gold Coins for each Injury Pill were already very high prices.

"Hehe... How could I not trust you, sir?" Gu Ni chuckled.

"I wonder how the collection of combat skills I entrusted your Auction House to gather for me is progressing." Xiao Se nodded slightly, changing the subject.

"Right after you left last time, I arranged for people to make a trip to the Mittel Auction Headquarters overnight. They were delivered this morning. I was just worrying about how to contact you." As he spoke, Gu Ni clapped his hands.

The instant the applause faded, the door opened with a creak. A woman wearing a red qipao, with a charming and seductive figure, slowly walked in carrying a silver tray.