Seven Souls Separation Method

General Jiang's sudden appearances no longer surprised Liu Ding. He had grown accustomed to them and paid them no mind. His directionless cultivation suddenly brightened, and he eagerly took out the Small Jade Bottle.

Looking at the dark, obscure runes on the bottle, he felt somewhat excited, wondering what would happen once it was opened.

Just as he placed his hand on it and prepared to twist it open, General Jiang's voice drifted over again. "You're not really going to recklessly activate the Soul Method, are you?"

Liu Ding's hand froze. This old man always spoke in half-measures, and he could not be bothered to trade words with him. Sure enough, General Jiang continued, "To refine a Soul Method, you must first bathe. You've already done that. Second, wash your hands, burn incense, sit in meditation, and recite scriptures to calm your mind."

Without a word, Liu Ding brought over a small basin and washed his hands. He straightened the incense burner and lit the incense. As its fragrance slowly filled the room, a sense of tranquility washed over him, and his restless heart gradually calmed.

Still, Liu Ding felt that this was not enough. He sat at the desk, poured water, and ground ink. Listening to the swishing sound of ink being ground against the inkstone, his already calm heart became even more tranquil.

"Zen."

The powerful, elegant character for "Zen" from the dream world seeped onto the paper. Liu Ding felt as though he could vaguely hear the bells, wooden fish drums, and chanting of scriptures from a Buddhist monastery in that dream world. His mind drifted along with those distant, ethereal sounds.

Liu Ding took a deep breath and sat cross-legged. He picked up the Small Jade Bottle beside him again, placed it between his folded legs, and twisted it open. A wisp of black smoke slowly rose from within.

Liu Ding closed his eyes and sensed the spiritual energy of the Soul Method—the incantations, hand seals, and the soul leaving the body.

In his perception, wisps of soul smoke entered his nose and merged into his Sea of Souls. A lengthy cultivation method gradually became clear in his mind:

Seven Souls Separation Method.

The incantations were cumbersome, and the hand seals were complicated. The first time Liu Ding tried to comprehend them, his head throbbed and swelled. It was hard to imagine how difficult this soul-refining method would be to cultivate.

Enduring the turmoil in his mind, Liu Ding cultivated according to the method. Within his visualization, a black square cauldron seemed to condense from black smoke above his head, slowly revolving.

After repeating the complicated incantations and performing the intricate hand seals again and again, Liu Ding cultivated the Seven Souls Separation Method all the way to the end. His soul stirred, then he leaped with all his might.

"Why don't I feel anything? My soul still can't leave my body?"

Liu Ding opened his eyes and found that he was still himself. Nothing had changed. The fingers forming the lotus seal still rested neatly atop his legs.

"Failure is the mother of success. It's fine. Again."

Liu Ding calmed himself once more, steadied his mind, and repeatedly refined the method, but it still did not work.

He stared wide-eyed at the quiet room. General Jiang had vanished again. Everything still depended on himself.

He fell into deep thought. There had to be something he had failed to do.

"Could it be..."

A spark of realization flashed through Liu Ding's mind.

He had soaked in cauldrons since childhood, and what he had condensed above his head this time was precisely a square cauldron. This cauldron looked remarkably like the Seven Soul-Forging Cauldrons.

"The Soul Forging Cauldron... Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise—just like that."

Liu Ding pondered silently. Sure enough, the four sides of the square cauldron above his head changed. The four divine beasts appeared out of thin air, carved upon its surface like totems.

"Four Symbols Formation, protect my soul as it leaves my body!"

A wave of enlightenment swept over him, and Liu Ding murmured inwardly.

Rumble!

It seemed as though heaven and earth had opened.

In that instant, Liu Ding felt his body suddenly grow light, as though he were floating weightlessly upward. His eyes were closed, yet he could see the scene within his room.

And when he looked down, his heart trembled.

He saw his own body sitting motionlessly like a cauldron, peacefully immersed in meditation.

"My soul has left my body."

This was the wonder of the Seven Souls Separation Method.

"Don't get excited. Calm your heart. Let your soul drift far..." Liu Ding silently urged himself on. He felt his projected soul gradually solidify from its vague, ethereal state.

He looked around the room. Everything was as usual. He tried touching something, but his hand passed through it without resistance. Clearly, the soul was a formless, intangible consciousness.

"This isn't a dream, is it?"

Still, Liu Ding lacked confidence and suspected he might be dreaming, because this situation was almost no different from a dream.

Yet there was one difference. In dreams, one was almost always passive, unable to control many sensations, helplessly swept along. But now, he felt something real. He could drift down to the ground and walk freely.

This feeling was profoundly mysterious. It was as though he had experienced and gained the intangible power of divine aid.

Rustle, rustle.

Suddenly, wind blew in from outside the window, stirring the curtains.

At that moment, Liu Ding felt himself begin to sway as well. His solidified soul seemed ready to disperse at any moment.

As the cold wind blew in gust after gust and the curtains rustled and swayed, he felt as though his soul consciousness would scatter into the void at any moment, his soul and spirit utterly destroyed.

Helplessness and desolation rose in his heart, as though he had fallen into an icy, boundless ocean. He was deeply shocked and terrified.

"Is this the boundless sea of suffering spoken of in Buddhist teachings? Turn back, and there is shore."

A Buddhist saying from the mundane world surfaced in Liu Ding's Sea of Souls. His soul retreated, returning toward his body.

Sure enough, refining a Soul Method was no simple matter. At any moment, one could be drowned by the sea of suffering.

But his soul passed through his body without being able to merge with it, just as it could not connect with the external objects he had touched.

His consciousness gradually blurred.

"Am I really going to have my soul and spirit scattered like this?" Feeling the terrifying danger, Liu Ding was seized by panic and fear.

Just as Liu Ding felt his consciousness was about to vanish into ash, a cloak suddenly settled gently over him. He saw General Jiang's Black Cloak enveloping his entire body.

At once, Liu Ding felt his consciousness solidify again, and it suddenly merged with his meditating body.

He abruptly opened his eyes. General Jiang was nowhere to be seen. It seemed as though what had happened just now had been a dream, yet General Jiang's Black Cloak was truly draped over his body.

"General Jiang! General Jiang!"

Liu Ding called softly. He believed it had not been a dream.

"Put the cloak over me." General Jiang's faint voice came from the empty room.

Liu Ding could tell that General Jiang's voice seemed to be trembling. He hurriedly asked, "Where are you? How am I supposed to put it on you?"

"Just drape it over the incense burner." General Jiang's voice had become nearly inaudible.

By then, the incense in the burner had already burned out. Knowing there was no time to hesitate, Liu Ding immediately removed the Black Cloak, shook it open, and covered the incense burner with it.

Slowly, within the seemingly empty cloak, General Jiang's extremely haggard figure finally appeared.

"General Jiang, you saved me just now? You're a soul body? This Black Cloak protects souls from dispersing?"

Liu Ding seemed to understand. As he fired off question after question, he saw General Jiang nod weakly and wearily. His heart gradually relaxed.

That had been close.