Aftermath

"Chi chi chi..."

Half an incense stick's worth of time passed, and the soul search concluded.

Xie Xuanyi opened his eyes.

He lowered his head to look at the wisp of soul spirit he held in his palm.

The ghostly soul shattered, turning into ashes that slowly scattered with the wind.

In the end, Xie Xuanyi was left with only a wisp of soul spirit, like tattered cotton.

Only a wisp of remnant soul meant that Xu You had completely died and his Dao extinguished. Even if a ghost cultivator with the great ability of "corpse refinement and soul return" were to take action, they wouldn't be able to use this wisp of remnant soul to revive him.

"Great Sage Bai Ze..."

Xie Xuanyi lowered his head, gazing at the dry finger bone, lost in thought.

He had indeed heard of the name of this Demon Sage, a top figure who stirred up wind and clouds a thousand years ago. However, the conflict between the human and demon races at that time didn't seem as intense as it was now. The Great Grain Sword Palace's collection of books mentioned that Great Sage Bai Ze traveled the world, forming good relationships and becoming friends with many great cultivators.

Therefore, Great Sage Bai Ze's Grotto-Heavens were scattered throughout the four regions, with more than one.

However, after its death, these Grotto-Heavens seemed to disappear... In the past thousand years, not a single one had appeared in the world.

Was this finger bone a relic left behind by Great Sage Bai Ze?

The amount of information in Xu You's soul was vast, and Xie Xuanyi briefly sorted it out.

The Qi in Carp Tide City was abnormal, and it was suspected that a Sage's secret realm was about to appear.

This news should have been strictly sealed off, but it was learned by the Demon Realm—

There must have been a traitor among the high-level officials of Qing Province.

The truth of the "Eight Hundred Li Forbidden Zone" thus surfaced: The Imperial City Bureau was responsible for monitoring the four regions, and the Primal Chaos Monitor captured the secrets of heaven. Although the Demon Realm obtained the information, the Imperial City also sensed the anomaly in Qing Province, so there was such a strict order to thoroughly seal off the border of Qing Province.

Xie Xuanyi chuckled softly and put the finger bone into his pocket.

"Interesting."

He murmured softly, "Ten years have passed, those old guys in the Imperial City should have retired, right... Is that guy now in charge of the 'Primal Chaos Monitor'?"

Great Sage Bai Ze's finger bone was a good thing.

Although the demon cultivators received information from Qing Province, they didn't dare to believe it easily.

Before taking action, they wanted to find out whether this secret realm was left by the Bai Ze Demon Sage... So there was this intensive mission to deliver the bone.

But now.

The most crucial token had fallen into his hands.

And the most interesting thing was that, due to the pressure exerted by Great Chu, the demon spies seemed to need to use "identity credentials" to make contact.

Which meant.

As long as Xie Xuanyi could prove that he was "Rank Three," then he truly was.

Xie Xuanyi squatted in front of Xu You, looking at the empty shell that had lost its soul spirit, and said indifferently, "Xu You, ah Xu You... Dying in my hands, you can be considered to have died with value."

If it were anyone else, the first thing they would do would be to hand over the token.

The Imperial City Bureau had strict rules, with clear rewards and punishments.

Handing over the token would definitely result in a great reward!

But... Xie Xuanyi wasn't anyone else, and he never liked to act according to the rules.

"What is 'Rank Three's' identity credential?"

Xie Xuanyi narrowed his eyes, staring at Xu You for a moment.

He recalled the memory fragments from the previous soul search. The black-clothed Venerable summoned Xu You in the spiritual world, and Xu You respectfully knelt down. It wasn't easy to conduct this kind of soul communication across thousands of miles. There must be some special object that could serve as a "bridge" connecting the two spirits.

Xie Xuanyi snapped his fingers.

The Azure Origin Pill Qi that had dissipated into the world burned with a whoosh, sweeping towards Xu You's remnant body.

In an instant, this body burst into flames!

And after dozens of breaths.

Xu You was completely reduced to ashes, this time not only the soul, but also the physical body.

The clothes turned to powder.

The corpse turned to ashes.

But faintly visible, a small object was flashing with a faint light.

"This ring is also a treasure... But it's not a natal item."

Xie Xuanyi found what he wanted.

He put on the ring and tried to activate it.

But as soon as he slightly immersed a wisp of divine sense, the ring lit up with a scarlet light!

There were as many as ten array patterns set inside!

The Demon Realm had anticipated the current situation when they offered the "treasure," ensuring that if Rank Three met with an accident and died, the ring would never leak information!

Because if any "unfamiliar divine sense" invaded, attempting to open the mental space inside the treasure, the ring would immediately self-destruct!

But, alas.

Years ago, Xie Xuanyi had seen the exact same trick.

"As expected, this is 'Rank Three's' proof. The Demon Realm branded Xu You's soul."

Xie Xuanyi raised an eyebrow.

When he crushed Xu You's soul earlier, he deliberately held back... now, that wisp of remnant soul, wrapped around Xie Xuanyi's palm, was injected into the ring!

The strange light flashing on the ring gradually calmed down.

"Now, who is Rank Three, and who is who?"

After doing all this, Xie Xuanyi laughed mockingly.

The unease pressing on his heart finally dissipated.

The Primal Chaos Monitor in the Great Chu Imperial City could capture heavenly secrets and detect karma.

The Demon Realm also had similar methods.

That black-robed Venerable who designated the bone-delivery plan, relying on heavenly calculations, found the "safest" way to enter the pass... but he certainly didn't expect that choosing this method of entry would completely change the course of the mission. Great Sage Bai Ze's finger bone was successfully delivered to Rank Three, but Rank Three had been replaced!

Killing Xu You and obtaining the token.

From this moment on, Xie Xuanyi went from prey to hunter.

The broken Yuan Severing Array, torn open by the finger bone, was continuously overflowing with Qi... To kill Xu You, Xie Xuanyi crushed two Azure Origin Pills. Some residual Qi remained in these pills.

Every bit and piece, hard-earned.

This Qi couldn't be wasted.

Xie Xuanyi sat cross-legged, absorbing all the remaining Qi from the two Azure Origin Pills. Due to losses during the battle, these two pills only ignited nine acupoints.

Now, a total of forty-three acupoints were ignited.

There were still sixty-five acupoints unlit.

During the process of meditation and breathing, Xie Xuanyi vaguely sensed that his body was undergoing an "abnormality"... With forty-five acupoints ignited, golden Qi occupied the acupoints, burning fiercely like torches. This Qi followed the meridians, converging towards his dantian.

This was the most important place for cultivators!

When Qi gathered here, reaching a certain amount, it would undergo a qualitative change.

Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Qi Manipulation... and then Grotto-Heaven.

The seemingly weak human body, after introducing Qi, became an endless treasure.

Igniting acupoints, sublimating muscles and bones, controlling Qi.

After that, cultivators would open up a "Grotto-Heaven" in their bodies.

Once this step was achieved, the cultivator would have transcended the mortal realm. If they wished, they could completely abstain from grains, only consuming the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth, storing Qi in their dantian Grotto-Heaven.

If they didn't participate in worldly struggles, their lifespan would be extended to three cycles of sixty years.

Normally speaking.

The cultivation of a Qi Refiner only involved igniting acupoints. There would be no changes in the dantian...

But Xie Xuanyi felt that the golden Qi was all diverting power to the dantian!

The "Grotto-Heaven" he had condensed in the past had disappeared.

But the empty dantian was now gathering strands of golden aura!

This Qi was flocculent and very thin, but he vaguely felt that it was about to condense into a "droplet" shape.

"There's still too little Qi."

Xie Xuanyi shook his head, abandoning distracting thoughts.

He didn't dwell on what these golden Qi could condense into...

There were still some "cleanup" tasks to be completed.

Xie Xuanyi looked up at the sky.

The moon was dark, the wind was high, and the night was deep, a perfect time for murder and silencing.

Xu You was dead...

But Shen Yan was still alive.

"Kou Zhi."