Soul Searching (Seeking Recommendation)

The stars were few and far between in the night sky.

Zhong Shenxiu walked into the courtyard, his eyes dark and luminous as he activated Spirit Sight.

Within his vision, everything was shrouded in a hazy veil. The plum trees, their branches like coiled dragons, now seemed to writhe and claw.

From the well, smoke continuously billowed, distorting the light and emitting a low, guttural sound.

'Is this... the perspective of a Yin Spirit?'

Zhong Shenxiu murmured to himself. He was experiencing the abilities of the [Shepherd].

His consciousness expanded, not only sensing a dark, alien space but also a vaster, stranger world.

"The Spirit Realm?! Or perhaps... the Eastern Underworld?"

Sensing the dense aura of Yin Sha, a hint of joy appeared on Zhong Shenxiu's face. "This is a good place. For example, special Profound Yin Sha, Yellow Springs Sha, and the like can only be found in the Underworld..."

Of course, ordinary Cultivators, even those at the Gang Sha realm like Linghe, could only sense the paths to the Underworld about eighty percent of the time.

Even if they could sense it, they might not be able to enter the Underworld.

But Zhong Shenxiu could. He could even bypass certain rules of the East. This was a privilege of the [Shepherd].

However, when he tried to peer further into the Underworld, he found that he... couldn't!

"I feel like I can do it, but I just don't know how..."

Zhong Shenxiu was a little speechless. "Perhaps... I need to try and explore slowly?"

He understood that this was the drawback of not having a prerequisite profession. If he had been a [Medium] before, he would surely be familiar with the Spirit Realm and possess the ability to traverse it with his soul.

Fortunately, at this moment, it would just be a bit more troublesome, requiring him to try things one by one.

From the perspective of Eastern Daoist Magic, his realm had reached a point where certain Daoist Arts could be wielded effortlessly.

"The greatest abilities of the [Shepherd], besides sensing the Spirit Realm, are the manipulation of souls."

"The Vengeful Spirits I'm currently manipulating is only the Headless Count."

With a thought from Zhong Shenxiu, another 'person' emerged from his body.

It was tall and gaunt, headless, wearing a tuxedo with two rows of golden buttons. It was the Headless Count!

As soon as the Vengeful Spirit appeared, black blood seeped from beneath its soles, and black mist emanated from its body, seemingly altering the surroundings unconsciously.

"Manipulating it isn't exactly like commanding my own limbs, but it's at least like handling a well-trained dog."

Zhong Shenxiu was satisfied. He pondered for a moment, then looked at the obviously problematic well water. "Go!"

The Headless Count took a step forward, and the void seemed to tear open a large hole before it, swallowing it whole.

This legendary Count seemed to have been proficient in spatial magic during his life, and his abilities after death were also related to space, making him a formidable Vengeful Spirit.

In just a few seconds, it reappeared in the same spot, holding a semi-transparent soul in its hand.

"So there are Yin Souls here!"

Zhong Shenxiu nodded.

With such a large city as Fufeng City, the number of people who died each year was incalculable. There were bound to be some lingering Yin Souls.

However, ordinary Yin Souls had little power, and with the suppression of Dao officials, any who dared to act arrogantly were eliminated. What remained were likely a bunch of weaklings.

'If the Headless Count is rated as Upper Fourth-Class, then this is a Lower First-Class... trash.'

Despite his disdain, Zhong Shenxiu chose to control this Yin Soul to test his abilities and gather some information.

His spiritual sense extended outwards, reaching the semi-transparent soul.

A powerful aura instantly caused the dim glow emanating from the soul to fluctuate violently, like a soap bubble about to burst.

The Headless Count released its grip and stepped aside.

The soul slowly solidified, stabilizing from its ethereal state, taking the form of a scholar in green robes. Fear appeared on his face. "Don't..."

Although he gradually became stronger, the light in his eyes slowly faded, until he seemed to have completely become a puppet, standing beside the Headless Count.

"This ability is indeed different from the Daoist Arts of the Profound Yin Soul Control Fragment!"

Carefully experiencing the abilities of the [Shepherd], Zhong Shenxiu couldn't help but sigh.

The [Shepherd]'s manipulation of souls was akin to assimilation, erasing all of the other's emotions and turning them into puppets. However, their memories remained, allowing Zhong Shenxiu to read them easily.

Furthermore, due to the connection between his spiritual sense and the master, manipulation was very convenient, and the strength would receive a certain boost. However, if the puppet died, it would inflict some damage on the master.

If the [Shepherd]'s abilities were considered domineering, then the Profound Yin Soul Control Fragment felt more like a righteous path.

Yin Souls refined by this Daoist Art could maintain their sanity and emotions. For example, this scholar would probably kneel and call him 'My Lord,' becoming Zhong Shenxiu's Yin soldier.

Even if they died, it would just be the death of a lowly soldier. As long as suitable materials were available, they could be refined again.

However, their own strength would not increase at all.

And if their power greatly increased, they would easily backfire on the master.

"Finally, in terms of numbers, my [Shepherd] can at most take in one more Vengeful Spirit like the Headless Count, or dilute this quota to accommodate over a dozen lower-grade Yin Spirits... whereas the Profound Yin Soul Control Fragment's Daoist Arts allow the number of Yin Souls that can be controlled to increase with each breakthrough in realm. In other words, one focuses on quality and the other on quantity..."

Zhong Shenxiu looked at the expressionless scholar and began to browse through the other's memories.

In the spirit-channeling state, it felt like watching a movie from a third-person perspective, novel and interesting.

"So this scholar's name is Wu Tong, a local of Fufeng. He started his studies at eight and became a Xiucai at twelve… Unfortunately, he failed the imperial examinations repeatedly and, in frustration, turned to the immortal path. He sought immortality for over a decade, only finding things of dubious authenticity, and ultimately achieved nothing before dying of illness at thirty-six…"

"However, countless people die in the world. Those who don't immediately go to the Underworld but instead become Yin Spirits all have some kind of fortune… It should be that this person unconsciously achieved something, though not much, merely having a spirit after death."

"Moreover, Fufeng City is too dangerous, so he hid, constantly moving, and finally ended up hiding within the water veins of this estate…"

Zhong Shenxiu wasn't very interested in these details. Instead, he looked at the dubious cultivation texts Wu Tong had found.

Ninety-nine percent of these were fake, but there was one genuine fragment of a technique.

"No… it's not for cultivating Daoist Arts, but for refining magical artifacts… Even the broken version is powerful. No wonder Wu Tong went down the wrong path."

Zhong Shenxiu became a little interested.

His knowledge had improved considerably now, and he had some understanding of the Gang Sha realm.

This realm primarily cultivates seventeen innate magical arts, but Daoist Arts other than these are not without their uses.

Besides the most basic auxiliary ones, if one was truly unwilling to discard them, they could be used to refine protective magical artifacts!