Liu Qingfeng Awakens

"Um?"

Xu Bai put down the book in his hand, looked around in confusion, and poked his ear.

Did you... hear anything just now?

This question was directed at the Female Daoist Abbot Female Daoist Abbot beside him. She was engrossed in reading a book when Xu Bai asked her a question. She looked up in confusion, listened carefully, and then shook her head, indicating that she hadn't heard him.

"It's very quiet here. There's no one else here besides the two of us, and we haven't heard any other sounds. What did you hear?"

Both of them were Extraordinary Rank 9 masters, among the most rare in the world. In the current situation, it would be extremely difficult to deceive them.

Xu Bai heard it, but the Female Daoist Abbot didn't, which is suspicious.

Xu Bai pondered in secret, while simultaneously scanning the entire Imperial Palace, including the Ruins, with his divine sense, but he found nothing unusual.

If someone can make a move under his divine soul, their strength must surpass his. But in this world today, apart from those who Entering Sainthood Expert, it is impossible for anyone to escape his divine soul.

It's even less likely to be those Entering Sainthood Expert. The locations of the Entering Sainthood Expert are now clear, except for the two from the Barbarian Tribe. And those two from the Barbarian Tribe will be discovered instantly once they enter the Barbarian Tribe territory.

"It's a strange kind of syllable, not a specific word, nor a song, but like someone whispering in your ear."

Xu Bai recalled for a moment and repeated that the sound had only appeared for a moment before disappearing without a trace.

The Female Daoist Abbot knew in her heart that although Xu Bai was sometimes unreliable, he never failed when it came to important matters, so there was no need to joke with him at this time.

In other words, what Xu Bai just said was true.

As for hallucinations or auditory hallucinations, that's simply impossible. Who has ever heard of a superhuman expert experiencing auditory hallucinations? Thinking of this, the Female Daoist Abbot put down the book in her hand, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Could you repeat the syllables you just heard? I want to see if I recognize them."

The two had only talked about syllables, but hadn't specified what those syllables were, so the Female Daoist Abbot was clueless.

Xu Bai thought about it carefully in his mind, but after a moment, he shook his head and frowned deeply. "It's very strange."

"I just tried to recall that voice, and I can remember it, but when I try to tell you, I just can't say it."

"What exactly is going on?"

It was like a special rule; he could hear the voice clearly, remember it clearly, and recall it, but he couldn't say it aloud.

Since entering this circle, this was the first time he had encountered such a strange thing, and the sound did not seem to have harmed him and had long since disappeared.

But for Xu Bai, something that is out of control is dangerous, so Xu Bai must understand it and even find out about it.

The Female Daoist Abbot stood up and paced back and forth, her right hand constantly making a kneading motion, as if she were using some kind of secret Daoist Sect technique.

After about half an incense stick's time, the Female Daoist Abbot stopped using her right hand.

"It can't be calculated, it's impossible to calculate. It's all baseless, as if you've never experienced it, but you just heard it."

Her implication was that there was nothing she could do.

"Forget it," Xu Bai said. "Since there's no basis for it, let's not think about it anymore and continue reading."

With no leads and the voice gone, Xu Bai decided to put the matter aside for the time being and continue working on the progress bar in his hand.

On the surface, he was reading a book, but in his mind he was still thinking about what had just happened. The more he thought about it, the more agitated he became.

The Female Daoist Abbot put down the book in her hand and hesitated, saying, "I have never seen you so agitated. Could it be because of that voice?"

Xu Bai was taken aback, then suddenly turned his head. "It seems that's really the case."

He had experienced many important events before, but he had never been this anxious. He hadn't even finished working on the progress bar. But now, after this voice appeared, he became anxious and couldn't even concentrate on his book.

"What's going on? Why do I feel so anxious? And what was that voice?"

Xu Bai paced back and forth, and the more he paced, the more urgent his tone became. At the same time, his aura was gradually changing.

The surrounding area was a mix of gold and gray, Heavenly Change of madness and reason, and Xu Bai's face was grim.

"Calm down!" The Female Daoist Abbot the situation. She stood up and put her hand on Xu Bai's shoulder.

Xu Bai reached out and, instinctively, struck the Female Daoist Abbot with his palm.

The Female Daoist Abbot raised her hand at the same time and exchanged a palm strike with Xu Bai.

"Isn't this swordsmanship?"

The Female Daoist Abbot took two steps back to steady herself.

"Xu Bai, it seems you're being controlled by something. Release your mind and let me help you!"

Xu Bai's eyes gradually turned cold. He looked down at his hands, then at the Female Daoist Abbot, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and said with difficulty, "Quickly!"

The Female Daoist Abbot quickly arrived beside Xu Bai and simultaneously extended her finger, touching Xu Bai's brow.

If Xu Bai has many skills, the Female Daoist Abbot has just as many.

To put it simply, the Female Daoist Abbot's abilities are more like a weakened version of Xu Bai's cheat ability, and a weakened version with negative effects.

At this moment, the Female Daoist Abbot also used her divine soul abilities to continuously probe within Xu Bai's divine soul.

She sensed that Xu Bai's soul was as deep as the ocean, and knew that Xu Bai had also reached the level of the ninth grade of the Extraordinary Rank 9 in terms of his soul.

"Relax, you must relax, don't be nervous, I'll help you find the problem slowly."

The Female Daoist Abbot was worried that Xu Bai would become agitated, so she kept trying to calm him down.

Xu Bai nodded.

The Female Daoist Abbot began to use her divine soul to explore within Xu Bai's vast and boundless divine soul. Soon, she discovered something.

Within Xu Bai's soul, there exists another soul.

Because this soul was merging with Xu Bai's soul, that's why it was so agitated just now.

"It must have been that voice that left behind."

"I've found it. Now bring it out. Be careful."

As she spoke, the Female Daoist Abbot began to slowly try to separate the soul from the body.

However, this piece of divine soul is closely connected to Xu Bai's divine soul, making it very difficult to separate it.

The Female Daoist Abbot could only use extremely slow techniques to peel it away slowly.

The soul was slowly detaching, and the Female Daoist Abbot's expression grew increasingly tense.

Time is passing by, and in the blink of an eye, half an hour has passed.

The next moment, his soul completely detached.

The Female Daoist Abbot had just breathed a sigh of relief, but unexpectedly, the extracted soul stimulated Xu Bai's soul.

The next moment, Xu Bai's vast and boundless divine soul swallowed up the Female Daoist Abbot's divine soul.

To be precise, there was no swallowing; rather, their souls were constantly merging.

This situation lasted for about half an hour.

The Female Daoist Abbot silently withdrew her divine soul and sighed.

Xu Bai's lips twitched slightly. "I didn't mean to just now."

He seemed to have just shivered.

"This matter must not be spoken of." The Female Daoist Abbot closed her eyes.

In her hand, there was a round, semi-transparent object that was constantly spinning.

Xu Bai knew that at this moment, he should not dwell on the previous topic, so he changed the subject and looked at the thing in the Female Daoist Abbot's hand. "What is this?"

"They don't want to let you go," the Female Daoist Abbot said.

Xu Bai was taken aback. The words were so vague that he didn't quite understand them.

The Female Daoist Abbot pointed at the divine soul. "Now I understand the abilities of the Barbarian Tribe Great Shaman. That's why they killed all the Barbarian Tribe back then."

"It is something formed by combining the resentment of these dead with the resentment of those you killed."

"It has no roots or branches, but it is born from your soul, so you cannot detect it, much less defend against it."

"Barbarian Tribe Great Shaman, they're trying to make an example of you."

Upon hearing this, Xu Bai stroked his chin. "Is the profession of Great Shaman really that powerful?"

The Female Daoist Abbot nodded and said, "Very strong. No, to be precise, among those who have entered sainthood, his combat strength is the lowest, but he is the most mysterious."

"It is said that he can communicate with things in a certain place and then turn them into his own, and he also has various other mysterious methods, this method being one of them."

Now Xu Bai understood.

It turns out these two guys really wanted to die. They seemed to know they couldn't enter the Barbarian Tribe territory, so they used such a strange method.

"Once I become a saint, I will definitely kill those two," Xu Bai said.

"What should we do with this? Just destroy it?"

Keeping it would be a disaster, and the biggest disaster for myself, so it must be destroyed.

The Female Daoist Abbot shook her head and said, "When I was exploring your soul just now, I found that it seems to be protected by something."

"That thing is terrifying, and I dare not explore it. The thing in my hand was also born from your soul, and it is very difficult to destroy, and I dare not destroy it."

"If I destroy it, it might affect the entity protecting your soul."

Xu Bai understood that what the Female Daoist Abbot had just mentioned must have been his cheat code.

In fact, he had known all along that this thing must be in his soul, since every time his soul was in danger of being destroyed, the cheat would fight back.

But if this scourge can't be destroyed now, what's the point of keeping it?

Xu Bai paced back and forth, resting his chin on his hand. Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he quickly approached the Female Daoist Abbot.

"You just said that this thing cannot be destroyed, or that you are worried that destroying it would cause consequences you cannot bear?"

The Female Daoist Abbot nodded. She didn't know what Xu Bai meant by asking that question, but she still answered honestly.

Xu Bai continued, "What would happen if I put this thing into the body of a person without a soul?"

This is what he just thought of. The Female Daoist Abbot said there was no way to destroy it, but there is one person who is specifically designed to destroy souls.

That person was actually quite simple; it was just that unlucky kid Liu Qingfeng.

"You're talking about Liu Qingfeng, someone without a soul?" The Female Daoist Abbot was completely dumbfounded.

She was incredibly impressed by Xu Bai's imagination, but it seemed that this imagination could actually become a world.

Liu Qingfeng has no divine soul, and any divine soul that enters will either leak out or be directly destroyed. But what would happen if this piece of divine soul were put in? "We can't try this lightly. We can find a master of divination." The Female Daoist Abbot thought for a long time but still didn't want to act rashly.

Find a fortune teller to at least predict whether it will be auspicious or inauspicious.

What the Female Daoist Abbot just did with her fingers can't be called divination; it's just a kind of the Daoist Sect divination, and it's not very professional.

Xu Bai's eyes lit up. "No need to look for anyone else, just look for me. I'm the most proficient."

He spent a year in the Imperial Treasury, where he practiced fortune-telling and even elevated it to the Extraordinary Rank 9.

We must find a way to destroy this piece of divine soul before us.

But as the Female Daoist Abbot just mentioned, she was worried that destroying it would trigger the "golden finger" within her. So, she decided to consult a divination master, and if the result was auspicious, she could give it a try.

The Female Daoist Abbot's expression was complicated. "Why didn't you go crazy after learning so many things, but I went crazy after learning so many things?"

Sometimes, you just can't compare yourself to others.

The more she compared herself to others, the more uncomfortable she felt; this was exactly how the Female Daoist Abbot at that moment.

We are all human beings, and we have all learned a lot. Why is it that when I was in trouble, you were completely unharmed and even became a master of the ninth rank of the Extraordinary Rank 9?

I'm so angry! Especially when I think about how our souls were intertwined just now, I'm even angrier.

Xu Bai had no idea what the Female Daoist Abbot was thinking, so he began to calculate.

After reaching the Extraordinary Rank 9, no tools are needed for divination. Xu Bai simply calculates with his fingers and quickly determines the fortune or misfortune.

"Great fortune," Xu Bai said.

It would benefit not only him, but also Liu Qingfeng.

The Female Daoist Abbot pondered, "In that case, we should go find Liu Qingfeng, but we don't know where he has gone."

Although it's said to be a very auspicious occasion, we still need to find the person, but we can't find them right now, so it's a problem.

Xu Bai pointed to himself. "I know."

"How did you know?" the Female Daoist Abbot asked, puzzled.

"I can summon him, you know, like, you know, summoning a deity." Xu Bai gestured, explaining the gist of the matter.

The Female Daoist Abbot: "(_)"

If she hadn't known that Xu Bai Xu Bai had no reason to joke with her at this point, she would have really thought he was teasing her.

"Then let's give it a try."

Since it's a very auspicious day, and it's able to summon Liu Qingfeng, then there's naturally no problem.

Xu Bai didn't mind at all, and performed the Deity Summoning Method in front of the Female Daoist Abbot.

A moment later, there was a tremor in the shadows, and Liu Qingfeng emerged from the darkness with a blank stare.

As soon as he appeared, he prepared to absorb Xu Bai's soul according to the original rules.

Although he had lost his soul, his instincts remained. His biological instincts made him feel that Xu Bai was in danger, so he turned and ran away.

"You can't escape!"

Xu Bai's figure blurred, appearing in front of Liu Qingfeng. Then, a dazzling blade light appeared on his fingertips, and he gently flicked it at Liu Qingfeng.

"Bang!"

The blade's light Liu Qingfeng's body. With Xu Bai's current strength, he could already control it at will.

Although there seems to be no grand scene, Liu Qingfeng's inner self has been almost completely destroyed.

Xu Bai knew perfectly well that Liu Qingfeng had no soul, so the concept of communication was irrelevant.

Liu Qingfeng had just tried to escape because he sensed that Xu Bai was now extraordinary, so his instincts drove him to flee.

Xu Bai also knew that the blade light he had just absorbed was not enough to destroy Liu Qingfeng, after all, Liu Qingfeng's ability was an incomparably powerful regenerative Undying Body.

It also has a similar skill to the Undying Body, and this skill is activated by the Undying Body. Xu Bai could feel that the injuries in Liu Qingfeng's body were recovering at an astonishing speed.

"What a genius!" Xu Bai exclaimed.

This is a genuine feeling of gratitude. Being able to create such a restorative technique, even though it left him as an empty shell, has already surpassed many people.

"If his soul were normal, he would have already reached the Extraordinary Rank 9, instead of the seventh level." The Female Daoist Abbot sighed, "Life is unpredictable. We are all willing to overcome obstacles and seek the path to sainthood, but thorns are still thorns. Sometimes, one careless move can lead to our utter destruction."

She didn't say the rest, such as about herself. Only she knew the twists and turns of her long period of madness from the beginning until now.

"Let's get started, hurry up, I feel like he'll wake up in a little while," Xu Bai said.

Although Liu Qingfeng was lying on the ground with his eyes closed, Xu Bai estimated that it wouldn't be long before he was lively and energetic again.

"He has been to the Ghost Market, and his body is like a funnel, making it impossible for him to store his soul. In this light, it seems that his soul can be obliterated."

Xu Bai had calculated before that this matter would be very auspicious for both himself and Liu Qingfeng, proving that there was no problem.

Upon hearing Xu Bai's words, the Female Daoist Abbot stopped arguing and flicked the divine soul in her hand, which then disappeared into Liu Qingfeng's forehead.

Xu Bai was about to use his divine sense to sense something when, unexpectedly, he suddenly felt something rapidly approaching.

Having learned from his previous mistakes, he is now extremely vigilant and subconsciously extends his spiritual power.

But when he saw what it was, he froze on the spot.

Not only was he stunned, but even the Female Daoist Abbot was stunned and subconsciously took a step back.

It was a remnant soul, and an extremely large one at that. It was far away, but it moved incredibly fast, arriving in the treasure vault in the blink of an eye.

The surface of the remnant soul looks exactly the same as Liu Qingfeng's, and is mostly translucent.

Upon witnessing this scene, Xu Bai felt a chill run down his spine and turned to the Female Daoist Abbot, demanding an explanation.

The Female Daoist Abbot remained calm. "I won't."

The answer was very straightforward and direct.

—I don't know! Xu Bai: "(_)"

While the two were talking, Liu Qingfeng's soul seemed to be unable to see them. Then, right under their gaze, it entered their bodies.

The whole process was so gruesome that I won't go into details.

The next moment, Liu Qingfeng opened his eyes and got up from the ground.

Xu Bai could clearly sense that Liu Qingfeng's eyes were now Liu Qingfeng and alert, having lost their original dullness and emptiness.

"It's a ghost."

Wasn't this guy supposed to be soulless? What happened to that remnant soul earlier? And what happened after that? Wait!

Xu Bai suddenly remembered something; he had known about it before.

When Liu Qingfeng entered the Ghost Market, he knew he was courting death, so he left a way in the mortal world to separate a part of his soul and leave it there.

But later, he didn't expect that he would turn into a funnel, unable to contain his soul, and thus become what he is now.

A flash of inspiration struck him.

Xu Bai asked, "Your body... is healed?"

This was his guess, but seeing Liu Qingfeng's current state, it's very likely true.

Beside her, the Female Daoist Abbot also looked as if she had seen a ghost.

This guy has been an empty shell for so many years, yet he woke up because of Xu Bai?

Liu Qingfeng glanced at the two of them and answered them with facts.

He bent down and bowed to Xu Bai: "Thank you, Your King Xu, for helping me escape this sea of suffering."

"You know me?" Xu Bai raised an eyebrow and asked.

The most shocking thing right now is that Liu Qingfeng has returned to normal.

By a twist of fate, they actually helped Liu Qingfeng solve a big problem.

Xu Bai wondered whether he should pay extra for this thing.

Liu Qingfeng nodded, as if he had relaxed completely, and said, "When my scattered remnant soul entered my body, everything my body had experienced was recalled in my mind."

Upon hearing this, Xu Bai suddenly remembered the incident at the Ghost Market and chuckled, "So, are you also aware of what happened between you and that female ghost in the Ghost Market?"

Liu Qingfeng's expression changed, and he waved his hand, saying, "I'm not too sure about that. I guess you've already forgotten. Did I ever do such a thing?"

Xu Bai understood; this guy did remember, but it was a dark chapter in his past, and he probably didn't want to admit it.

Getting back to the main point, he asked why Liu Qingfeng had woken up.

The Female Daoist Abbot beside her also looked curious and listened attentively.

There was no way around it; even at the level of Female Daoist Abbot, she was still a woman.

Women love excitement, especially when that excitement involves a very big secret.

Under the gazes of the two, Liu Qingfeng slowly explained why he had woken up.

After listening to the story, Xu Bai suddenly realized that he had actually helped Liu Qingfeng wake up this time.

According to Liu Qingfeng's explanation, there is a large hole inside his body, and no matter how powerful a divine soul is, it will be swallowed by this hole.

It was precisely for this reason that his instincts drove him to constantly search for something related to a powerful divine soul, wanting to fill the hole, but he could not fill it no matter what.

Until Xu Bai appeared, Xu Bai's soul was able to slightly make up for his weakness. It was for this reason that Liu Qingfeng kept absorbing Xu Bai's soul.

However, since this soul originally belonged to Xu Bai, and Xu Bai's soul contained something terrifying, he simply couldn't make up for it all.

But this time it's different; the injected soul was the work of the Great Shaman.

The Great Shaman aroused the resentment of all the dead Barbarian Tribe, and this resentment caused something different to be born from Xu Bai's soul, and this thing itself originated from Xu Bai's soul.

Originating from Xu Bai's soul, it possesses all the characteristics, so this thing belongs to Xu Bai, yet it doesn't belong to Xu Bai either, and it actually blocked the hole.

"In short, the most fundamental reason is that King Xu can freely enter and exit the Ghost Market; otherwise, it would have been impossible to plug my loopholes," Liu Qingfeng concluded.

Xu Bai stroked his chin. "No wonder my fortune telling just now was also beneficial to you, so that's why."

Liu Qingfeng bowed again and said, "Thank you, King Xu."

Xu Bai nodded, which was taken as an agreement.

Liu Qingfeng looked at Xu Bai with a strange expression, his eyes revealing disbelief.

Xu Bai touched his face and frowned, saying, "From what you're saying, it seems like my answer wasn't quite right?"

He felt that Liu Qingfeng's gaze was strange, as if Xu Bai shouldn't have answered that way, but his own answer was perfectly normal.

"No, no," Liu Qingfeng waved his hand and said, "It's just that based on my understanding of the Prince, Prince should be asking me for benefits, since it was the Prince who helped me solve this big problem."

Xu Bai stroked his chin. "What you say makes sense, but I'm always fair in my dealings. I originally asked you to help me solve a big problem, so this matter is settled."

"But since you've already said so, then give it to me."

He reached out his hand, Liu Qingfeng on the other side stared blankly.

"What?"

"The secret manual, you said you'd pay me," Xu Bai repeated.

Liu Qingfeng said helplessly, "But I have nothing now, and I have no way to leave behind any secret manuals."

Xu Bai withdrew his hand. "That's settled then. You can go now. I won't ask you for anything else. Consider this a mutual assistance between us."

Although he is sometimes too concerned with personal gain, he will not give up anything he is entitled to, and he will not force anything that is not rightfully his, as is the case today.

Everyone is mutually benefiting; the process of equivalent exchange has been completed, and nothing else is needed.

To everyone's surprise, after Xu Bai finished speaking, Liu Qingfeng did not leave. Instead, he stood there, as if he was organizing his thoughts.

Upon seeing this, Xu Bai suddenly had a feeling that Liu Qingfeng was about to say something important.

As expected, after organizing his thoughts, Liu Qingfeng finally spoke.

"King Xu, I have some very important information to tell you, it concerns the Ghost Market."

Ghost Market?

Upon hearing those two words, Xu Bai instantly became interested.

If there's anything in this world that interests her most, it's two places: the Ghost Market and the Ruins.

Both places are shrouded in mystery, especially the Ghost Market, which is even more enigmatic.

After a person dies or a demon dies, they will transform into a strange entity, and there is a chance to enter it.

However, any living person who enters will have their soul devoured. Similarly, the strange creatures of the Ghost Market will also have their souls devoured when they return to the human world, turning into creatures that act solely on instinct. Furthermore, these strange creatures have an extremely strong aversion to the living.

Even someone of Chu Emperor's stature couldn't explain the things here, which made Xu Bai even more interested.

Upon hearing Liu Qingfeng mention something related to the Ghost Market, Xu Bai immediately urged Liu Qingfeng to speak up.

Liu Qingfeng continued, "As King Xu also knows, I actually stayed in the Ghost Market Ghost Market for a long time after entering it, and only came out by chance."

"During this period, I was hunted down most of the time, but I still saw something extremely important."

"I witnessed the fierce battle between the two Ghost Market, and I also saw some secrets, which are about the Saintly Realm."

As he spoke, Liu Qingfeng recalled the memories. He paused halfway through his recollection, then stood still and continued to organize the memories in his mind.

His soul returned to his original body, so he was able to remember what his original body had experienced, but his current soul is incomplete, and he can only slowly organize his memories.

After a while, Liu Qingfeng continued.

"As everyone knows, there are rules in the world that no more than nine people can become saints, because nine is the ultimate number, whether in the human world or the Ghost Market."

"There are nine Saints in the Human-Strange Entity Market and nine Saints in the Demon-Strange Entity Market, but there is a very important issue: there is only one Saint in the Human World, but two Saints in the Ghost Market."

"I understand that if the battle between the two Ghost Market ends and one side wins, then the two will be unified, and at that time, their rules will be broken, and becoming a saint will be the sum of the two."

Although Liu Qingfeng spoke calmly, the news was nothing short of a bombshell once it was released.

Xu Bai felt that very few things could shock him anymore, but this matter did indeed shock him for a while.

He considered the serious implications.

To put it simply, there can only be one person in the human world who can attain sainthood, and it will never exceed nine.

However, the Human-Strange Entity Market and the Demon-Strange Entity Market are different. Although they differ in number, they are both Ghost Market.

If the two are combined into one, it can exceed nine digits.

If we calculate it this way, then in terms of numbers, humanity has already suffered a loss.

"We must inform the Chu Emperor about this immediately," Xu Bai decided instantly.

He planned to go out and call Chu Ling over so he could pass on the message.

For such important matters, it is most important to let those at the top make the decisions.

Otherwise, if something really happens, the world will become a hell on earth.

Think about it, the strength is completely unequal. If they really fight, the other side has more than nine Saints, while we only have a maximum of nine. Won't we be crushed?

But before Xu Bai could walk out, he was stopped by Liu Qingfeng.

Liu Qingfeng hurriedly walked up to Xu Bai and said with a wry smile, "King Xu, please don't leave yet, I haven't finished speaking."

Xu Bai stopped and frowned, asking, "Is there anything else?"

He thought the news he had just heard was the most important, but he didn't expect Liu Qingfeng to have more to say, so he stopped and waited for Liu Qingfeng to finish.

After a moment's thought, Liu Qingfeng said, "King Xu, these matters can be left to the Chu Emperor to decide, but there is one thing that you must do yourself."

Upon hearing that it concerned him, Xu Bai frowned even more. He remained silent, indicating that he wanted Liu Qingfeng to continue.

Liu Qingfeng said slowly, "King Xu, you must hurry up and enter the Saintly Realm, otherwise... you will be in danger."