What surprised Yotsuya Miko most was that she could finally sense the spiritual energy of the outside world in this realm. She absorbed the abundant energy into her Soul Repository as Profound Nether Qi, and in an instant, the amount of energy within her surpassed what she had before.
"Not bad. In just a few days, you've already gathered a little more than one wisp of Profound Nether Qi."
Before she could recover from the rush of abundant spiritual energy, she heard a familiar voice. She quickly turned to look at the old man behind her, hesitated briefly, then bowed to him.
"Master."
Although the Soul Devouring Sensation was a serious consequence, the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record had indeed helped her escape the influence of those ghosts.
"Mm. I knew I hadn't misjudged you. You truly have a talent for the path of the soul."
Zhang Qiudao nodded.
"Since you've already cultivated a wisp of Profound Nether Qi, you must have been through quite a lot. Tell me, one by one, what you don't understand."
Yotsuya Miko looked at him and quickly blurted out a question.
"How can I get rid of that urge to... eat ghosts, to swallow their Soul Bodies?"
Zhang Qiudao smiled at her and waved a hand, bringing over a bird and a large green snake. He set them carefully on the ground.
He pointed to the bird.
"This is your Spiritual Sense."
Then he pointed to the snake.
"This is the Soul Devouring Tribulation."
As he spoke, the captured bird tried to fly into the sky, but the green snake suddenly lunged and swallowed it whole. The tiny bird had not even made the snake exert itself.
"The Soul Devouring Tribulation is the trial of the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record. Profound Nether Qi formed from Soul Extract is naturally less pure than what you refine yourself. The accumulated impurities turn into the Soul Body's desires—that is where soul devouring comes from. First, you'll need to hunt powerful ghosts to reduce the impurities in your Soul Extract. Second, you'll need to temper your Spiritual Sense so that it can resist those desires."
As he spoke, Zhang Qiudao waved his hand again and summoned a golden-winged eagle. The eagle still had no idea what was happening. It merely glanced around, then spotted the snake crawling along the ground. With a beat of its wings, it soared high, then dived and seized the snake in its talons, carrying it away.
"If your Spiritual Sense is strong, you won't need to fear the tribulation. Do you understand?"
"...I understand."
Miko nodded, finally feeling a little more at ease. Then she looked at Zhang Qiudao and asked another question.
"What unit should I use to measure Profound Nether Qi and the spiritual energy I generate?"
"Cultivators in the Xuanhui Realm usually measure spiritual energy in dao."
Zhang Qiudao performed another technique, condensing purplish-black spiritual energy in midair. It was about as thick as her little finger and a little over an inch long.
"This is one dao of spiritual energy. Below a dao are wisps, strands, and even threads."
As he spoke, he divided that dao of spiritual energy into fine threads.
"Ten threads make a strand, ten strands make a wisp, and ten wisps make a dao. You currently have eighteen strands of Profound Nether Qi in your body. Cultivators don't usually fuss over these names, though. They tend to measure in dao and wisps, since most can only manipulate spiritual energy down to the wisp. Besides, strand and thread aren't convenient terms to say. If you find them bothersome, you can call what you have a little more than a wisp, like the other cultivators do. Or you can call it a thought."
"A thought?"
"Indeed. One dao is a thousand little thoughts, or a hundred thoughts."
Yotsuya Miko quickly took stock of the Profound Nether Qi within her once more.
Eighteen thoughts of Profound Nether Qi, and a little over eleven thousand thoughts of spiritual energy—which was to say, one hundred and ten dao of spiritual energy.
Once again, she felt numb at how terrible her basic knowledge was. (I actually thought a thread was bigger than a strand... covers face)
New Spells
Once she had sorted out her Profound Nether Qi and spiritual energy and established a clear standard for measuring them, Yotsuya Miko asked another question.
"Why was there no spiritual energy in the world I came from?"
But Zhang Qiudao seemed not to hear her. He simply looked at Yotsuya Miko and drew in the spiritual energy he had released.
"Since you've understood everything, it's only right that I give you a couple of suitable spells. The Soul Collision Art, an appendix to the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record, is useful, but it consumes far too much energy. We cultivators must learn how to use spiritual energy properly."
As he spoke, he brushed his right hand over the ring on his left and took out several black scrolls threaded with gold. They resembled bamboo slips engraved with characters, but were pitch-black all over, with an occasional glint of light. Several gilded characters were engraved on each one. Yotsuya Miko couldn't see or read the writing. She paused, realizing that the space had reached the part where it presented her with choices.
Like a treasure chest after defeating a monster, this space seemed to have appeared for a specific purpose. The Zhang Qiudao before her wasn't the real person, either, but something more like an AI program.
"There are countless spells in the Xuanhui Realm, but many are not what they claim to be. After a thousand years of sorting them out, I derived seven spells. The first six are orthodox spells, encompassing everything from astronomy to geography. You may choose two to cultivate. Remember: one is your main discipline, the other a secondary one. Don't try to learn too much too quickly."
After that, he began explaining the seven spells one by one.
"First is the Soul Nourishing Artifact Path Understanding, divided into two parts: the Ten Thousand Soul Nourishing Techniques and the Artifact Control Talisman Compendium. The Ten Thousand Soul Nourishing Techniques gathers many powerful offensive spells and other techniques. It excels at destroying Soul Bodies. The Artifact Control Talisman Compendium focuses on all kinds of talismanic patterns, supplementing the offensive techniques in the Ten Thousand Soul Nourishing Techniques."
"Second is the Sha Thunder Yin Tribulation Misfortune Transmission, a body-tempering method that complements the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record's cultivation of the soul. It uses lightning to temper the body and forge a constitution capable of wielding Sha Thunder and Yin Tribulation. Once mastered, all things around you will be reduced to stillness. No matter how powerful a living being is, it will be unable to approach. Even if it withstands the Yin Tribulation's power of annihilation, the Sha Thunder you release with a wave or a lifted finger can still kill it."
"Third is the Dark Abyss Demon Binding Prison Repository. To practice it, you must abandon your body and forge a Dark Abyss Prison. Once it is complete, you can devour billions of living beings within it and turn them into demons of the Nine Nether to do your bidding. So long as the Dark Abyss Prison remains, the demons of the Nine Nether will not die. You can also entrust your spirit to the prison and become the master of a realm of your own."
"Fourth is the Heaven Imprisoning Desire Calculation Scripture. Since time immemorial, anyone who has revealed the secrets of heaven has met a tragic end. That is why I derived this Heaven Imprisoning Desire Calculation Scripture. It conceals your thoughts from heaven and earth, so they cannot calculate what you're thinking. But... the calculations of heaven are myriad, and human calculations can't keep up. You must take care."
As he spoke, his expression grew lonely.
"Fifth is an orthodox spell. Heh..."
Zhang Qiudao gave a cold laugh.
"It's called the Profound Sky Forgetting World Understanding. As the name suggests, you abandon everything around you and unite your body with the Dao, becoming one with heaven and humanity. But by then, who knows how much of your True Spirit will remain? The Profound Sky Sect came up with this spell, but no one has ever succeeded. You may practice the Profound Sky Sect's various methods within it, but remember not to make it your main discipline."
"Sixth is the Ten Thousand Thoughts Transforming Demon Array Understanding. This is an array manual derived from the properties of Profound Nether Qi. Although it covers other arrays, the Ten Thousand Thoughts Transforming Demon Array is its core. Once the array is mastered, you can use the spiritual energy produced by Profound Nether Qi as your thoughts. Anyone touched by those thoughts can become your clone. Even without infecting anyone, that spiritual energy is several or even dozens of times more powerful than ordinary spiritual energy. Combined with various arrays, destroying the world would be no difficult feat."
"Seventh is the Soul Merging Artifact Casting Understanding. It's a spell for refining and forging artifacts. Although it is used to make objects, powerful artifacts can greatly increase your strength. My Scattering Soul Banner was forged using this method. A wave of the banner can kill millions of ghosts."
When he finished explaining, he smiled at Yotsuya Miko like a robot and waited.
"My good disciple, choose two."
Miko listened closely to Zhang Qiudao's explanations, but she had never studied cultivation terminology and only understood about half of what he said. Faced with the seven spells, she had no idea where to start.
"First... I'll rule out the second one."
If she practiced that, she might as well say goodbye to humanity for good. She'd be a menace wherever she went.
After a brief pause, she ruled out the third one, too. She didn't dare risk giving up her body.
The fourth looked powerful, but Zhang Qiudao had eventually perished despite practicing it, so Yotsuya Miko naturally chose to pass. Besides, anything involving imprisoning heaven didn't sound very promising.
After ruling out those three, she was left with the first, fifth, sixth, and seventh spells. Thinking carefully about the way Zhang Qiudao had described them, the Profound Sky Sect's method seemed to have serious drawbacks as well. In the end, Miko gave her answer.
"I choose the Soul Nourishing Artifact Path Understanding and the Soul Merging Artifact Casting Understanding."
In the end, she ruled out the array, too. It had that world-destroying business in it. She was rather helpless about making her choice based only on instinct, but she really didn't know much about cultivation. All she knew were the basics annotated in the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record to make sure she understood its methods.
"The Soul Nourishing Artifact Path Understanding and the Soul Merging Artifact Casting Understanding..."
Zhang Qiudao nodded, putting away the other black scrolls and handing the two remaining ones to Yotsuya Miko.
"Very well. These two are decent choices."
Before Yotsuya Miko could even take a look at the scrolls in her hands, they transformed into two streaks of black light and rushed into her mind.
A violent pain struck as a vast amount of knowledge was roughly forced into her head all at once, making her groan.
"Mm... Nnh..."
"Ha... ha..."
"Stop... stop..."
As the knowledge was transmitted, she had already left the space, focusing all her awareness on the intense pain. Naturally, the pain's effects manifested in her body as well.
Miko's body trembled slightly. Her brows knitted together, and her face scrunched up.
Time seemed to drag on. Only after all the knowledge had been completely transferred could her mind regain control of her body.
Yotsuya Miko opened her eyes, feeling utterly drained.
But the moment she looked up, she saw a small face right in front of her.
Miko froze, then reached out and pulled open the curtain beside her.
Light streamed in through the window, clearing away the shadows in the room. Yotsuya Kyosuke lifted his head from where he stood by the doorway and greeted his older sister.
"Good morning, Sis."
"..."
Yotsuya Miko got out of bed, feeling rather tired.
"Don't wake me up in such a weird way."
The moment she'd seen his face, she'd instinctively wanted to hit him with the Soul Collision Art.
"I thought my heart was going to stop."
Yotsuya Kyosuke paid no attention to what she said. He just stared at her.
"I heard you talking in your sleep just now."
He paused, then asked bluntly:
"Were you having a naughty dream?"
"Wha—"
Before she could finish, Yotsuya Kyosuke slipped out, shutting the door behind him without even picking up the pillow beside her.
Just as Miko was about to smack him in the face with the pillow, she heard the door close.
"...Forget it."
She set the pillow down, rubbed her head, and focused on the two spells that had just been transmitted to her.
"Something new... I hope I didn't get tricked."
Settling Into Normal Life
Honestly, the two new spells she had obtained were quite good.
Yotsuya Miko skimmed through the spells' knowledge. Unlike the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record, which got straight to the point, these two spells really did cover everything, just as Zhang Qiudao had said. Aside from what she needed for cultivation, most of the knowledge was devoted to explaining the customs and traditions of the Xuanhui Realm.
That wasn't the important part, though. Neither the Soul Nourishing Artifact Path Understanding nor the Soul Merging Artifact Casting Understanding had side effects like the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record. Not only were they free of side effects, they were also quite practical.
The first technique in the Soul Nourishing Artifact Path Understanding was a talismanic pattern that ghosts found repulsive, called the Sha Soul Talisman. Making one was simple: a little spiritual energy, some Soul Body fragments from a ghost, a little blood, and a sheet of white paper. The Soul Merging Artifact Casting Understanding began in a similar way, with instructions for crafting an artifact that drove ghosts away. It was called the Swaying Soul Bell. As the name suggested, shaking the bell activated the spiritual energy inside, causing ghosts pain and discomfort.
On top of that, Miko had finally learned the nature of the Soul Devouring Sensation—or, as she should now call it, the Soul Devouring Tribulation. She understood what she had to do. Both strengthening her Spiritual Sense and devouring powerful ghosts were within her limits. Besides, she had no intention of going around killing ghosts like an exorcist. She would only deal with the ones that messed with her.
As she thought it over, she noticed one small change: her master hadn't mentioned when they would meet again. Did that mean he had finally taught her everything?
"But... I guess that's fine."
Yotsuya Miko looked out at the ghosts that still hadn't vanished and shook her head, falling silent.
It was only when she glanced at the time on her phone that she realized something.
"I'm going to be late for school."
She hurried out of bed, hurried through washing up, hurried through breakfast, and hurried out the door.
She rushed to school with some effort, but luckily she wasn't late.
She breathed a sigh of relief, sat down at her desk, and began to think about what she should do next.
Should she keep cultivating the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record?
This powerful cultivation method could already deal with almost every ghost she could see. Before her Spiritual Sense grew stronger, the Soul Devouring Tribulation that came with swallowing a Malevolent Ghost was unavoidable—and something she couldn't accept. She wasn't willing to search everywhere for powerful ghosts to use as nourishment, either. The tense feeling of being able to see ghosts but powerless to deal with them had quietly faded from her heart.
She could probably call herself an ordinary girl again.
Time passed without her noticing. The morning sun gave way to the setting sun, and it was time to go home.
As usual, Yotsuya Miko wandered aimlessly along the street with her best friend, Yurikawa Hana, or they stopped at a shop they had talked about to buy something to eat.
Maybe she should have pudding today to celebrate?
As she chatted with Hana, Miko suddenly thought of celebrating the fact that she had made it through the difficult period of seeing ghosts without even realizing it—though that period had been brief.
"How about going to DAWSON today?"
"Sounds good."
And so, they headed to the nearby DAWSON store.
They went inside and browsed through the aisles. Yotsuya Miko found the flavor she wanted.
"Limited-time only: DAWSON's Chestnut Distinct Pudding."
Before you continue