Miko Becomes a Demonic Cultivator

What amazed Yotsuya Miko the most was that in this realm, she could finally sense external Spiritual Qi. The abundant Qi was swiftly converted into Profound Nether Qi through her Soul Repository, instantly surpassing her original reserves.

"Not bad. In just a few days, you've already refined a little over one strand of Profound Nether Qi."

Before she could fully recover from the shock of the rich Spiritual Qi, she heard a familiar voice and quickly turned to look at the elderly man behind her. After a brief hesitation, she bowed to him.

"Master."

Despite the severe consequences of the Soul Devouring Sensation, the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record had indeed helped her shake off the influence of those Ghosts.

"Mm. I was right. You truly have talent in the path of the soul."

Zhang Qiudao nodded.

"Since you've already cultivated a strand of Profound Nether Qi, you must have experienced quite a bit. Tell me what you don't understand, one by one."

Yotsuya Miko looked at him and blurted out a question.

"How do I get rid of the urge to devour Ghosts... Soul Bodies?"

Zhang Qiudao smiled at her, waved his hand, and captured a small bird and a large cyan serpent, setting them down on the ground.

He pointed at the bird.

"This is your Spiritual Sense."

Then he pointed at the serpent.

"And this is the Soul Devouring Tribulation."

As he spoke, the captured bird tried to fly into the sky, but the cyan serpent lunged and swallowed it whole. The tiny bird didn't even require much effort from the serpent.

"The Soul Devouring Tribulation is the calamity of the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record. Profound Nether Qi formed from Soul Extract is naturally not as pure as what you refine yourself. The accumulated impurities transform into the desires of the Soul Body—that is the origin of soul devouring. First, disciple, you need to hunt greater Ghosts to reduce impurities in the Soul Extract. Second, you must condense your Spiritual Sense to resist it."

As he spoke, Zhang Qiudao waved his hand again, summoning a golden-winged eagle. The eagle, unaware of what was happening, glanced down and spotted the serpent slithering on the ground. It soared high, then dove to seize the serpent and flew off.

"With strong Spiritual Sense, there is naturally no need for tribulation. Do you understand?"

"...I understand."

Miko nodded, finally feeling a bit more at ease. Then, looking at Zhang Qiudao, she raised another doubt.

"What unit should I use to measure Profound Nether Qi and the Spiritual Qi it generates?"

"Cultivators in the Xuanhui Realm mostly measure Spiritual Qi by the Dao."

Zhang Qiudao cast another spell, condensing a wisp of dark purple Qi in the air, about the thickness of a pinky finger and over an inch long.

"This is one Dao of Qi. Below Dao are Strand, Hair, and even Thread."

He then split the Dao of Qi into finer threads.

"Ten Threads make one Hair, ten Hairs make one Strand, ten Strands make one Dao. Right now, you have eighteen Hairs of Profound Nether Qi within you. However, cultivators don't dwell on these terms and usually refer to Dao and Strand, since most can only manipulate Qi down to the Strand level. Besides, Hair and Thread are awkward to say. If you find it troublesome, disciple, you can follow their example and call it a little over one Strand, or simply a Thought."

"Thought?"

"Yes. One Dao equals a thousand Small Thoughts, or a hundred Thoughts."

Soon, Yotsuya Miko reorganized the Profound Nether Qi within her.

Eighteen Thoughts of Profound Nether Qi, and over eleven thousand Thoughts of Spiritual Qi—that is, one hundred and ten Dao of Qi.

Once again, she felt numb at her own poor common sense. (I actually thought Thread was bigger than Hair... facepalm.)

Chapter 19: New Techniques

After sorting out her Profound Nether Qi and Spiritual Qi and finally having a qualitative and quantitative standard, Yotsuya Miko raised another question.

"Why is there no Spiritual Qi in the world I came from?"

But it seemed Zhang Qiudao didn't hear her. He simply looked at her and retracted the Qi he had released.

"Since you now understand everything clearly, disciple, it's time I give you a couple of suitable techniques. The Soul Collision Art appended to the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record is useful, but it consumes too much. As cultivators, we must ultimately learn methods that use Spiritual Qi."

As he spoke, he brushed his right hand over a ring on his left finger and produced several black cylinders wrapped in gold thread. These cylinders resembled bamboo slips for carving inscriptions, but they were entirely black, with occasional glints of light. On each cylinder were engraved a few gilded characters. Yotsuya Miko couldn't see or understand the writing, but she paused, knowing this was the part where the space's setup kicked in.

Like a treasure chest after defeating a monster, this space seemed designed for a specific purpose. The Zhang Qiudao before her wasn't the real person but something akin to an AI program.

"There are countless techniques in the Xuanhui Realm, but most are overrated. Over a thousand years, I have organized and deduced six techniques, plus one righteous Dao technique, covering everything from the heavens to the earth. You may choose two to cultivate. Remember: one as your main, the other as supplementary. Do not be greedy and rush."

With that, he began explaining the seven techniques one by one.

"First is the Soul Nourishing Artifact Path Understanding, divided into the Soul Nourishing Ten Thousand Arts and the Artifact Control Universal Seal. The Soul Nourishing Ten Thousand Arts gathers many powerful killing techniques and others, excelling at destroying Soul Bodies. The Artifact Control Universal Seal compiles various runic patterns as a supplement to the killing arts."

"Second is the Sha Thunder Yin Tribulation Misfortune Transmission, a body-tempering technique. The Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record cultivates the soul, and this can supplement it. This method seeks thunder to temper the body, forging a Sha Thunder Yin Tribulation physique. Upon completion, everything around you will wither, and no matter how powerful a being, they will find it hard to approach. Even if they resist the Yin Tribulation's aura of annihilation, the Sha Thunder at your fingertips can destroy them."

"Third is the Dark Abyss Demon Binding Prison Repository. Cultivating this requires sacrificing yourself to forge a Dark Abyss Prison. Once the prison is complete, you can swallow billions of living beings into it, transforming them into Nine Nether Demons to act on your behalf. As long as the Dark Abyss Prison is not destroyed, the Nine Nether Demons will not die, and you can project your spirit into the prison to become the master of a realm."

"Fourth is the Heaven Imprisoning Desire Calculation Scripture. Since ancient times, those who leak heavenly secrets have met miserable ends. Thus, I deduced this Heaven Imprisoning Desire Calculation Scripture to obscure heaven and earth, allowing you to calculate what you desire. However... the calculations of heaven are myriad, and human calculations cannot match them. You must be cautious."

As he said this, a hint of loneliness crept into his voice.

"Fifth is a righteous Dao technique. Hmph."

Zhang Qiudao gave a cold laugh.

"It's called the Profound Sky Forgetting World Understanding. As the name implies, you abandon everything around you, merging your body with the Dao, becoming one with heaven and man. But by then, who knows how much of your True Spirit will remain? The Profound Sky Sect devised this technique, but no one has ever succeeded. Disciple, you may cultivate the various Daoist methods of the Profound Sky Sect within it, but do not make it your main focus."

"Sixth is the Ten Thousand Thoughts Transforming Demon Array Understanding. It is a true array manual deduced based on the nature of Profound Nether Qi. While it covers other arrays, its core is the Ten Thousand Thoughts Transforming Demon Array. When the array is complete, you can use the Spiritual Qi generated by Profound Nether Qi as your thoughts. Anyone infected by these thoughts can become your avatar. Even without infecting others, these Qi thoughts are several to dozens of times stronger than ordinary Spiritual Qi. Paired with various arrays, destroying the world is not difficult."

"Seven is the Soul Merging Artifact Casting Understanding, the Artifact Casting Understanding. Though it is a technique for forging artifacts, powerful artifacts cannot be underestimated in their ability to enhance one's strength. Your master's Scattering Soul Banner was forged through this method; with a single wave, it can slay countless Ghosts."

After the introduction ended, he smiled at Yotsuya Miko like a robot.

"Good disciple, choose two."

Miko listened carefully to Zhang Qiudao's explanation, but without any background in cultivation terminology, she only half-understood his words. Staring at these seven techniques, she felt at a loss.

"First... eliminate the second one."

If she cultivated that one, she would be completely saying goodbye to the human world, becoming a menace wherever she went.

Then she paused and ruled out the third. She didn't dare to abandon her physical body either.

The fourth seemed powerful, but considering that Zhang Qiudao, who cultivated it, had ultimately perished, Yotsuya Miko naturally chose to give it up. After all, something like "Imprisoning Heaven" didn't sound very pleasant.

After eliminating these three, only the first, fifth, sixth, and seventh techniques remained for her to choose from. After carefully weighing Zhang Qiudao's wording, it seemed that the Profound Sky Sect technique also carried great hidden dangers. Miko finally made her decision.

"I choose the Soul Nourishing Artifact Path Understanding and the Soul Merging Artifact Casting Understanding."

In the end, she also ruled out the formation that contained world-ending implications. This kind of choice, based purely on instinct, left her feeling helpless, but her understanding of cultivation was truly lacking. She only knew some common knowledge annotated in the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record to ensure she understood the techniques.

"Soul Nourishing Artifact Path Understanding, Soul Merging Artifact Casting Understanding..."

Zhang Qiudao nodded slightly, retracting the several black scrolls in his hand, leaving only the two remaining ones, which he handed to Yotsuya Miko.

"Good. These two techniques are decent choices."

Before Miko could even glance at the two black scrolls in her hands, they transformed into two streams of black light and surged into her mind.

With intense pain, a vast amount of knowledge was brutally crammed into her brain all at once, forcing her to groan.

"Mm... mm-hmm..."

"Ha... ha..."

"No... no..."

While the knowledge was being transmitted, she had already withdrawn from that space, focusing all her mind on the excruciating pain. Naturally, the reaction to this pain also manifested in her physical body.

Miko's body trembled slightly, her brows tightly furrowed, her face twisted.

Time seemed to stretch on endlessly until the knowledge was fully transferred. Only then could her mind regain control of her body.

Yotsuya Miko opened her eyes, a sense of exhaustion washing over her.

But as her gaze landed, a small face appeared right in front of her.

Miko froze for a moment, then reached out and pulled open the curtain beside her.

Light streamed in from the window, sweeping away the shadows in the room. Yotsuya Kyosuke looked up, standing by the doorway, greeting his sister.

"Good morning, Sis."

"..."

Yotsuya Miko got up from the bed, a hint of fatigue in her movements.

"Don't wake me up in such a weird way."

The moment she saw that face, she instinctively wanted to blast him with a Soul Collision Art.

"I thought my heart was going to stop."

Yotsuya Kyosuke didn't pay her words any mind, just stared straight at her.

"I heard you talking in your sleep just now."

He paused, then asked bluntly:

"Were you having some kind of dirty dream?"

"What—"

Before she could finish, before Yotsuya Miko could even grab the pillow beside her, Kyosuke had already shut the door and made his escape.

By the time Miko was about to hurl the pillow at his face, all she heard was the sound of the door closing.

"...Forget it."

Putting the pillow down, Yotsuya Miko rubbed her head, feeling the two techniques that had just been transmitted to her.

"New stuff... hope I don't get screwed over."

Chapter 20: Back to Normal

To be honest, the two newly acquired techniques were actually pretty good.

Yotsuya Miko briefly skimmed through the knowledge of those techniques. Unlike the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record, which cut straight to the point, these two techniques truly covered everything, just as Zhang Qiudao had said. Aside from the core content, most of the knowledge specifically explained the customs and practices of the Xuanhui Realm.

But that wasn't the main point. 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, but they were also quite practical.

The opening of the Soul Nourishing Artifact Path Understanding introduced a talisman pattern that repelled Ghosts, called the Sha Soul Talisman. The method for making this talisman was simple: a bit of Spiritual Qi, some Soul Body from a Ghost, some blood, and a piece of white paper. Similarly, the Soul Merging Artifact Casting Understanding began with a method for crafting an artifact that dispelled Ghosts, called the Swaying Soul Bell. As the name suggested, shaking the bell would release the Spiritual Qi inside, causing pain and discomfort to Ghosts.

Beyond that, Miko finally understood the Soul Devouring Sensation—no, now it should be called the Soul Devouring Tribulation—from Zhang Qiudao, which gave her some confidence. Whether it was strengthening her Spiritual Sense or devouring powerful Ghosts, both methods were within her acceptable range. Besides, she didn't plan on running around like an exorcist, slaughtering Ghosts left and right. Only those that provoked her would get it.

As she was thinking, she noticed a small detail: her master hadn't mentioned when they would meet again. Did that mean he had finally taught her everything?

"Well, that's fine too..."

Yotsuya Miko stared out the window at the ghosts that still hadn't dispersed, shook her head, and fell silent.

It wasn't until she caught sight of 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 left the house.

She struggled to make it to school, fortunately not late yet.

Letting out a sigh of relief, she sat down at her seat and thought about her plans going forward.

Should she continue cultivating the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record?

This powerful technique could already handle almost all the ghosts she could see. And before her Spiritual Sense had grown strong enough, the Soul Devouring Tribulation of consuming Malevolent Ghosts was unavoidable and unacceptable. Scouring everywhere for those powerful ghosts to use as her own nourishment wasn't something she was willing to do either. That pressing sense of urgency from seeing ghosts she couldn't deal with had unknowingly faded from her heart.

She could probably call herself an ordinary girl now.

Time passed without her noticing, turning from the morning sun to the setting afterglow, until it was time to leave school.

As usual, Yotsuya Miko followed her friend Yurikawa Hana, aimlessly wandering the streets, or stopping by a shop they'd discussed to buy some snacks.

How about celebrating today with some pudding?

Miko, chatting with Hana, suddenly thought of celebrating how she'd unknowingly gotten through that difficult time of seeing ghosts—even if that time had been very short.

"How about going to DAWSON today?"

"Sure."

Their destination became the nearest DAWSON shop.

Walking inside and searching through the various sections, Yotsuya Miko found the flavor she wanted.

"Limited edition, DAWSON's Chestnut Distinct Pudding."