Soul Aperture

In the turn of a thought, Qiu Yan's Living Soul drifted down. A flash of white light flickered on the floor beside the bed, and the gray-robed deity revealed himself—it was his divine true body.

Within the true body, specks of Divine Power Stars rose and fell unsteadily. Deep among those stars, the Core Talisman slowly turned, and beneath it lay a tiny Black Hole.

With a thought, one star beside the talisman slid free. Like a falling meteor, it plunged straight into the Black Hole and vanished.

The next instant, white radiance rose from the Living Soul, and a star leaped from the Black Hole at its center.

"Just as I thought!"

Feeling all this, joy welled up in Qiu Yan's heart.

"The Black Hole within my divine true body appeared out of nowhere. I never knew its purpose, but it now seems to be another change brought about by the Three Divine Hairs. Perhaps it requires my soul power to reach a certain level, or perhaps it is connected to my emotions and will. This hole can link my avatar and true body, transmitting divine power without being limited by distance. It does not seem to be blocked by techniques either. Someone in the Pan Household used some method to seal off the ground and isolate my divine true body, yet they could not stop the transmission of divine power."

What had happened this time was truly perilous. Though Qiu Yan had intended to seize an opportunity to recover Pan Rongniang's soul, his greater purpose had been to investigate.

Though he had left himself a contingency plan, his true body was meant to be his trump card, to be deployed against the person pulling the strings behind the scenes. He had not expected that merely one of that person's subordinates would force him to use it.

"A sudden divine-power attack can work once, but not twice. Once they are prepared, it will be difficult to succeed again. Still, he split fragments of his Living Soul and turned them into incantation characters, unleashing astonishing methods. That has shown me a path—perhaps this is a common method of Nature Cultivation."

Living Souls seemed unable to withstand divine power and could be shattered in an instant, but the enemy clearly possessed an unusual method that allowed him to make use of Living Soul fragments and isolate the divine true body. Moreover, a Living Soul that had condensed a Human Soul had already forced Qiu Yan to use his trump card. Even then, he had not achieved a complete victory. Now the other side had sent three more, every one of whom had condensed a Human Soul and formed curses by Soul-Splitting Curse Formation.

"I do not know whether the other side has further experts yet to reveal themselves, so I must be more cautious. But this battle has yielded no small gains. The increase in soul power is secondary; the memory fragments within the devoured Living Soul are also of considerable value."

As he thought this, the scattered, chaotic thoughts and intentions within Qiu Yan's Living Soul were gradually combed through by the radiance of divine power. One by one, they dissipated, transforming into pure soul power and merging into the Living Soul.

"I swallowed in one gulp a Living Soul that had condensed a Human Soul. Though I was forced into it, my soul power has more than doubled. Still, it was far too dangerous. Fortunately, divine power can purify and sort through souls. Otherwise, hidden dangers would have remained behind."

The radiance of divine power continuously spread through the Living Soul. Wherever it passed, chaotic thoughts were gathered, compressed, refined, and stripped of impurities, leaving behind only pure soul power.

The Living Soul he had devoured had already condensed a Human Soul and possessed formidable soul power, but its consciousness and memories were tangled together in disorder. If left unattended, they would sooner or later seep into Qiu Yan's soul and affect his memories and temperament. Now, however, they were directly ground away by divine power.

Once the impurities and chaotic thoughts had been removed, less than half the original soul power remained, but it was pure and Immaculate, leaving no cause for future concern.

Before long, the white radiance had sorted through the entire Living Soul. It then returned to the Black Hole and rejoined the divine true body.

"Though the Living Soul has grown much stronger, it cannot bear too much divine power. One star is manageable, but two are already somewhat taxing. Still, with this, divine power can be transmitted at any time, so there is no need for my true body to follow me around every day."

With that thought, the Living Soul moved, descended onto the scholar avatar's head, and merged into it.

After one breath, the avatar stirred. Yet he did not open his eyes, merely lying still on the bed and breathing evenly, as though savoring something.

Only after the time it took to drink a cup of tea did he open his eyes. White light faintly flickered in their depths before finally dimming.

"The man whose soul I devoured was called Zhan Yuan. Most of his memories were erased along with the chaotic thoughts, but what remains is still highly valuable. He was an outer sect steward of the Upper Spirit Sect, in charge of miscellaneous affairs, which was why he was qualified to receive Tang Yi. Yet because the memories are incomplete, I cannot determine Tang Yi's identity. Still, this man must have no small backing within the Upper Spirit Sect."

Thinking this, Qiu Yan rose and lit the lamp. He then took out brush and ink, ground the ink, and began writing. From time to time he closed his eyes to recall what he had learned. He wrote for a full hour, filling seven or eight sheets of paper.

"Other than matters concerning Tang Yi, the most valuable things are several soul-cultivation techniques. Most are incomplete, and rashly practicing them would do more harm than good. The only relatively complete ones are Spirit Eye Art and Curse Compendium. Unfortunately, only a few scattered lines of the Upper Spirit Human Realm Path, which condenses the Human Soul, remain. Otherwise, I would have some clue how to condense a Human Soul."

Qiu Yan set down his brush, picked up the papers, and gently blew on them. The ink gradually dried.

"However, I have only just entered the Aperture-Opening Realm, and my soul power has surged twice in succession. Rather than pressing ahead rashly, I should properly consolidate my foundation. Otherwise, hidden dangers will inevitably remain. I can think of a way to seek the method for condensing the Human Soul later."

After glancing at the two techniques written on the paper, Qiu Yan folded them and placed them beside his pillow.

Soul-cultivation techniques consumed one's mind and energy during practice. Qiu Yan had just undergone a fierce battle. Though he had devoured a soul and his soul power had greatly increased, he had expended much mental strength and energy and had yet to recover. If he rashly began practicing or deducing the techniques now, he would very likely damage his mind. Thus, though he had sorted out the techniques, he set them aside for the time being.

"From Zhan Yuan's memories, Rongniang's soul was indeed taken by Tang Yi and placed within a scroll painting. This painting seems to have quite an origin. To obtain it, I must first get past Tang Yi. His cultivation is ordinary, but he has several capable men around him and quite a few treasures on him. To succeed..."

Having sorted through Zhan Yuan's memories, Qiu Yan now had a general understanding of Tang Yi, who was staying at the Pan Household. He flexed his fingers, and a flash of white gleamed in his eyes.

"Hmm. Since that is the case, it would be better to cleanly settle the two troublesome matters before me at once. I only need to wait..."

He blew out the lamp and lay down once more, slowly falling asleep.

The night passed without incident.

A rooster crowed.

The sun leaped over the horizon, illuminating the earth.

After a quiet night, Yuanning City bustled with life once more. Every household lit its Stove Fire and began preparing food.

Yet no one noticed that the little flames in the stoves were exceptionally vigorous and lively today.

The Pan Household was brimming with activity. Servants hurried to and fro, and everything appeared as usual. No one knew that a struggle had taken place here the night before.

Liu Huai's family also awoke from their dreams. The sudden upheaval had dealt the family no small blow, but there was no time for them to grieve. After breakfast, Liu Huai hurried away.

Qiu Yan exchanged a few simple words with Liu Yue, then went to see Pan Rongniang before returning to his room.

He spread paper across the table, lowered his head, and began to write. After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, he had finished a clearly organized list. Then an indescribable ripple came from afar and reached the room, causing Qiu Yan's expression to change.

"She has still come. I did not expect it to be so soon. But such a major event happened in the city; it certainly could not be hidden from her. So be it. This is a good chance to sever my outward connection with the avatar. Hmm, perhaps with my true body leaving, the Liu Household's Fortune will no longer be affected and may improve somewhat."

As he thought this, white light flashed in the room, revealing the divine true body. Then it spun once and vanished from the floor.

P.S. Thanks to Dali for the reward!