Spirit Eye Art, General Outline of Character Spells

Crack!

The rolling wheel crushed a dead branch. The wheel jolted slightly, making the carriage bump.

Inside the carriage, Pan Rongniang, lying flat, bounced with the jolt, immediately startling Liu-shi beside her. She hurriedly steadied her daughter's body.

"Third Sister, no need to get so jumpy." Seeing this, Liu Huai spoke to comfort her. Liu-shi nodded, but she still could not set her mind at ease.

Liu Huai sighed and swept his gaze around the carriage, taking in the weary faces of his family.

With turmoil at home and a long journey behind them, exhaustion of body and mind was unavoidable. Two people suffered the most. One was Liu Yue, who had kept watch for most of the night and was now leaning crookedly against the carriage wall, catching up on sleep. The other was Qiu Yan, who sat curled up in a corner of the carriage, his face full of fatigue, holding a book and reciting it quietly.

Listening to the soft recitation, even though Liu Huai had little faith in Qiu Yan's path through the Imperial Examinations, he could not help being moved by his diligence. But when he noticed Qiu Yan's exhaustion, his heart ached for him, and he said, "Yan'er, being studious is a good thing, but you must also mind your health. You stood watch last night too, so it is only natural that your energy is flagging. Why not take a short nap while you can?"

Qiu Yan put down his book and smiled. "Uncle, you worry too much. It is nothing. Reading clears the spirit and nourishes the vital breath. Once the mind is immersed in it, it instead refreshes one's spirits."

Liu Huai merely said, "Even so, take care of yourself." Seeing that Qiu Yan had no intention of resting, he said no more. Yet he kept watch over him, intending to make him rest once his mind grew weary. To his surprise, after a while, Qiu Yan's spirits truly began to recover. In the end, his face was radiant with vigor, and light even seemed to flicker in his eyes.

"Eh? Could reading really refresh the mind?" Liu Huai shook his head, marveling inwardly.

On the other side, Qiu Yan had just finished the final page. He put down the book and let out a long breath.

The damage to the soul truly is no trifling matter. Insomnia and forgetfulness are the lighter symptoms. Fortunately, immersing my mind in the writings of the Sages, aided by Divine Power, and absorbing a great deal of soul power last night—attacking from many sides at once—should soothe the soul injury and leave no lingering trouble.

Qiu Yan did not read merely out of a love of learning. Though he needed to review books in order to absorb all the knowledge and learning of the former owner of this body, his recitation now was meant to soothe the damage to his soul and stabilize his suddenly swollen soul power.

Last night, Qiu Yan had fought others in the Pan Household with his Living Soul. At the final moment, he had cast a Soul Curse, shattering his Living Soul and leaving it injured. He had then rushed into the Wolf Demon's flesh and blood. Although he had defended himself with others' souls and blocked it with Divine Power, the life force within that flesh and blood had still struck his Living Soul. He had not felt it at the time, but the injury from the Soul Curse and the impact of that life force had nevertheless harmed his Living Soul considerably.

The Living Soul was the union of a person's memories, emotions, and mind. Once it was injured, it did not merely leave one lacking in energy; even one's memories and wisdom would be damaged. Symptoms such as insomnia, excessive dreams, agitation, and forgetfulness would gradually surface and could not be neglected.

That was why Qiu Yan had appeared so weary and listless, as though he had gone days without sleep. But as he recited the texts, his Living Soul gradually immersed itself in the words of the Sages, slowly growing stronger and recovering. This was itself a method of strengthening the soul. Combined with Divine Power to sort through and refine his soul power, it had finally reduced the effects of the soul injury by quite a bit. Before long, he would recover.

What a pity I only brought two books of the Sages with me.

The soul-strengthening method Qiu Yan had discovered required one to read and write with complete concentration. Recalling the texts from memory alone had some effect, but it was not obvious. It was best to keep a book constantly in hand and recite from it. The Liu Household was no scholarly family, so naturally it possessed no collection of books.

Besides those two books, a stack of papers and a scroll wrapped in coarse cloth lay beside Qiu Yan.

Qiu Yan glanced at the papers and scroll. A thought stirred, and he turned to look at Pan Rongniang.

The scroll needs Divine Power to sever its Karma connection. The glow of Divine Power will inevitably draw attention, so it must remain wrapped in cloth. Once my mind has recovered and my spirits are restored, I will try opening it and release the soul trapped inside. But I cannot delay too long. Rongniang has been separated from her soul for many days, and her family cannot compare to wealthy households. Her nourishment is inadequate. If she remains unconscious much longer, it will leave the root of an illness behind.

With a decision in his heart, Qiu Yan gradually gained a clear idea of how to arrange the next few days.

Then he turned back, his gaze settling once more on that stack of papers.

As for this Spirit Eye Art and Curse Compendium, I only skimmed through them. Though I have already committed them to memory, writing them out is more direct. It is simply force of habit. Unfortunately, these two cultivation methods are not teachings of the Sages. Even if I immerse my mind in them, they cannot strengthen my soul. Still, Qingchang County is some distance away, so I may as well use them to pass the time.

With that thought, he picked up the stack of papers and began turning through them one by one.

Both cultivation methods had been compiled from Zhan Yuan's memories and concerned Nature Cultivation and the Soul Dao.

Zhan Yuan's memories actually contained other cultivation methods as well, but they were fragmented, incomplete, and could not form a system. Even if they were taken out, they could not be practiced. Anything involving the soul was dangerous; the slightest carelessness could damage one's mind and affect one for life.

The Spirit Eye Art, as its name suggested, was a cultivation method for the eyes. Through special techniques, it allowed the Living Soul to connect more closely with the eyes, causing more soul power to seep into and gather within them. This would make the eyes increasingly clear, breaking through the limits of ordinary sight. Once mastered, one could attain the legendary Yin-Yang Eyes. Without the Living Soul leaving the body in Spirit Projection, one could still perceive soul entities and ghosts, along with other wondrous uses.

However, cultivating Spirit Eyes required no short amount of time. It could not be accomplished in one stroke, nor completed overnight. By comparison, the Curse Compendium was much easier to employ.

The Curse Compendium was the general outline of Character Spells.

On the night of the fierce battle at the Pan Household, Qiu Yan had been able to divide fragments from his Living Soul and turn them into the Immobilizing Character Curse and Seizing-Character Curse because he had read this cultivation method and acted according to its principles.

There was spiritual energy in the world, spread everywhere. When the Living Soul divided off fragments and made them vibrate in certain forms and patterns, they released mysterious ripples that resonated with spiritual energy, gathering spiritual force. This could awaken the thoughts within the soul, expanding those thoughts and allowing them to interfere with the mortal world!

But dividing fragments from the Living Soul was no simple matter.

The Living Soul gathered a person's memories, emotions, disposition, and personality, all of which spread throughout it. No matter where it shattered or split, memories would be damaged and one's disposition would crack apart. The impact on a person was far too great.

Even though Qiu Yan's Living Soul was merely the soul of an avatar, it still contained his own thoughts. Splitting it had still caused no small amount of damage. Using it once was already the limit; it could only be employed at critical moments.

Only after condensing the Human Soul—stripping memories, disposition, and emotions away from every part of the Living Soul, forming them into a human figure, and completely freeing the soul power so it no longer contained Human Thoughts—could such damage be avoided.

I deliberately gathered the stray thoughts and trivial matters within my Living Soul together and let them split off with the soul, yet I still suffered considerable damage. Fortunately, the Divine Sense of my true body anchors my self, so my disposition will not change as well. Still, the insight I grasped when Karma loosened during the Soul-Splitting Curse Formation has shown me the key to condensing the Human Soul. Though I do not yet have the corresponding cultivation method, if I study it wholeheartedly, I may not be unable to figure it out myself.

As Qiu Yan looked at the cultivation methods in his hands and pondered in silence, the carriage carrying his family continued slowly onward. It crossed the plains and gradually approached the destination of their journey, while more and more travelers appeared around them.

Clop! Clop! Clop!

Suddenly, a burst of urgent hoofbeats came from behind them.

Dust immediately rose along the road, and the travelers' faces changed.

"By order of Third Young Master Pan, we have come to arrest the Liu Household party! All uninvolved persons, withdraw at once!"