A Soul Secured

But in that case, the plan would need a slight adjustment. He couldn't let Uncle Fei strike too hard.

At the very least, they had to preserve the soul intact so he could use Lt. General's Command over Spirits while his opponent was weakened.

"What's wrong? Spacing out in the middle of an operation? When did you become this pathetic?"

Feng Qing'er glanced sideways and immediately noticed that Qin Yun seemed distracted.

Fei Tian noticed it too, but said nothing. He knew Qin Yun would give him a reasonable explanation.

"A slight change of plans. Uncle Fei, watch your strength when you strike. Just shatter his physical body and leave the soul to me." Qin Yun explained the revised approach to Fei Tian.

"You want to preserve his soul?! Don't tell me you're planning to devour it to strengthen your spiritual power." Fei Tian's expression turned grave when he heard that.

Devouring souls was no legitimate cultivation method on the continent. Anyone discovered doing so would become the enemy of the entire continent.

Even the Hall of Souls, an organization of the Ancient Eight Clans, only dared to devour souls in secret, never openly.

"Don't worry. I have my own use for it. Besides, directly devouring souls comes with serious side effects. I have no interest in that sort of method."

Qin Yun only intended to use the most basic functions of Lt. General's Command over Spirits: binding and commanding spirits.

Although it also included a Spirit-Devouring Secret Art that could permanently increase a portion of his strength,

in the original story, that method was very likely a pit Feng Tianyang had dug for the Wang Family, with severe side effects awaiting anyone who used it.

The Battle Through the Heavens Continent had perfectly orthodox methods for cultivating the soul. There was no need to pull up seedlings to help them grow.

"All right, I'll do as you say." Fei Tian nodded.

Although Fei Tian had been rather unreasonable in the original story, chasing Xiao Yan over a tremendous distance, he still had much more affection for a junior of his own sect.

At that moment, Han Feng was in his room attempting to refine a sixth-tier Emperor's Extreme Pill. Before beginning, he had taken several pills in succession that temporarily enhanced his perception, trying to bring himself into peak condition.

Under normal circumstances, he now had a seventy-percent success rate when refining this pill, a rate that was already approaching that of a seventh-tier Alchemist.

But Han Feng still wasn't satisfied. Before betraying Yao Lao, he had been treated as the future pavilion master of the Starfall Pavilion.

Not only had Yao Lao, publicly recognized as the continent's foremost Alchemist, taught him personally, but every other resource had been his for the asking.

How could that compare to now, when he needed so much preparation just to refine a sixth-tier pill? The two situations were as far apart as heaven and earth.

Damn that Old Man Mu Gu. His promises were nothing but empty checks. I helped him kill my own master, Yao Chen,

yet not only did I fail to receive the benefits he promised, I also fell under Venerable Feng's intense suspicion. I had no choice but to come to this wretched Black-Corner Region and make my own way.

If I hadn't betrayed my teacher, I might already be approaching the eighth tier by now.

Damn it. Damn it all! This was all that old bastard Yao Chen's fault. If he'd taught me the complete Flame Mantra sooner, none of this crap would've happened!

The thought of his current circumstances made Han Feng grind his teeth in hatred. He never reflected on his own actions, instead blaming every mistake on Yao Chen's favoritism.

Yet even at his death, Han Feng never realized that these thoughts would effectively be his last words.

The next instant, Fei Tian struck. A Five-Star Dou Zong utterly overwhelmed a Five-Star Dou Emperor, and the entire affair ended within a single breath.

With just one slap, Fei Tian smashed Han Feng's body to pieces, some parts even bursting into a bloody mist.

"Looks like I still hit a little too hard. This fellow really couldn't take a beating."

Fei Tian looked disdainfully at the scraps of flesh on his hand, then found somewhere to wipe them off.

But he knew the matter wasn't over yet. Although he wasn't an Alchemist and wasn't skilled with spiritual power, locating a Dou Emperor's soul was still easy.

Within mere seconds, Fei Tian closed his hand around an empty patch of space, catching a palm-sized soul in his grasp.

"Senior, I'm willing to hand over everything I own. I only beg you to spare my life.

"I'm also an Alchemist on the verge of the seventh tier. I can be of great value to you." The moment Han Feng was caught, he began begging for mercy.

Although he had no idea who had attacked him or which faction they belonged to, that did nothing to stop him from instantly turning coward.

Fei Tian wasn't about to indulge him. He gave him a backhanded slap, then passed the little soul body to Qin Yun.

"Here's the soul body you wanted. Let's see what you plan to do." In truth, Fei Tian was deeply curious himself.

As far as he knew, Qin Yun had always cultivated in the Wind and Lightning Pavilion, and none of the pavilion's cultivation methods and combat skills dealt with souls.

He wasn't the only one watching. Feng Qing'er's beautiful eyes were fixed on Qin Yun as well. After all, the two of them had been fighting for over a year.

They were fairly familiar with each other's Dou Techniques and cultivation methods, but now it seemed this fellow might still have a few tricks tucked away.

Looking at the trembling soul body in his hand, Qin Yun grinned. Black wisps rose from his body as Lt. General's Command over Spirits activated instantly.

Lt. General's Command over Spirits held absolute power over spirits, and Han Feng was nowhere near his peak now. He was utterly weakened.

It took barely any effort before Qin Yun could control Han Feng's every movement.

Still, to be safe, Qin Yun used his ability to forcibly erase all of Han Feng's memories except those relating to alchemy.

Now Han Feng was a puppet, no different from a walking corpse. Oh, right-Qin Yun had also scored the fifteenth-ranked heavenly flame, sea heart flame, for free.

Getting a heavenly flame for nothing was an unexpected bonus for Qin Yun, even though only Han Feng's soul body could use it.

But since he had complete control over that soul body, it more or less meant he possessed a heavenly flame himself.

And he didn't have to endure any of the side effects of absorbing one.

What was more, this gave Qin Yun another idea: binding a few more soul bodies that possessed heavenly flames.

If it worked, wouldn't that mean he effectively controlled several different heavenly flames? With a little more research, he might even produce a Furious Flame Lotus.

"Kid, you've certainly kept your cards close to your chest. To think you had a secret art for controlling souls, and even us elders knew nothing about it."

After watching the entire process from the sidelines, Fei Tian smacked his lips. He clearly hadn't expected Qin Yun to possess such a trump card.

"Where did you learn that move? How come I've never seen you use it during our sparring matches? Were you holding back in our earlier fights?!"

Feng Qing'er truly lived up to the title of Stubborn Sis. Her concerns were completely different from Fei Tian's.

She came at him brimming with hostility, her tone accusatory. At first glance, anyone might have thought he had jilted her.