The golden soul sea

The two stared at each other just like that!

After staring for a full five minutes, Qi Enshi withdrew his gaze and suddenly smiled.

"Young Master Liu, impressive methods. You truly opened my eyes today. The road ahead is long. Until we meet again!"

Instead of growing angry, he laughed, flicked his sleeve, and strode away. Their feud was sealed.

From the moment he secretly sent the Stone-Breaking Army to assassinate the Xu Household's caravan, the two sides had been locked in a struggle that would end only in death.

"City Lord Qi, a word of advice: do too many wicked deeds, and you'll have nightmares at night. Aren't you afraid those dead souls will come looking for you at midnight?"

Just as he stepped out of the hall, Liu Wuxie's words made Qi Enshi stumble and nearly fall headfirst. He became even more certain that Zhou Hu had told Liu Wuxie everything about what happened back then.

No one besides Zhou Hu knew about those files. Liu Wuxie had sent someone to deliver a copy, so the remaining files should still be in his hands.

Unless those files were destroyed, Liu Wuxie would always hold leverage over him.

There was another way: kill Liu Wuxie. From then on, no one would ever know what had happened back then.

The investigation team left Canglan City overnight. After investigating through multiple sources, they finally reached a conclusion: the Stone-Breaking Army had died at Langya's hands, and the Langya Mercenary Corps had fled Canglan City for another country out of fear of punishment.

This outcome exceeded everyone's expectations. When it was announced, the entire Tian Household was shocked. They had already prepared to seize the Xu Household's weapons workshops.

When the Wan Household and the Song Household learned that the Pill Treasure Pavilion's master and the city lord had gone to the Xu Household to clear it of suspicion, disbelief covered their faces. The Pill Treasure Pavilion's intervention was one thing, but what act was the city lord putting on?

Xu Yilin saw the investigation team off and returned to the hall. The others went off to attend to their work.

"Wuxie, what exactly happened? Were you the one who brought the pavilion master and the city lord here?"

News of what had happened at the mine had long since arrived. The Tian and Wan Households had bribed the Langya Mercenary Corps to launch a late-night raid on the mine, and Liu Wuxie had turned the heavens upside down with his reversal, laying down a vast formation. Before they had time to ask Liu Wuxie about any of this, the investigation team had arrived.

"Please forgive me, Father-in-law. There are some things I can't speak of for now. But rest assured, after this incident, the Xu Household will develop rapidly."

The pavilion master's arrival had been a meeting of minds without words. Liu Wuxie had visited the Pill Treasure Pavilion last night for precisely this purpose: to make its master take him seriously.

As for the city lord, the fewer people who knew about this matter, the better. He would not disclose it of his own accord.

"Good. I believe you. The Tian and Wan Households have completely torn away all pretense of civility with us. There are ten days left. I'm afraid they'll make trouble for our Xu Household, so we must prepare our defenses."

Only ten days remained before the one-month deadline. That day, the two households had promised Master Huo they would not touch Liu Wuxie for a month.

"Has it been almost a month already?"

He smacked his lips. Time flew by. He no longer regarded the Tian and Wan Households as threats. With the Ghost Pupil Technique, even someone at the ninth layer of the Spirit Cleansing Realm might not be his match.

What concerned him was the Xue Household's retaliation. After this incident, the Xue Household would certainly not let the matter rest.

He returned to his courtyard. The entire Xu Household was united. The investigation team had left, the city lord had come to help the Xu Household, and the pavilion master had intervened to protect their young master by marriage. The news seemed to have sprouted legs, spreading to every corner of the Xu Household.

Every servant who saw Liu Wuxie bowed respectfully, a difference as vast as heaven and earth from a dozen days earlier.

"Young Master, the Song Household's young master is here to see you."

Shortly after he returned to the courtyard, the steward arrived, followed by a little fatty with a furrowed brow.

"Please show him in!"

Liu Wuxie was refining pills. He owed the Pill Treasure Pavilion a favor and wanted to repay it as soon as possible. Bi Gongyu had stepped forward of his own accord and declared his position, standing on the Xu Household's side.

The Song Household had taken a risk to deliver the investigation report ahead of time. Liu Wuxie remembered this favor as well.

"Brother, you're finally back!"

The little fatty trotted in eagerly. Liu Wuxie had already extinguished the pill flame. He opened the door and walked out, and the two sat on opposite sides of the stone table.

"Your father sent you, didn't he?"

Liu Wuxie got straight to the point. Tomorrow marked the end of the ten-day deadline. The Song Household's formation hall was already on the verge of breaking apart. If it was not repaired, it would collapse completely.

"Yes!"

Song Ling sat to one side, somewhat ill at ease. When he first met Liu Wuxie, they had been natural with each other. But the last time, Liu Wuxie had nearly killed the second elder with a single saber strike. That had shaken him too deeply.

Even more frightening was the faint air of a superior that emanated from Liu Wuxie, placing an invisible pressure on him.

"Go back and tell your father I'll be there first thing tomorrow morning."

Liu Wuxie smiled faintly, his smile bright as sunshine. His imposing presence completely faded, making him look like the boy next door.

"Thanks, Brother. My father also had me bring you a message."

Song Ling revealed his trademark smile and edged closer to Liu Wuxie, looking utterly shameless.

"Speak," Liu Wuxie said.

Without Song Tianhao's warning last time, the Xu Household would have faced a very different situation.

"My father said that although the investigation team has left, this matter is far from over. If the Xu Household wants to grow strong, there are only two ways: first, find a powerful backer; second, develop its own strength. He suggests you join the Imperial Academy as soon as possible. Even if the Xue Household moves against you, it'll have reservations."

These were Song Tianhao's exact words. Song Ling imitated him to perfection, delivering them word by word.

Liu Wuxie fell silent. He had slapped the Xue Household in the face at the beast arena, yet the past several dozen days had passed without incident. This was largely because Baili Qing's arrival and her taking Xu Lingxue away had made the Xue Household wary.

But wariness was all it was. Things were different now. All pretense of civility had been torn away, and he had offended the city lord as well. The Xu Household would find it hard to take even a single step from now on.

"Thank your father for me. I'll consider it!"

The two chatted about many things, and Liu Wuxie also gave Song Ling some pointers on formations. His talent far surpassed Steward Lan's. In just two hours, he learned a great deal, and Liu Wuxie held nothing back.

Strictly speaking, Song Ling was the first friend he had made since coming to the True Martial Continent.

Early the next morning!

Liu Wuxie arrived as promised. The Song Household's senior members had been waiting for a long time, and all the required materials were ready.

Everyone looked at Liu Wuxie differently now, with more awe and respect. No one else in Canglan City could get the pavilion master to personally step forward and vouch for them.

Repairing the formations required powerful soul power. He assigned the supporting tasks to Song Tianhao and his son, treating it as repayment for yesterday's favor.

Every formation repaired shocked Song Tianhao anew. After three formations had been repaired, his understanding of formations had improved by a great margin.

"Young Master Liu, take a break!"

Sweat soaked Liu Wuxie's robes. Following behind him, Song Tianhao urged him to rest for a while.

"No need. I want to finish the repairs as soon as possible. I have other things to do."

Liu Wuxie employed his movement method, sending out countless profound hand seals in rapid succession. Song Tianhao and his son exchanged a glance. Without centuries of attainment, one could not comprehend such profound formation arts.

They wanted to ask but did not dare. All they could do was follow silently behind him.

Only at sunset were the repairs to the formation hub complete. It was sturdier than before and could drive more formations.

"Young Master Liu, words of thanks cannot repay such a great kindness. Please accept my bow!"

The three walked out. Song Tianhao bent at the waist in a bow, lowering his head all the way to the ground. Not only had the formation hub been repaired today, but his and his son's attainments in formations had also improved greatly. After returning and studying what they had learned carefully, they could comprehend even more.

"No need to stand on ceremony!"

Waving a hand, Liu Wuxie disappeared down the street, leaving the Song Household's people behind.

"Patriarch, has it really been repaired?"

An elder of the Song Household asked uncertainly. Repairing the formation hub in less than a day-how was that possible? It exceeded their understanding.

"Young Master Liu truly is a genius. Not only did he repair our formation hub, but he also reinforced it considerably and expanded it with several new formations."

Liu Wuxie could no longer hear any of this. By the time he returned to the Xu Household, it was completely dark. Without time to eat, he lay down to rest. Setting up formations for an entire day had been an immense test of his soul power.

The moment he lay down, a tremendous change occurred in his soul sea. His right eye expanded and contracted, releasing a golden glow. The Ghost Pupil Technique underwent a breakthrough.

The Ghost Pupil Technique had several levels. He could now use it to pierce an opponent's soul sea, but its drawback was also obvious: after using it, his soul power would be severely depleted.

After resting briefly, he sat cross-legged and sent his Divine Sense into his soul sea to check it over and ensure nothing was wrong.

The instant he entered his soul sea, his body jolted. The soul power within had changed. Before, it had been misty, but now it held a trace of golden luster, like fine threads floating through his soul sea.

"This is... a golden soul sea!"

Liu Wuxie froze in shock. This was the first time he had ever heard of a golden soul sea. Soul power was divided into three grades: gray, brown, and black. Black was the highest, and gray the lowest.

In his memory, only the ten great Immortal Emperors had black soul seas. Brown already marked a monstrous genius, while ninety-nine percent of cultivators had gray soul seas.

Could it be because I cultivated the Ghost Pupil Technique?

He quickly rejected that possibility. He had also cultivated the Ghost Pupil Technique in his previous life, yet no golden soul sea had appeared. There was only one possibility: the Heaven-Devouring Divine Cauldron.

The liquids it produced through decomposition had not only improved his body but were improving his soul as well.

He released his soul power, and it flowed through the room like mercury.

"Such powerful soul power. It's more than twice as strong as before."

Liu Wuxie was tremendously excited. A day spent repairing formations had yielded such enormous gains. The Ghost Pupil Technique had advanced, and even his soul sea had grown along with it. Such good fortune was rare.

He circulated the Grand Desolation Heaven-Devouring Instruction, drawing in and releasing Spiritual Qi. The Spirit Gathering Formation in the courtyard could last a few more days. The Spirit Stones used to set it up were nearly depleted.

Resources! I need vast amounts of resources!

He roared inwardly. Cultivating the Grand Desolation Heaven-Devouring Instruction required more than ten times the resources an ordinary person needed. Canglan City could not satisfy his needs at all. Even exhausting the entire Xu Household's resources would, at most, help him break through to the fifth layer of Innate.

The resources required to break through to the Spirit Cleansing Realm were even more terrifying, giving him quite a headache.

The Imperial Academy. I have to take this step. I've heard the Imperial Academy distributes Spirit Stones for cultivation every month, and students can also complete missions to earn Spirit Stones.

Liu Wuxie spoke inwardly. He lacked no cultivation knowledge, much less needed an instructor's guidance. His first reason for entering the Imperial Academy was convenient access to resources. His second was that, with the Imperial Academy as his backer, he could protect the Xu Household.

"Something's wrong! Something's wrong! One of our oil mills is on fire!"

The clanging of a gong spread throughout the Xu Household. Countless people dressed and came out, while the guards swiftly assembled outside the Xu Household's main hall in orderly ranks.

Liu Wuxie frowned. Besides its weapons workshops, the Xu Household owned two oil mills, which also brought in considerable annual income.

With a flicker, he disappeared into the night, heading straight for the Xu Household's oil mill. He had a bad feeling.

Today is Little New Year in northern China. Wishing everyone a happy Little New Year! While I'm at it, please add this to your favorites, send tips, monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and so on. I'm rolling around and throwing a tantrum, begging for everything!