But Lin Chang'sheng felt a bit anxious inside.
He knew that cultivation required a spirit root, but he wasn't sure if his body even had one!
"Did you guys hear? Something weird happened in West Alley of Mu City yesterday."
"What kind of weird thing?"
"Three people died there, but the strange thing is, a skull appeared on their chests—and then the skull pattern took their souls and flew off into the distance, disappearing without a trace!"
"Souls? Don't make it sound so creepy! Has anyone here actually seen a soul?"
"I haven't either, but people over there swear it's true, and a lot of folks saw it happen."
"........"
On his way home to East City, Lin Chang'sheng overheard a lot of people gossiping about it.
"Skull pattern?"
"Don't tell me—the skull pattern on my body is the same as the one that appeared on those people who died?"
Hearing this, Lin Chang'sheng's heart tightened.
He suddenly remembered that he'd also had a skull pattern on his chest, and after he ran the Sun and Moon Breathing Technique, it vanished.
But on his panel, it still showed the Yin Qi Invasion status.
"Hey brother, is it true—those three dead people's souls really flew off?"
Lin Chang'sheng stepped forward, looking at the skinny, gossipy man and asked directly.
"Course it's true! Right in West Alley. That family's still holding a ritual—there's a burial tomorrow, you can go see it if you don't believe me!"
The skinny man with a scar on his face replied.
......
Min Nan County.
Northwest.
Inside a mountain chamber about thirty zhang wide, strange skull patterns covered an array drawn on the ground.
A young man with a bizarre tattoo on his forehead sat cross-legged in the center, hands forming signs as he stared at a small triangle flag floating before him.
The banner shimmered with dark light, and eerie wails sounded from it.
Suddenly, three spectral souls flew in—one woman, two men—each with unwilling eyes, shrieking in distress.
Seeing this, the youth smiled in satisfaction. With a wave, the dark glow of the banner swallowed up their souls.
"Still missing a soul seed?"
"What's going on?"
Suddenly, the youth frowned at the shimmering flag, a look of confusion in his eyes.
Qi Hui remembered he'd planted eighteen soul seeds in over ten cities of Min Nan County—pretty much every major city had one.
Anyone who could be marked as a soul seed was someone his Five Elements Stone reacted to—in other words, only people with a spirit root could become soul seeds.
Once a soul seed was collected by the Myriad Soul Banner, its power would rapidly increase and it could become a Leader of Hundred Ghosts within the banner.
But now…
Seventeen soul seeds had returned to him, but one of them couldn't be reclaimed!
"You can't escape! Once I finish refining the other ninety-nine soul seeds, I'll come for you!"
Qi Hui muttered to himself.
Every soul seed had taken him a ton of effort!
Missing a soul seed in the Myriad Souls Banner could leave it defective!
Going by Qi Hui's calculations, by now all one hundred soul seeds should have absorbed the host's essence and grown stronger, so when a soul seed left the host, the host died!
This time, though, a soul seed hadn't returned—maybe the host's essence hadn't been fully absorbed!
That was a good thing!
The stronger the soul seed, maybe it could be made the main soul of the Myriad Souls Banner!
And become Leader of Myriad Ghosts!
........
Lin Chang'sheng's home.
Yu Wenjing sat inside, holding Lin Chang'sheng's bow as she wrapped a strip of black cloth tightly around the grip.
"This bow is just what normal hunters use."
"Next time I go back, I'll get you the finest Divine Bow, one worthy of your Divine Arrow Skill."
Yu Wenjing looked at the bow and murmured to herself.
Soon, footsteps echoed outside.
Yu Wenjing went to the window and saw Lin Chang'sheng coming back—she immediately got up to open the door: "You're home! Dinner's ready, let's eat."
Wearing an apron, Yu Wenjing looked every bit the graceful housewife as she headed into the kitchen.
Moments later…
Yu Wenjing brought out three dishes and a soup. Everything looked great—and lately, with her practice, Wenjing's cooking skill had surpassed Lin Chang'sheng.
"Wenjing, you're a better cook than me now!"
Lin Chang'sheng sat down, picked up his chopsticks, and stuffed a vegetable in his mouth, praising her.
"Chang'sheng, you're teasing me again!"
Yu Wenjing rolled her eyes at Lin Chang'sheng, grinning as sweetly as spring flowers.
"Huh? This bow…"
Lin Chang'sheng suddenly spotted the bow at the side, a bit surprised.
"It was a little worn, so I wrapped the grip with cloth to make it more comfortable to use. I also washed and mended some of your clothes—don't blame me if it's not perfect."
Yu Wenjing's eyes sparkled as she spoke.
"This… thank you."
Lin Chang'sheng looked at Yu Wenjing, feeling a warm rush in his heart.
Though he'd gotten plenty of silver from Ma Zhankui, except for living expenses, he spent most of it on simplifications and hadn't bought new clothes—all his outfits were old and full of holes.
He hadn't expected Wenjing to fix and fold everything so neatly on the chair.
He even noticed she'd folded his underwear with care.
When she first came, Wenjing couldn't cook or do laundry, but now, after staying here, she'd learned it all.
"Why are you being so polite with me?"
"If you hadn't saved me, who knows if I'd still even be here."
When Wenjing said this, thinking about how Lin Chang'sheng had rescued her, her cheeks reddened. She'd been unconscious then, but still dimly aware of what was happening.
"Alright, alright, forget it—let's eat."
Lin Chang'sheng said no more.
......
Great Yu.
Yu City.
A thousand li away.
In a massive underground hall beneath a prince's mansion.
A young man, dressed in white and striking in appearance, stood in the middle of the hall with his hands behind his back; a black-robed elder stood respectfully behind him, reporting: "Young master, the eldest princess has met with an accident. Many senior officials have petitioned the Emperor, demanding he appoint you crown prince!"
"His Majesty's been undecided for ages—now's the time to settle it."
"Good."
The white-robed youth nodded calmly. "Keep sending people to search for her."
"Yes, young master!"
The black-robed elder left.
......
Lin Chang'sheng sat in the spot where he'd killed Tie Yang. The sun was nice here, and he had a pile of clay on a rock in front of him.
His left hand moved like he was carving meatballs, and his panel showed Alchemy: Qi Replenishing Pill experience points steadily rising—same with the Sun and Moon Breathing Technique.
His right hand held a pebble that he kept tossing around—Celestial Maiden Scattering Flowers experience points steadily climbing.
It was like killing three birds with one stone!
[Alchemy: Qi Replenishing Pill (367/500)]
[Celestial Maiden Scattering Flowers (Incomplete) (Proficient 487/500)]
"Not bad! Keep it up!"
Lin Chang'sheng looked at the panel, hope in his eyes.
"Crack!"
Suddenly, Lin Chang'sheng felt a subtle sound inside his body!
At the same time, a rush of powerful inner strength surged through his meridians and poured into his dantian—like a raging river!
"This is… a breakthrough?"
"First-class?"
Feeling the sudden change inside him, Lin Chang'sheng felt deeply satisfied.
You know—
As the Sun and Moon Breathing Technique kept gaining experience, his inner strength grew stronger and stronger; he'd just needed a final push to break through!
Guess all that sun and moonbathing paid off—slow and steady wins the race!
At last, he'd broken through the wall to become a First-class Expert!