Chapter 48: Rebirth of the Soul

  Wearing a coarse linen robe, with a glint of sharp light in his eyes, Jiang Ziyin burst out laughing as he emerged from the lightning. With a soft whistle, there was a hint of crane's cry within, and Jiang Ziyin flew to the front of the five people with his sleeves fluttering. He bowed his head and laughed loudly: "Qingyi, Qingchu two fellow Taoists, it has been over a hundred years since we last met, where have you two gone to roam? Hmm, who are these three?" Jiang Ziyin looked at Jinzun, Huashen, and Guyong with extreme surprise, his face full of bewildered expressions.

  "This is Jin Zun, Hua Shen and Gu Weng." A Taoist in a blue crane cloak smiled as he introduced the three to Jiang Ziye. Jin Zun, Hua Shen and Gu Weng nodded slightly at Jiang Ziye with an air of indifference, their four shining eyes constantly scanning him up and down. Gradually, a hint of surprise appeared on the faces of Jin Zun, Hua Shen and Gu Weng. First, Jin Zun couldn't help but hum softly.

  Qingyi and Qingchu were stunned for a moment, then simultaneously activated their divine powers to examine Jiang Zixin. The two raised an eyebrow at the same time and burst out laughing: "Congratulations, fellow Taoist! Congratulations, fellow Taoist! It's been over a hundred years since we last met, and you've also broken through that barrier! Once in the Void Realm, you truly achieved great freedom! Congratulations, congratulations!" Qingyi and Qingchu continued to congratulate Jiang Zixin. The two Taoists were extremely delighted, as they had gained another orthodox fellow practitioner in the Void Realm. Wouldn't this mean that when they went to explore the ancient ruins, they would have an additional helping hand?

  Jiang Zizai smiled slightly and bowed his head, saying: "Congratulations, congratulations! In these days, I have gained some insights into the Tao, and I have made a little progress. But it's nothing compared to the two of you." He shook his hands. Jiang Zizai sighed emotionally: "After entering the void realm, I realized that the two of you were already figures in the void realm. I'm ashamed, ashamed!"

  Qingyi and Qingchu exchanged a smile, and Qingyi shook his head, saying: "Fellow Daoist is being polite. Back then, my master and I were fortunate enough to enter the Void Realm by invitation of Heaven, but it was kept secret. It's just...the reason behind it." He paused for a moment before smiling and continuing: "But today, I can tell you about it, Fellow Daoist. Hmm, I wonder why you came to Qiyuan Star? Why not take a detour to my Yuanzong and have a cup of clear tea?"

  Qing Yi spoke politely, while Jin Zun on the side was already clapping his hands and laughing: "Well said, this little Taoist's cultivation is indeed sufficient, and he has the qualifications to join us in going there for a stroll. Who knows, maybe he'll have some benefits. Hmm, especially since he specializes in thunder techniques, one of which is the exquisite Thunder Light Divine Eye. Among several heavenly thunder seals, he happens to be quite useful!"

  With a flicker of his eyes, Jiang looked at the five people and suddenly burst out laughing: "In that case, respect is not as good as obedience, I'll go bother them for a bit!"

  The six people burst out laughing at the same time. The six paths of light flashed by, and the six people rushed towards Qiyuan Star at high speed.

  One side flew hastily, while Jiang Ziyi said with a seemingly careless tone: "I've been chasing and killing the Miao Xian Ren for months. Just a few days ago, I finally caught up to him here and destroyed his physical body and extinguished his primordial spirit using thunder magic. Only then did I realize that I had arrived near Qi Yuan Star. I was just about to head to the Origin Sect to drink a few cups of wine when I ran into several fellow daoists. Hehe, I wonder where these fellow daoists came from? Qing Yi and Qing Chu, the two of you have been gone for over a hundred years, where did you go to roam freely?"

  The gaze of the Flower God flickered, and he suddenly spoke: "You killed that lecherous thief Miao Xianren? Good! This favor... I, the Flower God, have taken note. One thousand seven hundred years ago, I also pursued and tried to kill Miao Xianren, but he escaped from me three times, and in the end, I only managed to severely injure him. Today, he died at your hands, which is a case of 'the heavens netting all things'."

  Jiang Zizai hastily humbled himself for a few sentences, then looked deeply at the Flower God with a smile and asked: "From what you've said, Senior, are you..."

  Qing Chu smiled and said, "Jiang Daoyou, these three seniors are all high-ranking predecessors who have been in the Void Realm for over a thousand years. However, they have been exploring secrets in certain places for thousands of years, so their names are not well-known in the cultivation world. To say that, among the current cultivation world, these three seniors have the highest seniority and the deepest cultivation. Take Gu Gong senior, for example. He had already reached the Yuan Shen stage 3,000 years ago. If it weren't for some unexpected events, he would have ascended long ago and wouldn't be in this cultivation world anymore."

  "Ancestor Gu! Three thousand years ago!" Jiang Zizai's mouth twitched, his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes widened in shock. He suddenly asked in a startled tone: "Could it be that Ancestor Gu is the master of Canglang Island for this generation?"

  "What? Interesting! You know about Changlang Island!" Gu Weng looked at Jiang Zixin with surprise, furrowing his brow and saying: "The lineage of my Changlang Island has always been a single line of transmission, only known to three or five close friends. How did you come to know the name of this old man's place?"

  Jiang Zizai suddenly stopped his movement, and Qingyi and the others also followed suit. Jiang Zizai floated in mid-air, his face changing colors as he stared at Gu Weng. Suddenly, he burst out laughing. Qingyi and the others looked at him in confusion, unsure what was wrong with him. But then they heard Jiang Zizai's laughter-filled words: "Of course, I know! Back then, I had a run-in with you. Hmm, aren't you that little guy who followed Old Man Gu? Heh heh, back then I gave you a Blood Soul Dark Thunderbolt, but your master blocked it for you!"

  The old man's face changed suddenly, he swung his fishing rod and brought up a myriad of azure water lights to crash down on Jiang Zixin. The old man shrieked: "Blood God Ancestor! You wicked head! Go die!" In the water light, thumb-sized Water Thunderbolts appeared and disappeared, rushing towards Jiang Zixin in dense clusters.

  The sudden change in the atmosphere caught Qingyi, Qingchu and others off guard. None of them could have imagined that Jiang Zixin, the renowned Fumo True Person of the cultivation world, would be connected to Xue Shen Laozu. However, as they saw Gu Weng's face filled with killing intent and Jiang Zixin's face suddenly covered in a layer of eerie blood light, Qingyi and others instinctively reacted. Several sword lights shot out from their hands, hesitantly entwining towards Jiang Zixin. Jiang Zixin smiled sinisterly, his body suddenly transforming into a bloody shadow that soared into the sky. Countless blood lights with a pungent smell of blood rushed towards the five people. The sword lights had just made contact with the blood lights when they dimmed, and the flying swords were tainted by the blood lights, their spiritual energy greatly weakened. Jiang Zixin had long planned to launch a surprise attack on them. As his body transformed into countless blood lights that flew out, a purple lightning bolt shot out from within the blood lights, silently striking Qingyi's chest. Behind the blood and lightning, three strands of fine red light appeared, each containing numerous twisted small faces that rapidly changed. The moment these three strands of light emerged, the air was filled with the sound of sharp wailing.

  Jin Zun, Hua Shen and Gu Weng's cultivation was extremely deep. Their bodies also had powerful treasures to protect them, only seeing a few clusters of strong light protecting their surroundings, the bloody light from outside couldn't get close to their bodies at all.

  Qingyi and Qingchu were caught off guard by Jiang Zixin, not only because of his reputation as the Fowu True Man, but also due to their previous friendship with him. Even though they instinctively swung out two sword lights, the trajectory of the lights was uncertain and unsteady. Moreover, they failed to activate their defensive treasures in time, allowing countless blood lights to penetrate their bodies from behind. A purple lightning bolt exploded on Qingyi's chest, creating a transparent hole as large as a bowl. The lightning blast sent Qingyi's flesh flying everywhere, causing him to lose consciousness instantly. Three thin streams of blood light drilled into Qingchu's body, causing his body to stiffen suddenly. Thick black air erupted from under his skin, and viscous black blood spewed out of his seven orifices.

  Innumerable blood lights drilled out of Qingyi and Qingchu's bodies, and the color of the blood lights brightened for a few minutes. In the void, Jiang Ziyin's triumphant laughter echoed: "Yuanzong destroyed the wonderful immortal, and I will destroy their ancestors! Hehehe! Hehehe!" Amidst the eerie laughter, countless blood lights twisted and recondensed into Jiang Ziyin's true body, which then brought forth a hundred-meter-long lightning bolt as it fled far away.

  "Want to escape?" Jin Zun sneered.

  "You also look down on us!" The Flower God giggled and laughed.

  "Sky Splitting Seal! Open!" Gu Weng let out a loud roar, his thin and withered body swelling up like a balloon, growing to over ten feet tall. He floated lightly in front of Jin Zun and Hua Shen. Jin Zun and Hua Shen joined their hands together in a strange hand seal, their four palms gently pressing against Gu Weng's back. A purple glow flowed rapidly into Gu Weng's body through their arms. Gu Weng let out a loud roar, his hands changing into nine different seals in succession. His right thumb suddenly swelled to three times its original thickness. He lightly pressed his thumb against the lightning bolt that had already flown over a hundred miles away.

  Bang, Gu Weng's thumb burst open. In the void, a flash of light flickered, and in the hundred feet around Jiang Zixin, who was driving the swift escape of the void, suddenly collapsed, and a dark hole appeared, swallowing all the spiritual energy, various stray energies, and even the light in the void. Jiang Zixin let out a terrified howl, which was also swallowed by the black hole. His physical body, along with the void, was destroyed by the devastating energy within the black hole, and in an instant, his body turned to dust and smoke, and the strand of separated yuan Shen was also beaten into nothingness.

  "The ancient seal, indeed has more powerful might than our current Taoist methods." Gu Weng stared blankly at his own thumb, which was split open and bleeding, and sighed somewhat desolately: "Unfortunately, we can only enter the third level."

  Jin Zun clasped his hands together in front of his chest, raised his head and gazed at the sky, humming a nonchalant tune.

  Huāshén then floated to the side of Qīng Yī and Qīng Chū, a bit at a loss, repeatedly saying: "This is terrible! The essence of Qīng Yī and Qīng Chū has been completely drained by Xuě Guāng. Their spirits are almost scattered. Qīng Yī's physical injuries are severe, while Qīng Chū's body hides an extremely vicious curse that is devouring his spirit. How can this be good?"

  The old man's long eyebrows rose, and he said urgently: "Quickly use the purple cyan Luo Dan we obtained in the ruins to protect their primordial spirit and hang on to their lives. Go quickly to Yuan Zong! The Yuan family is large and prosperous, see if there are any life-saving treasures! They were struck by the scattered soul blood light of the Blood God Old Ancestor, their essence and blood were sucked dry, now their souls have left their bodies, whether they can be saved or not is really uncertain!"

  Gu Weng and Jin Zun picked up Qing Yi and Qing Chu, the flower god opened the way in front, and the three escape lights rushed towards Yuan Zong.

  In the rear mountain of Yuansong Medicine Mountain, in the cave where Yaojing was cultivating on that day, Lin Xiao and Qingchu were crouching by the edge of a pool of water on the ground, quietly sizing up Yaojing who had just grown out a head and half an upper body as well as one right arm from the water. Part of Yaojing's body had also differentiated into countless mosses that covered the cave, constantly extracting the spiritual energy of the medicinal liquid discarded by Yuansong Dan Tang from the dark river. The thickened medicinal juice slowly gathered back into the pool. Yaojing was absorbing a bit of spiritual energy from the medicinal juice to repair her body again.

  Qing Ge stared blankly at Yao Jing, and after a long time, he lightly sighed: "Little Qing, you're not allowed to be reckless in the future. Look at this time, you've been beaten into pieces again!"

  Busy repairing my body, not even having time to urge the growth of hair, a small brain with a smooth and shiny head tilted its mouth and hummed: "Not afraid, even if I become fragments, as long as my demon consciousness exists, the demon core is not broken, I am not afraid. Hmm, petty Lin brother. Not allowing me, Yaojing, to eat those readily available spiritual medicines, but instead making me painstakingly extract medicinal power from that river."

  Lin Xiao stretched out his right hand and index finger, heavily tapping a brain collapse on Yao Jing's head. Lin Xiao said in a cold voice: "Give you a lesson, use the medicinal power of this Yin River to recover your body. If you let you take those top-grade spiritual medicine, borrow the power of spiritual medicine to quickly recover your body, next time you will be so reckless!" This brain collapse was tapped extremely fiercely, Yao Jing was in pain and couldn't help but cry out, her big eyes suddenly filled with tears. Pitifully looking at Lin Xiao.

  He taught Yao Jing a few lessons. Lin Xiao stood up, pulled Qing Tuo and said faintly: "Qing Tuo, let Yao Jing think carefully here. Next time she makes such a fuss, it's unlikely to have such good luck." He glared at Yao Jing with a pitiful expression, then pulled Qing Tuo out the door. A thin layer of white clouds floated away. Lin Xiao's Chi Long Sword was destroyed, and for the time being, he couldn't find a pure fire-attribute flying sword, so he learned the art of riding the clouds and fog from Yuan Zong as a temporary means of transportation.

  Yao Jing's fist fiercely waved in the water pool. She pitifully looked at her incomplete body and whispered: "Yao Jing, you're so pitiful, so pitiful, and broken again, waaah!"

  Teng Yun drove the misty law, Lin Xiao had only learned for a few days, and his flying speed was not much faster than that of a running horse. He carried a green trowel and flew leisurely towards the Jing She place, pointing and comparing the scenery of Yuanzong along the way.

  Suddenly, alarm bells rang out simultaneously on the mountain tops of Yuán Zōng, and countless sword lights shot up into the sky from near and far, instantly sealing off the mountain gates of Yuán Zōng for tens of thousands of miles around.

  Lin Xiao and Qing Yun were stunned, unable to understand what was happening. Suddenly, a white cloud rushed over from afar, and a Taoist priest swept them up with his sleeve. The priest turned around and rushed back in the direction they came from. Lin Xiao, who was dizzy from being wrapped up by the Taoist's spell, vaguely heard the priest shouting: "It's terrible! The two ancestors of the Qingzi generation have been seriously injured and are about to lose their souls. We can't find any treasures in our storage that can save them. Little friend, now it's all up to you."

  In the midst of a loud, earth-shattering sound, a Taoist priest, like a madman, brought Lin Xiao and Qingku with him as he burst into a grand hall. With a wave of his large sleeve, he carelessly tossed Lin Xiao to the ground, who stumbled and barely managed to steady himself. Qingku, on the other hand, rolled all the way out, crashing to the ground in a most undignified manner. Fortunately, Yixin was quick-eyed and fast-handed, grabbing hold of Qingku just in time to prevent her from smashing headfirst into one of the hall's pillars. Dazed and disoriented, Qingku had barely regained her footing when she saw that all the elders of the Yuanzong were present in the hall, whereupon she became frightened, closed her mouth, and meekly crouched behind Yixin, not daring to move.

  Lin Xiao was still in a daze when the Taoist priest pushed him to the center of the grand hall. On the ground in the center of the grand hall, Qingyi and Qingchu lay there like corpses, with only a faint warmth at their hearts, thanks to the repeated use of the spiritual medicine obtained from the ancient ruins by Gu Yong and his two companions to sustain their lives, allowing them to barely cling to life until now.

  Lin Xiao didn't have time to ask more questions, he squatted beside Qingyi and Qingchu, his hands quickly patting down the vital areas of their bodies, then used his divine sense to probe the situation inside their bodies. Only after that did he raise his head, firmly telling the anxious Yuan Zong elders around him: "There's a way to save them! However, I need a Xuanzi-level immortal pellet, Xuanshou Dan. I know the recipe and spiritual key, but my cultivation is far from enough to refine Xuanshou Dan!"

  A Taoist priest suddenly stepped forward and asked in surprise: "What cultivation is required to refine the Soul-Replenishing Pill?"

  Lin Xiao said in a low voice, "At the very least, it's the strength of the late stage of the Void Realm! I can give you the alchemy formula and the refining technique for the elixir, but this is after all the untransmitted secret of my Great Luo Dan Dao!"

  The Xuan Yuan Daoist on the side said in a low voice, "The Dan Fang and Ling Jue will never be leaked out. In the future, my Yuán Zōng will absolutely not refine another Xuān Huàn Dān! Moreover, to express gratitude for your kindness, my Yuán Zōng has its own heavy reward."

  Lin Xiao shook his head and waved his hand, saying: "As for the reward, it's not that different. However, among the medicinal materials needed to refine the Soul-Continuing Pill, all are easy to find except for one which is extremely difficult!"

  The flower god standing beside Qing took a step forward and asked softly, "Little friend, can you tell me what that extremely hard to find spiritual medicine is?"

  Lin Xiao looked at the Flower God with a glance, nodded and said: "Senior, junior Lin Xiao has paid his respects! This most difficult to find spiritual medicine is hidden in the depths of the Great Angle Star's vast ocean, it is a drop of heart blood from the thousand-year-old Blood Dragon! It must be taken while hot, and must be put into the furnace to refine the elixir while hot! Therefore, that Thousand-Year-Old Blood Dragon must be captured alive to have spiritual effect!"