txolops Chapter 36 Mysterious Soul Technique
Chapter 36 Mysterious Soul Technique
"Lady Yu, come in and let's talk."
A deep, resonant voice suddenly boomed in my ear; it was Han Xiaoliu's voice.
Yu Niangzi's fingers, which were stroking the ends of her hair, suddenly froze. Her heart felt as if it had been gripped tightly by a cold, large hand, and she skipped a beat.
What was bound to happen has finally happened. From the moment she entered this secret realm, she was constantly worried.
Why should I and Da Ya share this opportunity with the Sixth Young Master?
Although Han Xiaoliu was usually taciturn, he rarely spoke in such a flat tone that was filled with a chilling coldness.
Based on her years of experience in the cultivation world, this unusual calm often foreshadows a bloody storm.
She suppressed the fear surging in her heart and, with legs that felt like lead, slowly made her way to Han Xiaoliu's room.
The short distance of just a few feet felt like an eternity, a journey that seemed to lead her to her death.
"Could it be... that I...?"
Once this idea takes hold, it grows wildly like weeds.
Yu Niangzi's face turned deathly pale instantly, even her lips lost their color, and she trembled slightly.
In this chaotic world of cultivation, an ironclad rule has long been etched into the bones: possessing a treasure is a crime.
If one were to discover that someone possesses a secret realm, one would no longer be a living, breathing person to that person, but rather a "hidden danger" who could reveal secrets and bring about one's own demise at any moment.
In order to monopolize that enormous resource that could change one's destiny, and to eliminate any future troubles, there is only one safest and most logical approach!
They killed him to cover their tracks, destroyed the body, and from then on, no one else in the world knew about this place.
Thinking of this, Yu Niangzi's originally bright eyes were now filled with endless panic.
She could even sense a faint, almost imperceptible, stench of blood rising in the air as the footsteps drew closer.
She stopped in front of the door, her once rosy face now ashen, her eyes twitching uncontrollably, her gaze unfocused. She wanted to turn and run away, yet knew that in the face of absolute power, running away would only lead to a quicker death.
She bit her lower lip hard, until a row of pale white teeth marks appeared, trying to use the pain to maintain the last shred of consciousness, while the voice inside her screamed wildly:
"Is he really going to place a restriction on me, or just strike me down with a lightning spell?"
Lady Yu dug her fingertips deep into her palms, her nails almost embedding themselves in her flesh. Gazing at her increasingly withered face in the bronze mirror, a resolute yet tender light gradually rose in her eyes.
"So be it, I don't have much time left anyway." She forced a bleak smile at the mirror, raised her hand to tidy the stray hairs at her temples, carefully concealing the death wish in her eyes, "If I can avoid involving Daya, I'd rather die than not keep this secret."
The cultivation world is a dog-eat-dog world. Anyone would choose to keep such a great opportunity a secret. She took a deep breath, and when she looked up again, the panic on her face had completely disappeared, leaving only a calm and serene expression.
She knocked lightly on the door, three long knocks followed by two short ones—an old-fashioned code. As she pushed the door open, she lowered her head slightly, her skirt brushing the floor with a very soft sound.
"Young master, what are your orders?" She curtsied, her voice as gentle as a spring pond.
Han Xiaoliu sat in the armchair by the window, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the armrest, his gaze fixed on her face as if he were looking at an object waiting to be sold.
"How much longer do you have to live?"
As expected, it was because of this.
Yu Niangzi's knees buckled, and she fell to her knees with a thud, her forehead hitting the blue bricks heavily with a dull thud.
"I only have four or five years to live," her voice trembled almost imperceptibly, yet every word was clear, "If you need me, young master, I can die right now."
She suddenly raised her head, her eyes reddening, but she bit her lower lip tightly to stop the tears from falling. "Please, young master, spare Daya's life. She knows nothing."
Han Xiaoliu's brows furrowed, and he stopped tapping the armrest with his fingertips.
He looked at the woman kneeling on the ground and felt that there was something else going on in her words; something was off.
Did she guess what she was going to ask her to do? But why did she bring up Daya?
When Yu Niangzi saw that he didn't speak, she assumed that he thought she wasn't decisive enough.
She crawled two steps on her knees, her forehead touching the ground again, her voice pleading: "Da Ya has grown up, she's definitely the type the young master likes. I also have a family recipe for breast enhancement and beauty, I definitely won't disappoint the young master."
"Cough cough—" Han Xiaoliu suddenly choked on his own saliva and coughed violently, his face turning red.
He grabbed the teacup on the table and took a big gulp to barely suppress the itch in his throat.
"What are you talking about?" He stared at her, his eyes wide, as if she were a monster. "Am I that kind of person?" He paused, a hint of mockery in his voice. "But when are you going to let me study that pill formula you mentioned?"
Lady Yu raised her head in confusion, her forehead streaks of hair damp with cold sweat and clinging to her face.
Her eyes were full of confusion, like a silly roe deer being chased by a hunter.
"Young master, weren't you going to take my life?"
"What would I do with your life?" Han Xiaoliu put down his teacup, the bottom of the porcelain cup hitting the table with a crisp sound.
He then realized that Lady Yu had misunderstood, and couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Do you think I'm some kind of long-time, bloodthirsty monster?"
This actually confused Lady Yu.
She had prepared herself mentally, even thought about Da Ya's backup plan, but she still made a complete blunder.
"I knew you had such a big secret realm," she murmured, her voice tinged with grievance. "You should have killed me to silence me, otherwise what if the news leaked out?"
Han Xiaoliu fell silent.
He looked at Yu Niangzi with the same expression he had when he saw her as a fool.
Just because you know about the Dream World, you think you should die? What kind of brain circuit is that?
During the day, she was happily helping me take care of the children, and now she's already making arrangements for her funeral?
"You don't think I brought you here just to kill you, do you?" His voice carried a hint of helplessness.
"Then the young master asked me how much longer I could live," Yu Niangzi blinked, tears still clinging to her long eyelashes, "wasn't that what he meant?"
"I wanted to ask you if you wanted to change your way of life," Han Xiaoliu stood up, walked up to her, and looked down at her. "I'm trying to extend your life, and you think of me like this." He leaned down, gently lifting her chin with his fingertips, his tone carrying a hint of threat. "I'm going to punish you. After we get out, you'll have to hold me while you sleep."
A different way of living, a way to prolong life?
Lady Yu was stunned. Her lips parted slightly, like a fish out of water.
"My spiritual root has been destroyed," she lowered her eyes, avoiding his gaze, "There's no point in living a little longer. Young Master, you should use these resources on yourself and recover your cultivation as soon as possible."
Han Xiaoliu remained silent.
He held up three fingers and waved them in front of her eyes, the fingertips gleaming warmly in the sunlight.
"I have two ways to save your life," his voice was deep and clear, "it's up to you to choose."
With a flick of his finger, Han Xiaoliu sent a streak of dark light flying out from his sleeve, tracing a strange arc in the air before finally hovering in front of Yu Niangzi.
It was a completely black book, with twisted runes engraved on its surface, faintly exuding a chilling aura.
"The first option is that you're currently a temporary player. You need to cultivate to the peak of the Core Formation stage to qualify as a player." He crossed his legs, tapping his fingertips on his knees to a rhythm, his tone carrying a hint of "pay-to-win" superiority. "But I have this that can let you skip this process and directly obtain player status—a legitimate official cheat, might as well use it."
Yu Niangzi stared at the cultivation technique before her, her pupils slightly contracting.
She reached out and took it. The moment her fingertips touched the book, a chill ran through her body, making her shiver involuntarily.
"This cultivation technique is a ghost cultivation method that can be practiced up to the late Nascent Soul stage." Han Xiaoliu leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, hands crossed to support his chin, like a customer service representative promoting a product. "If you switch to the ghost path and your soul becomes a ghost cultivator, you can meet the requirements for becoming an apprentice in the Underworld and become a player. After reaching level 10 in Qi Refining, you can become an apprentice in the Underworld and then condense a new physical body—it's like 'deleting your account and starting over,' understand?"
Lady Yu suddenly raised her head, her eyes wide like copper bells, her lips slightly parted, unable to utter a word for a long time.
She wasn't unfamiliar with ghost cultivation techniques, but those who could cultivate to the late Nascent Soul stage were extremely rare in the entire Chaotic Star Sea.
Not to mention "re-condensing the physical body"—in the world of cultivation, this is simply an opportunity to defy fate.
It is important to know that in the setting of "A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality", once the physical body is destroyed, the soul is like a rootless duckweed, either becoming a lonely ghost or being reborn by possessing another body. Possessing another body is not only extremely risky, but will also leave lifelong hidden dangers.
"This..." Her Adam's apple bobbed, her voice dry like sandpaper scraping, "This opportunity is...too great."
Han Xiaoliu shrugged, with a "basic stuff, don't get excited" expression: "Don't get excited, this is nothing. The second option is to sign a contract, which allows you to become an immortal being in Jianye City. The downside is that you can never leave here for the rest of your life. It's up to you to choose."
Lady Yu frowned slightly as she looked at the finger he was holding out in the air, and couldn't help but ask, "What about the third one?"
Han Xiaoliu looked down and realized that he was still sticking out a finger. He quickly clenched his fist and hid it behind his back, coughing to cover up his embarrassment.
"Ahem, the third option is to merge your entire soul into this world, where you can reincarnate. In this life, you might be a beautiful flower fairy, and in the next, you might be a gluttonous wild boar—a completely random blind box, exciting, right?"
Lady Yu rolled her eyes, her lips twitching slightly. "So, which one does Young Master want me to choose?"
Han Xiaoliu's playful expression vanished. He sat up straight, his gaze fixed on Yu Niangzi's eyes, and said seriously, "All three are fine, but I'd prefer more help." He paused, his tone becoming more earnest, "After all, I prefer to 'deal damage' from behind the players."