Chapter 193: The Dove Occupies the Magpie's Nest

Under the moonlight.

The courtyard, still noisy just a moment ago, had become unusually quiet now; only a few spirit fish hiding in the pond had witnessed everything that had happened before.

The isolation formation that He Yao had previously opened, on the contrary, now prevented anyone from disturbing Yunhe.

He grabbed He Wen's soul and fell into deep thought.

"With my current divine sense strength, there should be no problem."

Although Yunhe usually disliked soul-searching, he had to try it for the sake of the Golden Ear Grass.

"However, there is also a way to reduce the difficulty."

He then spread his palm, and the Corpse Soul Gu jumped into his hand, extending a tendril toward He Wen's soul.

The moment before, He Wen's voice had been begging incessantly, but it suddenly cut off; a wave of demonic aura rose from Yunhe's body, and a jet of black light shot from his pupils, piercing He Wen's soul.

Indeed, with the Corpse Soul Gu's help, the soul-searching process was much easier than Yunhe had imagined.

As Yunhe's magical power surged, all of He Wen's memories appeared before him.

This time Yunhe had learned his lesson; he examined only part of He Wen's over-four-hundred-year memories and retained only the useful bits.

Moments later.

Yunhe opened his eyes, pressed his brow, and his mental state appeared somewhat fatigued: "Even if my divine sense is much stronger than He Wen's, and with the Corpse Soul Gu assisting, soul-searching is still not an easy task."

That soul-searching just now almost drained half of his divine sense power, yet what he gained was actually not much.

However, the important memories of a Core Formation cultivator who had lived for hundreds of years were also a considerable fortune.

He simply wanted to spend some time sorting out the fragmented and mixed content.

Yunhe pressed his temples again, and involuntarily muttered:

"'Actually, if I do it a few more times, it won't be so unpleasant; it's a pity you can't endure it.'"

At this moment, He Wen's soul had already ceased all movement.

At this moment, a voice transmitted from outside the restriction.

After all, this is the residence of the He Clan patriarch; it doesn't just cover one or two rooms but envelops a vast area, and there are still some in the He Clan who pay attention here, so they couldn't help but approach cautiously and ask: "Patriarch, are you alright?"

Hearing this, Yunhe furrowed his brows, looked at the mess all over the ground, pondered slightly, then gently formed a hand seal; his voice became indistinguishable from that of the He Clan patriarch He Wen, and he spoke in his usual tone:

"'What's the matter, this venerable one?'"

Before the person outside could respond, another hurried voice came: "Clan head! Clan head! The patriarch's, the patriarch's soul tablet."

Then an elderly man, advanced in years, came flying in, holding a dim Jade Token.

Upon seeing the dim soul tablet, that person immediately became unsettled.

"'Patriarch, are you really alright?'"

With a sweep of his divine sense, Yunhe naturally understood what had happened.

He silently sighed.

This matter probably couldn't be resolved today; he had just finished the soul-searching, intending to organize He Wen's memories, take what he needed, and leave silently, but he hadn't expected the other party to discover He Wen's abnormality so quickly.

Suddenly.

Yunhe's mind stirred, and he lowered his gaze to the Corpse Soul Gu in his hand.

"'Eat it.'"

He then tossed He Wen's soul to the Corpse Soul Gu.

The Corpse Soul Gu naturally would not refuse.

However, under Yunhe's direction, after the Corpse Soul Gu devoured He Wen's soul, its body unexpectedly gave rise to a soul fluctuation identical to He Wen's.

"'Huh?!'"

Outside the restriction, the old cultivator holding He Wen's soul tablet showed a look of shock, seeing that the originally dim soul tablet had become bright again.

At the same time, Yunhe reached out to draw He Wen's golden core, forming a hand seal and performing the 'Profound Demon Phantom Body'.

After a few steps, his appearance had already become that of He Wen.

Upon exiting the restriction, he and He Wen were indistinguishable.

With a stern expression, he rebuked: "He Yuanlin, what are you doing, rebelling?!"

Seeing the emerging 'He Wen,' the He Clan cultivators outside the restriction immediately fell to their knees with a 'hualala' sound.

He Clan clan head He Yuanlin was shocked and hastily explained:

"'Please forgive Patriarch Yuanlin's rashness; mainly.'"

He turned his head to look at the soul tablet, which had not only regained its brightness but also faintly pointed toward the He Clan patriarch 'He Wen' before him.

Obviously, this 'He Wen' was undoubtedly their patriarch He Wen.

At this moment, he also realized that he had overthought it.

"'It was Yuanlin's rashness; please punish him, Patriarch!'"

To the present He Clan, He Wen is heaven; anyone in the family can have problems, except He Wen.

Once He Wen falls, the He Clan is not far from destruction.

Seeing this, Yunhe's expression also softened; following He Wen's usual manner and temperament, he sighed and said:

"'Never mind, never mind. Earlier I was merely practicing a secret art; you may withdraw.'"

He casually made up an excuse to dismiss them.

"'Yes! Patriarch, we take our leave.'"

He Yuanlin and several Wang Clan cultivators slowly retreated.

However, after leaving, the worry on their faces did not completely fade away.

The He Clan patriarch He Wen was fine, but they all knew that this patriarch wouldn't live much longer, and in a few decades the He Clan might face a great calamity.

To speak frankly.

Given the current scale of the He family, it is not that there are no so-called 'geniuses' appearing.

But the cultivation of a 'genius' also requires accumulation of resources.

Originally, after He Wen's death, the He family would have He Yao in charge, and He Yao is indeed a rare genius of the He family in several hundred years; he not only successfully formed his Golden Core, but also broke through to the Mid Jie Dan stage.

But therefore, the already Mid Jie Dan He Yao would yearn for Late Jie Dan Stage and even the Nascent Soul realm, which is desirable yet unattainable!

Undoubtedly, this causes the He family's vast resources to tilt toward He Yao; adding to what He Wen needs, plus the He family's substantial daily cultivation needs, there simply aren't enough resources in a short time to pile up and produce a cultivator at the Golden Core stage.

If He Yao encounters no mishap, he could naturally protect the He family for several hundred years.

But if He Yao meets with an accident, the He family's Golden Core lineage will be cut off.

In fact, many cultivation clans flourish then decline, mostly for similar reasons.

Precisely because they know this, many clans stare at the He family but hesitate to act, wanting to wait for the He family to decline on its own, and after He Wen's passing, they could take over the whole He family without paying too high a price.

Acting now, if the He family's patriarch He Wen were to go mad, a late‑stage Golden Core cultivator attacking without regard for juniors would still be quite a headache.

And this is also the He family's last chance to catch its breath.

"Alas, my He family, autumn of many troubles."

He Yuanlin sighed, and gained the agreement of a few people.

"I hope the patriarch stays healthy and well."

After seeing off the He family members, Yunhe returned to the courtyard again.

Seeing the mess all around, a suddenly extremely bold idea arose in his mind.

"I must have gone mad."

He gave a self‑mocking laugh.

Just a moment ago, he suddenly felt, as if... he could also take the position of the He family patriarch.

Once this idea arose, he could hardly suppress it.

He didn't have the leisure to father offspring and start some family.

But if there were a ready‑made Golden Core clan with a decent inheritance passed down for a long time, letting him take over, enjoy the treatment of senior clan cultivators, and let him act as the patriarch would also be not bad.

At least, from now on, no matter what he wants to seek or what information he wants to investigate, he won't have to personally waste time doing it himself.

Furthermore, such a large family does not need him to manage it, but the items in the family treasury are free for him to take.

That does indeed sound good.

In the future, he can leave whenever he wants and stay as long as he wishes; the initiative is entirely in his hands.

"It is impossible for a single Corpse Soul Gu to mimic He Wen's soul aura, and also impossible for it to bite without swallowing; that soul token needs a chance to be replaced."

He gathered He Wen's corpse, storage bag, and magical treasures, then also gathered He Yao's treasures and his Golden Core.

After casting a spell to wipe away the traces of the battle here, he summoned the Heavenly Capital Gu corpses and the Crimson Shadow Golden Winged Bees guarding outside the He family's formation.

As for the three juniors of the He family, he no longer keeps them in mind.

The mess here can be repaired by He Yuanlin sending people tomorrow; anyway, he had already dismissed them with the excuse of 'practicing secret arts,' so causing some damage is quite normal.

He walked into the residence that originally belonged to He Wen.

Whether to speak or not, although He Wen's cultivation base had stalled, he still knew how to enjoy himself; the whole house was decorated quite luxuriously.

"Although it's not to my liking, it's also not good to make too many changes all at once; let's handle it slowly later."

Relying on memory, he came to the cultivation chamber.

Nanshu Island is originally a large cloud island on the Cloud‑Upper Realm, and its spiritual energy is not weak.

The densest spiritual energy is undoubtedly at the island's center, estimated to be at least third‑rank middle grade, even up to third‑rank high grade, but that area has already been occupied by the forces of Yun Gong City.

Although the spiritual energy density where the He family resides is not as great as the island's center, it is still not weak; especially at the residence of the He family patriarch He Wen, it reaches at least the level of a third‑rank low‑grade spirit vein, and with a little arrangement it is sufficient for Yunhe's daily cultivation needs.

He imitated He Wen's habit, lit a stick of calming sandalwood, and sat cross‑legged on the mat.

Begin sorting out this harvest.

"Golden Core."

The Golden Core that He Yao has reached the Mid Jie Dan stage is obviously tempting to demonic beasts; to many such beasts, a cultivator's flesh and blood are also a great tonic, not to mention the Golden Core itself.

He Wen's Golden Core he will temporarily keep; He Yao's this Golden Core can be disposed of at will.

Just looking at his Golden Core, Yunhe couldn't help but recall the scene where he tried to seize his body, and couldn't help laughing out loud.

Although the cultivation world acknowledges that Nascent Soul seizure is the best method and also the one with the least side effects.

But whether orthodox or heretical, there are many secret arts; after paying a huge price, a Golden Core cultivator might possibly achieve an effect similar to seizure.

However, this kind of 'seizure' usually has very harsh conditions and strong side effects.

Only by achieving the 'Infant Yuan Spirit' can one freely seize bodies, even undergo corpse‑liberation rebirth, which can be called a great divine ability!

It is obvious that He Yao's attempt to seize with his Golden Core entailed paying a huge price.

At the same time, there are several ironclad rules regarding seizure in the cultivation world.

First, one cannot seize a mortal.

Second, one can only seize a cultivator with a lower cultivation base, and most cultivators can only do so once in their lifetime.

Finally, the lifespan after seizure does not change, because cultivators already have lifespans far longer than ordinary people; their aging involves not only the body but also the Yuan Spirit, and even if the Yuan Spirit is seized, it does not recover, so the lifespan remains unchanged.

"Although this secret art that can seize using a Golden Core is indeed worth studying—better safe than sorry; if it's never used, all the better, but when needed it won't be embarrassing."

He Yao's storage bag was not found in the courtyard, but he believes that after organizing He Wen's memories, he will surely learn of it.

Among them, there is likely the method of this 'seizure secret art'.

Afterward, he picked up several magical treasures.

"The 'Thick Earth Cauldron'? It is a defensive-type magical treasure; as the He family patriarch, using the patriarch's treasure is quite reasonable, right?"

Coincidentally, he also lacked a suitable defensive treasure; he decided to refine and use this 'Thick Earth Cauldron' himself.

However, what concerns him most is still He Wen's divine‑sense defensive magical treasure.

After a simple sweep with his divine sense, he locked onto a special-material jade pendant at his waist.

Indeed it is a rarely seen divine-sense defensive type magic treasure; although its rank is not high, merely a third‑rank lower grade, Yunhe also unceremoniously accepted it.

Such magic treasures are relatively rare and quite expensive.

"Having both a life‑bound magic treasure and a divine‑sense defensive magic treasure, it is no wonder that He Wen could live over four hundred years."

"'Wood Court Sword' — He Yao looks far more radical than He Wen, but this may also be the reason he will fall, leaving only his nascent soul and golden core."

This sword will be temporarily given to the Demon Beast Body; after all, he can digest any amount of magic treasures without waste.

As for He Wen's storage bag, he simply flipped through it and then put it away.

There was nothing overly precious inside, but there were plenty of spirit stones, as well as various talismans, spiritual artifacts, and elixirs.

"Even a wealthy Golden Core loose cultivator can hardly compare to the patriarch of a Golden Core family."

"It feels that making money by robbery is faster; the method is to exterminate a cultivation family that has been passed down for a long time."

Yunhe clicked his tongue and sighed.

After a simple check of these things, he began to organize He Wen's memories.

This time he had learned his lesson; after examining them, he discarded what was useless. After the previous simple screening, plus this round of "refined selection," he believes He Wen's memories will no longer affect him in any way.

He also deliberately paid attention to some of He Wen's daily conduct and habits.

It is not necessary to be exactly the same, but some aspects that ought to be imitated should still be imitated; a person's habits suddenly changing are easily noticed, especially for an old monster who has lived over four hundred years—his habits should already have become a way for some of the He family to curry favor.

However, if he gradually changes later, it should not provoke too much reaction.

Once he fully establishes himself as the patriarch of the He family, even if later generations have doubts and reservations, they can only keep them buried in their hearts.

(End of Chapter)