Chapter 246: Paying Respects

Meng Yifan currently cultivates both the Dao and martial arts. In terms of immortal cultivation, he cultivates both the Yin-Yang Great Dao. This time, breaking through in the heat of battle, he simply chose to elevate his Yin-Style Technique to the Fourth Grade Middle Tier.

His Yang-Style Technique has not yet been elevated, and in terms of martial arts, he has also not broken through. These all require the consumption of a massive amount of Experience Value; without hunting down tens of thousands of Demon Beasts, he simply cannot gather enough.

Other cultivators who wish to improve their cultivation base can only operate their techniques step by step, refining Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, and practicing for years on end to advance by one level.

Yet Meng Yifan possesses a Game Panel; by killing monsters, he can obtain Experience Value and rapidly improve his cultivation base.

This is his golden finger, and also the greatest source of confidence that allows him to survive in this cruel world.

…………

In the outer city area of Luolong County, the original Mass Grave has now been rebuilt into a Martyr Cemetery. The remains of fallen soldiers are all buried here. For some soldiers whose bodies were not recovered, some personal clothing is placed inside the tomb, serving as a cenotaph for their relatives to mourn.

Beside the Martyr Cemetery, a seven-story-high Hall of Heroes has also been built, which houses the spirit tablets of the fallen soldiers.

These spirit tablets are quite extraordinary; they are carved from gloomy wood. The front is inscribed with the fallen soldier's name, ancestral home, date of birth and death, rank, the battle in which they fell, and what merits the soldier had earned. Seeing the spirit tablet allows one to have a general understanding of the soldier's life story.

The back of the spirit tablet is engraved with mysterious Runes. If an Immortal Cultivator proficient in Arrays were to see them, they would discover that the Runes behind the spirit tablet are a type of Gathering Yin Talisman.

The Gathering Yin Talisman on each spirit tablet is connected through the surface where the spirit tablets are placed, and the seven floors above and below form a massive Gathering Yin Great Array.

This Gathering Yin Great Array belongs to the category of Feng Shui Arrays. Unlike Meng Yifan's Array Disk, it does not require Meng Yifan to consume Spirit Power, nor does it require the consumption of Spirit Stones to actively operate.

The Hall of Heroes is originally located in a place in Luolong County with abundant Yin energy, and coupled with this seven-story Gathering Yin Great Array, it makes the Yin energy inside the Hall of Heroes dense, which is very suitable for Yin Souls to cultivate.

The core of the Gathering Yin Great Array is the Soul-Nurturing Jar on the top floor of the Hall of Heroes. Meng Yifan obtained the Soul-Nurturing Jar from Shawang Suxi and discovered through research that this Soul-Nurturing Jar is extremely mysterious; it contains its own space, can accommodate Yin Souls to survive, and can autonomously gather Yin energy to condense soul bodies.

Meng Yifan placed the Soul-Nurturing Jar on the top floor of the Hall of Heroes, using it as the hub of the Gathering Yin Great Array. The Soul-Nurturing Jar can continuously absorb the Yin energy gathered from all directions to provide for the survival and cultivation of the fallen soldiers' Yin Souls.

Whether in the Great Wu Heavenly Dynasty or on Earth, legends about the reincarnation of Yin Souls have circulated.

Everyone thinks that when a person is about to die, there will be the Black and White Impermanence of the Underworld to hook the soul and seize the spirit, walk the Yellow Springs Road from which one cannot return, then arrive at the Bridge of Helplessness, drink a bowl of Meng Po Soup, and undergo the Judge's trial to decide whether they should suffer punishment or be rewarded for their merits.

The Yin Soul will eventually enter the Six Paths of Reincarnation and be reborn; this is the entire process from life to death as people perceive it.

However, after Meng Yifan became an Immortal Cultivator, he could use his Spiritual Power to see Yin Souls. He once carefully observed the process of an ordinary person's death and discovered that there were no Underworld ghost messengers coming to hook the soul at all.

The Yin Soul formed after a person dies generally stays inside the body. Finally, as the body completely loses its vitality and can no longer provide shelter for the Yin Soul, the Yin Soul is buffeted by wind and sun, and eventually, the soul scatters, completely dissipating between Heaven and Earth.

Except for ghost soldiers and ghost generals refined by Immortal Cultivators using secret methods, or some very special circumstances, Yin Souls that exist for a long time do not appear in the world.

The space of the Soul-Nurturing Jar refined by Meng Yifan can provide shelter for the Yin Souls of the fallen soldiers, giving them a place to settle down after death.

After the spirit tablets of the soldiers who died in this war were all placed in position, Meng Yifan led the entire city's populace to pay respects to the heroic spirits.

Ordinary people, with their mortal eyes, did not notice that while they were paying respects, the Yin Souls of the fallen soldiers were all attached to the spirit tablets, sadly watching their weeping relatives.

Ding Dalang had been torn into two halves by an Eagle Monster Beast, and his wife was weeping with a face full of tears.

"Husband, how could you be so heartless to leave me and the child behind? How am I supposed to live from now on? Wuwu... My poor child, you haven't even been born yet and you've already lost your father, wuwu..."

Ding Dalang's wife, Ceng Lanhua, cried hoarsely. She felt her life was too bitter; her original family had all died on the road while fleeing. It was only after finally reaching Luolong County and meeting the considerate Ding Dalang that her life had finally started to improve.

Ceng Lanhua had been prepared to live a good life with Ding Dalang. She never expected that not long after she became pregnant, Ding Dalang would die on the battlefield, separating them by life and death, never to meet again.

This made her wish she were dead, wanting nothing more than to smash her head against a stone and take her unborn child to reunite with Ding Dalang.

Ding Erlang supported Ceng Lanhua, who was about to faint from crying, and said, "Sister-in-law, please restrain your grief and don't affect the fetus. Big Brother is gone, but you still have me. Don't worry, as long as I have a bite to eat, you and the child will not go hungry."

A husband and a brother-in-law are definitely different. The brother-in-law says it nicely, but he will also have to marry and have children in the future. Will his future wife let him take care of his sister-in-law and nephew like this?

Ceng Lanhua thought of her tragic fate, and her tears could not stop flowing.

Ding Dalang's Yin Soul felt as if his heart were being twisted when he saw this scene. He really wanted to say a few words to his wife, but he was now a Yin Soul Body and could not get close to Ceng Lanhua, fearing it would affect the child in her womb. He could only helplessly watch his wife grieve and weep.

Zhang Erwa was a soldier in the Imperial Guard Company. In the end, he hugged a pack of explosives and perished together with a Type Ding Level-Two Demon Wolf. His Yin Soul was also attached to the spirit tablet, watching his wife and son come to pay their respects.

Zhang Erwa's wife, Wang Dongmei, burned paper money while murmuring, "Husband, Lord Meng distributed ten catties of Monster Cured Meat and one hundred catties of rice to our family. Our family won't lack food anymore. From now on, grain will be issued every month until our son, Shitou, grows up."

"Husband, Lord Meng treats our family well. Your death was worth it. You can go in peace. I promise to remain a widow for you and raise our Shitou, not letting him suffer any grievances."

Zhang Erwa felt very heartbroken hearing this. Wang Dongmei was only twenty-six years old and had to remain a widow for him; it was truly hard on her. Zhang Erwa really wanted to say that if Wang Dongmei met a suitable man, she should remarry.

But then he thought about how his son was only six years old; what if she met a good-for-nothing stepfather who abused him?

Zhang Shitou was very mischievous, the type of unruly child who would tear down the roof if not beaten for three days. When Zhang Erwa was at home, he would beat him every few days. But Zhang Shitou was his, Zhang Erwa's, flesh and blood. He could beat him, but if anyone else dared to beat him, Zhang Erwa would dare to risk his life against them.

Therefore, hearing Wang Dongmei say she would remain a widow for him and not let their son suffer grievances, Zhang Erwa felt quite comforted in his heart.