Chapter 171: Enter the Wumiao, Purify the Golden Body

Jiang Chengyun's reaction made Jiang Qiulan instantly realize the ambiguity in her words; she slightly pursed her lips, ready to explain further.

Shen Yi took off the ink blade and placed it on the table: "Is this an item belonging to an old friend of yours?"

He recalled how General You had stared at this blade for a long time, and how, during their meeting in the ruined temple, the woman had casually glanced at his waist.

There was also that peculiar gaze she occasionally cast—like she was remembering something.

Shen Yi had the habit of staying alert at all times; how could these things escape his notice? He'd merely ignored them before out of laziness, but now that she'd brought it up, he wasn't the type to be petty.

"… "

Jiang Qiulan paused slightly, then gave a light nod: "Mm."

She suddenly realized that, besides this ink blade, another key reason she'd regarded Shen Yi as an old friend was that he could effortlessly grasp her meaning.

Even such an ambiguous remark—he saw through exactly what she truly meant.

"Since it's not urgent, I'll give it to you after I get a new one."

Shen Yi hung the black blade back at his waist; even if he got a new treasure, it wouldn't necessarily feel natural right away, and she only wanted to keep it as a memento—she wouldn't mind waiting a little while.

"Thank you." Jiang Qiulan clearly preferred this terse style of communication—no need for excessive explanation or emotional display; she truly wasn't good at interacting with others.

Jiang Chengyun's current feeling wasn't much better than when he'd just heard a divine scripture.

Wait, how did you know it was an old friend's item? Did those few sentences just clarify everything?

Don't you even consider whether I can understand?

They were both meant to become young commanders of Outside Qingzhou, yet he felt utterly out of place.

"Arrange the Wumiao purification as soon as possible; don't worry about anything else." Jiang Qiulan stepped toward the door.

Once she entered the adjacent room.

Shen Yi turned to Jiang Chengyun: "What is Wumiao purification?"

The middle-aged man, with his earnest face, finally regained a bit of confidence and didn't even wonder why the other suddenly asked: "Wumiao purification refers to the Golden Bodies left behind by Soul Transformation cultivators whose yin spirits have perished—you can think of it as… swallowing a small portion of their Golden Body as a treasure pill."

"Of course, only a negligible fraction, and it passes through your body for roughly ten breaths; those with excellent talent can retain about sixty percent, while someone like me, average at best, might retain only forty to fifty percent."

Jiang Chengyun recalled the scene of his own Nascent Core formation: "I used two purification sessions to form my embryonic core, then went through six more—now I'm just one step away from completing Nascent Core Realm… but our methods differ, so this is only for reference."

Hearing this, Shen Yi felt a sudden sense of relief.

Good thing Jiang Qiulan interrupted him earlier—otherwise he'd already been forcing his realm with demonic lifespan.

To gather enough celestial energy for Jade Fluid perfection, he'd consumed countless beast essences and spent nearly six hundred years.

Heaven and Earth are stingy; cultivation requires plunder.

Wumiao purification simply replaces the targets of plunder—from demons and celestial treasure pills—to already-dead high-level cultivators.

"By the way, just now Lady Jiang asked you to arrange Wumiao purification…"

Jiang Chengyun used his Qi to clear the porcelain shards from the floor, glancing sideways, his eyes filled with unmistakable complexity: "So you really understood everything? Not pretending… and you don't need to practice first?"

Shen Yi closed his interface and shook his head: "No need."

Six hundred and seventy-nine years—converted into the Two Mysteries True Meaning, he had already nearly reached Great Completion; even the most difficult Tiannan Dan Shi was merely a Nascent Core technique.

He knew the entire process inside and out—only the basic cultivation foundation remained to be accumulated.

Shen Yi closed his eyes and sensed the vast knowledge newly added to his mind.

This technique, hailed as the greatest Nascent Core method of the Great Qian, bore the panel's "Precious" tag, but compared to ordinary Nascent Core methods, it had only one advantage.

Speed.

It formed a voracious Heavenly Devouring Nascent Soul at the fastest possible rate; unlike other Embracing Elixir Realm cultivators' Nascent Souls, which required careful nurturing, this one ate anything—no pickiness, no concern for chaotic or unsuitable energy.

Shen Yi finally understood why Jiang Qiulan recommended this martial art to him.

Only the inner core formed by Tiannan Dan Shi could contain ferocious demonic energy!

But such a voracious Nascent Soul would inevitably become more violent and harder to control.

That's why the Solar Melting Treasure Furnace is needed to suppress it, and finally, the spirit mind replaces its consciousness, completing the core-shattering process to attain the Slain Hunyuan Supreme Master realm.

He now understood the Nascent Core Realm more deeply.

Shen Yi lost all desire to test another Golden Body manifestation.

His spirit mind had already been given to the Nascent Soul—he couldn't possibly give it to the yin spirit too; this wasn't controlling two treasures, but utterly entrusting his spirit mind to one.

How could one soul be split into two? That would make one insane.

Shen Yi rose and stepped outside, gazing at the towering Wumiao ahead, feeling a faint disappointment.

At that moment, his fingertip trembled—he suddenly remembered something.

The interface unfolded before him; previously overlooked text surged into his vision.

【Demon Origin: Can reshape demonic soul, serve at your side, eternally enslaved, never liberated, enduring all worldly suffering, to protect your supreme Dao.】

"To protect your supreme Dao."

Shen Yi silently repeated it, took a deep breath, and a bold idea formed in his mind.

…

The next day.

Jiang Chengyun quickly coordinated with the Demon-Catching Bureau.

Facing a Demon-Suppressing General who would undergo ten purifications, their efficiency surged.

Before the Wumiao, four figures in blue robes quietly appeared—each aged, as if half their bodies were already buried in earth.

They slowly entered the grand hall.

They looked toward the black-armored youth already standing beneath the thirteen Golden Bodies.

With a slight gesture, thick white mist instantly surged from the temple entrance, sealing the interior from the outside world.

"Sit cross-legged, still your breath, focus your mind."

Shen Yi sat on the mat, in a position subtly chosen—the exact center where all the towering Golden Body manifestations' gazes converged.

The yaksha was ferocious, the lion-camel coiled and lay, and the beast-faced, human-bodied dharma image held a golden awl in each hand…

Yet compared to those twelve fierce, evil-faced dharma images, the most normal-looking six-zhang Golden Body right in the middle made Shen Yi's eyes narrow instinctively.

He saw that within the deathly still martial temple, the eyes of the Luo Han Golden Body's wrathful gaze suddenly moved.

"…"

Shen Yi steadied his emotions. That day, he truly hadn't misread it.

Among so many dharma images, only this Luo Han Golden Body was "alive"…

(End of chapter)