Chapter 204: Oscar Night

Her gaze shifted to the Nascent Soul figure before her.

What a pity, there was no chance for another simulation.

I wonder if the Qintai Xiao now is real or a disguise?

Qintai Xiao seemed completely unaware, leading Ruan Xing through several turns until they reached a courtyard near the Ancestral Hall.

He dared not rashly use the power of his Divine Soul for fear of causing a misunderstanding with Ruan Xing, so after entering the room, he chuckled and said, "There is a secret chamber in this room; the Sui Spirit Pearl is on the treasure cabinet inside. Immortal, just inject Spiritual Power into the Long-lasting Lamp to the right of the calligraphy and painting on the wall and rotate it."

"Oh? Does the opening method for this secret chamber of yours not require bloodline or cultivation techniques? Can just anyone open it by inputting Spiritual Power?" Ruan Xing raised an eyebrow, questioning him.

"This... it is merely a clever trick of hiding in plain sight, and besides, this is not far from the Ancestral Hall..." Qintai Xiao explained briefly before stopping, then cautiously probed, "Shall I open the secret chamber for you, Immortal?"

"Mm, open it."

Ruan Xing was not afraid of Qintai Xiao playing any tricks; even if there were a Teleportation Array inside the secret chamber, her Divine Ability could drag him back before he could dive into it.

Qintai Xiao then used his Divine Soul power to open the secret chamber; the calligraphy and painting shifted, revealing a downward passage inside.

He actually did not take this opportunity to cause a commotion to attract the Elders from the Ancestral Hall.

Ruan Xing glanced at him with some surprise.

She then walked into the passage.

The passage was only two or three meters long, and below it was a small room with various lattice shelves embedded in the surrounding walls, looking like the display stands of some exhibition hall.

On them were placed jade boxes of various sizes.

Among them, one shelf with slightly more intricate patterns looked different; it was likely the treasure cabinet Qintai Xiao had mentioned.

Ruan Xing walked straight over and opened that jade box.

However, inside the jade box was not the Sui Spirit Pearl, but a sudden burst of thick black smoke! Ruan Xing subconsciously closed the lid immediately, but it was already a bit late.

The black smoke had already permeated the entire secret chamber, and even her vision and Divine Sense had begun to be obstructed.

She had already begun to be unable to see everything before her.

From the side came the sound of Qintai Xiao's cackling laughter; he said somewhat maniacally, "Die! All of you, go to hell!"

Ruan Xing frowned, covering her nose and mouth, and waved her hand with some disgust, letting Sword Lai come out to wrap up all this black smoke with Yin energy and absorb it.

She also summoned the Xumi Mirror to shroud the entire room, lest the commotion be too great and attract other Qintai Clan cultivators to come and disturb them.

She had already figured it out; what was contained in that jade box was nothing else, but just like the Psychic Jade that Qintai Xiao had gifted to Qintai He, it was all Residual Souls of Demon Cultivators exuding baleful energy! If other Nascent Soul or Spirit Severing stage cultivators had come, they might have found these high-level Demon Cultivator Residual Souls tricky, but Ruan Xing was not afraid at all.

Firstly, her Divine Ability was equally effective against both people and Divine Souls or Nascent Souls, and secondly, she still had Sword Lai; as long as the gap was not too vast, these Residual Souls could only serve to fill Sword Lai's stomach.

She took a Calming Pill to stabilize her mind, which had been somewhat affected; the resentment and baleful energy gathered in this black smoke were truly too much.

Sword Lai moved nimbly around her, the Yin energy permeating his body like a woven fishing net, shrouding all the Residual Souls; very quickly, this net retracted all the black smoke and returned into Sword Lai's body.

Sword Lai touched his lower abdomen, seemingly feeling it had bulged a little.

Too full... ever since he reached the Golden Core stage, he had never been this full.

Seeing that after the black smoke dissipated, Ruan Xing was completely unharmed.

Qintai Xiao's laughter stopped abruptly, and a bad premonition rose in his heart.

"Why... why are you unaffected?"

He was just about to let out a shrill scream, but with a light wave of Ruan Xing's hand, he was involuntarily gripped by the neck of his Nascent Soul figure.

"I don't have much patience left; tell me, where exactly is the Sui Spirit Pearl?" Ruan Xing looked at him with icy eyes.

"Sui Spirit Pearl? Ha... things I cannot obtain, I will not let anyone else obtain..." Qintai Xiao's Nascent Soul figure gradually became stained with an ominous blood color, "Give up..."

Although Qintai Xiao's voice was fragmented and incoherent, under Ruan Xing's repeated interrogations, she still obtained the general plot of the story.

After Qintai Xiao became a Clan Leader in name only, he had dealings with Demon Cultivators from the Northern Territory by chance.

Various businesses in Xizhou were almost all monopolized by the various clans, so the presence of Wanbao Tower was not strong, and thus Mo Cijun rarely held auctions in Xizhou.

The previous Clan Leader of the Qintai Clan and two Elders did not have much lifespan left, but unfortunately, no descendants with excellent aptitude had been born in the clan all these years; once they passed away, the Qintai Clan's title as the number one clan in Xizhou might not be guaranteed.

Originally, Qintai He's grandfather had given them great hope... but unfortunately, it was ruined by internal strife.

The previous Clan Leader then thought of sending Qintai Xiao to other regions to attend auctions and buy some Longevity Pills.

Three Longevity Pills would not exceed 200,000 Spirit Stones even if auctioned at a sky-high price, yet Qintai Xiao was full of resentment and gloom; he was not pained by the Spirit Stones, but minded that the previous Clan Leader would continue to press down on his head for another thousand years.

It was at this time that he met a Demon Cultivator named Chen Xin.

He then learned that things like Longevity Pills actually originated from the Northern Territory, and even Wanbao Tower had to import them from the Northern Territory to have a channel for Longevity Pills.

He was very conflicted in his heart; to buy or not to buy, both made him anxious and troubled.

At this moment, Chen Xin proposed other requirements: he could give Qintai Xiao three Longevity Pills that no one could tell had any problems, but the prerequisite was to exchange them for the Qintai Clan's secret Spirit Tool, the Sui Spirit Pearl.

Qintai Xiao refused flatly.

Something worth less than 200,000 Spirit Stones wanted to be exchanged for a Spirit Tool? This Demon Cultivator truly took him for a fool; even if he didn't like the previous Clan Leader pressing down on him, he wouldn't be so wasteful.

Anyway, after waiting another thousand years, the Sui Spirit Pearl would still end up in his hands.

Chen Xin, however, proposed a reason that made it hard for him to refuse.

All three Longevity Pills could have a wisp of Qintai Xiao's Divine Soul placed inside during refining.

Those who took the Longevity Pills would involuntarily develop faith in Qintai Xiao; if Qintai Xiao himself died, his consciousness could be reborn in the bodies of those three Longevity Pills, parasitizing and backlashing the hosts.

Qintai Xiao was shocked by the viciousness of the Demon Cultivator's methods, yet he was shamefully tempted.

Ruan Xing, having sorted out the ins and outs of the story, revealed a thoughtful expression.

Is this the reason why Qintai Xiao is not afraid of death?

Because he has three other lives?

However, she felt the latter part was not that credible.

Although she didn't understand Demon Cultivators... she understood alchemy! What souls fear most are various types of strange fires; even after merging Divine Sense and Nascent Soul to become a Divine Soul, this remains true, otherwise, being burned by Heavenly Fire would not be a torture.

Adding a wisp of Divine Soul during alchemy to be burned by Heavenly Fire... even if the entire Divine Soul were put in, it would probably be burned until only a bit of consciousness remained; a wisp of Divine Soul would probably not even leave ashes.

Not to mention merging it into a Pill; a Divine Soul is not as obedient as refined Medicine Liquid, and a Divine Soul without consciousness would only be like the Residual Souls in the jade box, which would only attack and run around everywhere once released.

How could it possibly obediently melt into a Pill?

Ruan Xing felt that Qintai Xiao had been deceived by the Demon Cultivator.

However, that was not necessarily the case.

Perhaps after Qintai Xiao handed over the three wisps of Divine Soul, that Demon Cultivator immediately turned hostile and used the Divine Soul to threaten Qintai Xiao into doing so.

After all, Qintai Xiao had a prior record; it was impossible for Ruan Xing to completely believe the words coming out of his mouth.

Or perhaps Qintai Xiao deliberately fabricated the latter part of his story, just so that Ruan Xing could not easily destroy his Divine Soul, which would allow him to survive for a while longer.

This actually contradicted the fear-of-death emotion he had displayed, and to Ruan Xing, such a smokescreen was completely useless; she would not be swayed by a single word from Qintai Xiao, because she could verify the results in a Simulation. However, one thing could be confirmed.

That is, the Sui Spirit Pearl had already reached the hands of that Demon Cultivator named Chen Xin.

Come to think of it, this name sounded a bit familiar.

In that Simulation where she and Mo Cijun went to the Northern Territory together, they visited a total of six or seven Demon Lords with whom they had cooperation.

Except for Demon Lord Cheng Huan, there was only one person they successfully found.

That was this Demon Lord Chen Xin.

When they met that time, Demon Lord Chen Xin refused Mo Cijun's trade, his expression wooden, not at all as cunning as Qintai Xiao described.

"Do you have anything else to say?" Ruan Xing asked.

The ominous blood-red color on Qintai Xiao's body grew thicker, making him look like a balloon about to explode; he spat loudly.

It seemed Qintai Xiao was also deeply affected by the Residual Soul in the jade box; those Demon Cultivators would never harbor any good intentions.

She handed the Nascent Soul figure directly to Sword Lai and instructed, "Eat him, eat slowly."

Sword Lai nodded, then wrapped his hands in a layer of yin energy and took the Nascent Soul figure.

Little by little, he tore the Nascent Soul figure into small fragments, then wrapped them up to digest.

Watching oneself being eaten, under such painful and desperate psychological pressure, few people could endure it.

Qintai Xiao cursed furiously, but he never managed to utter any other useful information.

Until his Divine Soul completely dissipated.

"Let's go, let's go verify whether he will really be resurrected in someone else," Ruan Xing said, then let Sword Lai open the Invisibility Channel.

Sword Lai hesitated for a moment; seeing Ruan Xing cast a questioning gaze, he rubbed his stomach and then let out a burp.

Ruan Xing, who was already accustomed to Sword Lai's abstract expressions, instantly understood his meaning, "Yin energy is full... are you going to advance?"

Sword Lai nodded.

Ruan Xing was somewhat pleasantly surprised.

Her number one combat force, Sword Lai, was about to reach the Transformation Stage! After reaching the Transformation Stage, Sword Lai would no longer be restricted by this shell covered in Talismans.

The yin energy would spontaneously condense within his Divine Soul; he would not need the threads sewn into his mouth to lock the yin energy in his throat, which meant he could speak without being affected!

This was something she had been looking forward to since the Qi Refining stage.

Ruan Xing stroked the white hair falling on Sword Lai's chest with some gratification, "That's great, but bear with it for a while longer; we still need to go to the Ancestral Hall to take a look."

"Influence, Master, fighting."

Sword Lai indicated.

Ruan Xing smiled, "No fighting this time."

Sword Lai then obediently opened the Invisibility Channel.

Facing the whistling wind and water sounds, the two arrived at the Ancestral Hall.

She had seen the appearances of the two Elders and the former Clan Leader; after seeing all three of them, she did not sense the aura of any abnormal souls on them, nor did they look like they had been parasitized or subjected to Possession.

It seemed Qintai Xiao was ninety-nine percent deceived by the Demon Cultivator.

Ruan Xing, having resolved her worries, stroked Sword Lai's soft white hair once more before ending the Real-scene Simulation.

【Simulation ended.】

"... I only ask that after the Immortal finds the Sui Spirit Pearl, you can leave me a way to live."

Qintai Xiao said pitifully, then stole a glance at Ruan Xing with inner trepidation.

Ruan Xing, who had come back to her senses, looked at Qintai Xiao's humble appearance and smiled, "How about I give you a new name, Oscar?"

"Ah?" Qintai Xiao was stunned, "Aren't we looking for the Sui Spirit Pearl? Why did it suddenly turn into changing my name?"

Ruan Xing gave him a mysterious smile, then opened the isolation barrier of the Xumi Mirror, and a scorched-yellow eggshell wrapped around them.

She took out a talisman brush from her Storage Bag and began to draw Talismans on Qintai Xiao's corpse.

Qintai Xiao looked at his own corpse, then at the snow-white Sword Lai, his face full of horror, and turned to run.

Ruan Xing didn't even look at him; with a casual wave, using her Divine Ability, she grabbed the Nascent Soul figure back.

Qintai Xiao became the new Puppet in her hands with almost no resistance.

The essence of the Puppet used for Oscar was still that piece of inexhaustible Soul Nourishing Wood.

There was no help for it; she was just too frugal.

Considering that Oscar was, after all, at the Transformation Stage, she generously broke off a piece of wood the size of an infant's fist from the Soul Nourishing Wood.

The resulting Puppet barely retained eighty percent of his Transformation Initial Stage strength.

Although he didn't belong to the powerful existences in the Transformation Stage to begin with.

After the baptism of the Soul Summoning Incantation, Oscar had lost his original consciousness, leaving only the instincts of a Puppet.

She took another piece of Blue Gold Ore from her Storage Bag and refined a mask that blocked Divine Sense exploration for Oscar to wear.

Oscar's previous Storage Ring was also happily accepted by her; although there was nothing valuable inside, the Storage Ring itself was worth the price of admission for these few Simulations.

Putting Oscar into her Storage Bag, Ruan Xing began to handle the next matter.

For Sword Lai to advance to the Transformation Stage, the Demon Cultivator's Residual Soul in the secret room's jade box was indispensable; she still had to make a trip to the secret room to fill Sword Lai's stomach.

The two entered the Invisibility Channel again, followed the memory of the previous Simulation, broke into the secret room, opened the Xumi Mirror first, and then let Sword Lai open the jade box.

Because preparations had been made in advance, this time the black smoke was not allowed to drift away, and was instead wrapped up by Sword Lai using Yin Qi.

Afterwards, leaving once again through the Invisibility Channel, Ruan Xing returned to the courtyard of Qintai He, while Sword Lai lay inside the Storage Bag, slowly digesting the power of those Residual Souls to achieve advancement.

The next morning.

The Qintai Clan remained peaceful and tranquil.

It seemed no one had discovered everything that happened last night.

Although a Clan Leader had gone missing, as a Spirit Severing Dao Lord, the Clan Leader would not report every detail of where they went or what they did each day to the clan.

It was also normal not to see a shadow for a few days.

Ruan Xing came out of the room, breathing in the fresh air that had settled overnight.

The harvest was good, and she was in a great mood.

When she met with Qintai He again, Qintai He asked with a smile, "Why does it feel like your mood is much better than yesterday?"

Thanks to Qingmeizi1996 for the monthly ticket~ Thanks to the high school girl Zhou Yingting for the monthly ticket~