Chapter 33: Soul Lock

"Little Junior Brother, you're quite something. We were only out for half a day, and you've already hooked up with such a beautiful female cultivator to engage in illicit activities at an inn. Confess honestly, how many times did you have your fun?"

The moment Lin Qiu Ya's figure disappeared around the corner, Jiu Shixiong let out a strange cry and grabbed Xu Chen's arm, clamoring.

Zhao Xuan pinched Jiu Shixiong and chided, "What nonsense are you spouting? Don't you feel that this female cultivator has some issues?"

Xu Chen said with a face full of surprise, "How did Senior Sister Zhao tell?"

Zhao Xuan curled her lip and said, "Looking at that foxy appearance, she doesn't look like a good person; she looks just like a fox spirit."

Xu Chen:...

Jiu Shixiong, however, chuckled and said, "Junior Sister, why do you always like to judge people by their appearance? Others are just a bit better-looking, with a bigger chest, and, well, a perkier bottom; how is that a fox spirit? I've decided, I won't go ask Daoist Friend Su Ping'er of the Zhengyang Sect to be my Daolu; this Lin Qiu Ya is just right."

Xu Chen's face darkened as he said, "Senior Brother, you aren't looking for a Daolu; you're just acting on lust."

"Kukukuku!" Zhao Xuan covered her mouth, laughing until she trembled, then kicked Senior Brother Jiu and said, "If you want to ask, then go ask. No one is stopping you, but be careful not to lose your life."

Jiu Shixiong said, "How could that be? She only has the cultivation of the mid-Kaiyuan Realm; even if five identical ones came, I could easily handle them."

Zhao Xuan turned and walked upstairs, saying at the same time, "Idealistic beauty, five indeed. I'm afraid you'll have to be careful dealing with just this one, otherwise, we might not make it back to the Taiyuan Sect."

Xu Chen chased after Zhao Xuan and whispered, "Does Senior Sister really think she has issues?"

Zhao Xuan nodded and said, "This woman's background is inexplicable. Even if there are no issues, she has ulterior motives. Junior Brother, you must be very careful."

Xu Chen said with a strange expression, "I thought Senior Sister had truly seen that she had issues."

Zhao Xuan said, "Whether there are issues is not important; what is important is that we must be careful in everything right now and try our best not to deal with cultivators from other sects, let alone people of unknown origin. Junior Brother, didn't you feel that the timing of this woman's appearance was too coincidental?"

Xu Chen nodded quickly and said, "Indeed, I felt the same."

Jiu Shixiong wiped drool from the back as he caught up and asked, "Little Junior Brother, how did you hook up with this Lin Qiu Ya today?"

Xu Chen did not hide anything and recounted in detail how he took Xiao Huli out to find milk, was almost hit on the head with a milk ladle by the shopkeeper because he didn't have money, how Lin Qiu Ya appeared to resolve the situation, and how she later recognized the Soul Bead and the Spirit Fox.

By this time, the three had returned to their room. After listening, Zhao Xuan kicked Jiu Shixiong again and said angrily, "It's all you, doing things so carelessly, not even leaving Little Junior Brother some travel money when going out."

Jiu Shixiong blushed, touched his head in embarrassment, and defended himself, "Although I forgot, you didn't remind me either, Junior Sister!"

Zhao Xuan's face also turned a bit red. Xu Chen quickly said, "This isn't a problem of travel money. If Lin Qiu Ya is truly from the Ziyang Sect, then she would have appeared regardless. The problem is, what should we do now?"

Jiu Shixiong stroked his chin and said, "Soldiers come to block, water comes to cover. Once she strips... er, reveals her fox tail, we will naturally know what to do. The problem is that you two have already made up your minds that she has issues, so your attitudes will inevitably be poor when interacting with her in the future. If she really has issues, that will also alert her, and the big fish hiding behind her might not be caught."

Hearing this, the two felt it made sense. Xu Chen nodded and said, "I just feel she has issues, so I've been cautious when speaking, which makes my attitude seem a bit stiff. Moreover, I have used my Divine Sense to contact her, and she is not the person I discovered the previous two times. Therefore, we must think of a win-win strategy regarding Lin Qiu Ya."

Speaking of this, Xu Chen remembered Lin Qiu Ya's identity and asked in confusion, "Does Senior Brother know anything about the Xuanqing Sect of the Dongwu Kingdom?"

Jiu Shixiong shook his head slightly and said, "The Dongwu Kingdom does indeed have a Xuanqing Sect, but their dojo is on an island near the Eastern Wasteland. They rarely interact with the Immortal Sects of the Song Kingdom, so I don't know much."

Zhao Xuan also nodded and said, "The Immortal Sects of the Dongwu Kingdom are a mess. It is said there are dozens of them, big and small; two or three people make a sect. Beyond the Eastern Wasteland is the East Sea, where it is said even more ancient and mysterious Immortal Sects exist. I've never been there, so I can only listen to it as a legend. Even if this Xuanqing Sect is real, it's hard to say whether Lin Qiu Ya comes from this sect."

Xu Chen asked again, "Then what do you and Senior Brother think about the truth of the Soul Bead and the Spirit Fox?"

Jiu Shixiong reached out and said, "Give me the Jade Slip to take a look."

"Alright!" Xu Chen took out the Jade Slip. Jiu Shixiong pressed it to his brow for a moment, then put it down with a strange expression and said, "Although there are some things in it I haven't heard of, most are common knowledge in the Immortal World; there shouldn't be any problems. As for the Soul Bead, it is highly likely to be real."

Xu Chen said happily, "In that case, the value of the Soul Bead is immeasurable. If we go back to Black Wind Ridge and kill more Soul Beasts, wouldn't we get rich very quickly?"

Jiu Shixiong sighed and said, "Perhaps, but apart from you, our Divine Sense is restricted after entering. Let alone killing Soul Beasts, I'm afraid even saving our lives would be difficult."

Zhao Xuan had also finished reading the Jade Slip by this time. She put it down and said, "The matter of the Soul Bead must be kept secret for now; wait until we return to discuss everything. As long as we can bring back the Blood God Grass and the Great Elder breaks through to the Spirit Transformation Realm, the Soul Beasts in Black Wind Ridge will be easy pickings; we can have as many as we want."

Jiu Shixiong understood instantly and nodded repeatedly, saying with excitement, "Xiao Huli likes this Soul Bead, it must be because its bloodline is relatively powerful and it can perceive the benefits of the Soul Bead. Little Junior Brother can recover so quickly because of the nourishment of the Soul Bead. Such a good treasure—in the future, Black Wind Ridge must be designated as a forbidden area of our Taiyuan Sect; we won't allow cultivators from other sects to take advantage. Although we lost the Fourth-Rank Soul-Returning Wood, we found a better treasure. This trip out can be considered a great harvest."

After finishing, Jiu Shixiong said somewhat strangely, "For this Lin Qiu Ya to be so knowledgeable at such a young age, her identity is indeed not simple. Regardless of whether she is from the Xuanqing Sect or the Ziyang Sect, being able to provide us with these two pieces of information makes her worth getting to know well."

Zhao Xuan rolled her eyes and said, "Is Senior Brother making excuses for acting on lust?"

Jiu Shixiong said solemnly, "Junior Sister, what are you saying? Repay kindness with kindness, repay resentment with resentment. Even if Lin Qiu Ya is from the Ziyang Sect, as long as she hasn't directly attacked us, we should naturally spare her when the time comes. Moreover, we don't yet know her true identity and intentions. What if she is really just kindly helping Little Junior Brother? If we judge a gentleman's heart with a villain's measure, it would be too base."

Zhao Xuan chided, "Senior Brother, just keep deceiving yourself. I can't be bothered with you!"

Seeing the two arguing, Xu Chen quickly said, "There is no lead on this matter, so let's put it aside for now. I wonder if Senior Brother and Senior Sister found a way to open the Storage Bag while you were out."

Upon hearing this, the two's spirits instantly slumped. Jiu Shixiong sighed and waved his hand, saying, "This matter is not easy to handle. My Junior Sister and I went to three places where cultivators trade in Jingshi today. Because we couldn't ask openly, we gained almost nothing. Although we obtained some methods for breaking the Soul Lock, because every sect has its own secret techniques for their Soul Locks, they are actually useless."

Although Xu Chen felt a bit regretful, he was still curious and asked about the methods for breaking the Soul Lock. Jiu Shixiong tossed him a few Jade Slips, then went downstairs to tell the shopkeeper to prepare dinner.

Xu Chen pressed the Jade Slips to his forehead one by one and watched them carefully.

The content was messy and unsystematic; some had only a few sentences, while others were accompanied by detailed illustrations and explanations.

Xu Chen had been cultivating for five years, and this was his first time coming into contact with so much knowledge about Soul Locks, so he was full of interest. After reading each one, he would probe his Divine Sense into the Storage Bag and start trying to break it. However, this kind of breaking was like a fool trying to open a door; there was no correct method or clue at all. He was just blindly copying the cat and drawing the tiger, so naturally, it was impossible to open the Storage Bag.

Therefore, after half an hour, when the shopkeeper sent up the food and wine, he still hadn't even found a way to activate the Soul Lock.

Soon, the three finished dinner, and Jiu Shixiong and Zhao Xuan returned to their respective rooms to wash up and rest.

Xu Chen, however, remained on the bed, full of energy, continuing to study the Storage Bag.

Soul Locks are widely used in the Immortal World; they can be used in almost all scenarios such as Magic Treasures and Arrays, but many applications are very simple.

The simplest, for example, is a Magic Treasure. To prevent others from snatching it, one would use the cultivator's unique Divine Sense to set up a Soul Locking Array inside. One only needs to brand a wisp of Divine Sense, and in the future, when using it, the Divine Sense communicates and resonates, allowing one to easily control the Magic Treasure.

It is precisely because of the existence of the Soul Lock that even high-level cultivators find it difficult to snatch and control the Magic Treasures of low-level cultivators during battle; otherwise, there would be no need to fight. Of course, if the difference in realms is too great, such as a Danyuan Realm cultivator dealing with a Kaiyuan Realm cultivator, they could instantly and forcibly erase the Divine Sense brand on the opponent's Magic Treasure, but there is no need, because a First Stage Magic Treasure can hardly harm a powerhouse of the Danyuan Realm; the difference between the two is too great.

By the Spirit Realm stage, the Soul Lock is basically ineffective, because a Spirit Realm Great Cultivator cultivates the Primordial Spirit. They generally use the Primordial Spirit to nourish a Life-Bound Magic Treasure. This Magic Treasure and the Primordial Spirit are integrated into one; if one is damaged, both are damaged, and if one flourishes, both flourish. As the Primordial Spirit grows, the power of the Magic Treasure will also continuously increase. Once the Magic Treasure is damaged, the Primordial Spirit will also suffer heavy damage. A Life-Bound Magic Treasure can hardly be snatched; it is almost a part of the cultivator themselves, just like the body of the Primordial Spirit, unless one's ability is powerful enough to take away the opponent's Primordial Spirit.

Compared to Magic Treasures used for combat and defense, the Storage Bag has lower requirements for timeliness but places more importance on security. Therefore, it is generally set with a very complex Soul Locking Array. Communicating with it may not be as fast as a Flying Sword, but breaking it is even more difficult.