Chapter 82: Three Souls and Seven Po

Lin Yu thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Then let's wait until both sides have laid out their chips before we decide!"

Seeing that Lin Yu was unyielding, Zhang Zhang Chulan couldn't help but feel a headache.

Glancing at the expression on his face, Lin Yu couldn't help but tease, "I say, Zhang Zhang Chulan, weren't you quite smart before? Why is your brain turning so slowly today... Is the pressure I gave you too great?"

"How could that be!"

Zhang Zhang Chulan quickly shook his head and declared solemnly, "Lin Dage, my admiration for you is witnessed by heaven and earth!"

"Moreover, you have helped me twice and saved me once. In my eyes, you are like my own elder brother. As long as you are willing, your younger brother can accompany you to chop a chicken head, burn yellow paper, and swear an oath of brotherhood..."

"Let's just forget it!" Lin Yu rolled his eyes, then glanced at him and said, "My previous words were not a joke. If you want to get information about them from my mouth, just don't even think about it."

"However... if you want to investigate on your own, I can't stop you either!"

Investigate on our own?

Zhang Zhang Chulan was stunned for a moment, then slapped his forehead and chuckled, "Look at my brain! Lin Dage, you are right. This matter indeed shouldn't trouble you; we should investigate it ourselves!"

Saying this, he turned around and whispered to Feng Baobao, "Sister Bao'er, contact Third Brother and Fourth Brother later and have them check which faction has been secretly collecting Cultivation Techniques recently!"

"No problem!"

Feng Baobao nodded quickly and agreed.

Seeing that Zhang Zhang Chulan had finally figured it out, Lin Yu finally turned around with a smile.

At this moment, Lu Lu Linglong and the others had already bound the three of them and inserted Yuan-Closing Needles into the Du Meridian at the back of their necks, sealing the flow of Qi.

Gazing at the unconscious Xiao Xiao before her, Lu Lu Linglong wore a complex expression.

"What exactly happened to Xiao Xiao? Why did he suddenly turn into this state..."

"Because someone tampered with their Three Souls."

Lin Yu's voice came from the side.

Lu Lu Linglong and the others turned their heads to look, seeing Lin Yu walking over while saying, "Humans have Three Souls and Seven Po. The Three Souls are hidden in the spirit, while the Seven Po return to the physical body; thus, when the Seven Po dissipate, the physical body must inevitably return to dust."

"But the Three Souls are different. All living beings must have their specific form and appearance, yet they may not necessarily possess all three souls completely."

"Theoretically, as long as one of the Three Souls is present, it can satisfy the basic conditions for the existence of life..."

Lin Yu stopped in front of Xiao Xiao and said indifferently, "Regarding the definition of the Three Souls, different schools have different explanations. Among them, the theory most widely recognized by cultivators is the one concerning the Life Soul, the Spirit Soul, and the Awareness Soul."

"The Life Soul represents the desire for survival, life, and living; it is a person's innate nature."

"The Spirit Soul represents wisdom, that is, thinking, understanding, realization, judgment, invention, creation, and so on."

"The Awareness Soul is your sensation, feeling, perception, and reaction. Its manifestation is closely related to the Life Soul and the Spirit Soul, so it itself does not carry any significant influence or tendency..."

"As for these three people, if I am not mistaken, their Spirit Souls and Life Souls have been tampered with by someone and are somewhat incomplete. Their desires have also been greatly suppressed, which is why they have turned into this state."

Hearing Lin Yu's words, everyone fell silent.

Lu Lu Linglong's eyes were slightly red as she looked at the unconscious Xiao Xiao before her and said, "What difference is there between this and a walking corpse?"

"There really is a difference!"

Lin Yu said softly, "Giving up desires, giving up thinking, and handing over one's will and everything to another person; naturally, the heart will obtain great peace and joy..."

Peace and joy?

Recalling Xiao Xiao's appearance just now, Lu Lu Linglong felt somewhat dazed for a moment.

But soon, she came to her senses, shook her head, and said, "It is merely false peace. I do not believe Xiao Xiao would voluntarily give up his self!"

"If you are not the fish, how do you know the fish's joy?"

Lin Yu refuted with one sentence, then glanced at Zhang Zhang Chulan behind him: "Zhang Zhang Chulan, you actually thought this way too, didn't you? When you lost consciousness and that rascal inside your body took over..."

"..."

Hearing this, Zhang Zhang Chulan was stunned, then fell silent.

Indeed, when the Nascent Soul inside his body took over, it was also the moment his heart was most tranquil.

At that time, he did not need to think about how to hide himself, did not need to face others' covetousness toward the Qi Body Source Flow, nor did he need to worry about Feng Baobao's future and safety...

It was really quiet!

Zhang Zhang Chulan thought blankly.

Perhaps even he himself hadn't noticed that when he voluntarily took Xiao Xiao's expelled Qi head-on, deep in his heart, he was actually somewhat expecting it.

Just as Zhang Zhang Chulan's heart was wavering, a pretty face blinking its eyes appeared in his field of vision.

"Zhang Zhang Chulan, are you okay?"

"... Sister Bao'er?"

Zhang Zhang Chulan suddenly snapped out of it, and the runaway horse was quickly brought under control by the Heart Monkey.

He steadied himself and forced a smile, saying, "I'm fine."

After speaking, he turned his head to look at Lin Yu and said solemnly, "Thank you, Lin Dage, for the reminder!"

"Thank me?" Lin Yu said with interest, "I almost broke your Nature Cultivation..."

Zhang Zhang Chulan shook his head: "The breaking of the Nature Cultivation is due to my own insufficient cultivation of character; it has nothing to do with Lin Dage. On the contrary, if you had not reminded me in time, I fear that in the future, when encountering dangerous situations, I would still make the same choice."

Lin Yu nodded appreciatively: "Good comprehension!"

Zhang Zhang Chulan glanced at Xiao Xiao and the other two, then said softly, "Lin Dage, I do not expect you to step forward and repair their souls, but there is one thing I hope to get an answer to from you."

Lin Yu said without hesitation: "Speak."

Zhang Zhang Chulan asked, "If the person behind them can tamper with souls, even to this extent, then why did they not act on another more important person?"

"You mean Ma Ma Xianhong?"

Lin Yu casually revealed the point Zhang Zhang Chulan wanted to hide, then, amidst his awkward gaze, smiled and said, "Because they need Ma Ma Xianhong; they need the Divine Art of Hundred Refinements!"

"Artificers are different from Qi Cultivators; they need inspiration and creativity."

"And desire is the source of inspiration and the driving force of creation. If Ma Ma Xianhong were to give up his will, do you think he could still create countless powerful Divine Arts and magical artifacts like he does now?"

In other words, before Old Ma loses his value, his soul and will are safe.

Thinking of this, Zhang Zhang Chulan couldn't help but sigh with relief.

Lin Yu turned his head, looking at Lu Lu Linglong and said, "As for repairing their souls, it is actually not difficult, but the problem is, with their current state of mind, even if repaired, they will surely miss this peace in the future."

Just like me...

Zhang Zhang Chulan thought this in his heart.

Lu Lu Linglong showed hesitation, then her expression became firm as she said, "Even so, we must let them make the choice themselves!"

Lin Yu smiled: "So, Miss of the Lu family, are you asking me to intervene?"

Lu Lu Linglong stood up and bowed solemnly, saying, "I beg you, Senior!"

Lin Yu looked at Lu Lin and said, "Does this count as the second favor you owe me?"

Hearing this, Lu Lu Linglong was stunned, and hurriedly said, "It is a favor I owe you, nothing to do with my cousin."

Lu Lin shook his head and said, "Lu Linglong, haven't you realized yet? Your weight alone is not enough; what this Senior is targeting should be the favor of our Lu family..."

"No need to be nervous."

Lin Yu smiled and said, "I have no ill will toward your Lu family; I just want to see the Heaven-Reaching Record and Reverse Life Stage 3!"

Heaven-Reaching Record and Reverse Life Stage 3?

Zhang Master Lingyu and Lu Lin were both stunned and couldn't help but exchange a glance.

Lin Yu smiled and said, "My conditions are already laid out; whether to agree depends on your opinion."

Zhang Master Lingyu said in a deep voice, "Just to see a glimpse is naturally fine, but if you intend to forcibly seize the Cultivation Technique, I am afraid this junior cannot comply."

Worried that this remark might anger Lin Yu, Lu Lin hurriedly made amends, saying, "Senior, to be precise, it is not that we are unwilling, but that we do not have the qualification; if you wish to obtain these two supreme arts, you must obtain the Great Grandfather's permission."

"Lu Jin?"

Lin Yu nodded and said, "Then introduce me to him!"

Having finished speaking, he raised his hand and pressed it against Xiao Xiao's forehead; his downgraded spiritual power flowed into the other's mind, releasing a soul-healing magic.

Not long after, Lin Yu released his hand and walked toward the next person.

Seeing this, Lu Lu Linglong was stunned: "Is that all?"

"Of course!"

While replicating the same method on Chai Yan, Lin Yu casually said, "If you could see his soul, you would find that his soul is currently healing itself."

"At this rate, with another month of sleep, he will fully recover."

Having finished speaking, he raised his hand, looked at Chai Yan, and clicked his tongue, saying, "This one is more severe; he will probably need to sleep for two months."

The crowd completely failed to understand Lin Yu's methods and could only watch helplessly as he acted on the souls of the three one by one.

Finally, all three fell into a self-healing slumber.

Lin Yu straightened up, looked at Zhang Master Lingyu and Lu Lin, and smiled, saying, "Come on, let me see it first!"

"..."

The two exchanged a glance, their expressions becoming Grim.

"Senior, be careful!"

Before the words had fully faded, Qi light rose all over Lu Lin's body; his black hair rapidly turned white, and his skin color gradually lightened within the Qi light, taking on a somewhat jade-like appearance, smooth and white as jade.

At the same time, Zhang Master Lingyu created distance; blue light rose at his fingertips, and he painted in mid-air, outlining a blue talisman.

The instant the talisman formed, streaks of blue-white lightning leaped upon it, causing the surrounding air to fill with a faint, electric-shock-like odor...

"Reverse Life Stage 2!"

"And the Heavenly Master Mansion's Five Thunder Talisman..."

A smile appeared on Lin Yu's face; he lightly stepped forward with his left foot, establishing the Center Palace outside his body.

"Come on, I won't bully you; I'll just spar with you using Qi-cultivation skills!"

(End of this chapter)