Chapter 125: The Spell That Kept Veering Off Track

“Tiger, pull yourself together, Tiger! I didn’t mean to! Wake up quickly!!!”

Chen Xiyi looked at the Tiger Demon that had instantly died, feeling terrible. He hadn’t expected the Tiger Demon to be so fragile. It had only been after he tampered with some of its important parts.

The moment the Tiger Demon’s Health Points dropped to zero, Chen Xiyi felt he couldn’t even breathe.

“My experiments aren’t finished yet! How could you just die? What am I supposed to do now? You were the main producer of food for the Corpse Demons. If this responsibility falls on Water Monkey and the others, it will be a huge burden.”

Chen Xiyi looked at the dead Tiger Demon and tearfully gathered materials from it.

[You gathered materials from the Tiger Demon that died due to experiments. You obtained: Tiger Bone, Tiger Skin, Tiger Meat…]

“It seems the Tiger Demon’s ability to create Chang Ghosts is closely tied to its life force. Not only did removing it cause the Tiger Demon to die suddenly, but even those Chang Ghosts disappeared. What a huge loss.”

Chen Xiyi looked at the large lump of flesh and organs in his hand and couldn’t help but speak.

Not long ago, after fixing the Bug in Formless Astral Energy and further optimizing Qi Mechanism overflow and remote control capabilities, Formless Astral Energy was no longer limited to close combat and self-defense. It could now be thrown as a long-range attack, and he could even adjust various parameters to achieve the force, angle, etc. that he required.

He also added more Qi Mechanism into it. Although it didn’t reach the point of being immune to elemental damage, it now had very high resistance.

After that, Chen Xiyi felt that the research on Formless Astral Energy could be paused for now, and he should turn to studying urgently needed soul-snatching type spells.

For example, if he wanted to know something but the enemy refused to answer, what should he do?

If he tortured them but they were tough and resisted without talking, what then?

What if they talked but mixed truth with lies to trick him?

Therefore, he became interested in the Tiger Demon’s Chang Ghost ability. Actually, this research should have started earlier, but the development potential of Formless Astral Energy was just too great, so it had been put on hold for a while.

Now that Formless Astral Energy had been updated and the Bugs fixed, it was naturally time to switch to another project.

Then, today, due to a careless mistake—perhaps his mind went blank while operating—he ended up killing the Tiger Demon. However, that Chang Ghost ability was really useful.

None of the Chang Ghosts under the Tiger Demon’s control didn’t hate it, yet they had no way to resist. They obediently carried out all tasks. It was like they said no with their mouths, but their bodies were very honest.

Chen Xiyi was a more straightforward person; he didn’t need the part where they said no. He only needed their bodies to be honest.

Although the Chang Ghost ability was quite different from the spell Chen Xiyi needed, there was no other choice.

The legacies he had did contain spells with similar effects, but the problem was he couldn’t use them. Those spells required a specific Primordial Spirit to function, and with his blank-slate Primordial Spirit, he could only look on with envy.

So, he had to rely on himself to be self-sufficient. Otherwise, why would he be foolish enough to go the long way around when there were ready-made solutions available?

However, Chen Xiyi discovered that the more he researched the Chang Ghost ability, the more it deviated from his original plan.

On the other hand, the Tiger Demon’s Baleful Energy ability was very easily integrated into Formless Astral Energy. This allowed Chen Xiyi to release something similar to a pressure aura.

Especially since this pressure aura became even stronger due to the Purple Qi, Baleful Energy, and other Qi Mechanisms within Formless Astral Energy. When used, it felt like the immortals in cultivation novels suppressing mortals.

He had tested it; even Corpse Demons could be intimidated, and others would tremble with fear, as if being watched by some terrifying existence.

Chen Xiyi, having added the pressure ability to Formless Astral Energy, was utterly speechless. The Chang Ghost ability had veered off into something he didn’t need, while Formless Astral Energy got yet another update.

This couldn’t be blamed on Chen Xiyi. It was just that Formless Astral Energy, with its added coexistence structure, had become too compatible. It could practically serve as the core ability in his Qi Refiner system, aside from Qi Sensitivity.

He could stuff almost anything into it. Once he obtained Human Qi and Yang Qi, he could even use it to nourish and enhance his body.

The eight-pack abs others had to work out for daily in a gym, Chen Xiyi could just let Formless Astral Energy passively develop for him. Of course, that was a plan for later.

Right now, he needed to figure out how to bring the Chang Ghost ability back on track. As he researched further, he had already found a way to adapt the Chang Ghost ability to suit his needs.

If he continued researching like this, the soul-snatching type spell he needed would vanish entirely.

He had considered changing directions mid-way, but when he thought about how the Chang Ghost ability could combine with Formless Astral Energy and the Qi Reversal Soul-Returning Array ability from Soul Returns to One Realm to form a super-strong area-of-effect passive ability, he felt a little tempted.

Especially with the Chang Ghost ability combined with the Soul Array, it might directly allow Chen Xiyi to take off.

“Not just the Qi Reversal Soul-Returning Array from Soul Returns to One Realm, but also the Beast Spirits from the Ten Thousand Beasts Unbounded Art in the Cloud Script Taoist Registers, the Spirit Child from Du’e Spirit Child, and the home-field advantage from Dragon-Settling Nine Chapters.”

“If Yin Qi is used as the main focus and combined with the abilities from these legacies, devouring Souls to nurture Ghost Spirits could not only provide me with an area-of-effect spell force field but also allow me to raise a large number of Ghost Spirit puppets to gain numerical advantage. Moreover, after devouring Souls, they could turn into Nourishment Resources for the Primordial Spirit. Even without Qi Mechanism, Tongmu could use Spiritual Energy to enhance the Primordial Spirit.”

Chen Xiyi was tempted by this idea. Qi Mechanism might only exist in this world, and he definitely wouldn’t stay here forever.

If he left this world and other worlds didn’t have Qi Mechanism, what would he do then?

He didn’t believe the Zhou Tian Qi Circulation Module was powerful enough to change an entire world. So, if he didn’t want his Qi Refiner system to hit a dead end, he either had to train to the maximum level in this world or find a way to solve the problem of continued growth.

Now, Chen Xiyi had found a solution.

The Qi Reversal Soul-Returning Array could reverse external Qi Mechanism into Soul Qi, which Chen Xiyi then modified into Nourishment Resources. The Spirit Child and Beast Spirits, which originated from Souls, were used by Chen Xiyi in conjunction with the Qi Reversal Soul-Returning Array, modified to serve as raw material for Nourishment Resources.

After dozens of days of editing, revising, and various experiments, Chen Xiyi had basically completed the first draft. The difficulty was considerable, but the potential was really not low.

“The potential of this Chang Ghost ability is no lower than that of the Corpse Body ability. Or perhaps the core abilities of all demons and monsters have high potential,” Chen Xiyi thought of the Water Ghost’s ability to find substitutes, the Water Monkey’s water affinity and great strength, etc. Actually, they were all very good abilities.

If developed further, although somewhat heretical compared to the Qi Refiner system, their power would certainly not be worse than these spells.

Perhaps the spells in the legacies he held were also developed by referencing the abilities of these demons and monsters.

“However, if this spell really succeeds, it might be considered harmful to the natural order.”

Chen Xiyi was still hesitant about this. Although the spell was only a first draft, he could already foresee its future development path.

Even if this spell was completed, it would be relatively weak in the early stages. It would require a large number of Souls to be fed into it to transform into Ghost Spirit puppets.

One Soul, one puppet.

He hadn’t estimated the upper limit yet, as it was only a first draft. But to truly master it, a considerable number of Souls would be needed as Nourishment Resources.

Chen Xiyi didn’t consider himself a good person, but this kind of spell, which clearly belonged to the Demonic Path, didn’t seem to fit his identity.

After all, he was a proper scholar, right?

“Well, it might not be a problem. I can just set a restriction. If it only targets red-name NPCs, then it’s fine. Red-name NPCs all have ill intentions toward me. Should I not kill them and wait for the New Year?”

Chen Xiyi suddenly realized: he wasn’t the type to kill indiscriminately. He wouldn’t kill white-name NPCs, only those red-name ones.

As for green-name NPC friends, he naturally wouldn’t touch them. He still wanted to be brothers with them.

“The core of this spell is still Yin Qi. Only Yin Qi, with its extremely high universality, could become the core of this spell.”

“The Qi Refiner system seems to focus mainly on Yang Qi, because it’s all about humans. Demons and monsters, on the other hand, use Yin Qi. Only Yin Qi can help them achieve transformations, such as the Jiangshi’s corpse transformation, the birth of Ghost Creatures, the awakening of intelligence in demons, etc., none can be separated from Yin Qi.”

“If Yin Qi plays a crucial role in the abilities of demons and monsters, then if I use Yang Qi and conduct ability experiments on humans, could I create spells more suitable for me?”

“But I don’t have Yang Qi on me. That’s a big problem. No, actually, I also need Human Qi. Ugh, this damned half-finished game.”

While pondering Yin Qi, Chen Xiyi naturally thought of Yang Qi. These two types of Qi Mechanism, representing humans and demons/monsters respectively, made him feel they also had great potential.

The Qi Refiner system mainly uses Yang Qi and Human Qi, but that doesn’t mean it’s entirely based on these two. Soul Returns to One Realm still uses its own synthesized Soul Qi.

“Soul Qi, tsk. Once my foundation is a bit more solid, could I synthesize my own unique Qi Mechanism using the Qi Mechanisms I have?”

If all Qi Mechanisms could be integrated, it would be a great help for Chen Xiyi’s future path.

As a newly started, unorthodox version of a Qi Refiner, Chen Xiyi felt his mind constantly generating various ideas he wanted to test. But he was troubled by being just one person, unable to split into many.

If he didn’t push himself hard, how could he possibly catch up to other Qi Refiners? Those Qi Refiners were old monsters who had lived for who knows how many years.

Although he hadn’t encountered any Qi Refiner yet, he could feel the pressure from that Dao-Integrating Eternal being.

He wasn’t a genius, and the other Qi Refiners weren’t fools like in those brainless cultivation novels. The gap created by time was vast, beyond Chen Xiyi’s imagination. Especially since the Qi Refiner’s Primordial Spirit seemed entirely focused on increasing intelligence and controlling Qi Mechanism. Their so-called physical weakness was only relative to the Qi Refiner’s Primordial Spirit, not compared to ordinary mortals.

In Chen Xiyi’s current thinking, he had long abandoned the idea that Qi Refiners were physically weak. Even he, a Player without Yang Qi and Human Qi, had, under the enhancement of the Formless Astral Energy spell, become a Qi Refiner with immense strength, impervious to blades and spears, and resistant to water and fire. And this was just from one spell’s boost.

Now, Chen Xiyi had truly started from within the Qi Refiner path.

Before, although he called himself a Qi Refiner, he could only bully weaker demons, monsters, or humans. Compared to real Qi Refiners, the difference was like heaven and earth.

“No wonder there are so few Qi Refiners. The entry threshold is far higher than I imagined.”

It might seem like just Qi Refinement and Spirit Cultivation to achieve a Primordial Spirit, but if it were that easy, how could there only be around a hundred Qi Refiners? This world is not small.

Thinking back, if it weren’t for the Zhou Tian Qi Circulation Module and the Qi Mechanism provided by the Fairies/Spirits, he probably could never have become a Qi Refiner by practicing as a Rogue Cultivator.

“Cheng Zhen probably underestimated the difficulty of becoming a Qi Refiner. Even if I sold all those gold ingots, it would probably still be very hard to nurture a Primordial Spirit,” Chen Xiyi couldn’t help but think of Cheng Zhen, who had sold him the Dragon-Settling Nine Chapters legacy.