Chapter 122: Spirit Cultivation Art

A few low-grade spirit stones, a simple map, and a thin little booklet…

Sitting inside the swiftly moving carriage, Mu Feng spread out all the spoils of war and examined them carefully.

Life and death were fated. When a person died, they lost everything. Even if someone was extremely wealthy and noble in life, after death they would still turn into a handful of yellow soil. After witnessing the young and honest Xiao Wu die in his arms, he cared much less about worldly wealth and fame. While cleaning up the battlefield, he ignored the loose silver that fell from people’s bodies and had even less interest in the goods on the carriages. He only collected some things that would be useful on the road or treasures that could aid his cultivation.

Although the few spirit stones were of low grade, they still contained quite a bit of energy; it was better than nothing. The somewhat blurry map was simple, but it roughly marked the locations of places like Jianshui City and the Hengling Mountain Range, which would be useful on the journey. As for the thin booklet, it was found on the gloomy Black Ghost. On its cover were three characters written in a flowing, lively script — Spirit Cultivation Art.

“Humans have their bright, broad road; ghosts have their ghostly path. Humans are based on Yang Energy; if Yang Energy is completely lost, vitality ceases. Ghosts use Yin Energy as their source; if Yin Energy fully dissipates, the soul has nothing to sustain it, and naturally, the soul scatters and vanishes…”

Mu Feng held the booklet and slowly read on, finding it quite insightful.

He initially thought this must be some evil and malicious cultivation method, specially for demons and heretics. Unexpectedly, the principles explained in the book were simple and easy to understand, the wording plain, with no evil or malicious techniques. On the contrary, between the lines, there was an unexpected sense of Virtuous Righteousness. On the last page of the booklet was the signature Situ Juzheng.

According to the booklet’s explanation, after a person dies, the Three Souls and Seven Spirits begin to disintegrate. Once the heart stops beating, the Seven Spirits scatter with the wind and cease to exist. Then, the Root Soul and the Transcendent Soul among the Three Souls also start to dissipate.

The Root Soul governs a person’s seven emotions and six desires. The Transcendent Soul consists of the knowledge and skills a person acquires after birth. Once the Root Soul and Transcendent Soul disperse, it is what common folk call brain death. Since ancient times, the saying “you bring nothing at birth, you take nothing at death” actually refers to the Transcendent Soul. Once the Transcendent Soul is gone, all the knowledge and skills learned in life naturally vanish. After reincarnation, everything must start anew, learning everything again, forming a new Transcendent Soul.

Among the Three Souls, the only one that does not disappear is the most important Life Soul. This is a person’s foundation, or rather, a person’s imprint. Usually, after death, the Life Soul seals itself and enters a new Samsara. But sometimes, during the process of reincarnation, an accident occurs, and the Life Soul is not completely sealed. This causes the person to occasionally remember fragments of their previous life. This is the reason some people can recall their past lives.

Additionally, there is another exception. Due to various problems, the Life Soul does not enter Samsara but lingers near the place of death. This is what people call a wraith. Over time, some become so-called lonely ghosts and wild spirits, never entering Samsara again. Others, through chance and circumstance, absorb the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy and begin to cultivate, becoming what are known as Spirit Bodies.

This thin booklet, the Spirit Cultivation Art, was actually a method specifically for Spirit Bodies to cultivate. It was just that the two Devil Leaders, the North Flow Twin Ghosts, had misinterpreted it, treating it as a technique for capturing and controlling ghosts called the Wraith Technique!

“What a waste!”

Thinking of the vicious North Flow Twin Ghosts, Mu Feng shook his head and stored the booklet inside the Breeze Ring on his finger.

The cultivation method Spirit Cultivation Art was not simple, but first of all, it was specifically for Spirit Bodies. Even if a normal person could cultivate it, he would not rashly attempt it. The techniques for capturing ghosts were quite good and eye-opening, but he decided to skip the core Spirit Cultivation part.

As a Great Blood-Refining Sorcerer, the immensely powerful Blood Refining Art, plus countless other Sorcerer’s Gate techniques and Restrictions were more than enough for him to study. One cannot focus on two things at once. If he recklessly cultivated other methods, he might end up knowing many but mastering none. They might even conflict with each other.

The Path of Tranquility, which emphasized purifying the heart and minimizing desires, had given him a deep realization!

Luckily he abandoned it decisively and early. Otherwise, if he had continued cultivating it, the light consequence would be his cultivation stagnating; the severe consequence would be Qi Deviation. The desire-purifying Path of Tranquility and the blood-boiling Blood Refining Art were fundamentally incompatible — it could lead to his body exploding and dying!

“Blood Tempering Third Layer — when will I break the Seal and comprehend the Blood Refining Art’s third layer cultivation method? At the Mortal Realm Peak, or at the Elite Realm?”

Mu Feng put away all the items in front of him and sat cross-legged inside the carriage, calming his mind and focusing his breath.

That moment when he scared off the cold-blooded Assassin Dao Duanliu, the blood energy that surged out of his body in fury gave him a glimpse of the Blood Refining Art progressing further. But exactly when he would break the Seal and comprehend the third layer of the Blood Refining Art, he did not know.

After cultivating the Path of Tranquility midway and taking some detours, he came to understand more clearly that the Blood Refining Art was the foundation of his cultivation. Whether he could break through to the Mortal Realm Peak, or even the Elite Realm, and whether he could defeat that heaven-favored genius Mu Tie three years from now — it all depended on the immensely powerful Blood Refining Art!

Other things like Phantom Fist, Yinwind Great Art, and even the fearsome Flying Sword were just supplements!

Realizing this, he naturally felt full of desire and anticipation for the third layer of the Blood Refining Art!

Over the next few days, Mu Feng traveled by day and lodged at night, journeying safely. Gradually, he entered the Jianshui area.

South of the Jianshui River was mostly mountainous region, with rolling hills often stretching for thousands of miles. Compared to Jianning, Jianshui had more mountains, taller peaks, and harder roads to travel. With high mountains and dense forests, sometimes they galloped on the official road for several hours without seeing any sign of human habitation.

Under Mu Feng’s careful attention, Jing Wushuang’s injuries gradually improved, but her body was still very weak. Sometimes, she leaned against the carriage to look at the scenery outside, but before long she would feel dizzy and her ears would ring, forcing her to lie down and rest. The fierce slash from Dao Duanliu not only left a gruesome scar on her back but also severely damaged her body.

If not for continuously swallowing the Blood Pearls refined by Mu Feng from hunted beasts, and the fact that she was a pharmacist herself, her condition might have worsened long ago, and her soul might have departed halfway.

After losing much time at the First Rank Studio and Green Kill Pass, Mu Feng did not want to spend any more unnecessary time on the road. At his instruction, the taciturn carriage driver sped the carriage along the official road. This day, seeing it was still early, they passed several villages without stopping and arrived at the ancient town of Puyang within Jianshui. He originally planned to find an inn to stay at around sunset. Unexpectedly, after passing a village full of willow trees, the road ahead was desolate and uninhabited. Even after nightfall, they did not encounter another village. Forget an inn; there wasn’t even a simple dwelling.

“Young Master Mu Feng, shall we camp in the wild tonight, or…”

After several hours of continuous galloping, as the sky grew darker, the usually silent carriage driver finally spoke up and asked Mu Feng inside the carriage, his voice hoarse and low.

“Let’s go a bit further and see!”

Looking at the weakened Jing Wushuang, Mu Feng gave a serious instruction.

If he were alone, it wouldn’t matter where he stayed. As long as the carriage horses could handle it, he could even travel through the night. But Jing Wushuang was weak after her injury, so he had to be cautious. If she caught a chill while camping outdoors, it would be troublesome!

“Yes!”

The carriage driver’s voice was low. He lightly flicked the horsewhip, and the carriage horses sped forward, pulling the carriage rumbling away in a cloud of dust.

Perseverance paid off. After about half an hour, they finally saw a building in the distance. Whipping the horses to go faster, they soon arrived in front of an old house with blue bricks and black tiles. As soon as the carriage stopped, Mu Feng quickly helped the weak Jing Wushuang to the door and gently knocked, hoping to borrow a place to stay for the night.

Knock, knock, knock. Is anyone there?

Knock, knock, knock…

Mu Feng called out while knocking, his voice growing louder. But strangely, after several attempts, there wasn’t the slightest movement. The large house seemed as if it had been empty for decades, lifeless. The surroundings were empty; only this house stood alone here. They had no other choice.