There were humans, demonic beasts, and barbarian tribes.
As Xu Yuan followed the elder out of the shade of the trees to the clearing around the huge black abyss, a giant bundle was timely tossed down from the sky by a massive bird.
As the formation incinerated the giant bundle to ashes, Xu Yuan caught a glimpse of the contents and subconsciously stopped in his tracks.
The crowd plunged into the black fog, most of these living people were martial artists, and Xu Yuan even saw a few cultivators among them.
They desperately tried to escape beyond the formation, but being mid-air with no leverage, they could only watch themselves fall into the sinister black fog.
The sounds of screaming, cursing, and crying merged into one, quickly swallowed by the black fog.
And then came the second, the third, the fourth...
The elder in front seemed to notice Xu Yuan’s reaction and slowly turned his gaze back:
"Third Young Master... Your compassion should not be extended to these people."
"...." Xu Yuan’s gaze sharpened as he looked up.
the withered old man glanced over at the crowd who were screaming and trying to escape, his mouth twisting into a sinister smirk:
"These people are all death row prisoners sent from various counties around Jingjiang Prefecture, most of them are violent criminals who have committed murder and looting, not worth pitying.
"These people have strong evil spirits in them, making them most suitable for nurturing into fierce ghosts, heh heh he heh heh ha ha ha ha ha...."
Towards the end of his speech, the withered old man seemed to lose control, suddenly emitting a low and maniacal laugh.
A cold breeze swept through the treetops with a rustling sound.
The pallid sunlight shone on the elder’s withered face, alongside the unseemly laughter, the surroundings took on an eerie feeling.
Xu Yuan silently observed the old man before him.
[Ghost Qi enters the brain, sometimes leading to madness]
After laughing for perhaps a dozen breaths, the withered old man’s laughter abruptly stopped.
The sinister smile still hung at the corner of his mouth, but his expression suddenly froze.
Gradually, the withered old man’s smile receded, his eyes drooped in silence for a few breaths, and he shakily gave a fist salute to Xu Yuan:
"Old... this old slave overstepped, Third Young Master forgive me."
"It does not matter," Xu Yuan gently shook his head.
The old man’s white lips quivered, but he said no more, the expression in his eyes dimming a bit as he hunched over and continued to silently lead the way.
For a hundred meters around the abyss, there was only bare black soil, without any man-made structures in sight.
However, a downward dark passage soon appeared before Xu Yuan.
The withered old man seemed to need to stabilize his emotions as he directly proceeded down without a word.
Entering the passage with Ran Qingmo, Xu Yuan noticed that there were no Bright Pattern Lamps carved into the sides of this passageway, instead, the most primitive method of torchlight was used for illumination.
As the torchlight flickered, Xu Yuan suddenly noticed that the shadows of the three of them were continuously flashing.
After staring for a long time, Xu Yuan asked in his heart:
The Saint’s Remnant Soul casually explained:
"It’s a feature of the ghost fog.
"Many things within the ghost fog are different from the outside world. If not for the restriction of the formation, this place would probably be swallowed by the ghost fog by now. Situated at the edge of the ghost fog, you can regard it as the ’border between yin and yang’, though that is just a figure of speech, but roughly not far off."
Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan understood; he had read many ancient books regarding the ghost fog these past days.
The books all spoke of the ghost fog with great dread, describing it with utmost horror.
Corroding everything, spreading without limit, a forbidden zone for life, a human-made disaster; once it appeared, all living beings would be doomed.
Now that he had seen it firsthand, he began to grasp some understanding.
There was light but no shadows, the basic rules of common sense were directly altered.
Silently continuing downward, the passage wound downwards, seemingly bottomless.
After an unknown amount of time,
Ran Qingmo suddenly spoke up next to him:
"We are nearly there."
Xu Yuan became immediately alert upon hearing this, sensing that he was about to witness something extraordinary.
Another dozen breaths or so later, the end of the winding downward passage finally came into view.
A stony archway opening of a cave stood there, currently enshrouded in a thin layer of white light.
The withered old man, intent on preventing an emotional outburst, remained silent, merely looking back at Xu Yuan before silently passing through the layer of white light.
Xu Yuan stopped in front of the light screen and glanced at Ran Qingmo.
Ran Qingmo blinked, nodded at Xu Yuan indicating there was no danger.
Xu Yuan guessed in his heart that this must be some kind of formation and stepped through as well.
Passing through the thin membrane of white light, the scene before him suddenly opened up.
This was a gigantic cavern.
The inner walls of the cave were hidden in darkness, beyond the range of sight, but on the ground beneath his feet, luminous gems of unknown provenance emitted faint light. They stretched on endlessly, connecting into some kind of complex formation pattern that extended as far as Xu Yuan could see.
A few moments after he entered,
the intricate formation patterns, like water flowing into a channel, lit up in succession. After a few moments of charging, the darkness of the entire cavern was illuminated by the formation patterns, revealing its true nature.
Inside the cavern, there were neatly arranged stone rooms on the interior rock walls, in which countless ghostly specters were trapped, frantically slamming against the walls. But the inner walls of the stone rooms were also carved with dense and complex formation patterns, preventing the specters from escaping.
Seeing this cavern of a hundred ghosts, Xu Yuan’s breathing gradually became shaky.
"Kid, have you not seen this before?" The Saint’s Remnant Soul’s voice sounded with a hint of teasing.
Xu Yuan steadied his mind and shook his head slightly.
It was almost common knowledge deep among the people that Demonic Beasts could be domesticated, but ghosts...
Upon hearing this, the Saint’s Remnant Soul chuckled softly, his tone carrying a touch of the vicissitudes of life:
"Hehe... well, the last time I emerged was three thousand years ago. Back then, whenever the ghost fog arose, it wasn’t about lives being devoured—it was a forbidden area, and eradication was as hard as ascending to heaven. Your elder brother mentioned this to me before, and I was somewhat incredulous. Now that I see it, this ghost fog can indeed be domesticated like Demonic Beasts, hehe... truly an era of human prosperity."
Xu Yuan frowned and did not speak.
He suddenly understood why Lou Ji had said earlier that an accident here would affect the supply of Soul System Elixir Medicines throughout the southwest of Dayan.
The herbs that assist the Will-spirit are not only difficult to grow due to environmental requirements, but also have long growth cycles. Under a perfected maturation system, a batch of herbs takes at least two to three years, and at most, more than a decade to mature.
However, after thousands of years of development, Elixir Medicines that assist the Will-spirit aren’t necessarily made with herbs—ghosts and demonic souls can also be refined.
The Soul Power contained within the natural soul bodies of ghostly creatures completely satisfies the needs for medicine cultivation. As long as the malignant aura inside them is expelled through special methods during the refinement process, the Soul Pill can be made!
Hunting Demonic Beasts and ghosts has been happening for more than a day or two...
Thinking of this, Xu Yuan let out a long breath.
The technological tree of this world is not immutable. Under the centralization of the Imperial court, many things are rapidly evolving.
Just like the progress in the technology of human domestication of Demonic Beasts, only this time, the creatures being domesticated by humans are the far more terrifying ghosts.
fierce as Demonic Beasts are, they can be domesticated and tamed, so why not ghostly spirits?
However, the technology for domestication of ghostly creatures must not be perfected yet.
Otherwise, the related texts wouldn’t be guarded so tightly by the major powers that even he, the Third Young Master, was not clear about the details.
After some thought, Xu Yuan turned and asked Ran Qingmo in a low voice:
"Ran Qingmo, does your Tianyuan Sword Sect have this?"
Ran Qingmo looked back hesitantly, but eventually nodded:
"Yes, Master took me there before, but... but not on this scale."
Hearing this, the Saint’s Remnant Soul chuckled softly within Xu Yuan’s heart, speaking in a low voice, "How can the latecomers compete with the pioneers?"
Xu Yuan’s gaze sharpened, showing a hint of surprise, and he inquired within his heart:
"Mr. Luo, what do you mean by pioneers?"
The Saint’s Remnant Soul fell silent for a moment, then, with a trace of admiration, chuckled softly:
"This formation that blocks the ghost fog was established by the ’Geometry Institute’ within your Prime Minister’s Mansion. Among the billions of creatures, there are indeed those who are extraordinarily talented; such a formation truly breaks new ground."
Geometry Institute...
Xu Yuan silently noted the name in his heart, resolving to visit whenever he had the chance.
The previous "Tianxun Crystal Orb," and now the formation that isolates the ghost fog, were both creations that could overturn an era.
After a moment of contemplation, Xu Yuan suddenly asked:
"Mr. Luo, how do you know about this?"
The Saint’s Remnant Soul answered as if it were a matter of course: "Your elder brother mentioned he would use the souls and bodies of Demonic Beasts to assist in restoring my Soul Power. I asked incidentally about this, and he answered."
With that, the Saint’s Remnant Soul paused, then said with a meaningful laugh:
"Your elder brother is matchless in this world, and the Geometry Institute has such exceptionally brilliant talents. I’m truly curious about your father, young Xu."
Xu Yuan neither affirmed nor denied, smiling inwardly as he replied:
"When I return to the capital, Mr. Luo, you will naturally have the chance to meet my father. But for now, let’s follow that ghostly old gentleman to help Mr. Luo restore your Soul Power."