The way of heaven and earth is that different paths lead to the same destination.
To condense the soul bead, one must gather the power of the three souls and seven spirits and practice a unique technique. If the power is sufficient, it will condense into a hard soul bead under the guidance of a mysterious rule.
This soul bead is similar to a cultivator's golden elixir.
The difference is that the golden elixir is mainly based on spiritual power, which is a real "power", while the soul bead is mainly based on soul power, which is a kind of illusory "power".
Real things are easier to control than intangible things.
Of course, it makes no difference to Jianchou at this moment.
Even after several days of training, the spiritual power in her body is still pitifully small, and her progress in training cannot be compared with that when she was in Yashan.
But, I still want—
try.
Crazy attempt.
Human curiosity is endless, and so are attempts. Especially when people are forced into desperate situations, they often take risks.
Jianchou was sitting cross-legged in the house. The rich spiritual energy had reached the limit that this house could withstand, and was just at the critical point where it was about to explode but didn't.
She skillfully manipulated the earth's energy and Yin energy that flowed into her body, allowing them to most accurately rush towards the spiritual light of the three souls and seven spirits above her head.
The soul power accumulated pitifully bit by bit in this kind of flushing.
The sky outside had already passed its brightest and was beginning to show signs of getting dark.
"It's afternoon..."
There was a little bit of spiritual light in his eyes, flowing in the deepest part. Jianchou raised his eyes and looked outside, judging accurately based on the sky.
"It should be time to start."
Taking a deep breath, Jianchou let his violently beating heart slowly calm down, letting his whole body enter a state of emptiness, just like...
It is just like when I first formed the elixir, there is nothing and there is no self.
The realm of cultivation in the Nineteen Continents is divided into three realms, starting from the most basic Qi Refining, to Foundation Building, and to Dan Formation. Generally speaking, all realms are progressive.
Only when a person reaches the late stage of foundation building will he choose to try to condense the golden elixir.
Some people will succeed, some people will fail.
But it doesn’t mean that you will never be able to form a pill again after failure.
On the contrary, if a cultivator fails, he theoretically has countless opportunities to form a pill before he succeeds, as long as he is still willing to reach this level.
Refining Qi and building the foundation are like a child digging a few lumps of mud from the fields, while impacting the Golden Elixir is to use this lump of mud to mold a complete clay figure.
Even if the attempt fails, the mud is still there and there will be countless opportunities to try.
The advantage that a monk with a solid foundation has in "making clay figures" is nothing more than the material, that is, clay, more of it, and the clay is of better quality, so he has a higher success rate than others.
This is also the reason why cultivators are willing to reach the late stage of foundation building before making a breakthrough.
But in fact, cultivators can also choose to start striving for the Golden Core from the early stage of foundation building.
It's just that few people do this.
Firstly, there is not enough clay. It is more difficult to make a delicate small clay figure than a delicate large clay figure, and it requires more precision, just like the difference between normal sculpture and micro-sculpture. Secondly, the quality of the clay is not enough, which will affect the quality of the finished clay figure, that is, the quality of the golden elixir.
However, “very few people” does not mean “never”, nor does it mean “never in the future”.
In essence, the cultivation method of the ghost cultivators in the Extreme Domain is no different from that of the cultivators in the Nineteen Continents. The theory of Dan formation in the Nineteen Continents is also applicable to the Extreme Domain Transformation Pearl.
Now Jianchou is about to do something that seems crazy to ordinary people.
She wants to directly condense the soul bead in the state of nourishing spirit and impact the state of transforming bead!
If there were anyone else present at this moment, they would probably be scared out of their wits!
It's like having a small ball of mud in your hand, which is not even tough enough and seems soft. What kind of terrifying control is needed to condense a soul bead
Nobody knows.
I don’t know what Jianchou is feeling at this moment.
But she believed that she would know soon.
Open the ten fingers of both hands, then make a seal with both hands, slowly raise them from the ground on both sides, and bring them closer to the center of your chest.
In the palms of both hands, one side is red light and the other side is green light.
As Jianchou's hands gradually moved closer, the two balls of light showed signs of being attracted to each other.
“Buzz!”
At the last moment, Jianchou put his two hands together to form a new hand seal.
The green light and the red light merged together in an instant and spun wildly!
With Jianchou's palms clasped together as the center, the spiritual light was spinning wildly, actually causing the earth's power and Yin energy in the room to spin. Gradually, a vortex actually formed, spreading out in all directions.
Ten thin silk threads suddenly flew out from the ten points of spiritual light above Jianchou's head at the same time, three green and seven red, all of which flew towards the vortex.
Although Jianchou closed his eyes, the image of the vortex in his palm naturally appeared in his mind.
The ten silk threads were vague and even a little fuzzy...
Her heart was in her throat, knowing that the most critical moment had arrived.
The silk thread was swept by the vortex's airflow, getting closer and closer to the center of the vortex, which was Jianchou's palm...
But the moment they reached the vortex, the vortex seemed to sense something and trembled violently!
boom!
Without any warning, it collapsed with a loud bang!
Jianchou only felt her five fingers tremble, and she even felt a tearing sensation in her bones and muscles, as if a stream of air exploded in her palm, making it difficult for her to maintain the handprint.
“Hula!”
It was like a gust of wind blowing, and the earth energy in the room suddenly lost control and drilled madly into the ground!
Jianchou's blood rushed backwards and he felt as if his head had been hit hard by someone. It hurt so much and he felt dizzy and nauseous.
"puff."
She couldn't hold it back for a moment, and suddenly raised her hand to press her chest, but she was caught off guard and vomited a mouthful of blood.
The strong smell of blood immediately filled the entire house.
Bright red blood seeped onto the black ground and was soon absorbed by the evil soil of the polar region below, leaving only a few vague traces visible.
However, the strong smell of blood is still there.
Jianchou blinked, trying to ease the nausea, but when he looked up and around, he was dizzy. Everything was overlapping, and there were two shadows.
All ten fingers on both hands were in piercing pain, making it impossible for her to faint.
He raised his hands tremblingly, and his blurry vision saw only a blur of flesh and blood.
"This is… "
Has she ever been in such an embarrassing situation since she cultivated to the sixth level of "Human Instrument"
Jianchou gave a bitter smile and just casually touched himself, and he realized that the wounds were so deep that the bones could be seen.
He succeeded in forming the elixir in one try, but now his hands were almost blown off.
"It seems that it is not as simple as just making clay figures..."
Jianchou frowned and tried hard to endure the pain.
Even though she had lost her spiritual power, she still had control over her body. Her terrifying self-healing ability allowed her to see the flesh and blood slowly growing from her wounds.
"I need to stop and think..."
Jianchou murmured and casually placed his injured hands on his knees.
The light coming through the gaps in the wooden strips of the broken house was like sharp knives and lightsabers, interspersed in this somewhat dark space.
The folded paper was placed on the clean table, and the lamp with peeling glaze was pressed on the paper.
Everything had an old smell and was very quiet.
Her heart, at this moment, was extremely quiet.
Failure was something that was expected, so she was relatively calm. The only thing was the terrible pain in her head that made her feel a threat of death.
On that day, Fudaoshanren used the Soul-Fixing Nail to protect her soul. Later, the Soul-Fixing Nail was destroyed, and he didn't have time to replace it with a new one. He only brought a lot of elixirs as backup.
Now this kind of harm comes from the inside out.
Because Jianchou wanted to condense a soul bead, even with more powerful protection, there was no way to prevent damage from occurring inside the protected object.
As long as she continues to fail, the damage will continue.
The three souls and seven spirits are incomplete, missing four parts of the soul and three parts of the spirit, so when hurt they will be more unstable, resulting in more serious injuries than if the soul and spirit are complete.
Of course, there are endless opportunities for experiments, provided that she is not dead and that she nurtures her soul before each experiment.
"Without some wealth, it would be difficult to make any progress, whether it is forming a pill or transforming a pearl..."
Jianchou thought about it and couldn't help but sigh.
Perhaps, the luckiest thing is that she is a disciple of Yashan.
There was a smile on his lips, but it was a little bitter and helpless.
While she was meditating, Jianchou's ten fingers had almost recovered. She raised her hand and took out the Qiankun bag, took out a soul-nourishing pill, and put it directly into her mouth.
The blue pill dissolved in the mouth at an extremely fast speed.
In the blink of an eye, the medicinal power turned into a blue stream, circling through her body, and then went straight to the spiritual platform in her mind with a clear target.
The blue light, like sea water, instantly enveloped her soul.
Gentle, tender, warm.
Just like a baby in its mother's arms, there is a natural sense of security.
The trembling soul aura finally seemed to be soothed by something, and gradually became stable and quiet.
They absorbed the power from the blue light and tried their best to strengthen themselves. Although more power was released because their souls were incomplete, the little bit that remained could serve as a consolation.
Thus, the stabbing pain deep in Jianchou's mind was finally relieved.
The tense nerves finally relaxed.
Jianchou exhaled slowly and blinked.
The blurry, double-imaged world suddenly became clear again.
From trying, to failing, to swallowing the pill, to gradually recovering, it took no more than a moment...
In just that short moment, Jianchou felt the pain he had experienced when he was training his body.
But at that time, when he was training his body, it was his flesh, blood, tendons and bones that were tortured, but now it is his three souls and seven spirits that are being tortured.
Sometimes, mental torture is more difficult to endure.
only…
What needs to continue must continue.
Jianchou gritted his teeth and readjusted his mood. He thought about the problem that had just occurred, but he still couldn't understand the reason, so he simply tried again.
…
But what awaits her is only the next failure.
Pulling back hands, making hand gestures, forming seals, transforming into beads, all failed.
Again, again, and again.
The broken palms were restored again and again, and the pills in the bottle were gradually running out...
However, Jianchou has not given up yet.
"Lie—"
Outside the cabin, above the sky, a winged Rakshasa flew across the sky, drawing a long dark blue line against the dim background, carrying the grandeur and sadness unique to the polar regions.
In front of the Ghost Gate, countless new ghosts are lining up, waiting for the ghost officials and ghost messengers in front to lead them to a completely new place.
Behind the Ghost Gate, heavy black fog enveloped countless cities and the vast underworld.
At the entrance of Jieyingsi, people were still coming and going as usual.
It seems that neither the arrival of Cui Jue, the chief judge of Qin Guangwang Palace, nor the arrival of Ni Lao, the chief judge of Song Emperor Palace, caused any changes here.
But in fact, change does exist.
The people who have experienced it most deeply are undoubtedly the Big Head Ghost and the Little Head Ghost.
In fact, that terrifying feeling is expanding wildly!
All the words that hadn't been spoken were stuck in my throat.
The little ghost felt his throat was itchy and wanted to cough once or twice, but he didn't dare to.
How could he dare
Cold sweat had soaked through his robe at this moment, and the little ghost's legs, which were hidden under the long hem, even began to tremble uncontrollably.
Zhang Tang was sitting in front of him, pinching the edge of the yellowed paper with his slender fingers.
The transparent nails were very clean and trimmed smoothly, completely different from the long black nails of too many ghost officials in the underworld who were unkempt.
Those two thick and long eyebrows originally gave people a plain feeling.
But the moment he suddenly stopped talking and just stared at the name on the list, his two brows took on a cold and murderous look.
The list of new ghosts in the City of the Dead handed over by the little-headed ghost was only one page, and on that page there was only one name, which consisted of only two simple words.
See, worry.
The handwriting was a little crooked, as if it was written by a child who had just learned to write, and it was very clumsy.
But just these two simple words, in such a short moment, set off a terrifying storm in Zhang Tang's heart!
See sorrow!
How long has it been since I last saw this name
It is still on a list similar to a file like this.
At that moment, Zhang Tang couldn't help but think of the files that were piled up in the Supreme Court before his death.
One roll on top of another, one roll wrapped around another…
They are all unsolved cases, arrests that have not been completed, trials and punishments that have not been completed, and—
A fish that slipped through the net!
Among those files, the one he cared about most was the thickest and oldest one.
The edges of the files had become very rough due to long-term reading, as if they were from many years ago. However, Zhang Tang knew very well that they were not actually old.
Ever since he returned to Daxia from Shahongjie, this name has almost been deeply imprinted in his memory.
Later, every official who handled the case would mention her more or less when writing files to the Emperor of Daxia.
Xie was worried.
Or "Madam Xie"...
Jianchou, a name like this, is always not far from Xie Buchen's name, following him like a shadow, giving people a subtle feeling that they will sleep in the same bed and be buried in the same grave together.
In the eyes of all officials in Daxia who knew the inside story, the two people had a close relationship, sharing life and death, and hardships. Even in exile, they were a couple in adversity that could not be separated, a couple made in heaven.
Later, the two people mysteriously disappeared, casting an inexplicable veil of mystery over the incident.
However, Zhang Tang was perhaps the only one among all these people who had seen the tip of the iceberg.
At this moment, this name suddenly appeared in front of him.
He was totally unprepared.
The moment my eyes caught sight of this name, everything flashed through my mind...
The mysterious ghost axe at the Ghost Gate, the remaining spiritual mark, King Qin Guang's judgment on the owner of the ghost axe, the "Heavenly Fate Copy" that the little-headed ghost suddenly completed, and the cultivation that has been rising steadily in recent days...
One ring after another, they were all put together at this moment!
Not only was she nearby, she was even lurking beside them, stealing all their plans...
"The City of the Dead..."
Zhang Tang's stiff fingers finally relaxed slowly.
He has handsome features, but his eyes are cold, scrutinizing, and as sharp and thin as a carving knife.
All the storms and waves are hidden in the deepest and deepest part of our eyes, without leaving any trace.
He looked up at the little-headed ghost who had already been frightened to the point of weakness, but his voice was inexplicably hoarse: "It seems that you have never mentioned my name to her..."
"… "
The little ghost with weak legs finally couldn't hold on any longer and fell to his knees the moment he heard these words clearly.
***
Village hut.
Night was beginning to fall.
I don't know how many times I have failed.
At first, Jianchou could still count the number of times in her mind, but later on, the pain became more and more intense, almost making her faint, and even her memory was slightly confused for a short period of time.
She finally lost count.
Her collar was stained with blood. Her back was soaked with cold sweat from the repeated pain. Even the few strands of black hair hanging beside her forehead were wet.
Jianchou swallowed another pill and repeated the treatment process.
When I looked outside, my heart began to sink gradually.
"It's almost too late..."
Wanting to break through to the Pearl Stage in the Nourishing Spirit Stage is like wanting to form a Pill in the Qi Refining Stage, which is almost like a foolish dream.
The only thing Jianchou can rely on is control.
After all, she was not a true low-level cultivator. Having come into contact with much greater power, she possessed complete control over power, far surpassing ordinary cultivators of the same level.
Even if the soul power is changed now, it is still the same.
Failure after failure has accumulated enough experience for her to use her soul power.
Time is running out. The little-headed ghost and the big-headed ghost will be back soon. They may bring good news or bad news.
No matter what, she had to be prepared for the news.
When he placed his hands on the ground again and began to draw the power of the earth, Jianchou secretly told himself that this would be the last time.
If you fail this time, you can only wait for the next opportunity to practice.
Perhaps because he had failed too many times, Jianchou's mood now entered a strange state of calm.
In fact, too many experiments before had almost exhausted her energy, and at this moment, she was still a little distracted.
Raise your hands, make gestures, and form seals.
It was an action so familiar that it was almost engraved into the bones.
Jianchou completed all this completely out of habit.
Above my head, ten points of light were still flickering.
Her drooped eyelashes suddenly trembled.
In the world of his mind, the vortex of soul power rolled up the earth's energy in the whole room, thoroughly stirring up everything inside the house.
The ten points of spiritual light were all attracted by the power of the vortex, like twinkling stars.
Jianchou can clearly see the whirlpool and the ten "stars".
So, at that moment, a wonderful illusion appeared in her mind.
The vortex of the earth's power seemed to swallow up everything, even the light emitted by the ten souls.
The stars twinkled above her head, just like the moment when the hidden attack of the one-man platform was launched.
The vortex continued to rotate, and the suction became stronger with each rotation.
The trembling spiritual fire finally couldn't hold on any longer and emitted a faint ray of light, which, like a silk thread, floated and swayed, being pulled by the vortex and heading towards the center.
This scene...
It was as if that day, a ray of light suddenly appeared on the stage, connecting the stars in the sky to form a mysterious symbol.
symbol…
At that moment, a bright light suddenly shone from the Jianchou spiritual platform!
The moment she thought of that symbol, that symbol also lit up in her mind!
Then, a golden line as bright as starlight was drawn out from the depths of Jianchou's spiritual platform, like pulling out silk from a cocoon, stretching and stretching...
As the power of the vortex rolled, this star-like golden thread actually followed the ten rays of light, three green and seven red, and drilled towards the vortex in Jianchou's palm!
The light that was extracted from the ten points of spiritual light came out a little earlier, so when the golden light was cast towards the vortex, it was already halfway there.
Even if the golden threads appeared at this moment, they could not catch up with their speed.
So, they arrived at the vortex first.
“Buzz!”
Ten rays of light as thin as gossamer threads touched the vortex, and the entire vortex trembled violently as if it had been impacted by something.
What a familiar tremor this is to Jianchou.
Every time before, as soon as the ten rays of light reached the vortex, it would immediately collapse and fail when impacting the bead.
The moment he felt this tremor, Jianchou's heart sank...
Most likely, the result is the same.
The tremor from her soul made her face turn pale and bloodless in an instant, and she almost vomited blood.
But she clasped her two palms together, trying her best to maintain the original handprint.
Just hold on...
As long as it stops collapsing and all ten rays of light merge into the vortex, the soul orb will be condensed.
She doesn't want to give up yet!
Blood was already flowing from the five fingers, and the flesh and blood instantly shattered, revealing the eerie white bones.
The vortex that Jianchou held in her palm had already begun to collapse at its edges. Even if she tried her best to maintain it, she couldn't stop it...
But it was at this moment, when the entire vortex was about to collapse.
The golden line that emerged from Jianchou's spiritual platform finally arrived, just like a bright starlight suddenly fell into the vortex.
In an instant, the entire vortex was ignited by starlight and burned wildly!
boom!
That was the fire that suddenly exploded in Jianchou's palm, the fire of starlight!
The golden silk thread was entangled with the other ten silk threads, and coiled up, like a ball, and wrapped into a cocoon again, tightly!
The ten points of spiritual light above Jianchou's head were finally drained of their power by the ten silk threads and disappeared completely.
At the same time, the tail of the golden thread also drilled into the small cocoon.
“Ka-ka-ka…”
There were several unusual noises that were as tight as a few points!
All the light disappeared in an instant, and the light cocoon, which was originally the size of a thumb, was compressed to the extreme in an instant, and was as small as a round grain of dust!
The surface of this "dust" is covered with colors smudged with ink.
Three parts are blue, and seven parts are red. You are in me and I am in you. We blend together, yet clearly distinguished.
A golden line bends out a soft curve, outlining a mysterious pattern on the surface of this round "dust", like a strange seal.
It was quietly suspended between Jianchou's palms, colorful and so small that it was unbelievable...
Jianchou opened his eyes and looked at it, and now he still felt like he was dreaming.
Three blue and seven red, the whole body is round, and it has a completely different feeling from the previous three souls and seven spirits...
Soul bead!
This is actually a soul bead!
Jianchou couldn't believe it, she actually succeeded!
She used a small ball of clay to shape a clay figure that was small but still looked exquisite!
It was a feeling of being connected in spirit and heart.
It is a part of her, her soul...
Both hands were still stretched out in the hand seal gesture.
Jianchou still maintained her original posture. The soul bead that would make people laugh out loud if released was just floating quietly, rotating and stopping according to her will...
“Knock, knock.”
In the silence, there was a sudden knock on the door.
Jianchou, who was still in a trance, was suddenly startled.
She subconsciously raised her head and wanted to say "Come in", but a flash of lightning suddenly occurred to her mind: Big-headed ghost and Little-headed ghost are back, why do we need to knock on the door? !
His outstanding fighting talent gave Jianchou extraordinarily quick reactions.
Almost at the moment when he looked up at the door, Jianchou had already grasped the soul bead in one hand, and with the other hand, he simply threw it directly towards the door!
Immediately, a stream of pure soul power surged out from the soul bead. At the same time, a golden line flashed on the soul bead, and a ray of golden light silently mixed into the soul power and instantly transferred to Jianchou's other hand!
With one palm strike, the palm carries soul power like a blade!
That bit of hazy golden light has a kind of heart-stirring majesty!
As if, a god!
"boom!"
The flying wood chips splashed wildly in all directions and even nailed to the ground!
The powerful and sharp palm force instantly pierced through the two broken doors, revealing the dark figure standing behind the doors.
Whoosh!
The palm force swept past with a strong wind, and the man actually stood in the wind, in the strong waves of palm force, motionless!
Only his simple official robe fluttered in the wind...
familiar.
Even in such dim light, she couldn't see the man's face clearly, but Kaichou was sure that she had seen this person before!
Even standing there, he had an almost harsh coldness to him.
It was as if he was standing in a court of execution, casually casting his order...
He is a cruel official who skins people alive and also an executioner.
He was not hurt by Jianchou's palm. A faint green light flashed between his eyebrows, causing ripples, and then slowly disappeared, turning into a vertical mark and returning to the center of his eyebrows.
One step, from outside the door, into the door.
Then, Jianchou could see clearly at once.
Approaching figures, some familiar figures, and...
Such impressive cold features!
Zhang Tang!
Zhang Tingwei, the cruel official of Daxia who held great power at a young age!
It’s actually him!
At that moment, her heart couldn't help but turn cold and she shivered with cold.
Zhang Tang did not come alone.
He held two dejected and extremely angry dwarfs in his left and right hands. After stepping into the house and standing still, he casually threw the two little ghosts in front of Jianchou, one in each hand.
There were two "bang" sounds and dust rose everywhere.
Zhang Tang's eyes were cold and obscure. He calmly put his hands into his sleeves and said calmly, "Madam, I am sorry to bother you."