19: Chapter 19 The Spirit-Seeking Rat

The Soul-Searching Technique is a highly representative secret technique for Soul searching used by high-Rank Cultivators on low-Rank Cultivators in the cultivation world; this technique is not only used by Cultivators of the Demonic Path, but a large number of high-Rank Cultivators of the Righteous Path have also cultivated the Soul-Searching Technique.

Its core function is to forcibly search and obtain the Soul memories of others. Because of its domineering and cruel nature, this Spell often makes people pale at the mere mention of it in the cultivation world.

The essence of the Soul-Searching Technique is to use the Soul of the strong as a "spear" to attack and break through the "shield" of the weak's Soul, thereby plundering their memory information.

Therefore, there is usually a basic prerequisite for performing this technique: the Cultivator's Realm and Divine Sense strength must be higher than that of the person being searched. If the Divine Sense strengths of both are similar, not only will it be difficult to successfully obtain memories, but it may also cause the performer's own Soul to be damaged due to backlash, or even directly destroy the Soul of the person being searched.

The Soul-searching process is extremely painful for the person being subjected to it, triggering pain of the Soul so intense that it often manifests as shrill screams, bodily convulsions, and even the inability to speak.

This technique will seriously damage the sanity and Divine Sense of the person being searched, and because of its domineering nature, it usually only possesses the function of forcibly obtaining memories, lacking the ability to modify or Seal memories.

After the Soul-searching ends, the Soul of the person subjected to it is often left in tatters; at best, it leads to memory confusion and damage to the Divine Sense, and at worst, the Soul dissipates completely, leading to immediate death. Note: This technique harms the harmony of heaven and should not be used excessively.

The Shapeshifting Technique is an auxiliary Spell that changes one's appearance, physique, and even voice by circulating one's own spiritual power. Its core lies in the precise control of muscles, bones, and form.

By imitating various changes in human bodily functions, the Spell uses Spiritual Qi to adjust physiological characteristics such as muscle contraction, bone displacement, and skin color, thereby achieving a complete change in appearance.

This Spell usually lacks direct offensive or defensive capabilities, but it has extremely high value when concealing one's identity, executing secret missions, or evading pursuit. When this technique is cultivated to the Perfection Realm, it is difficult for others to see through the disguise as long as their Realm is not higher than one's own by a major Rank.

After putting away the "Jiu You Demon Sutra", Li Changqing pondered to himself. Although he would not directly Cultivate the "Jiu You Demon Sutra" Cultivation Technique, he could take the time to properly practice the various practical secret techniques recorded within it. On the long road of cultivation in the future, they would be a great help to him.

After organizing and placing all the cultivation supplies in the secret room, seven emptied Storage Pouches were laid out before him. Six of them were common small Storage Pouches of under five cubic meters, and another was an exquisitely crafted medium-sized Storage Pouch with a capacity of sixteen cubic meters.

After carefully checking and confirming that this medium-sized Storage Pouch did not have any lingering aura, Li Changqing put all the items he needed into this largest medium-sized Storage Pouch.

As for some supplies he did not need and wanted to dispose of, he placed them in another small Storage Pouch. Apart from keeping one spare, he planned to get rid of all the other surplus Storage Pouches.

After putting away the Storage Pouches and all the treasures, Li Changqing looked at the only remaining Spirit Beast Bag in his hand.

This was an exquisite bag with a cyan exterior, embroidered with obscure runes on the surface, from which faint spatial fluctuations could be felt.

The value of a Spirit Beast Bag is far above that of an ordinary Storage Pouch. Among those in the Qi Refinement Stage, the proportion of Cultivators who possess a Spirit Beast Bag is quite low. Li Changqing's heart stirred, and he injected a trace of his Divine Sense to probe into the Spirit Beast Bag.

As soon as his Divine Sense entered, a mixed aura rushed toward him. The space inside the Spirit Beast Bag was not large, yet it was divided into two distinct environments.

On one side, the corpse of a Red-Scaled Snake about two meters long was curled up. On its head were the rudimentary forms of a pair of tiny fleshy horns. Its crimson scales were dull and lusterless at this moment, but the body still retained warmth, evidently having died only a short while ago.

Seeing this Late Stage Rank 1 Red-Scaled Snake, Li Changqing already understood why the Black-Robed Cultivator had wanted to fight him for the corpse of the Nine-Poison Shadow Phosphorus Python. It was simply because this Red-Scaled Snake was also a poison-type Spirit Beast and was a close relative of the Nine-Poison Shadow Phosphorus Python. It was just a pity that it had followed the wrong master and died instantly the moment the Black-Robed Cultivator perished.

On the other side of the Spirit Beast Bag's space, pressed against the inner side, was a living creature.

It was a rodent-type Spirit Beast with an entirely silver-gray body, only the size of a palm. A pair of pitch-black eyes were vigilantly looking in the direction where the Divine Sense was probing, and the fur all over its body was slightly standing on end. It was clearly extremely frightened, its body trembling uncontrollably, yet it did not make any sound, just staring fixedly at this invisible prying.

Its life signs were clear and its aura stable, and its cultivation had actually reached the Peak of Rank 1. Li Changqing did not know how this Level 9 Qi Refinement Stage Black-Robed Cultivator had managed to raise this Spirit Beast to such a Realm, nor did he know why he had not signed a master-servant contract with this Spirit-Seeking Mouse.

It is well known that the shortcomings of the Spirit-Seeking Mouse are also quite obvious; most are gluttonous and lazy, have no interest in cultivation, and often need to consume a large amount of Heaven And Earth Treasure to make a Breakthrough in their cultivation Realm. Therefore, for a Cultivator to raise a Spirit-Seeking Mouse to the Peak of Rank 1 requires a significant amount of financial resources and time.

Regaining his focus, Li Changqing checked the defensive Formation of the secret room once more. After confirming there were no loopholes, he dumped the Spirit-Seeking Mouse and the corpse of the Red-Scaled Snake into the secret room.

Looking down coldly at the Spirit-Seeking Mouse suppressed on the ground, his Spiritual Pressure pressed down like a tidal wave. The High Grade Magical Artifact, the qingyuan sword in his hand, hummed and vibrated, a glimmer of light flashing at the tip of the sword, reflecting the undisguised terror in the eyes of the Spirit-Seeking Mouse.

Li Changqing's eyes were cold as he spoke in a chilling voice: "Submit to me or have your Divine Soul destroyed." His voice was not loud, but it was like striking cold iron, clearly reaching the depths of the Spirit-Seeking Mouse's consciousness.

The Spirit-Seeking Mouse was timid by nature and gentle in temperament. The sharp sword above its head made it feel waves of intense pain. It realized that continuing to resist would only lead to its body and Soul being destroyed. Submitting to a human Cultivator was not the first time for it, and it had no psychological burden whatsoever.

Thus, it lowered its head, voluntarily retracted its aura, and opened its Divine Soul defenses layer by layer, revealing the most core and vulnerable part, conveying a clear intention of submission.

Seeing this, Li Changqing did not hesitate. The golden Soul Seal at his fingertips turned into a stream of light, precisely sinking into the center of the Spirit-Seeking Mouse's brow. Once the Soul Seal entered its body, it quickly took root and spread at the core of its Divine Soul, forming a complex and firm master-servant contract.

At the same time, Li Changqing's powerful Divine Sense, like a chain, established a clear master-servant connection with the Yao Beast's Divine Soul through the master-servant contract. As long as his Divine Thought moved, he could command the Spirit-Seeking Mouse before him, and he could also sense some of the thoughts in the Spirit-Seeking Mouse's heart.

The contract was completed, and Li Changqing withdrew the qingyuan sword that had been hovering over the Spirit-Seeking Mouse's head.

The Spirit-Seeking Mouse felt a sense of relief, but the mark in its Divine Soul made it understand that its life and death were now entirely tied to a single thought of the human Cultivator before it. Its small, exquisite body lowered slightly, and it looked at Li Changqing with a fawning expression in its eyes.

Li Changqing nodded and said: "Since you have become my Spirit Beast, there will naturally be a use for you in the future. As long as you work hard, it is very possible for you to Breakthrough your Realm and become a Rank 3 Yao Beast in the future. Now, tell me properly about your origins."