231: I do

Outside the city, the sky had gradually turned dark.

Lin Fan gazed at the silent night all around him, unable to suppress a shudder in his heart; he always felt that something was hidden within the darkness.

"Do not be afraid, nothing can escape this old man's perception." The elder inside the sword transmitted his voice.

Lin Fan calmed down slightly and couldn't help but ask, "Senior, why did you ask me to come here?"

The elder inside the sword went silent; he seemed to be considering whether or not he should tell Lin Fan.

After a long while, the voice sounded again, "This Secret Realm hides a treasure."

"What treasure?" Lin Fan looked at Huan Xier beside him.

"If this old man remembers correctly, it should be... heaven and earth treasures!"

"Hiss..." Lin Fan's expression changed in shock, and he hurriedly pressed, "Are you sure? And what do you mean by 'remember correctly'? Have you been here before?"

"Been here... it has been too long, this old man had almost forgotten."

"You actually came here too...?"

Lin Fan felt extremely surprised in his heart, along with a hint of astonishment. He was not clear about the origin of this Senior, and it had never been mentioned before.

"Hehe, is it strange that this old man has been here? This Secret Realm has existed for over thirty thousand years, with a Reincarnation every fifty years; it has already opened countless times."

"That is true..." Lin Fan calculated in his heart; this Senior's age should be within thirty thousand years.

"So many years have passed, it is just unknown whether that heaven and earth treasures has been taken by someone."

Lin Fan nodded. Although pleasantly surprised, he did not lose his composure. His mindset was very calm; to obtain it is my fortune, to lose it is my fate, so there was no need to place too much importance on it.

The two continued forward. The trees on both sides gradually became sparse, replaced by some broken walls and ruins.

Borrowing the last glimmer of light, Lin Fan saw a huge and dilapidated palace in the distance.

The stone walls built of bluestone had collapsed in many places, and there were countless rubble on the ground, some buried by soil, revealing only uneven edges.

"So big..." Huan Xier stared with wide eyes in amazement.

"Indeed." Lin Fan agreed.

"It is right there, let us go in." The elder inside the sword spoke, his tone as calm as ever.

"En."

Lin Fan paused for a moment, a glint of light flashing in his eyes, and then he said to Huan Xier, "You wait for me outside."

"No!"

"Absolutely not!"

The former was Huan Xier's voice of refusal; he also wanted to go in and see.

The latter was the elder's slightly anxious voice.

Lin Fan lowered his eyelids, making it impossible for people to see the expression in his eyes, and said in a flat voice, "Why?"

"I want to go in and see, I have never seen such a large palace!" Huan Xier clapped his hands excitedly.

The conversation between the two was entirely through voice transmission; Huan Xier did not know that there was a third person here besides the two of them.

The elder inside the sword knew that Lin Fan was not asking Huan Xier, but himself, so he deliberated and transmitted, "heaven and earth treasures are not so easy to take; your cultivation is too low, you need to borrow his power."

Lin Fan suddenly grinned and slowly shook his head, "Senior, you do not need to lie to me anymore. I am afraid that for you, that treasure is actually Brother Huan, right?"

The air instantly went silent.

"Sigh..." After a long while, the elder inside the sword sighed gloomily, "Why go to such lengths? It was supposed to be a matter that made everyone happy; couldn't you have just pretended not to know? What impact does this have on you?"

Lin Fan smiled, but there was some difficulty in his smile, "Hehe... where is the 'everyone happy'?"

"Do you know what I intend to do?"

"Senior might as well tell me." Lin Fan was also very curious.

"Your friend is Innate foolish because he lost his Soul. This old man can fill it for him, so he will no longer be foolish and will be no different from an ordinary person."

"En? What do you mean?"

Lin Fan was only at the Foundation Establishment cultivation level; the theory of Divine Soul was too far away from him, but he also knew the importance of the Divine Soul.

The elder inside the sword continued, "A person has Three Ethereal Souls and Seven Corporeal Spirits. The Three Ethereal Souls are: the Life Soul governs life, the Soul governs wisdom, and the Perception Soul governs perception."

"The Seven Corporeal Spirits are: the first is Tianchong, the second is Linghui, the third is Qi, the fourth is Li, the fifth is Zhongshu, the sixth is Jing, and the seventh is Ying. The so-called Soul Refinement Realm is the cultivation of these Three Ethereal Souls and Seven Corporeal Spirits."

"His Soul is obscured, and he lacks the Linghui spirit. He should have been Innate foolish. It is only thanks to someone with great cultivation who wiped his spiritual platform that he was able to develop some wisdom."

Lin Fan understood. So that was it; this was the reason for Huan Xier's foolishness, but he did not understand how the Senior could complete it for him.

"What does Senior mean?"

"This old man will replace his Linghui spirit. Once the Seven Corporeal Spirits are complete, the Soul will wipe itself clean. Slowly, he will recover his wisdom and be no different from an ordinary person, perhaps even more intelligent."

Lin Fan was greatly shocked, and his inner thoughts blurted out, "Possession?"

The elder inside the sword shook his head and laughed, "Hehehe, I do not know where you heard such a theory. Possession is an act of Heaven-Defying. If this old man truly had such ability, wouldn't it be more convenient to perform Possession on you?"

Lin Fan thought it was true, but he was still hesitant. This action certainly was not as easy as the Senior described; there must be details he did not know.

"Since that is the case, why do Brother Huan's foster father and mother not find a Soul to fill it for Brother Huan?"

"Heh..." The elder gave a sneer, his tone carrying a hint of arrogance, "This old man can do it, but that does not mean everyone can do it."

"Because this old man is in the Sage Realm!"

Lin Fan's brain 'buzzed', and he felt as if struck by lightning. The shock in his heart was beyond measure. This Senior was actually in the Sage Realm!

After a long time, Lin Fan finally recovered, his throat slightly dry as he said, "This Junior has one more thing that is unclear, please enlighten me, Senior."

"Speak."

"If it is truly successful, what impact will it have on Brother Huan?"

The elder inside the sword was silent. After a moment, he said slowly, "...He will become one with this old man. From then on, I am him, and he is me. His thinking and ideas will still be dominant, but some of this old man's cultivation experience and insights will become his."

"Perhaps in a daze, he will feel that certain places are very familiar, and he will also feel that certain techniques are very simple. Perhaps his habits will change unconsciously, but it is all harmless."

The elder's voice became increasingly low, "This old man merging with him has more benefits than disadvantages."

Lin Fan's fingers trembled, the glint in his eyes restrained, "Then for Brother Huan, wouldn't it be all benefits and no harm?"

"No," the elder did not hide the disadvantages. In all things, there are gains and losses. If it were all benefits, Lin Fan would not believe it. "He will ultimately be affected by me and will find it extremely difficult to achieve a Breakthrough in the Soul Refinement Realm, and it is even possible he will never be able to achieve it for the rest of his life, because he will be affected by my 'Dao'."

Lin Fan did not understand, and he did not ask again, just shook his head, "This matter is significant, I cannot make a decision for Brother Huan. Perhaps after we get out, I can take Senior to Shangyin Mountain to seek out Brother Huan's family elders and ask them."

The elder smiled bitterly, "Hehe, I am afraid it is too late. To perform this method, one must rely on this place. I do not have much time left..."

Lin Fan looked toward the dilapidated palace, but still shook his head firmly, "I am sorry Senior, I..."

"I am willing to try!" Huan Xier turned his head and interrupted him, looking at Lin Fan, and also looking at the long sword in his hand.

The two tufts of hair pointing to the sky swayed in the wind, but they did not look so ridiculous anymore.

Lin Fan widened his eyes; the voice transmission between him and the elder had actually been heard by Huan Xier.