320: Divine power

"How is it?"

Seeing Jiang Ning open his eyes and exit his cultivation state, Vermilion Bird asked.

Jiang Ning said, "These lingering thoughts can enhance the Divine Soul, and I believe Senior can also absorb some. Most importantly, these lingering thoughts carry some memories from the deceased's life.

Within those profound memories, some secrets, Cultivation Techniques, and Martial Skills might be hidden.

These are the most precious.

However, Senior probably wouldn't care for these things."

Jiang Ning smiled.

Vermilion Bird might not care, but for him, they were quite useful.

He rarely used Martial Skills now, mostly relying on the Bixiao Spiritual Artifact for a series of attacks, or directly taking out the jade void cauldron to refine an area.

However, how could a Cultivator not possess powerful Martial Skills?

This time, he might be able to obtain some Martial Skills from the lingering thoughts that were even better than those he acquired in the Xuanhuang Domain.

Hearing this, Vermilion Bird looked at the gray mist nearby, reached out, and instantly refined a monster much weaker than the previous one.

Vermilion Bird swallowed it.

She shook her head.

"This level of lingering thought provides very limited enhancement to my Divine Soul. With this effort, I might as well look for more Heaven And Earth Treasure that can increase the Divine Soul."

Jiang Ning hummed in agreement.

Cultivators also had to consider cost-effectiveness in their cultivation.

It wasn't about doing something just because it offered some improvement.

Everything was relative.

"Then, I'll trouble Senior to help me refine more lingering thoughts."

"A small matter."

Vermilion Bird took a step forward.

The fierce pressure dispersed the entire gray mist.

Those angry lingering thought monsters, who initially wanted to tear apart the Cultivator disturbing them, instantly wilted upon sensing the Deity Transformation Realm aura within the pressure, and scattered, trying to flee.

Vermilion Bird sneered.

"Run? Come back here!"

She pointed her index and middle fingers like a sword downwards.

Above the gray mist, countless fiery red Vermilion Bird feathers fell. The feathers, like fire, formed a fiery array, and long, thin flames shot downwards like a spiderweb!

Roar—

The lingering thought monsters roared.

Some Nascent Soul Cultivators who were in seclusion nearby cursed loudly.

"Who ruined my cultivation!"

"Fellow Daoist, aren't you being a bit too overbearing!"

Upon hearing this, Vermilion Bird merely uttered a single word: "Scram."

The Spirit Transformation pressure immediately caused those defiant Nascent Soul Cultivators to spit blood.

They realized this place was unsuitable for cultivation and quickly departed.

In just that short time, Jiang Ning saw that the lingering thought monsters in this area had all been swept up.

Jiang Ning sighed with emotion.

With strength, one could truly do as one pleased.

He wondered what kind of world he would command when he reached the Deity Transformation Realm.

"Take it!"

Vermilion Bird directly tossed these lingering thought monsters over.

Jiang Ning unfolded the jade void cauldron.

And refined them.

Time passed bit by bit.

On the other side.

Someone else had also entered the Spirit Ruins.

However, this person was like a Puppet, with lifeless eyes.

Hidden within her sparse hair was a bug.

It was Gu Yanqing and Yun Qingyao, who had already been made into a Puppet.

They entered the same Nascent Soul-level sacred ruins as Jiang Ning.

Gu Yanqing, controlling Yun Qingyao, pondered, "In these sacred ruins, refining remnant Souls can yield Cultivation Techniques and Martial Skills, but these are not important to me.

What's important is that these remnant Souls can strengthen one's Divine Soul, which suits me."

This was also the main reason why Gu Yanqing brought A Cai to the Lingxu Domain.

Along the way, he had been diligently searching for Heaven And Earth Treasure or secret arts that could restore his Divine Soul.

Unfortunately, good Heaven And Earth Treasure were guarded by Spirit Beasts, and the Puppet's current strength was insufficient to secure top-tier resources for him.

"Once my Divine Soul recovers to the Deity Transformation Realm, I can thoroughly plunder some resources in this level of realm to allow the Puppet to quickly Breakthrough."

Gu Yanqing made his plans.

Yun Qingyao was currently only at the Golden Core level.

Gu Yanqing controlled the Nascent Soul Stage Puppet to explore the center of the Spirit Ruins.

These lingering thoughts primarily caused Soul pollution; otherwise, Gu Yanqing wouldn't dare bring a Golden Core Puppet into a Nascent Soul-level Spirit Ruins.

A commotion reached his ears.

Gu Yanqing raised an eyebrow, "There's movement ahead. I wonder what's happening?"

Immediately after, he saw Nascent Soul Cultivators flying towards him, then quickly departing.

Some Nascent Soul Cultivators smiled when they saw Yun Qingyao.

A mere Golden Core, daring to meddle with the gray mist lingering thoughts in the inner circle?

Even without that Senior present, this was not a place where a Golden Core Cultivator could set foot.

Truly ignorant.

Gu Yanqing, however, seemed to have seized an "Opportunity."

"To cause such a huge commotion, there must be Nascent Soul-level lingering thoughts inside!"

He showered Yun Qingyao with compliments, praising her, and accelerated his pace inwards.

"Strange, the Spirit Ruins have many lingering thoughts. We shouldn't have reached this position without encountering any spiritual objects formed by aggregated lingering thoughts..."

After exploring the central area for a while, Gu Yanqing muttered in surprise.

"Something's wrong, very wrong."

He was no longer a novice Cultivator. His caution and perception of such "Opportunities" told him that something was amiss here.

"It's like suddenly not seeing any Spirit Beasts in a mountain range; it doesn't mean there are truly no Spirit Beasts, but rather that a stronger species has arrived and suppressed the other Spirit Beasts."

Gu Yanqing analyzed as he made the Puppet slow down.

"Similarly, not seeing those lingering thought beings even near the center doesn't mean the danger here has decreased. Instead, there's a new 'king' here that has made these lingering thought beings fearful.

With my current strength, relying on Soul Power, I can at most contend with an Early Nascent Soul Stage or Middle Stage Cultivator. Any higher, and there might be danger.

A gentleman does not stand under a tottering wall. It's still necessary to ensure one's survival first, then consider other things."

At this moment, Gu Yanqing began to have second thoughts.

There would be many more Opportunities in the future; he could even go to other Spirit Ruins if not this one.

But colliding with the dangers here could lead to unexpected outcomes.

Just as he was thinking.

Gu Yanqing sensed a powerful lingering thought aura.

This aura didn't bring him a sense of crisis; instead, he felt that these lingering thought beings were trying to avoid something.

Gu Yanqing, who had been considering retreating, hesitated.

After a breath.

Gu Yanqing gritted his teeth, "Let's explore first. Entering this ruin cost a lot of Spirit Stones, so I can't waste it. If there's a great terror feasting inside, it shouldn't be a problem for me to snatch a little benefit.

Moreover, if I can truly obtain an Opportunity, what does it matter if I lose this Yun Qingyao Puppet?"

Gu Yanqing made up his mind.

Looking at the gray mist again, it was filled with a sense of desolation.

Gu Yanqing felt that the atmosphere now carried an additional sense of solemnity and gravitas.

If he could control the Puppet without needing to praise it, that would be even better.

"Our graceful Yun Qingyao, let's go!"

Yun Qingyao, dressed in a white dress and with her appearance altered once, cautiously moved towards the center.

In less than a quarter of an hour.

Gu Yanqing, hidden within Yun Qingyao, finally understood what was happening at the center.

He couldn't help but widen his eyes.

A Deity Transformation Realm Cultivator coming to this place to harvest lingering thoughts, how shameless!