23: Soul-Binding Secret Technique: The Choice!

Inside the Merit Hall, a woman dressed in a long black dress, cold as frost, slowly walked out.

Her skin was as white as snow, and on her face, which bore no makeup, her willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Revered Master, that is a Soul Capturing Secret Art. Why did you..."

Beneath her icy temperament that kept people a thousand miles away, she possessed an extremely seductive face.

Her lush, red lips were lightly pursed, as if she possessed an innate charm and arrogance.

Cold elegance and seductiveness combined to give her a unique allure.

"It is merely a secret art."

Mo Jinghun chuckled and said indifferently, "Girl Luan, do not be fooled by Su Ling's Early Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation. His magic power reserves and degree of refinement are not inferior to those at the Middle Foundation Establishment Stage."

"Even if he has the strength of the Middle Foundation Establishment Stage, he shouldn't be worthy of such special regard from you, Revered Master!"

Yun Qingluan's lips curled slightly. For the opening of the Cuiye Secret Realm, Mo Jinghun had scouted several candidates from among the many Foundation Establishment Disciples.

Aside from herself, his Personal Disciple, the others were all at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage or even the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment.

She truly couldn't understand why her Revered Master would take an interest in an obscure Disciple at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage.

"Six years ago, Su Ling just entered the Sect."

"Three and a half years ago, he entered the Merit Hall again with the strength of the Sixth Level of Qi Refining; all he exchanged for was the Flowing Wind Technique."

"Now, he is already at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage, comparable to the Middle Foundation Establishment Stage."

Mo Jinghun opened his eyes and looked at the surprised Yun Qingluan. "Girl Luan, you entered the Sect at the same time as him. You possess a Top-tier Dark Spiritual Root and Cultivate the 'Profound Nether Soul Refining Treasure Canon' which perfectly matches your Spiritual Root attribute. It took you a year and a half to Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, and now you are just a step away from the Late Foundation Establishment Stage... but do you know what kind of Spiritual Root he has?"

"This Disciple does not know."

Yun Qingluan opened her mouth but could only shake her head in the end.

She and Su Ling had entered the Sect on the same day, but unlike him, Su Ling and the others were assigned to various menial tasks.

Yun Qingluan, however, had been chosen by Mo Jinghun and had been kept by his side for personal instruction.

Therefore, she had no impression of Su Ling.

Mo Jinghun held up three fingers and said plainly, "Metal, Wood, and Lightning Triple Spiritual Roots, and he Cultivates the most basic Profound Yin Art."

"This... how is that possible?!"

Shock appeared on Yun Qingluan's frost-cold face.

Metal, Wood, and Lightning Triple Spiritual Roots, and the Cultivation Technique he practiced didn't even match his Spiritual Root attributes.

In such a state, unless there were a massive amount of Medicinal Pills to assist him, it would be nearly impossible to succeed in Foundation Establishment within a mere six years.

Reaching the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining would already be considered outstanding.

But Yun Qingluan knew her Revered Master would not lie about such a thing.

This meant that the seemingly ordinary Su Ling must have some extremely extraordinary qualities.

Mo Jinghun rarely saw her lose her composure like this and chuckled. "Cultivators contend with the Heavens and fight with men. Talent is but a negligible bit of capital. This kid went out to perform missions with a broken bow at the Sixth Level of Qi Refining. Who knows how many life-and-death battles he experienced over three years to achieve this."

"Girl Luan, remember: Heaven and Earth are heartless; they treat all things as straw dogs."

"Which of your Junior Martial Uncles or Grandmasters doesn't have hundreds or thousands of lives on their hands? Have you ever seen them struck dead by lightning?"

"The Heavens do not care if you are of the Righteous Path or the Demonic Path. As long as your strength is sufficient, even if you are of the Demonic Path, you can still enjoy longevity and roam freely between Heaven and Earth."

Yun Qingluan possessed a Top-tier Dark Spiritual Root, and her cultivation speed was the pride of the entire Sect.

Her personality was also quite arrogant.

Therefore, Mo Jinghun intended to use this opportunity to give her a proper lesson.

"Thank you for your teachings, Revered Master. This Disciple will keep them in mind."

Yun Qingluan's expression turned solemn as she bowed.

"Your combat experience is lacking. During this trip to the Secret Realm, if you encounter Su Ling, you should cooperate with him, or even follow his lead. You only need to watch more, listen more, and learn more. As for the others, keep them at a distance."

Mo Jinghun nodded slightly and dismissed her with a wave of his hand after a few simple instructions. "Go on, and prepare well."

"Yes, Revered Master."

A hint of surprise flashed in Yun Qingluan's eyes as she took her leave.

In the empty Merit Hall, Mo Jinghun's eyes flickered. As a Nascent Soul Cultivator, he always felt that he couldn't quite see through Su Ling.

"This kid already carried a body full of Evil Qi when he entered the Sect; he must have been stained with at least several hundred lives!"

"In the last three years, that old Evil Qi has actually disappeared..."

"Could it be that the Profound Yin Art has some kind of Soul Refining or Evil-purging effect?"

As soon as the thought occurred, Mo Jinghun immediately dismissed it. "Impossible. The Profound Yin Art is just the most basic Qi Refining technique. It has nothing special about it, and it certainly cannot Cultivate such pure Yin-attribute magic power."

As the Nascent Soul Cultivator best at Soul Refining in the Xuanming Sect, he could tell at a glance that in the past three years, Su Ling's body had gained a lot of Blood Evil Qi.

This was an aura that could only be acquired by killing one's own kind.

It was not the fierce Evil Qi accumulated from killing Yao Beasts.

Clearly, this kid had experienced several internal Sect fights while out on missions.

That was why he had changed so much.

That old Evil Qi was either something he was born with...

...or he truly had his hands stained with countless lives at the age of twelve.

"He really is a ruthless little fellow."

"But it doesn't matter. With his strength, he cannot harm Girl Luan."

"As a Cultivator, who doesn't have a few small secrets? As long as he can bring back the spiritual items, what's the harm in taking him as a Personal Disciple!"

...In the outer Sect courtyard, Su Ling stared solemnly at the Jade Slip in front of him.

[Soul Capturing Art: High Grade Foundation Establishment Spell, an auxiliary Spell of the Xuanming Sect's legacy technique, 'Profound Nether Soul Refining Treasure Canon'.]

According to the contents of the manual, the Soul Capturing Art could condense a Netherworld Ghost Hand, which could seize Souls and imprison spirits. When cultivated to an advanced stage, it could even summon Wandering Souls to fight.

However, summoning Wandering Souls had many restrictions and required a certain price to be paid.

When an ordinary Cultivator practiced the Soul Capturing Art, they could crush those at lower Realms, and confuse or seize the Souls of those at the same Realm.

When facing those at a higher Realm, it could still play a certain role if used unexpectedly.

The specific situation depended on the Divine Soul gap between the two parties.

However, it needed to be paired with the Profound Nether magic power condensed from the 'Profound Nether Soul Refining Treasure Canon' to exert its maximum effect.

In Su Ling's view, the Soul Capturing Art and the Ghost Soul Arrow also shared some similarities.

"To practice, or not to practice, that is the question..."

It was undeniable that the temptation of the Soul Capturing Art was simply too great for Su Ling.

As for the Xuanming Sect's legacy Soul Refining Treasure Canon, it was the first time Su Ling had heard of it.

But he had a feeling that the magic power condensed by the Nine Nether Secret Record would definitely also maximize the effect of the Soul Capturing Art.

After all, judging from the names alone, both were pure Yin-attribute Cultivation Techniques.

The condensed magic power might differ, but it wouldn't be by much.

But it was just one mission, and Mo Jinghun had given such a grand gift before it was even completed.

Su Ling couldn't figure out what he had done to deserve such high regard from Mo Jinghun.

The Xuanming Sect was a Demonic Path Sect.

Mo Jinghun was a Nascent Soul Elder, second only to the Sect Master and several Hall Revered Masters.

As a demonic giant who had lived for hundreds of years, could he really be so kind-hearted?

Stroking the Jade Slip, a look of intense conflict flashed in Su Ling's eyes. After pondering for a long time, he let out a heavy sigh.

"Forget it, let's wait until the Secret Realm is over. If I'm lucky enough to complete the mission and Mo Jinghun really takes me as his Disciple, then I'll consider whether or not to Cultivate it!"

Carefulness is the key to longevity!

If this manual contained some kind of backdoor...

...then the death of his body and Dao might be the best possible outcome.

If his Divine Soul was captured and he was turned into a human puppet through a single mistake, that would be a true tragedy.