What black aura? It's clearly a dark purple aura!

Inside the quiet room.

Qi Yuan sat cross-legged, his aura as deep as an abyss. Yin winds rose from all sides, and shadows flickered around him as if countless ghostly souls were howling and drifting, exuding an indescribable coldness and eeriness.

Soon after, the various anomalies in the quiet room came to an abrupt halt. Qi Yuan slowly opened his eyes, a faint ghostly light flashing through his dark, deep pupils.

The so-called Soul Tracing is a technique that restrains the souls of the deceased using their remains or their flesh-and-blood relatives as a medium.

It sounds mysterious and unpredictable, but it is actually one of the most basic ghost path techniques within the Nether River Sect, and cannot be considered a profound secret art.

After spending several hundred Counterattack Points, he finally successfully mastered this Soul Tracing Art, reaching a level of thorough tempering and perfect integration.

"Whew—"

After confirming that using the Soul Tracing Art would not have any negative effects on him, Qi Yuan let out a soft breath of turbid air. Then, he opened his talent list to check the newly acquired talent, [Eating Soft Rice by Force].

The next moment, he saw two shining names next to the new talent:

Ji Chan'er, Bai Xirou.

Just as expected.

This idiotic System doesn't care about reality at all; it has determined that his current cultivation as a trash-tier Host is Foundation Establishment Early Stage, so even Bai Xirou, who is at Foundation Establishment Perfection, has become bindable.

Not only that, even Ji Chan'er has been added to the binding list. It seems the System still identifies that enchantress as his Dao Companion.

Thinking of this, Qi Yuan shook his head, caught between laughter and tears.

This is also fine; at least the Restrictions for using this talent have been lowered significantly. Otherwise, with his current Nascent Soul Mid-stage cultivation, neither of the two women would appear on the bindable list.

Ji Chan'er, current strongest Divine Ability [Thousand Illusion Demonic Eye]. This Divine Ability can see through barriers, bewitch the mind, and has a certain suppressing effect on various illusory spiritual bodies.

Bai Xirou, current strongest Divine Ability [Ice Piercing Blade]. This Divine Ability can fire an ice-attribute frozen blade during combat, stabbing towards the enemy target... "Bind Ji Chan'er."

As the thought settled, he immediately felt a warm current flow into his eyes. Purple patterns began to weave and spread within his pupils, forming countless eerie and unspeakable incantations.

In just a moment, the fine demonic patterns in Qi Yuan's eyes quickly hid themselves, and they soon returned to their original state.

After experiencing the effects of the [Thousand Illusion Demonic Eye] for a bit, he felt even more satisfied.

This Divine Ability is extremely practical; if used correctly, it could definitely serve as an excellent trump card.

What's even more broken is that after binding, the power of the [Thousand Illusion Demonic Eye] he uses will be exactly the same as if Ji Chan'er herself used it, perfectly synchronized.

If Ji Chan'er's cultivation increases in the future, this Divine Ability will also strengthen accordingly. Qi Yuan won't have to do anything on his end to enjoy the enhanced [Thousand Illusion Demonic Eye].

"Even though it's soft rice, it tastes quite good..."

Qi Yuan muttered with a complicated expression, then took out a heavenly apex body forging pill from his storage space and swallowed it.

In an instant, the pure and surging medicinal power swept through his entire body, frantically tempering every inch of his flesh, Meridians, and bones... That night.

Puzhou City.

The Wang Family Mansion.

After the Wang Family was destroyed, even the surviving members of the Wang Family fled from Puzhou City.

Combined with the rumors of the haunted mansion spreading recently, even beggars didn't dare to approach, causing the massive mansion to fall into complete ruin.

Even though it was located within the city, the surroundings of the mansion remained desolate and cold, without a single trace of life.

Bang!

The closed courtyard gate was kicked open by Li Mingwang, kicking up clouds of dust.

He poked his head in to look, then said to the people behind him:

"This is the Wang Family's mansion. Hundreds of people used to live here, but now the tree has fallen and the monkeys have scattered; there's not a soul left."

Qi Yuan nodded and asked casually:

"Where is Zhang Caiqiang? Why didn't he come?"

Li Mingwang gave a sheepish smile and explained, "Dao Child, Senior Brother Zhang now trembles all over whenever he hears about ghosts. If we let him see a scene like this, he'll probably have another episode. You see..."

"Alright, I understand. Let him rest well."

Qi Yuan immediately expressed his understanding.

It seemed like the incident where a ghost harvested his essence last time had left a huge psychological shadow on Zhang Caiqiang; he wouldn't be getting over it anytime soon.

Hearing this, Pu Genshuo immediately perked up and asked curiously:

"How did Junior Brother Zhang, a perfectly fine Inner Sect Disciple of the Taixuan Holy Land, end up in such a state? What did he encounter?"

"When I asked last time, he was crying in the Madam's arms. I thought he was just trying to take advantage of that old broad..."

Before he could finish, he saw Qi Yuan glancing at him with an unfriendly look, making Pu Genshuo shrink his neck and quickly shut his mouth.

After the sparring session this morning, he was completely subdued. He knew that although this Dao Child of Tai Xuan looked like a pretty boy on the surface, he fought like a god of war; he really couldn't withstand him.

Just as the fire of gossip in his heart was about to be extinguished, he saw Li Mingwang quietly give him a knowing look, followed by a sneaky Voice Transmission in his ear:

"You have no idea, last time Senior Brother Zhang..."

Holy shit!

After hearing the transmission, Pu Genshuo gasped and instinctively tightened his belt, muttering to himself:

"I didn't expect Junior Brother Caiqiang to be such a pitiful person. If I had known, I wouldn't have been fighting him for the Madam just now..."

"Xirou, let's go."

Qi Yuan didn't bother with these two. After clarifying the specific location, he immediately took Bai Xirou into the secret underground cave that Wang Family Ancestor used for practicing evil arts.

By now, the piles of bones in the cave had been cleared, but the air was still filled with a lingering stench—cold, decaying, and resentful... like a place in Nine Serenity Hell.

Upon arrival, Qi Yuan immediately sealed the entrance with a Restriction, then took out Wang Family Ancestor's head from his storage bracelet and placed it on the ground.

Immediately after, he muttered incantations and quickly drew a complex and eerie Formation on the ground with Spirit Stone powder.

The entire process was smooth and practiced, as if it had been tempered a thousand times.

Soon, yin baleful energy flowed over the Formation lines, and black mist filled the air. Wisps of obscure and ominous gray threads extended from the head, rapidly spreading into the Void Realm in all directions... As a Dao Child of a righteous sect, is Junior Brother Qi really this skilled even at summoning souls?

Gazing at this eerie scene that was both harmonious and contrasting, Bai Xirou couldn't help but open her small mouth slightly, her jaw dropping in surprise.

Before long, a dark phantom was dragged back to the center of the Formation by the gray threads, floating quietly in mid-air.

The phantom revealed a skinny old man with disheveled hair and a pale face. He had high cheekbones and sunken cheeks, looking exactly like the head on the ground—it was none other than the Old Ancestor of the Wang Family, Wang Family Ancestor.

At this moment, it looked around in confusion. When it saw the two living people below, a terrifying crimson flashed in its eyes, and it hissed:

"I don't want to die... Quick, give me your bodies, and I can live!"

Saying so, its figure swayed, trying to pounce on them, but it was tightly bound by the gray threads and could not move.

After wandering for a long time, Wang Family Ancestor's soul had lost most of its memories, retaining only an obsession with being reborn.

"Eldest Senior Sister, this old monster killed two Inner Sect Disciples from Falling Cloud Valley who came to investigate the case while he was alive. Why don't you strike him with your sword first to avenge them?"

Qi Yuan didn't even look at it, but turned to suggest to Bai Xirou.

He hadn't forgotten that the System's mission required him to defeat Wang Family Ancestor with Bai Xirou's help.

Given the System's typical behavior, completing the mission would likely require Bai Xirou to take action as well; otherwise, wouldn't it all be a waste of effort?

Bai Xirou naturally knew the two deceased Disciples. Hearing this, her eyes turned red, and she unhesitatingly drew her longsword and stabbed it fiercely into the trapped Wang Family Ancestor.

"Old thief, die!"

"Ah!!!"

The longsword coated in true essence easily pierced the soul body. The phantom in the Formation fluctuated wildly, looking as if it would dissipate immediately.

"Don't kill me, spare me! I am willing to submit to you, and I can make you immortal too..."

Sensing the impending crisis, Wang Family Ancestor's soul finally became panicked and began to wail for mercy.

Qi Yuan turned a deaf ear to this and calmly pointed a finger. With a flash of golden light, the soul within the Formation was instantly obliterated, turning into spots of spiritual light that dissipated.

"Ding! Congratulations to the Host for completing the mission..."

After the System notification rang in his mind, Qi Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. He raised his hand to destroy the Formation on the ground, then withdrew the Restriction at the cave entrance.

The two had just walked out of the cave when Li Mingwang, standing at the door, immediately approached and asked:

"Dao Child, why did you seal the door just now? We wanted to help but couldn't get in. Is everything finished?"

"It's fine now."

Qi Yuan responded casually, then said, "Go about your business. We are returning to the Holy Land now."

On the other side, Pu Genshuo looked into the cave with some confusion. "Junior Brother Qi, I thought I saw a cloud of black qi inside just now. Could there be more evil things in there?"

Qi Yuan smiled slightly and said with certainty:

"Your eyes are playing tricks on you. What black qi? It's clearly purple qi so dark it looks black—Grandmist Purple Qi, perfect for slaying evil spirits."