Chapter 58

In the lair of the Human Demon King.

By the blood pool, a headless corpse lay motionless, its life force completely extinguished.

Yuan Ming squatted beside it, a tattered cloth spread on the ground, with a dark red human head placed neatly on top, which was the head of the Human Demon King.

He carefully packed the head and looked at the silver cat sitting nearby.

The cat was carefully examining a black sphere the size of a longan, seemingly lost in thought.

"Let's go," Yuan Ming said, reminding it.

The silver cat snapped back to reality, raised a front paw, and lightly swept over the soul bead, which then vanished from its place.

Yuan Ming, surprised but not asking further, picked up the package containing the Human Demon King's head and followed the silver cat out of the cave through another exit.

...

After an unknown amount of time, two figures rapidly pursued through the underground cave, finally arriving here.

"The aura of that person is strong here; it can't be wrong, he's inside..." Elder Chu Xiong's eyes lit up as he pointed to the cave entrance and said.

"Quickly eliminate him and find the soul bead," Elder Saren urged.

Elder Chu Xiong waved his hand, and a black weapon resembling a bone claw appeared in his palm. He then dashed into the cave.

Elder Saren followed closely behind, also dashing in.

However, the moment they rushed into the cave, both of them were stunned.

The cave was in chaos, with scattered corpses littering the ground, most of which were severely decayed, and many had already turned to bones, creating a chaotic scene.

Near the blood pool, another headless corpse lay.

"This is..." Elder Chu Xiong was shocked and rushed over.

Elder Saren followed closely behind.

"How did he die? It can't be a fake, right?" Elder Saren said, disbelieving.

"The wound on his chest was caused by my Bone Eroding Hand; it can't be wrong, it's him." Elder Chu Xiong explained, his brows furrowed, clearly full of doubt.

How did the Human Demon King suddenly die, and where did his head go?

"Soul bead!"

Both elders' hearts tightened simultaneously as they hurriedly searched the body.

But after a moment, their hearts sank; someone had beaten them to it, and the soul bead was gone.

"Elder Chu, is there anyone else who knows about the soul bead?" Elder Saren asked, his voice filled with suspicion.

"You know this concerns his true identity; how could I tell anyone else? Do you...?" Elder Chu Xiong looked at Elder Saren, suspiciously.

"Do I look like someone who would do such a foolish thing?" Elder Saren glanced at him and said.

"Then who did this?" Elder Chu Xiong frowned, deep in thought.

Elder Saren surveyed the surroundings and the scattered corpses, his brows furrowing.

"Do you have any idea?" Elder Chu Xiong couldn't help but ask, seeing his troubled expression.

"Look at the state and distribution of the corpses on the ground; do you see anything?" Elder Saren asked.

Elder Chu Xiong, after a careful observation, his expression suddenly changed.

"These corpses show signs of recent activity; they were controlled by someone." Elder Chu Xiong looked at Elder Saren, disbelieving.

"Being able to control corpses suggests that the one who took the soul bead... is a soul cultivator. This..." Elder Saren hesitated.

"Here, it's just you and me; what's there to be afraid of saying? Do you also think it was the Grand Elder?" Elder Chu Xiong said straightforwardly.

"Besides him, I can't think of anyone else in the entire Bila Cave." Elder Saren nodded.

"This old man might have discovered the soul bead long ago and preemptively took it, making our plans for offering it to him futile." Elder Chu Xiong said, somewhat indignant.

"But why did he take the head?" Elder Saren asked, puzzled.

"Perhaps... he has already..." Elder Chu Xiong's expression changed.

"This doesn't seem right. If it was the Grand Elder, a simple command would have been enough; who would dare defy him? Besides, why would he take the head?" Elder Saren said after careful thought.

"Soul cultivators are always mysterious and sinister; taking the head might be for some soul cultivation technique." Elder Chu Xiong mused.

"True, if it was the Grand Elder, we must never mention the soul bead again... let's pretend this never happened." Elder Saren said with a bitter smile.

"Agreed! Fortunately, he's dead; after destroying the evidence, this matter will be over, and we can finally be rid of this long-standing worry." Elder Chu Xiong sighed.

After speaking, both remained silent, their hearts not feeling much lighter.

...

On the other side, in a hidden valley.

Yuan Ming squatted below a green cliff, placing the Human Demon King's head in a large pit he had dug, filling it with sand and stones to bury it.

He then found a uniquely shaped long stone and placed it beside the pit, serving as a wordless tombstone.

After doing all this, he looked at the silver cat sitting on a nearby stone, frowned, and said:

"Since this matter is settled, let's part ways." He was dissatisfied with what had happened in the cave and did not wish to have further interactions.

"Stop."

The silver cat's voice echoed in his mind, still with an authoritative tone.

Yuan Ming turned around and saw a palm-thick green book floating in the air, landing at his feet.

"What is this?" Yuan Ming frowned.

"This time, without your help... I wouldn't have been able to get the soul bead so easily... this is your reward." The silver cat said, not waiting for Yuan Ming's reaction, and turned to leave.

Yuan Ming hesitated for a long time before picking up the green book from the ground.

At first glance, he saw the title "Mingyue Jue" written on the cover.

It was not in the language of the Southern Border but in the language used by people in Central China, which Yuan Ming recognized.

After a moment, Yuan Ming chose a sunny slope, sat on a flat large stone, and opened the green book.

"The art of soul cultivation is free from physical constraints and not bound by techniques, mysterious and unpredictable, and difficult to guard against. Those who practice it must have a strong divine soul and a firm will; otherwise, they should not rashly attempt it. Remember, remember."

The opening paragraph was not a summary of the technique but a reminder for the reader to self-reflect and determine if they have the qualifications to practice it.

Although Yuan Ming did not understand what soul cultivation was, he felt that the opening words were somewhat intimidating.

He continued reading, and the content that followed was more normal.

"The sun nourishes the spirit, the moon nourishes the soul. The Mingyue technique uses the essence of the moon to nourish the soul, strengthening the divine soul..."

After reading through the entire "Mingyue Jue," Yuan Ming understood that soul cultivation seemed to be a type of cultivation that refined the divine soul, and the techniques for soul cultivation were usually aimed at strengthening the divine soul.

The attack methods used in battle were primarily aimed at the enemy's divine soul, making them even more hidden and unpredictable, and difficult to guard against.

Yuan Ming recalled the battle in the cave with the Human Demon King, where the corpses had risen to attack, which might have been a soul cultivation technique used by the silver cat.

However, the difficulty of cultivating such techniques seemed to be very high, and the warnings at the beginning were not exaggerated. There were indeed risks in cultivation, and those with weak willpower could easily harm their own divine soul.

Once the divine soul was damaged, a person could suffer from memory loss, reduced intelligence, loss of soul, or even become a fool.

Yuan Ming was not initially very interested in the "Mingyue Jue," but after reading the first level of the technique, which stated that successful cultivation could allow the divine soul to manifest as a physical form, he began to consider practicing it.

Although he did not know if his divine soul was strong enough, he had some confidence in his willpower.

He continued reading the subsequent content and found that the technique was unexpectedly short, with only three levels in total.

However, the content of these three levels was quite detailed, with occasional small annotations in the margins, seemingly left by someone.

It detailed the cultivation methods and later attack techniques, but the content was quite profound and obscure, making it difficult for Yuan Ming to fully understand.

For now, he had no immediate plans to cultivate, so he put away the book and meditated for half an hour before leaving.

...

In the following half month, Yuan Ming did not go out to hunt beasts but stayed in his cave, both to recover from his injuries and to cultivate.

Firstly, he was unsure if Kuntu and Bada would come looking for trouble, and secondly, he was unsure if the sect's handling of the Human Demon King incident would involve him. Although the likelihood of either happening was low given his lowly status as a fur beast slave, he still had to be cautious.

During the day, he continued to cultivate the Nine Yuan Technique, and at night, when the moon was high in the sky, he would come out to try cultivating the "Mingyue Jue."

What troubled him was that he encountered the same difficulty he had when cultivating the blood qi technique.

Cultivating the "Mingyue Jue" had a clear entry standard: the ability to "use divine consciousness to observe internally and sit in meditation to observe oneself."

Divine consciousness, a special ability that cultivators acquire after reaching the Qi Refinement stage, is mentioned in the Nine Yuan Technique. In simple terms, it is a special perception that can explore everything.

However, his divine consciousness was very weak, only able to perceive a small area around him when closed-eyed, and each time he used it, he felt exhausted and needed a long time to recover.

Additionally, with each improvement in cultivation, his divine consciousness would slightly strengthen, but the improvement was not noticeable to Yuan Ming.

According to the book, to "use divine consciousness to observe internally and sit in meditation to observe oneself" means to guide the divine consciousness to