Chapter 95

When he felt sleepy, someone would bring him a pillow. Such a thing, Bu Li would never refuse, and neither would anyone else.

Putting the soul stone into his storage bag, Bu Li watched Jiang Canyu leave, then returned to the room and took out five soul stones with similar soul power to play with. He didn’t know what kind of ore they were, but they were pure black, with some impurities inside, and a not particularly strong soul power fluctuation. This was a soul stone?

Following the instructions in the *Manual of the Sunflower Sect*, he placed them step by step, triggering the soul power within. Sitting among the five soul stones, Bu Li suddenly felt the soul power around him become violently intense. Could it be that he had placed them incorrectly? There was no time to think, as the soul power around him began to surge and gather, as if all the soul power on the entire Henshan Mountain had converged around him. What was once a calm pool of water suddenly turned into a mighty river, and Bu Li felt like a drowning person, struggling desperately in the surging waves, but to no avail.

Bu Li felt a chill. It wasn’t that he had placed them incorrectly; even if he had, it wouldn’t have triggered such a vast amount of soul power. He couldn’t understand the cause and effect, and it felt as if the surrounding soul power was about to completely engulf him.

Could there be a problem with the *Manual of the Sunflower Sect*? Would someone who had crossed over harm someone who came after them? This seemed inconceivable. After all, they were of the same origin, so why be so ruthless?

Damn! How could this happen? The vines couldn’t be summoned, and the soul power formed a powerful pressure. When the pressure reached a certain level, it turned into a force that induced fear in beasts, making it hard to resist.

If it weren’t for Bu Li’s strong meridians and his miraculous self-healing ability, he would have been riddled with holes, like a sieve by now.

But even now, Bu Li felt he couldn’t hold on much longer and would drown to death.

A figure appeared, flickering in the vast soul power, sometimes elongated, sometimes flattened, like a distorted reflection in a funhouse mirror, bizarre and strange.

"Do you think being a穿越者 makes you powerful?" The figure spoke like a ghost, its voice distorted and shrill, piercing and unbearable, like countless sharp needles stabbing into Bu Li’s heart.

"I can’t go back, and I won’t give you any chance to go back either!" The figure cackled, its voice indistinguishable as male or female. "Since you opened the soul array, you will die here, and become a wandering spirit, just like me, with no place to rest!"

Bu Li’s body was almost flattened by the immense soul power, and he couldn’t speak. Even if he wanted to curse, he couldn’t.

"If I can’t go back, then we’ll stay here together as wandering spirits!" The resentment, hatred, and bitterness were indescribable. Bu Li looked at the ghostly figure calmly, feeling a void in his heart, a sense of discomfort. Wasn’t he also a wandering spirit?

A faint sweetness flowed in Bu Li’s heart. Unconsciously, he had been swayed by the ghostly wails. But he still had Cai Xiaoxian; how could he be a wandering spirit? Thinking of Cai Xiaoxian, Bu Li’s strong desire to survive surged, and he managed to pull out a dagger from his leg bindings as if guided by a higher power.

In the midst of it all, Bu Li seemed to hear a laugh, as if the existence in the "dream" was mocking him for only now realizing the truth.

The gray dagger, rarely seen, suddenly emitted a faint light. Bu Li seemed to see a black phoenix soaring through the air, and the space was torn by the dagger. The light flashed, and Bu Li couldn’t be sure if what he saw was real.

Drawing the dagger to cut the water, the water flowed even more. But the situation before Bu Li was different. Like a whale sucking water, the vast soul power began to flow into the dagger. The dagger, like a glutton, never seemed to be filled. Faintly, Bu Li heard the cries of a hundred ghosts around him, mournful and plaintive, like a song or a journey.

The shadow in the soul power was extremely panicked, its voice shrill to the extreme, but it couldn’t shake Bu Li’s soul at this moment.

With a heart of iron, Bu Li bit his tongue sharply, maintaining his clarity in the sharp pain. Time didn’t seem long, and a white mist appeared, enveloping the ghostly figure as if an invisible hand had grabbed a mischievous child.

"Demons and spirits, how dare you cause trouble in front of me, are you tired of living?" The white mist was much thicker than the mist around Henshan Mountain, and Bu Li couldn’t see what was inside. The pressure around him disappeared, and the soul power, like a mighty river, was completely absorbed by the dagger. But the dagger didn’t change at all, still gray and lifeless.

The ghost lost its previous ferocity and began to fade, about to dissipate.

"Go, if I have time, I’ll chant a rebirth spell for you, so you can be reborn into a good family." The existence in the mist said casually, as if reincarnation was a trivial matter. But to the ghost, who had been dead for a long time, this was a monumental event.

Unbelievable, the ghost cowered in a corner, pitifully looking at the thick mist, knowing it couldn’t see what was inside but still staring.

There was a glimmer of hope.

Seeing the pitiful ghost, Bu Li bowed and said, "Please, Elder, lend a hand."

"Soft-hearted, is it meaningful? Don’t forget, he wanted to kill you just now." An unsatisfied voice came from the mist.

Bu Li smiled, thinking he really couldn’t have a proper conversation with this existence.

"Sir, we are from the same era, and there’s a bit of old friendship, isn’t there? Besides, I didn’t die, and this dagger gained some benefits." Bu Li called out "Sir," and then became very relaxed, unlike his usual serious and solemn self. Hearing Bu Li’s informal address, the existence in the mist laughed heartily, seeming very pleased.

"Agreed." The existence said, smiling happily. The ghost, who didn’t expect Bu Li to repay kindness for evil, cowered in a corner, at a loss.

"Om Amitabha..." As the words were spoken, a part of the white mist was separated, forming large white characters that headed straight for the ghost. A radiant light shone, pure and holy. As the existence chanted the scripture, it seemed to become more solemn, each word filled with great compassion, a sense of benevolence flowing through it.

Bu Li held the dagger in reverse, gazing at the mist, as the series of spells fell on the ghost. The ghost, already extremely weak, didn’t struggle, gradually becoming transparent, on the verge of dissipating.

The rebirth spell didn’t take long, just a few breaths. The dozens of words fell like dozens of spells, tearing through space. The ghost, initially panicked, seemed to see the path home it had sought for so long. After the initial joy, it burst into tears, its voice growing fainter as it moved away, but Bu Li could still feel its emotions, the hope that had turned to despair and then suddenly reappeared.

When could he go home? Bu Li felt a bit dazed, wondering if he should also talk to this "Sir" about it.

A beam of light seemed to appear from nowhere, falling on the ghost. The figure of a middle-aged scholar in a green robe became clear and then faded into a shadow. Seeing that the existence in the mist was telling the truth, the scholar bowed deeply, showing great respect. As the light beam gradually disappeared, the scholar also vanished into the void, finally saying to Bu Li, "The array will no longer have any anomalies; you can practice it."

The ghost was released, but the mist didn’t dissipate. Bu Li took a step forward, wanting to say something.

"Come, have a smoke. I’ve been pent up for so long, it’s driving me crazy."

Bu Li chuckled, lit a cigarette, and threw it into the mist. After a while, the existence slowly said, "Focus on your cultivation; those other trivial matters have nothing to do with you. Life is about following your heart. Unfortunately, you are still too weak. When will you become stronger?"

Every time! Every time he appeared, he would inevitably say, "Why are you still so weak?" Bu Li felt helpless, squatting there, smoking. His longbow, slung across his back, touched the ground.

"Don’t think you can go back just because I can release him. He has no karmic ties, but you can’t." The existence, seemingly omniscient, immediately saw through Bu Li’s thoughts. What are karmic ties? Bu Li didn’t understand, but he guessed that if he asked, the answer would be, "You are still too weak, and it wouldn’t help to tell you." Bu Li felt extremely frustrated, smoking.

Clearly, a treasure mountain was before him, but he didn’t know where to start.

"What’s wrong? Why aren’t you talking? It’s rare for me to come out, so chat with me."

"Nothing to say, I’m too weak."

Seeing Bu Li’s pouting, the existence laughed heartily. Bu Li also found it amusing, wondering when he had become so childish. Perhaps he was extremely familiar with this existence, with no guard, and after relaxing, he trusted it completely. This feeling was very strange.

"Array, array." The existence muttered, then continued, "This array is enough for you to start. Study it well; there’s nothing strange inside. When you learn it all and understand what an array is, I’ll teach you more powerful arrays."

"Okay, I understand." Bu Li squatted there listlessly, smoking. Suddenly, he remembered something, took off the ring from his finger, and asked the white mist, "Do you recognize this ring?"