Chapter 111: Nation-Building Through Anachronistic Technology 26

Mu Yin certainly did not know. All she wanted was that purified, pristine soul energy; yes, spiritual energy was indeed soul power.

After the formation had run for a while, Mu Yin removed the artifact that had been masking the demonic aura. Upon sensing it again, the maddening energy from before was indeed gone, replaced by an energy so enticing one could not help but want to lose oneself in it. That, presumably, was the purified demonic aura.

Mu Yin couldn't help but sit cross-legged to cultivate. She did not know how to cultivate the soul, but at that moment, a set of techniques suddenly appeared in her mind. She instinctively followed them, much like how she had later created the Creation Sutra; that, too, had simply appeared in her mind when she desired a cultivation method suited to her abilities.

She did not know if it was an act of creation or an inheritance, but the fact remained that whenever she truly desired something, it would appear. Just like this time, as she practiced according to the technique, she felt a clear, cool energy enter her body. Instead of gathering in her physical form, it flowed directly into her soul.

During her practice, she could constantly feel this cool energy circulating within her soul, gradually forming a set of "soul meridians." Mu Yin found herself completely immersed; this sensation was even more addictive than cultivating the Creation Sutra.

Seeing her sit down, Liao Changyun also sat down to begin his own cultivation. However, he realized he could no longer hear Mu Yin’s inner thoughts as he had before. He didn't dwell on it and began circulating his own cultivation technique. The cultivation world had possessed techniques related to the soul for an unknown amount of time, after all.

The problem was that soul cultivation methods were prone to causing one to go insane. Aside from demonic cultivators, practically no one practiced them. At most, cultivators would incidentally strengthen their souls while practicing, but that was treating the symptoms rather than the root cause; the effects were mediocre, and it usually strengthened the primordial spirit rather than the soul itself.

There is a distinction between the primordial spirit and the soul. The primordial spirit is like a coat worn over the soul, while the soul is the fundamental essence of a person. When one is reincarnated, it is the soul that is reborn; the primordial spirit cannot be reincarnated.

Cultivators can strengthen their primordial spirits, but not their souls. Moreover, during the process of cultivation, a practitioner's soul energy is gradually converted into the power of the primordial spirit, causing the soul itself to become increasingly fragile. If nothing happens, it is fine even if the primordial spirit remains, but if the cultivator dies, the primordial spirit dissipates, and the soul perishes along with it. This is precisely why cultivators have no chance of reincarnation—they lack the soul strength required to support it.

Demonic cultivators, naturally, absorb demonic aura to cultivate; otherwise, they would not be called demonic cultivators. In reality, they mostly absorb yin energy, but they often also absorb demonic aura to cultivate the soul. This is why demonic cultivators are notoriously brutal—the demonic aura is impure, and with the soul thus polluted, it is impossible for them to remain benevolent.

At this moment, however, the demonic aura here had been purified, making it completely harmless to absorb. Thus, Liao Changyun also practiced his soul-strengthening techniques with peace of mind.

The formation integrated purification, energy gathering, and defense. Consequently, Mu Yin could safely sink into her cultivation. Even if demonic creatures approached, they would be purified and lose their aggression. When Mu Yin finally opened her eyes, she found that the beast cores used to power the formation had shattered.

She quickly stepped forward to replace them. Although the previous ones had shattered and leaked their energy, she had confirmed the method was effective. She brought out several more formation disks, began setting them up in the vicinity, and inserted fresh beast cores.

By this time, Liao Changyun had emerged from his cultivation and offered to help, but Mu Yin simply tossed him a jade slip containing the refining methods for the formation and shooed him away, lest he compete with her for energy.

Liao Changyun looked at the jade slip in his hand, rendered speechless and wanting to sigh. Did this woman have any idea what was truly valuable? Did Mu Yin not know? Of course she did, but she simply did not care. Mu Yin was not the type to hoard things for herself—or rather, she simply did not take these things to heart.

Later, Liao Changyun began to understand her mindset and could only compensate her in other ways. For instance, he would gift her purified demonic cores. Once a demonic core was purified, it became a pure "soul bead." Demonic cultivators had always been in the habit of collecting demonic cores for cultivation; once Liao Changyun saw that Mu Yin’s purification formation worked, he experimented and succeeded in purifying them himself, eventually gifting a portion to Mu Yin.

Mu Yin was quite satisfied with this. While she was busy collecting soul beads and cultivating her soul, the cultivation world had not been idle. The movement to hunt down demonic creatures continued. After all, as long as the portal remained open, more creatures would pour through. To prevent them from harming more people, the major sects had established defensive lines outside the affected demonic regions, erecting barriers to prevent the further spread of the demonic aura.

Cultivators guarded these lines, hunting the creatures. Some, driven by the desire for merit points, ventured deep into the affected regions, though they could not stay long because the area was saturated with demonic aura, making it impossible for them to recover their strength.

Now, thanks to Mu Yin’s bounty, the cultivators were even more determined to close the portal. It was a bustling scene, and it seemed likely that a way to seal the passage would soon be discovered.

Mu Yin had originally intended to focus on soul cultivation and hoarding soul beads, but she had forgotten that her mission was not yet complete. How could those vermin be content to lie dormant? Their goal was to destroy this world.

Their original plan had been to kill Liao Changyun, the Child of Destiny, to seize the trace of the Laws of the Universe within him, and thereby disrupt the Heavenly Laws. Since they could no longer target Liao Changyun, the emergence of the demonic race provided a new opportunity.

Sealing the portal and driving away the demons was Liao Changyun’s mission. If they could keep the demons there and ensure their invasion succeeded, the conflict and mutual antagonism between the Heavenly Laws of the Demon Realm and the cultivation world would achieve their goal.

If the Laws were incomplete, they could easily enter the core of the world and seize the Source Core. Thus, the previously stable border barrier had been sabotaged several times, leading to leaks of demonic aura. The situation felt increasingly dire.

Because Mu Yin had been purchasing demonic cores online, she frequently browsed the web and discovered this development. A moment’s thought revealed the cause, and she felt negligent; how could she have forgotten about those vermin?

She went straight to Liao Changyun. "Your cultivation is stable now. Do you want revenge?"

"You seem more anxious than I am," Liao Changyun remarked. He had no intention of letting the Bai family off, but he hadn't expected Mu Yin to approach him before he had even made his decision.

"I can't help it. It irritates me to see them jumping around," Mu Yin said, making no effort to hide her disgust for the vermin of the Bai family.

To this day, Liao Changyun did not understand the source of Mu Yin's hostility toward the Bai family or her protection of him. Since she had begun practicing soul techniques, he had been unable to read her thoughts. He did not mind, however; regardless of her motives, she had helped him, and he would not be where he was today without her.