CHAPTER 617: CHAPTER 616: UNEXPECTED GAIN

The Soul-Searching Notes truly are a collection of various information excerpts with no relevance between paragraphs.

Flipping casually to the last two pages, Jiang Yuan even saw some meaningless garbled text, likely information that the Soul Searching Technique couldn’t "translate."

The benefit is keeping this notebook handy allows for searching anytime when needed;

The downside is its truthfulness is uncertain, needing personal discernment.

Take for example the information about the hidden passage deep within Golden Chicken River; the first entry promisingly claims to keep it secret, even from his wife and children. Yet, a few pages later, the second entry depicts only mud with nothing discovered in the depths of the Golden Chicken Seal.

Putting it together, Jiang Yuan suspects Zhao Yongxiang truly discovered something but couldn’t enter, subsequently fabricating false information in his mind to deceive his wife and children.

Perhaps his fabrications were too convincing and repeated too often, nearly making him believe them himself, stored in the brain "magnetic card," then extracted by the Soul Searching Technique.

"Push back the Golden Chicken Seal exploration a little; the priority is solving the contract pet’s side quest. I won’t accept any projects that may cause delays!" Jiang Yuan casually glanced at the courtyard communicator.

The Dragon Roar Sword will be forged by tomorrow, while the second Life Stone will be purified by the day after tomorrow. The Treasure Forging Workshop is set to decompose some unimportant materials to pass time, ensuring the Resurrection Talisman can be crafted as soon as the Life Stone is in place!

He flipped a few more pages and highlighted two points: First is the exploration of the hidden passage in the depths of the Golden Chicken Seal; second is the Evil Cultivation Clan Zhao Family’s stronghold atop the Wilderness—Cold Spring City.

According to the Soul-Searching Notes, the Zhao Family hides among righteous cultivators, having done numerous charitable deeds on the surface, ranking as one of the top households in Cold Spring City. If it weren’t for Zhao Yongxiang’s inherent suspicion and sole authority, given his status, even the City Lord of Cold Spring City would have to show him respect.

"This place name sounds familiar..." Jiang Yuan rubbed his face and thought carefully, suddenly realizing.

During the Wo Hu Temple Immortal Peach incident, he wore an exoskeleton outfit to solve the Demon Monk Guang Hui and freed the Stone Tiger. Among the spoils, he obtained a Jade Throne Golden Buddha.

System details revealed that the treasure made from Cold Jade and gold from the spring bottom was the guardian treasure of Cold Spring Temple, swapped with a fake by the Demon Monk.

Considering the religious significance of such a treasure outweighing its intrinsic value, he stored away the Buddha with its box, intending to return it once he discovers Cold Spring Temple’s location.

Now pinpointing Cold Spring City through the Soul-Searching Notes, he searched the map, eventually locating the not-so-large Cold Spring Temple nestled amid mountains and rivers in the city’s northwest.

What a coincidence!

By chance, once Hu Zhile’s fixation is resolved, he can return the Jade Throne Golden Buddha to the temple’s Buddhist cultivators while raiding the thief’s lair, thus performing a good deed.

"Hey, Zhile!" Jiang Yuan completed his plan, found the box containing the Buddha from the storage box, marked it, and turned his head only to see Hu Zhile emerging from the cave. He beckoned and asked, "Have you ever heard of the Soul Searching Technique?"

After learning and executing the skill, he obtained a notebook, sparking curiosity about the type of effects genuine cultivators achieve using the Soul Searching Technique. Given Hu Zhile’s extensive experience wandering the Wilderness and Mortal World, she might know a thing or two.

"Of course I’ve heard of it; that’s one of the infamously vile techniques." She walked over softly, responding with a gentle and tender voice, "Reportedly, the Soul Searching Technique wasn’t initially a vile technique solely used by evil cultivators. Some departments of the Demon Realm Alliance supposedly procured the magic for convenient interrogations.

However, executing such a technique inflicts irreversible damage on a cultivator’s divine soul, ranging from madness to death, with the entire process causing the victim unimaginable pain, severely cruel and violating moral codes. Its use in interrogations inevitably led to vulnerabilities with false accusations, resulting in tragically unjust endings for the innocent, thus prompting Wilderness Lords to collectively ban it.

The righteous cultivators of the Demon Realm Alliance ceased using it, but evil cultivators were indifferent.

The evil techniques they cultivate involve forcibly extracting other cultivators’ lifespan or even souls, where the more ruthless the method, the more effective the absorption, favoring devastatingly cruel techniques. Soul Searching Technique, capable of torturing opponents while extracting vital information, is regarded as achieving two results with one effort, so it gradually fell into disrepute as a vile technique."

"Then have you heard about what happens after executing the Soul Searching Technique?"

Hu Zhile pondered a moment, hesitating, "I’ve only heard, not verified its truthfulness; the Venerable Family may just listen casually. Apparently, as the name suggests, the Soul Searching Technique employs a strand of divine sense to forcibly enter another cultivator’s sea of consciousness, seeking the information one desires.

You know, the Elixir Field Spirit Root is a cultivator’s lifeline, whereas the sea of consciousness is a vital secret place for all living beings, including mortals. By forcibly entering, one could "witness" events firsthand through the other party’s perspective, hence its designation as an interrogation tool.

While the magic allows for tracing past events, slightly extended usage or minor mishandling results in excruciating pain and death for the searched soul, truly terrifying."

So others witness a "replay video," while his notebook is a consolidated text version.

The experience difference is indeed significant.

"Why did the Venerable Family think of asking about this? Did you encounter an evil cultivator?"

"Hmm, I encountered him at the Golden Chicken River Market last night," Jiang Yuan casually replied. "The market set up by the Demon Realm Alliance makes it too easy for evil cultivators to exploit and cause trouble. Cloud City is somewhat better; they conduct thorough investigations and strict checks, making it really hard for evil cultivators to infiltrate."

Hu Zhile laughed, "Their goals are different, you see. The market was established initially as a way for the Demon Realm Alliance to amass wealth. With countless large and small markets, they earn a fortune just from the cut they take each year. As long as the evil cultivators don’t recklessly kill innocents, they can contribute quite a bit of Spirit Stone too.

Cloud City has a responsible City Lord who is dedicated to protecting the good demon beasts and demon cultivators in the city. Coupled with the unique environment, the entire city’s underground is practically a huge treasure trove, so they naturally have to be cautious."

There’s a treasure trove under Cloud City?

This was new information, and he became a bit curious right away, "How do you know there’s a treasure trove under Cloud City?"

The other party was also quite puzzled, "The Venerable Family and Yun Shu are in Cloud City; haven’t you heard?"

Yun Shu was drawing talismans when he heard the inquiry and was even more baffled, "Never heard of it, where did Sister Hu hear this news?"

"My little sister heard it from a customer in Treasure Pavilion at the market who said the Night Spirit Grass he sold was from beneath Cloud City," Hu Zhile was also unsure whether to believe her sister’s words and explained, "She heard it and casually told me, saying the large amount of Spirit Plants and herbs sold in Cloud City is actually from the underground caves.

Otherwise, no matter how vast the Cloud Prairie is, they can’t supply the decades-old herbs for so many years’ continuous gathering and harvesting.

Therefore, the prairie is filled with those loose cultivators wandering around. With some luck, they might find a few herbs or gain something from the Mist Cloud, enough to make a living.

The large volume of herbs sold actually comes from beneath the city. Above the ground is just a resting and trading place for the demon beasts and demon cultivators, but underneath is the true core of Cloud City."

She further added, "A demon cultivator who conversed with my sister and came to sell herbs at Treasure Pavilion is a guard responsible for the underground city. Occasionally, he gets some slightly defective herbs, which are inconvenient to sell within the city, so he seeks out markets a bit farther from Cloud City to sell them quietly and earn some Spirit Stone."

Yun Shu blinked his beautiful big eyes in confusion, "So... if he is selling secretly, why would he tell Sister Hu Jiu about it? Isn’t this just causing trouble for himself?"

Jiang Yuan knew the little fox’s strength in gossip, but it was baffling that she could gather such secretive information, so he indeed needed to question the authenticity of the content.

Finally reaching the key point, Hu Zhile covered her cherry-like mouth with a silk handkerchief and smiled lightly, "This is all thanks to the Venerable Family. Ever since you imparted a suitable cultivation technique to my little sister, her cultivation speed has been incredibly fast; she’s made some progress in this short period.

Now, those boys in the Wo Hu Temple Market all like to gather around her.

The cultivator claiming to be the underground city guard of Cloud City, to please her, even sent a card of introduction and boasted: ’If Miss Hu Jiu wants to visit the underground city of Cloud City, she can find him to accompany her.’

What the heck?!

Really? Just a few days without seeing the little fox, and she’s turned the world upside down?

The Night Spirit Grass is the main component for refining the improved sixth-grade Clear Heart Pill. However, the system workshop only accepts the best quality herbs; slightly flawed ones won’t do.

Sometimes Yun Shu couldn’t identify the herbs he received, and they were stopped by the Alchemy Room, so he had to sell the unqualified ones at the original price again.

If he could really find a way to connect with the best Spirit Medicine production base in Cloud City, the Alchemy Room could keep running year-round, with an endless supply of elixirs and Spirit Stones!

Unexpectedly, a casual chat brought an unexpected gain. Jiang Yuan hesitated for a while before asking, "Zhile, can you discuss with Miss Hu Jiu if we can take the opportunity to explore the situation once we’ve solved your Elixir Field Spirit Root issue?

If there really is an underground treasure trove in Cloud City and it produces top-quality Spirit Medicine, I need to find a stable channel. This way, I can refine a large number of sixth-grade elixirs."

Although Hu Zhile didn’t think it was promising, she always kept her little sister’s dual cultivation dreams in mind. Joyfully, she replied, "I’ll send her a message right away. If she can really find a way to assist the Venerable Family, it would be her great fortune!"

The great favor bestowed by the Venerable Family is difficult to repay. Isn’t it a given to seize the chance to help?

Thus, Miss Hu Jiu, who was dedicating herself to cultivation in the closed market Treasure Pavilion during the day, heard the prompt from the Communication Stone and exited her cultivation state.

She hasn’t been practicing the Charm Technique for long, but because the cultivation technique suits her, and "Illusionary Charm Technique" is a Heavenly Level technique, albeit low level, its starting point was already quite high, making cultivation smooth and pleasant.

She still had that innocent and lovely face, but due to the Charm Technique cultivation, her eyes revealed a natural charm that was unforgettable.

"Young Master needs my help? Hahaha! Indeed, Heaven does not disappoint the determined. I said being persistent is useful!"

After reading the message from her third sister, she was full of pride with her hands on her hips, "Heh heh, first help Young Master with serious matters and find herbs. After that... work even harder on cultivation and try to astonish him when we meet again! As long as Young Master is attracted by my charm and beauty, how far can dual cultivation be? Hahaha..."