“Still, these unorthodox dual-cultivation sects are the most interesting. Even a spirit puppet can be crafted so lifelike. Look at that rear, that waist, those legs... heh heh...”
The irreverent Saint's remnant soul stared at the departing back of the stone-carved woman, clicking his tongue in marvel.
Xu Yuan's eye twitched at his words.
A man shouldn't...
Oh.
The old man wasn't human right now, so never mind.
Xu Yuan shot him a faint smile and a sidelong glance. “Old Man Luo, you really have quite an appetite. But isn't this stone-carved woman a spiritual essence spirit?”
A spiritual essence spirit was a naturally born spirit; famous swords harboring sword spirits fell under this category.
Of course, while called “naturally born,” as cultivation progressed over the ages and practitioners unlocked the mysteries behind them, spiritual essence spirits could now be refined artificially.
The Meishen cherry tree was one such example.
Through artificial means, Saintess Yuchu's spirit had been refined into the Meishen cherry tree.
This method seemed unorthodox, but the soul-refining technique itself had nothing to do with good or evil.
In the present-day Great Yan Dynasty, every year there were officials approaching the end of their lifespans or renowned elders who voluntarily offered to be refined into spiritual essence spirits, enshrined in City God temples or Mountain God temples to protect their localities.
Hearing the question, the Saint's remnant soul glanced at Xu Yuan and chuckled. “If she were truly a spiritual essence spirit, she would have killed you the moment you met. How could a man be a Saintess? Only a spirit puppet would follow rules so rigidly.”
Xu Yuan pondered for a moment and nodded. “That makes sense.”
A smile touched the corners of the Saint's remnant soul's lips. “Back then, when I consulted the ancient records of the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion, they said many disciples of the once-flourishing Hehuan Sect liked to keep a spirit puppet by their side, useful by day and by night. Looking at it now, it does make sense. Boy Xu, do you have any way to take this Rank Two spirit puppet with you?”
Xu Yuan rolled his eyes. “No.”
Could someone just kidnap the boss of a boss room?
Seeing this, the Saint's remnant soul sighed softly and muttered, “What a pity. If you could take this puppet outside and repair it, it could probably pass for a half-step Transcendent Realm.”
Xu Yuan frowned upon hearing this. “Repair it? It's damaged?”
The Saint's remnant soul immediately explained, “Too much time has passed. Even without battles, the passage of years has brought the formation structures within this spirit puppet to the brink of collapse.”
“Then how much strength does it have right now?” Xu Yuan asked his most pressing question.
“Peak Origin Realm. If it fights one more time, it will probably fall apart.” The Saint's remnant soul had already investigated its condition.
Hearing this, Xu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.
Even once was enough—as long as it could hold back Tianyan.
Still, the gap between reality and the game was truly vast. In Cangyuan, unless you killed the boss, no matter how little health it had left, the next time you entered, it would be waiting for you at full health.
The Saint's remnant soul stared at the pristine Wenyuan Pavilion around them for a long while before remarking with a sigh, “I wonder what happened to this Qionghua Sect back then, to be destroyed while its sect grounds remained completely intact...”
As he spoke, the Saint's remnant soul shot Xu Yuan a meaningful glance, a hint of depth in his eyes, as if hoping Xu Yuan could enlighten him.
Xu Yuan shrugged candidly. “Don't look at me. I don't know either.”
He truly didn't know about this.
In Cangyuan, the map had simply looked like this. Caring about boss drops and side quests in this instance had already been complicated enough; who would bother investigating why the sect map was so intact?
However, the old man's musing made Xu Yuan realize another problem.
There were too many powerhouses in Vault Palace.
Counting the Meishen cherry tree and the Leech King over at Cherry Leech Lake, the experts Xu Yuan knew of in Vault Palace already numbered three at the peak of the Rank Two Origin Realm, four in the Rank Two Origin Realm, and eight Rank Three Grandmasters.
Back in the game, he naturally hadn't thought much of it. After all, it was a Level 80 instance. If the bosses were too low-level, they would just be free loot for players. But translated into reality, such power was chilling.
And this was only across two maps within the vast Vault Palace. Besides these two places, there were still the Sect Master's bedchamber and the sect's rear mountain.
Pausing for a moment, Xu Yuan asked the Saint's remnant soul in a low voice, “Old man, how many powerhouses do you think the Qionghua Sect had back then?”
The current spirit puppets and demonic beasts were merely what remained after the destruction of Qionghua Palace. Before its downfall, the glory of the Qionghua Sect was truly hard to imagine.
“Hmm?” The Saint's remnant soul let out a soft murmur of surprise and chuckled in return. “Isn't this your sect? Why ask me?”
Xu Yuan glanced at him with exasperation. “I already told you, I'm not like you. I just had some fortuitous encounters and happened to learn about this secret realm.”
The Saint's remnant soul pondered slightly, analyzing: “Well, judging by these remaining spirit puppets and demonic beasts, before it was wiped out... hmm, the Qionghua Sect probably wasn't weaker than your Chancellor's Manor.”
“...” Xu Yuan's pupils shrank slightly.
Yet the Saint's remnant soul smiled nonchalantly. “What's so strange about that? Ten thousand years ago, besides the Pavilion Master and elders, our Overseeing Heaven Pavilion still had over a dozen Holy Venerables.”
Xu Yuan was startled and tentatively asked, “Old Man Luo, the cultivation of your Overseeing Heaven Pavilion's Holy Venerables...”
“Saints, naturally.”
“...” Xu Yuan was at a loss for words.
The Saint's remnant soul stared into Xu Yuan's eyes for several breaths. Finding no flaw, he shook his head gently. “Actually, you don't need to overthink it. The overall strength of an era is influenced by the world's Source Qi. Back in our time, we happened to coincide with a surge in the world's Source Qi, which gave rise to such a golden age.
“Besides, every era has its pros and cons. If I could choose, I would rather have been born in the current era.”
Speaking of the past, the Saint's remnant soul's tone was nostalgic and wistful.
“Why?” Xu Yuan immediately prompted.
“Heh heh...” The Saint's remnant soul gave him a knowing smile.
“...”
Xu Yuan's eye twitched. He had a sneaking suspicion this old bastard was about to speak in riddles again.
Fortunately, after laughing, the Saint's remnant soul uttered a single sentence: “Because cultivators today at least don't have to live from hand to mouth, never knowing if they'll see tomorrow.”
Xu Yuan stared at the Saint's remnant soul without speaking, waiting for what he had to say next.
The Saint's remnant soul weighed his words carefully before speaking in a low voice: “Boy, have you heard of aberrant ghosts?”
Xu Yuan froze for a moment, then nodded. “Naturally.”
Such things existed in quite a few of Cangyuan's secret realm instances, like Changhong Valley, where the protagonist had gone earlier in the story.
A complex emotion flickered in the eyes of the Saint's remnant soul as he said leisurely, “Ten thousand years ago, our Pavilion Master suddenly convened a gathering of our Holy Venerables, saying she could no longer see the future and needed us to investigate.”
The Saint's voice was calm and aloof.
Xu Yuan suddenly asked, “Just like Tianyan was toward me?”
“I don't know, but most likely not. Judging by that girl's performance earlier, she clearly can still see glimpses of the near future. But when our Pavilion Master used the Heaven Deduction Method to deduce the future, all she saw was complete and utter darkness.”
“And then aberrant ghosts appeared?”
“Yes. Even though powerhouses were as numerous as clouds back then, more than half the world was still slaughtered clean by those things.”
Chapter 109