Purpose

Xu Yuan knitted his brows. He knew very little about aberrant ghosts. Very little information existed on them, whether in Cangyuan or in the Chancellor's Manor's internal dossiers. Ten thousand years was an eternity—seas transformed into mulberry fields, and countless dynasties had risen and fallen. A great deal of historical records from back then had dissolved like froth and foam amid wars and chaos. It was likely for this very reason that internal records regarding aberrant ghosts were exceedingly scarce even within the Chancellor's Manor. Of course, it was also possible that information concerning aberrant ghosts was classified into the top three tiers of internal intelligence—Grades A, B, and C. Xu Yuan had no clearance to access dossiers of that level at will, nor had he ever had any particular need to do so. Naturally, he hadn't bothered to waste effort sending a message all the way to the Imperial Capital to ask his father for permission. After combing through the meager bits of intelligence in his mind, Xu Yuan looked at the Saint's remnant soul beside him and asked in a low voice, "An aberrant ghost? Didn't people say aberrant ghosts have no sentience?" Ever since the Qionghua secret realm, the Saint's remnant soul had largely stopped speaking in riddles. Staring at the short-haired elder for a few breaths, he replied quietly, "Aberrant ghosts do possess sentience. The ones lacking it are the humans or demonic beasts that have undergone aberrant transformation through them." Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow. The Saint's remnant soul continued in a low murmur, "Though that isn't entirely true either. If a human or demonic beast who undergoes the transformation possesses profound cultivation, they can actually maintain their intelligence for a very long time. In the end, though, they will always become nothing more than a walking corpse. An old friend of mine back in the day held on with his cultivation for over ten years after being transformed before finally losing his mind." At this point, the Saint's remnant soul let out a sigh. "Still, that intelligence is only on the surface. Much like ghost transformation, once corrupted by an aberrant ghost, a person can no longer truly be called human. Ruin, destruction, assimilating other species—these innate drives of aberrant ghosts completely scour away whatever original personality a person had." Xu Yuan caught on quickly, frowning. "You mean those powerful humans who underwent aberrant transformation only appeared to retain their wits on the outside, while their core had already turned into aberrant ghosts?" At the mention of this, the Saint's remnant soul's voice turned oddly complex. "Yes. Although their temperament, cultivation, and physical constitution seemed identical to before, on the inside they had entirely become aberrant ghosts." "Did that cause massive casualties?" Xu Yuan could already imagine the havoc those powerful, transformed humans could wreak while lurking undercover within the human race. The Saint's remnant soul shook his head, his tone distant and slow. "No, it didn't cause that much damage. In fact, taking advantage of that opening, we turned the tables on the aberrant ghosts and slew many of their high-ranking kin." "What?" Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. How had the history from ten thousand years ago strayed from the usual script? "Every generation produces its own talents." The Saint's remnant soul uttered the words, chuckled softly, and shook his head before murmuring, "From the moment aberrant ghosts appeared, many people began studying those creatures crawling out of the Great Desolation." Xu Yuan stared at the Saint's remnant soul. "People were researching something that dangerous? Weren't they afraid it would spin out of control?" Just like in the apocalypse movies from his past life, where scientists probed bizarre substances only to end up burning themselves. The Saint's remnant soul glanced at Xu Yuan, his gaze remarkably calm. "Out of control? As long as there is profit to be had, someone will always step up to do it. Besides, given the dire circumstances of the Great Tribulation, we couldn't afford to worry about so much. "It's true that some people harbored impure motives. Craving immortality and raw power, they sought the unkillable traits of aberrant ghosts. But others researched them to uncover the creatures' weaknesses, striving to save the people and the world. "Regardless of the motives and the process, the outcome was that someone deciphered the traits of aberrant ghosts and used that knowledge to deal them a devastating blow." Saying this, the Saint's remnant soul pointed toward the short-haired elder across from them. "The cultivation method this lad practices was most likely passed down from back then. A tremendous amount of research on aberrant ghosts was produced, and many experts used those findings to create corresponding cultivation methods. "After all, although aberrant ghosts embody destruction, many of their traits are things humans covet. "An unkillable body, formidable strength, and even eternal life... Heh heh..." Xu Yuan fell silent for a moment, then suddenly asked out of nowhere, "So your intent-soul has survived for so long because you studied aberrant ghosts too?" This Old Man Luo had clearly been one of those studying aberrant ghosts back then. In Cangyuan, if a player chose the grandpa route, cultivating the method provided by Old Man Luo allowed them to enter secret realms, slaughter aberrant ghosts, and harvest a kind of crystal from their bodies to level up rapidly. To think there was no connection between them would fool nobody. "Naturally." The Saint's remnant soul admitted it frankly, speaking as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "However, the cultivation method this old man developed over ten thousand years is far superior to the half-baked rubbish this kid is practicing. Not only does it require no consumption of flesh and blood, but there's also no fear of losing one's mind." Xu Yuan listened carefully, then gestured with his chin toward the short-haired elder, who was now completely frozen into an ice sculpture. "Is this old man dead or not?" Without the boost from the Saint's soul power, Xu Yuan was back to being a seventh-rank weakling, unable to pierce Ran Qingmo's condensed ice crystals to sense what was inside. The Saint's remnant soul answered casually, "The method this man cultivates should be one of the original aberrant ghost manuals from ten thousand years ago. His body possesses nearly all the traits of an aberrant ghost, so he won't die that easily." Xu Yuan paused briefly, then asked, "To be so powerful, what's the cost?" "He must devour flesh and blood, and it's easy to lose control." The Saint's remnant soul answered without hesitation. As a high-ranking member of humanity who had lived through the Great Tribulation, he truly understood these creatures. Pausing a beat, the Saint's remnant soul chuckled and once again pitched his own method to Xu Yuan. "So, kid, want to consider switching to this old man's cultivation method? Mine comes with none of those worries." Hearing this, the corners of Xu Yuan's lips curled into a faint, humorless smirk as he stared at the Saint's remnant soul. "Are you sure you want me to cultivate it?" "..." Pinned beneath that gaze, the Saint's remnant soul had the uncanny feeling that the young man before him knew everything. The corner of his eye twitched, and he let out a soft huff. "Hmph. Forget it if you don't want it, brat. Back in my day, countless people begged on their knees for this old man to—" "All right, that's enough." Xu Yuan waved a hand, cutting off the Saint's remnant soul. "If I cut his head off and leave it sitting for a long time, will he die?" "Probably not. After all, this lad's body has almost entirely undergone aberrant ghost transformation." The Saint's remnant soul took no offense at being interrupted, shaking his head before asking in turn, "Kid, why ask that? Are you planning to hand him over to your Chancellor's Manor's Black Scale Guards for interrogation?" Xu Yuan nodded, glancing back toward the direction of Shengshan County. "After pulling something like this, someone has to pay a price." The Saint's remnant soul gave Xu Yuan a glance, amused. "You call your little sister foolish, yet your hands are doing the exact same thing she does." Xu Yuan did not reply right away. Drawing the Qingyu sword from his Sumeru ring, he stepped forward slowly. With a surge of soul power, a single clean stroke severed the short-haired elder's head. Lifting the severed head by the hair, Xu Yuan looked back with a calm gaze. "Old Man Luo, I called her foolish because the future she wants is fundamentally impossible to achieve using the methods she currently employs. As for me, I'm doing this simply because the Wanxiang Sect pissed me off."