A Brand-New Concept

"Fuel? That's one way to look at it." Xu Xinyao followed Xu Yuan's gaze toward the floor, her voice gentle. "Through the formation, the yin origin and life origin refined from those aberrant ghosts and yin ghosts are regulated and stored within the Mustard-Seed Lock to be neutralized. When you need it, you can activate the formation to draw it out." "..." Hearing this confirmation, Xu Yuan couldn't help but frown slightly. His eyes remained fixed on the floor, as if piercing through the stone layers to gaze upon the countless yin ghosts and aberrant ghosts imprisoned in the secret chamber below. Noticing the solemn look on her third brother's face, Xu Xinyao asked with slight hesitation, "Brother, what's wrong?" Xu Yuan took a deep breath, looked back up at her, and asked in a low voice, "I understand the basic principle, but won't this cause a rejection reaction?" In truth, rather than calling them fuel, "cauldron" was a far more fitting term for the aberrant ghosts and yin ghosts trapped beneath them. Beneath the heavens existed tens of thousands of evil arts, many of which used other people as cauldrons. Yet the limits of such methods were severely restricted, and the sole reason was rejection. A cultivator's body was a machine of ultimate precision; it naturally repelled anything belonging to another. *Pfft.* Xu Xinyao's soft chuckle broke Xu Yuan's train of thought. Her eyes curved into crescents as she murmured, "Brother, you don't need to worry about that." Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" "The concept of rejection doesn't exist between yin ghosts and aberrant ghosts." "..." Xu Yuan froze for a second. But as understanding dawned, he relaxed and rubbed the space between his brows. "True. Whether yin ghosts or aberrant ghosts, they seem capable of evolving directly by devouring their own kind." Xu Xinyao smiled faintly, retrieved a dossier from her Sumeru ring, and held it out to him. "If you're still uneasy, Third Brother, take a look at this." Xu Yuan glanced over. The cylindrical paper case of the dossier was tied with a slender red cord. As the Prime Minister's Manor's foremost "research institute," the Gewu Academy housed an immense repository of dossiers spanning countless disciplines. To streamline access, the binding cords were color-coded by security clearance. A slender red cord marked a third-tier dossier, ranked just beneath black and gold. Taking it from her, Xu Yuan uncapped the paper tube, pulled out the manuscript within, and skimmed through it. An unconscious flicker of surprise crossed his eyes. Right on cue, Xu Xinyao's gentle explanation sounded: "This dossier records the observed state of the origin essence refined from a hundred yin ghosts under our instruments. Without exception, the origin essence refined from all one hundred demon-ghosts was identical." Xu Yuan set down the document, somewhat puzzled. "Origin essence?" Xu Xinyao leisurely settled back into the wooden chair behind the desk. Instead of answering directly, she asked, "Third Brother, have you heard of innate qi?" "Of course I have. Cultivators circulate and breathe to refine heaven and earth into their own innate qi. Once it reaches the threshold, they break through to the next realm," Xu Yuan answered without hesitation. A cultivator's breathing techniques fell into two categories. The first was absorbing qi; the second was cultivating origin. In the gaming terms of his past life, the former was meditating to regenerate mana, while the latter was expanding the mana pool. Xu Xinyao smiled. "Since you know that, Third Brother, you can think of this term as the yin ghost equivalent of a cultivator's innate qi." Xu Yuan came to an understanding. Pulling out a chair, he sat back down and asked casually, "The Gewu Academy actually has instruments that can observe origin essence? Don't tell me this is something you invented recently, Fourth Sister?" Xu Xinyao pouted and scoffed softly under her breath, "You certainly hold me in high regard, Brother. This was Father's doing years ago. Long before now, he ordered the Gewu Academy to investigate the rejection reactions between cultivators." Xu Yuan pondered for a moment, instantly grasping his old man's intention. "If we could overcome the rejection reaction between cultivators, one could borrow the strength of others when breaking through realms. Over time, the overall realm of our Prime Minister's Manor's cultivators would skyrocket." "In ten thousand years of cultivation, no one has ever accomplished it. How could it be easily realized?" "..." Xu Yuan remained silent. Xu Xinyao cupped her teacup in both hands, her fingers tracing its smooth rim. "Over the years, although the 'Heaven-Peering Instrument' Master developed could observe a cultivator's innate qi, that was as far as it went. Master tried no fewer than a thousand ways to interfere with and alter a cultivator's innate qi, but all ended in failure." At this point, she let out a faint sigh. "Now Father has abandoned this project. If not for the need to resolve the alteration in your constitution, Third Brother, the Heaven-Peering Instrument—developed at astronomical expense in manpower and resources—would have deteriorated into scrap from lack of maintenance." Xu Yuan listened intently. Seeing the conflicted expression on his fourth sister's face, he chuckled and asked, "Are you very interested in this kind of research?" "What, Third Brother, are you planning to give me silver?" Xu Xinyao looked up. "It's not out of the question." Xu Yuan shrugged. "Except if I recall correctly, all your silver was taken by Lou Ji." "..." Xu Yuan fell silent. After a moment of silence, Xu Xinyao shook her head. "Brother, it's not that I'm interested in innate qi itself. I know very well that with the Gewu Academy's current facilities and technology, we can't possibly resolve the rejection problem with innate qi. I just feel that such an exquisite marvel as the Heaven-Peering Instrument, crafted by Master, shouldn't be cast aside like this." Xu Yuan smiled wryly. "Xinyao, with your status, it shouldn't be hard to requisition it, should it?" "Maintaining the Heaven-Peering Instrument alone costs millions of taels of silver in manpower and materials each year, and activating it for a single shichen burns through a staggering quantity of Source Crystals. Third Brother, do you think Father would indulge such a willful request from me?" "..." Xu Yuan was speechless. Well, no wonder the old man shut down the project. Researching innate qi was simply a bottomless pit that devoured money. If there were any glimmer of hope, investing in it might make sense, but this research clearly had zero chance of yielding practical returns in the short term. Spending those resources on warfare implements and functional formations was vastly more cost-effective. Xu Xinyao glanced down at her reflection in the tea and murmured, "Besides, to observe the demon-ghosts' origin essence this time, the long-neglected Heaven-Peering Instrument had to be forced into operation. Many of its components are already damaged, and repairing them will cost an astronomical fortune." Dejection, disappointment, helplessness, and unwilling acceptance. Looking at the pitiful Doraem-Yao before him, a thought flickered through Xu Yuan's mind. He tapped lightly on the table. "Xinyao, why do you want to use the Heaven-Peering Instrument?" Hearing this, Xu Xinyao looked up, her bright, watery eyes blinking. She pursed her lips and said softly, "In today's world, all formations and implements rely on Source Crystals for power. "However... but Third Brother, you saw it just now. A demon-ghost's yin origin can be regulated through a formation. If properly utilized, perhaps it could create an entirely new energy source—and one that can be used indefinitely!" Xu Yuan unconsciously stroked his chin, casting another glance at the floor. Through his spiritual vision, he could sense the newly excavated, massive secret chamber below that imprisoned the aberrant ghosts and yin ghosts. Truth be told, he was somewhat taken aback by his fourth sister's words. It seemed her bleeding heart applied only to humanity; when it came to these demon-ghosts, not even a ruthless capitalist could exploit them harder than she did. After pondering for a moment, Xu Yuan gently shook his head and pointed toward the formation in the chamber below. "The reason Source Crystals are irreplaceable isn't just because they contain massive amounts of Source Qi, but because they hold such immense Source Qi within a compact size." Xu Yuan gestured downward again. "This formation is too massive. Even if it works, it's completely redundant." A trace of urgency crept into Xu Xinyao's voice. "I have a way to solve that problem!" "Oh?" Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow. Xu Xinyao stared at him, her beautiful eyes glowing with excitement. "Brother, do you remember Senior Luo's soul ring?"