"Even in such circumstances, they still retained means of escape. These Insectoid Soul Beasts are even more cautious than human Soul Masters."
After two encounters, Tang San grew increasingly wary of these human-like spirit creatures. Not only had these Insectoid Soul Beasts mastered the lost technology of Soul Guidance Devices, but they were also extremely cautious.
"These Insectoid Soul Beasts must know about the existence of super-powerful beings like Titled Douluo among human Soul Masters. No matter how formidable they are, they can't overcome the overwhelming difference in cultivation. Just like that Insectoid named Kelly Vera I encountered before—it had three Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts protecting it. This Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast was the same. It chose this location because of the teleportation Soul Guidance Device like the Godhood Ascension Ladder here, allowing it to escape and avoid being killed by powerful human Soul Masters."
"Their ability to seek advantage and avoid harm even surpasses that of humans."
Initially, Tang San had thought the teleportation Soul Guidance Device that brought Qian Renxue here was created by Spirit Hall. Now it seemed this technology belonged to the Holy Spirit Sect, capable of teleporting people.
Just as Tang San was pondering this, a soft thud sounded—Qian Renxue, having completely exhausted her Soul Power, collapsed to the ground.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't die on me." After swallowing a pill to recover some of his injuries, Tang San gritted his teeth against the pain and rushed over, quickly lifting the fallen Qian Renxue.
Qian Renxue's lips were pale, clearly a sign of excessive Soul Power consumption. It was evident that after having her Soul Power and Martial Soul sealed, using her Spirit Bone's Soul Skill wasn't an easy feat for her—it had taken a heavy toll.
Tang San took out another pill and gently pushed it into Qian Renxue's mouth.
With some medicinal relief, Qian Renxue exhaled deeply and said, "Sorry, my Spirit Bone's power was too great. It seems to have purified even the Soul Rings."
Tang San was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected her first words to be an apology.
"It's nothing. Besides, I wasn't planning to take that Soul Beast's Soul Ring anyway. Who knows if it would have been compatible?" Tang San didn't mention the Insectoid's escape.
"Rest for a while and recover your Soul Power. I'll see if there's any loot to collect."
Seeing Tang San still obsessed with scavenging, Qian Renxue was speechless. The place had been blown to bits—what could possibly remain? Waving her hand dismissively, she ignored him and began meditating to recuperate.
Actually, Tang San wasn't looking for loot. He wanted to use his Ghost Ring to absorb the residual souls of the slain Soul Beasts. This cavern had been filled with dense clusters of Insectoid eggs, and Qian Renxue's single attack had annihilated them all. The souls of these dead Soul Beasts would have been a feast for the Ghost Ring—maybe even enough to level it up.
However, after searching the entire cavern, Tang San found nothing!
"Damn it! Could that Soul Skill have purified even their souls?!" Tang San was dumbfounded. He'd forgotten that the Six-Winged Angel God was the natural counter to the Rakshasa God!
Was this Qian Renxue his nemesis too?! Even the souls of those three Soul Emperors and seven Soul Kings had been purified—not a single scrap left for him!
"This sucks. All I got from this Ancient Ruins expedition is one Ten Thousand Year Spirit Bone and a Rakshasa Divine Artifact fragment?" Tang San—ever the greedy one—was unsatisfied!
If others knew that he was still unsatisfied after obtaining a ten-thousand-year Spirit Bone and a Divine Artifact Fragment, they would probably want to hit him with a hammer—one shouldn't be too greedy!
"Really nothing else?" Tang San searched again but still found nothing.
The cavern had been completely blown into a massive hole by Qian Renxue's Demon Judgment Sword. Even if there had been any Soul Guidance Devices here, they would have been reduced to ashes.
Suddenly, Tang San remembered something and hurried over to Ning Feng Hong's corpse. He flipped the body over and rummaged through it, pulling out a token.
"Just as I thought. No wonder the clothing looked so familiar—this guy is from the main lineage of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School." Seeing the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda engraved on Ning Feng Hong's token, Tang San muttered to himself, "He must be one of Ning Fengzhi's sons. That means he possesses the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. So the reason he didn't enter the Godhood Ascension Ladder but came here instead..."
"The treasure-seeking ability of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda!"
Tang San pondered, "Qian Renxue said that according to Spirit Hall's records, this place is the core of the Holy Spirit Sect's evil. Evil—that must refer to their practice of refining Spirit Bones from human Soul Masters. The core—could this be the Soul Gathering Basin?"
Tang San walked to the edge of the massive hole blasted by Qian Renxue and jumped straight down. Unfortunately, even at the bottom, he found no trace of a Soul Guidance Device.
"Strange. Even after being blasted apart by Qian Renxue, if this really were the Holy Spirit Sect's Soul Gathering Basin for refining Spirit Bones, there should at least be fragments or remnants of Soul Guidance Devices here. Was it destroyed long ago? No, no—if it had been destroyed, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda wouldn't have reacted. That means the thing is still here."
"Not destroyed, yet no Soul Guidance Device? From the very beginning, the Soul Gathering Basin wasn't a Soul Guidance Device at all!!"
A flash of insight struck Tang San's mind, connecting all the clues. He suddenly recalled the lifeless, scorched land outside the Holy Spirit Sect's headquarters, purified of all life.
"Qian Renxue's ancestors didn't truly intend to purify this metal treasure hall—they wanted to purify this world, this land!! This world itself is the Soul Gathering Basin. The Holy Spirit Sect built their base here because it's the convergence point!"
Tang San immediately understood. He took out the treasure box from his Soul Guidance Device, opened it, and placed it inside the pit.
Then, through the Rakshasa Vision of his Rakshasa God Eye, Tang San saw something inexplicable happening—objects began to appear inside the Spirit Bone Display Box, as if seeping up from the bottom!
Seeing this, Tang San fully grasped the truth. Back then, Qian Renxue's ancestor hadn't just wanted to purify the Holy Spirit Sect—she had likely intended to destroy this Soul Guidance Device box as well. Tang San guessed that the Holy Spirit Sect, anticipating judgment from Spirit Hall, had someone take the box away from this world. Eventually, it ended up in the hands of the Sacred Dragon Sect.
The Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul Soul Master who destroyed the Holy Spirit Sect back then probably hadn't reached God-level, so she lacked the power to annihilate this pocket world. All she could do was purify the land with angelic flames, eradicating the Holy Spirit Sect that had conducted their evil rituals here.
"Those fools from the Sacred Dragon Sect got their hands on the most important thing, yet still ended up empty-handed in the end." Tang San was practically laughing himself to death. The Sacred Dragon Sect had obtained the most crucial key item—if they had just come to this cave and opened the box, they could have claimed the most precious opportunity.
But in the end, it all fell into his lap.
Soon, the Spirit Bone Display Box was half-filled with what looked like dark red blood, as if the earth itself had been drained.
"Not a Spirit Bone? Or is this the Bone Seed?" Tang San frowned at the half-box of mysterious substance. He had expected it to condense into a Spirit Bone.
With a sudden hum, a white Ghost Ring appeared out of nowhere. Tang San sneered, swiftly closing the box and stashing it into his Storage Soul Guidance Device.
"Tsk tsk tsk, you're supposed to be a god, yet you still resort to stealing?" Tang San grinned brightly at the Ghost Ring that had missed its mark. "Want it? Then bring something to trade for it."
Sleep schedule completely messed up~~~ Slept way too much the past couple of days.
(End of Chapter)