It was already late afternoon when Kong Mingan returned to the Kong family residence with Meng Hongchen. After handing him the organized research materials, she chose to begin her daily cultivation.
The longer she stayed by his side, the more she realized that her own talent was not as great as his. If she wanted to always remain by his side, she knew she had to work hard to keep up. Watching her energetic back disappear around the corner of the corridor, Kong Mingan's faint smile slowly faded away.
Turning around, Kong Mingan walked back into his private laboratory. With a soft chime, the identity verification was successful, and the heavy alloy door silently slid open. It closed tightly after he stepped inside. The light in the laboratory was as bright as ever, and the air was dense with a metallic chill that made his spirits rise.
Returning to his workstation, he took out a crystal box from his soul tool storage ring. The box was specially made from high-strength insulating crystal and a soul tool array. It was capable of sealing special materials inside to prevent their properties from fading over time.
Inside the crystal box lay a quiet carving knife. The knife had an ancient design, and its entire body was a dark green that could send shivers down your spine. The blade was long and narrow, with an edge that gleamed with a cold, eerie light.
The hilt was wrapped in twisted, dark gold patterns that emitted negative auras of coldness, greed, and malevolence. It felt as if thousands of screaming souls were trapped inside it. This was the Soul-Devouring Carving Knife.
In the original history of the world, this carving knife should have been bought by Huo Yuhao a few years later at an auction in Star Luo City. But now, the knife belonged to Kong Mingan. Not long after he remembered his past life, he used his authority to search for various opportunities from the original story, and this knife was one of them.
His persistence paid off about half a year ago when his people purchased it for only 400,000 gold coins from the descendant of a fallen noble family in the Star Luo Empire. The family had been ruined by the carving knife's evil backlashes. For a tool whose true origin was the Gold of Life, this price was a steal.
Kong Mingan did not take it out immediately. Instead, he closed his eyes and concentrated to reach his peak mental state. For half a year, he had never stopped the work of purifying this knife.
Although he did not have Electrolux with him, his absolute control over his mental force allowed him to avoid being influenced by the curses on the blade. He used his mental force to meticulously peel away the resentment bit by bit. It was a slow process, but it was effective, and it helped train his mental strength. Daily stripping of the curses had become his routine.
Slowly extending his hands, silver threads of mental force emerged from his fingertips. They enveloped the Soul-Devouring Carving Knife and bound the curse threads that coiled like snakes. Without any hindrance, the silver threads peeled off a trace of the foul evil and shredded it. Each act was accompanied by the violent trembling of the knife and the ear-piercing shrieks of thousands of souls. Kong Mingan was used to this and simply felt his mental force growing stronger and purer under the pressure.
Time passed slowly, and this session took longer than any previous attempt. Today was the final push. Kong Mingan's fingers remained steady as the silver threads acted like a surgical knife, cutting away the resentful souls one stroke at a time. Suddenly, the carving knife erupted with an unprecedented vibration. On the blade, the last core mass of dark red curse origin was dragged out from the core by dozens of silver threads.
A mournful roar exploded in Kong Mingan's mental sea, attempting to twist his mind, but he ignored it. Without hesitation, the silver threads tightened, and pure mental flames appeared. Like a red-hot iron in ice water, the curse origin let out a final wail and vaporized into nothing.
As the last bit of defilement vanished, the terrifying knife underwent a massive transformation. The dark green color shed away like grime to reveal inner brilliance. The blade became like fine jade, crystal clear and emitting a refreshing emerald light. A vast and pure life aura filled the entire laboratory.
"Gold of Life..." Kong Mingan stared at it with relief and a hint of joy. Half a year of hard work had finally borne fruit. This carving knife would be a powerful aid in his future research into life energy and the mysteries of qi and blood. He reached out his hand, preparing to feel the pure Gold of Life for himself. However, the moment his fingertip touched it, an unexpected change occurred.
A faint, space-tearing sound rang out in the air just in front of him. A tiny spatial rift appeared without warning. Immediately after, a faint gray light cluster drifted out of the rift, swaying like a candle in the wind. Kong Mingan was shocked. The light cluster was weak, as if a gentle breeze could blow it away. But the ancient mental fluctuations it emitted were full of wisdom and made Kong Mingan instinctively wary.
The gray light cluster seemed to sense something as well. It slowly turned toward the Gold of Life in his hand. The next moment, an old and weary voice sounded directly in Kong Mingan's mental sea.
"Such pure and vast life origin... Gold of Life? Heh heh... I never thought that this wisp of my remnant soul would still have a chance to live..." The voice grew even more tired. After a short pause, the gray light cluster flickered and sent a clearer thought into Kong Mingan's mind. "Kid... would you like to make a deal with this old man?"