fairy family

Chapter 280 Divided Soul Seizes Foundation, Gourd Displays Power

Inside the main hall, the faces of everyone around showed surprise and bewilderment.

In particular, Tian Cejun and Ling Yunzi were completely unprepared for the current turn of events.

"Is there something unusual about the tradition here?"

"What exactly does that old Taoist priest want to do? Why did he suddenly shout like that!"

Amidst everyone's surprise and doubt, Yu Que's condition worsened even further.

When Yu Que lost control of his soul, the eight large characters of the secret script had already landed steadily in his inner world, and were flashing with light, actively connecting with the streams of spiritual energy in his inner world.

Clusters of crimson spiritual energy that had been suppressed within the inner world suddenly rebelled, causing a huge commotion within the inner world.

The floating island that Yu Que placed there was directly shaken apart by the "giant wave" formed by the gathering of these spiritual energies.

Other miscellaneous items were also affected, with many paper money and spirit stones turning to ashes on the spot.

Fortunately, Gong Dongxue and the others were placed in the Rakshasa's lead ship by Yu Que, and Yu Que even shrunk the lead ship to avoid it taking up too much space.

Given the quality of its magical artifact, it was not shattered by the disturbance within the inner world. Otherwise, these Huangshan disciples would have died unknowingly within the Yuque inner world.

"You old fool, how dare you!"

Yu Que's hazy consciousness was stimulated by the scene in the inner world, and he immediately became much more awake.

He roared furiously in his mind.

By now, how could he not know that this old man was really up to no good and had his eye on his inner world, wanting to usurp his place!
A series of cold laughs echoed once more within Yu Que's spiritual realm:

"Boy, don't be ungrateful. I am imparting my teachings to you today, and you still dare to defy my decree."

"For your own good, I have no choice but to forcibly inscribe my Taoist magic into your body."

Upon hearing this, Yu Que felt even more furious.

The goodwill I had previously developed because of the other party's sermon vanished instantly, and I began to suspect that the other party had also mixed a lot of harmful intentions into the content of the sermon.

He immediately mobilized the Earth Crow True Fire and the Taibai True Fiend Sword Qi within his body, attempting to calm the commotion in his inner world.

However, those eight large secret characters had already been imprinted in his inner world, and it was too late for him to put up a resistance now.

In particular, the vast spiritual energy he absorbed into his inner world was now transformed into resources for the eight secret texts, allowing them to rapidly expand and spread within his inner world, quickly transforming from a name into a Daoist technique.

Then it transformed into a dense collection of scriptures and incantations, completely enveloping his vast inner world.

At that moment, loud laughter rang out in Yu Que's inner world.

A frail, deranged figure gradually appeared in Yu Que's inner world; it was none other than the celestial old Taoist.
"Hahahahaha!

Unexpectedly, the three of us have fallen into this land of degenerate age, our spirits scattered year after year, and our bodies transformed year after year. The other two couldn't endure it any longer and their memories were completely wiped out, turning them into natives of this place.

Only I, an old man, have finally seen a glimmer of hope.

The face of the Celestial Immortal was composed of countless secret characters, which became clearer and more vivid as more characters were added.

His eyes darted around, taking in the scene within the inner world, and he murmured with delight:
"I originally thought that among this group of people, only that naturally divine little fellow was worth my time to take action. The rest were just there as backup plans."

"I never expected to encounter someone with such a celestial potential as you. It truly shows that Heaven has left a glimmer of hope."

The inner world was formed from Yu Que's essence, energy, and spirit. The old Taoist priest murmured to himself within it, which he naturally heard clearly.

Having understood the other party's intentions, Yu Que felt a deep sense of powerlessness and despair.

He couldn't help but curse inwardly:
"You little brat! Even if you're just a celestial being with only a wisp of a soul left, why are you shamelessly bullying us?"

According to ancient texts, the difference between celestial beings and those who haven't yet achieved immortality is not merely that of an adult and a child, but rather akin to that between a mayfly and the heavens. The gap is so vast that even true immortals would find it hard to comprehend.

In despair, Yu Que cursed under his breath, then suddenly realized:

"Wait, only a wisp of a soul remains!"
This fellow said during his sermon that we would be his last batch of students, and just now he mentioned that they were distracted every year, and two others had completely perished, becoming natives... In other words, this fiend who is now trying to possess me probably doesn't even qualify as a remnant soul of a celestial being!

Just as Yu Que had guessed.

Since falling into the Dao Secret Realm, the old Daoist Ziwei's Heavenly Immortal status had been shattered, leaving only a remnant soul.

After tens of thousands of years of struggle for survival, all that remains for this creature is a last vestige of obsession. Although its status is high, its actual power is far less formidable than people imagine.

Otherwise, this fellow wouldn't have preached in the Immortal Mountain, requiring the Heavenly Emperor and others to sacrifice hundreds of thousands of immortals to open the mountain; instead, he would have directly devoured the beings of the Dao Secret Realm.
Realizing this, a glimmer of hope rekindled in Yu Que's heart.

He gritted his teeth, suppressing the fear in his heart, and a look of madness appeared on his face.

The next moment, Yu Que's stern shout echoed within the inner world:
"Old man, even if this thing is broken, it's not for you to touch!"

Seeing that he could do nothing to his opponent, he made a desperate decision and attempted to destroy his inner world in order to destroy the old Taoist's divine sense that had entered his inner world as well.

Noticing Yu Que's actions, the old Taoist priest's smile vanished.

The other party was furious and cursed:
"You little thief, you dare to destroy my treasure! You are truly despicable!"

Buzz!
The opponent's enormous face eroded deeper into the inner world, eventually detaching from its surface and transforming into a giant human face, floating within it.

It inhaled and exhaled all the spiritual energy within Yuque's inner world, its voice shouting and rebuking:

"Certainly!"

As soon as the voice fell, even though this place was Yu Que's inner world, Yu Que's thoughts froze on the spot. He could no longer control his inner world in the slightest, let alone control this thing to self-destruct.

Seeing that his desperate attempt to survive had been easily thwarted by the other party, Yu Que felt a renewed sense of despair.

Just then, the lingering remnant of the celestial Taoist suddenly discovered two things in his inner world.

One of them was the Rakshasa-headed ship carrying Gong Dongxue and others.

The old Taoist priest's lingering remnant spirit immediately recognized that this object was a complete Qi Refining Magic Treasure, equivalent to a Golden Core Magic Treasure as he knew it, and not something he could easily break at his current level.

So he chose to ignore it.

The second thing surprised him greatly: "How could such a mortal thing survive under my pressure?"

The thing that caught the old Taoist's lingering resentment was Yu Que's little black gourd.

Once inside the inner world, Yu Que immediately placed the little black gourd there, hiding it securely in the center of the floating island.

Yu Que never expected that his inner world would one day fall into the hands of others, and that the little black gourd would be easily discovered by them.

The old Taoist priest repeatedly examined the black gourd. The more he examined it, the more he realized that the gourd was extremely ordinary. Whether it was its appearance or its material, it was just ordinary stone, without any special features.

But it is precisely this point that highlights the extraordinary uniqueness of the black gourd!
"Ordinary stone could not possibly remain intact under my pressure. But if it is a spiritual artifact or immortal artifact, how could it remain completely unharmed right under my nose?" The old Taoist priest's remnant gaze swept over the black gourd, ignoring Yu Que who was standing to the side.

After examining it for a long time, he realized that perhaps only when his physical body was still intact and his soul was whole could he glimpse the wonder of this object.

He is now just a lingering memory, missing many of his memories, and is now willing but unable to do anything about it.

Finally, he thought to himself, "It's probably a rare innate treasure. After all, a celestial immortal who can create an inner world usually has great fortune and wouldn't be without any treasures on him."

The old Taoist priest then put the little black gourd and the Rakshasa-headed boat together, intending to deal with them later.

But little did he know that when Yu Que saw the black gourd appear in front of the old Taoist, a surge of hope welled up in his heart.

"The gourd is good at swallowing and refining ghosts. No matter what this old Taoist priest says, it is also a ghost!"

Perhaps it can be refined from a gourd!?

Yu Que was filled with anticipation and immediately decided to try anything, even if it seemed hopeless.

He spoke with difficulty: "Master, this item was obtained by me from an unknown place. The bottle is always sealed and cannot be opened normally. It can only be opened occasionally. If you like it, you may take it."

I only beg the Taoist priest to spare my life!

Upon hearing this, the old Taoist priest's remnant spirit immediately became interested and asked Yu Que to recount how he obtained the treasure.

Yu Que immediately gave a half-truth, saying that this thing could refine moonlight and then emit a "spiritual energy" that could nourish ghosts.

It was through this spiritual energy that he was able to feed numerous ghosts and spirits and obtain the status of a true disciple in the Huangshan Taoist Palace.

The old Taoist priest's remnant spirit heard this and his eyes darted around: "It can actually nourish the souls of ghosts and gods, could it be hiding some kind of elixir... It even hides its spiritual essence in front of me, could it be a celestial being?"

In an instant, a thought began to stir in his mind.

After all, if what Yu Que said is true, with the help of this spiritual object, it will be much easier for him to recover his cultivation in the future!
However, just as the old Taoist priest reluctantly brought the gourd in front of him, intending to force it open and see what was inside,

A thought struck him, and he immediately reduced his oppressive aura, allowing Yu Que's soul to move slightly.

This fellow then gave the order to Yu Que:

"Good boy, open this thing and let me see what's inside. If there's really a treasure, I'll remember your contribution today."

The old Taoist priest did this because he was worried that Yu Que would try to cheat him.

Therefore, they wanted Yu Que to step forward and give it a try.

In this way, even if there is something unusual in the bottle, the old Taoist priest will not be captivated and will be able to react in time.

Faced with the old Taoist's instructions, Yu Que naturally dared not disobey. Moreover, a hint of joy arose in Yu Que's heart, and he thought fiercely, "I'll risk it all, I'll try anything!"

He immediately manifested a human figure within his inner world, holding the small black gourd.

But after holding it, Yu Que's face showed difficulty again, and he whispered:
"Reporting to the Daoist Master, this item can only be opened under moonlight. There is no moonlight now, so this junior truly cannot open it."

A smile appeared on the old Taoist's resentful face: "What, are you trying to scheme against me, to make you go outside to collect moonlight so that you can escape?"
No need for all that trouble, I'll lend you a hand!

A hint of sadness appeared on Yu Que's face.

However, he muttered to himself, "Yes, I do want you to let me leave the Immortal Mountain, but I want you to walk right into my trap even more!"

Before he could think any further about how to trick the old Taoist into the gourd, a surge of power landed on his avatar, as if someone had grabbed his wrist.

Urged on, Yu Que immediately placed his fingers on the opening of the small black gourd and gently pried it open.

Whoosh!

The little black gourd seemed to sense the lingering aura of the soul outside, and gently shook, attempting to swallow it into the gourd.

However, it has little ability to actively absorb them; it can only wait for remnants of souls and ghosts to enter its belly or be thrown into it by Yu Que.

Now, facing the lingering resentment of the Celestial Immortal, Yu Que's inner world was frozen, and he simply did not have the ability to forcibly capture the other party into the gourd.

After the gourd's opening was opened, it trembled on its own and faintly emitted a gathering power, no longer being an ordinary object.

He exclaimed in surprise, "This thing is really interesting."

Just as Yu Que was racking his brains about how to get the monstrous creature to crawl into the gourd, the old Taoist's lingering spirit slapped him away, causing the avatar manifested in the inner world to instantly dissipate.

This fellow picked up the small black gourd and immediately poured out what was hidden inside.

A layer of pure soul liquid immediately flowed out, which was formed by melting the ghost soul that Yu Que had placed in it beforehand, so that he could use it next time without having to wait.

Upon seeing the dark red, shiny soul liquid that resembled sugar water, the old Taoist's remnant spirit indeed sensed a pure, nourishing spiritual power within it!

"It is indeed a spiritual liquid that greatly nourishes the soul, but its quality is slightly inferior... Is it because it didn't get any moonlight?"

The old Taoist muttered to himself, a sense of hunger rising in his heart at the same time.

Although he remained vigilant, worried that Yu Que might cheat with the spiritual liquid, he thought that the quality of the spiritual liquid was not very high, and that no matter how close he was to the brink of despair, he was still at least a Celestial Immortal at heart.

With a light laugh, the old Taoist casually crushed the soul liquid and ingested it into the wisp of remnant spirit.

A pleasant sensation immediately arose in his mouth:

"Not bad, not bad. If there were more, I could have plenty. I could recover to the Loose Immortal realm within a day and gain the ability to reincarnate on my own."

Just as he was about to put the little black gourd away, his face, which had appeared in his inner world, was suddenly filled with black mist.

The old Taoist's expression changed drastically, filled with surprise and doubt.

At this moment, a stream of distracting thoughts surged uncontrollably into his mind.

An inexplicable sense of madness filled his thoughts.

"What...what is the reason for this?!" the old Taoist priest exclaimed in shock.

Meanwhile, Yu Que, who had been in despair, was stunned when he saw the old Taoist drink the soul liquid.

Yu Que was overjoyed: "That's it! Soul liquid is poisonous. Although it can enhance spiritual power, it will also aggravate the problem of qi deviation!"

Haha, this old man, he brought this on himself.

He immediately seized the opportunity and broke free from the old man's oppressive aura.

Yu Que seized the opportunity to take control of his inner world, his mind pounding wildly between trying to drive the other into the gourd and immediately destroying his own inner world...

(End of this chapter)