Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 6 Sword Light Like a Meteor

Pills made from beast blood can damage the spirit and soul, while pills made from human blood only increase negative emotions, which can be relieved by meditating.

Previously, Chen Ye had never been able to understand the reason for the difference.

It wasn't until he read the detailed record that a nascent conjecture began to form in his mind. Let's assume for now that wild beasts and humans are essentially the same, and that the effects of the blood pills are identical. Logically, the principle behind the side effects should also be the same.

Since the principles are the same, but the results are completely different, perhaps the crux of the problem lies in the so-called "clash". The book has thousands of interpretations of the phenomenon of clash, but most of them just list the things that clash, occasionally mention the method of resolution, but do not say a word about why they clash.

Those predecessors seemed to be in a great hurry, only knowing to warn future generations "not to do this," but omitting the crucial "why" behind it. Perhaps they were too lazy to study, or perhaps they felt that writing and recording was too laborious, so they kept to themselves. In any case, for most cultivators, simply following along was enough; knowing the "why" was of no benefit to their cultivation.

Just like Chen Ye's master, Mo Ci, he always followed the steps and cultivated according to the book, never asking questions, and yet he still cultivated a remarkable magical power.
If it weren't for bad luck and running into a high-ranking disciple of the Qinghe Sword Sect, Mo Ci might have been able to break through several more realms. Even if he couldn't become an immortal, he could still live for several hundred more years.

Of course, there are also some people with ulterior motives who deliberately fabricate stories.

Chen Ye had seen contradictory errors in several ancient books on cultivation, mostly due to the outdated and outdated custom of "masters holding back their skills from their disciples".

The true teachings are like a jigsaw puzzle missing a crucial piece. The fear is that if the disciple learns it thoroughly, he might turn against his master.

Not surprising, most of us demonic cultivators are like this.

Chen Ye was stubborn by nature. In his eyes, cultivation was the most important thing in life, and he had to explore it thoroughly. Based on what he had learned and understood over the past few months, and comparing it with the results of his experiments, Chen Ye believed that the root cause of the clash between the blood pills lay in the soul.

The foundation of cultivation is spiritual energy; all the strange and mysterious things in the world are born from spiritual energy.

The souls of cultivators are far more resilient than those of ordinary people, but after death they still need spiritual energy to be shaped into ghosts; otherwise, they will dissipate with a gust of wind.

If the soul of a wild beast can also influence spiritual energy, then the most easily affected would undoubtedly be the spiritual energy that was originally stored in the blood of the heart and refined.

Demonic cultivators refine pills with their own heart's blood. These pills contain not only digested spiritual energy but also the lingering souls of beasts. Consuming a blood pill is to integrate this spiritual energy into oneself, refining it a second time.

In this way, when absorbing, it is possible that remnant souls will also be absorbed into the body. If they accumulate too much, it will naturally affect one's own mind.

Why can human blood pills resolve resentment? It's because human resentment is largely shared; all humans have four limbs and five senses, and when compared with each other, they are not much different.

Human suffering is something that humans can comprehend.

If you can understand it, you can relieve yourself.

Only by understanding the truth can we resolve our doubts.

However, the five senses of animals are inherently different from those of humans. With the animal soul entering the brain, how could a human possibly comprehend the feeling of crawling on all fours and eating raw meat and drinking blood? Not to mention that the hearing, smell, and other senses of animals are also different from those of humans, making this clash even more intense.

In short, it's because humans can't understand animals.

Similarly, animals cannot understand each other.

Therefore, even if a wild boar takes wolf blood pills, it will not escape death. Before it dies, it will show wolf-like habits, which is the result of the wild boar's soul being corrupted by the wolf's soul.

In short, interspecies are not possible, therefore the blood-refining method requires cannibalism of one's own kind.

Verifying this conclusion is not difficult. There are still some wolf blood pills left. All we need to do is capture a wolf, feed it the pills, and we will see the result.

Based on Chen Ye's deduction, feeding the wolf blood pill to the wolf would at most make it agitated and restless, but there was absolutely no risk of it going mad and dying. Having made up his mind, Chen Ye carefully put away the notes and, under the cover of night, rushed out of the dilapidated temple again. If he didn't catch the alpha wolf tonight, he feared he wouldn't be able to sleep.

Zhao Hezhou had just vomited everything out of his stomach when he looked up and realized that Chen Ye was nowhere to be seen. Filled with doubt, he saw his wife pick up the wolf Chen Ye had brought back, and expertly skinning and butchering it with a small knife, preparing to cook it.

Seeing his wife's swift movements, Zhao Hezhou couldn't help but speak up to stop her: "Wait, this is that strong man's prey. It's not right for us to take it without permission..."

His wife glared at him and scolded, "You've read so many classic books, yet you're as stupid as an ox when it comes to human relationships. Husband, do you really think that young man needs your help? He's just giving you a way out. If he didn't want to help us, why was he so generous yesterday? How can you be so clueless?"

After careful consideration, Zhao Hezhou realized that his wife's words made sense. He was immediately ashamed and his face turned red. He hurriedly ran to fetch firewood and secretly vowed that he would never continue to be so pedantic.

The wolf meat soup was ready, but Chen Ye hadn't returned yet. Normally, Zhao Hezhou would have waited for his benefactor to return before daring to eat, otherwise it would be impolite. But now, he simply quietly divided the soup, leaving enough for Chen Ye, and then let his wife and children eat first.

Although he had abandoned some formalities, Zhao Hezhou understood that these empty gestures couldn't fill his stomach, let alone support his wife and children. He even planned to ask Chen Ye to take him as a servant when Chen Ye returned, no matter how much he had to do, as long as his wife and children could have enough to eat. What were the classics, what were the imperial examinations and fame? In the face of life and death, they were all worthless.

But as the night deepened and Chen Ye still hadn't appeared, Zhao Hezhou grew increasingly anxious, fearing that Chen Ye might have encountered misfortune while traveling in the mountains late at night. What if this brave man had truly met with danger...? After pondering for a moment, Zhao Hezhou gave his wife a few words of advice, then, holding a torch, strode out of the dilapidated temple, intending to search for Chen Ye's whereabouts.

Meanwhile, Chen Ye was outside two hilltops.

The boy sat atop a jagged boulder, staring down at the wolf below. The wolf was thin, its eyes bloodshot, glaring fiercely at Chen Ye as if it would tear him to shreds at any moment.

Chen Ye, however, smiled broadly, his eyes fixed on the wild beast. He figured it must have been the result of reckless hunting over the past two days, searching for most of the night before finally finding a lame lone wolf. Chen Ye fed the wolf blood pill into the wolf's mouth and then quietly waited for the medicine to take effect.

As the moon rose high in the sky, the lame wolf finally displayed its strange behavior. First, ignoring its leg injury, it lunged at Chen Ye with all its might, then it raised its head and howled, appearing much more spirited than before when it was half-dead.

Fearing he might accidentally kill the experimental subject, Chen Yesheng quickly hid behind a boulder and patiently observed it. Two hours had passed since the drug took effect, and although the lame wolf was unusually agitated, it had not completely gone mad.

According to Zhao Hezhou's records, the two wild boars died within an hour of the drug taking effect. The lame wolf in front of him was much thinner, yet it was still lively and energetic after two hours, leading Chen Ye to believe his deduction was correct.

The wolf blood pill contains the remnant soul of a wolf, but it does not clash with other wolves of the same kind. It is merely the lingering resentment of a wolf before its death that makes the lame wolf extremely irritable.

This is a drastic change in temperament, not damage to the soul.

Chen Ye laughed heartily and meticulously recorded the result. Now that the crux of the problem had been found, the next step was to consider how to remove the influence of this lingering soul. Once this problem was solved, Chen Ye would become a butcher, slaughtering hundreds of pigs, cattle, and sheep, and his dantian and qi sea would be complete.

Just as Chen Ye was feeling pleased, he suddenly heard Mo Ci's voice: "Silence, hold your breath."

Although Chen Ye was full of doubts, he did not ask immediately. Instead, he kept his lips tightly closed and breathed very softly.

Just then, a dazzling light streaked across the sky.

After the light disappeared into the horizon, Chen Ye heard Mo Ci speak again: "Alright."

Chen Ye quickly pressed on, "Master, what's the secret behind that shooting star?"

“That’s not a meteor!” Mo Ci said solemnly. “That’s the sword light of the Qinghe Sect! Flying on a sword means you’re at least a Transcendent Realm cultivator. They could cut off your head with just a glance.”

Chen Ye suddenly realized that the direction in which the two sword lights disappeared was precisely where Cui County was located.

The saying "swords are like shooting stars" is truly no exaggeration; that madman impersonating the Qinghe Sword Sect is probably in for trouble.

(End of this chapter)