Uncle Nine: Scattering beans to create soldiers? I'm using plants and trees to create soldiers.

After putting the jade pendant away,

Lin Xuan once again drove the water armor soldiers into the water.

This time, he gave more detailed instructions.

Instruct them to focus their investigation on the shipwreck wreckage and the surrounding silt, and not to overlook any items that exhibit signs of yin energy or spiritual fluctuations.

Before long, the water armor soldier sent another vague message: an item containing yin energy had been found at the shipwreck site.

Lin Xuan immediately ordered the water armor soldiers to take it back.

The river surface rippled again as the second water-armored soldier swam back from underwater.

He landed on the deck with a dusty earthenware pot in his hands.

The earthenware jar was wrapped in a layer of blackened old cloth, and the mouth of the jar was sealed with a thick layer of wax.

Several rotten black lines were still stuck to the wax seal, which looked like talismans that had been pasted on before, but the talismans had long been soaked away by the river.

"It's a jar?! And it's sealed?"

I don't know what's inside.

Lin Xuan reached out and took the earthenware pot, then gently shook it.

wow-

The sound of water gurgling came from inside the jar, along with the muffled thud of several hard objects rolling and colliding.

"Senior Brother, what is this? A jar? And it's sealed with wax?! Could it be someone's daughter's wine that they buried in the river??"

Wen Cai curiously leaned over and looked him up and down.

绑！

A crisp sound!

"Ouch!!!"

Wen Cai clutched the back of his head and let out a pig-like wail, then abruptly turned to glare at Qiu Sheng beside him: "Qiu Sheng, are you sick in the head?! Why do you keep hitting me?!"

"Hit you? I'd rather pry open your skull to see if it's filled with water from the Beiqing River!" Qiu Sheng rolled his eyes, hands on his hips, scolding him with a look of utter exasperation. "Use your walnut-sized brain to think! What kind of kind person would bury their daughter's wine in the riverbed silt? Are they waiting for a water ghost to grow up so they can fish it out and hold a wedding feast for it?!"

"Or do you really think that family can pull it out of the river by themselves, buried so deep down?!"

"Wencai, your mind is frighteningly clear!"

Faced with Qiu Sheng's rapid-fire questions, Wen Cai was speechless. He could only rub his head in grievance and mutter softly, "Why don't you just talk to me properly? Why do you have to resort to violence... as if you're so smart."

"I'm just lamenting their misfortune and angry at their lack of ambition!" Qiu Sheng raised his head and sighed dramatically.

"Qiusheng, I didn't expect you to know how to use idioms! You're quite cultured," Wencai said, blinking.

"Get lost!! If you can't praise someone, shut up!" Qiu Sheng was furious and raised his leg to kick him.

"Alright, stop fooling around."

Lin Xuan glanced at the two of them indifferently, and they immediately shrank back like quails.

Then, Lin Xuan's fingertips gripped the old cloth wrapped around the earthenware pot and gently tugged at it.

The fabric was already rotten; with the slightest force, it crumbled into pieces and fell away.

Then, he used his fingernail to pry open the wax seal.

The moment the wax layer broke open—

laugh!

A pungent odor wafted out.

It had a sour, rotten smell mixed with a strange odor, like the dregs of medicine that had been soaked and rotten.

At this moment, Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai leaned in and sniffed.

When Wencai smelled the disgusting odor, his face immediately changed. "Ugh—it's filled with shit! Shit!!!"

Wencai shouted and ran to the side to dry heave.

Qiu Sheng pinched his nose and stepped aside, exclaiming, "Holy crap!! It stinks! What on earth is in there??"

Lin Xuan frowned and turned his head slightly away to avoid the pungent smell.

Once the smell had dissipated somewhat, Lin Xuan peeked back in and looked inside.

The jar was dark and filled with a murky, viscous liquid that shimmered with a dark red luster.

Three irregularly shaped spheres, each the size of a baby's fist, lay quietly in the liquid.

Their surfaces are dark reddish-black, pitted and uneven, looking somewhat eerie.

Lin Xuan lowered his gaze, and the panel appeared.

Blood Soul Stone

[Quality: White]

[Formed from the long-term sedimentation of the Blood Soul Pill's medicinal liquid, its potency has solidified. Once invaded by cold air, it loses its medicinal properties and should not be swallowed directly.]

[It contains abundant vital energy and residual soul power, and can be used to enhance Daoist essence or cultivate spiritual plants.]

......

Upon seeing this, Lin Xuan's eyes lit up immediately.

This thing is actually a stone formed from the essence of elixirs!

Although the system warned that this thing couldn't be eaten, the accumulated qi and blood energy within it was indeed extremely rich!

This is the perfect item for cultivating that exotic blood lotus in the backyard!

The blood lotus already possesses the properties of replenishing blood and revitalizing life, and it has been further enhanced with characteristics related to qi and blood.

If Blood Soul Stone is used as a cultivation material, the growth of Blood Lotus can be accelerated.

Moreover, the remaining Blood Soul Stones can be used to strengthen new Blood Lotus Seeds, which may allow for the cultivation of higher quality Blood Lotuses.

Just as Lin Xuan was about to put the earthen pot away, the Yin Toad, which he was holding in his left hand, suddenly cried out.

"Gugua!!"

"Coo-coo-coo!!!"

The toad's voice carried a hint of urgency, as if it had smelled an unparalleled delicacy.

After the cry subsided, the Yin Toad's two tiny, bead-sized eyes stared intently at the earthen pot in Lin Xuan's hand, its eyeballs almost popping out.

Its throat pouch bulged wildly, and its four short legs kicked and stomped forcefully.

His impatient look almost made him spring from Lin Xuan's palm and plunge headfirst into the stinking earthenware pot.

Lin Xuan looked down at it, his expression shifting slightly.

"What? You want some?"

"Croak!"

The Yin Toad immediately let out a croak, its voice even louder than before. It kept pawing at Lin Xuan's fingers with its two front paws, its tongue lolling out like a puppy's, drool dripping down its face.

Lin Xuan smiled and said, "You little thing, you know your stuff."

He shook the earthen jar in his hand, and the blood soul stones inside collided with each other, making a few dull thuds.

"I can't give you these three Blood Soul Stones inside; I need them to cultivate spiritual plants."

Upon hearing this, Yin Chan's belly shrank slightly, and his throat pouch drooped down.

He looked just like a child who had been refused candy.

Lin Xuan found it amusing and said, "However, this soup is no longer of much use; the medicinal effects have mostly dissipated. You can drink it, though."

"Do you want?"

"Croak! Croak!"

The toad's voice suddenly rose a few decibels, and it even leaned its body forward, its two little eyes shining brightly, and its front paws frantically pawing at Lin Xuan's fingers.

Lin Xuan was amused by its impatient appearance and tapped its head with his index finger.

"Okay, I'll feed you when we get back."

With that, he swept his palm across the ground and put the earthenware pot into his system inventory.

Yin Chan finally calmed down again, but its little eyes were still darting around, glancing at Lin Xuan's sleeve from time to time, as if it was still thinking about the soup in the earthenware pot.

Meanwhile, the surface of the Beiqing River stirred again.

slam-la-

Ripples spread across the water in the distance.

Two dark blue figures emerged from the water, treading on the waves as they approached the boat.

Two aquatic soldiers stand on the left and right, and between their shoulders and backs, they are supporting a stone sculpture.

The stone sculpture resembles a giant tortoise with a thick shell and a drooping head. Most of the thick mud, sand, and aquatic plants that originally covered it have fallen off, revealing the gray-black stone body.

Several deep horizontal grooves on the tortoise shell were particularly noticeable, clearly indicating that something had been tied to it before.

(This picture is also owed; I'll add it later.)

Lin Xuan looked over, and the panel appeared.

[Black Tortoise Water-Suppressing Stone]

[Quality: White]

[An artifact used in the past to suppress the river's estuary, carved from a mysterious stone into the shape of a tortoise, with water patterns on its back and an iron talisman hidden in its belly. Long imbued with the power of the river veins, the water's spiritual essence, and the incense offerings of the people, it had acquired the ability to calm and control the waters. Later, it was corrupted by evil magic, its divine essence obscured, and its power to suppress the waters was instead eroded by the evil spirits of the corpse.]

[Entries: The Meaning of the Water Mansion Dharma, The Yellow Court Classic: Brain and Spiritual Enlightenment]

......

"Another white item?! What a haul today!"

"The aura of this Xuan Turtle Water-Suppressing Stone is exactly the same as that of the white bones. This thing must have been used to suppress the white bones."

"It's just... a mere skeleton, why use something to suppress it with water-repelling or warding-off-demonet items?!"

Just as Lin Xuan was pondering to himself, he noticed that the water armor soldier was holding another item in his hand.

It was a string of black iron chains, covered with reddish-brown rust and some aquatic plants.

One half was held in the hands of the water soldiers, while the other half sank into the water.

【Iron Chains Binding Water】

[This old object, submerged for many years in the river's eye, was forged from a mixture of dark iron and black sand from the riverbed. Originally used to anchor the Black Tortoise Stone to suppress the river's hidden currents and prevent the leakage of water evil, it was later transformed by evil magic into a talisman used to bind souls and guide evil spirits.]

[Quality: White]

[Entry: Soul-Shaking Talisman]

......

"Binding souls and guiding evil spirits?!"

Lin Xuan noticed the wording in the description of the water-binding iron chains and frowned slightly.

This item actually has the effect of binding souls?

Where is the soul he held captive? Is it trapped in chains?

Lin Xuan narrowed his eyes, his senses spreading out like a tide, sweeping over the iron chains.

however,

Lin Xuan did not find any remnant soul within the iron chains.

If it's not an iron chain, then it must be... a Xuan Turtle Water-Suppressing Stone!

The next second, Lin Xuan detected the ghostly fluctuations within the stone sculpture!

Wraith, early-stage Warlock!

"The two water-suppressing objects were refined by evil magic... The Xuan Turtle Water-Suppressing Stone, which contained the water palace's magic, was possessed by a vengeful spirit. This method... it feels familiar."

Lin Xuan murmured to himself, his brows furrowing involuntarily.

As the water soldiers drew closer, Lin Xuan suddenly opened his eyes.

Refining the spirit with a corpse!!!

This thing!

Was this also the work of that "heretical practitioner"?!