I work as a security guard at a cemetery, and I overhear the dead chatting about getting rich quick.

It's raining on Guixu Island.

The seawater crashed against the black rocks, the waves breaking into a white foam.

Lai Changqing walked down the stone path along the mountainside. He had changed his soaked coat, but his left shoulder was still drooping, and the fastening strap was faintly visible under the cuff.

There are no lights in the depths of Guiling Abyss.

A faint blue light flowed through the cracks in the stone wall, illuminating the figure sitting cross-legged in the center.

Lai Changqing stopped ten steps away.

"President."

"You're back?"

The voice came from the darkness, and its tone was unreadable.

"I'm back."

Lai Changqing placed the two sealed boxes on the ground.

Inside were bone fragments and rubbings of human meridians brought from Black Locust Ridge, as well as fragments of spirit-gathering material removed from the fake box.

The true All Souls Bible has been delivered to seven places.

They recovered quite a lot of things.

But he couldn't take the most valuable item with him.

The president raised his hand.

A piece of bone floated out of the sealed box, traveled more than ten meters, and landed in his palm.

Only half of the bone fragment was found.

The engravings on it were largely worn away by the explosion and the impact of spiritual energy, leaving only broken and intermittent patterns.

The president looked at it for a moment.

"Beast Cultivation Techniques"

"Unfortunately, it's 30% incomplete."

The chairman put the bone fragment back.

"Fortunately, I didn't come back empty-handed."

Lai Changqing remained silent.

The president looked up at him.

"Still thinking about the Book of All Souls?"

"The items have already been delivered to seven locations."

"Many people were lost at Black Locust Ridge, Lizard Shadow was seriously injured, and Cen Wudu's spiritual weapon was also damaged."

Lai Changqing paused.

"This time, I misjudged the situation."

"Seven space anchors were discovered ahead of schedule."

"The switch was a setup they set up."

After listening, the president simply nodded slightly.

"No one can win every war."

"Winning once and losing once are common occurrences in war."

Lai Changqing did not respond.

The guild leader looked up at the Guiling Abyss.

The spiritual energy flowing along the stone wall slowly gathered and finally fell into the abyss.

"You stare at Black Locust Ridge and think that losing the Scripture of All Spirits is a great defeat."

"Broaden your horizons."

"The spiritual energy is reviving."

"Today it's Black Locust Ridge, tomorrow it might be Kunlun, the South China Sea, or even underground in some city."

"There is more than one sleeping artifact."

"Seven places can guard one box, but they can't guard the whole world."

Lai Changqing said in a low voice:

"The Complete Scripture of All Souls is a concise and complete transmission."

"If seven places obtain..."

"Obtaining something doesn't mean you can use it."

The president interrupted him.

"The first thing they need to do is determine whether the technique is genuine or not."

"Disassemble it again to verify."

"Finally, we need to find someone to test it."

"Given the approach taken by the seven departments, it might be difficult to get a complete set of exercises truly operational within three to five years."

He paused and then chuckled.

"Besides, the old thing in the box won't be so obedient."

Lai Changqing raised his head.

"Does the guild leader know this kind of artifact spirit?"

Gui Ling Yuan fell silent.

Rainwater seeped in along the cracks in the mountainside and fell on the stone steps in the distance.

a drop.

Another drop.

The president took out a grayish-white jade pendant from his sleeve.

It's about the size of a palm, and the edges are covered with cracks.

The jade plaque lacks any spiritual energy.

But he kept it close to his body.

"When I was young, I also obtained a magical artifact with a spirit."

Lai Changqing looked at the jade tablet.

He had never seen the chairman use this item.

"It also said it wanted to take me as its apprentice."

The president rubbed his thumb along the crack on the jade pendant.

"Teach me how to regulate my Qi and open my meridians."

"Tell me, is it the only one in this world who knows the true method of cultivation?"

"After I completed the first cycle, it said that the inheritance required opening up one's consciousness."

Lai Changqing's gaze narrowed slightly.

It is almost identical to what the Book of All Souls says.

"It wants to possess you?"

"Um."

The president answered calmly.

"It was too weak, and it had been waiting for many years."

"I was too young back then, and I really thought I had stumbled upon a stroke of luck."

"Only after it entered my consciousness did I realize that there is no such thing as a free inheritance in this world."

Lai Changqing asked:

"And then?"

"later?"

The president looked down at the jade tablet in his palm.

"I fought with it for three years."

A few simple words silenced Lai Changqing.

The president did not elaborate on what happened during those three years.

He simply raised his hand and touched his temple.

"In the first year, every time I woke up, the first thing I had to do was confirm who I was."

"The second year, it started using my memories to deceive me."

"It wasn't until the third year that I found the opportunity to press it back into the jade pendant."

"It wants to devour my consciousness."

"I then began to peek into its memories little by little."

The jade pendant was turned over in his hand.

Several faded ancient characters are engraved on the back.

"Guiding Qi, opening the meridians, Qi Sea, circulating Qi throughout the body."

"Body Refinement, Spirit Nourishment, Magic Techniques, Weapon Control."

"The system I'm currently practicing is the source of most of the techniques from the Zhuyin Society."

Lai Changqing finally understood why the president's cultivation level far surpassed that of other spiritual energy restorers.

That's a difference that can't be explained by talent.

He got a complete path earlier than anyone else.

"Where is the artifact spirit?"

"It's over."

The president put the jade pendant back into his sleeve.

"It has been stripped of too much memory; it has even forgotten who it is."

"In the end, only a wisp of a soul remained."

"More than a decade ago, it completely disappeared."

Lai Changqing looked at his cuffs.

"You win."

"I'm lucky."

The president said:

"It is too weak and underestimates the people of this era."

"If we try again, the outcome is uncertain."

Lai Changqing frowned.

He rarely heard the chairman admit that he was not confident.

"Is the Book of All Souls stronger than it?"

"uncertain."

The president watched the spiritual energy slowly swirling at the bottom of the abyss.

"But it should have woken up earlier and been better prepared."

"The fact that it was able to raise that bear in Black Locust Ridge proves that it has recovered quite a bit."

"If it hadn't gone in at the same time as us, and had been given a few more years, it might not have needed to remain in the manuscript."

Lai Changqing thought of Lin Ye.

"It seems to have its eye on that young man in the seventh place."

"That guy named Lin Ye?"

"Yes."

"The spiritual energy within his body was not circulating completely, so the spirit of the artifact offered to pass on its teachings."

The president was not surprised.

"The path of consciousness is not yet fixed, the consciousness is still young, and it can hear it."

"It is indeed a good body."

Lai Changqing asked:

"Will seven places make it successful?"

"Won't."

The president answered quickly.

"At least not in the short term."

"Their greatest strength is their caution in seven areas, which is also their greatest weakness."

"But what I'm worried about isn't the Book of All Souls."

Lai Changqing's gaze sharpened.

The president slowly stood up.

The spiritual energy flowing between the stone walls changed direction and converged around him.

"When spiritual energy declines, there are definitely more than just one or two people who can abandon their physical bodies and hide their remnants of souls in spiritual artifacts."

"Some are like the Bible of All Souls, just awakening."

"Some of them may have woken up as early as ten years ago, or even earlier."

"What if they hadn't been discovered?"

Lai Changqing followed his words and thought about it, his expression gradually changing.

"Has the possession been successful?"

The president did not answer.

He walked to the edge of the stone platform and looked down at Guiling Abyss.

"A person wakes up and his personality changes drastically; he suddenly gains knowledge that does not belong to this era."

"Do you think he's been possessed, or that he's gained superpowers?"

"An ordinary person can build up power and produce a complete cultivation technique within a few years."

"Will people suspect that he's had a body transplant, or will they think he's incredibly talented?"

Lai Changqing remained silent.

There's no way to tell.

A spirit that has successfully possessed a vessel will not admit it.

They will use the host's identity, memories, and social relationships to survive.

It might even live more like its original owner than the person it was.

The president turned around.

"That's why I'm telling you to broaden your horizons."

"The fact that the Book of All Souls has been simplified to seven places does not mean the matter is over."

"It's just reminding us that these old things are starting to wake up."

He raised his hand.

A black token landed in front of Lai Changqing.

"Notify all branches."

"Be wary of those with superpowers who have suddenly emerged in recent years."

"Especially those who undergo sudden personality changes, master ancient techniques, and can fully explain cultivation systems."

"Don't alarm them."

"Check first."

Lai Changqing caught the token.

"clear."

"besides."

The president glanced at his left shoulder.

"You and Jiang Zhaoye enter the Guiling Abyss."

"Within three months, we will reorganize the existing cyclical patterns."

Lai Changqing looked up.

"Three months?"

"Too long?"

"no."

The president said calmly:

"You guys are lucky to have come back alive from Black Locust Ridge this time."

"Next time, it might not be a domesticated bear."

"It's not just a remnant soul still locked in a box."

The spiritual energy in Guilingyuan began to rise.

It felt like something was breathing slowly deep inside.

The president turned his back.

"If there really is an old thing that has successfully possessed another body, it has already infiltrated this era."

"Our current strength is not enough."

Lai Changqing gripped the token tightly.

"I'll arrange it right away."

He turned and walked toward the stone path.

Just as we were nearing the exit, the president's voice came from behind again.

"Little Lai".

Lai Changqing stopped.

"Losing in one place is fine."

"Don't lose so much that you forget what you want."

Lai Changqing stood there for a moment.

"I've got it."

He walked out of the Abyss of Returning Spirits.

The rain outside got even heavier.

The president still stood by the abyss.

It was a long time before he took out the grayish-white jade tablet again.

The jade plaque has been dormant for more than a decade.

Lying in the palm of my hand, it flickered very faintly deep within the crack.

Like an eye that has been closed for a long time.

It opened its eyes again.