Chapter 35: Soul Shackling Chains

Translator: GGP

Liu Ming thought for a moment and felt there was no problem, so he readily agreed.

Following the woman’s admonition to go to the Duty Hall early, he bid farewell to the two and soared into the clouds, leaving the bamboo forest.

“Senior Sister Mu, there’s no need to go to such lengths for a mere three-spirit meridian disciple who has just joined. Such low-ranking disciples are everywhere in ours Sect, and at most, they would only reach the middle stage of a Spirit Acolyte in their lifetime.” Du Hai finally spoke to Mu Xianyun after Liu Ming had left.

“Senior Brother, are you aware that the Jiuying Mountain minor competition ended just a few days ago?” Mu Xianyun replied with a light chuckle.

“The Jiuying Mountain minor competition? I’ve heard it mentioned once. What about it? Did this young man perform well?” Du Hai’s expression flickered as he guessed the implication.

“Indeed. In the Jiuying lineage’s minor competition, Junior Brother Bai Congtian was the only three-spirit meridian disciple to receive a mid-to-high evaluation.” Mu Xianyun replied solemnly.

“In that case, he does seem to have some potential,” Du Hai remarked thoughtfully.

“Yes if it weren’t the case, I wouldn’t have considered adding just any new disciple to our task in three days. As I said before, the task isn’t very dangerous, just a bit troublesome and time-consuming. If it weren’t for some connections, I wouldn’t have known that this task was to be issued early in the morning after three days,” Mu Xianyun said seriously.

“Since that’s the case, I have nothing more to say. We’ll treat this task as an investment in the young man. Hopefully, he won’t let us down. Oh, and I heard that Ouyang Xin bothered you a few days ago,” Du Hai nodded, then suddenly mentioned with a cold glint in his eyes.

“Indeed. A few days ago, I went to collect some Dazzling Spider silk and unexpectedly ran into that brat. Fortunately, Senior Sister Wu was nearby, so he didn’t dare to be too presumptuous,” laughed Mu Xianyun ruefully.

“Hmph, Ouyang Xin has only just reached the middle stage of a Spirit Acolyte, yet he dares to speak filth to you time and time again. If it weren’t for Uncle Master Ouyang’s face, I would have taught him a lesson long ago. But you don’t have to worry, Yun’er. In a year at most, I’ll advance to the late stage of a Spirit Acolyte, and then I’ll formally propose to the Mu Family to marry you. By then, Uncle Master Ouyang should not object,” Du Hai said, his icy expression melting into a touch of tenderness.

“Senior Brother Du, I appreciate your feelings. Although my betrothed passed away by accident before our marriage, we had already exchanged horoscopes, and the Mu Family has received the Ouyang Family’s betrothal gifts. Now, to marry someone else is not so simple. I was able to join the Barbarian Ghost Sect and become a Spirit Acolyte because the Ouyang Master supported me quite a bit. Senior Brother Du, let’s just maintain our current relationship, which is already quite good,” Mu Xianyun said with a complex expression and a downcast look upon hearing this.

-If being a late-stage Spirit Acolyte is not enough, then I’ll earn a core disciple rank in the major competition in a few years. No matter what, I am determined to have you as my wife,” Du Hai said with a fierce look in his eyes, without any hesitation.

Moved by what she heard, Mu Xianyun’s beautiful face showed emotion, and she ultimately said nothing more.

Upon the ground where Liu Ming was seated for cultivation, he was inspecting a small porcelain vial sealed by a blood-red talisman in his hand, which naturally contained a low-quality soul he had just purchased.

After silently reciting the Soul Refining cultivation technique once more, he single-handedly summoned a wooden basin that had been prepared earlier, bringing it securely to his side.

The basin was filled with a pungent, black and red liquid, with bits of cotton-like deep purple substance floating indistinctly within.

The contents of the basin were black dog blood and some other auxiliary materials that he had purchased from the Jiuying Mountain’s Outer Affairs Hall for a spirit stone.

After thinking it over, Liu Ming removed the talisman from the vial, and promptly opened the lid.

With a “woo-woo” strange wail, a wisp of black air surged out of the vial, spinning erratically in the air before forming into a fuzzy black sphere that hovered, with neither nose nor eyes, merely trembling slightly.

Liu Ming held his breath, making no other movements, and just stared unblinkingly at the floating sphere.

The next instant, the black sphere suddenly let out a strange shriek and shot downwards.

With a “bang,” the soul plunged into the liquid of the wooden basin and disappeared without a trace.

Liu Ming’s eyes flashed as he promptly cast several spells at the basin without hesitation.

Instantly, the black and red liquid in the basin trembled and began to spin rapidly, revealing the soul that was hungrily drinking the liquid once more.

Liu Ming’s hand signs abruptly changed.

With several “plop” sounds, the purple-red cotton-like substances sprang to life, shooting out of the liquid and instantly forming a net that ensnared the soul underneath it.

Something astonishing happened.

As soon as the soul touched the seemingly fragile purple-red cotton, it made a “sizzling” sound and the entire form turned back into roiling black gas. However, it could not break free from the purple-red cotton matter, no matter how much it thrashed.

Liu Ming took a deep breath and without further hesitation, stretched out both hands.

The palms were shiny and evidently coated with an unknown transparent ointment, and he plunged them directly into the basin.

With a solemn expression, Liu Ming began chanting a series of mantras… Two days later, the door of the room swung open, and Liu Ming stepped out from the place of cultivation with a hint of excitement on his face.

At this moment, Liu Ming’s arm was conspicuously wrapped with a strand of black cord as thick as a finger.

He walked into the courtyard, glanced around, and then his eyes settled on the half-remaining tree that he had previously sliced with a Wind Blade.

With a slight gesture of his hand,

the black cord quivered and, quick as a viper, shot out from one end, wrapping several times firmly around the remaining trunk of the small tree, while the other end remained on Liu Ming’s arm.

“Withdraw.”

Liu Ming’s arm trembled slightly.

The black cord flashed and shot out again, retracting back onto his arm.

The small tree that had been wrapped was now visibly scarred with deep, dark grooves around its trunk, inches deep, as if it had been eroded.

Liu Ming nodded to himself, a hint of satisfaction on his face.

The primary function of this Soul Refining Cord was not to wound enemies but to entangle and capture them. The use just now was quite smooth, so it should be considered a success in its refinement. Of course, to use it more effortlessly, he naturally needed to practice more.

Tomorrow was the day he had agreed with Mu Xianyun to carry out the sect mission. With only one day left, it was of little use to train in techniques and secret arts, so it seemed best to familiarize himself with the newly acquired Three-Star Shield Talisman.

With his mind made up, Liu Ming turned and walked back inside his dwelling. Early the next day, after a good night’s rest, Liu Ming made some preparations before soaring away from Jiuying Mountain, heading straight for the Duty Hall. Since it was still early, the Duty Hall was noticeably empty, with even one of the servants dozing off on the stone platform in the lobby.

Liu Ming didn’t linger on the first floor but went straight up the stairs to the second.

It was his first time on the second floor of the Duty Hall, and after a quick look around, a flash of surprise crossed his face.

The area on the second floor wasn’t much different from the first; there was also a section of stone platform and a middle-aged servant seated behind it. However, in the center of the second-floor hall stood a four to five-zhang high crystal-clear pillar.

On this pillar, numerous rows of faint gold characters shimmered with a series of numbers clearly marked before them.

Mu Xianyun, along with Du Hai and two others, a man and a woman, were discussing something under the crystal pillar. Upon seeing Liu Ming, she immediately greeted him with a radiant smile.

“Junior Brother Bai, you’ve finally arrived. Now that everyone is here, we can take on the mission that was just posted. But first, let me introduce you. This is Senior Brother Mei and Senior Sister Wu.”

“I am Bai Congtian, and I greet you both,” Liu Ming said courteously with a smile after sizing up the two with a glance and stepping forward.

“Senior Brother Mei” was a seventeen or eighteen-year-old inner door disciple with a dark big stick on his back, appearing quite robust.

“Senior Sister Wu” was a beautiful woman who seemed a couple of years older than Mu Xianyun, with a calm demeanor, dressed in the green attire of inner female disciples, but with several bulging pouches at her waist, it was unclear what they contained.

It was the first time these two laid eyes on Liu Ming; after giving him a once-over, they too exchanged greetings, though neither of them said much. However, Liu Ming could clearly sense a hint of contempt in their demeanor, but after a slight smile, he didn’t take it to heart.

For him, a disciple who had been practising for less than a year, it was natural not to receive much attention from these more senior disciples.

“Senior Sister Mu, may I ask which mission we are supposed to take on?” Liu Ming turned and asked Mu Xianyun directly.

“It’s mission number twenty-three, to collect a hundred Bloodthread Fruits. We can earn twenty-five contribution points and one hundred spirit stones. If we split it among the five of us, it’s a substantial income,” Mu Xianyun stated as she led them towards the stone platform.

Liu Ming’s gaze swept over the crystal pillar and found the matching mission number. The details were exactly as Mu Xianyun had said, so he simply nodded without further comment.

Upon reaching the stone platform, after everyone presented their nameplates, they smoothly accepted the mission.

“Alright, although we’ve taken on this mission, others can accept it as well, so we need to make haste. The Bloodthread Fruits grow on Shituo Mountain, not far from the sect, and are not difficult to locate. The only trouble is that these fruits are also favored by the Black Cloud Butterflies, so where there are Bloodthread Fruits, there will invariably be swarms of Black Cloud Butterflies. That’s why I specially asked a friend for a bottle of Attracting Spirit Powder, which can temporarily lure the butterflies away. When the time comes, we’ll split into two teams for action, Senior Brother Mei and Senior Sister Wu will take care of luring the butterfly swarm, while I, Senior Brother Du, and Junior Brother Bai will focus on quickly collecting the Bloodthread Fruits,” said Mu Xianyun, speaking quite earnestly as they stepped outside the Duty Hall.