Chapter 206 – Divine Retribution
Wang Lin’s expression remained the same, but something caught his attention. This so-called Gui Xi occurs when a Nascent Soul cultivator is attacked by a demon and trapped within their Nascent Soul. The Nascent Soul cannot leave the body, and the body enters a sleep-like state.
This state is called Gui Xi.
The only way to fix this problem was to place the cultivator in a safe place and let them exorcise the demon from their body on their own. If someone from the outside wanted to help, they would have to be several times stronger than the cultivator trapped in the Gui Xi state, or even one level stronger, otherwise the trapped cultivator would have to fend for themselves.
If a cultivator is trapped in Gui Xi for too long, the demons will completely take over. Their soul will eventually dissipate and their body will rot.
However, in general, most cultivators who enter Gui Xi will awaken, however, they lose some of their cultivation, which is still better than losing their lives.
Gui Xi was not uncommon in the cultivation world. At least, Wang Lin had never heard of any cultivators trapped in Gui Xi.
After Qiu Siping finished speaking, he stared at Wang Lin, trying to find a clue, but Wang Lin’s expression didn’t change at all. He remained as calm as ever.
Wang Lin pondered for a moment. The red light in his eyes dimmed and he asked, “How do you know where Cultivator Gui Xi is?
A wave of relief washed over Qiu Siping. As long as Wang Lin was still asking, it meant the previous agreement of only getting three sentences was no longer valid. Qiu Siping had no doubt that if his previous three sentences hadn’t impressed Wang Lin, Wang Lin would have killed him without hesitation.
Both of them were at the late Core Formation stage, yet there was a vast difference in strength. Qiu Siping smiled bitterly in his heart. He felt that the only reason Wang Lin was stronger was because Wang Lin possessed some treasure that allowed him to increase his attack power. Otherwise, how could he have been so helpless in a fight against him?
When he heard Wang Lin’s question, he immediately said, “Fellow cultivator, this is a long story. Why don’t we sit down and let me tell it?”
Wang Lin looked at him and nodded slightly.
Qiu Siping quickly flew towards the mountain. A black mist appeared beneath his feet and quickly carried him to the pavilion at the top of the mountain.
After Qiu Siping left, Wang Lin moved his body gently and arrived at the pavilion. He waved his sleeve, which caused a gentle breeze to blow and blow all the dirt on the stone chair he was sitting on.
Although he left after Qiu Siping, he arrived at the same time. Qiu Siping’s expression remained calm, but his heart was shocked and his pupils constricted, but they quickly returned to normal.
He knew that this must be a warning from Wang Lin, to warn him that even if he tried various tricks to escape, he would not be able to escape.
In fact, this was also Wang Lin’s intention. Qiu Siping was now the center of his attention. In fact, anything related to helping him form his Nascent Soul would attract his attention.
After all, Wang Lin was already in the late stages of Core Formation. The Nascent Soul was crucial, and its formation had to be constantly on his mind.
Once he formed his Nascent Soul, all that remained was for him to return to the State of Zhao and make it bleed. To turn the sky of the State of Zhao red and cover the ground in blood. He would make all the cultivators of the State of Zhao never forget that bloody day and make all his enemies pay their lives as a sacrifice to their ancestors.
He wanted to kill everyone in the Teng family, from the elders to the children. He wouldn’t let a single animal live.
He wanted old man Jimo to die without a resting place and all his followers to die miserably.
He wanted everyone who secretly helped the Teng family punished. He wanted them all to pay a price they couldn’t bear.
More importantly, he wanted to tear Teng Huayaun’s soul apart. He wanted to skin him, dismember him, and do whatever he could think of to make him pay for the 400 years of suffering he had inflicted on Wang Lin.
Qiu Siping waved his right hand, and a jar of wine and two cups appeared. He personally poured both cups, then took one and took a sip. He smiled and said, “Fellow cultivator, this is a high-quality wine made from the Can Yun fruit from the northern part of the Demon Sea. With just one sip, one will enjoy it for a long time. Why don’t you try it, fellow cultivator?”
Wang Lin didn’t press him for an answer. He picked up the cup and examined it carefully, as if there was something very interesting about the wine.
The high-quality wine in the cup was a clear jade green. It was very beautiful.
Qiu Siping took a long sip of his wine, and after seeing that Wang Lin didn’t seem interested in such things, he smiled warily and said, “Fellow cultivator, if someone else were to ask about this matter, I definitely wouldn’t tell them. However, you are different. Both you and I are at the late Core Formation stage, and we both dream of reaching that high and distant Nascent Soul stage.”
“Regarding the matter of the Newborn Souls trapped in Gui Xi, one of them is my master!”
With that, Qiu Siping’s gaze fell on Wang Lin.
Wang Lin stared at the cup for a moment before putting it down. He said flatly, “Killing your master? That’s no big deal. I’ve done it before too.”
Qiu Siping laughed and said, “It’s not that I wanted to hide this from my fellow cultivators, but he didn’t have good intentions when he accepted me as his disciple. He and my senior apprentice-brother are both Nascent Soul cultivators. While they were both in closed-door training, I secretly sabotaged them. Thinking back now, they’ve been in Guixi for 30 years. Based on my calculations, they should both be almost completely possessed by demons, which means this is the perfect time to take their Nascent Souls. With one for each of us, our chances of breaking through to Nascent Soul will greatly increase.”
Wang Lin raised his eyebrows. He pondered for a moment, then said slowly, “I don’t see what this has to do with knowing the ancient restrictions.”
Qiu Siping smiled wryly. He finished the rest of his wine and said, “My master’s cultivation place is an ancient cultivation cave. He accidentally discovered it and made it his own.”
“I was able to sabotage them during this closed-door cultivation because I had prepared for it for many years. I had spent years studying the ancient restrictions within the cave.”
“But once the cave is closed, reopening it is extremely troublesome. I didn’t expect the demon-triggered restriction to trigger another one. That’s what makes it nearly impossible to enter the cave now.”
Wang Lin frowned slightly and began to ponder.
Qi Siping patted his storage bag with his right hand and took out a few pieces of jade and placed them on the table. He said, “These are some restriction symbols that I copied from the cave. With your knowledge of ancient restrictions, you should be able to tell whether they are fake or not.”
After hearing that, Wang Lin picked up a piece of jade and scanned it with his divine sense. After a moment, he put it down and picked up another piece of jade. A moment later, he scanned all the jade pieces. The symbols inside the jade pieces were for protective restrictions. They should be restrictions used to guard a location.
Qiu Siping asked, “Fellow cultivator, what do you think?”
Wang Lin pondered for a long time, then raised his head. He looked at Qiu Siping and asked, “What are the cultivation levels of those two Nascent Soul cultivators?”
Qiu Siping immediately replied, “My teacher is at the early Nascent Soul stage, while my senior apprentice-brother has just formed his. If fellow cultivator can open that cave, then my teacher’s Nascent Soul is yours.”
Wang Lin pondered for a moment, then said, “I can’t decide on this matter right away. I’ll think about it for a few days, then make a decision.”
Qiu Siping didn’t mind. He nodded his head and said, “That’s understandable. I also need a few days to prepare some magic treasures. Since you and I have turned from enemies to friends, I would like to apologize once again for any misunderstandings that occurred earlier.” After that, he stood up, took a few steps back, and bowed toward Wang Lin.
Wang Lin’s expression remained the same, but he was already wary. Qiu Siping’s actions, in his mind, indicated that he could forget the past.
But with Wang Lin’s current personality, there was no way he would be fooled by such an act. He stood up, clasped his hands, and said, “Fellow cultivators, then, let’s meet again here in seven days. I’m leaving.”
Qiu Siping smiled. He nodded and also clasped her hands.
Wang Lin’s body soared, turned into a rainbow, and disappeared.
After Wang Lin left, the smile on Qiu Siping’s face disappeared. A cold look flashed across his eyes. He blinked a few times, then moved in the opposite direction from Wang Lin.
But what he didn’t realize was that there was a transparent being who saw his expression clearly and secretly followed him after he left.
Not long after, Wang Lin returned to Qilin City. Through the demon Xu Liguo, he was able to keep a close eye on Qiu Siping. Wang Lin didn’t care whether the Nascent Soul cultivator in Gui Xi was truly Qiu Siping’s master or not. As long as he could confirm that there was a Nascent Soul cultivator trapped in Gui Xi within that ancient cultivation cave, that was more than enough.
As for the 7 day delay, Wang Lin wanted to use Xu Liguo to check if the whole thing about the Nascent Soul cultivator being trapped in Gui Xi was true.
After returning to the cave in Qilin City, Wang Lin sat cross-legged. He touched his bag and two items appeared in his hand.
One of them was Yun Fei’s storage bag and the other was a mysterious pill furnace.
Wang Lin scanned the storage bag with his divine sense and discovered that it was filled with a lot of junk. He ignored it after scanning it once and took out several jade stones. He examined them one by one.
After examining it for a moment, Wang Lin’s expression changed slightly. This jade slip depicted a series of alchemy recipes and procedures. Together, they formed the knowledge of an alchemist.
When he took out a piece of white jade and tried to scan it with his divine sense, he was stunned. There was a restriction placed on the jade that prevented anyone from examining what was inside.
Wang Lin became slightly interested. He picked up the jade and looked at it with his divine soul eye, which could see through restrictions. Instantly, his eyes began to glow and turned slightly oval. Many strange restriction symbols flashed across them.
After a long time, Wang Lin raised his right finger and pointed into the air. He also pointed at several other points in the air. Suddenly, a thin line appeared and connected the points he had pointed to, forming two overlapping triangles.
When the pattern appeared, he reached out his hand and took the pattern and stuck it on the jade.
Instantly, the jade began to emit a bright light. The light grew brighter and brighter, reaching a peak, and then dimming. The jade had now transformed from white jade to black jade.
Wang Lin examined the jade again. This time, he could easily see what was inside. After observing it for a while, he sneered inwardly. It seemed this Yun Fei truly deserved to die. Previously, when he first met Wang Lin, he had tried to exchange the traditional medicine contained within for his life.
After Wang Lin saw the jade, he didn’t mind. Although some pills were tempting to him, they weren’t a big deal. If he had been before receiving the inheritance, he might have tried to refine them, but after receiving the inheritance, with the necessary herbs, he would achieve the same results as taking them directly.
But now that he saw the real jade, he could tell that although the ingredients for the recipe were the same, the ratios were slightly different.
This small change can determine the life and death of the person taking the pill.
Furthermore, inside the original jade slip, beside the pill recipe, was a description of the pill itself. At that moment, Wang Lin realized that there was a significant difference between making pills and consuming the ingredients directly.
His previous thinking was completely wrong. If he had the ingredients right in front of him, there would be a difference between refining them into pills and taking them directly.
This alchemy uses the different effects of various ingredients and combines them to produce different effects.
Wag Lin knew nothing about this. The ancient gods rarely made pills, and even if they did, all they did was pound all the ingredients until they were crushed and swallowed them.
And all his previous experiences had little to do with alchemy. He had only spoken about alchemy with Li Muwan, but Wang Lin was focused on core formation at the time, so he didn’t ask much about it.
He treasured the jade like a treasure. He had decided that he must master this alchemy.
He took a deep breath and looked at the pill furnace. He took out his storage bag and tried to put it in, but he found that, no matter what, he couldn’t fit the pill furnace inside. This piqued Wang Lin’s interest.
After observing it for a while, Wang Lin didn’t act rashly, but instead held the pill furnace in his arms. He slammed his storage bag shut, and a small white flag appeared.
He took out the flag and began refining it while keeping an eye on Qiu Siping through Xu Liguo.
Xu Liguo was currently overjoyed. He felt that his place in his master’s heart was far above that of second place. This made him extremely proud.
It had to be said that the appearance of Number Two made him feel extremely apprehensive. He was even somewhat wary of Number Two’s ferocity. However, since he was the first to follow his master, he felt that he couldn’t be defeated by Number Two.
Otherwise, he would worry that one day, number 3, number 4, number 5… number 90 would appear and beat him up. That would make him feel worse than Wang Lin had just killed him.
Xu Liguo secretly decided in his heart that he wouldn’t let that happen. He was still number one. He had to maintain his current position. With that in mind, Xu Liguo became much more obedient and worked hard to complete whatever Wang Lin asked.
Secretly, he has also gotten rid of his lazy habits and become more hardworking. He is also not picky about food anymore. As long as it is a soul, he will rush to steal it.
Meanwhile, after each catch, the portion that had to be handed over to Wang Lin made him want to go crazy, as if each portion was digging out a piece of his flesh.
But overall, compared to before, he had become much more obedient.
Now he was following Qiu Siping closely. No matter how fast Qiu Siping flew, he could easily keep up. As he followed Qiu Siping, he was still savoring the taste of the man in black.
The man in black was in the middle stage of Core Formation. It took him a lot of effort to finally consume the man’s soul. As for the man’s core, since the teacher didn’t ask for it, he ate it secretly.
He stared at Qiu Siping in front of him. A hint of greed began to form in his mind. If only Master would beat up this late-stage Core Formation cultivator and gift him to him, that would be perfect.
In his opinion, this person was extremely cunning. He almost never moved in a straight line, but often circled around and constantly turned his head to check behind him, so it wasn’t difficult for Xu Liguo to follow him. Xu Liguo leisurely followed behind him and thought, “I didn’t know flying could have so many methods and tricks. In the future, when I compete with number 2, I’ll try using them.”
Just then, Qiu Siping suddenly slowed down and landed on the ground. Qiu Siping looked around. Apart from the natural mist that existed in the Demon Sea, there was nothing else around him.
After Qiu Siping landed, he sneered, “Fellow cultivator, you’ve been hiding for so long, you might as well come out!”
The devil Xu Liguo was stunned. He was standing behind Qiu Siping and was shocked to hear his scream. He thought it was a bad thing that he had found out about him.
He was about to retreat when he suddenly stopped, because Qiu Siping turned around and stared at him.
Xu Liguo’s face turned fierce. If he fought Qiu Siping and consumed Qiu Siping’s core, he would become even stronger. Even if the master asked, he could say that Qiu Siping had attacked first. He had to devour Qiu Siping first.
He was about to move when he suddenly stopped again because Qiu Siping turned the other way and shouted again, “Fellow cultivator, if you don’t show yourself now, I’ll have to make a move.”
The devil Xu Liguo was very confused and thought, “I’m here, didn’t you just see me? Why are you still saying I didn’t show myself?”
He became furious and charged towards Qiu Siping. When he was less than 10 feet away, he thought, “Take action! The moment you take action, I will devour you. Even if I can’t devour all of you, I will devour half of you, so take action now!”
However, after Qiu Siping waited for a while, he turned around again.
This time, the slow-witted Xu Ligou realized something was wrong and once again moved in front of Qiu Siping. After watching for a while, he shouted in his heart, “You bastard, you didn’t even find me at all and you dare to pretend to find me!”
Qiu Siping waited for a while. Finally, he was sure that no one was around and that no one was following him, but he was still worried, so he sat cross-legged and waited for time to pass.
Xu Liguo angrily hovered to the side, wondering if he should disobey his master’s orders and directly fight this person.
This person is really brave. He dares to fight against the great Xu Liguo!
But after much reflection, he finally suppressed his anger. This was a crucial time. If he made a mistake now, the number two would surpass him. He decided to wait until his position was solidified, until this kind of thing was no longer an issue.
Time passed, and two days passed. During these two days, Wang Lin didn’t leave the cave at all, instead focusing on refining the flag. He had set up countless restrictions. The white flag that had been fluttering before him now had countless black spots.
At a glance, one can see about 200 to 300 black spots.
The flag features groups of nine dots. None of the groups repeats another. While some of the materials for this restriction flag are extremely difficult to gather, the refining process is not particularly difficult.
Any cultivator who can use the limits can perfect it.
However, the knowledge required is extremely powerful. If an ordinary cultivator were to create this flag, the restrictions imposed on it would be so weak that even if the flag were successfully created, it would not be powerful.
Furthermore, this restriction flag is like the restriction itself. It all depends on the thought process of the person who placed it. If the creator could place 999,999 consecutive attack restrictions without any overlap, then the resulting flag would possess unimaginable attack power.
On the other hand, if 999,999 consecutive defensive restrictions were applied, then it would also contain unimaginable defensive power.
Similarly, if the goal is to trap the enemy, then after reaching the 999,999 limit, the trapping ability will be considered terrifying.
Essentially, the power of a restriction flag depends on the creator’s intentions. It sounds simple in theory, but achieving it is incredibly difficult.
For example: with 999 constraints as the first level, every 9 constraints form a group, meaning you need 111 different constraints.
If someone wanted to take a single route, they would have to apply 111 different attack restrictions to the flag, which could be quite difficult. However, if they had a thorough understanding of the restrictions, it might be possible.
But what about the second level, which requires 9,999 restrictions? That means 1,111 groups, and the difficulty of reaching them in a single route is ten times higher.
Not to mention the third level, which requires 99,999 restrictions. This level is 100 times more difficult than the first level because not many people have that many restrictions, which only have one type of restriction.
As for the final level, 999,999 restrictions were required. The difficulty was 1,000 times higher. The 999,999 restriction flag was already a mystical object, and in the memories Wang Lin had obtained, it did exist. However, there had never been a 999,999 restriction flag created purely for offensive or defensive restrictions.
A purely offensive or defensive restriction flag can reach the third level at most, but its power can almost rival the final level restriction flag with 999,999 restrictions, and, in certain aspects, even surpass it.
So it can be said, the process of making a restriction flag is simple, but if someone wants to make a strong restriction flag, it is very difficult.
The prohibition flag created by Wang Lin is not a one-way flag. It includes attack, defense, guard, search, trap, and such prohibitions.
This was the only way for him to quickly create a prohibition flag. Wang Lin knew that within this Sea of Devils, he might encounter a life-threatening crisis at any moment, so he had to quickly create this prohibition flag to test its power, and then decide whether he should take the time to create a single-route prohibition flag.
After all, he had three inkstones, so he could make three restriction flags in total.
Wang Lin’s focus grew. His hands moved, forming another restriction. At the same time, he used his connection with Xu Liguo to check what Qiu Siping was doing.
Qiu Siping sat there for two days, then suddenly disappeared. Xu Liguo panicked and immediately dove underground. After diving very deep, he saw Qiu Siping’s figure.
There was a cave buried deep underground in that desolate place. Although the cave wasn’t large, it was extremely well-hidden. Xu Liguo easily entered the cave. He didn’t trigger any restrictions at all.
After entering the cave, he saw Qiu Siping flipping through a book. The room was like a sea of books, with books densely packed everywhere. Most of the books were extremely ancient and not jade, but carved on bamboo.
Qiu Siping read each book carefully and put it away carefully. Suddenly, his face beamed and he quickly took the bamboo scroll aside and unfolded it on the table, then examined it carefully.
Xu Liguo was about to step forward when suddenly, a soft light shone from the room. The light prevented outsiders from entering. As the light flashed, Qiu Siping suddenly looked up. He scanned the area with his divine sense, but found nothing. However, he continued to look around, trying to find something.
After a long time, he lowered his head and examined the bamboo, but his right hand had already formed a seal, ready to attack at any moment.
With the soft light blocking Xu Ligou, he couldn’t get close enough to take a closer look. He tried very hard, but could only make out the small words “Ancient Restriction” on the bamboo.
After three hours, Qiu Siping frowned. He closed the bamboo with a questioning expression. After putting the bamboo away, he searched for a while longer, picked up two pieces of gray jade, and then walked out of the room.
In the stone room next to him, he sat cross-legged and placed a piece of gray jade on his forehead, then began to meditate.
Time passed. From 7 days to the meeting, 5 days had passed. On the 5th day, Qiu Siping suddenly opened his eyes and put the jade slip into his storage bag. His hands formed a seal and shot out a beam of light that landed on the wall. Suddenly, the entire wall made a cracking sound as it opened, revealing the meeting table.
On the table stood three figures. The one in the middle had white hair and angry eyes, exuding an air of majesty.
On each side stood a man and a woman. The man’s face was grim and his eyes were cold. He appeared to be around 20 years old. The woman had a strikingly beautiful face and a graceful figure. Her eyes held a hint of sadness, adding to her lively appearance.
Qiu Siping silently stared at the three figures. When his gaze fell on the woman, his eyes were filled with tenderness, but when his gaze fell on the old man, his eyes were filled with hatred.
“Old Commander, big brother. I’ve finally found someone who knows how to use the ancient restrictions. You never thought I’d be able to enter that place to meet you again. This time, the treasure will be mine!”
Qiu Siping suddenly laughed. His laughter contained a hint of madness. He reached out his hand and carefully caressed the woman’s face, muttering, “I will bring you back to life, even if it costs the entire Sea of Devils!”
He took a deep breath and withdrew his right hand. He emitted another beam of light and the wall closed again.
Wang Lin sat cross-legged in the cave. He saw all this through Xu Liguo. He pondered for a moment and made a decision.
On the second night of the following day, Wang Lin placed the final barrier on the flag. Suddenly, the small flag moved, and the black dots covering it began to enlarge. The flag turned from white to completely black.
Fragments of ancient atmosphere were released from the flag. Restrictions flickered one by one on the flag, forming mysterious golden symbols. These symbols revolved around the flagpole and slowly rose upward. Soon, the entire flag was covered in golden symbols.
At this point, many more symbols emerge from the flag. They form a line that encircles it.
Meanwhile, in a star field tens of thousands of kilometers above the thick clouds above Qilin City.
Among the stars, a red cloud began to gather. It began to swell. It grew larger and larger, until it reached hundreds of kilometers in diameter.
Within the red clouds, flakes of gas began to fall. As the gas touched the thick clouds above the Devil’s Sea, it began to sizzle and melt, as if hot iron had touched snow.
At that moment, in the eastern part of the Demon Sea, a figure walked out from a mountain made of skulls. The figure was shrouded in the stench of death, and his figure could not be seen clearly.
He raised his head and stared at the thick clouds, as if he could see through them, and saw the red clouds above them. He muttered, “Divine retribution? Impossible. Since the ancient cultivation world was destroyed by a catastrophe, there should no longer be any divine retribution. All cultivators are now deceiving the heavens to cultivate. How could that lead to divine retribution? Could there be ancient cultivators who didn’t die? If that were true, then they would be extremely high-quality supplements!” After he finished speaking, his body suddenly moved in the direction the red clouds were forming.
In the eastern part of the Devil’s Sea lies a basin. Within this basin is seawater. It should be noted that this isn’t the season for clouds to turn into seawater, so the view is truly spectacular.
The seawater suddenly began to stir violently. Suddenly, a blue-robed man emerged from the water, causing numerous waves to surge. Stepping on the waves, he slowly floated upwards. He looked up at the sky, revealing a shocked expression. “Divine retribution? Since when have such exciting things happened in the Sea of Devils? This divine retribution should have drawn out all the old monsters hiding.” He revealed a faint smile. His body floated above the water and he waved his hand, causing the water in the basin to float into the air.
This scene would shock anyone. The man melted back into the water. He waved his hand, and the water moved toward the red cloud like a line of galloping horses.
Comparing his speed to a Nascent Soul cultivator using instant teleportation, his speed was several times faster, and the water was getting faster and faster, until it suddenly disappeared.
At the southern point of the Devil Sea, within the third floor of a city’s Treasure Refining Pavilion, a white-haired old man covered in wrinkles was holding a beast bone, and bragging about it to a Foundation Building cultivator.
“Brother, this thing is truly a treasure. I’ll tell you that it’s been used for the 74th time, so listen carefully…”
The Foundation Building cultivator was furious. If it wasn’t against the rules of the Treasure Refining Pavilion, he would have spat on this old man, who had bullied him from the first floor to the third. From his perspective, this old man was only at the 8th layer of Qi Condensation.
What he couldn’t tolerate the most was that when the old man spoke, his saliva would fly into his face, making him want to take out his magic treasure to attack the old man.
Finally, he couldn’t hold back his anger any longer. He waved his sleeve and immediately left the Treasure Refining Pavilion, but the old man continued to pester him. With so many people watching, the Foundation Building cultivator threw the low-grade spirit stone on the ground, like he was feeding an animal, and picked up the animal bone with a cold smile on his face before leaving.
He had decided that he would teach this old man a lesson tonight.
The white-haired man took the low-grade spirit stone with a smile. He blew off the dust from it and put it in his pocket. Just then, his expression suddenly changed as he turned his head toward the clouds.