Chapter 48 The Art of Soul Collection
Mu Yao sighed helplessly, "You can come along, but where I want to go is none of your business." With that, she grabbed Zhang Xiaofan: "What are you standing there for? Didn't you say you were inviting me to your place? Let's go!"
Before Zhang Xiaofan could react, she had already grabbed his sleeve and was staggering forward, with Tang Yuan hurriedly following behind.
When the three arrived at a place not far from the restaurant, they saw a large group of people scattering in panic, with someone shouting:
"There's a monster! There's a monster!!"
"Run! That was terrifying!"...
Upon hearing this, Mu Yao quickly stopped a passerby: "What happened?"
"Girl, run! The immortals of Qingyun Sect just captured a snake demon, but for some reason she escaped and is now eating people up ahead!"
After saying that, the man fled in a panic. The surrounding crowd was in an uproar; some were too timid to save their lives, while others were brave enough to run back to see what was going on.
Upon hearing that it was a snake demon, Mu Yao immediately thought of Xie Qingqiu. She rushed forward and squeezed through the crowd to the front. There she saw several disciples from Qingyun Sect and Tianyin Temple holding weapons and forming a circle. The leader was a young monk from Tianyin Temple.
Mu Yao looked closely and saw that the person surrounded was indeed Xie Qingqiu!
The leading monk was Faxiang of Tianyin Temple. He pointed his sword at a giant blue snake on the ground and said arrogantly, "Demon! You suck people's souls, steal my sect's treasure mirror, and kill several of my disciples. Today, I will make sure you die without a burial place!"
He tossed his sword high into the air, clasped his hands together, and chanted an incantation. Simultaneously, the monks surrounding him unleashed their swords, ready to capture the snake demon. Without hesitation, Mu Yao activated the Heartbreak Flower, and a lotus-shaped white light shield bloomed, blocking Xie Qingqiu's path.
Her cultivation had greatly increased, and the group of disciples were caught off guard and knocked to the ground by the counterattack of the light barrier. Faxiang had not expected that someone could block their Tianyin Temple's formation, and asked Mu Yao, "Who are you, young lady? Why are you stopping us from catching the demon?"
Zhang Xiaofan squeezed to the front of the crowd and hurriedly stepped forward, saying, "Brother Faxiang! Please stop for now, don't hurt the innocent."
He turned to Mu Yao and said, "Mu Yao, come here quickly. This snake demon has been causing a lot of trouble in Heyang City recently. We finally managed to catch it. Don't hurt yourself!"
"Vice Sect Master! Save me!" Xie Qingqiu grabbed Mu Yao's clothes and begged for help when he saw her appear.
Mu Yao nodded, protecting Xie Qingqiu as she said to Zhang Xiaofan, "If you want to kill her, how can I stand aside!"
Zhang Xiaofan said, "She's a snake demon. Over the years, countless innocent people have had their souls sucked by her. Senior Brother Faxiang and the others are just doing their duty to rid the people of evil. Come here quickly, don't oppose us!"
"It wasn't me!" Xie Qingqiu protested. "I have never done anything to absorb people's souls."
Mu Yao also said, "It's true that she is a snake demon, but she's not the one who sucks people's souls. It's a red-eyed man in black. I've seen him before. He's short and fat. How could it be her? You must have made a mistake! Besides, her cultivation was destroyed three years ago. Even if she started cultivating again, she could never have such great abilities."
Faxiang snorted coldly and said, "Demons are most adept at transforming into human form. Don't be fooled by her, young lady! Last month, she was dressed in black and sneaked into our sect to steal our Dragon-Subduing Tiger-Taming Mirror. That precious mirror is on her now. I am unwilling to fight with you, young lady, because you know me. Please don't make things difficult for us."
Mu Yao glanced at Xie Qingqiu, a trickle of blood flowing from the corner of her mouth, her eyes filled with pleading. A pang of compassion welled up in Mu Yao's heart, but she also remembered the many questions she still had to ask Xie Qingqiu. She turned her head and said, "She is a disciple of my Tianli Divine Sect; I cannot stand by and watch her die! Since you want your things back, then each of you should rely on your own abilities!"
Fa Xiang and the others were shocked: "You are from the Tianli Divine Sect?..." Before they could finish speaking, Mu Yao had already activated the Heartbreak Flower, which transformed into thousands of swords about an inch long. They flew towards the group of people like a whirlwind, and the group of people waved their weapons to dodge.
Tang Yuan caught up at this moment, and the two of them seized the opportunity to each grab Xie Qingqiu's hand, leaping into the air and escaping. Zhang Xiaofan, wielding a fire poker to dodge the attack, also hurriedly followed.
Xie Qingqiu was seriously injured, and Tang Yuan and Mu Yao carried her not far before they flew to a flower bush in a courtyard to hide. Not long after, Zhang Xiaofan caught up with them and said, "It's not safe here, you should go to my house."
Mu Yao and Tang Yuan exchanged a glance, unsure whether to believe him.
Zhang Xiaofan urged, "Let's hurry up and leave! If I really wanted to stop you, I would have already done so. If we don't leave now, I really won't be able to stop them from catching up."
Mu Yao sighed softly and had no choice but to let Tang Yuan carry Xie Qingqiu on his back, following Zhang Xiaofan all the way to a house in the suburbs.
As soon as they entered, a large yellow dog rushed up, barking and hissing. Zhang Xiaofan scolded, "Little Yellow, go back!" The dog immediately fell silent, wagged its tail, and rubbed against the group.
Zhang Xiaofan instructed Tang Yuan to place Xie Qingqiu on a couch in a side room of the hall. She had not only suffered internal injuries but also several external wounds on her shoulder from swords and knives. He then found some healing pills for her to take first.
Xie Qingqiu, her face deathly pale, asked, "Why did you save me?"
Zhang Xiaofan said, "Mu Yao wants to save you, so naturally I can only save you. However, you have to give me the Dragon-Subduing Tiger Mirror first. I must return it to Tianyin Temple, otherwise they will not let you go."
Xie Qingqiu took out something wrapped in white cloth from her body and handed it to him, saying, "Take this. I just wanted to borrow it for a bit, but they not only refused to lend it to me, but also used this to attack me. I had no choice but to take it."
Zhang Xiaofan asked in confusion, "Why didn't you return it to Senior Brother Faxiang just now? Perhaps they wouldn't be chasing you anymore."
Tang Yuan sneered, "If we had given it to them just now, believe me, those people would have immediately used that magic weapon against us. Do you think we could have given it to them?"
Zhang Xiaofan sighed. He knew that what Tang Yuan said was highly likely. The righteous and demonic paths had been at odds for many years, and three years ago, the Tianli Divine Sect had killed Li Xun, turning Fenxiang Valley into a disorganized mess. If it weren't for the good relationship between Tianyin Temple and Qingyun Sect, they might have been thrown into chaos by the Tianli Divine Sect as well. He told Mu Yao about all the healing items he might need at home, then hurriedly left to return the precious mirror to Tianyin Temple.
Inside, Mu Yao looked at Xie Qingqiu's pale face and asked, "Sister Qingqiu, what exactly are you trying to do? You couldn't have stolen that treasure mirror just to let me know something, could you?"
Xie Qingqiu smiled slightly: "That's right, I stole that mirror to let you know what you are. But more importantly, I want to ask you to save Qingwan!"
"What's wrong with her?"
“She also had her soul sucked away. I barely managed to use the power of that magic mirror to protect a sliver of her soul and save her life. Now, only your Wood Element Divine Power can save her.”
Mu Yao was startled: "When...?"
"Just four days ago. I had no choice but to go back to you, remembering that you had saved Yunniang."
Mu Yao said with some doubt, "Then just tell me you need my help. Why did you have to beat around the bush and let me know about Qin Wuyan?"
After leaving Fox Hill, she kept thinking that if she didn't know all this, could she have lived with Qin Wuyan in peace... But what had already happened could not be undone, and she really didn't know how to face him again.
Xie Qingqiu said, "No...you have no idea that Qin Wuyan cast a soul-collecting spell on you. Only by breaking this spell can your wood element divine power be used to revive you."
"Soul-gathering spell?" Mu Yao exclaimed in surprise, "What kind of spell is that? How do you know about it?"
Xie Qingqiu asked, "Is there a mark of a spider lily behind your ear?"
Mu Yao was taken aback; a mark of a spider lily had indeed appeared inexplicably behind her ear. Su Zhenzhen had noticed it three years ago and even told her it might be some kind of curse. But at the time, she felt perfectly normal and didn't take it to heart.
But now, judging from Xie Qingqiu's words, this was actually a curse that Qin Wuyan had cast on her?
Xie Qingqiu continued, "The Soul-Gathering Technique is one of the forbidden arts. This technique uses heart's blood as a catalyst to plant a Soul-Gathering Flower on the recipient's body. This imprisons the recipient's soul within the body, preventing it from straying. However, the person who casts the Soul-Gathering Technique also has the ability to manipulate the recipient's power through it. When the Soul-Gathering Flower blooms to its fullest, that is, when your Other Shore Flower Mark turns its most vibrant red, he can use your divine power to bring back to life those who have been dead for many years."
Mu Yao staggered a few steps and almost lost her balance. Tang Yuan quickly supported her and said to Xie Qingqiu, "Qingqiu, even though you are no longer in the Divine Sect, you must not slander the Sect Master."
Xie Qingqiu ignored him and continued to say to Mu Yao, "Once the Soul-Gathering Flower has bloomed and then withers, the soul that was subjected to the Soul-Gathering Technique will also die. That's why when I went to find you that day, I said that I was there to save you."
Mu Yao closed her eyes, forcing herself to calm down, and said sharply, "I don't believe it! Unless he tells me all this himself, I won't believe you. Xie Qingqiu! I saved your life today only because I wanted you to tell me the truth, to tell me how you know I'm not human. But if you continue to fabricate lies and deceive me, I can kill you just as easily."
"If you don't believe me, why don't you try it with me? Your spiritual power used to be able to heal people, but what about now? You can see for yourself whether it works or not."
Mu Yao had doubts in her heart, but she was also somewhat shaken. She couldn't help but reach out and gather spiritual power at her fingertips, slowly injecting it into the wounds on Xie Qingqiu's shoulders. However, after a long time, the wounds showed no signs of healing.
In the past, let alone this minor wound, even a near-fatal injury, her spiritual power could have healed it. But now…
She stared at Xie Qingqiu's unhealed wounds, her eyes filled with despair.
An eerie silence fell over the room.
"Yao'er..." Tang Yuan couldn't help but comfort her, "You... don't overthink it, let's ask the sect leader when we get back."
Mu Yao gently shook her head, looked at Xie Qingqiu, and said in a slightly trembling voice, "This Soul-Gathering Technique... do you know how to undo it?"
Xie Qingqiu said, "While the Soul-Gathering Flower is not yet in full bloom, use the caster's heart's blood as a catalyst to completely destroy your Heartbreak Flower. This is because when he gave you the Heartbreak Flower magic item, he planted the Soul-Gathering Flower inside it. The longer you use the Heartbreak Flower, the stronger the Soul-Gathering Technique becomes. Therefore, destroying the Heartbreak Flower will sever the connection between your souls. You only need to cast the Soul-Reversal Curse on him to break the connection."
Mu Yao listened quietly, then asked, "What will happen after it's untied? What will he do?"
Xie Qingqiu shook his head: "I don't know. Maybe I'll die, maybe I won't. It's not recorded in the manual, because very few people practice this kind of forbidden technique."
Mu Yao suddenly smiled, "Is that so? Then I really have to thank Sister Qingqiu..." The Heartbreak Flower in her hand suddenly transformed into a long sword, heading straight for Xie Qingqiu's chest.
In a flash, Xie Qingqiu nimbly flipped over to dodge, "Yao'er, what are you doing?"
Tang Yuan was also very surprised, but before he could react, Mu Yao had already gathered her spiritual power and swung her sword to stab again: "You are not Xie Qingqiu! Who are you?"
Having said that, she took up her longsword, leaped into the air, and swung it around, creating a sword flower that was about ten feet long. Just as the sword was about to fall on Xie Qingqiu's neck, she nimbly jumped up from the bed and landed steadily behind Mu Yao, not at all like someone who had just been seriously injured. She turned around and sneered, "I really underestimated you!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Xie Qingqiu's figure had already left the room. Mu Yao and Tang Yuan hurriedly chased after her, flying all the way to a grove of trees. After Xie Qingqiu landed, a flash of red light appeared, and she disappeared from sight.
The forest was filled with towering trees and lush vegetation, yet it was deathly silent, even shrouded in wisps of white mist, exuding an eerie atmosphere.
Mu Yao felt a sense of familiarity with this place. She turned around, but Tang Yuan was nowhere to be seen.
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