90. Locking the Spirit (Part Two)
◎“The person who planted the Injury-Bearing Technique in you was…Lou Tinglan?”◎
Upon hearing this, Ran Qinghe sat up abruptly, her eyes filled with vigilance, and she instinctively picked up a talisman.
Who are you?
The sound seemed to be coming from the lower levels of the tower.
Below the Divine Transformation Tower Prison, only three levels remain: the Void Refining Realm, the Body Integration Realm, and the Tribulation Transcending Realm.
Previously, she and Lou Tinglan had already investigated the area because of Qianji Bu, but they did not find any other cultivators' spiritual energy.
Furthermore, the Integration Stage and Tribulation Stage are even more impossible, as these two realms are almost equivalent to the realms of the five sect leaders. There has never been a precedent in the world of a Integration Stage expert or even a Tribulation Stage expert being imprisoned in the Tower of Babel.
Moreover, the person's voice sounded much younger.
But the man did not answer her question; instead, he continued to persuade her:
"Young friend, do you know what kind of formation you have drawn?"
"What?" Ran Qinghe had never seen such a formation in any ancient book or scroll before, which was why she wanted to try to replicate it. However, she was abruptly interrupted by this person.
"This formation was created by the head of the Discipline Hall and is called the Spirit Locking Formation. Simply put, it is used to imprison the spiritual power of cultivators. If the person who drew it is of a high level, this formation can even absorb spiritual energy and resentment."
"That's why I said that if you finish drawing this formation, the first ones to disappear will probably be those three standing on top of it right now."
Upon hearing this, the three vengeful spirits were so anxious that they immediately flew away from the center of the formation.
Ran Qinghe muttered to herself with a hint of doubt:
"Created by Lou Yi?"
Could it be that he also drew the formation of the Nascent Soul Realm Tower Prison?
He already knew the outcome of the Discipline Hall's deliberations, so he had set up an array in the Tower Prison in advance.
However, Ran Qinghe couldn't understand one thing. She had a grudge against Lou Yi, but it shouldn't be enough for the dignified head of the Discipline Hall to set up a spirit-locking array specifically for her.
The person below, upon hearing the name she uttered, paused for a moment before chuckling softly:
"Never mind, I misspoke. It should be the former head of the Discipline Hall."
"Lou Yunya?"
The person below responded softly.
But Ran Qinghe was even more dissatisfied with this answer. If it was created by Lou Yunya, who is now nowhere to be found, how could she know how many people in this realm still know this formation?
However, she suddenly thought of something else:
"Could you be a vengeful spirit from this tower prison?"
Moreover, it was a vengeful spirit that was imprisoned when Lou Yunya was the hall master. If you calculate carefully, it has been imprisoned for at least a hundred years.
But the person below said:
"I am now a nameless rogue cultivator. I have been asleep for a long time and was only recently awakened by the sound of explosions."
"That sound was truly earth-shattering and awe-inspiring."
"Speaking of which, I should thank this person, but I don't know how to express my gratitude..."
Ran Qinghe: ...
"Oh, by the way, you've just come in, so you must know who the person who blasted the mountain is. May I ask for their honorable name?"
When Ran Qinghe saw him repeatedly referring to someone who blew up mountains, she simply ignored him and said she didn't know anything about it.
But this person seemed to have been cooped up for too long and was going crazy, with one problem after another.
"Young friend, do you know who the current leaders of the five sects are?"
Ran Qinghe patiently explained everything to her.
The man sighed to himself, "So it's still the same old person."
"Then do you know who the elders of the five sects are now?"
Ran Qinghe continued to patiently explain everything one by one.
"Do you know which young talents with extraordinary cultivation levels are currently among the five sects? For example, the disciples recently recruited by Yunya Academy?"
Ran Qinghe used all her remaining patience to explain everything.
"Then do you know what's happening now..."
Ran Qinghe lost her patience and simply replied, "I don't know, I don't know, I don't know."
She casually erased the spirit-locking array that she had almost drawn on the ground, ignoring the questions from the people below.
In short, she is now in the Tower Prison, which is relatively safe. With Lin Ge outside promising to help her, she is unlikely to die anytime soon.
She continued speaking, rather nonchalantly, to the three vengeful spirits beside her:
"Let's just play leaf cards, the same old rules, the loser spins around a hundred times."
One person and three vengeful spirits were having a great time in the prison cell.
Those below saw that Ran Qinghe had not responded for a long time and then fell silent.
Stone: "...I have three fives in my hand..."
Xiaohua: "...I have four fives in my hand..."
Xiao Shui: "...I have five fives in my hand..."
Ran Qinghe: "Flip the cards! There are only six fives in total..."
Xiao Shui flipped over a card, only to find she had a five in her hand. She spun around in place so much she almost felt the wind rise from her feet.
"Round two, round two."
Stone: "...I have three eights in my hand..."
Xiaohua: "...I have four eights in my hand..."
Xiao Shui: "...I have five eights in my hand..."
Ran Qinghe: "...I have six eights in my hand..."
When it was Stone's turn, it indeed had no eights in its hand. As it hesitated, the person below suddenly said leisurely:
"She doesn't have it, just keep looking."
Stone was overjoyed: "Flip it over, I want to flip it over!"
Ran Qinghe was annoyed and slammed the cards in her hand on the ground. "You old man, why do you talk so much?"
In fact, in every subsequent round, the "old man" below would always be able to give pointers to the other three vengeful spirits at crucial moments, causing Ran Qinghe to lose.
In the end, Ran Qinghe was so dizzy from spinning that she couldn't tell east from west, and had no choice but to end the game early.
"Hey, old man, you!"
The person below seemed to be in a very good mood and slowly said:
"First of all, I am not an old man; I am a young man in the prime of my life."
Just then, the three vengeful spirits had all finished playing and gone back, and Ran Qinghe now had plenty of free time. She curled her lips into a mocking smile:
“Even if you were locked up right after you were born, you must be at least a hundred years old. Is it too much of an insult for me to call you an old man?”
Moreover, if this person is indeed a cultivator, he is at least at the Integration Stage, and his age cannot be low.
The person below laughed loudly:
"Okay, call me whatever you want."
"I've just been locked up in this tower prison for a long time and I'm so bored that I just wanted to find someone to talk to."
Still feeling annoyed by her earlier loss, Ran Qinghe replied bluntly:
"That's quite a coincidence. I'm the kind of person who dislikes casually striking up conversations with people."
“I don’t like to talk. I just heard you and those three… um, young friend, having a very interesting game. How come when it’s my turn, I’m considered not to like to talk?” His voice was indeed very clear and melodious.
It's strange, if a young prodigy were imprisoned in the Tower of Babel, everyone in the world should know about it.
Ran Qinghe sat down cross-legged and deliberately probed:
"They are simple-minded. If they lose a hand, they just spin around. They accept their loss willingly, unlike some people who hide their true selves and don't even dare to reveal their names. They just talk big and pontificate behind the scenes."
"His name..." the person below drawled, as if recalling or pondering, "I've been imprisoned for too long, I'm afraid even if I say it, no one will remember it."
"Why don't you just call me 'Hey'? I feel especially warm and friendly whenever it's a human voice."
Ran Qinghe was also rendered speechless by his unreasonable and irritable behavior, so she simply leaned back against the cold stone wall.
"Whatever, we're all prisoners anyway."
The brief silence seemed exceptionally long in the darkness of the tower prison. Just when Ran Qinghe thought the man had finally quieted down, his voice rang out again, this time with less joking and more of an indiscernible indulgence.
"Few in the realm know about the Spirit Locking Array. When Lou Yunya created this array, he said... it was for self-imprisonment."
"Self-imprisonment?" Ran Qinghe asked subconsciously, but then felt annoyed that she had answered his question.
The person below continued speaking to himself, "Hmm. The Discipline Hall is in charge of law enforcement matters of the Five Sects, but who should check and balance the Discipline Hall, which is above the Five Sects? And who should restrain the head of the Discipline Hall?"
Ran Qinghe's mind stirred: "The only ones who can counterbalance the Discipline Hall are the Five Sects, and the ones who can restrain the Discipline Hall Master should be the leaders of the Five Sects. Are you saying that this Spirit Locking Formation was set up by one of the leaders of the Five Sects?"
Ran Qinghe almost immediately thought of that name: Qian Zhong!
Of the five sect leaders, only the Qingxiao Sect Leader treated her with special regard.
Previously, when they were at Yunya Academy, Qianzhong had repeatedly tried to take her away, and she could even guess the reason why.
So Ran Qinghe continued to probe, "It seems you are quite familiar with this Spirit Locking Array."
"Then do you know what would happen if someone born with a spiritual body were trapped by this formation?"
Upon hearing this, the person below, who had been speaking eloquently just moments before, suddenly fell silent.
So long that Ran Qinghe thought he would never speak again.
“A person born with a spiritual body is naturally the best vessel for spiritual energy. If a person born with a spiritual body accidentally enters the formation, they will become nourishment for the formation.”
"And then?" Ran Qinghe asked eagerly.
But the person began to speak slowly, seemingly not intending to answer.
"Let me ask you, there are very few people in this realm who know about innate spiritual bodies, so how can you connect innate spiritual bodies with this spirit-locking array?"
Why? Of course, it's because someone wants to set up a spirit-locking array on her!
But Ran Qinghe replied calmly, "I just heard that Lou Yunya was born with a spiritual body, and that this spirit-locking array was created by Lou Yunya, so I was just curious."
The man sighed and said, "I thought you would tell me the truth, after all... you are a born spirit, aren't you?"
Ran Qinghe's expression changed drastically, but she still maintained a steady tone in her voice: "Senior is really joking. Could a naturally born spiritual body be this cabbage?"
Unexpectedly, the man was extremely certain and then dropped another bombshell:
"But it doesn't matter. Even if you are trapped by the formation, you won't be harmed in the slightest, since someone has already taken the brunt of the formation for you."
"What do you mean?!" Ran Qinghe was so shocked that she jumped up from the ground.
"Oh?" the man continued in a drawn-out tone, "Don't you know that you've already been put under the Injury-Bearing Spell?"
"Once the Injury-Bearing Technique is activated, it means that no matter how serious your injury is, you will be completely unharmed, and the injury will only affect the person who sustained it."
"Tsk tsk tsk, what a devoted lover."
With each word the man spoke, Ran Qinghe's heart grew heavier.
No wonder Lou Tinglan agreed so readily to lift the Heart-Sharing Technique; he had secretly planted the Injury-Bearing Technique in her.
No wonder, on the day of the execution, she clearly endured the force of the Soul-Locking Whip, yet only suffered minor physical pain.
"Lou Tinglan, you really are..."
Surprisingly, upon hearing the name she mentioned, the man's voice seemed to tense up.
"You mean, the person who implanted the Injury-Bearing Technique in you was... Lou Tinglan?"
[Author's Note]
[Let me see] I bet some of you little angels have already guessed who this is, hahaha.
I'm currently working on the finale of my novel, and also preparing the outline for my new story. If you're interested, you can check out my upcoming pre-order: "The Female Lead from a Restricted Novel Transmigrates into a Qidian Novel." [Applause][Applause] It would be even better if you could add it to your favorites! Mwah!
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