Chapter 45: Return to Soul Wraith Island

About half a month later, three streaks of light approached from afar above Soul Wraith Island, steadily hovering above the Grand Hall.

Jiuyou’s figure appeared first, and his Divine Sense instantly spread out like a tidal wave, enveloping the entire island. Every blade of grass, every brick and tile, was within his control.

After a moment, he nodded slightly. During his absence, nothing adverse had changed on the island.

The few remaining Golden Core Executives on the island sensed that familiar and terrifying pressure and hurriedly set aside their tasks, rushing over to greet him. They knelt on the ground, addressing him as "Grand Ancestor," their expressions extremely reverent.

Jiuyou merely gave them a cold glance, waved his hand dismissively, and sent them away. To him, these Golden Core cultivators were nothing more than expendable resources, not worth wasting words on.

He led Canfeng and Gu Qing all the way to outside the Soul Wraith Grand Hall before turning around.

His gaze swept over the two of them, finally resting on Canfeng’s face. Jiuyou spoke unhurriedly.

"Canfeng, This old man is going into seclusion for a while. Go find a place for your new Junior Disciple to stay, and don't be negligent."

Hearing this, Canfeng immediately bowed respectfully, but his gaze involuntarily darted toward Gu Qing, a trace of reluctance flashing in his eyes. However, his mouth didn’t dare show any hesitation.

"Yes, your disciple obeys."

Seeing this, Gu Qing also quickly bowed deeply to Jiuyou, bending at the waist very low and keeping his posture extremely humble, not daring to show the slightest neglect.

Jiuyou took all of this in, his expression unchanged, but he had his own calculations in mind.

A flash of spiritual light appeared in his hand, and a dark cyan jade pendant materialized.

The pendant was completely translucent, with an eerie glow flowing within, exuding a faint, almost imperceptible pressure. Jiuyou held it in his palm but did not directly hand it to Canfeng. Instead, he sent a secret telepathic message through his Divine Sense.

"This is your Junior Disciple’s Soul Jade Pendant. While This old man is in seclusion, if this brat makes any unusual moves, use this item to subdue him. His pain, life, and death are all in your hands."

Canfeng’s ears twitched, a sharp light flashing in his eyes, and a surge of ecstasy welled up in his heart. He quickly stepped forward a few paces, respectfully receiving the jade pendant with both hands, his fingers clutching it tightly as if he wanted to crush it.

"Don’t worry, Grand Ancestor! Your grandson will handle it perfectly for you!"

As he spoke, his eyes met Jiuyou’s. He saw the corner of his master’s mouth curl up slightly, and he couldn’t help but let out a few cold laughs in response.

Gu Qing, watching the old man and grandson smiling at each other, felt the laughter, though soft, send a chill down his spine. Though he didn’t know what the old Nascent Soul demon and Canfeng had whispered to each other, he could roughly guess that it had something to do with him.

As he was secretly speculating in his heart, he suddenly caught a glimpse of Jiuyou’s gaze slowly turning toward him from the corner of his eye. Gu Qing’s heart tightened, and he quickly lowered his head, bending his waist even deeper, not daring to even breathe loudly.

"Hahaha—"

Seeing this, Jiuyou suddenly burst into loud laughter, the sound carrying a hint of exhilaration.

"Alright, my good disciple. Your master is not some bloodthirsty killer. On the contrary, I am the most trustworthy among the many demonic cultivators in this Tianyuan Sea. As long as you do things properly as I previously agreed, diligently work, and hand over the cultivated insect eggs to me, This old man will definitely not treat you unfairly, nor will I discard you after you’ve served your purpose."

Hearing this, the corner of Gu Qing’s mouth twitched slightly, a mix of emotions churning in his heart. But he dared not show anything on his face, quickly speaking respectfully.

"Please rest assured, Master. Your disciple will spare no effort and will cultivate more Soul-Eating Insect eggs for you."

Jiuyou looked at the other’s perfectly submissive posture and nodded with satisfaction. He reached out and gently patted Gu Qing on the shoulder. The pat on the shoulder was not heavy, but it made Gu Qing’s breath catch.

Jiuyou withdrew his hand, said nothing more, and merely gave them both a final glance before heading into the depths of the Grand Hall without looking back. His black robe rustled in the wind, and his retreating figure grew more distant, carrying an undeniable authority.

"Let’s go, Junior Disciple Gu."

Canfeng straightened up, his tone much gentler than before, but the condescending attitude was impossible to hide.

"Your Senior Brother will show you around our Soul Wraith Island properly, so you can understand the local customs and rules."

Gu Qing inwardly groaned in misery, but he put on a perfectly timed smile on his face and cupped his hands.

"Then I’ll trouble you, Senior Brother Canfeng."

The two of them, one behind the other, headed into the island. Canfeng walked briskly, while Gu Qing followed closely, his mind churning with unknown thoughts.

A moment later, deep within Soul Wraith Island, inside a cave dwelling.

The heavy stone door rumbled shut behind them, cutting off all sound from the outside world. Jiuyou’s figure appeared in the center of the cave dwelling, surrounded by darkness and silence. Only a few slivers of moonlight fell through the cracks in the stone ceiling, illuminating the cold floor.

He flipped his palm, and the set of array formation flags he had used on Coldwind Island appeared in his hand. With a flash of spiritual light, the flags transformed into several streaks of light and inserted themselves into the four walls of the cave. The formation patterns flowed, and an invisible barrier firmly enveloped the entire cave.

Jiuyou turned to look at the cave entrance and raised his hand, making a grasping motion.

With a series of rumbling sounds, one after another, heavy stone doors deep within the cave’s tunnels slammed shut, completely isolating the cave dwelling into an independent, small world.

After confirming everything was secure, Jiuyou finally felt at ease, his expression turning even more serious.

He carefully removed the Storage Pouch from his waist and gently shook it.

Spiritual light flickered as one treasure after another, brought back from Heavenly Abyss Mountain, materialized on the stone platform before him, an array of dazzling and spiritually potent items.

Foremost among them was the Ten-Thousand-Year Life-Extending Fruit.

That translucent fruit, radiating a seven-colored glow, floated silently in mid-air, its light swirling like a miniature rainbow moon, casting the entire cave in a dreamlike, illusory glow.

Jiuyou’s gaze fell upon it, his murky, aged eyes filled with fervor and anticipation.

This item was his greatest gain from this trip. Its extraordinary effects were unknown, but the more he thought about it, the more his heart raced with excitement.

Next came a pile of century-grade Life-Extending Fruits, along with several millennium-grade spiritual herbs.

Tranquility Herb, Mystic Mountain Grass… each spiritual herb was neatly arranged, exuding a rich medicinal fragrance amidst the dense spiritual energy.

Mystic Mountain Grass was a relatively common auxiliary cultivation herb, with a thousand-year limit being its peak, but it was still somewhat useful for a Nascent Soul cultivator. As for Tranquility Herb, it was even rarer; three-thousand-year specimens had long since vanished from the outside world.

Besides these, Jiuyou also had a full five eighth-level beast pills.

Three of them came from the three eighth-level Exotic Beasts on the Frozen Path, while the other two were exchanged from Yin Gu the Old Fiend. These beast pills were immensely beneficial, whether used for pill refining, formation setting, practicing techniques, or advancing cultivation levels.

Jiuyou looked at the five beast pills glowing with spiritual light, a slight smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

Then, with a thought, two ancient relics flew out of his Storage Pouch.

One was a miniature cyan mountain, the size of a palm, yet carrying an immense, almost heavy force; the other was a set of artifacts made of cyan fallen leaves, each leaf as thin as a cicada’s wing, with edges sharp as blades.

These were precisely the Cyan Mountain ancient relic and the Green Leaf ancient relic of Old Ghost Qingshan.

Jiuyou stared at the two ancient relics and let out a cold laugh.

"Heh, that old ghost was smart enough. Knowing his time was short, aside from carrying these two famous ancient relics and some recovery pills on him, he must have hidden the rest of his treasures on his Green Mountain Island. It’s a pity I couldn’t take them all."

He shook his head, set the two ancient relics aside for the moment, and fixed his gaze on one of the eighth-level beast pills. Suddenly, he remembered something.

Old Ghost Qingshan’s Nascent Soul had not yet been refined.

Back in the mountain cave, although he had devoured the other’s Nascent Soul, he had only suppressed it deep within the Nether Capital Gate, erased its consciousness, and had not yet had time to refine its source power.

Jiuyou raised his hand and waved, and the space behind him twisted slightly as the Nether Capital Gate manifested.

The door slowly opened, and a beam of cyan light flew out, hovering in front of Jiuyou.

Within the light, a Nascent Soul source the size of a fist floated quietly, its spiritual light contained within, showing no signs of struggle. Old Ghost Qingshan’s consciousness had been completely erased, leaving only the purest Nascent Soul power.

Jiuyou reached out and held the source, feeling the pure power contained within, a glint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

"An Initial Stage cultivator’s Nascent Soul… I have never refined one before and have no experience to draw on. But there’s no rush; I’ll take it slow."

As he finished speaking, he sat down cross-legged, placed the source in front of his dantian, closed his eyes, and slowly began to circulate his spiritual power.

Within the cave, a dark cyan light gradually lit up, casting Jiuyou’s gaunt figure like a ghost.

Refining a Nascent Soul was not a task that could be completed in a single day.

But with every fraction he refined, his own Nascent Soul grew stronger, giving him a better chance to break through his cultivation level in the future.

This step could not be rushed.

Outside the cave, the sea wind howled, and waves crashed against the shore.

Inside the cave, there was only silence, with nothing but the flow of spiritual light and the surging of magical power.

Jiuyou’s aura was quietly rising.