Chapter 551: Repairing the Souls

"Do you mean they could perform a rite to guide the souls into the afterlife?" Xiao Shou immediately thought of the Buddhist cultivators’ signature ability and asked with great anticipation.

A helpless, sorrowful look flashed through Tushan Shanhe’s eyes.

"That’s impossible when the souls are so incomplete and have completely lost their minds. Even Buddhist cultivators can only seal them away first and search for a solution later. Besides, the information we purchased clearly stated that even those who devour one another and grow into Ghost Generals, Ghost Kings, or even Ghost Emperors have no memories of their lives before death. They possess only the new memories they acquired after becoming ghosts."

"In other words, even after ten thousand years, no one knows how this world was destroyed or what originally caused it to become a realm of ghosts?" Fu Young asked with a raised eyebrow.

Tushan Shanhe nodded slightly.

"That’s right!"

"Interesting! Since the eggs of the World Eaters are here, I suspect they must have had something to do with this world’s destruction. That’s my guess, anyway. What do you think, Master?"

Fu Young crossed his arms, looking completely at ease. He wasn’t bothered in the slightest by the countless ghostly shadows that continued to attack and vanish around them, having already surrounded them on all sides.

After thinking about the original novel’s plot, Xiao Shou said, "There’s something I forgot to mention. The World Eaters digest everything they consume, including the life force in the physical body, spiritual energy, and the soul. They leave no soul behind. They won’t spare anything that contains even the slightest trace of energy. That’s why any creature they devour turns to stone for only an instant before crumbling into stone dust and scattering."

"They don’t even leave the souls behind? Those creatures are truly greedy. Tsk, tsk! In that case, it seems the World Eaters weren’t the real culprits here after all. It makes sense when you think about it. If they had been here, how could they possibly have ignored such abundant yin spiritual energy, yin spirit stones, and all those other extremely yin materials?"

Tushan Shanhe sneered and strode forward, paying no attention to the countless ghostly shadows surrounding them.

Having guessed incorrectly, Fu Young felt embarrassed. A faint blush spread across his face as he glanced awkwardly at his master. Seeing Xiao Shou looking back at him with a puzzled expression, he felt an unfamiliar sense of embarrassment and quickly looked away. He also stopped clinging to Xiao Shou like they were inseparable, hurriedly and somewhat flusteredly catching up with Tushan Shanhe.

Even in his current state, he did not forget to call out to Xiao Shou. "Master, hurry up and follow us!"

"Oh!"

Xiao Shou had not noticed the change in his beloved disciple’s mood. His mind was now focused on finding a way to help the helpless, mindless fragments of souls in this place find release.

Given his temperament, he naturally did not believe that killing them and erasing their existence was the way to free them from suffering. However, ordinary cultivators’ methods were ineffective against these fragmented souls.

If cultivators had a way to help them, they would not have been left drifting here for ten thousand years.

According to the plots of Legend of the Swordmen of Heavenly Sword Peakvand Ascending to Immortality with a System, repairing fragmented souls in this world required tremendous perseverance and sacrifice. One had to gather all kinds of extraordinarily rare heavenly treasures capable of nourishing the soul, then spend a long time restoring the damaged souls.

Some of the things they had obtained in Wailing Ghost Valley were also heavenly treasures that could nourish the soul. Unfortunately, they had far too little of them, and the process would take too long.

Even if Xiao Shou felt compassion for these souls, he could not bring himself to spend vast amounts of time and precious treasures helping them escape their suffering, as a highly accomplished Buddhist monk might. The cultivators of the Mystic Jade Realm probably felt the same way.

It was not that the combined strength of an entire realm would be insufficient to repair even one soul. Rather, no one was willing to sacrifice so much to accomplish something that offered them no personal benefit.

Thinking about it carefully, was there really nothing available in large quantities that could rapidly repair fragmented souls? Even if it was expensive, that would be fine. He did not need to bring the dead back to life. He only wanted to restore their minds so they could enter the Netherworld and be reincarnated.

Xiao Shou pondered the matter carefully, but neither his own knowledge and experience nor the plots of the two novels offered any suitable solution.

If that was the case, he could only consider his own creation ability.

Since his ability could even create entirely new species, could he use the materials available nearby to create something capable of filling in the missing parts of these souls, restoring them to completeness and allowing them to enter the cycle of reincarnation?

The more he thought about it, the more absorbed he became. Xiao Shou failed to notice that his pace was gradually slowing. The dense blue black ghostly mist swirled around him, making the figures of Fu Young and Tushan Shanhe ahead increasingly indistinct.

Just as a flash of inspiration struck him and he came up with a possible solution, his palm suddenly grew warm and a slightly hot hand closed around his own.

"Master, pay attention. Don’t get left behind!"

"Tsk, tsk! Ah Shou, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten how to walk a few steps while following us. Hurry up!"

Tushan Shanhe had also turned around and walked back.

Their words made Xiao Shou’s face flush. He hurriedly waved his free hand and said, "Sorry! I didn’t mean to. I was so absorbed in thinking about something that I forgot to keep up. I’m really sorry."

"Well, there’s no need to apologize over such a small matter. I’m more curious about what could have made you so absorbed in your thoughts."