Chapter 721 - 362: Mission Board; Soul Gathering Stele’s Promotion

Chapter 721: Chapter 362: Mission Board; Soul Gathering Stele’s Promotion

"Where did he go?" Cheng Zongyang couldn’t help but ask.

Ma Yue quickly replied, "Aside from helping me, he also takes on some bounty missions in his spare time. His Cultivation has improved very quickly—he’s already at the Sixth Grade. It’s honestly a bit embarrassing for me."

Cheng Zongyang smiled. "He has the Five Spirit Bones aptitude, plus a Cultivation Technique that only someone with his special gifts can practice. His technique improves by absorbing Evil Qi through slaughter, so his speed is naturally different. Don’t overthink it. At this rate, he’ll probably enter the Upper Three Grades Realm in just a year or two. This Cultivation Technique is truly something else."

"Don’t worry, Boss. I was just making an observation," Ma Yue said with a bow.

Afterward, Cheng Zongyang and Ma Yue chatted for a while longer, catching up on the main events of the past year before getting to the point.

"I came this time not only to take the corpses but also to check on the Soul Gathering Stele. Also, is Shopkeeper Li still over at the Cheng Mansion?"

Ma Yue immediately responded, "Shopkeeper Li is indeed there. But now, he’s also in charge of the Jade Peak Commerce Association. With help from Baili Xi of the Cyan Dragon Commerce Association, it’s developing very quickly in Zi’an County and has partnerships with numerous gangs and factions. As for the details, I don’t know much more. I only hear him mention these things casually when we occasionally meet up."

Cheng Zongyang nodded slightly after listening.

Ma Yue had a strong sense of boundaries regarding his duties. He wouldn’t ask about matters that weren’t his responsibility, nor would he pry into things he shouldn’t. He had always been consistent on this point.

This was one of the reasons Cheng Zongyang valued him so highly.

"Alright. Thanks for your hard work. Give me the Storage Pouches," Cheng Zongyang said.

Ma Yue immediately took a large box from a hidden compartment under a nearby cabinet and handed it to Cheng Zongyang. Inside were five Storage Pouches.

Cheng Zongyang also took out new Elixirs for Ma Yue to use for his Cultivation. As for Lin Feng, he hadn’t prepared any, nor were they needed.

The cultivation method of the Black Death Secret Manual didn’t require Elixirs; it only needed some assistance during a Realm Breakthrough.

Cheng Zongyang inspected the Storage Pouches and was shocked to find over seven hundred corpses inside!

"This many? Are they all from within Zi’an County?" Cheng Zongyang was puzzled.

Ma Yue’s expression grew more serious. "I don’t know what’s been going on for the past six months, but a lot of people have been killed, all near Zi’an County. The Sects have also investigated. The deceased are all Qi Cultivation Practitioners and members of various factions. The Independent Cultivator Alliance has the most casualties. Li Deli managed to get a lot of extra corpses because of this."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Zongyang seemed to guess something, but he didn’t pay it much mind.

"Alright then." Cheng Zongyang nodded, then immediately transferred the corpses to the Altar Space to be sacrificed by the Ring Spirit.

Afterward, he returned the empty Storage Pouches to Ma Yue and said, "Take me to see the Soul Gathering Stele."

"Yes, Boss!" Ma Yue replied with a bow.

Ma Yue led Cheng Zongyang to the Corpse Collection Manor.

Upon entering the Corpse Collection Manor, they ran into some of Ma Yue’s acquaintances. Ma Yue simply introduced Cheng Zongyang as a Foundation Establishment Elder who was looking for a junior.

Immediately, the people at the Corpse Collection Manor were very polite to Cheng Zongyang and didn’t ask many questions. After all, it wasn’t uncommon for people to come and identify bodies, so there was nothing to be suspicious about.

Soon, Ma Yue led Cheng Zongyang to a grave and said, "Boss, I was worried something might happen, so I buried it inside. Of course, the grave itself is empty. I built it myself just to store..."

"It’s fine," Cheng Zongyang interrupted. "You did well."

Then, Cheng Zongyang opened the grave, revealing the Soul Gathering Stele placed underground.

After storing the Soul Gathering Stele, he said to Ma Yue, "Wait for me a moment."

He then closed his eyes, his spirit entering the Realm of Ten Thousand Races. Looking at the Soul Gathering Stele, he cast an appraisal on it.

---

**Soul Gathering Stele**

**Tier:** Low Grade Spiritual Artifact

**Yin Realm:** 20 km

**Capacity:** 0/10 (Tier Three Divine Souls)

**Abilities:** Bewitching Array (Lv3); Soul Realm (Lv1)

**Other:** Size Manipulation (Can change size at will, but total weight remains constant.)

**Controller:** Cheng Zongyang

---

Looking at the newly transformed Soul Gathering Stele, Cheng Zongyang couldn’t help but swallow.

The next moment, with a thought from him, the Stone Stele flew into the air. It gradually shrank in mid-flight until, at his mental command, it took the form of a brick and landed in his hand.

’Holy cow, it can really turn into a brick?’

Cheng Zongyang’s eyes lit up, and he continued to shrink the Soul Gathering Stele until it was a miniature version the size of a fingernail. Its weight, however, hadn’t lessened in the slightest. In fact, now that its Tier had been promoted, the Soul Gathering Stele’s overall weight had also increased.

Its current weight was estimated to be around eight hundred pounds.

"A Powerful Flying Brick!" Cheng Zongyang was overjoyed.

A brick at the Spiritual Artifact Level with powers like Divine Abilities was an absolutely god-tier weapon for a fight.

He entered a Cultivation Room, simulated an environment, and then took out the Soul Gathering Stele.

After a series of tests, he looked thrilled.

All the simulated versions of himself with a Foundation Establishment Cultivation were taken out by a sneak attack from the shrunken Soul Gathering Stele.

Eight hundred pounds might not sound like much, but when an object the size of a fingernail weighing that much hits you at high speed, it’s no different than being shot by a Barrett sniper rifle.

It could punch a huge hole right through your body!

"TSK TSK." Cheng Zongyang decided to carry it with him as his personal weapon.

After all, he would need to collect a Spirit Vein later. Having a Spiritual Artifact-level surprise-attack Magical Treasure that could be used for both offense and defense was an absolute godsend!

Furthermore, it required a Tier Three Divine Soul to be promoted again. There were no Golden Core Corpses in Zi’an County for that. He would have to go to those Sects or High-Star Family Influences.

As for the Soul Realm ability, after some exploration, he discovered it could be used to probe the memories of the Divine Souls collected in the Soul Gathering Stele.

This feature wasn’t particularly important to him.

When he re-emerged, Cheng Zongyang looked at Ma Yue, who had been waiting faithfully nearby. In a great mood, he asked, "Where’s the other one?"

Ma Yue immediately led Cheng Zongyang to another location, while Cheng Zongyang filled the hole back in.

A moment later, they arrived at the other location. After Cheng Zongyang dug it up and inspected it, he found that it was stuck at the Upper Grade Spiritual Artifact Level. Without a Tier Two Divine Soul, it couldn’t advance any further.

’It seems the one I buried later only absorbed the Tier One Divine Souls that the first one didn’t use. All the others were absorbed by the first stele,’ Cheng Zongyang surmised.

"I’m taking both of these with me."

Cheng Zongyang didn’t leave the Stone Steles behind. There were no Tier Two Divine Souls here, so he could only carry them with him and wait to absorb any potential Divine Souls from local powers when he went to collect the Spirit Vein.

"Yes." Ma Yue naturally had no objections.

After handling things there and shrinking the two Soul Gathering Steles, Cheng Zongyang first went to see Lady Qin.

"...What? Went home?"

At the entrance of the Spring Pavilion, Cheng Zongyang was taken aback to hear from the young maid that the proprietress had gone home.

"Isn’t this her home?" Cheng Zongyang looked at the young maid.

The young maid shook her head very seriously. "I don’t know. The proprietress said she was going home and that we should look after the place."

Cheng Zongyang frowned. "Where is her home?"

The young maid just shook her head again.

’So that woman really is from a local Cultivation Immortality Family?’ Cheng Zongyang had suspected as much for a long time.

After all, how could an ordinary person have enough clout to casually help someone register their identity and household status at a Sect office?

After thinking for a moment, he didn’t linger and returned to the Cheng Mansion.

But Li Yihuo and Li Cungang weren’t there, so he followed Ma Yue’s directions and went to the Independent Cultivator Area in West City.

There, not far from the shop, he was surprised to see Baili Xi and Li Yihuo drinking tea and chatting together.

He never imagined Baili Xi and Li Yihuo would become so close.

This scene was truly beyond Cheng Zongyang’s expectations.

The two of them were just as shocked by Cheng Zongyang’s sudden appearance.

The next moment, they hurriedly stood up and walked toward Cheng Zongyang.

"Greetings, Boss!"

Cheng Zongyang nodded slightly. Seeing that Li Yihuo was unharmed and his Cultivation had even improved a little, he felt relieved.

’He’s busy, but at least he’s still found time to cultivate.’

"Brother Luo!" Baili Xi said happily, cupping her fist.

"Manager Baili, it’s been a while." Cheng Zongyang returned the greeting with a smile.

"Haha, yes it has." Baili Xi laughed. "Shopkeeper Li has many skills worth learning from, so I often come over to chat."

Cheng Zongyang looked at them. "Looks like you two are living quite comfortably."

"Brother Luo, you’re quite a bit earlier than expected," Baili Xi asked. "Did you finish your business ahead of schedule?"

Cheng Zongyang said as he walked inside, "That’s right. I happened to have some other business in the area, so I stopped by. Speaking of which, how are the preparations for the items I requested?"

Instantly, Baili Xi’s expression stiffened.

Li Yihuo, who was standing to the side, glanced at Cheng Zongyang, his own expression calm.

Seeing this, Cheng Zongyang instantly understood.