Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 76
"No, I'm already dead!"
Ding Yin smiled and said, "The seven of us low-level cultivators charged straight into hundreds of millions of demon beasts with a Taiyi Lightning Railgun—how could we not be dead? However, I was lucky. A wisp of my residual soul was found. Now, I can do nothing but become a 'spectral cultivator'."
"Spectral cultivator?"
Only now did Li Yao start to remember. They were a unique existence among the cultivators.
Just as its name implied, the so-called “spectral cultivators” were cultivators who had died and had their bodies destroyed, leaving only a wisp of their residual soul behind. And after going through several chances and opportunities, the soul[1], which did not dissipate, would once again embark on the road of cultivation!
During the world of ancient cultivation forty millenniums ago, spectral cultivators were seldom seen. Furthermore, the cultivation of the soul[1] had various restriction. In order to ensure that the soul[1] did not dissipate, from time to time, they would need to swallow the souls of the living and to suck blood essence. In other words, they would have to take the life of another and would have to owe countless blood debts.
That was why, in the ancient world of cultivation, spectral cultivators were notorious and were were synonymous to evil lifeforms.
However, after forty millenniums of cultivation, civilization had advanced. As long as the soul was powerful enough, it could be digitized, and the soul could be sealed inside crystal chips. And matched with a spirit mechanical body, they did not need to fear the sunlight and could walk in the sun as they embarked on the completely new road of dark cultivation[2].
Of course, humans and ghosts were completely opposite; one was yin and one was yang. The road of dark cultivation, compared to the normal road of cultivation, was a million times more dangerous. The spirit mechanical body was, after all, not a body of flesh. During a random solar flare, it was quite possible for the soul[1] to be destroyed.
Although a vast majority of spectral cultivators would never grow old, they could not live forever. After a few centuries, in the same old way, their souls[1] would grow old.
However, it was always better than vanishing in a puff of smoke!
"Fellow Daoist Ding, we welcome you in joining the ranks of spectral cultivators. Although humans and ghosts are completely opposite and it is no longer possible to reincarnate, the world of dark cultivation is extremely marvelous. Let us explore it together!"
All the doctors warmly applaud. But the sounds they emitted were like the clashing of weapons; it was as if their palms were cast from metal.
One after another, the doctors pulled down their masks, revealing eight gloomy and frightening metal skulls in front of Li Yao.
Li Yao almost shrieked—from the start, the eight doctors were all spectral cultivators!
He himself and nine ghosts were staying inside one tent.
Ding Ying smiled, waved his hand, and said, "Fellow daoists, this is not right. This little guy is very good, please don't scare him for fun."
A particularly tall spectral cultivator mischievously laughed "Hei hei" as he extended his ghost-like metal claws and lightly pinched Li Yao's shoulder before speaking in an austere gloominess:
"We have heard that this little guy is very courageous. Daoist Ding, just for you, he had beaten the crap out of an opponent who was two levels higher than him, so we wanted to test him a bit! Little guy, you are very good! You didn't pee your pants, you are truly a man!"
The other spectral cultivators enigmatically burst into laughter together. From the very beginning, they could also express emotions like normal humans. They were just putting on an act.
Li Yao suddenly didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The mysterious impression he had of "spectral cultivators" had, in the blink of an eye, collapsed. These people—no, these ghosts were too naughty!
Ding Yin pressed both his hands down as he slowly climbed down from the operating table, thereby stopping the mischievous laughing ghosts. He tried to a few steps but staggered along the way. He thought out loud, "It feels strange. It's like there is a membrane covering my body, this feeling is completely different from before."
"But of course! In the past, you were human, and now, you are ghost. In the past, your cultivation was high, but now, after becoming spectral cultivator, you have to start from scratch. After you have settled things here, Fellow Daoist Ding, please go to the 'Heroes’ Spirit Pagoda' and stay there for a few years to learn about how to be a good ghost. Only then can you truly enter the world of dark cultivation," the tall spectral cultivator said.
Ding Yin heaved a sigh and melancholy said, "When I left the house, I was still someone with flesh and blood body, but now, I have become a cold ghost. I don't know how I am going to explain it to my wife and children when I return home!"
The tall spectral cultivator said, "Fellow Daoist Ding, you don't need to worry. After the inspection is finished and we have made sure that no demon clan member had sneaked into the train, we will ensure that we have safely sent all the passengers to their destination. Afterwards, this matter will be made public. You will become a hero of federation. Your family will definitely be proud of you!"
Ding Yin blankly nodded his head. Quickly, he stabilized his mood before turning his head. "Student Li Yao, whatever you may want to talk about, we can talk about it slowly, but we have an important matter at hand for which we need your help!"
"Professor Ding, please speak. I will do my best!"
Ding Yin's impression in Li Yao's heart was particularly tall. Whatever it may be, he was certainly going to help however he could.
Ding Yin with Li Yao made his way out of the tent. His every step was very stiff.
Outside the tent was docked a thick black military shuttle which had gone through special modification. Its rear end was mounted with a tuba-like thing, and a bearded veteran was sitting at the driver seat. Next to him sat a few soldiers, all of whom had a special skull insignia on their chests, underneath which were a row of small characters:
"May the spirits of the deceased come back to us!"
"This is the most exceptional 'Soul Search Squad' of the federation. This squad is especially responsible for searching for residual souls. Just a while ago, they had already conducted a search and brought me back after they found me. Now, they are planning to conduct a search for the second time, seeing if they could find another residual soul."
On one side, Ding Yin explained, while on the other, he pulled Li Yao aboard the military shuttle.
"What can I do?"
Li Yao checked the military shuttle a bit and discovered that although the battle shuttle looked ragged, its components were well maintained; for a while, there would not be any problems. There was no place to show his prowess.
Ding Yin said, "Right after a human dies, when the soul is going to dissipate, the person who last saw them would be able to sense them especially. As you were the last person who was seen by us, your appearance will stimulate the residual souls of us. When stimulated, the souls[1] would produce a special kind of fluctuation, making it easier for the soul search squad to detect them."
"So that was the case! Then, let us go quickly!" Li Yao jumped onto the flying shuttle.
The search for the residual souls was a race against time. The blazing sun was hanging in the sky, and under its intense sunlight, the spirit would dissipate. If it came to that, then even the gods and immortals would be unable to save them.
The military shuttle carrying the soul search squad, along with Li Yao, Ding Yin, and the tall spectral cultivator, "Tang Long", started searching along the crystal rail. Soon, they arrived at the battlefield from last night.
Having arrived here, only then did Li Yao come to know how dangerous it was last night.
Along the crystal rail, in the radius of a few dozen kilometers, it was nothing but charred corpses, seemingly as if the land was covered by a black sheet.
The military shuttle flew close to the ground. The powerful jet streams fired by its propulsion array glyphs blew away the charred corpses lying on the ground as it continuously set off a cloud of black smoke.
"Bo! Bo! Bo!"
The tuba-like thing on the back of the military shuttle made a monotonous sound that spread across every direction.
A member of the soul search squad stared at the hologram under the tuba-like thing, surveying very seriously.
Li Yao was a little curious. Looking around, he closed his eyes and extended the spirit threads from the spiritual root as he tried to feel the world outside.
"Wow, so many specks of light!"
Li Yao was shocked. He discovered that the entire world was full of blood-red specks of light. It was simply like an inexhaustible sea of light. He didn't even need to use the spirit threads to suck these blood-red specks of light, as they made a bee-line for and into his spiritual roots on their own.
However, after swallowing these specks of light, he faintly felt uncomfortable. He felt muddled-headed, and a cold killing intent gushed out from the bottom of his heart.
TLN:
[1] - Here, souls refers to the dead spirit/souls. This marking of souls will be one time thing as it is pretty easy to differentiate. I didn’t differentiate because it made a little awkward and also the souls (dead souls) here are treated something similarly to living things.
[2] - Dark cultivation here is none other that cultivation way of spectral cultivators. I didn’t use spectral or ghost cultivation, as it sounded a little awkward as compared to dark cultivation.
Chapter 118: Heaven Origin Cultivators' Nexus |
"Li Yao!"
Ding Yin shouted a timely warning, waking him from his stupor: "These blood-colored specks of light are the demonic power left behind by the demon beasts. Only cultivators who have sufficient strength could purify and absorb them through secret techniques! Since you have just broken through, your cultivation is still shallow. If you keep on absorbing this much demonic power, your spiritual energy will only be contaminated by demonic energy, and you will lose your truth, effectively turning into a demon who knows nothing but slaughtering!"
Li Yao was terrified. Only now did he come to realize that he was just a step away from embarking on the demonic path. He immediately closed his spiritual root, preventing the invasion of demonic power.
However, the demonic energy was spread everywhere and were spread even over the hills and the valleys. It appeared to be as vast as the sea and could be described as inexhaustible. Although there was such a tremendous amount of energy in front of him, all he could do was look. He was unable to absorb it and convert it into his own energy, causing the newly-born cultivator, the "hungry" Li Yao, to become truly envious.
It was akin to placing a hot, steaming chicken in front of a person who had been starving for three days and three nights, only to tell him that the chicken was poisonous—this anxious waiting feeling, which was later denied, caused Li Yao to feel as if his heart was being clawed at by a cat. He quickly swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
Li Yao was suddenly struck by a thought. Absorbing just a wisp of demonic energy, he tried to send it to the depths of his neural field, where the tree of memories left by Ou Yezi was.
Before the wisp of demonic energy had even gotten near the tree of memories, the demonic energy silently disintegrated and turned into the purest of spiritual energy!
"There is a way!" Li Yao's heart started beating rapidly; he was wild with joy.
According to Ding Yin, only the strongest of cultivators could purify demonic energy.
Although Li Yao was a newbie who had just entered the world of cultivation, the tree of memories in his neural field was congealed from Ou Yezi's vast spiritual energy. Using it to purify the remnant demonic energies of the Ghost Jellyfish and Ghost Face Silver Mosquitoes was simply akin to using a cannon to kill a chicken and putting fine timber to petty uses!
However, Li Yao didn't want to wantonly absorb the demonic energy. The residual soul of Ou Yezi was his most guarded secret and was something he never intends to reveal. For now, he was still being patient; he was waiting for an opportune moment to return later and completely absorb the demonic energy.
"Bo… Bo… Bo…"
The soul search squad continued moving forward, searching for the residual souls in this vast wilderness. Although they had still gained nothing after 3-4 hours, everyone was accustomed to it and not a single one of them revealed a dejected look.
A residual soul was not so easy to find. If not for some lucky coincidence, good luck that was as large as the heaven, or a strong expert with superb cultivation, then after a cultivator had fallen, the soul would often vanish into a puff of smoke.
In the past, even after a hundred cultivators had fallen, sometimes not even a single wisp of residual spirit could be found. Otherwise, in the cultivation world, wouldn't "souls be floating and filling the sky, and the spectral cultivators would be found walking everywhere"?
This time, just converting Ding Yin into a spectral cultivator was already enough.
Traversing over a small mound, everyone was a little dispirited and discouraged. The soul search squad's captain waved his hand to return. Just as they were about to turn back, Li Yao's heart stirred, and he immediately looked towards the southwest.
Towards the southwest, there was nothing, yet he always felt as if something or someone was staring at him.
"Check in that direction. I think there is something there," Li Yao said to the soldier managing the "tuba".
"Quickly, quickly increase the power! A newly advanced cultivator's perception is often particularly keen. There might be something there!" Ding Yin became excited.
"Bo… Bo… Bo…" The tube gradually turned towards the southwest.
"Bo… Bo… Bo… BoBoBoBoBo!" The monotonous sound suddenly became rapid like drumbeats, and soon, an extremely faint black point appeared in the upper right corner of the hologram.
"Quickly scatter the 'Revealing Soul Particles'!" the soul search squad's captain shouted in a loud voice.
Two soul search squad members picked up two thick and long steel pipes. The back of the steel pipes flashed with a spiritual radiance before two balls of azure mist shot out with a "Boom!".
"Bang!"
The azure balls of mist burst open in the sky before a mist of crystal powder covered the entire sky; it was as though there were a million fireflies flying in the sky!
The fluorescent crystal powder, by the virtue of the wind, very quickly spread across a radius of a few hundred meters; the heaven and the earth were painted in an azure color.
Amidst this azure world, a light-gray fog suddenly appeared. The fog was extremely hazy and continuously moved. Gradually, the fog congealed into an extremely weak human form that was completely confused as it gradually floated towards the sky.
Although it was faintly discernible, with one glance, Li Yao recognized it to be Wei Qingqing—the aloof female college student who had just graduated from the Sky Fantasia Academy and was preparing to go to a mountain village as a teacher!
"We found another!"
All the members of the soul search squad were immensely excited. Much to their surprise, out of the seven cultivators who had fallen, two could become spectral cultivators—their luck was truly heaven-defying!
Only the soul search squad's captain had a solemn look; he was still being conscientious and meticulous.
He cautiously drove the military shuttle towards the residual soul. In his hands, the huge battle shuttle was as silent as a cat.
Everyone held their breath.
In the captain's hand, a round magical equipment, one which looked like a bud that was ready to bloom, appeared. As he infused his spiritual energy into it, the bud slowly bloomed into a tender and beautiful flower.
The captain aligned the flower's pistils towards Wei Qingqing's residual soul and recited out loud, "I beseech the spirit to come back to us and embark on the road of dark cultivation—come!"
Wei Qingqing's residual soul lightly shook before it turned into a wisp of smoke and was sucked into the flower. The petals of the flower, in the blink of an eye, closed up and had once again returned to a flower bud; however, it was now emitting a weak, azure splendor.
"Thanks to you we were able to save another fellow daoist!" Ding Yin patted Li Yao shoulder and said with relief.
…
When Li Yao returned to the medical treatment tent, Guan Xiong had already left. However, he had left a jade chip behind. Just as Li Yao lightly touched it, Guan Xiong's heroic voice resounded in his mind:
"Little brother, Old Guan is going to return to the Mountain Sea Sect to recuperate. Hahaha! After I have completely recovered, I will come and look for you at the Grand Desolate War Institution. At that time, we will have a blast! You have just entered the world of cultivation, so you are still a newbie who knows nothing at all. In this jade chip, there is something that will be very helpful to you. As soon as you can, install it into your crystal processor—but, you need to find a crystal processor with strong computational power!"
Upon inspecting the jade chip carefully, Li Yao discovered that what was stored inside was an extremely huge and immensely dense structure of telepathic thoughts which could not be understood using his brain alone.
"What kind of telepathic thoughts are these?"
Li Yao became extremely curious. He immediately started up his crystal processor and inserted the jade chip. The telepathic thoughts were copied inside the crystal processor.
These telepathic thoughts were as vast as the sea; it took more than ten minutes to completely copy them.
Opening the virtual keyboard, Li Yao launched the telepathic thoughts.
"Creak! Creak! Creak!"
The crystal processor suddenly let out ear-piercing noises; every one of its components was overloaded. Each crystal embedded inside the crystal processor was flickering; it appeared that the crystal processor could not withstand the powerful impacts contained in the telepathic thoughts.
Only after five minutes were the telepathic thoughts completely running. After the telepathic thoughts installed inside the crystal processor were completely launched, they had actually used up 3/4th of the computational power of the crystal processor, causing the crystal processor to become extremely hot and incomparably slow.
