Regarding the aura of the Primordial Martial Soul in his body, Ling Xiao had another guess.
His Mountains and Rivers Martial Soul was clearly a Primordial Martial Soul at the beginning, likely existing within the incomplete scroll given to him by Grandpa Hong Qi.
Later, it resided in his body.
However, it eventually fused completely with his soul.
Was this considered a Primordial Martial Soul or an awakened Martial Soul?
Ling Xiao was a bit confused.
“Master, a Primordial Martial Soul is an extremely precious treasure. Martial Souls are divided into several types based on their inheritance, and among them, the Primordial Martial Soul is the most powerful and ancient,” the Plague Demon King Martial Soul continued to explain.
“But I’ve gone through many of the sect’s records, and there’s hardly any mention of Martial Souls, let alone anything about Primordial Martial Souls,” Ling Xiao sighed.
He could guess what had happened.
During the vacuum period when Martial Souls vanished, all records about them disappeared, were burned, or were hidden somewhere else.
“In short, Master, Martial Souls are not only crucial for the human race but also for other races! Martial Soul inheritance is even more mysterious. It’s said that even the lowest-level Martial Soul inheritance can greatly enhance a martial artist’s talent, comparable to a divine treasure body.”
“There’s such a saying? It seems people nowadays know too little about Martial Souls.”
“Not only that, there’s almost no way to test the strength of a Martial Soul, except in battle. Perhaps because of this, some true geniuses are overlooked by foolish sects.”
The Plague Demon King Martial Soul seemed to have absorbed some of the Plague Demon King’s personality, so its attitude was somewhat arrogant and domineering.
However, it was completely obedient to Ling Xiao.
Well, obedience wasn’t quite the right word, since it was essentially a part of Ling Xiao’s soul that had been separated.
Ling Xiao’s understanding of Martial Souls had deepened a step further. At the very least, he now understood that, beyond ordinary aptitude tests, Martial Soul inheritance might offer even greater benefits to a martial artist.
He suddenly thought of Dai Yuling.
So he asked, “I once had a Cherry Tree Martial Soul, nurtured within the Mountains and Rivers Martial Soul, then transferred to another martial artist. Does that count as Martial Soul inheritance?”
“Of course, that counts as the lowest level of Martial Soul inheritance. In the Mysterious Realm, forcibly stripping someone’s Martial Soul and implanting it into another person’s body is also considered a low-level Martial Soul inheritance. However, it’s very crude and doesn’t fully unleash the effects of Martial Soul inheritance.”
“I see!”
Ling Xiao nodded. During the process of forcibly implanting someone else’s Martial Soul, something must be missing, so it couldn’t achieve the full effect of Martial Soul inheritance.
“Master, the Plague Demon King’s treasure has been found!”
As the Plague Demon King Martial Soul’s voice sounded, Ling Xiao found himself near the altar of the True Demon Emperor.
He had reverted to his original form, abandoning the human-dragon transformation, but his powerful analytical skills still allowed him to uncover the altar’s secret.
On a row of stone bricks near the ground, there were special array stones embedded.
To open this treasury, one had to break the formation on the array stones.
This formation was intriguing. Besides requiring a soul force equivalent to the Plague Demon King’s, one also needed to decipher a special code.
Unexpectedly, this Plague Demon King was also a skilled musician.
After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Ling Xiao’s face showed surprise.
The code left by the Plague Demon King on the stone bricks was actually a rather impressive melody.
Following his analysis, he used his soul force to tap the stone bricks, beginning to play the tune.
Moments later, when the melody stopped, the stone bricks vanished!
A hidden passage appeared in their place.
Ling Xiao stepped down the stairs.
The treasury this passage led to was at least ten times larger than the underground chamber above.
The gold and silver stored inside were also ten times that of the underground chamber!
Ling Xiao could understand why the Plague Demon King amassed these things.
To recruit soldiers and buy horses, gold and silver were indispensable.
Those tricked by gold and silver would soon become their slaves.
Unfortunately, for now, Ling Xiao had little interest in gold and silver.
After breaking through to the fifth layer, he could regenerate with a drop of blood without consuming gold, so he no longer needed it.
However, these could be handed over to the Divine Sword Sect. In the secular world, gold and silver were still very useful.
What Ling Xiao cared about was the other items.
“Oh, this is the Demon King Seal of the True Demon Empire, a fine item!”
Each of the nine Demon Kings of the True Demon Empire had a Demon King Seal. While it had no special effects, it was a symbol of the Demon King’s authority. With it, one could command the Demon King’s subordinates.
“Take it!”
Ling Xiao stored the Plague Demon King’s Seal in the Mountains and Rivers World. It might come in handy later.
The Plague Demon King was quite pitiful.
Back in the day, he swept across the entire Heavenly Dragon Continent.
His strength was unmatched.
Yet now, he was killed by a mere ant, an outer disciple of the Moonlight Sect. If word got out, his reputation would be utterly ruined.
Next, Ling Xiao found a gourd containing a batch of pills.
Though he wasn’t sure what kind of pills they were, just their scent told him they were extraordinary, likely graded pills, which was impressive.
There were fifty pills in total, enough for him to use for a while.
Beside the gourd of pills was a cloth bundle containing a jade token. The token was smooth and white, clearly made of top-quality mutton-fat jade.
But that wasn’t the key. The key was the vast, mysterious aura emanating from the jade token, suggesting it wasn’t an ordinary item.
Next to the jade token was a tattered umbrella. Despite its condition, the Plague Demon King had kept it, for reasons unknown.
“Master, that gourd contains ‘Soul Essence Pills.’ These are refined from the souls of over a hundred Mortal Realm martial artists, combined with ninety-nine types of special herbs. They’re classified as low-grade Yellow Rank, far superior to ordinary ungraded pills,” the Plague Demon King Martial Soul suddenly explained. “These pills aid Mortal Realm martial artists in their cultivation, with the best effects for those below the fifth heaven of the Mortal Realm!”
“Not bad.”
They were low-grade Yellow Rank pills. This was the first time Ling Xiao had come across graded pills. The Plague Demon King was quite thoughtful, leaving these for him, heh.
Though the refining process for these “Soul Essence Pills” was brutally cruel, involving the lives of over a hundred Mortal Realm martial artists, since they were already made, it would be wasteful to discard them.
With a no-waste principle, Ling Xiao naturally accepted them without hesitation.
