Big Data Cultivation
Chapter 1167: Mysterious Soul Stone (Part 1)

Chapter 1167: Chapter 1167: Mysterious Soul Stone (Part 1)

Unfortunately, Feng Jun smashed that guy into a pulp, but the Soul Stone remained intact.

He had never heard of how hard the Soul Stone was—of course, most people wouldn’t deliberately try to destroy such a treasure anyway.

The deceased’s body was fat and large, apparently providing enough cushioning for the Soul Stone. However, the force of the blow embedded the Soul Stone into his chest cavity, which was a testament to its sturdiness.

Yang Shangren originally thought Feng Jun might attack him, but unexpectedly, someone suddenly appeared nearby out of nowhere.

However, Yang Shangren was someone who had lived for hundreds of years. After a brief pause and a glance at the surrounding environment, he quickly guessed what had happened.

In the desolate wilderness, Feng Shangren had released a mobile courtyard—though not as luxurious as Kong Ziyi’s, it was impressive enough to tempt some reckless individuals to take risks.

These kinds of clueless fools? He had killed countless of them in his lifetime and didn’t take them seriously at all.

However, when he saw Feng Jun casually blow apart the corpse with a single palm strike and then retrieve items from it, he couldn’t help but roll his eyes inwardly. He thought to himself: For someone of your status as a Dust Removal Second Layer cultivator, did you really need to be so miserly toward someone who robs for a living?

Yang Shangren felt that even if the Yang Family didn’t have much wealth, he wouldn’t take more than the person’s Storage Bag and Storage Talismans.

Feng Jun searched the corpse and found a Storage Bag, a Spirit Beast Bag, and five Storage Talismans.

The Storage Bag was the common type sold in the market—around seventy to eighty cubic feet in volume. The Spirit Beast Bag contained Spirit Beasts of the Qi Refinement Realm, and after sensing it, he found no trace of anyone’s Divine Sense within it.

Of the Storage Talismans, one was in use, while the other four were brand new.

Considering the Soul Stone on the deceased’s body, Feng Jun glanced at Yang Shangren. "Yang Daoist, could I trouble you to step away for a moment?"

Yang Shangren lifted his eyelids briefly and then turned around silently without a word, though his mind was a bit puzzled: What else can you do with that corpse?

If it had been a year ago, his curiosity might have been piqued to see what Feng Jun intended, but now, his heart was dead to such matters and he couldn’t muster the interest to find out.

After all, at most, it was a Qi Refinement High Tier cultivator.

Feng Jun, however, collected the entire corpse into a new Storage Talisman, not even sparing the bloodstained soil, and then spread a ring of "Fade Powder"—a substance that eliminates traces and can even obscure significant portions of the heavenly mechanism.

Having mingled with Ji PingAn and other Loose Cultivators for some time, he was becoming increasingly adept at the routine of killing and plundering treasures.

But the worst-case scenario still occurred—the Storage Talisman couldn’t store the Soul Stone.

Feng Jun forced himself to calm down, pondered briefly, and then took out the Spirit Beast Bag lent to him by Kong Ziyi.

This Spirit Beast Bag could store Dust Removal Realm cultivators or Spirit Beasts, but Feng Jun wasn’t sure if it could store the Soul Stone.

Thankfully, the Spirit Beast Bag successfully stored the Soul Stone.

Feng Jun, with a grim face, released the Time Shuttle and waved at Yang Shangren. "Yang Daoist."

The two quickly returned to Feng Jun’s courtyard, which was still bathed in daylight.

Kong Ziyi and Huang Fu Wuxia were chatting in the courtyard. Seeing the two men walk through the door, Huang Fu Wuxia immediately complained, "What’s wrong with you? Leaving without even giving a heads-up... eh, Yang Shangren, what’s with you?"

Yang Shangren didn’t show the slightest respect for Huang Fu Wuxia. He had already decided to risk his life to curry favor with the Nangong Family. Engaging in schemes and machinations with the Huang Fu Family again—what kind of nonsense was that?

Thus, he acted as if he hadn’t heard her and strode straight toward the Spirit Gathering Array in the courtyard—an array set up for Mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators. Though it wasn’t ideal, it was better than nothing for recovering his Spiritual Energy when needed.

As for going to the Cultivation Cave of Dust Removal Realm cultivators to recover his energy, he hadn’t made up his mind yet—such places required Spirit Stones.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but secretly curse: That Fu Family person had luck on their side. They were injured during the test on Mount Zhige, but somehow ended up benefiting from a High-Rank Dust Removal Spirit Gathering Array on the same mountain.

Kong Ziyi saw this scene and spoke softly, "You’ve been gone for two days. Were you taking him for testing?"

"Yes," Feng Jun nodded. "The test results were decent, though he’ll need a few days of recovery."

Kong Ziyi nodded, casually remarking, "Then let him go to the Cultivation Cave to restore his Spiritual Energy—the expense is on me."

People who are meticulous remain meticulous in everything they do. She believed his injuries increased the reliability of her treatment data, and she considered the cost worthwhile.

"Tomorrow, then. The management office is closed now," Feng Jun responded with a smile. "Coincidentally, I’ve applied for a Cave as well for tomorrow."

Kong Ziyi froze at his words. "Why are you applying for a Cave? Are your consumption levels that high?"

Judging by her demeanor, if Feng Jun were consuming a lot, she might have been inclined to cover this expense too.

"It’s not about consumption," Feng Jun smiled and shook his head. "There is some consumption, but that’s not the main issue. I mostly want to advance... reach Dust Removal Third Layer."

Upon hearing this, Kong Ziyi furrowed her brow. "How long have you been stuck at Dust Removal Second Layer?"

Huang Fu Wuxia coughed heavily. "Almost a year."

"That’s not a short time..." Kong Ziyi instinctively nodded upon hearing "almost," but then froze in realization. "A year... are you saying you’ve been at the peak of Dust Removal Second Layer for a year?"

Huang Fu Wuxia coughed twice but didn’t continue speaking. She had been unable to resist poking fun just now, but the cultivation progress of Feng Jun—if it attracted attention from the Taiqing Sect or even Tianxin Platform—would spell trouble for both her and Feng Jun.

Feng Jun chuckled and diverted the topic. "Let’s not talk about cultivation progress now. I have something else I’d like to ask..."

As he spoke, he casually drew a line, enclosing the three of them within a transparent shield.

It was a Spiritual Qi Shield, primarily used to block external forces. The technique itself wasn’t hard to master—most Dust Removal cultivators could manage it.

Of course, the shield’s strength wasn’t particularly high; its main purpose was to deter honest folks rather than criminals. However, if someone forcibly tried to break through the shield, the owner would generally notice—unless the person breaking through was already a Golden Core Master.

After releasing the Spiritual Qi Shield, Feng Jun asked gravely, "Have either of you heard of the Soul Stone?"

"Soul Stone?" Kong Ziyi and Huang Fu Wuxia exchanged glances and simultaneously asked, "Do you have one?"

Feng Jun didn’t directly confirm but replied in a serious tone, "What I want to know is—if there’s a Yin Soul inside the Soul Stone, how can it be eradicated? Would lightning-based techniques suffice? Or would external fierce winds be more effective?"

He was quite troubled by the Yin Soul within the Soul Stone. Using Weimian’s Force to destroy it seemed about 90% certain to work, but the energy levels of the Stone Ring had been consistently low, and he wasn’t sure how much energy it required.

Moreover, in the worst-case scenario... If the Yin Soul couldn’t be dealt with, and it made its way to the Earth Plane as a Golden Core Peak Yin Soul, it could cause untold chaos—and Feng Jun would be Earth’s sinner.

Ultimately, he felt the two women had a good relationship with him and were relatively reliable in their actions, so he wanted to consult them. After all, Soul Stone-related knowledge was scarcely mentioned in most texts, as only Nascent Soul cultivators truly made use of it.

When a Nascent Soul True Immortal’s physical body was destroyed, their Nascent Soul could escape and find refuge within a Soul Stone, allowing it to slowly recover and grow. Then, when the time was right, they could find a new host—essentially an act of possession—enabling a rapid recovery.

Of course, Soul Stones weren’t the only host materials available; items like Soul Nurturing Wood could work as well. However, the Soul Stone was the superior option.

Soul Nurturing Wood, for instance, was prone to damage. If some clueless child decided to toss it into a fire, the result would be devastating.

Moreover, while Soul Nurturing Wood could harbor Yin Souls, it didn’t nourish them—another common complaint.

That being said, Nascent Soul cultivators were its primary users. Golden Core cultivators had only limited techniques for ensuring their true spirit’s survival, making Soul Stones less accessible or practical for them.

Regardless, Nascent Soul usage was the standard; Golden Core usage was pushing the limits. How many would even consider studying such a thing in a plane where Kunhao, a Golden Core Master, represented the pinnacle?

Thus, there was scarce knowledge surrounding Soul Stones, though Feng Jun suspected there might also be an information barrier at play.

In any case, he felt consulting these two was the right move—they had Golden Core backgrounds.

Huang Fu Wuxia and Kong Ziyi exchanged a long glance but remained silent.

It was only after a long pause that Huang Fu Wuxia spoke up, "Mountain Master Feng, we’ve known each other for quite some time now. Let me ask you—do you truly have a Soul Stone?"

Feng Jun glanced at her with a faint smile and replied, "Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you. The Soul Stone—I need it too... I’ll eventually reach Golden Core and Nascent Soul, so I’ll want to keep it for myself."

Huang Fu Wuxia twitched her lips but ultimately sighed. "I get it—with your Golden Core in hand and Nascent Soul in sight, there’s no need to rush. Soul Stones can be found again; wouldn’t it be better to sell them to those who urgently need them first?"

Kong Ziyi nodded at this point and agreed, "That’s true. Mountain Master Feng, you’re still at Dust Removal Second Layer—it’s far too early. You can revisit the issue in the Golden Core Late Stage; it won’t be too late then... Besides, you don’t need it right now."

"Didn’t I just say that I wasn’t discussing whether I have a Soul Stone?" Feng Jun raised his hand, rubbing his forehead in frustration. "I’m only asking how to deal with the Yin Soul inside it. Will lightning strikes work?"

"That depends," Kong Ziyi replied with detachment. "If it’s the Yin Soul of a Harmonious Dao powerhouse... Hmm, those in Harmonious Dao have other alternatives for hosting their soul. Let me put it this way: Nascent Soul Yin Souls are still reasonable to deal with. Out-of-Body Souls are more difficult, and with Divine Spirit Souls, even leaving them in Thunder Plains for a hundred years won’t affect them much."

"Don’t scare me," Feng Jun waved a hand dismissively, signaling his refusal to believe her. "Out-of-Body, Divine Spirit... could they even be here?"

He didn’t wholly distrust Kong Ziyi, but the thought of accidentally bringing such a terrifying existence to the Earth Realm sent shivers down his spine—he desperately hoped Kong Ziyi was exaggerating.

Kong Ziyi tilted her head in thought. "There are tales of Out-of-Body Souls in our realm—the possibility can’t be ruled out. But Mountain Master Feng, what is it you really wish to know?"