Chapter 495: Soul Seal, Life Not Your Own
"How many late Golden Core spirit essences do you want?" Gong Shulan withdrew her gaze and began negotiating with Wei Tu.
"Five late Golden Core spirit essences, or one early Nascent Soul spirit essence."
Wei Tu thought for a moment, then named a price—high, but still reasonable.
Gong Shulan, like him, was someone who’d clawed her way up from the bottom of Danqiu Mountain. She wasn’t some naive pushover who would let him take advantage during a deal.
So instead of quoting some ridiculous number and letting her haggle endlessly, it was better to offer a number they could both accept and get the transaction done smoothly.
"Five late Golden Core spirit essences..."
Gong Shulan hesitated, her face showing signs of conflict.
She could easily offer two or three with her savings. But five? That was pushing it—unless she borrowed from Hu Shan.
But today’s deal? She didn’t want either Hu Shan or her master, Ancestor Tianxie, to know. That path was closed.
She did have an early Nascent Soul spirit essence, but it had been given to her by Ancestor Tianxie for protection—it wasn’t something she could casually use in a trade.
"Fellow Daoist Wei, I only have three late Golden Core spirit essences on hand. No extras."
"If you trust me, we can make another deal later."
She softened her tone and offered, "Of course, I can give you one late Golden Core spirit essence now, as a deposit."
"For Miss Gong, of course I trust you. But I have urgent matters coming up and won’t have time for another round of trading," Wei Tu replied, politely but firmly.
This deal had been initiated by him and well-prepared for, so it carried little risk.
But a second deal? That was far less certain.
Too many unknowns.
Best to finish it in one go if possible.
'You trust me, huh?'
Gong Shulan raised an eyebrow. With her smarts, she wasn’t about to miss the deeper meaning in Wei Tu’s words.
"In that case, how about I make up the remaining two spirit essences with equivalent-grade spiritual items?"
She took the initiative to compromise.
Calling them “equivalent” was generous. For a Soul-Capturing Sect cultivator like her, it was actually a loss.
In demonic sects—especially the Soul-Capturing Sect—cultivator and beast spirit essences were far more common and far less precious than in orthodox sects.
"Equivalent spiritual items?" Wei Tu’s eyes gleamed but he didn’t immediately agree. He paused and asked tentatively, "Would Miss Gong be willing to trade the crafting methods of your sect’s Soul-Capturing Talisman and Spirit-Converting Talisman?"
The Soul-Capturing Talisman he had was just a simplified version he’d created after studying the sect’s methods.
It still worked on Golden Core cultivators, but was weak against Nascent Soul ones.
If he could get the original crafting method, he’d be able to seal Nascent Soul cultivators the way the Soul-Capturing Sect did—preventing their Nascent Souls from self-destructing.
As for the Spirit-Converting Talisman, which channeled power from spirit essences...
He hadn’t yet been able to replicate it, even with his mastery of talisman arts. That alone showed how profound the talisman really was.
"Impossible!" Gong Shulan flatly refused, not leaving him any room to negotiate.
Maybe realizing her tone was too harsh, she added a quick explanation:
"Those two talismans are the foundation of the Soul-Capturing Sect. Even if we disciples wanted to pass them on, we wouldn’t dare."
"'Wouldn’t dare'?"
Wei Tu latched onto those words.
He didn’t believe that someone like Gong Shulan—a ruthless demonic cultivator—would be scared off by mere sect rules.
If she didn’t dare, then there had to be a real reason behind it.
And that reason likely posed a threat to her life.
‘Could it be some kind of soul seal?’
Wei Tu thought of Lü Qiu Jinyuan’s clone, whose soul had self-destructed the instant he tried to soul-search him.
He wasn’t just guessing.
In demonic sects, it was standard practice to use special soul-controlling techniques on lower-ranking disciples.
The Soul-Capturing Sect was even more twisted and extreme than most.
In other words, Gong Shulan and other sect disciples had almost certainly been marked by Ancestor Tianxie with some kind of soul restriction.
Which led to a conclusion—
Revealing the crafting methods for the Soul-Capturing Talisman and Spirit-Converting Talisman likely triggered those soul seals.
That explained her extreme reaction when he mentioned them.
"Even with your Ghost Spirit Body, you can’t bypass the consequences?" Wei Tu frowned, asking.
He wasn’t worried about Gong Shulan’s safety. He just didn’t want to lose the chance to acquire such valuable talisman methods.
"The Ghost Spirit Body gives one soul in two bodies—but not two souls." Gong Shulan shook her head with a helpless tone.
"But my master’s time is nearly up. In about three hundred years, I’ll be free of this threat."
"At that time, Fellow Daoist Wei can come back and trade with me for the methods."
She smiled, her starry eyes glimmering, like she truly looked forward to the future.
But Wei Tu wasn’t optimistic.
He had already discussed Ancestor Tianxie with Ancestor Chilong before. That man had a Soul-Devouring Wood and had repeatedly extended his life.
By now, he had become a longevity anomaly among sub-Divine Transformation cultivators in the Dacang cultivation world.
Still, he wasn’t close enough to Gong Shulan to be sharing secrets like that. After a few casual comments, he moved on from the topic.
"If those two talisman crafting methods are out of the question, I wonder if Miss Gong’s Nascent Soul human puppets might be available for trade?"
Wei Tu paused and asked.
Human puppets might be taboo in orthodox circles and not as flexible as regular puppets, but their value was high—perfect for exploring dangerous places.
He wouldn’t miss the secret realm at Zunwang Palace in one hundred sixty years. Preparing in advance and acquiring one or two Nascent Soul human puppets now would be a wise move.
"Nascent Soul human puppets... I do have a few on hand. But I wonder if Fellow Daoist Wei has the courage to use them."
Gong Shulan raised her jade-like hand, and six tall black wooden coffins appeared behind her.
Wei Tu swept them with his divine sense and saw that each coffin’s lid had engravings with the puppet’s name, cultivation level, and former sect affiliation.
[Tai Xuan Sect: Xu Xinhua, early Nascent Soul]
[Beastmaster Sect: Huyan Peng, mid Nascent Soul]
[Sky City: Huang Tian Sword Master, mid Nascent Soul]
[…]
Seeing this, Wei Tu sucked in a sharp breath. He thought, ‘How many Nascent Soul sect tombs has Gong Shulan dug up to gather all these old Nascent Soul ancestors?’
If the names on these coffins ever got out, Gong Shulan would probably be hunted down by every major orthodox sect in the realm.
"Since I dared to ask Miss Gong for a Nascent Soul human puppet, I’m obviously not afraid of the risk."
Wei Tu kept a calm face and casually reached out, taking the coffin labeled "Huang Tian Sword Master."
Seeing this, Gong Shulan nodded slightly. She then took out three late Golden Core demonic cultivator spirit essences. With that, the trade was complete—payment settled on both sides.
Next,
Wei Tu asked about Qi Chengchu’s current whereabouts.
"If that bastard isn’t eliminated, I won’t have peace of mind," Wei Tu said coldly, his face darkening.
Back at the Stone Demon Tower, Qi Chengchu had shown a soft side, deceiving Hu Shan and others to secretly let Che Gongwei and Su Bing’er escape.
But that moment of mercy wasn’t enough to wipe away his crimes.
In the cultivation world, there's no such thing as letting a demon off just because they repented.
If it weren’t for Qi Chengchu, Wei Tu wouldn’t have been forced into the Illusory Realm, nearly losing his life.
"Qi Chengchu..." At the mention of the name, Gong Shulan fell silent for a moment. After all, she had once done something similar to Wei Tu—set him up.
If it weren’t for her, Geng Wen and the others wouldn’t have suspected that the Gong Clan’s heirloom was hidden on Wei Tu or Fu Zhizhou.
Still, after her brief silence, Gong Shulan treated Wei Tu as a friend and gave him the information he wanted.
"A century ago, Qi Chengchu and his senior from Hu Shan were blocked by Master Jiuli at the exit of Master Shentu’s underground palace."
"To save himself, Qi Chengchu was forced to trigger his heavenly tribulation early. Unfortunately, when it struck, he failed the tribulation and completely lost the chance to form a Nascent Soul the orthodox way."
"But my master admired his incredible talent in formation arts. So she implanted the Five Elements Infant into him, helping him form a Nascent Soul by unorthodox means."
"The Five Elements Infant is one of our sect’s greatest treasures. Even though Qi Chengchu can't fully wield its power, after the transplant, his strength is still equal to a mid Nascent Soul cultivator."
"If possible, I advise Fellow Daoist Wei to let go of this grudge. After all, Qi Chengchu didn’t form his Nascent Soul by the proper path. His lifespan is at most two hundred years."
"After two hundred years, he’ll die of old age anyway."
Gong Shulan spoke slowly.
"Two hundred years..."
Wei Tu didn’t know how to feel. For a Nascent Soul cultivator like him, two hundred years wasn’t a long time.
And his hatred for Qi Chengchu… it wasn’t so deep that it had to be avenged at all costs.
"Still, I hope Miss Gong can tell me exactly where Qi Chengchu is." After some thought, Wei Tu cupped his hands and made his request.
He wasn’t the type to be blinded by vengeance.
But if the opportunity arose, he wouldn’t let the chance to settle this score slip away.
In the cultivation world, revenge wasn’t always about bloodshed and rage. But if it could help him clear his mind, that clarity could do wonders for his cultivation path.
"Fellow Daoist Wei, can you really not wait even two hundred years?" Gong Shulan couldn’t help but try to persuade him.
She didn’t believe Wei Tu’s talent could advance to mid Nascent Soul in such a short two hundred years, enough to take revenge.