Chapter 1348: The Root of the Matter

“There’s no hurry for that. I observe that Fellow Daoist Yu seems to have some physical issues. I wonder…”

As Li Yan spoke, he paused, his dark eyes once again sizing up Yu Banjiang from head to toe.

Hearing this, Yu Banjiang was stunned for a moment, then let out a wry smile. “Elder Li’s eyes are like torches. This one’s aptitude is dull, and I have disgraced my master’s name. Not only have I failed twice to break through to the Nascent Soul realm, but I have also injured my foundation. I have made a fool of myself in front of Elder Li!”

“Oh? I wonder if it would be convenient for you, Fellow Daoist, to let me have a look?” Li Yan suddenly said.

Yu Banjiang’s expression froze slightly, but he immediately understood Li Yan’s meaning. The other party wanted to examine his physical condition, meaning he intended to help him. Under normal circumstances, Yu Banjiang would most likely not agree. Apart from Shangguan Tianque and his martial uncle, he really wouldn’t feel safe letting anyone else examine his body. Besides, if Shangguan Tianque couldn’t help, other Nascent Soul cultivators, who were still in the Nascent Soul realm and not Spirit Transformation or above, wouldn’t be much stronger than his master, in his opinion.

And crucially, Li Yan was supposed to be a body cultivator. But after only a moment’s hesitation, he still took a few steps forward and came to stand in front of Li Yan. The two heaven-shaking blows from that time were still etched in his memory, leaving him in awe. Mang Yan was a powerful existence who had fought with his master for many years, neither able to gain the upper hand over the other, yet he had been killed in a single blow by the person before him…

Therefore, Li Yan held a mysterious quality in his eyes. And it was clear that Li Yan wanted to repay his kindness. Although he felt that Li Yan probably couldn’t help him, he still walked forward. He had already collected most of the materials for refining the Illusion Spirit Pill, with only one main ingredient missing. But Shangguan Tianque had already promised to help him find it, and had even sent him a voice message saying that news should be coming back soon, and there shouldn’t be too many complications. So, even if this didn’t work, he would still walk his final path.

Seeing the other party stand still, Li Yan immediately extended two fingers, pointing them like a sword, and directly tapped them on Yu Banjiang’s shoulder. Yu Banjiang immediately felt a cool sensation enter his body from his Jianjing acupoint and then quickly travel through his body. Li Yan closed his eyes.

Looking at Li Yan’s calm face, although Yu Banjiang didn’t hold out much hope, a glimmer of expectation still rose in his heart. After all, with a Nascent Soul cultivator taking action, he certainly couldn’t be truly calm. About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea later, Li Yan opened his eyes and at the same time removed his fingers.

Yu Banjiang’s aged figure immediately took a few steps back and then looked at Li Yan. Although his expression remained the same, his eyes clearly held a question.

“There’s something wrong with your divine soul. When you were forming your Nascent Soul, you should have… you should have had a problem during the ‘Inner Demon Tribulation,’ which caused some damage to your divine soul, and it seems it has not yet healed.” Li Yan tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest of his chair, speaking as he thought.

Yu Banjiang nodded. He wasn’t surprised that Li Yan could see this; his master and martial uncle could also see it.

“Yes. For this matter, Master even spent a huge amount of Spirit Stones to buy a seventh-rank ‘Soul-Sinking Incense Pill’ for me, but it still failed to heal me,” Yu Banjiang said after a moment’s thought.

“A seventh-rank soul-type medicinal pill?” Li Yan was shocked. Pills that nourished and moistened the soul were extremely rare. In the markets of the lower realm, one would need exceptionally good fortune just to see one. He himself had once possessed a similar pill, the Bodhi Pill he had obtained from Chan Master Dajing. For him, that was an extremely precious sixth-rank pill, but he had already used it up. For the other to speak of a seventh-rank pill, and for such a precious pill to be so easily used on a Golden Core cultivator… in the lower realm, this was something even Nascent Soul cultivators would fight madly for, treating it as a supreme treasure.

From Yu Banjiang’s tone, Li Yan could also tell that the pill must have cost Shangguan Tianque a great deal of Spirit Stones, and it was likely obtained with great difficulty. This showed that Shangguan Tianque truly cared for this disciple, Yu Banjiang.

“With your divine soul being ill, if you try to break through to the Nascent Soul realm again, the biggest obstacle will most likely still be the ‘Inner Demon Tribulation’…” Li Yan’s fingers tapped rhythmically on the armrest, making a series of “tap, tap, tap…” sounds.

Yu Banjiang, of course, was also aware of this situation. But as for soul-type medicinal pills, Shangguan Tianque had already exhausted his efforts for him, spending over three hundred years to obtain that one pill. At this thought, Yu Banjiang’s heart grew dim. His lifespan was running out. He could only hope to use the effect of the Illusion Spirit Pill to see if he could find an opportunity for a breakthrough, burning his bridges behind him!

But the problem that affected him most at present was indeed the after-effects of the soul damage from back then. This was also his biggest worry. Otherwise, after two failures, he had accumulated a lot of experience and was still confident that he could successfully transcend the tribulation. Shangguan Tianque had also long ago asked someone to find a soul cultivation method for him. After all, he no longer had the ability to obtain better medicinal pills. Instead, he wanted to use Yu Banjiang’s own cultivation of a soul method to repair his soul damage. But soul cultivators and poison cultivators were the most mysterious of cultivators, and their cultivation methods were even harder to find. Even in the Immortal Spirit Realm, the appearance of soul cultivation methods was as rare as a phoenix feather.

“…Actually, for your problem, even if you take more medicinal pills, it’s unlikely your soul will recover. If I’m not mistaken, the problem is that during your last injury, another complication occurred with your soul. I think that seventh-rank ‘Soul-Sinking Incense Pill’ actually repaired the damage to your divine soul, but due to other reasons, your soul has been unable to recover…” Li Yan said slowly, voicing his opinion as he thought.

Among the cultivation methods he practiced, there was a secret art related to the soul. After advancing to the late-stage Nascent Soul, Li Yan’s understanding of the soul had also become more profound. Although he was not a true soul cultivator, Li Yan still, based on his own experience, discovered the root of the other’s problem.

This time, before he could finish, Yu Banjiang, who had been somewhat despondent, suddenly jolted, his eyes widening. He looked at Li Yan and immediately interrupted his next words, his expression filled with urgency.

“El… Elder Li, do you also know the art of soul cultivation?”

Li Yan glanced at him. Seeing the usually mature and steady Yu Banjiang had now forgotten the decorum of seniority he had been so insistent on before, it was clear that he had lost his composure. Li Yan thought for a moment before slowly speaking.

“When I was in the lower realm, a good friend of mine had some research into soul cultivation. I once discussed some of these things with him. If my guess is correct, the problem is with your ‘Earth Soul’ and ‘Human Soul.’ During the tribulation back then, they should have briefly left your body, but you forcibly suppressed them back. So the injury to your divine soul should have happened then. And later, after you used the medicinal pill for healing, the injuries to these two souls should have been repaired, but another problem that arose was not resolved. When you forcibly suppressed your soul back, and the two souls re-entered your body, some parts of them overlapped, and they have not been completely separated to this day.”

“Fellow Daoist Jiang, do you sometimes, during cultivation, especially when you reach a state of self-forgetfulness, experience a brief period of dizziness? But this condition, the moment you withdraw your will from the meditative circulation, returns to normal? This brief dizziness should only occur when your meditation enters a deep state and your will is very focused, but it shouldn’t happen at other times.”

As Yu Banjiang listened to Li Yan’s every word, his aged face gradually showed astonishment. The condition Li Yan described did indeed exist for him. Reaching a state of self-forgetfulness in cultivation was an ethereal state that cultivators most wished to achieve. But for him, the deeper he went into samadhi, the more he would experience dizziness, which would instantly kick him out of that meditative state. He had always believed it was caused by his unhealed divine soul, but unexpectedly, there was another reason. However, according to what Li Yan was saying now, it was, of course, still another form of “injury” to the divine soul. It was just that the manner of the “injury” was completely different from his understanding over the past few hundred years.

“Then… is there a way to repair this?” Yu Banjiang’s face, at this moment, had turned from astonishment to excitement. Only now did he realize that his divine soul was injured, yes, but it was a problem of two of his souls being intertwined and overlapping. He immediately became somewhat impatient, not realizing his own rudeness. He was questioning a Nascent Soul cultivator without any courtesy.

Li Yan still did not answer immediately, his eyes narrowed as if he was thinking of a solution. Yu Banjiang also realized his impropriety and quickly bowed deeply to Li Yan. “Please forgive me, Elder Li. It was this disciple who was rash!”

Li Yan waved his hand at Yu Banjiang. Since he had brought it up, he naturally intended to help. He had never cared much for those so-called cumbersome etiquettes. What he needed to consider was how to help the other party without revealing his own cultivation method. After arriving in the Immortal Spirit Realm, he remembered the advice of Ping Tu and the others even more firmly.

“Fellow Daoist Yu, don’t mind it. As for the problem with your divine soul, I cannot guarantee whether it can be truly solved. The method is actually quite simple. It is to let your soul leave your body again, and then return to its proper place normally, letting the three souls settle in order, each in its own place. However, although it’s said this way, this is an extremely dangerous process. One mistake, and you could die on the spot! At best, you would become a mindless, walking corpse. And the entire process will be extremely painful…”

Li Yan stopped there. After hearing this, Yu Banjiang’s somewhat excited expression quickly turned into a long silence. The soul leaving the body was not the same as the consciousness leaving the body. This might not seem difficult for a cultivator, but he was not a soul cultivator. He could only use the most primitive and brutal method: forcibly separating his body and soul. He didn’t even need to try to guess the outcome. One, he would die from the sheer pain before his soul even managed to separate from his body. Two, an unforeseen accident could occur during the soul separation process. He would either become an idiot or his soul would be annihilated, never even getting a chance at his so-called third attempt to break through to the Nascent Soul realm.

Especially since Li Yan’s examination of his injuries was, all in all, just a guess. He couldn’t be completely certain that this was the case. After a long silence, Yu Banjiang looked at Li Yan again.

“Since Elder Li has brought it up, do you have a method for the soul to leave the body? What price do I need to pay?” He was not stupid. If Li Yan could only see the problem with his soul but had no solution, he would most likely have said in advance something like “he could only deduce the problem… but couldn’t solve it.” Instead of stopping halfway through his words as he did now. That had a deeper meaning.

Hearing this, Li Yan smiled lightly.

“The price to pay? Hehehe, that price is something you, Fellow Daoist, must bear yourself. I can help you separate your soul, without asking for any benefit, as repayment for you saving my life back then. To separate the soul, first, you, Fellow Dao-ist, must have the determination to endure the purgatory-like pain. One mistake, and you might become a madman from the intense pain before your soul has even finished separating. However, perhaps your master has a method to make the soul leave the body. That would of course be for the best. Secondly, I once obtained two talismans from a friend that force a person’s soul out of their body. When separating the soul with this talisman, the pain is much less. I happen to have one left on hand, but the activation manual cannot be passed on. If you are willing, Fellow Daoist, this talisman will naturally be used on you. But for all this, you, Fellow Daoist, should think it through before deciding.”

In a few simple sentences, Li Yan pointed out the crucial points. The latter part of his words, though spoken obscurely, was of course understood by Yu Banjiang. When the soul leaves the body, it is when one’s defenses are at their weakest. If one’s soul is captured by a malicious person, that would be the most tragic fate for a cultivator, their most terrifying nightmare. It would be best if one could separate their own soul, without borrowing the hand of another. If that was not possible, then one had to find someone they could trust who was also skilled in this art, to ensure they harbored no ill intentions towards their soul. If neither of these were possible, then other methods were extremely dangerous. If one’s soul fell into the hands of another, if they were simply killed, it would be a quick end. But the greatest fear was being refined and enslaved in various vicious ways, which was countless times more tragic than entering the eighteen levels of hell. It was a true purgatory, a true living death.

Yet Li Yan had said that the method for activating the talisman could not be revealed, which meant that Li Yan himself had to cast the spell. In fact, this was quite normal for cultivators. How could a technique and its incantation be easily shown to others, for fear that they would use it to deduce more about one’s sect or cultivation method?

Yu Banjiang fell silent again. Shangguan Tianque was certainly not skilled in the ways of soul cultivation. Li Yan looked at Yu Banjiang and then added another sentence.

“My meaning is that for such a major matter, you should not decide on your own. You can first ask Fellow Daoist Shangguan for his opinion, weigh it, and then make a final decision. And if you are willing to let me use the talisman to help you once, at that time, you can also have Fellow Daoist Shangguan act as your protector. Once your soul has left your body, if you encounter unforeseen dangers like getting lost or being unable to return smoothly, he can forcibly strike your soul back into your body at the critical moment.”

Of the methods Li Yan spoke of, the most difficult part was actually separating the soul from the body. Although other accidents could occur when the soul returned, with Li Yan’s cultivation, he could, of course, also forcibly strike the other’s soul back into their body. But all of this had to be built on a foundation of mutual trust.

“El… Elder Li is saying, Master can also be by my side?” A look of astonishment appeared on Yu Banjiang’s face. He wasn’t embarrassed; his words had already revealed his worry about Li Yan performing the spell on him alone. This was a very human reaction, especially in the treacherous cultivation world.

“Of course. You can ask Fellow Daoist Shangguan about this matter. It’s not too late to make a decision after hearing his opinion!” Li Yan said slowly.