Chapter 282: The First Scabbard

Outside the State of Zhao's Jue Ming Valley, the weather was sunny and pleasant. Clouds gradually appeared in the sky, as if the previous scene of Soul Transformation had never occurred.

In a few more decades, Jue Ming Valley will open again, allowing people to search for treasures from the Outer Realm Battlefield.

Wang Lin's figure appeared outside the valley. He stood on a cliff, gazing into the entire valley. After a long time, he sighed softly, then reached out his right hand and grabbed the air. Instantly, a spatial Rift more than ten meters long suddenly appeared in mid-air.

If one looked closely, they could see that the location of this Rift was exactly the same as where Wang Lin's body had self-destructed back then.

After achieving Soul Transformation, Wang Lin's first task was to re-condense the Storage Pouch that had dissipated into the spatial Rift when his body self-destructed.

The other items in the Storage Pouch were secondary, but the Scabbard inside was extremely important to Wang Lin. He already possessed two Scabbards, and Wang Lin had always felt that a great secret was hidden within them.

He moved, appearing outside the Rift. A strong, Life-Extinguishing Cold Wind blew out from the Rift, but this wind caused Wang Lin no discomfort whatsoever.

He extended his right hand into the Rift, and his Primordial Spirit gradually sensed the surroundings. As his thoughts formed, specks of light condensed out of the spatial Rift. These specks of light merged together, and soon, a Storage Pouch appeared before Wang Lin.

Wang Lin swept it with his Divine Sense, and his gaze narrowed. The contents of the Storage Pouch were incomplete, containing only half of the original items, and the Scabbard was not among them.

He pondered briefly, guessing that due to the passage of too much time, even though he had re-condensed the Storage Pouch, some of its contents had dissipated within the spatial Rift.

However, he had refined that Scabbard with a Cold Pill back then. Now that he had achieved Primordial Spirit, a single thought allowed him to sense the Scabbard faintly. After a moment of silence, Wang Lin stepped forward and entered the spatial Rift.

After his body entered it, the spatial Rift suddenly shrank and finally vanished without a trace. Outside Jue Ming Valley, tranquility returned once more.

Inside the spatial Rift, it was not empty. The place was filled with violent Qi and the Life-Extinguishing Cold Wind. Furthermore, there were countless shimmering Crystal Lights of various colors.

There were even some pitch-black giant rocks drifting here.

As soon as he entered this place, Wang Lin immediately felt a sense of the Starry Sky from the memories of the Ancient God Tu Si, except that there were no stars here.

Wang Lin waved his right hand, leaving a marker in place, and then stepped forward. His speed was extremely fast. Inside this strange spatial Rift, he resembled a shooting star, flashing past as he swiftly flew toward the direction his Primordial Spirit sensed.

As he traveled, crescent-moon-shaped openings occasionally flashed past him. A suction force existed at every opening, but this suction seemed to have no effect on the inherent objects within the spatial Rift.

Gradually, Wang Lin's speed increased. He often flashed past in an instant. After an unknown amount of time, a Scabbard was plunged into a massive black rock right in front of Wang Lin!

This Scabbard was precisely the one Wang Lin had owned years ago.

However, surrounding the Scabbard were four black shadows. These shadows were humanoid, seemingly sitting cross-legged, breathing in and out towards the Scabbard. Strands of bright crystal threads emanated from the Scabbard and were absorbed by the four black shadows.

After seeing this scene from afar, Wang Lin suddenly paused. His gaze was calm, and he summoned with his right hand.

Instantly, the Scabbard trembled abruptly. The section embedded in the black rock began to loosen and slowly pull upward. But right then, the four black shadows suddenly turned their heads to look at Wang Lin. A trace of blue light flickered in their eyes as they stared eerily.

Wang Lin's gaze remained calm, and he didn't say a word.

Watching the Scabbard rise higher and higher, even emitting sounds like a sword cry, Rifts immediately appeared around the mouths of the four black shadows. Following this, more fine threads surged out from within the Scabbard and were absorbed by them.

At the same time, one of the black shadows suddenly stood up. The instant it stood, its body abruptly grew larger, transforming into a patch of black cloud that swept toward Wang Lin.

Wang Lin’s eyes flashed, and he sneered, "Mere Ghosts and Spirits, overestimating yourselves!" Saying this, he pointed his left finger at the air, and a Finger Qi shot out from his digit.

Although this Finger Qi was not powerful, it contained Wang Lin's Concept. The moment the Finger Qi appeared, it immediately emitted a Sense of Death and Destruction, and almost instantly, it landed on the charging black shadow. The vitality within the creature immediately lost its vigor under the change of Concept.

The black shadow immediately let out a miserable scream. Its body instantly emitted plumes of black Qi. If one looked closely, they could see a strange glow enveloping its body. Under the effect of this light, its body grew smaller and smaller, completely dissipating within a few breaths.

However, the instant it dissipated, Wang Lin pointed his right hand again, and another Finger Qi shot out, sinking into the spot where the black shadow vanished. Immediately, the scattered black Qi condensed, forming a massive Image of a Demon God!

This Demon God Image was formed by Wang Lin based on an enemy named You from the memories of the Ancient God Tu Si. It was a transformation derived from the Concept of Life and Death, specifically a subtle change drawn from the Realm of Life. The moment it appeared, it roared, spread its arms, and charged toward the remaining three black shadows.

Wang Lin remained motionless, his Primordial Spirit immersed in the Concept of Life and Death, remotely controlling the entity formed from the strange power extracted by the Concept of Life and Death between death and life.

This was Wang Lin’s first time using a true Soul Transformation Divine Ability to control the Power of Heaven and Earth. For Soul Transformation Cultivators, fixed Spells were already extremely rare, except for a few Divine Abilities possessing considerable power.

All offensive methods are created individually, based on the Heavenly Dao Concept that one has comprehended.

The three black shadows beside the Scabbard immediately shrieked. One of them pounced onto the Scabbard, its entire body instantly merging into it. It then wrapped around the Scabbard, burst out of the black rock, and sped away into the distance.

As for the other two, they turned their heads, blue light flickering in their eyes, and charged toward the incoming Demon God Image. However, the moment one of them pounced on the Demon God Image, its entire body exploded with a bang, transforming into thousands of black threads that simultaneously drilled into the Demon God Image from all directions.

The remaining black shadow seized this opportunity, flashed past, and lunged at Wang Lin. The blue light in its eyes carried a hint of demonic strangeness at that moment.

Wang Lin’s gaze was calm. He gently tapped his right hand onto his glabella. Immediately, his Primordial Spirit suddenly escaped from the top of his head, glanced indifferently at the black shadow, and grabbed the air with his right hand.

The instant the black shadow saw the Primordial Spirit Leaving the Body, it shrieked in alarm and immediately turned to flee. However, its speed was vastly inferior to the Primordial Spirit's. Under the Primordial Spirit's grasp, the black shadow instantly became unable to escape, and amidst bursts of shrieks, it was seized by Wang Lin's Primordial Spirit and swallowed whole!

As for the fleeing Scabbard, it did not move in a straight line but flashed left and right, clearly guarding against Wang Lin's Instant Movement.

A cold smile appeared on Wang Lin’s lips. His Primordial Spirit suddenly vanished from the spot, becoming a part of the spatial Rift, seemingly able to perceive the swiftly fleeing Scabbard.

While the Scabbard was flying, he materialized from the Void Realm, pressed one hand onto the Scabbard, and then, holding the Scabbard, his Primordial Spirit returned to his body.

This was the Art of Displacement achieved by a Soul Transformation Cultivator merging into heaven and earth. Not all Soul Transformation Cultivators could master it; it depended on the comprehension of Concept and was several times stronger than Instant Movement.

The moment he swallowed the black shadow, Wang Lin had forcefully extracted its memories. This black shadow was the Obsession separated from the body of a Cultivator with Great Divine Abilities. This Obsession was sent into the spatial Rift to be swept by the Death and Destruction Wind and undergo trials, allowing it to form a Death and Destruction Body, which could then be used as a Magic Treasure Soul.

This Obsession did not possess high sentience. After drifting within the spatial Rift for a long time, it accidentally discovered the Scabbard, sensed a strange fluctuation on it, and, inspired by intuition, began breathing in and out towards it.

Holding the Scabbard, Wang Lin pointed his right hand at the Demon God Image in the air. Instantly, the Demon God, which had just annihilated the black shadow that merged into its body, slowly collapsed, turning into a stream of Spiritual Energy before dissipating.

As for the black shadow hiding inside the Scabbard, Wang Lin shook his right hand, and the shadow was jolted out. The moment it appeared, Wang Lin grasped it with one hand, gently exhaled Spiritual Energy, and the black shadow collapsed and vanished.

He killed these four obsessions to prevent the Cultivator with Great Divine Abilities from finding out if the obsessions were recalled.

Wang Lin moved, his body vanishing from the spot. When he reappeared, he was at the location where he had left the marker. He tore open a Rift and slipped inside.

Appearing outside Jue Ming Valley, Wang Lin did not pause but flew away swiftly.

A month later, Wang Lin walked out from an Ancient Teleportation Formation far from the State of Zhao.

"The Rain Cauldron has appeared, so the day the Heavenly Dao opens should not be far off. I have now reached the Early Stage of Soul Transformation. Although Nascent Soul Transformation is still very distant, there is still hope. Once I reach the Nascent Soul Transformation stage, Situ Nan can awaken. He once claimed to be the Number One Expert in the Vermilion Bird Country back then. If he wakes up, he will definitely know about the Cultivation Star Crystal, which should be very helpful in obtaining this treasure." Wang Lin muttered to himself.

"I just wonder if reaching the Nascent Soul Transformation stage would allow me to resurrect my parents… But what I comprehend is the Heavenly Dao of Reincarnation and Life and Death. The more I understand Reincarnation, the more I realize the irreversible Heavenly Dao. This matter is ultimately inescapable, and the idea of resurrection might be very difficult to achieve…" Wang Lin sighed.

"Forget it, I'll deal with this later. If resurrection truly isn't possible, then I'll find a Mortal area and let my parents enter Reincarnation to find release, bringing this life's affection to an end… Alas… For now, I still need to refine another Restriction Banner. Only the last piece of Ink-Interstice Stone remains. I must use it carefully this time and absolutely cannot damage it again. As for the damaged banner, attempting to repair it lately has proven too difficult; it can only be used to trigger the Heavenly Tribulation."

"Furthermore, although I have reached Soul Transformation, I possess too few Magic Treasures. The day the Heavenly Dao opens is unknown, so I need to prepare in advance. I am determined to obtain this Immortal Realm Qi!"