“System!”
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[ Host Info ]
Host: Bai Zihan
Age: 16
Cultivation Realm: Spirit Formation (Early)
Constitution: Supreme Dao Bone
Martial Arts: Nine Shadows Flowing Light Sword (Greater Mastery)
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It had been about a week since he began his third body refinement.
Indeed, this time it took him seven days of intense pain to get through the Third Refinement—but honestly, it was the least painful compared to the previous ones.
Perhaps his body was getting used to all those high-grade ingredients.
And of course, after taking in so many top-tier materials, his cultivation had finally broken through and reached the Soul Formation realm.
Soul Formation!
That was the cultivation stage that some elders of the Bai Clan had managed to reach.
From this stage onward, it was almost like you had multiple lives—because as long as your soul wasn’t completely destroyed, you could still be brought back to life.
Many mortals even considered Soul Formation cultivators immortal—though obviously, in the cultivation world, they were still far from true immortality.
“Oh? You’ve also managed to break through to Heaven-Grade!”
After consuming all those materials, his Eternal Spirit Sword had also advanced to Heaven-Grade.
He still had many more materials he could use for further upgrades, but it seemed like the sword was still processing some of what it had consumed. For now, Bai Zihan refrained from giving it too much more.
Anyway, he sat down and focused on stabilizing his condition.
***
Tremble! Tremble!
While meditating, the ground beneath him suddenly began to shake.
“What’s going on?”
Bai Zihan muttered. He didn’t believe they were under attack—after all, this was the Ancient Ruin of the Immortal Emperor.
He didn’t have to guess for long, as the Remnant Soul appeared before him.
“Bai Xinyue has inherited my Inheritance. This place will no longer exist!”
The Remnant Soul announced.
“Is that so…”
He wasn’t surprised. As a Heaven’s Chosen, it was expected that she’d take the least amount of time to obtain the Inheritance.
(Just how powerful must she be now?)
Against his newly refined body and a Heaven-Grade weapon, could Bai Xinyue with the Inheritance actually win?
Although he didn’t look down on an Immortal Emperor’s Inheritance, he was fairly confident in his own strength as well.
He didn’t think he’d lose!
Well, that was just what he thought. That might change after seeing how much stronger Bai Xinyue had become.
“So this is goodbye. I hope you keep your word!”
It seemed like the Remnant Soul had come to remind him of their deal.
“Why are you making it sound like this is our last meeting? Did you already forget your promise?”
Bai Zihan replied with a faint smirk.
“Sigh… Like I said, I’ll disappear along with this place. Look!”
The Remnant Soul’s form was already beginning to flicker and blur.
She wasn’t just saying that to get out of her promise. She was actually vanishing.
Still, she looked satisfied—her task was complete. And perhaps her encounter with someone as strange as Bai Zihan was its own form of reward.
“Tsk! I already prepared something for this situation.”
As he spoke, Bai Zihan pulled something from his storage ring.
It glowed with a cold, eerie light—the kind of glow that didn’t belong to any ordinary artifact.
The surface was etched with ancient runes, pulsing faintly like a heartbeat, and embedded at the center was a soul-attracting crystal: a Soul Anchor Stone.
Even the Remnant Soul’s expression changed the moment she saw it.
“That’s…”
“Yes,” Bai Zihan cut in before she could finish, casually opening the box in his hand.
“A Heaven-Grade Soul-Confining Artifact. Not the best in the world, sure—but good enough to preserve a half-dispersed soul like yours. And maybe… even slowly restore your strength.”
He grinned.
This was something he had purchased from the System Store, and it had cost an astonishing 20,000 System Points.
That was nearly 80% of everything he’d managed to save until now.
But for the soul of an Immortal Emperor?
A small price to pay.
The Remnant Soul stared at him in complete disbelief.
Though it was only Heaven-Grade, a soul-preserving artifact like this was extremely rare—especially one with the ability to restore strength, even if slowly.
Of course, regaining even 10% of her original cultivation might take over a millennium…
“You… had this from the beginning?”
She began to understand why Bai Zihan would make such a deal where at first it seemed like he was on the losing end.
But it seems like he has already planned this since the beginning.
“Of course I did!”
Bai Zihan snorted.
“Why else would I make you promise something like that?”
He continued, “You think I’d let a valuable soul like you vanish into nothingness? Even if you don’t have power right now, you’ve got knowledge. And knowledge, well… that’s power too.”
He placed the artifact on the floor and injected his Qi into it.
The Soul-Confining Artifact lit up, casting runes into the air as energy surged from it.
The Remnant Soul instinctively began to resist—her form flickering—but Bai Zihan simply raised an eyebrow.
“What? You’d rather scatter and die just because your job’s done? Don’t forget your promise. Be useful!”
“…You are shameless!”
“You’re not wrong.”
She paused.
Her translucent form slowly began to stabilize. After a moment of silence, she sighed.
“I suppose this is better than fading away. But you must understand, I won’t be able to help you much in this state. Not for a while.”
“I don’t need help,” Bai Zihan said, his eyes gleaming.
“I just need someone to talk to when I’m bored. And maybe remind me of all the treasure Immortal Emperor Feilian stashed somewhere.”
Because let’s be real—there was no way an Immortal Emperor only had this much treasure.
There had to be more. Hidden somewhere else. Perhaps reserved for the true Heir.
Of course, her true worth was her knowledge of thousands of years that she had accumulated.
He finally got the ’Google’ of this world.
“You…”
The Remnant Soul almost coughed blood—if she still had any.
In the end, she allowed herself to be drawn into the artifact.
A soft pulse of light enveloped her, and in the blink of an eye, she was gone.
The artifact’s runes dimmed to a gentle glow. Bai Zihan picked it up and tucked it safely into his storage ring.
“Done and done!”
He stood up, stretching lazily.
The tremors were increasing in intensity now—walls shaking, the floor cracking beneath his feet. The Ancient Ruin was collapsing, just as she said.
Time to leave.
(But how?)
He pulled out the artifact box again and asked the Remnant Soul.
A faint voice echoed from within.
“You’ll be teleported out when the time comes. Just wait!”
“Well, that better be true,” Bai Zihan muttered, glancing up at the crumbling ceiling. “Otherwise, I’m gonna be buried alive in this damn place.”