Courtyard House: Time Traveler Not Yet a Ghost

The desolate Yanshan Mountains, midnight.

On the blue brick platform, He Damin sat cross-legged in meditation. With each deep breath, the energy within him resonated harmoniously with the night dew of this desolate valley, the rising steam from the hot springs, and even the starry sky above, cleaved by the cliff face. His Golden Core had just been formed, creating the nascent form of a small world within his body, granting him an unprecedented level of sensitivity and integration with the outside world.

He slowly opened his eyes. Deep within them, the Tai Chi phantom was no longer merely a flowing light and shadow, but seemed to contain endless runes that appeared and disappeared, faintly echoing the Dao patterns on the surface of the purple-gold elixir within his dantian. With a slight thought, the phantom of the Soul Refining Banner, after its fourth advancement, floated uncertainly in his Niwan Palace spiritual sea. Its blood-red light was restrained, yet it exuded a profound pressure that made one's soul tremble.

"It's time," he murmured, not rising, but focusing his mind and concentrating on the Baihui point (crown of the head).

A faint glow rippled at the Baihui acupoint, and a soul, refined like purple-gold glass, flowing with subtle Daoist charm and soul light, calmly detached from the body. This was the main soul of the Golden Core, its solidity far surpassing what it had been before. Every movement it made carried the implication of wind and thunder. Furthermore, due to the deep binding of the Soul Refining Banner and the nourishment it received from the inheritance of Taiji Yinji, extremely subtle spiritual light, resembling protective runes, naturally flowed across the surface of the soul.

The main soul hovered inside the room, looking down at the physical body. On the body's forehead and spiritual altar, there was a yellow paper talisman with cinnabar—a simple warning talisman obtained from a Taoist temple in Tianjin years ago, capable only of warning of danger within three feet. Looking at this crude talisman, the main soul shook its head slightly.

"Such external objects are now as useless to me as chicken ribs." He held the Soul Refining Banner, which was only an inch in size, in his palm. The banner itself leaped out of his spiritual sea, transforming into its normal size, and was firmly grasped by his main soul. The banner pole was icy cold, and the banner surface moved without wind. Faint blue lightning and gray-white mist swirled around it, which were the natural manifestations of the power of [Soul-Eating Thunderfire] and [Yellow Spring Illusion].

"I possess the Yin-Yang inheritance, which includes the method of 'Basic Talismans.' Although I haven't studied it in depth, I believe it shouldn't be difficult to draw a few protective, warning, and even counter-attacking talismans. It would be unwise to use such simple talismans to protect my Golden Core body," the main soul pondered. "Moreover, with the soul separated from the body, the physical body is like a tree without roots. Even if there is a warning, the reaction will be slow. Splitting the divine soul to guard the physical body is the fundamental method."

He recalled the scattered records about the soul in the Yin-Yang inheritance, as well as the various profound information about the essence of the soul fed back by the Soul Refining Banner. Although the [Soul Splitting Technique] did not directly inherit the complete method, its principles were vaguely similar to some of the methods of the Soul Refining Banner for manipulating the soul and splitting projections. With his current Golden Core level main soul strength, combined with the Soul Refining Banner's [Soul Devouring Feeding] nourishment and his profound understanding of the soul structure, it was theoretically feasible to split off a wisp of soul with basic alertness and control abilities.

"This is the most important task for my cultivation recently." The main soul kept this thought in mind. "With the secondary soul residing in the body and the main soul carrying the Soul Refining Banner on patrol, there will be no worries. At that time, the warning talisman can be discarded."

After calming his thoughts, the main soul turned his gaze to the Soul Refining Banner in his hand. After merging with the Golden Core, the Taiji Yang Extreme Space transformed into a small world within his body. To receive external objects, the physical body had to be present. With the Golden Core as the "gateway," the effective distance had increased dramatically to two thousand meters, but the soul body could no longer directly take items from the outside world into it.

"It's slightly inconvenient, but not a dead end." The main soul's mind raced, and he thought of another ability—[Spatial Transfer]. "The soul split can serve as an anchor point. After the physical body enters the Yang Yang space, it can reappear from the anchor point. It's just a pity that this technique has limitations. It seems that the soul split anchor point can only be stabilized at night, and there may be risks during the day... But I'll remember it for now, and perhaps I can make good use of it."

No longer dwelling on this, the main soul, holding the banner, blurred into a streak of purple-gold light, piercing through the treehouse and disappearing into the deep night of Yanshan. The soul's flight was swift as lightning, and because of its pure essence, it subtly harmonized with the sparse yin energy of heaven and earth, making its escape virtually effortless and silent.

Before long, they arrived at the mountains where the weapons had been hidden months earlier.

The main soul hovered high in the sky, not immediately approaching. With a slight thought, he gently shook the Soul Refining Banner in his hand, and an invisible and intangible yet subtle and profound fluctuation of soul power, using the [Soul Ties] technique, was sent far away towards the direction of the cave entrance in his memory.

This technique requires a medium or close contact to accurately lock onto a target; at this moment, it only allows for a broad, vague sensing. Sure enough, the fluctuations reflected faint fragments of emotions such as "vigilance" and "focus," originating from two different sources—the very location of the hidden sentry.

"There are people here, and they're well-trained," the main soul confirmed. He concealed his soul power, minimizing his presence, and like a true night ghost, he drifted down into the shadow of a rocky ridge diagonally above the cave entrance.

The spiritual sense, like the most delicate tentacles, slowly extended out. The first thing it sensed was the two life forms almost blending into the rock beneath the cave entrance's camouflage; their heartbeats were slow and deep, their breathing barely audible. Then, the spiritual sense penetrated the rock wall and "saw" the scene inside the cave: weapon boxes were neatly stacked and clearly categorized; about 60% of the remaining ammunition and weapons were still there, and they were in good condition.

"They're from the Red Party. Such discipline and valuing of this place could only belong to them." The main soul understood. This place had been converted into an important secret armory, so his original plan to come here occasionally was naturally thwarted.

He didn't leave; instead, he seemed to be testing him. A glint flashed in the eyes of the main soul, and the Soul Refining Banner in his hand vibrated silently.

【Soul Banner Domain - Underworld Illusion】—unfolds silently! It is not a full-force attack, but merely a wisp of extremely weak, soul-targeting illusionary power, gently brushing across the cave entrance area like ripples on water.

He wanted to test the willpower and spiritual sensitivity of these guards.

As the area swept past, the two sentries inside the cave almost simultaneously stiffened imperceptibly! One of them had his eyelids twitch violently a few times, while the other instinctively gripped his gun handle. Neither of them made a sound or moved, their breathing only quickened slightly for a moment before they forced themselves to calm down, maintaining a high level of alertness. Their sharp eyes scanned the directions they were responsible for, as if the momentary palpitation and the blurry, terrifying phantom that had flashed before their eyes were merely illusions.

"Impressive composure!" The main soul nodded to himself. To remain so calm even under the slightest ripples of the [Yellow Springs Illusion] was no ordinary feat. The Red Party's deployment here was extremely meticulous.

The test was complete, and the main soul immediately retracted its domain, leaving no trace. As if it had never existed, it silently ascended into the air and returned towards the desolate area.

On the way back, the main soul was lost in thought.

"The warning talisman needs to be replaced. The matter of splitting the soul needs to be put on the agenda as soon as possible." He confirmed again. "It's a good thing that the Red Party is using this place. But I have too much munitions stockpiled, and the small world is piled up with supplies, especially weapons, which are of little use to me personally."

"Perhaps... I really should become an 'arms dealer.'" This thought became clearer and clearer. "In northwestern Shanxi, the Red Party and the Eighth Route Army are active and the struggles are fierce, so equipment must be in short supply. My 'useless things' might be a timely help for them."

How to proceed? Direct contact is too risky. The identity of "Thousand-Faced Yama" must be concealed. Disguise is imperative. The small world contains Japanese trucks, three-wheeled motorcycles, and various complete military uniforms. Disguising oneself as a Japanese transport convoy to cross enemy-occupied territory is relatively convenient, but entering the Red Zone requires a more subtle identity. Perhaps it could be "a small group of puppet soldiers who were separated from their unit after an attack"? Or "a smuggler with connections"? Detailed planning is needed.

"Trucks can be used for transportation, and identities must be thoroughly forged. As for the handover method... perhaps we could first find an outer guerrilla zone and establish initial, indirect contact by 'accidentally' abandoning some supplies." The main soul continued to explore the possibilities. "This trip can also be used to conduct on-site investigations into the true situation of the Red Party's armed forces and assess the risks and potential for cooperation."

He also thought of the newly unlocked [Blood Soul Dao Soldiers]. This technique consumes soul power and life essence to create ten Dao soldiers that exist between reality and illusion, possessing strength equivalent to elite martial artists. They are immune to ordinary swords and can perform tasks such as guarding and patrolling. "If the splitting of the soul is successful, with several Blood Soul Dao Soldiers protecting the physical body, then there will be no worries about the soul leaving the body. Even... during the operation in Northwest Shanxi, the Dao soldiers might be used for some auxiliary work."

As for the [Spatial Transfer] skill, although it has limitations (it is only effective at night when the split soul anchor point is at night), if used properly, it may play a surprising role at critical moments. For example, you can let the split soul carry the anchor point to a certain place first, and then the physical body will escape, achieving a similar effect to "teleportation". Whether it is a surprise attack, evacuation or transporting supplies, it will be extremely unpredictable.

"We must first master the art of soul splitting!" The main soul made this the top priority.

A streak of purple-gold light streaked across the night sky, returned to the Jedi Treehouse, and sank into the body.

He Damin opened his eyes, his gaze sharp and piercing. He reached out and removed the dimming warning talisman from between his brows. A wisp of soul-corroding lightning flashed from his fingertips, and the talisman vanished into green smoke.

"I'll start trying to create a stronger split soul tomorrow," he muttered to himself. He then got up and went to the simple desk inside the treehouse. On the desk, besides writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, there were several notebooks he had compiled from the Yin-Yang inheritance, containing notes about souls and talismans.

He first laid out a piece of pre-cut yellow paper, ground cinnabar, and mixed it with spring water containing a trace of true essence. Dipping the brush in the mixture, he concentrated, recalling the patterns and key points of spiritual energy flow for the [Protective Talisman] and [Warning Talisman] recorded in the *Basic Talismans*. Although it was his first time drawing, the Golden Core cultivator's control over power had reached a subtle level, and his strong soul further aided in grasping the essence of the talisman.

With swift strokes, the vermilion lines meandered across the yellow paper, faintly shimmering with spiritual light. Moments later, two new talismans, exuding a subtle spiritual pressure and far more complex and profound than the previous simple talisman, were completed.

He Damin examined it carefully and was fairly satisfied. He carefully put it away, just in case.

Then, he calmed his mind and sat cross-legged on the blue brick platform again. Next came the real key—to attempt soul splitting and create a separate soul residing in a body.

He looked inward at his spiritual sea, where his main soul shone brightly, its soul power vast. The Soul Refining Banner floated silently, radiating the power to nourish and stabilize the soul source. Following the methods of controlling divine thoughts in the Yin-Yang inheritance, and combining them with his own understanding of the soul structure, he carefully peeled away an extremely fine yet structurally complete strand of soul thread from the edge of his main soul.

The instant the detachment occurred, an indescribable, primal pain surged from the very core of his soul, as if countless fine needles were churning deep within his consciousness. He Damin's face paled, and cold sweat instantly beaded on his forehead, but his will was as firm as iron. He forcibly steadied his mind, controlling the wisp of soul from dissipating.

He guided the wisp of soul, letting it slowly sink down, passing through his brow and flowing into his entire body. Finally, he found a point between his heart and dantian where blood and true essence converged, and carefully "placed" it there. At the same time, he used the Soul Refining Banner's [Soul Devouring Feedback] power to continuously nourish this fragile split soul, endowing it with simple core commands such as "alertness," "driving basic bodily reactions," and "resonating with the main soul."

The entire process was slow and painful, lasting nearly an hour. When that wisp of divine soul finally stabilized at the node within his body and initially established a connection with his physical blood and true essence, forming a faint but persistent "spirit," He Damin finally let out a long sigh of relief. Exhaustion washed over him like a tide, but his eyes were exceptionally bright.

It worked!

Although this fragmented soul is extremely weak, unable to think about complex issues, and unable to cultivate or cast spells independently, it is like a constantly shining "lighthouse." It can keep the most basic "spirit" of the physical body from dissipating when the main soul leaves the body, can drive the body to make instinctive defensive and evasive maneuvers, and can instantly merge with the main soul when it returns without any hindrance.

"With the assistance of the [Blood Soul Dao Soldier], my physical body is safe and sound." He Damin felt much more at ease. He didn't immediately summon the Dao Soldier, as splitting his divine soul had consumed a great deal of energy and he needed to recuperate. This wasn't the split soul clone he used before, which could only be used for activities like bewitching and gathering intelligence. This was a split divine soul, which could also be considered a second primordial spirit that would grow in the future.

In his mind, the initial plan for heading to northwestern Shanxi was gradually taking shape. His divided soul was complete, talismans could be used, Taoist soldiers were ready to be summoned, and teleportation skills could be utilized... With his physical safety and basic mobility guaranteed, many actions that previously required careful planning now had greater room for maneuver.

The night in the desolate Yanshan Mountains remained tranquil. Inside the treehouse, the figure was processing the gains from the night's exploration and the insights gained from the split soul, gathering strength for the next step of the westward journey.