Courtyard House: Time Traveler Not Yet a Ghost

The cold winds of northwestern Shanxi seem tireless. They sweep across the land outside Yangquan City, a land recently soaked in death and silence, carrying lingering smoke and a faint, nauseating stench of blood, as they howl westward towards the even more desolate mountains and plains. Near a branch line abandoned by the Zhengtai Railway, deep within a long-dried-up ancient riverbed, He Damin sits cross-legged in the shadow of a massive, wind-eroded rock.

His expression was calm, incongruous with the desolate and bleak surroundings, as if the bloody storm that had swept through the entire field regiment a few days earlier, enraging and terrifying the Japanese troops in Taiyuan, had nothing to do with him. In fact, in his mind, that "cleanup" was no different from the previous removal of checkpoints and attacks on transport convoys, only on a larger scale and with greater profits. With his objective achieved and the traces cleaned up, he let the matter rest as if brushing off a tiny speck of dust from his shoulder.

At this moment, his mind was preoccupied with another plan.

The small world was piled high with weapons and ammunition, but simply collecting resources could no longer fully satisfy his increasingly clear thirst for and exploration of "power" at a deeper level. His Golden Core was complete, containing the rudimentary form of a world within it; the Soul Refining Banner had advanced four times, greatly increasing its power, and his control and understanding of the soul had reached new heights; especially the rudimentary form of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, born from Yin and though crude, truly existed, which was like a door to unknown laws, half-open before him, exuding an alluring yet dangerous aura.

He needs new "materials" and new "experiments" to test some ideas and expand the boundaries of his abilities.

The Black Island Cavalry Regiment was his next target.

This cavalry unit, belonging to the Japanese army stationed in Mongolia, was known for its ferocity, high mobility, and cruelty. For a long time, they carried out mopping-up and pursuit missions in northern Shanxi and Suiyuan, their hooves often accompanied by burning, killing, and looting. More importantly, the cavalry possessed both the spirit of well-trained soldiers and the strength and quality of Japanese warhorses. The former served as nourishment for the Soul-Refining Banner, while the latter… might have a new purpose.

A preliminary concept of the Six Paths of Reincarnation was taking shape in his mind. The six slowly rotating light holes in the Yin-Yang Space represented different possible destinations and transformations for souls. Especially the "Animal Path," a path of ignorance, savagery, and instinct. What if he could use the Soul Refining Banner to peel away and purify the beastly soul of a warhorse (relatively simple), and then use the power of reincarnation to guide and carry the remnant souls of selected or willing sacrifices (ensuring their core consciousness remains intact and their obsessions resonate with the warhorse's instincts), completing a crude "targeted reincarnation"...?

Is it possible to preserve the warhorse's powerful physique while endowing it with a certain degree of "human" spirituality, loyalty, and even combat memories? Such "soul-forged iron cavalry" would no longer be ordinary livestock, but could become a special fighting force that is fearless and obedient to orders.

Once this idea took root, it grew wildly like weeds. Although the rudimentary form of reincarnation was far from perfect, this operation was extremely risky, with a potentially alarming failure rate. Furthermore, the remnant soul of the sacrificed person had to be collected and attempted to be guided within seven days of death; otherwise, it would be absorbed by the natural laws of reincarnation in this world (even if weak), completely dissipating or entering an uncontrollable cycle of reincarnation. But... it was worth a try.

If successful, the possibilities for the future would be even greater. Could... the souls of those deeply vengeful and resolute victims be reincarnated into captured or soon-to-be-executed Japanese soldiers? Could "puppets" be created, outwardly enemies but inwardly driven by a thirst for revenge? This idea was even bolder and more taboo-involving, but He Damin felt little moral burden. In his view, it was merely a way of using power, a way of making use of waste, an example of repaying the enemy with their own.

Of course, all of this had to start with the most basic verification. The Black Island Cavalry Regiment was the first touchstone.

He needs to find them first.

The main coverage area of ​​the soul clone network was in Beijing, Tianjin, and the Japanese central command in North China, with limited attention paid to the cavalry forces operating far away in northern Shanxi and Suiyuan. He Damin's soul returned to his body, and he opened his eyes, a golden light flashing in them. He did not act rashly, but first used his powerful divine sense, combined with captured Japanese maps and scattered intelligence, to carefully analyze the possible operating area of ​​the Black Island Regiment—the Yanbei region, Datong, Shuozhou, Zuoyun, and Youyu, where the terrain was relatively open and suitable for cavalry maneuver.

After choosing a general direction, he once again separated his soul from his body. This time, his main soul, carrying the Soul Refining Banner, transformed into an extremely condensed, pale golden phantom that almost blended into the night, drifting towards Yanbei at an astonishing speed. Although a Golden Core cultivator's spiritual journey of a thousand miles consumes soul power, its efficiency far surpasses that of physical travel.

Like a master hunter, he patiently patrolled the vast and desolate mountains and rivers of northern Shanxi. His spiritual sense, like an invisible net, meticulously sifted through the land below. He "saw" the county towns and strongholds held by the Japanese, the scattered villages and the people struggling to survive, and the traces of small guerrilla activities. But the marks left by large-scale cavalry operations—the roads hardened by repeated trampling of horses' hooves, the distinctive smell of manure, the ravaged grasslands, and the ashes of campfires and the traces of makeshift horse stables left after encampments—were what he was looking for.

Two days later, he found traces on the edge of a hilly area called "Yehu Ridge" in the northwest of Shuozhou.

As evening fell, the setting sun painted the western sky a poignant orange-red. At the foot of a gentle, sheltered, sunny slope, a sizable makeshift camp suddenly appeared. Dozens of tan military tents were scattered about, surrounded by makeshift tripwires and sentry posts. Most importantly, in a relatively flat depression to one side of the camp, several huge horse pens had been hastily constructed with felled timber, housing at least five or six hundred well-fed, strong Japanese warhorses of various colors! The horses snorted and swished their tails, as grooms and soldiers fed them hay and water.

In the center of the camp, a flag of a Japanese cavalry regiment fluttered. The Japanese soldiers entering and leaving the tents were mostly dressed in cavalry breeches and boots, with sabers at their waists, and many also carrying Type 44 carbines. Judging from the number of tents and the size of the horses, this was at least the main force of the Kuroshima Cavalry Regiment, and possibly even the regimental headquarters!

He Damin's soul hovered several miles above the ground, coldly surveying everything. He carefully observed the layout of the camp, the positions of the sentry posts, the structure of the horse stables, and the movement patterns of the soldiers. Unlike fixed strongholds, cavalry camps were relatively loosely defended, focusing more on perimeter vigilance and mobility, but at night, they were still relatively concentrated targets.

He didn't act immediately, but instead imprinted the details of the camp into his soul's memory, then quietly returned to his physical body. It was nearly midnight, the perfect time to act.

He needs to complete preparatory work first, especially the initial verification of the "warhorse reincarnation" concept. This needs to be done before collecting the warhorses.

He Damin sat down cross-legged again, his mind sinking into his dantian's golden core. His consciousness passed through the purple-gold flowing core and entered that nascent small world. He arrived directly at the edge of that hazy, nascent space of reincarnation, where six light holes floated uncertainly.

His target was the "Animal Realm," the cave of light that emanated a murky, earthy yellow hue and exuded an aura of ignorance and wildness. He Damin carefully separated an extremely fine yet incredibly resilient wisp of his soul consciousness, like the most delicate probe, and slowly approached the edge of the cave of light.

The instant of contact, a vast, chaotic torrent, brimming with simple desires (food, sex, fear, obedience) and fragmented life imprints, swept over him. It was a fragment of the most primal laws governing the souls of countless birds, beasts, and even insects and microorganisms. He Damin's soul consciousness was like a small boat in a raging sea, almost swept away. He immediately steadied his mind, the primordial power of the Soul Refining Banner forming a protective layer around his soul consciousness. At the same time, the method of maintaining stillness and returning to oneness in the *Taoist Primordial Elixir* naturally activated, helping him resist this chaotic impact originating from his life instincts.

He didn't intend to delve into or manipulate the entire laws of the Animal Realm; that was far beyond his current capabilities. He only wanted to try one thing: at the edge of this vast, chaotic torrent of laws, using his own soul power combined with the Soul Refining Banner's ability to "grab" and "fix" souls, to artificially create a small, temporary "interface" or "channel." The purpose of this channel was to temporarily "store" the warhorse's soul after it had been stripped away, or, more ideally, to guide it to undergo a preliminary, forced fusion attempt with a prepared, suitable "human soul."

This is an extremely delicate and dangerous operation. The soul consciousness carefully "carves" and "guides" at the edge of the law, like carving words on tofu. The slightest carelessness will not only damage the soul consciousness, but may also attract the unconscious backlash of the entire animal realm law, or cause the complete failure and annihilation of the soul fusion.

Sweat seeped from He Damin's forehead, quickly condensing into ice beads. His soul body trembled slightly within the small world, its golden light flickering uncertainly. It took him nearly an hour to barely manage to construct an extremely unstable, rudimentary "traction anchor point" and "fusion force field" on the very outermost edge of the earthen-yellow light cave, using his own soul power as a guide and the aura of the Soul Refining Banner as its foundation. This field could only be maintained for a very short time.

This anchor point is far from sufficient to support a complete, conscious reincarnation; it's more like a powerful "soul glue" and "guide." But for his current experimental purposes, it's barely enough.

Having done all this, He Damin felt a deep weariness; his soul power had been significantly depleted. But his eyes remained calm. The first step of the verification was complete.

Next, it's time for real-world practice.

As night deepened, the Japanese cavalry camp at Yefuling gradually quieted down. Apart from patrolling sentries and the sound of horses' hooves, most of the soldiers had gone into their tents to rest, and the warhorses in the stables mostly stood with their heads down, in a semi-sleep state.

He Damin's main body, using [spatial teleportation], left its anchor point dozens of miles away, while his physical body silently appeared behind a pile of rocks on the outskirts of the camp. He changed into a dark gray night suit, blending into the shadows of the surrounding rocks.

The operation begins.

It was the same old routine, but more targeted. The main soul, carrying the Soul Refining Banner, left its body and hovered above the camp. The 【Soul Banner Domain - Underworld Illusion】 quietly unfolded, and an invisible fear and mental suppression washed over the entire camp like a tide, making the already exhausted Japanese soldiers sleep even more soundly, and the sentries' reactions became slightly sluggish.

Immediately afterwards, ten pre-split soul fragments, designed for precise manipulation, swooped down towards the horse pen like nimble birds. Their target was not to kill, but to collect the souls of the warhorses.

The divided soul easily penetrated the simple wooden fence, approaching the sleeping or half-asleep warhorses. The soul structures of these warhorses were far simpler than those of humans, mainly consisting of survival instincts, the imprint of obedience to their riders, and some simple conditioned reflex memories. Using the Soul Refining Banner's [Soul Devouring] property as a guide, the divided soul gently and swiftly cut into their fragile core of consciousness, like picking ripe fruit, carefully peeling away those weak, chaotic clumps of beast souls, carrying the scent of grass and the desire to run. It did not immediately absorb them into the Soul Refining Banner, but rather, through the connection between the main soul and the divided soul, temporarily "stored" them in the specialized soul power structure within the divided soul.

This process requires extremely precise control; the beast soul must be completely stripped away without excessively damaging the horse's physical body (which still has a great use). Fortunately, the beast soul is simple, and the divided soul is sufficient. One horse, two horses, ten horses, fifty horses… the divided souls weave through the vast herd of horses like silent harvesters. The warhorses stripped of their beast souls tremble slightly, their eyes instantly becoming completely empty, like exquisite specimens, still standing, but having lost their most essential "spirit." They will soon collapse completely, but before they fall, He Damin needs to complete the harvest.

Meanwhile, the slaughter of the Japanese cavalry was also underway. Twenty other fragmented souls infiltrated the tents, efficiently and quietly eliminating the sleeping soldiers through possession, assassination, and instigating infighting. The Soul-Refining Banner greedily absorbed the souls of the Japanese soldiers, filled with resentment, shock, and bitterness, its surface faintly glowing with a blood-red light.

Under the stillness of the night, the entire camp was undergoing a silent, soul-searching cleansing.

When most of the warhorse spirits had been stripped and stored, and the Japanese soldiers had been cleared out more than half of the way, He Damin began the next step. With a thought, his physical body teleported through space, appearing directly in the center of the horse pen!

Faced with hundreds of large, vacant-eyed Japanese horses standing alone around him, he no longer hesitated and began to communicate with the small world.

"receive!"

In an instant, an invisible black hole seemed to appear centered on him! One after another, tall warhorses, along with the hay and soil beneath them, vanished in large swaths, continuously sucked into a specially reserved area on the vast land of the Taiji Space's anode. These soulless shells would become the perfect containers for future "Soul Forging" experiments.

Almost simultaneously with the collection of the horses, the main soul manipulated the Soul Refining Banner, increasing the intensity of soul absorption. The remaining Japanese soldiers' souls screamed as they were sucked into the banner, while the warhorse souls that had been temporarily stored by the divided souls, like weary birds returning to their nests, all entered a specially isolated, relatively "gentle" area within the Soul Refining Banner, awaiting further processing.

The camp quickly became empty and deathly silent. The tents were still there, the embers of the campfire were not yet cold, but the men and horses were gone. Only a strong sense of emptiness after the souls had dissipated and a faint smell of blood remained.

He Damin stood expressionless in the center of the empty horse pen. He raised his hand, and the divided souls that had carried out the mission returned to their main souls, bringing back their memories of the mission. The Soul Refining Banner gave a satisfied soft hum and sank into the spiritual sea.

He did not immediately attempt the crude "reincarnation" experiment. Firstly, he did not have a suitable remnant soul of a Red Party fighter who had died within the last seven days and whose consciousness core was still intact (he needed to specifically search for one); secondly, the first experiment required more careful preparation and environment, and could not be carried out hastily at the site of the recent massacre.

"We need to find suitable 'materials' and a more reliable 'laboratory'," He Damin thought to himself. "Perhaps... we should pay attention to where there have been fierce battles recently, especially those where the Eighth Route Army has suffered heavy casualties."

He took one last look at the camp that had been completely "purified," then vanished from the spot and returned to the anchor point dozens of miles away.

Wild Fox Ridge returned to silence. Only the mournful sound of the night wind blowing through the empty tents seemed to tell of the bizarre events that had just occurred here, events beyond human comprehension.

Unbeknownst to He Damin, while he was focused on his "Soul-Forged Iron Cavalry" experiment, in another direction in northwestern Shanxi, an unprecedented storm—the Battle of Ping'an Gele—was about to erupt, triggered by the weapons he indirectly provided, Zhu Ziming's betrayal which he had not paid attention to, and Li Yunlong's raging fury.