Immortality and cultivation begin with alchemy and accounting.

Bai Xuanjing and Bai Qingshao were not familiar with each other, and Bai Qingshao also had to look after the shop. After a brief chat, they found an empty room and stayed there for the time being.

Inside the house,

Bai Xuanjing casually cast several restrictions, for purposes such as soundproofing.

Then he sat cross-legged on the futon and took out two storage bags.

It was Wang Xing and that old ghost Yin.

Wang Xing's storage bag mainly contained a mid-grade Tier 1 defensive shield and a mid-grade Tier 1 longsword.

These two magical artifacts are only of average power, which is in line with the identity of those independent cultivators from the outer seas.

The longsword suffered some spiritual damage when it was used to fight the spotted venomous python. If it were to be refined, it would need to be nurtured for a period of time to recover.

"After breaking through to the second level of the Divine Refinement Technique, my divine soul has been greatly enhanced, and I still have the strength to manipulate the Azure Scale Sword, the Black Gold Sword, and the Golden Tortoise Armor at the same time."

"I have cultivated the Spirit Refining Technique, and the strength of my soul cannot be measured by ordinary mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators. I wonder if I can control a high-grade first-tier magic weapon?"

Bai Xuanjing pondered to himself.

Having a high-grade magic weapon as an aid will obviously give you a greater advantage when facing enemies.

It should be noted that Yin Laogui was able to suppress Bai Xuanjing's sword formation with just a single high-grade first-tier long nail.

While Yin Laogui's own cultivation at the seventh level of Qi Refining certainly contributed to this, he also benefited from the advantage of having a first-grade high-quality magic weapon.

With that in mind, Bai Xuanjing decided to give it a try.

The old ghost's long nails are perfect for practicing.

If he could truly wield a top-grade first-tier magic weapon, he might even consider buying an even more powerful top-grade first-tier magic weapon.

I gained a lot from this trip.

For Bai Xuanjing, whether within the Bai family or outside, purchasing a first-grade high-quality magic artifact is not a difficult task.

Besides the magical artifacts, Wang Xing also had two low-grade Tier 1 magical artifacts in his storage bag, which looked like chisels and hammers.

Bai Xuanjing held them in her hands and felt that the restrictive runes on these two magical artifacts were different from the killing magical artifacts she usually encountered.

It seems that it is not very powerful against enemies, but it should have unique advantages in mining.

These two have invested quite a bit of money.

Besides that, there are over six hundred spirit stone crystals and over one hundred ready-made spirit stones.

I wonder how long Wang Xing dug and accumulated all of this?

Bai Xuanjing casually put away these spirit stones and spirit stone crystals.

Besides magical artifacts and spirit stones, there are also things like talismans, elixirs, and cultivation techniques.

These talismans and pills looked extremely crude, especially the pills, the kind that Bai Xuanjing wouldn't even look at.

It seems he bought some cheap, unbranded goods from a street vendor.

Most of the goods sold at these street stalls are substandard products discarded by large stores, or products made by rogue alchemists whose skills are not refined enough.

As for the cultivation technique, Bai Xuanjing glanced at it briefly and then tossed it aside as if it were nothing.

There's nothing good about it.

If the opportunity arises, they will all be sold as a package.

However, they unexpectedly found a bird feather among Wang Xing's miscellaneous belongings, which was exactly the same as the one belonging to Zhan Yue Dao Lu.

Even the restrictions used in the ritual were exactly the same.

They are clearly from the same set of magical artifacts.

"Could it be that Wang Xing and Zhan Yue's Daoist partner know each other?"

Bai Xuanjing pondered for a moment, recalling that the bird feather from the cigarette she had left at home had shimmered a few times, and suddenly felt that this was a possibility.

If so, perhaps Zhan Yue's partner was also a member of the mining team.

Judging from this, the mining team may have gathered quite a few cultivators.

"As expected, even if the spirit stone mine is indeed on Yufeng Island as Yin Laogui said, there's a high probability that there are other people there!"

Bai Xuanjing thought to himself.

Fortunately, he wasn't blinded by greed and went directly to Yufeng Island to investigate.

Perhaps, unknowingly, they escaped a calamity.

"This Wang Xing seems to be a gambling addict?"

Bai Xuanjing then pulled out some gambling chips, dominoes, and other similar items.

Although he had never been inside a gambling den, Bai Xuanjing knew that every market town had such an institution, usually run by wealthy families.

Although nine out of ten gamblers lose, many cultivators still flock to it.

No wonder Wang Xing discovered a spirit stone mine, and the pills and talismans he used were still cheap, low-quality goods.

He turned out to be a gambler.

After tidying up briefly, Bai Xuanjing looked at Yin Laogui's storage bag, a sense of anticipation rising in her heart.

Unlike Wang Xing, many of the methods used by Yin Laogui appeared extraordinary.

If it weren't for the fact that the Yin Soul Array couldn't be activated, and that Bai Xuanjing had talismans he didn't care about the cost, he might not have been a match for Yin Laogui.

Moreover, many of the methods used by Yin Laogui were quite strange in Bai Xuanjing's eyes.

The mark left by Yin Laogui on this storage bag has been erased by Bai Xuanjing, confirming that there are no hidden tricks.

Thinking of this, Bai Xuanjing probed into the storage bag with her divine sense.

The first thing Bai Xuanjing took out were three dark-colored array flags.

"The Ghostly Array!"

Bai Xuanjing recalled his conversation with Yin Laogui and recognized the small flag at a glance.

The small flag was covered in swirling black energy, and felt incredibly cold to the touch. It seemed as if a malevolent spirit or resentment had sprung up out of nowhere and was about to surge into Bai Xuanjing's body through his palm.

"snort!"

Bai Xuanjing's gaze turned cold. He circulated his magic power and slapped out, easily dispelling the resentment.

The Yin Soul Array Flag trembled slightly and immediately became docile.

How can you harm something that has no owner?

Although she dealt with it easily, Bai Xuanjing was still somewhat surprised by the reaction of the Yin Soul Array.

This Yin Soul Array Flag seems to be different from the ordinary magical artifacts of the Vast Sea; it can operate spontaneously even without anyone controlling it.

Perhaps it's related to the ghosts within?

Bai Xuanjing's eyes flickered as she began to speculate.

He played with it for a while, then put the Yin Soul Array Flag aside and started searching.

What he was most curious about was Yin Laogui's inheritance, and also the pill that could magically allow Yin Laogui's cultivation to break through from the sixth level of Qi Refining to the seventh level.

Before long, Bai Xuanjing frowned slightly and took a leather scroll in his hand.

This is the only scroll related to Yin spirits in Yin Laogui's storage bag.

The other cultivation manuals were all weak and useless items, probably looted from elsewhere by the old ghost Yin and casually tossed into his storage bag.

The material of this notebook looks similar to that of the Painted Skin Magic Artifact; it also has the feel of human skin.

The surface is shimmering with a protective barrier, and inscribed with Daoist script.

The Book of the Wraiths!

It is a martial arts manual.

After carefully examining the notes to ensure there were no insidious schemes involved, Bai Xuanjing began to read them.

"The Yin Soul Sect..."

Not long after, Bai Xuanjing put down the note and looked thoughtful.

According to the notes, this "Yin Hun Jing" is the main teaching of the Yin Hun Sect.

Its essence lies in extracting the soul of a cultivator and refining it into a Yin spirit, which is then used for cultivation.

However, the souls of Qi Refining cultivators are too weak, and they dissipate quickly after their death, basically unable to be preserved.

Therefore, the Yin Soul Array created some secret techniques.

The most crucial of these is the Soul-Losing Beast.

According to this "Yin Hun Jing" (Scripture of the Yin Soul), the Fallen Soul Beast is a spirit nurtured in an extremely Yin place using special methods of the Yin Hun Sect.

This beast can actually be seen as a kind of ghost.

Its greatest function is to capture souls; a single cry can separate and imprison a cultivator's soul from their body.

After killing a cultivator who is imprisoned by the cries of the Soul-Losing Beast, the Soul-Losing Beast can extract the cultivator's soul and refine it into a Yin Soul.

In addition, Soul Beasts are born in extremely yin places and are naturally endowed with many methods to restrain divine souls and yin spirits.

However, this demon needs the constant nourishment of yin energy in an extremely yin place.

If it is removed from the nurturing environment of the extremely yin land, the power of the Fallen Soul Beast will gradually diminish until the yin energy in its body is exhausted, and it will completely dissipate and can no longer be summoned.

Bai Xuanjing looked puzzled.

According to the "Yin Hun Jing" (Scripture of the Yin Soul), a first-tier high-grade Fallen Soul Beast should be able to easily subdue a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator who lacks any means of spiritual defense.

But when Yin Laogui used the Rising and Falling Soul Beast on him, he quickly broke free.

Although his soul strength is not comparable to that of ordinary mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators, he does not have any means of cultivating soul protection.

After a moment's thought, Bai Xuanjing recalled that when Yin Laogui used the Soul-Losing Beast, the aura of this demonic creature looked extremely weak.

It's possible that because Yin Laogui hasn't used an extremely yin place to nurture this beast for a long time, the beast's yin energy is insufficient, making it unable to exert its strength.

Bai Xuanjing had a guess in her mind.

He then immediately began to look through it.

The method for refining Soul Beasts is vague in the "Yin Soul Scripture," seemingly a taboo secret of the Yin Soul Sect.

That makes sense, since the Fallen Soul Beast is the foundation of cultivation for Yin Soul Sect cultivators, and the method of refining it must be firmly controlled by the higher-ups.

Otherwise, how can this thing be used to control the cultivators below?

Besides the Soul-Losing Beasts, the Yin Soul Scripture also records two key techniques.

One of its names is "Benming Yin Hun" (本命阴魂), which is actually another of the Yin Lao Gui's (阴老鬼) magical artifacts—the Ghost Face Painted Skin (鬼脸画皮).

The other one is the Yin Soul Array.

These two things are actually related to the matter of foundation building.

Bai Xuanjing was immediately moved and began to examine the object carefully.

According to the Yin Soul Scripture, once a cultivator of the Yin Soul Sect reaches the perfection of Qi Refining, they can attempt Foundation Establishment without needing to unite their essence, energy, and spirit.

However, the Yin Soul Array is needed as an aid in this process.

Once a Yin Soul Sect cultivator reaches the pinnacle of Qi Refining, they can use the sect's secret technique to shed their physical body in the Yin Soul Pool.

Then he inhabited the eye of the Yin Soul Array, which had been upgraded to the second level.

Afterwards, the cultivator's soul merges with the Yin Soul Array and is nourished and empowered by the Yin Soul Array, thus completing the foundation building process.

For this reason, when cultivators of the Yin Soul Sect refine the Yin Soul Array, they deliberately leave out the position of the array eye.

However, where evil spirits gather, ghost kings are easily born.

If left unattended, even without intentionally cultivating a Ghost King, the Yin Soul Array will eventually give birth to a Ghost King as the rank and number of Yin Souls increase.

Once the Ghost King appears, it will naturally occupy the position of the array's core.

If the Ghost King were to enter the array eye before the cultivators, it would be equivalent to the Ghost King taking over the "Dao Body" that the Yin Soul Sect cultivators had painstakingly cultivated.

To avoid this situation, Yin Hun Sect cultivators would deliberately refine living demonic beasts, allowing them to temporarily occupy the key positions of the formation.

On the one hand, it can enhance the power of the Yin Soul Array, and on the other hand, it can suppress Yin Souls and prevent the birth of a Ghost King.

However, this approach also has drawbacks, namely that the demonic beasts used as the core of the formation can easily break free of the formation and escape.

As for the ghostly face painted skin, it was not an ordinary ghost, but rather a part of the essence of the old ghost Yin extracted and refined by a secret method when he entered the Dao.

This spirit has no intelligence, but it was born from the old ghost himself, so their spirits and natures are compatible.

The rank of a ghost face can be improved through the secret techniques in the Yin Soul Scripture.

Once Yin Laogui's cultivation reaches the point of perfect Qi Refining and the Yin Soul Array is upgraded to the second rank, he can use a secret technique to steal and merge the spirit of that ghost face.

This is also a crucial process in relinquishing the physical body.

That's why it's said that the Ghost Face Demon Artifact and the Yin Soul Array are the key to the Yin Soul Sect's foundation-building path.

In addition, making faces is itself a powerful means of fighting enemies.

"The lineage of the Yin Soul Sect is indeed wondrous. However, by abandoning the physical body and taking over the Yin Soul Array as its core, they are actually following the path of ghost cultivation."

"Without a physical body, and having merged with the array flags, how is one different from a weapon spirit?"

"Whether there's any possibility of further advancement in cultivation after becoming a Foundation Establishment cultivator through the Yin Soul Array is not mentioned in the Yin Soul Scripture..."

Bai Xuanjing frowned and put down the Yin Soul Sutra.

I just felt that this lineage was rather sinister.

Even if it avoids some of the difficulties of a cultivator's normal foundation building, there must still be many hidden pitfalls.

Otherwise, if Foundation Establishment were so easy, the Demon Sea would surely have no shortage of Foundation Establishment cultivators!