Ibaraki Doji's soul was incredibly powerful. In his life, he had reached the pinnacle of what a human could achieve.
His potent soul allowed him to possess a new body even after a thousand years. Even after his physical form was completely destroyed, he could still survive as a soul and wreak havoc!
An ordinary person's soul would likely be completely digested by the Soul Refining Furnace within a day. However, it took over ten days to digest Ibaraki Doji's soul.
When everything was finished, a jade pendant and a pill the size of a grape, crystal clear and translucent, appeared before the Soul Refining Furnace.
Ling Tian knew that the jade pendant contained Ibaraki Doji's memories, but he had no intention of accessing them at the moment.
Information stored in the mind of an ancient demon with a thousand years of history was immense. Even if the soul was incomplete and some information was missing, it was still too much for Ling Tian to process. It was like trying to input data exceeding a computer's hard drive capacity; it would surely crash!
However, Ling Tian was very interested in the translucent pill. From the inheritance within the Spiritual Realm space, Ling Tian knew that this was pure soul energy refined by the Soul Refining Furnace.
He picked up the pill and swallowed it in one gulp. Instantly, a soul-comforting sensation washed over him. It was an incredibly satisfying feeling, akin to drinking a cold beer on a sweltering summer day, or finding a restroom when one was desperately holding it in.
Gradually, Ling Tian felt himself floating. He then realized that his body was still standing in place, but his soul had left it!
Ling Tian was greatly surprised. He remembered what this was. After consuming the pill, his soul energy had significantly increased, and by chance, he had cultivated his Nascent Soul.
The Nascent Soul was a form of substance that existed independently of the physical body, transcending it, and was gradually formed and mastered through cultivation. It was the true essence and core of human life, controlling the soul and spirit.
Once a person cultivated their Nascent Soul, their strength would increase dramatically. Both martial arts and magical powers would be greatly enhanced, and even their lifespan would be significantly extended.
Furthermore, with a suitable vessel, cultivating a Nascent Soul could even lead to immortality and eternal life!
Not long ago, Ibaraki Doji's soul was essentially a Nascent Soul itself! It contained immense soul energy, which was then absorbed by the Soul Refining Furnace!
Moreover, what made Ling Tian even happier was that after cultivating his Nascent Soul, he unlocked many new techniques. These techniques were incredibly varied and far more powerful than any he had used before. They could only be used after cultivating a Nascent Soul.
Another thing that brought Ling Tian joy was that the buildings within the Spiritual Realm space had all been upgraded, gaining new functions. The mist within the Spiritual Realm space had also dissipated further.
Earlier, at the Ise Grand Shrine, Ling Tian had posed as a tourist, taking photos while releasing his spiritual power. His spiritual power could now cover a radius of several hundred meters, allowing him to survey his surroundings.
He could detect any subtle movement around him. Of course, the prerequisite for all this was that Ling Tian's soul was strong enough and his spiritual power was vast enough to maintain the outward projection of his spiritual power while simultaneously processing the gathered information!
Boya Saemon's earlier feeling was not wrong. After all, he was a powerful Onmyoji with immense soul energy and extremely keen senses.
However, by the time he used his spiritual power to probe, Ling Tian had already retracted his own, so Boya Saemon searched in vain.
Ling Tian spent over half an hour wandering around the Ise Grand Shrine, taking many photos and uploading them to social media.
The tour guides at the Ise Grand Shrine eagerly asked for Ling Tian's contact information and looked up his social media.
On the surface, this was interaction with a tourist. In reality, the staff's goal was to examine Ling Tian's social media to determine if he was a well-known travel blogger.
The people at the Ise Grand Shrine were very vigilant. They feared being attacked, so these tour guides were actually core disciples of the Ise Grand Shrine, with many of them being ninjas.
However, their suspicions were destined to be futile. Ling Tian's identity was forged too perfectly. The thousands of videos and photos on his social media could not have been created in a short period. Thus, their doubts were dispelled.
As soon as Ling Tian left the Ise Grand Shrine, his phone rang. In his inbox was a location and a phone number.
A few minutes later, a Gyrfalcon took to the sky, flying towards the capital of Japan.
Several hours later, Ling Tian appeared in Kabukicho, the red-light district of Japan's capital.
Of course, it was also a famous entertainment and tourist spot in Japan. Ling Tian, holding his phone, followed the location and made turns in the streets. Finally, in a secluded alley on the edge of Kabukicho, he found an izakaya.
Ling Tian entered the izakaya. The interior was elegantly decorated in a typical Japanese style, though the furnishings and decor showed signs of age.
Ling Tian requested a private room and ordered many specialty dishes, starting to drink by himself. Soon, there was a knock on the door, and it opened to reveal a man in his late thirties.
This man had his hair tied back in a ponytail, sharp facial features, a faint stubble on his chin, and wore a black trench coat.
The man's eyes seemed to possess a captivating allure. Even Ling Tian, a man, couldn't help but admire the man's charm. Such a mature, middle-aged, sexy uncle was incredibly appealing to women.
Upon entering the room and seeing Ling Tian, the man paused, as Ling Tian had changed his appearance to that of a middle-aged man.
"Are you from the old village?" the man directly asked Ling Tian.
"Of course, I am from the old village."
"Where is the old village from?"
"Xuan Yuan Tun. Where is your old village from?"
"I'm also from the Tun!"
"Haha, nice to meet you!" After exchanging a string of cryptic dialogue, they suddenly shook hands, and the atmosphere became more relaxed.
It turned out they had just exchanged a secret code.
After entering the room, the man took out a phone-sized device from his trench coat pocket and began searching the room.