The person before him, had they been any slower, Li Chonglou's sword would have already been stained with blood across the sky.
"You have only one last chance."
Li Chonglou's voice was extremely cold. Hei Zi instinctively flinched, sighing inwardly.
"This is the Black Spirit Art I've researched. As soon as you enter the first layer, you'll be able to see those Black Souls."
Hei Zi's expression was somewhat grim, and Li Chonglou instantly understood that this fellow had actually intended to conceal this matter just now.
However, this was indeed the typical behavior of those from the outside.
Li Chonglou said sternly, "If there's a next time, I won't spare you!"
"Understood."
Hei Zi took out a small notebook from his embrace. It was palm-sized and very thin, appearing to have only a few pages.
"This is my latest research achievement; the success rate should be around ninety percent."
Li Chonglou took the notebook and saw three large characters written on it: Manifesting Souls Art. The handwriting was uneven, clearly not the work of a professional.
"Did you write this yourself?"
Li Chonglou's eyes showed even more distrust. He flipped it open, and the first page contained only a few words.
"The first step of soul examination: first hunt residual souls."
Nothing more. Li Chonglou's gaze turned icy.
Hei Zi retorted unhappily, "What are you looking at? Do you know how precious this is! It's related to half of our lifeline!"
Li Chonglou couldn't be bothered with that. What he needed now was to escape the pursuit of those experts!
He raised his long sword again, his patience wearing thin!
"Give you ten more seconds. If you haven't convinced me, we'll discuss cooperation in the next life!"
Hei Zi's expression changed drastically. Li Chonglou's killing intent was almost completely undisguised, and the unprecedented coldness sent an involuntary shiver down his spine.
Damn it, how many people has this guy killed? To possess such terrifying killing intent!
Hei Zi could no longer maintain his composure and quickly said, "This is a method I've developed through practical research. By absorbing the residual souls here, you can open the eye acupoints, and then you'll be able to see the Black Souls clearly!"
"Moreover, this cultivation method doesn't require going through the Black Spirit. You can try it out first and see for yourself!"
Hei Zi spoke very quickly, but each word was enunciated clearly. Li Chonglou sheathed his long sword and picked up the notebook again.
"Are you sure it can really work?"
"Definitely! Or at least, it should."
Li Chonglou's face darkened instantly. "What do you mean, 'definitely' and 'should'?"
Hei Zi said sheepishly, "Actually, this cultivation method hasn't been truly tested by anyone after I created it. But theoretically, it should be fine."
Damn it, this guy wants to use me as a guinea pig!
However, Hei Zi then added, "Brother, do you have any other options now? I've said everything I can. If you still don't believe me, then you can kill me too. I can't do anything about it."
Seeing Hei Zi's completely resigned attitude, Li Chonglou eventually chose to believe him out of helplessness.
What followed was the tutorial for the cultivation method. Under Hei Zi's guidance, Li Chonglou grasped the essentials in just a few minutes.
It wasn't complicated. The most crucial key was an eye acupoint that Hei Zi had discovered himself. This acupoint was not among the traditional ones.
None of the acupoints within Li Chonglou's body included this one. Strictly speaking, it wasn't an acupoint at all, but a special part of the eye.
Under Hei Zi's guidance, in less than a minute, Li Chonglou successfully injected the residual souls he had just absorbed into his eyes.
Of course, this also required coordinating with the cultivation method Hei Zi had described.
However, Li Chonglou remained cautious in this step. After running the circulation for the first time, he found another method to replace it.
During the subsequent internal energy circulation, he used his own discovered method, and it took about ten minutes.
"How is it? Did it succeed?"
As Li Chonglou slowly opened his eyes, the bound and acupoint-sealed Hei Zi spoke eagerly, his expression full of anticipation.
Li Chonglou did not answer him. Instead, he calmly asked, "What's your name?"
Hei Zi was stunned for a moment, but he instinctively replied, "Hua Zi. Just call me Hua Zi. I lost my family when I was young, and I've long forgotten my original name."
Li Chonglou frowned slightly. "You don't even have a surname?"
"What use is that?"
Indeed, people of the martial world didn't need surnames; they usually only had a codename.
Li Chonglou slowly stood up, drew the long sword from his back, and with a light stroke, the ropes binding Hua Zi snapped.
"Huh?"
Before Hua Zi could react, Li Chonglou calmly said, "Get to work."
Only then did Hua Zi understand Li Chonglou's intention.
"It really worked! I told you, the success rate is at least ninety percent!"
Hua Zi clenched his fist tightly, his excitement evident, until he saw Li Chonglou's cold gaze.
He jolted and chuckled sheepishly, "As long as you can see it, I'll help you right away."
With that, Hua Zi hurried to the side of the two. He did something, and in Li Chonglou's vision, the Black Souls surrounding Xiong Da and the other person suddenly disappeared.
"How did you do that?"
Hua Zi smiled and said, "It's actually not complicated. Black Souls are most attracted to the aura of outsiders like you. I suspect it's the spiritual energy that hasn't been tainted by the Black Spirit."
"So, conversely, Black Souls hate Black Spirits the most. I just need to circulate the Black Spirit around you, and they'll leave immediately."
As soon as he finished speaking, the two lying on the ground suddenly groaned, seeming to be waking up.
Li Chonglou's expression changed. He moved instantly and appeared beside the two, his hand striking like a blade, knocking them both unconscious again.
This action stunned Hua Zi.
"You're not together?"
Li Chonglou didn't explain but instead asked, "Why did you research that kind of cultivation method?"
Hua Zi hadn't reacted yet, his expression still blank.
After a long while, when he saw the coldness in Li Chonglou's eyes, he sighed deeply.
"Brother, is there really no need to probe so deeply? Can't you keep some secrets? Always leave a way out; we might meet again someday."
Li Chonglou ignored him, staring coldly.
Seeing that Li Chonglou was unyielding, Hua Zi thought for a moment and said solemnly, "Alright, I admit I wanted to find a way to return to being a normal person. But you know, for so many years, no one has ever succeeded in such a thing. I just had to keep my options open."
This could be considered his greatest secret. Unlike other Hei Zi, Hua Zi always harbored the hope of becoming a normal person in his heart.
In essence, he was an anomaly among the Hei Zi, but it wasn't to the point where he still possessed ordinary human emotions.