Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Soul Device - Soul Soup Bowl_1
Wang Linchi looked at the two Soul Kinds in his hand. These two Soul Kinds seem rather ordinary, he mused.
One was called Distant Alarm, and the other was Shadow Trickery. Distant Alarm increased endurance, reflexes, and Attack Power, while Shadow Trickery allowed for certain trick-like actions using shadows, such as brief concealment and shadow shaping. To Wang Linchi, they weren’t particularly useful. Shadow Trickery offered considerable room for manipulation, but Wang Linchi had no intention of switching his Soul Kind.
Then there were the Soul Devices—the Rain Gear. They were merely Common-grade. I had thought they would be at least Excellent Level, he reflected. The Dou Li provided Wind Resistance +10, and the Suo Yi offered Rain Resistance +10. Wang Linchi knew the rain was the black rain, but he wasn’t sure what kind of wind it referred to. Perhaps he would only understand upon encountering it. Their sabers, however, were of Excellent Level, possessing special attributes like Sharpness +5 and Slay Evil +20, which explained why they could harm the Desolate Grave Old Ghost.
The only item that caught Wang Linchi’s eye was the treasure from the Desolate Grave Old Ghost: the Soul Soup Bowl. Its effects were of Excellent Level.
[Soul Soup Bowl]
[Quality: Good]
[Soul Capture: Consumes 100 units of spiritual power, with a probability of capturing a soul into the bowl]
[Soul Refining: If a soul is present in the bowl, it will be refined]
[Soul Soup: After soul refining, a special Soul Soup can be obtained, capable of enhancing the spiritual power of those at Black Iron Level and below]
The name is a bit plain, but its effects are quite good. The main drawback is its low upper limit; for example, the Soul Capture effect isn’t guaranteed to succeed. For instance, with the previous Dart Master Team, the Desolate Grave Old Ghost couldn’t directly use the Soul Soup Bowl to capture their souls because their physical bodies offered protection. Therefore, it had to slowly wear them down, eventually causing them to fall into a trap and come under its control before their souls were drawn into the bowl. More importantly, if a soul was too powerful and exceeded the Soul Soup Bowl’s capacity, the bowl might fail to capture it. Even if a soul was forcibly drawn in, it could still break free.
Next is Soul Refining. This is essentially a process of destroying the soul, so the time required is variable. However, compared to the final Soul Soup effect, these first two effects weren’t major issues. All the essence from the refined soul transforms into a soup. Drinking it yields two effects: one is nourishing the Soul, gradually enhancing it; the second is providing Psychic Nutrient. This Psychic Nutrient can then be refined through cultivation using the Soul Forging Method and Soul Secret Technique to increase one’s Mental Power Capacity Limit.
The true emphasis is on nourishing the Soul to enhance the Soul itself. Most Awakeners enhance their Souls primarily by relying on their spiritual power to nurture it back. Wang Linchi was slightly better off; he possessed a Soul System Soul Kind, the Soul Courtyard. However, even this enhancement was based on his own attributes. But with the Soul Soup Bowl, Wang Linchi now had an additional method to enhance his Soul.
At least in the early stages, directly enhancing the Soul was not something generally achievable. At his current level of strength, most focused on increasing spiritual power, with a few also addressing the Physique.
Aside from the difficulty of finding souls, this item is actually extremely valuable, Wang Linchi thought with some regret. If I came from a prominent family, this thing could be used to its fullest potential; I could drink Soul Soup like plain water.
Without the Soul Soup effect, considering just the first two abilities, it would at best qualify as Excellent Level.
Wang Linchi felt that if the first two attribute effects were slightly better, it might even be able to make an impact at the Epic Level for Soul Devices.
Wait... there might be an opportunity! Wang Linchi figured he probably couldn’t take these items out of this Secret Realm, so there seemed to be an opportunity to utilize them here. He thought of the Ghouls left behind after the Evil Tiger fed—they were perfect for the Soul Soup Bowl’s functions. Ghouls were naturally in a soul state and weren’t particularly strong, so the first two effects of the bowl would likely work without issue. Perhaps the Soul Soup refined from these Ghouls would be of lower quality, but it was essentially a free gain. As long as he ventured into the mountains, caught one or two Ghouls, and then left, that would be sufficient. He didn’t intend to be as greedy as the Desolate Grave Old Ghost, who had wanted so many.
He had also considered the possibility of encountering the Evil Tiger. One can’t expect to avoid all risks, after all. Based on the interaction between his Soul Resemblance and the Soul Device, he estimated that the Psychic Nutrient from the Soul Soup of a single Ghoul would be enough for three days of high-speed cultivation. With two Ghouls, he was confident he could advance his Nine Revolutions Golden Core to the fifth revolution within ten days. The reason for ten days instead of six was that the Psychic Nutrient wouldn’t be quite enough, and he would need to make up the shortfall himself. An additional 100 units of freely usable spiritual power would give him an extra layer of security in this Secret Realm.
Using his own spiritual power was feasible, but Wang Linchi didn’t dare to use it carelessly. The spiritual power within his Golden Core could be overdrawn, or its limit reduced, and it would still recover. However, overdrawing his own spiritual power could lead to damage to his Spirit. The notion that overdrawing spiritual power could increase one’s Mental Power Capacity Limit was a privilege reserved for protagonists; how could an ordinary person become stronger after sustaining an injury? That was like someone claiming that cutting themselves with a knife and then recovering would make the injured area stronger—pure nonsense. Being able to recover without any lasting side effects would already be considered good luck. Gaining strength through normal training and recovering from fatigue was the proper way; it wasn’t as if one could become stronger simply by overdrawing, which meant exceeding one’s limits of endurance.
But where did the cargo the Dart Bureau was escorting go? After tidying up the items, Wang Linchi didn’t plan to immediately go out and capture Ghouls. It was still nighttime, and the black rain was falling outside. Going out now would be courting death. So, he decided to loot the corpses first, particularly those from the Dart Bureau. As for the Desolate Grave Old Ghost, being a ghost spirit, it had dispersed upon death.
After a thorough search, he quickly found a pile of items, such as golden sore medicine, Locust Stones, and so on. The most important find was a map, albeit a very simple one. Now that I have a map, I don’t have to worry about not finding the village. The only problem is, where am I currently located on this map? A map was almost useless if you couldn’t pinpoint your own location on it; he would need to explore slowly to figure it out.
This must be the cargo, right? Wang Linchi looked at a small, exquisitely crafted, flat box. It was very sturdy; despite him smashing it with a stone for several minutes, it showed no marks. He resorted to smashing it because he couldn’t open it. If he could have opened it, he wouldn’t have needed to resort to force.
This is incredibly hard. It would make excellent material for a Heart-guarding Mirror, Wang Linchi thought, recognizing its potential. Since I can’t open it, I should definitely make the best use of it. Otherwise, what’s the point of keeping it? I can’t take it out of the Secret Realm anyway. It would be better to use it temporarily as a Heart-guarding Mirror for protection while I’m here.
If he were attacked, as long as the box didn’t break, he wouldn’t be harmed. If it did break, he might even get to see what was inside—assuming, of course, that the attack didn’t kill him first.