Chapter 78

Chapter 78: Refining Beast Souls

They had horses to ride initially, but Han Tianxiao and the others took all the horses, forcing them to travel on foot. Lou Yun coped better since his physique was naturally much sturdier than most. For Wan Huier, however, it was pure misery. Having never endured such hardship, she gritted her teeth and persisted without once complaining of fatigue.

Naturally, Lou Yun couldn’t bear to see her suffer. With frequent starts and stops, they finally reached another town around noon the next day.

It was similarly a small town. Neither had the energy to appreciate the surroundings. They first found an inn and ate their fill, then secured two rooms at a nearby guest house and slept soundly. By the time they woke, night had already fallen.

Wan Huier, fond of bustling scenes, pulled Lou Yun out to explore the streets. Though the town offered little of note, she wandered with great relish and would have lingered longer if not for the late hour.

After seeing Wan Huier back to her room, Lou Yun returned to his own. Truthfully, he was physically unaffected by days of fasting or sleeplessness; his breaks were primarily for her benefit.

Sitting cross-legged, Lou Yun prepared to begin his cultivation when Chang Xiang materialized before him without a word, simply staring intently. Perplexed, Lou Yun looked down at himself, but could see nothing amiss.

“Brother Chang, what are you staring at?”

“Kid, don’t you think your current cultivation progress is much too slow?”

Truthfully, considering Lou Yun started serious cultivation only at fifteen and, by seventeen, had ascended to become an intermediate three-star magical weapons master within two years, his progress was anything but slow; it was remarkably fast.

However, neither Chang Xiang nor Lou Yun himself saw it this way. Lou Yun longed for faster growth, while Chang Xiang’s urgency stemmed from the reappearance of the Nine Clans. Since the first, Helian Xingye, had emerged, a second, third, and potentially many more could follow.

His understanding of the Nine Clans’ true strength ran far deeper than Old Man Feng’s. In his view, Lou Yun’s present strength guaranteed only one outcome against the Nine Clans: death.

Lou Yun nodded. “Yes, I do feel the progress is slow. My plan was to earn some money after opening the common weapon shop, buy a few spiritual crystals to absorb spiritual energy and boost my cultivation. But now I’ve been assigned to escort the Princess. This back-and-forth will waste two whole months. I’m anxious too!”

Chang Xiang pondered silently. “There is another method… one that could significantly speed up your advancement. It’s risky, though. Are you willing to give it a try?”

Lou Yun’s interest immediately perked up. “What method? How risky?”

“Absorbing the energy within beast souls.”

“But wasn’t we taught that beast soul energy can’t be absorbed?”

Indeed, even children born on Spirit Weapon Star knew that while beast souls contained potent energy derived from demon beasts, this energy was violently infused with the beasts’ primal ferocity. Direct absorption risked mutation—uncontrollable bestial traits or other severe side effects in humans. Success required purification, a notoriously complex process where even small errors could obliterate the beast soul entirely, making it a thankless task. Thus, almost no one relied on this method for cultivation.

“Hence the risk! But you possess the Heavenly Fire Fusang. I can teach you to use Fusang Fire to refine beast souls. It works like forging weapons—purge impurities, retain purest energy. This refined essence, when absorbed, would accelerate your growth dramatically.”

“However, due to the unique nature of beast souls, many impurities are intrinsically bonded with the purified energy. Even you and I might overlook them. Ingesting these residues might seem harmless initially, but accumulated over time, they will cause harm. That’s the source of the danger.”

Lou Yun thought carefully. “What specific harm could it do?”

Chang Xiang gave him a profound look. “Numerous possibilities. You might spontaneously combust. Your bestial nature might intensify. Or you might descend into becoming… an evil weapons master.”

Lou Yun took a deep breath and asked no more. He needed time to seriously consider whether to attempt this perilous shortcut to power.

After a long deliberation, he suddenly grinned. “Brother Chang, I already cultivate the ‘Devour Weapons’ method—an art even you don’t fully comprehend. What more do I have to fear? I’ll learn it!”

Lou Yun’s answer drew a smile of understanding from Chang Xiang. “Good. Fetch a beast soul stone, any rank. I’ll teach you now.”

Though he’d crafted many common weapons, Lou Yun still carried a few beast souls. Naturally, the grades were low. He took out the most basic one—a beginner one-star beast soul.

“Begin by probing the interior with your spiritual sense.”

Lou Yun had inspected beast soul interiors before, albeit visually during weapon forging when they were melted down. This time, he examined it spiritually.

His sense revealed a small, egg-sized vortex pulsating at its core. A wisp of faint green shimmered in its center. Surrounding this vortex, both externally and within, floated countless minuscule specks resembling dust motes or buzzing insects—varying in size.

“See that vortex? That core mass holds the beast soul’s purest energy. The green wisp signifies its wood attribute. Don’t dwell on attributes like the five-element attributes—they’re expelled during refinement too. As for all those motes? Impurities. They must be refined away.”

“Others have attempted purifying beast souls. Most rely on flames. But bearers of Heavenly Fire are exceptionally rare. Common flames or fire generated by magical weapons masters utterly lack the precision Heavenly Fire commands over temperature.”

“Consequently, they either incinerate everything into oblivion or fail to remove the impurities entirely during purification."

Lou Yun nodded to show that he understood. "Then I’ll start refining it now!"

"Right, I forgot to tell you," Chang Xiang said. "The method I taught you to refine beast souls requires swallowing the beast soul into your body and sending it to the magical weapon’s dantian to be refined. The pure energy left after refining will be directly absorbed by the magical weapon to boost your cultivation!"

Lou Yun immediately widened his eyes, looking at the beast soul in his hand. He recalled how beast souls were physically ripped out from the bellies of demon beasts amidst bloody flesh, and felt nauseated. Now, he had to swallow it? How could he manage that!

Chang Xiang spread his hands helplessly. "I’ve taught you the method. The rest is up to you!"

After a brief internal struggle, Lou Yun closed his eyes. Swallow it? Fine. He held his breath, tossed the beast soul into his mouth, and forced it down.

He then urgently focused inwardly on his body. Using his spiritual energy, he drove the beast soul to his dantian, then summoned the Fusang Fire there too. Carefully controlling the temperature, he used the Fusang Fire to burn away the impurities in the beast soul.

The beast soul shrank slowly within the Fusang Fire, proving the impurities were gradually being incinerated.

Soon, the impurities outside the vortex mass burned away completely. But those inside it were trickier to remove, demanding expert control over the Fusang Fire’s heat.

In the end, working meticulously, Lou Yun refined the impurities from the beast soul. The originally egg-sized pure energy dwindled to the size of a fingernail—now utterly pure essence.

His magical weapon devoured this sliver of energy directly!

Lou Yun withdrew from his inward focus, his face lighting up with surprise. Though the energy was only fingernail-sized, it equaled the amount he’d absorb from spiritual energy in half a day!

This success fueled his hunger. Since he didn’t need rest and dawn was still far off, he pulled out all beast souls from his ring—only four pieces—and began refining them.

He no longer felt revulsion swallowing them. Calmly, he took one and ingested it, then incinerated it with the Fusang Fire.

By morning, he successfully absorbed the pure energy from five beast souls.

Though none were stronger than primary three-star, consuming five compensated for at least three days’ worth of absorbed spiritual energy. These were the lowest grade—higher-tier ones would yield even more. Refining beast souls, it seemed, wasn’t much slower than refining spiritual crystals!

Stretching, Lou Yun felt invigorated. He extended his spiritual sense, sensing that Wan Huier was still asleep next door. He headed downstairs to find the inn clerk.

"Sir, how can I help you?"

"I’d like to inquire—is there anywhere near here where demon beasts hide?"

Though he could buy beast souls, it would be costly. Besides, hunting demon beasts himself provided training. Not every demon beast contained a beast soul, though—it was luck-based.

Startled, the clerk scrutinized Lou Yun. "Young sir, why ask about demon beasts? Are you a mercenary?"

Mercenaries were specialists on Spirit Weapon Star: individuals or teams tackling tasks for profit. Their primary motive was wealth. For a fitting price, they took jobs of matching difficulty. Ancient Weapon Academy had adopted this model for student tasks but tempered its hazards.

Slaying demon beasts was common among mercenaries. Places lacking strong magical weapons masters but besieged by demon beasts pooled funds to hire mercenaries for help.

Lou Yun saw no point denying the clerk’s assumption. Smiling, he said, "Never mind who I am. Is there any place or not?"

"Well… yes, but far off! A thousand kilometers beyond this city lies Chiyan Mountain. Demon beasts lurk there—and bandits, word has it!" Lowering his voice, the clerk gave Lou Yun a doubtful look. "Forgive my boldness, sir, but you look rather frail. Avoid such dangers, I urge you!"

Lou Yun stifled a laugh, handing the clerk some coinage. He clapped him on the shoulder. "Ha! Thank you for your concern. Now, off to your work!"

Finding an empty table, Lou Yun sat down to await Wan Huier.

Soon, Wan Huier bounded downstairs. "Brother, you’re up so early! I even checked your room!"

"Come eat breakfast; we’re leaving today!"

"Oh!" She obeyed sweetly, sitting to eat steadily.

Seizing the moment, Lou Yun called the same clerk over and inquired about nearby horse vendors. Without mounts, the trip to Cang Lan Nation would be impossible.

After the clerk left, Wan Huier asked eagerly, "Brother Lou, where to next?"

Lou Yun gently tapped her forehead with a finger. "Next… I’m taking you to hunt some demon beasts!"