Chapter 783 - 768: Zuo Wentian’s Strange Transformation

Originally...

Every time Zuo Wentian had nearly recovered, he would end up expending a great deal of Soul Power for Shen Lang’s sake. Shen Lang was genuinely starting to feel a little bad about it.

If this kept up, who knew how long it would take for Zuo Wentian to condense a physical body...

But this time, something seemed off?

Just as Shen Lang had this thought, Zuo Wentian spoke up...

"Master... I feel... something is a bit off right now..."

Zuo Wentian’s voice was filled with hesitation and confusion.

"Yes, I’ve noticed it too." Shen Lang’s eyes held the same inexpressible doubt.

In Shen Lang’s view, Zuo Wentian had used his self-created, ultimate Saber Skill, the "Heaven-Questioning Saber," to save him this time. Theoretically, this should have consumed far more power than any previous occasion.

But now, Zuo Wentian hadn’t fallen into a deep slumber as expected. On the contrary, he was quite energetic!

Shen Lang activated his Silver Eyes of Truth and began to inspect Zuo Wentian’s Soul Body. The more he looked, the more alarmed he became...

’How could something like this happen!’

Under the scrutiny of Shen Lang’s Silver Eyes of Truth, all the changes occurring within Zuo Wentian’s soul were revealed one by one.

Previously, his soul and power were fused, meaning that every bit of power used was a bit of Soul Power lost. But this time, that hadn’t happened at all!

Without him having converted to the Ghost Dao, Zuo Wentian’s soul and power were actually beginning to separate naturally under the influence of the Life Spiritual Power.

His power was depleted, but his soul’s own power had barely been consumed!

Even with Shen Lang’s vast knowledge, he found this situation difficult to comprehend...

Generally speaking, there are three types of Soul Bodies in this world.

The first type is the ordinary Soul Body.

The soul of someone like Shui Ningxin, who was killed by the Third Prince, or the Beast Souls collected by Yuwen Huaji on the Tala Prairie using the Ten Thousand Beasts Circle, are all ordinary Soul Bodies.

This type of Soul Body lacks autonomy, is relatively weak, and is difficult to cultivate.

Like wandering ghosts, if they don’t enter Reincarnation and aren’t protected by some Magical Treasure or Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, their power will gradually fade until they dissipate completely and perish forever.

The second type is the Nascent Soul, formed by the fusion of soul and power. Demon Beasts can condense a Nascent Soul after reaching the Tenth Level, and Human Race Martial Artists can do so after reaching the King Martial Realm.

This Nascent Soul is a fusion of soul and power, containing an unimaginably tyrannical strength within it.

Although a Nascent Soul is formidable, once it loses its physical body, it’s like a broken vessel for power, and that power will continuously leak away.

Take a powerful existence like Zuo Wentian, for example. Having lost his physical body, even with a strong soul, he is still far weaker than when he had a body.

The third type is a Soul Body that has entered the Ghost Dao.

The Ghost King and Aragon, who was subdued in the Hungry Ghost Dao, belong to this category.

The biggest difference between a Soul Body that has entered the Ghost Dao and a Nascent Soul is...

...the soul and power are separate. They can begin practicing Cultivation Techniques or grow stronger by devouring other Soul Bodies.

A comparison between Zuo Wentian and the Ghost King makes it very clear...

Within Zuo Wentian’s Nascent Soul, his soul and power are fused and difficult to separate.

Even though it has been greatly strengthened by the Life Spiritual Liquid, he becomes much weaker every time he uses his power.

This is because the power he unleashes isn’t just power, but also the power of his soul. This is generally called Soul Power.

Soul Power is extremely difficult to recover. Once it’s exhausted, the soul will scatter.

But with the Ghost King, his soul and power are separate. The soul is the vessel that contains the power. Although the two are very closely intertwined, they are in fact independent.

It’s just like an ordinary Martial Artist’s Pill Sea and physical body. After the Spiritual Power in the Pill Sea is used up, the Martial Artist will be extremely fatigued, but they definitely won’t die. Moreover, this power can be slowly recovered through Cultivation Techniques or over time.

Because of this difference, the great Shui Tianji of the King Martial Realm Fifth Heaven could only flee in panic after her body was destroyed by Hong Yu. Not only was she weak, but she didn’t dare to use her power rashly.

Yet the Ghost King, whose Cultivation was much weaker, could run around freely without worrying about his soul weakening when he used his power.

The difference between Zuo Wentian’s soul and the Ghost King’s is like the difference between all the King Martial Realm experts in the world and the Ghost Cultivators of the Thousand Soul Hall.

Although Zuo Wentian had lost his memories, the dignity and obsession of an expert remained, and he was still fixated on the Saber Dao.

Therefore, Zuo Wentian neither wanted to convert to the Ghost Dao nor be reborn through Possession.

If he were to convert to the Ghost Dao, once he entered, there would be no turning back.

If he were to be reborn through Possession, he might never be able to return to his former Peak Realm.

That’s why Zuo Wentian wanted to use the Life Spiritual Liquid to continuously strengthen his soul and eventually reforge his physical body!

But now, an inexplicable and strange mutation had occurred in Zuo Wentian’s Soul Body...

Even though he hadn’t converted to the Ghost Dao or practiced any Ghost Dao Technique, and even though his soul and power were still very tightly combined, when he used his power...

...he barely consumed any of his soul’s strength!

Under the influence of the Life Spiritual Power, his power and soul had actually begun to separate on their own!

After circling Zuo Wentian a few times, Shen Lang finally stopped and said with a wry smile, "To be honest, I don’t really understand how Life Spiritual Power can have such an effect either. This is completely unprecedented."

"But all in all, this is a good thing... Not only has your soul become purer and more condensed, but your power and soul are separating without you needing to enter the Ghost Dao. In the future, using your power won’t consume much of your soul’s strength, and eventually, it might not consume any at all."

"At this rate, if you continue to consume the Life Spiritual Liquid, it won’t even take ten years before you have the chance to directly reconstruct your physical body from your soul!"

Zuo Wentian was both shocked and overjoyed. "Just ten years? Is that all? This Life Spiritual Liquid is truly a heaven-defying treasure!"

For an expert like Zuo Wentian, whose body had been destroyed and soul damaged, even ten thousand years might not be enough to recover.

Let alone directly reforging a body from his soul.

Ten years was barely enough time for a good nap!

If before, Zuo Wentian was merely astonished by the mystery of the Life Spiritual Liquid and the power of Shen Lang, holding onto a sliver of hope for rebuilding his body...

...then what Shen Lang just said was no longer a simple matter of hope!

This was a direct confirmation of the timeframe for reforging his body!

Just ten years!

Even with Zuo Wentian’s disposition, he couldn’t suppress his ecstasy at this moment!

Shen Lang nodded and added, "As long as there’s a continued supply of Life Spiritual Liquid, it probably won’t even take ten years... And once you succeed in rebuilding your body, not only will you quickly surpass your former Peak Cultivation, but there’s a high chance you’ll even exceed it!"

’Surpass my peak...’ Zuo Wentian had always had complete faith in Shen Lang’s words.

Hearing this was like taking a calming pill; the heart that had been hanging in suspense finally settled.

"Then what should I do from now on, Master?"

Shen Lang pondered for a moment before saying, "It’s simple. I’ll pass on a peerless Cultivation Technique from the Thousand Soul Hall to you. You’ll start cultivating according to the technique I give you!"

"To be able to cultivate and grow stronger without entering the Ghost Dao... you are absolutely the first person in the world to do so!"

"With your talent, cultivating a Secret Skill of the Thousand Soul Hall will definitely shorten the time needed to reforge your body by a large margin!"

Without further hesitation, Shen Lang directly transmitted the Heart Method of the Thousand Soul Hall’s Ghost Emperor’s Secret Skill, the "Soul-Devouring Infinite Technique," to Zuo Wentian.

"This is the ’Soul-Devouring Infinite Technique,’ the peerless Secret Skill of the Thousand Soul Hall’s Ghost Emperor. Cultivating this technique will allow your soul to condense by leaps and bounds... However, unless it’s absolutely necessary, don’t use this technique in front of others, because I promised him I wouldn’t pass it on to anyone," Shen Lang instructed.

"The Thousand Soul Hall’s Ghost Emperor? The Ghost Emperor who is no weaker than the Five Directions Emperor?" Zuo Wentian asked in shock.

Shen Lang chuckled. "Well, anyway, the one who promised the Ghost Emperor not to pass it on to others... wasn’t me. Heh."

Having found himself such an excuse, Shen Lang gave a sly laugh, feeling even more at ease with his decision.

"Besides, I’m only giving it to you to consolidate and strengthen your soul, not for you to show off everywhere. Just try to use it as little as possible in the future... If he finds out, it could be a lot of trouble."

Once Zuo Wentian had memorized the "Soul-Devouring Infinite Technique," Shen Lang spoke again. "We’ve probably only scratched the surface of the benefits of this Life Spiritual Liquid... If you notice anything unusual during your cultivation in the future, tell me as soon as possible... The effects of using any treasure blindly versus using it with purpose and focus are vastly different."

Zuo Wentian hastily replied, "I understand, Master."

"Right, have you still not remembered anything about your ’Heaven-Questioning Saber’ Skill?" Shen Lang suddenly recalled this and couldn’t help but ask.

When Zuo Wentian’s accident happened all those years ago, the War Emperor hadn’t even been born yet. But Shen Lang knew everything recorded about Zuo Wentian in the War God Hall archives crystal clear.

When he first took Zuo Wentian as his disciple, Shen Lang had already set his sights on this "Heaven-Questioning Saber."

Unfortunately, the fellow had forgotten everything, and in the end, Shen Lang only managed to get the "Demon Blade Technique" from him.

Although the "Demon Blade Technique" was also extremely powerful, compared to the "Heaven-Questioning Saber," it paled in comparison.

Back in the day, when Zuo Wentian unleashed his "Heaven-Questioning Saber," even the Five Directions Emperor would have to give him a wide berth. How domineering, how majestic!

With this one saber strike, he roamed the world, rarely meeting his match!

His might was truly awe-inspiring, echoing through the ages!

It was just a pity that the guy must have had a screw loose somewhere. He went courting death, and in the end, not only did he get a group of experts killed, but he also lost his own life in the process...

A rising star had fallen just like that.

Leaving only the Celestial Purity Sect barely clinging to life.

...

Hearing Shen Lang’s question, Zuo Wentian asked with some hesitation and an odd expression, "My... my saber strike is called the ’Heaven-Questioning Saber’?"

Shen Lang gave a wry laugh. "You already called out the name when you used the strike. Don’t tell me you still don’t remember anything?"