Chapter 136: Soul Power and Primordial Spirit Explained

As the Clear Wind Ancestor crushed the jade tablets, all four men inside the Soul-Locking Tower spat out blood.

Although this treasure could trap people, once there were occupants inside, it could no longer be stored in a Storage Bag, though its size could be shrunk by a certain proportion.

The small tower remained in Zhang Zuo’s hand, while Qin Xiao watched with curiosity, naturally noticing the four figures spitting blood.

“Zhang Zuo, what’s going on here? Didn’t you say everything was fine? Why are all four of them spitting blood?”

Qin Xiao asked with some concern.

“Don’t worry, Boss. The blood means that old bastard Clear Wind has acted. This treasure can lock souls, but the restrictions are strong enough to affect them a little. It isn’t serious. They’ll live.”

Zhang Zuo hurriedly explained.

Moreover, the Dharma Treasure was primarily designed for confinement, with soul-locking serving as merely one of its functions. Naturally, it could not provide complete defense, but preserving their lives should not be an issue.

“Good. Does that mean the restrictions are gone?”

Qin Xiao asked curiously.

“Boss, it isn’t that simple. The remote method is broken, but the restrictions inside them remain. Locking their souls also makes the other side think they’re dead. We can only let them out after the restrictions are fully removed.”

Zhang Zuo continued his explanation.

“Wait, that doesn’t add up. They must have left Soul Tablets in the Clear Wind Sect to monitor their life and death. Isn’t this method just deceiving ourselves?”

Qin Xiao suddenly recalled the existence of Soul Tablets, realizing this method had a flaw.

Thinking of Soul Tablets, Qin Xiao remembered that his own Soul Tablet was still back in the Tianyuan Sect. He needed to figure out a way to have his second disciple steal it back; otherwise, his life and death would remain an open book, ruining any future plans to fake his death.

“Boss, I thought of that before I suggested this. I can’t make these restrictions, but I’ve heard of them. A person has to surrender ten percent of their Soul Power to make a Blood-Soul Tablet. They coughed blood because that Soul Power was damaged. When I took them into the Soul-Locking Tower, their link to their Soul Tablets was cut. But those tablets don’t break at once. They still link to the Blood Tablet with that ten percent of Soul Power. Only when the Blood Tablet breaks will the Soul Tablet break too.”

Though complicated, Zhang Zuo laid it out in detail for Qin Xiao.

A person’s Soul Power resembles an intricate web, where every fraction of severed Soul Power remains linked to the main soul. These individuals had split their Soul Power into two additional locations, meaning including the main soul, there were three points of Soul Power forming a triangular relationship. The Soul Tablet’s power was extremely weak, so once the main soul disconnected, it should have shattered.

Yet because the Blood Tablet containing ten percent of their Soul Power remained, that fraction was enough to keep the Soul Tablet intact for a time. However, if the disconnection persisted too long, the Blood Tablet would eventually wither and shatter on its own due to losing its tie to the main soul.

That was why some great experts could seize bodies and be reborn, or reincarnate and cultivate again, even as remnant souls. Their stronger Soul Power was depleted more slowly. Even a small portion could give them a chance at rebirth if the right opportunity arose. Read the latest chapters at novelping dot com.

Qin Xiao didn’t understand much about Soul Power, but he did have something that increased it: the Saint Origin Spirit Fruit. Did that mean a Primordial Spirit was Soul Power?

“Master’s Wife, is Soul Power the same thing as a Primordial Spirit?”

Qin Xiao asked Ye Qiuyue with a puzzled expression.

“Yes and no. You could say they’re two forms of the same thing.”

Ye Qiuyue replied.

“What does that mean? I don’t follow.”

Qin Xiao was lost. What did she mean, two sides of one thing? It sounded like the dual nature of light.

“I can only explain it clearly once you possess a Primordial Spirit. Some matters simply cannot be understood through mere words.”

Not knowing how else to break it down, Ye Qiuyue offered only that.

“Master’s Wife, just indulge me a little. You know my situation-where am I supposed to conjure up a Primordial Spirit right now?”

The more vague she was, the more curious Qin Xiao became.

“All right, if you insist. I’ll try, but it’s complicated, and I can’t explain it very clearly either.”

Seeing that Sword Flight was tedious anyway and Qin Xiao remained inquisitive, Ye Qiuyue decided to elaborate.

Soul Power was a person’s foundation. Together with the body, it made a complete person.

Soul Power grew through cultivation, but eventually it became a limit on further progress. After countless predecessors explored the problem, the concept of the Primordial Spirit emerged: a development of Soul Power that could take its place and grow alongside cultivation.

The capacity of a physical body is finite. To transcend mortal limits and push further along the path of cultivation, one must manifest Soul Power into a Primordial Spirit.

Cultivation was considered the pursuit of immortality from Qi Condensation onward. But truly transcending the mortal body and entering the immortal path began at Soul Formation.

After Soul Formation, a cultivator was on another level. Soul Power was still Soul Power, while the Primordial Spirit had everything Soul Power did. It could also be considered Soul Power.

If a Soul Formation cultivator’s body died, an escaping Primordial Spirit could let them rebuild a body or seize another and be reborn, since it had all the functions of Soul Power. If their Primordial Spirit was destroyed, they would not die; they would be badly injured and fall below Soul Formation.

Soul Power is you. Your Primordial Spirit is also you, but you in a cultivated form. The two coexist. As long as they have not been exhausted to death, either one surviving means there is still a chance. If they are slowly depleted, they replenish each other until both have completely dissipated. This chapter was copied from novelping dot com without permission.

Thus, they can be considered one entity or separate ones, yet both originate from Soul Power.

Precisely because of this characteristic, once Duan Mingfei reached the Soul Formation stage, Clear Wind Ancestor layered additional restrictions upon him. Otherwise, Duan Mingfei could have abandoned his physical shell entirely and fled with his Primordial Spirit, seeking out a suitable body to attempt rebirth.

Rebirth was not guaranteed. Failure meant complete dissipation, and the odds of success were low. Most would not risk it unless their lives were at stake.

Unfortunately, the Clear Wind Ancestor had anticipated this. Duan Mingfei’s blood jade contained the Soul-Burning Art and the Spirit-Burning Art. Once the restriction activated, both his Soul Power and Primordial Spirit would burn away completely. There was no escape.

Even after hearing all that, Qin Xiao only half understood. What was all this? His head was in a muddle.

“So… it’s Soul Power when we aren’t fighting, and a Primordial Spirit when we are?”

Qin Xiao ventured.

“How should I put it… you can interpret it that way, though it isn’t entirely accurate. Just think of it like that for now.”

Finding herself tangled in her own explanation, Ye Qiuyue simply let Qin Xiao settle on whatever interpretation he preferred.

It was one thing in two forms, one whole that could also separate. How was she supposed to explain that? She might as well call Soul Power the Primordial Spirit. At least Qin Xiao could understand that.

“So that’s how it is. I think I understand a bit now.”

Qin Xiao answered with only a hazy understanding.

“Good. When we get back to Tianyi City, ask at the Immortal Dao Merchant Association. They may have a way to remove the restrictions, or know an expert who can.”

Ye Qiuyue instructed Qin Xiao.

“That was precisely my thought.”

Qin Xiao nodded in agreement.

The Immortal Dao Merchant Association was the most powerful group Qin Xiao had access to. Fortunately, they were friends. The association was no ordinary organization.