The fifth volume of the Divine Soul Technique proved effective indeed.
Inside a cultivation chamber of Lin Xian Sect’s Scripture Pavilion, Lian Yunzhi closed the book and once again employed his Divine Soul Force. He finally saw clearly the location of the Black Mist within his Knowledge Sea.
It was… inside his Primordial Spirit.
Lian Yunzhi was stunned.
He probed again and then understood why he had been unable to detect any trace of the Black Mist before—the massive Black Mist had condensed into a small black clump that burrowed into his Plant-Form Primordial Spirit. His Primordial Spirit had even closed its branches and leaves to wrap the black clump tightly. If his Divine Soul Force had not grown strong enough to penetrate the Primordial Spirit, he certainly would not have discovered any clue.
What shocked him even more came next.
Under his forced control, the Plant-Form Primordial Spirit slowly unfurled its branches and leaves, fully revealing the hidden Black Mist.
The Black Mist had condensed into an extremely small, dense, round clump that lay quietly on a small leaf, like a round beetle.
Lian Yunzhi hated bugs the most, but the moment he thought of Mu Cheng being inside that round ball—or rather, Mu Cheng being the round ball itself—his mood turned strangely wondrous.
The Plant-Form Primordial Spirit slowly extended a thin vine, curiously and gently poking the round ball.
Then, something even more shocking happened. The solid, dense, opaque black clump slowly dispersed like smoke, gradually fading to reveal… a person within the Black Mist.
A person even smaller than a beetle.
That person sat cross-legged in meditation, brow furrowed in deep thought, his expression solemn and serene. When he sensed the Black Mist dissipate, he slowly opened his eyes—it was Mu Cheng.
Or rather, Mu Cheng’s Primordial Spirit.
Lian Yunzhi was utterly dumbfounded.
How could Mu Cheng’s Primordial Spirit be inside his own Primordial Spirit?!
The tiny Mu Cheng, smaller than a beetle, “looked” toward Lian Yunzhi’s Divine Sense and silently drew the Black Mist over to cover his body. He spoke, his familiar voice resounding in Lian Yunzhi’s mind.
【Do you remember… you once placed… a Spirit Capturing Grass-formed soul fragment… next to my Primordial Spirit?】
Lian Yunzhi blinked. He remembered now.
After digesting a portion of the Black Mist power, Mu Cheng’s voice was no longer as sluggish and labored as at the beginning; it carried more strength. After a brief pause, he spoke again.
【At that moment when my soul scattered… your Spirit Capturing Grass soul fragment captured a part of my Primordial Spirit… and brought it back to your Knowledge Sea.】
“Then what about the rest of your Primordial Spirit?” Lian Yunzhi asked.
【It has already dissipated and decomposed, turning into the winds of Xiaoze State, falling into the soil of Xiaoze State… I should have become a part of Xiaoze State… It was only because you preserved this wisp of Primordial Spirit that I retained my consciousness…】
This speech was long, and by the end, Mu Cheng’s aura weakened. Lian Yunzhi hurriedly stopped him. “Alright, don’t speak anymore. Rest. Oh, right—do you want more Black Mist?”
【Yes…】
Lian Yunzhi immediately took out the Pure Bottle to absorb more Black Mist.
【Zhi Zhi, there’s something… I want to tell you.】
After absorbing the Black Mist, Mu Cheng did not rest but spoke again. This time, his voice was very soft and faint, as if he were hesitating over something.
Lian Yunzhi: “Go ahead.”
【Although my Primordial Spirit is incomplete… it is now all that remains of me…】
Lian Yunzhi: “And then?”
Mu Cheng paused, a hint of trepidation in his tone.
【The moment I awoke and regained my senses… my Primordial Spirit had already unconsciously fused completely with yours…】
Lian Yunzhi froze.
A complete fusion of Primordial Spirits? Wasn’t that Divine Soul Dual Cultivation? When had that happened? Why had he felt nothing?
【During the time you were asleep due to physical discomfort… but it was very brief. You didn’t notice…】
…
【Zhi Zhi?】
【…Are you angry?】
Lian Yunzhi snapped back to his senses. “Ah, why would I be angry?”
【Angry that we are now bound tightly together, inseparable even by death.】
It sounded quite serious. Lian Yunzhi felt he ought to be angry, but strangely, he was not.
“Oh,” he heard himself say. “Does that mean from now on, I can share my life force and Divine Soul Force with you?”
Mu Cheng fell silent.
A moment later, he suddenly laughed. 【Zhi Zhi.】
Lian Yunzhi: “Hm?”
In the Knowledge Sea, atop the Primordial Spirit, the little figure representing Mu Cheng’s Primordial Spirit suddenly blurred. It no longer remained as solid as before but turned into mist, into water, into black sand, and abruptly burrowed into the Plant-Form Primordial Spirit!
Lian Yunzhi’s pupils dilated sharply.
An unprecedented sensation assaulted his entire body, like lightning striking him. It did not hurt but felt numbing. Goosebumps spread from the back of his neck across his skin, even his body hair trembling. Lian Yunzhi had to bite his lower lip tightly to avoid letting out an improper whimper, while his fingers on his knees trembled uncontrollably.
Lian Yunzhi clearly sensed his own Primordial Spirit turning into mist, into water, into grains of sand, intertwining tightly with Mu Cheng’s Primordial Spirit. They invaded each other and enveloped each other, like water merging with water, like clay sinking into clay.
At the same time, flashes of white light burst before Lian Yunzhi’s eyes. Countless memories and scenes flooded into his Knowledge Sea.
He saw the truly young Mu Cheng from ten thousand years ago—his pride, his innocence, and the shock and pain when disaster struck. He saw Little Mu Cheng after countless reincarnations ten thousand years later. He saw the filthy world through Mu Cheng’s eyes and saw himself as Mu Cheng had first beheld him at the Immortal Assembly Banquet.
They had achieved complete Primordial Spirit fusion, Divine Soul Dual Cultivation. They shared all memories and emotions, attaining true honesty with each other. They had placed another version of themselves within each other’s souls.
When everything ended, Lian Yunzhi’s cultivation had unknowingly advanced to Mid Soul Transformation. Mu Cheng had absorbed all the Black Mist, leaving only a thin layer of mist as clothing. His size had also grown much larger—when he sat on a leaf of Lian Yunzhi’s Primordial Spirit, he could bend it down.
Lian Yunzhi slowly opened his eyes.
“Mu Cheng.”
His voice was still unconsciously hoarse and trembling, but his face showed no expression—only his eyes hid anger.
Mu Cheng: “…”
Even though Mu Cheng’s Primordial Spirit was so small that its facial features were blurry, a layer of guilt faintly emerged at that moment. 【I’m sorry.】
Lian Yunzhi: “…”
The other had surrendered too quickly; Lian Yunzhi could not even sustain his anger.
But he still kept a stern face and interrogated him angrily. “When exactly did we perform Divine Soul Dual Cultivation before?”
Through their Divine Soul Dual Cultivation, they had shared all memories and emotions. Lian Yunzhi naturally realized that before this, they had never fully fused Primordial Spirits—the previous instance Mu Cheng mentioned had only been a partial fusion. Mu Cheng had noticed it in time and hurriedly withdrawn his Primordial Spirit from Lian Yunzhi’s, leaving himself weakened for a long time and unable to communicate with Lian Yunzhi at all in the beginning.
That time had been incomplete, but this time it was genuine, complete, and utter Divine Soul Dual Cultivation.
Guilt lingered in Mu Cheng’s expression, but his voice grew muffled. 【Do you not want to perform Divine Soul Dual Cultivation with me?】
Lian Yunzhi: “…”
Was that the issue?!
The problem was—
Lian Yunzhi: “You liar!”
【Yes, I’m a liar.】
Lian Yunzhi: “…”
Lian Yunzhi was still very angry. He thought for a moment and loudly accused, “You’ve deceived me so many times. When you were little, you used to sneak into my room like a thief to watch me sleep, but that time in the alley, you claimed you didn’t know me and deliberately provoked me!”
【Yes, I did it on purpose. I provoked you to make you take me away because I’m wicked and have always harbored improper thoughts toward you. Before, I coveted your aura; now, I covet your affection.】
Lian Yunzhi: “…”
Lian Yunzhi felt his angry blood inch by inch climb to his face, making even his ear roots burn hot.
“…Liar.”
Lian Yunzhi finally muttered his accusation unwillingly.
【Zhi Zhi.】
“Hm?”
“Why aren’t you speaking?”
…
In the end, Lian Yunzhi never heard Mu Cheng’s next words because Mu Cheng’s Primordial Spirit curled up and gently pressed its cheek against a leaf of Lian Yunzhi’s Primordial Spirit.
In that moment of shallow Primordial Spirit fusion.
Lian Yunzhi sensed a joy as surging and scorching as a volcanic eruption… and love.
