Bang!
There was no sound, but Zhou Ming felt there should have been one to mark this moment.
Ha Tu Gu's Soul exploded, turning into countless specks of starlight. The remaining Soul Power merged into Zhou Ming's Soul, quickly mending his incomplete Soul.
The Soul Splitting Art took effect, completely eradicating all of Ha Tu Gu's will, leaving no trace behind.
"It really worked," Zhou Ming said, relieved, after a thorough check.
This particular Soul Splitting Art was one of several methods he had found in the Main God exchange list he'd recorded, which might resolve the drawbacks of the Soul Devouring Refining Scripture.
Fortunately, the first method worked.
However... Zhou Ming sensed that his Soul foundation had not only failed to improve, but had actually decreased slightly.
The lost Soul foundation came from the part of Ha Tu Gu that had been split off.
A very important point of the Soul Splitting Art was that the stronger the split Soul, the greater the gain after destroying it.
If the Cultivator of this Demonic Technique was overly cautious and unwilling to take risks, and the split Soul was too weak, they would end up like Zhou Ming, unable to even recover their capital, and instead suffering a loss.
However, Zhou Ming's original goal was to destroy the remnant will that didn't belong to him. As for the lost Soul foundation, it could be seen as normal wear and tear.
He would only gain more through Soul Devour Refining.
By now, Zhou Ming had finally begun to construct his own Soul Cultivation system.
He would use the Soul Devouring Refining Scripture to devour Souls, the Hell Soul Cleansing Scripture to reduce the opponent's share of the Soul, and finally, the Soul Splitting Art to directly split off and destroy that small portion of the Soul.
Although this system was not yet perfect, it was sufficient for Zhou Ming at this stage, allowing his Soul Power to rapidly increase to a relatively powerful level in a short time.
"Everything is done, so it's time to leave."
Now, the time flow ratio between the Main God Space and the Gu World had become one to nine, making time in the Main God Space incredibly precious.
Zhou Ming didn't want to stay long, nor did he inform Qin Wumeng that he had returned. He left the Main God Space again, returning to the Gu World... before his eyes was still that familiar purple stone pillar.
Zhou Ming remained still, his full attention focused on the items he had just exchanged for and brought over from the Main God Space.
Within blurry halos, Gu after Gu emerged, freshly refined.
Ice Burst Gu (Magic Scroll: Ice Storm), Sharpness Gu (Rune Stone: Sharpness), Barrier Gu (Defense Jade Pendant), Wind Movement Pill Gu (Wind Movement Pill), Metal Stone Gu (Alchemy Tool)... The various power systems of the Main God Space were as numerous as the stars. Each newly formed Gu represented a different system.
Zhou Ming put away all the Gu, composed his expression, and his gaze fell once again on the stone pillar before him.
At the base of the stone pillar was a natural stone stool, its surface smooth, as if someone often sat there.
Zhou Ming sat on the stone stool, took out a dagger, cut his palm, and smeared the blood overflowing from his palm onto the purple stone pillar. Then, he softly spoke the two-word secret phrase: "I want."
The next moment, his figure suddenly vanished.
It felt like a Main God teleportation. Zhou Ming only felt the environment change before his eyes, having moved from the silent stone forest to an ancient, elegant room.
"Success!" Zhou Ming felt a thrill of excitement rise in his heart as he looked around.
Before him stood a half-human-tall bronze cauldron, with a blue flame burning beneath it. White smoke swirled within the cauldron, and clouds of Qi lingered above it, constantly transforming into various animal shapes: cloud horses, cloud birds, fierce beasts, strange flowers, and exotic plants, dazzling and colorful.
Standing before the large cauldron was an old man, tall and slender, with a youthful Face and white hair, ruddy complexion, and sparkling eyes. Dressed in a long, flowing robe, his beard and hair drifted in the wind, giving him an Immortal-like demeanor. He was intently observing the changes within the large cauldron.
Seeing this, Zhou Ming did not disturb the old man, and quietly watched everything unfold.
The swirling clouds of Qi gradually contracted, eventually all falling into the large cauldron, merging with the white smoke within. Slowly, a Gu formed entirely of smoke gradually took shape, emitting wisps of white smoke.
The old man laughed heartily, and with a wave of his sleeve, the Gu fell into his sleeve, and all the unusual phenomena vanished.
"This junior, Zhou Ming, a descendant of Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable, greets Senior Land Spirit. Congratulations, Senior, on your successful Gu Refinement!"
"You are a descendant of the Demon Venerable?" Lang Ya Land Spirit looked at Zhou Ming with a cheerful smile, then couldn't help but boast, "This Cloud Smoke Gu is a Gu recipe from hundreds of thousands of years ago. The current environment has changed, and many of the Materials for Gu Refinement have become extinct. However, I still managed to refine it. As expected of me, hahahaha..."
Lang Ya Land Spirit put his hands on his hips and laughed heartily without any restraint. The Immortal image he had just established was instantly shattered by himself, completely gone.
Noticing Zhou Ming's strange gaze, Lang Ya Land Spirit stopped laughing, flicked his sleeve, and put his hands behind his back.
"Since you are a descendant of the Demon Venerable, speak the secret password of the agreement back then."
Zhou Ming laughed heartily, "The secret password agreed upon by the Demon Venerable back then was that there was no secret password! Land Spirit, am I right?"
Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable's real name was Benjason. Like Zhou Ming, he was a Transmigrator, but he came from a technological planet where mechs were prevalent, so his thinking was more unconventional. He had agreed upon this "no secret password secret password" with Old Ancestor Long Hair.
"Hmm, not bad, not bad," Lang Ya Land Spirit said, stroking his long beard and nodding with a smile.
"Young man, since you can come here, you should know my identity. Speak, what Gu do you want to refine?"
"But I must tell you in advance, although you have three chances for me to refine Gu, if you refine an Immortal Gu, even if the Refinement fails, it counts as one chance."
"You also know that Immortal Gu are difficult to refine. If your luck is bad, perhaps all three chances will be wasted, leaving you empty-handed and gaining nothing."
"If it's a Mortal Gu, no matter how many times it fails, I will definitely refine a finished product and give it to you."
"Young man, have you decided what Gu you want to refine?"
Lang Ya Land Spirit's tone was calm, seemingly light and breezy, yet an invisible pressure descended.
If Zhou Ming didn't know the inside story, he might have been pressured by this, and in his nervousness, made a hasty decision.
But how could Zhou Ming not know the inside story?
He chuckled lightly and said indifferently, "I'm not here to ask you to refine Gu. I just came to see what the former Old Ancestor Long Hair, who turned into a Land Spirit after his death, looks like."
"Now it seems he's nothing special. I really don't feel at ease asking you to refine Gu."
"What? What did you say?!" Lang Ya Land Spirit immediately flew into a rage, his imposing aura erupting, his beard and hair standing on end. A heavy pressure like a mountain pressed down on Zhou Ming.
"You dare to say my Gu Refinement is no good? Brat, do you even know who I am?!"
Zhou Ming endured the heavy pressure and sneered, "Lang Ya Land Spirit, you are merely a remnant obsession of Old Ancestor Long Hair. How much of Old Ancestor Long Hair's ability could you inherit? Moreover, Old Ancestor Long Hair died countless years ago. You old fossil are long outdated!"
"Ah! Ahhh!" Lang Ya Land Spirit was so angry that smoke seemed to pour from his seven orifices, and fire shot from his eyes.
If it were any other Gu Master who dared to speak to him like this, he would have slapped them to death long ago. But this person before him was a descendant of the Demon Venerable, and before the three Gu agreement was fulfilled, he absolutely could not actively harm Zhou Ming.
Watching Lang Ya Land Spirit's furious appearance, Zhou Ming secretly laughed. On the surface, he still maintained a mocking expression and added another jab, "The Gu World is developing rapidly day by day. Leaving aside other things, I'm afraid you don't even recognize the Gu that have appeared in recent years, do you? You only know how to cling to old recipes from a million years ago. The times have already abandoned you!"
"Nonsense!" Lang Ya Land Spirit's eyes were wide and round, as if he wanted to devour Zhou Ming, as he shouted, "You stinking brat know nothing! I have the Reaching Heaven Gu to communicate with Treasure Yellow Heaven. I am perfectly clear about the development and changes of all Paths in the Five Regions and Nine Heavens!"
"Heh heh!" Zhou Ming said with a look of disdain, "Really? I don't believe it."
"You dare not believe me! Why don't you believe me?!" Lang Ya Land Spirit was so angry that he grabbed Zhou Ming's collar, his large Face close to Zhou Ming's, shouting loudly, his spit almost splashing onto Zhou Ming's Face.
"Take out all the Gu on you! Come on, I'll identify them one by one for you!"
He took the bait!
Zhou Ming almost burst out laughing in his heart, but on the surface, he still maintained an obnoxious, disdainful look and said, "If you tell me to take them out, and I do, then wouldn't I lose a lot of Face?"
"You! You, you, you..." Lang Ya Land Spirit's finger trembled as he pointed at Zhou Ming, too angry to speak.
Zhou Ming knew the timing was about right. Further provoking Lang Ya Land Spirit might affect his subsequent efforts to gain favor, so he pretended to ponder and said,
"Land Spirit, I know you're very unconvinced, but if I just take out the Gu on me for you to identify, it's really not very interesting."
"How about this, let's make a bet? If you can identify what kind of Gu I take out, then I'll give that Gu to you. Conversely, you'll have to give me a Gu, and I'll get to decide what kind of Gu it is. How about it?"
Zhou Ming's words made Lang Ya Land Spirit pause, then he burst out laughing, "Good, this method is good! Young man, I will show you with actual actions what it means to be a frog at the bottom of a well, and how cleverness can backfire! When I win all the Gu on you, don't cry then!"
"Ha, coincidentally, that's exactly what I wanted to say to you," Zhou Ming said eagerly, "Let's start quickly!"
Just as Zhou Ming was about to take out a Gu, Lang Ya Land Spirit suddenly shouted, "Wait a minute!"
He suddenly realized a problem: from the moment this young man appeared here until now, everything seemed to have been planned by him long ago.
In other words, this young man probably really had prepared Gu that he was confident Lang Ya Land Spirit wouldn't recognize.
After all, the world was vast, and there were too many Gu. Lang Ya Land Spirit couldn't claim to recognize all the Gu in the world.
Especially Mortal Gu, new ones were created every day, and it was even more impossible for Lang Ya Land Spirit to know all of them.
If this young man had planned it all along to trick him out of his precious Gu... But he had already spoken his words, and now he couldn't just take them back.
Lang Ya Land Spirit's eyes darted around, and he had an idea.
"What, Lang Ya Land Spirit, are you scared?" Zhou Ming mocked.
"No, I want to make three rules with you," Lang Ya Land Spirit said with a smile, stroking his beard.