Chapter Five Road

  One night without words, Zhao Yajing held her wedding dress in her arms and sat beside Zong Yin for the whole night. It wasn't until dawn when the wedding sedan chair stopped at the west wing's door that she seemed to come back to herself, and with the help of the maid, she put on the wedding dress.

  "Mother, indeed a woman in a wedding dress is the most beautiful."

  Zong Yin had also recovered after two days of recuperation, and stood beside Zhao Ya Jing who was meticulously dressed up, a genuine smile spreading across his face.

  "Be careful outside, remember what I told you, I'll be waiting for your return here, don't disappoint mom, let everyone see that my son is not inferior to others!"

  Zhao Yajing's face showed no joy, tightly grasping Zong Yin's hand, her tone was full of expectation.

  Zong Yin's face always wore a smile, trying to make Zhao Yajing's mood a little more relaxed, and nodded firmly.

  "It's time for you to get into the bridal sedan chair, madam. Don't worry, I'll take good care of things here."

  Mu Zongguan lifted the red curtain of Zhao Yajing's bridal sedan and said to her.

  Zhao Yajing took a deep look at Zong Yin, as if to imprint his appearance in her mind, and then resolutely turned her head and entered the bridal sedan.

  "Let's get started!"

  Under the command of Mu Zongguan, countless firecrackers and drums sounded throughout the entire Jiuhuang City, and amidst the lively scene, a new day also arrived in Jiuhuang City.

  "Young master, the several pieces of land and good fields outside the city, the two wine houses in the city, and a money house have all been transferred to your and your wife's name. This is the Soul Refining Technique you wanted, everything has been arranged properly, we should also set off now."

  As the wedding sedan chair was about to leave the mansion's main gate and start its tour around the city, Mu Zongguan took out a thread-bound book from his bosom, walked up to Zong Yin, pointed to the back door, and made a gesture of invitation towards him.

  Zong Yin took the Soul Refining Manual from Mu's hand, nodded slightly, and walked towards the back door. A somewhat old-fashioned horse carriage had been waiting here for a long time. Zong Yin disdainfully curled his lip, took a step forward, and jumped onto the carriage. He no longer cared about these things; what he wanted to do most now was to cultivate the Soul Refining Manual.

  Mu Zongguan saw that Zong Yin got on the carriage without any hesitation, which was somewhat unexpected. He didn't think that Zong Yin would make such a decisive choice to leave without any lingering attachment, as if he had no relation to this family at all.

  But Mu didn't hesitate for too long, shook his head slightly, and got into the carriage. He gently patted the old horse that didn't look particularly strong, and the horse set off from the small alley behind the door onto the main road, heading in the opposite direction of Zhao Yajing's wedding sedan.

  Sitting in the horse carriage, Zong Yin had already forgotten everything else and directly took out the Soul Refining Technique.

  "The Divine Soul Scripture" - four simple yet ancient words that exude an inexplicable aura of pride, immediately catching the eye. Upon opening to the first page, one finds a summary of this soul-refining technique by its founder.

  "All things have souls, and cultivating the soul is the key to ruling the world. This manual is divided into three chapters: Cultivating the Soul, Consolidating the Body, and Transforming the Spirit. The first two chapters are for laying the foundation, only those with a deep foundation can go further on the path of cultivating the soul. The chapter on Transforming the Spirit is the essence of cultivating the soul, it's my life's work, I hope future generations will carry it forward and make it even more glorious."

  A few short lines of words had already made Zong Yin feel his blood boiling, and for him who had never been in contact with such things before, this book of Lianhun Jue was like a door to a whole new world. As long as he gently pushed open the door in front of him, his fate would take a completely different track.

  For a hot-blooded young man, there's nothing more exciting than this. Everyone has ever fantasized about having the ability to turn the world upside down. Now that such an opportunity is in front of him, how can Zong Yin not be excited?

  At the moment, Zong Yin sank his heart and opened the Soul Condensing Chapter. Carefully reading it, the Soul Condensing Chapter was not difficult to understand. It mainly taught how to mobilize the soul power around the soul, using it to train the agility and strength of the soul power.

  He took a rough look and then turned to the Solid Chapter, which described how to use soul power to strengthen one's body.

  Without lingering, Zong Yin continued to flip through the pages. The Huashen chapter finally revealed what he was looking for - how to use his Qi to condense a Soul Stone. Only after forming a Soul Stone could one become a true Soul Master, capable of cultivating Martial Soul Techniques. A Soul Master's strength was truly reflected in their mastery of these techniques.

  Just as Zong Yin was about to feel relieved, his face suddenly sank, because he found that the last few pages of Huashen Pian had several large and small holes, and many places were already invisible. It was clear that someone had deliberately torn them off, making it clear that they did not want him to refine the "Yu Hun Shen Jue".

  Zong Yigang was about to get angry and scold Mu Zongguan, asking what was going on. Suddenly, a familiar voice appeared in his mind, it was Hun Yu who had been silent for several days.

  "It's utterly useless! Although this 'Yu Hun Jue' looks like it has a certain style, in reality it's completely the wrong way to cultivate! Apart from maybe having some use for the 'Ning Hun Pian', everything else is just nonsense! It's totally misleading people!"

  With a stir in his heart, Zong Yin knew that Hun Yu, who could follow his soul, must have had a unique understanding of the soul since he could deceive the black shadow's investigation. This might be an opportunity.

  "What's wrong with it? I think it's fine?"

  Although Zong Yin thought so in his heart, he still asked his question truthfully.

  "Humans have three souls and seven spirits, divided into the heavenly, earthly, and human three souls, and the seven spirits of Tian Chong, Ling Hui, Qi, Li, Zhong Shu, Jing, and Ying. However, this book's overall concept only includes soul stones and soul power, clearly not understanding the soul deeply enough. Moreover, in the later stages of cultivation, six soul stones are formed! Three souls forming six soul stones? And where do the other three soul stones come from?"

  "Even if the three souls are separated, each soul forms two soul stones, and in the end, there are still six souls reunited to become the Soul Emperor? What a joke! Do you know the consequences of the souls merging as one? It's just like me, becoming a spirit body. If you're unlucky, you'll directly merge with the heavens and earth!"

  "What's more! The most ridiculous thing is here! Actually using soul power to strengthen the body? What were they thinking?! This kind of result is that in the end, the soul power will dissipate from the pores of the body at all times, isn't this just asking for a shorter life?!"

  The tone of Hun Yu was filled with disdain and skepticism, making the "Yuanshen Divine Technique" which was like a treasure in Zong Yin's eyes worthless.

  "So, what do you mean?"

  A pile of professional jargon, directly making Zong Yin speechless. As for the understanding of the soul, he really didn't know much about it, only stopping at having heard that humans have three souls and seven spirits, which hadn't been scientifically verified either.

  A string of rhetorical questions and self-answers made Zong Yin's head spin, but he couldn't show his weakness, so he kicked the ball back to Hun Yu, waiting to see how she would respond.

  Unconsciously, Zong Yin had gradually taken Mu Yu as his only reliance. Being in a foreign land, it was indeed only fellow villagers who could give him a sense of belonging and identity.

  "In any case, the latter part of the Divine Transformation Decision is incomplete. You should cultivate the former part, the Condensing Soul Chapter, first, and consider it as getting familiar with this world's power. When you have the opportunity, collect more Soul Refining Secrets, and who knows, I might be able to create a brand new Soul Refining System."

  Hun Yu sank into thought for a moment, and then summarized very irresponsibly. As he spoke to the end, his tone was filled with excitement, like a child who had found a new toy.

  "Alright, incomplete technique, I really don't dare practice it, I'm afraid of going crazy."

  Zong Yin couldn't help but roll his eyes and casually closed the "Yu Hun Shen Jue" in his hand, stuffing it into his bosom.

  "Master, we've already left the city, would you like to take a last look at Jiuhuang City?"

  The carriage that had been jolting along suddenly came to a stop, and Mu's voice appeared outside the carriage.

  Zong raised an eyebrow, this sentence sounded so twisted to his ears, as if he would never come back once he went to the Imperial Capital. However, he still got off the carriage.

  The carriage was on a hillside, looking down at the cliff, and from this angle, you could see almost half of the Jiuhuan City. The Zhongfu in the center of Jiuhuan City was also clearly visible.

  A red tide of people is slowly advancing through the streets of Jiuhuang City, and even though they are far away, the sound of gongs and drums can still be faintly heard.

  Zong hid a slight curve at the corner of his mouth. "Mother finally waited for this day. Mother, wait for me, I will be back."

  Although Zhao Yajing didn't say it out loud, Zong Yao knew in his heart that he had always hoped for the day when Zong Yue could proudly bring her home, and now her wish had finally come true. Even if Zong Yin occupied the body of her real son, it was a compensation to her.

  "Wait and see, one day I will be back. Maybe all this doesn't belong to me, but I won't let it belong to you either."

  Staring dead at the Zong Clan's mansion which looked like a giant beast, a cold hum sounded in Zong Xiong's heart.

  There is already a short-term goal, which is to trample on everyone in the Zong family. This is not only Zhao Yajing's expectation of Zonghui, but also the unswallowed breath in Zonghui's heart, and it coincides with the goal of that black shadow that binds his soul.

  "Let's go, arrive in the capital earlier, you can also return home earlier. I think among the entire clan, only you still have some humanity."

  He took a deep look at the gate of the Zong Mansion, then resolutely turned around and entered the horse carriage.

  Mu Zongguan's usual respectful expression suddenly stiffened, revealing a wry smile, and he fell silent, reboarding the carriage. The carriage slowly disappeared into the distance on the forest path amidst the distant sounds of gongs and drums.

  Zong Yue didn't know that he would send Zong Yin to the Imperial Capital today, and what would happen afterwards. He also didn't know that a few years later, someone who would destroy the Zong family would return to Jiuhuan City again. The reason for all this was simply because he had replaced one of his other sons with a illegitimate child to be sent to the Imperial Capital as a hostage.