Chapter 129: Sunken Yin Stone
Besides Guan Hai, Wang Yiming, and Old Master Wu, the messages from his other friends all wished him a Happy New Year.
These messages were difficult for Yang Haoran to deal with. He knew perfectly well how happy his New Year was, or wasn't, but since his friends had sent their congratulations, even if he was incredibly reluctant to type out those four words, he ultimately replied to each one, "Happy New Year."
Finally, he deliberately checked if any strangers had messaged him, but after two thorough checks, he found no messages from unknown numbers; everyone who had sent him a message was a saved contact.
For some reason, this result unexpectedly sparked a hint of disappointment in his heart.
Closing the message interface, Yang Haoran composed himself, adjusted his mood, lit a cigarette, and finally opened the photo of the Yellow Cloth he had taken in the mountain cave back then.
The prominent characters for "Soul-Refining Cauldron" immediately caught his eye. He then zoomed in on the image and meticulously read the information below.
Ten minutes later, Yang Haoran lowered his phone, his eyes sparkling.
The cigarette in his hand had long since burned out. So engrossed was he that he hadn't even managed to take a single puff before it was gone.
He took a deep breath, calming the excitement in his heart. He lit another cigarette, this time taking a drag before looking at the phone screen again.
This time, it only took him five minutes. After five minutes, Yang Haoran put his phone down again. Following this second confirmation, he was certain he hadn't misread anything nor missed any details.
The content recorded on the Yellow Cloth was divided into two categories: one described the function and usage of the Soul-Refining Cauldron.
The other category detailed the refining method for the Soul-Refining Cauldron and the materials required for its creation.
Although the Yellow Cloth wasn't exceptionally detailed in either category, Yang Haoran was just able to understand it.
In Yang Haoran's opinion, it wasn't that the author didn't want to write in more detail, but rather that the Yellow Cloth was only the size of a palm. The entire piece of cloth was already completely filled, with no space for even a single additional character. How could it possibly be any more detailed? Perhaps the family was short on cloth.
Although there was some regret, as long as he could understand it, Yang Haoran was content.
At this moment, he finally had a comprehensive understanding of this Soul-Refining Cauldron.
At the same time, he also understood why Xu Meijing had been so concerned about the Soul-Refining Cauldron.
Before, he still had some doubts. Xu Meijing was a powerhouse who had opened her Heaven Soul; what kind of treasure could make her so agitated?
Now he understood, and he comprehended Xu Meijing's excitement, because his own heart was even more thrilled at this very moment.
What exactly was this Soul-Refining Cauldron?
This so-called Soul-Refining Cauldron was a special vessel capable of refining souls into Soul Crystals.
And what, then, was this Soul Crystal?
A Soul Crystal was a highly condensed form of massive amounts of Pure Yin Qi. It was of great use to the cultivation of Underworld Office agents. A single Soul Crystal was enough to bring unexpected benefits to its user, causing their Spirit Power to increase at a terrifying speed!
"No wonder Xu Meijing was so excited. So this Soul-Refining Cauldron could refine 'experience pills' that would allow us Underworld Office agents to quickly level up!"
Yang Haoran's heartbeat quickened. He took a heavy drag on his cigarette, only to realize the one in his hand had burned out again.
He lit another one, then took a deep breath, a contemplative expression settling on his face.
Xu Meijing had repeatedly emphasized to him that no information regarding the Soul-Refining Cauldron, including everything that happened in the mountain cave, could be leaked. Otherwise, their situation would become extremely troublesome, and they might even lose their lives.
At the time, though he hadn't doubted the truth of Xu Meijing's words, he still had some lingering doubts in his mind, wondering what exactly the Soul-Refining Cauldron's origins were to warrant such extreme caution from her.
Now his doubts were resolved, because he understood what it meant for someone from the Underworld Office to possess a Soul-Refining Cauldron.
It meant he had a method and a channel to rapidly increase his Spirit Power. This method and channel would undoubtedly make other Underworld Office agents envious. Therefore, if the information were to leak, his and Xu Meijing's situation would become extremely perilous.
Although they all belonged to the Underworld Office, it didn't mean they were all of one mind. In the face of absolute profit, even if you had principles, it didn't mean others would. It was certain that some would do outrageous things to gain more.
Thus, all information about the Soul-Refining Cauldron absolutely could not be leaked. Whether for Xu Meijing's sake or his own, everything that happened in the mountain cave had to be kept strictly to himself.
"No wonder Xue Li had so frantically massacred living beings and extracted their souls. It turned out he wanted to refine Soul Crystals to boost his own Spirit Power. He just didn't know where Xue Li had gotten this piece of Yellow Cloth from."
Yang Haoran couldn't figure this out. He knew that even Xu Meijing would definitely not understand this point, after all, Xue Li's soul had already dissipated. There would be no way to know where he had obtained this Yellow Cloth.
How Xue Li had acquired the Yellow Cloth was no longer important. What mattered was that this piece of Yellow Cloth was now in his and Xu Meijing's hands.
Yang Haoran didn't know what Xu Meijing would do, but he knew what he should do. Having obtained such a treasure, he naturally had to maximize its value, otherwise it would be a reckless waste of resources.
Of course, he would certainly not harm living beings to enhance his strength like Xue Li did. Even if he wanted to refine Soul Crystals, he wouldn't target ordinary spirits. Even less would he maniacally kill living people to extract their souls. Instead, he would target those Evil Spirits who preyed on human lives.
"For a treasure like this, the fewer people who knew about it, the better. Yet Xu Meijing hadn't simply eliminated him; she had even actively allowed him to take photos."
Yang Haoran couldn't quite fathom this issue. Finally, he gave a helpless smile. Perhaps he had always misunderstood Xu Meijing; maybe she was the type with a sharp tongue but a soft heart.
Of course, this was merely Yang Haoran's own speculation. He couldn't know what Xu Meijing was thinking at the time; only she herself would probably know.
In the time that followed, Yang Haoran smoked while committing all the content from the Yellow Cloth to memory. In his opinion, keeping such information on a phone was quite unsafe.
What if he got a virus while browsing the web?
What if his phone was lost or stolen?
These were all uncertain possibilities. The most appropriate course of action was to engrave it firmly in his mind.
He didn't know how much time had passed. Yang Haoran put down his phone, then closed his eyes, reviewing all the information he had memorized in his mind. Only after confirming it was accurate did he let out a long breath.
He had now committed all the content on the Yellow Cloth firmly to memory.
Just as he was about to delete the image, he hesitated for a moment. He then fetched paper and pen, wrote down all the information he had committed to memory, and compared what he had written with the Yellow Cloth. Only after confirming its accuracy did he confidently delete the image.
The content he had personally written down was then hidden in a corner of the old house where no one would ever find it.
He did this, naturally, to have an extra contingency. What if he got hit by a car someday and lost his memory? This was a common trope often seen in movies and novels, after all.
Of course, he didn't think such a cliché thing would happen to him, but he still felt it was best to be prepared for any eventuality.
"To obtain Soul Crystals, he first had to refine the Soul-Refining Cauldron. But what in the world was this 'Sunken Yin Stone'? " Yang Haoran frowned, his face full of doubt.
To refine the Soul-Refining Cauldron, the Sunken Yin Stone was the primary material, indeed, the only material.
It was described as "refining," but in actuality, it also involved "crafting. " While the overall meaning seemed similar, they were two completely different steps.
First, he had to find the Sunken Yin Stone, and it couldn't be too small. It had to be large enough to at least allow for the crafting of a fist-sized Soul-Refining Cauldron.
The crafted Soul-Refining Cauldron itself didn't have the function of refining souls. He would then need to find a place with extremely concentrated Yin Qi, and use special methods to activate the cauldron, enabling it to constantly absorb Yin Qi.
Following this method, he would feed the Soul-Refining Cauldron with Yin Qi for a long period until it no longer absorbed Yin Qi. Only then would the cauldron be considered a true Soul-Refining Cauldron. This entire process was what was described as "refining" on the Yellow Cloth.
Finding a place with extremely concentrated Yin Qi, though somewhat troublesome, wasn't impossible. With a Night Watcher's ability to Sense Yin, locating such a place would only be a matter of time.
Crafting came first, refining second. Before the Soul-Refining Cauldron was crafted, even finding a place rich in Yin Qi would be useless. And to craft the Soul-Refining Cauldron, he absolutely needed the Sunken Yin Stone.
It was just this Sunken Yin Stone; Yang Haoran genuinely had no idea what it was, or where he was supposed to find it.
After a moment's thought, Yang Haoran picked up his phone and searched online for information about the Sunken Yin Stone. He didn't find any Sunken Yin Stone, but there was plenty about "sunken wood"—however, sunken wood wasn't what he needed.
The Sunken Yin Stone was the only material for crafting the Soul-Refining Cauldron. Without it, he couldn't refine the cauldron. This gave him a headache.
Suddenly, a question occurred to him.
"Wait a minute, that Soul-Refining Cauldron he found on Xue Li's person back then didn't seem to be made of stone. Did he misunderstand something about this Sunken Yin Stone, or did Xue Li use other materials as a substitute? Was the Sunken Yin Stone not the only material for refining the Soul-Refining Cauldron after all?"
Yang Haoran suddenly recalled Xue Li's three-legged bronze cauldron. In his memory, although he didn't know what material the three-legged bronze cauldron was made of, it certainly didn't look like stone.
But the Yellow Cloth stated very clearly that to refine the Soul-Refining Cauldron, the Sunken Yin Stone was the only material. It was put so absolutely; there shouldn't be any substitutes.
Yang Haoran couldn't quite figure it out. He felt that to truly understand what was going on, he probably had no choice but to seek out Xu Meijing, because her knowledge of the Soul-Refining Cauldron far surpassed his own.
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