Chapter 380: Extreme Yin Refining Cauldron
That the Place of Extreme Yin, rich in Yin Qi, would attract wandering spirits was already within Yang Haoran's expectations. However, where these wandering spirits came from, given the remote nature of the place, was something Yang Haoran did not know.
Of course, he didn't want to know, as it held no meaning for him.
The few wandering spirits were merely Wánglíng-level existences, considerably stronger than ordinary Wánglíng, but far too weak when compared to Evil Spirits.
Evidently, these Wánglíng hadn't been here for long; otherwise, they might have already evolved into Evil Spirits by now.
As for why these few Wánglíng could coexist peacefully in this area, it was because they themselves possessed little power. Devouring other Wánglíng carried significant risks, not excluding the possibility of being killed in retaliation. Rather than taking that gamble, it was better to live in harmony and wait until everyone's strength had somewhat increased before making a move.
However, they hadn't waited for a suitable opportunity to strike; instead, they had waited for Yang Haoran, an Underworld Official.
A battle without any suspense thus unfolded. Strictly speaking, in Yang Haoran's eyes, it barely counted as a fight; dealing with a few wandering spirits was merely a flick of his finger.
After successfully collecting the wandering spirits into his Soul-Gathering Bead, Yang Haoran took out his phone and sent a message to Old Master Wu. He informed Old Master Wu that he had returned to Lecheng and had urgent matters to attend to, so he wouldn't be returning for now. He also reminded him to contact him immediately if any trouble arose.
Due to the excessive Yin Qi in this place, the signal seemed to be interfered with, so it took Yang Haoran quite a while to send the message.
Although the signal here was weak, having some signal was always better than having none at all.
After completing all of this, Yang Haoran stood by the edge of the Blackwater Pool, a pensive expression on his face.
A moment later, he seemed to make a decision, then mobilized the Spirit Power within his body and began to set up a restraining barrier here.
This restraining barrier was not small, covering the entire area of the Blackwater Pool enveloped by Yin Qi. Precisely because of its considerable scope, setting up the barrier was quite time-consuming and heavily depleted his Spirit Power.
His earlier pensive expression was actually due to him deliberating whether to set up a large barrier or a small one.
The former would cover a large area but would consume a great deal of Spirit Power, and once successfully set up, its effect would certainly not be as good as the latter, as the power would be too dispersed.
The latter would cover a small area, and the concentrated barrier's effect would be quite good. However, its drawback was the inability to encompass all areas covered by the Yin Qi here. Should the Yin Qi attract the attention of any interested parties or draw in more wandering spirits, it would inevitably lead to complications.
Therefore, after careful consideration, Yang Haoran decided to set up two barriers, one large and one small, which he believed would be more secure
He intended to refine the Soul-Refining Cauldron here, and such an item was something that couldn't see the light of day. If he wasn't extremely careful, once word got out, not only would his life be in peril, but Xu Meijing might even be implicated. Thus, he had to proceed with the utmost caution, willing to expend more time and more Spirit Power to minimize any risk.
It took him an hour, but Yang Haoran successfully set up a large barrier here. By the time it was complete, his face had turned pale, covered in sweat, and he was breathing heavily.
For safety, he had channeled all the Spirit Power within his body into setting up this barrier, striving to make it achieve his ideal effect.
Normally, setting up a restraining barrier of this kind, even if its scope was considerable, wouldn't exhaust all the Spirit Power within his body. But the barrier he had set up this time was different; it was an absolutely reinforced version.
Under the shroud of this barrier, all the Yin Qi in the Blackwater Pool, this Place of Extreme Yin, was firmly locked within, preventing even the slightest leakage.
At the same time, this barrier also served as a concealment barrier. If one looked at the Blackwater Pool from outside, it would still appear as the Blackwater Pool, and everything nearby would seem unchanged. However, everything seen by the naked eye would be false, not truly existing.
Let alone the naked eye, even someone possessing an ocular technique, if their strength was insufficient, would fail to notice anything amiss. This was because Yang Haoran had expended all his Spirit Power to set up this barrier, and its concealment effect was far beyond what an ordinary barrier could achieve.
With this barrier in place, the possibility of Yang Haoran being discovered was greatly reduced. Although it had completely drained his Spirit Power, he considered it worthwhile and absolutely necessary.
If Yang Haoran had understood formation arts and possessed the necessary materials for setting them up, then creating this barrier would never have depleted him to such an extent. But regrettably, he knew nothing about formation arts and could only resort to brute force to solve the problem.
After the large barrier was successfully deployed, Yang Haoran levitated cross-legged, using meditation to accelerate the recovery of his Spirit Power.
After an unknown period, Yang Haoran opened his eyes. The Spirit Power he had expended within his body had recovered. Without hesitation, he immediately mobilized his Spirit Power and set up another small-scale restraining barrier in his vicinity.
This small-scale restraining barrier shared similarities with the large barrier enveloping the area, yet also possessed differences.
The similarity was that it could also conceal everything within the barrier. The difference was that this barrier would not obstruct Yin Qi, which would facilitate Yang Haoran's absorption of the local Yin Qi while refining the Soul-Refining Cauldron.
Setting up this barrier again consumed all of Yang Haoran's Spirit Power. His decision to once more dedicate all his Spirit Power to forming the barrier was naturally to enhance its quality and simultaneously reduce the risks he would face.
Only after Yang Haoran had once again fully recovered his depleted Spirit Power did he retrieve the embryo of the Soul-Refining Cauldron.
The method for refining the Soul-Refining Cauldron was simple: merely allow the Soul-Refining Cauldron to continuously absorb Yin Qi. When the Soul-Refining Cauldron ceased absorbing Yin Qi, its refinement would be complete.
The method seemed simple, but whether the process itself would be easy was something Yang Haoran didn't know. Still, he hoped it would be straightforward and smooth, without any hitches.
To make the Soul-Refining Cauldron absorb Yin Qi on its own, one needed to understand a special method. Without this method, the Soul-Refining Cauldron simply couldn't absorb Yin Qi.
The reason was simple: the Soul-Refining Cauldron in Yang Haoran's hand was currently just an embryo; it wasn't a true Soul-Refining Cauldron yet.
To be more direct, this Soul-Refining Cauldron embryo was a piece of Sunken Yin Stone, a Sunken Yin Stone that had been carved. And the characteristic of Sunken Yin Stone was precisely that it did not absorb Yin Qi.
Therefore, without a special method to activate it, this Soul-Refining Cauldron embryo simply couldn't absorb Yin Qi.
However, since Yang Haoran had come to this place, he naturally understood this method. It was recorded on the piece of cloth he had discovered hidden within the clothing of the former Emissary of Death, Xue Li – the method to activate the Soul-Refining Cauldron to absorb Yin Qi.
Yang Haoran levitated cross-legged above the Blackwater Pool, for the area directly above the Blackwater Pool possessed the most concentrated Yin Qi, making it twice as effective to refine the Soul-Refining Cauldron here.
He took out the Soul-Refining Cauldron. Enveloped in a layer of dense Yin Qi, the Soul-Refining Cauldron floated suspended before Yang Haoran, subtly bobbing up and down. Though clearly floating in the air, it gave the impression of drifting on water.
Following the method recorded on the old piece of cloth, Yang Haoran closed his eyes and began to activate the Soul-Refining Cauldron embryo before him.
The Soul-Refining Cauldron, which had been bobbing up and down, suddenly ceased its movements in the air as Yang Haoran activated it according to the secret art, and a faint suction force emanated from it.
With the appearance of this suction force, the surrounding Yin Qi slowly began to be drawn into the Soul-Refining Cauldron. Although the speed was very slow, the Soul-Refining Cauldron was indeed absorbing the nearby Yin Qi.
Yang Haoran sensed that the Soul-Refining Cauldron was absorbing the nearby Yin Qi, but its speed of absorption was truly too slow. Without careful perception, it would be difficult to even notice that the Soul-Refining Cauldron was drawing in Yin Qi.
If this wasn't improved, and the process continued at this rate, there was no telling how long it would take for the Soul-Refining Cauldron to absorb Yin Qi to saturation.
Thinking of this, he frowned slightly. However, he didn't open his eyes, but instead increased the intensity of his activation of the secret art.
The reason he hadn't fully intensified the activation of the secret art before was that it consumed more Spirit Power than Yang Haoran had anticipated. So, he hadn't dared to activate it at maximum power, instead choosing to test it out and decide after observing the situation.
After successfully activating the secret art, its effect was far worse than he had imagined, forcing him to increase the activation's intensity.
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