Chapter 788: Soul Crystal
After Yang Haoran left the Zhang Family, he arrived at Xu Meijing's private residence in Ancheng.
Xu Meijing's grandmother originally lived with Xu Meijing, but this time Yang Haoran didn't see her. Only after asking Xu Meijing did he learn that her grandmother had passed away.
However, Xu Meijing did not keep her grandmother's soul, but rather sent her grandmother's soul into the Underworld for reincarnation.
Yang Haoran knew that Xu Meijing had a very deep affection for her grandmother. As for why Xu Meijing didn't keep her grandmother's soul but sent it to the Underworld for reincarnation, Yang Haoran had once heard Xu Meijing mention it: she didn't want her grandmother to step into this circle.
Now that Xu Meijing's grandmother had already been reincarnated, Yang Haoran brought up the matter again, only to learn that it wasn't Xu Meijing who didn't want her grandmother to enter this circle, but rather her grandmother who didn't want to.
Regarding this matter, no matter what decision Xu Meijing made, he would support it. Because everyone's choices are different, one cannot impose their desires on their closest relatives; such an approach would only put their dearest ones in a difficult position.
After learning that Xu Meijing's grandmother had already been reincarnated, he did not bring up the matter again. Instead, he took out two Soul-Gathering Beads and a pile of miscellaneous items from his independent space.
Xu Meijing looked at the items Yang Haoran had taken out, a look of confusion on her face.
"These are the spoils of war from that day. I haven't had time to deal with them, and I came today specifically to ask for your opinion."
Among these spoils were the magic artifacts used by others during that great battle, various collections that had burst forth from Zhang Changchun's independent space, as well as the souls of Zhang Changchun and his son.
Yang Haoran didn't know the true value of the collections within Zhang Changchun's independent space, as he hadn't yet inspected each item individually, so he wasn't entirely clear on their worth.
However, Yang Haoran had a rough idea of the value of the items outside of Zhang Changchun's independent space collections.
For example, the Zhang Family's ultimate treasure, the Town Soul Tower, as well as the set of Formation Flags that had trapped them and could emit holy light, and the magic artifacts used by several other deceased individuals—these were all excellent treasures.
Especially valuable was the soul of Zhang Changchun's father; his worth was the greatest. After all, Zhang Changchun's father was a ghostly entity approaching the Ghost King level. For Underworld Officials like Yang Haoran and Xu Meijing, the value of a spiritual entity of such caliber was immeasurable.
Although Yang Haoran hadn't yet had time to check what exactly was in Zhang Changchun's collections or their value, he estimated that it would probably be difficult to find any treasure within Zhang Changchun's collections that could compare to his father's soul.
"You can deal with these things yourself. There's no need to ask for my opinion."
Xu Meijing's gaze lingered for only a few seconds on one of the Soul-Gathering Beads—the one containing the soul of Zhang Changchun's father. As for the other items, including the Soul-Gathering Bead holding Zhang Changchun's own soul, she didn't even glance at them.
"Heh heh, Zhang Changchun's father's soul is a good thing, if. . ."
Before Yang Haoran could finish speaking, Xu Meijing interrupted him.
"Zhang Changchun's father's soul is indeed quite excellent. However, you need it more than I do right now, because I have already successfully opened my Earth Soul, but you haven't. With his soul, you will definitely have no problem successfully opening your Earth Soul."
At this point, Xu Meijing glanced at the other items, then continued to speak.
"The other things, they don't pique my interest. You can deal with them however you wish."
Xu Meijing refused very straightforwardly, and her reasons were ample. But Yang Haoran had no intention of monopolizing everything, so he could only continue to persuade her. However, no matter how he tried to convince her, Xu Meijing did not change her mind.
Helpless, Yang Haoran could only return to Lecheng with these items and began to organize and categorize them.
Zhang Changchun's father was a ghostly entity close to the Ghost King level. Yang Haoran had considered subduing such a powerful spiritual entity and having him serve him in the future.
However, it was merely a thought. After a brief consideration, he dismissed it.
It wasn't that he was in a hurry to refine Zhang Changchun's father into a Soul Pill. He currently still had some Soul Pills in his possession, and after refining them all, while he couldn't say he'd 100% open his Earth Soul, it certainly wouldn't be far off.
Furthermore, he still had souls collected by the Night Watchers. Although these souls weren't particularly powerful, there were quite a few of them. After filtering them all, he could still refine some Soul Pills from them.
The reason he wasn't preparing to subdue Zhang Changchun's father was that he knew this person was not an easy target. It would be very difficult to truly subdue him. If he merely feigned submission to save his life, then this person would definitely act in apparent compliance but actually defy him in the future, and might even turn the tables and cost him his life as the master.
Moreover, with Tang Shi's current strength, he definitely couldn't deter this person, and controlling him would be even more difficult.
He certainly didn't want to see Tang Shi not only fail to properly educate this person but instead be led astray by him; that would be a huge loss for him.
Therefore, after consideration, he abandoned the idea of subduing Zhang Changchun's father and decided to refine him into a Soul Pill to enhance his own strength.
Of course, Zhang Changchun's soul was no exception either; it was also regarded by him as material for refining Soul Pills.
In the time that followed, Yang Haoran remained in the villa refining Soul Pills. Although the outside world was already in chaos, Old Master Wu was handling all sorts of trivial matters, so Yang Haoran could completely free his hands to do what he wanted.
And what he most wanted to do right now was quickly refine a batch of Soul Pills, then open his Earth Soul as soon as possible, keep pace with Xu Meijing, and step into a new realm.
Three days passed in a flash. In his study, Yang Haoran sat cross-legged, the Soul-Refining Cauldron floating in mid-air before him. Above the Soul-Refining Cauldron, another object hovered in mid-air.
This object was a rhomboid crystal, thumb-sized, inky black throughout, and constantly emitting a dense Pure Yin Qi.
Yang Haoran's gaze fell upon this object. He was stunned for a moment, unable to react immediately, but his daze lasted only an instant. He quickly snapped out of it, a look of joyful surprise appearing on his face.
The reason he had been dazed moments ago was that he hadn't recognized what this object, taken from inside the Soul-Refining Cauldron, actually was. He had clearly been refining Soul Pills, but what emerged after the refinement was not the familiar Soul Pill, but rather something he had never seen before. Thus, he hadn't reacted immediately, and doubt had even arisen in his heart.
But then he reacted, and he also guessed what this rhomboid black crystal before him was, which was why a look of joyful surprise appeared on his face.
This black rhomboid crystal was actually a Soul Crystal!
Yang Haoran had never refined a Soul Crystal, nor had he ever seen a genuine one. His knowledge of Soul Crystals was limited solely to what was written in records. It was precisely for this reason that he didn't recognize the Soul Crystal immediately.
Secondly, he had never even imagined he would refine a Soul Pill. Ever since he successfully created the Soul-Refining Cauldron, he had indeed refined many Soul Pills, but he had never refined a Soul Crystal.
At first, he still held a sliver of hope, believing that perhaps the next time he refined a Soul Pill, he might be able to refine a Soul Crystal. However, as he refined them again and again, and a Soul Crystal never emerged, this hope gradually faded. By now, he no longer harbored any extravagant hope of being able to refine a Soul Crystal.
Although his current method for refining Soul Pills was, in fact, the method for refining Soul Crystals—with Soul Pills merely being the byproduct of failed Soul Crystal refinements—he had long ceased to believe he would be lucky enough to refine a Soul Crystal.
Because he didn't dare to hope, and didn't believe he had such luck, when the Soul Crystal was successfully refined, he was stunned. He even felt a sense of doubt about the Soul Crystal's appearance. It was only after he came to his senses that the doubt in his heart vanished, replaced by joyful surprise.
However, besides the joyful surprise, he was also somewhat incredulous, because this happiness had come too suddenly. With a hint of excitement, he reached out his hand, took down the Soul Crystal, and then carefully examined it. He needed to confirm whether the Soul Crystal before him was a true Soul Crystal, or a mutated product resulting from a refinement error.
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