Xianxia: Big Brother of Tianyong City

Chapter 47: The Soul-Searching Technique

“However,” Shangguan Ce declared with a cold sneer, “this concerns the Xuanhuo Jian (玄火鉴, Mirror of Mystic Fire). I cannot afford to be careless. Better to kill the wrong person than let the true culprit go. You bear the aura of Li Xun—I have no choice.”

Without waiting for a reply, his right hand formed into a claw, and he reached out into the air. A spectral force surged forward, gripping the Iron Pillar Temple’s abbot by the crown of the head (tianling gai (天灵盖).

[Tianling Gai (天灵盖): Refers to the crown or top of the head, often believed to be a spiritual energy focal point in Chinese mysticism.]

“No! No!” the abbot screamed in horror.

He could never have imagined such calamity would befall him on a quiet return journey to the temple. But this was the reality of the cultivation world: strength dictated fate, and the weak were no more than playthings for the strong.

“This is your destiny. Resign yourself to it,” Shangguan Ce said impassively, his tone devoid of compassion.

With that, he activated the Soul-Searching Technique.

AAAAHHHHHHH!

The abbot shrieked in agony as his soul was violently ripped from his body. His face contorted with pain, and his anguished cries echoed across the desolate landscape.

The Soul-Searching Technique was a vicious method originating from the demonic path. It forcibly extracted a victim’s soul to pry into their memories, subjecting them to unbearable torment. Those subjected to it not only endured excruciating pain but also faced annihilation of their soul, forever denied the chance of reincarnation.

Though Shangguan Ce was an elder of the righteous Burning Heaven Valley, the technique had fallen into his hands after he killed a demon cultivator in a chance encounter. Ever since, he wielded it with ruthless precision.

When the extraction was complete, Shangguan Ce flung the lifeless body aside. The corpse fell to the ground with a dull thud, its wide-open eyes a silent testament to the horror it had endured.

“Xiao Yu,” Shangguan Ce muttered, venom dripping from his voice.

From the abbot’s fragmented memories, he gleaned crucial information: on the night of the full moon, the Golden Core cultivator Xiao Yu had defeated the Moon-Devouring Black Emperor (Shi Yue Xuan Di (噬月玄帝), earning the gratitude of the Iron Pillar Temple. During the battle, Xiao Yu had used the Nine Suns Ruler, a weapon that had once belonged to Li Xun.

“If Xiao Yu wields the Nine Suns Ruler, then Li Xun’s storage pouch must have fallen into his hands.” Shangguan Ce’s expression darkened.

A few days earlier, Shangguan Ce had followed a lingering trace of Li Xun’s soul to a remote cave outside Blackrock Town. There, he found the scene of a violent confrontation but no tangible evidence. Li Xun’s body had been incinerated, leaving nothing behind—not even ashes. Two possibilities had occurred to him at the time: Li Xun might have faked his death to abscond with the Xuanhuo Jian

Now, the truth was clear. Li Xun was dead, and Xiao Yu was in possession of the coveted artifact. “A mere Golden Core cultivator dares covet the Xuanhuo Jian?” Shangguan Ce’s lips curled into a cruel smile. “He courts death.”@@novelbin@@

Hovering above the Iron Pillar Temple, Shangguan Ce unleashed his Nascent Soul Divine Sense (元婴神识). Invisible yet omnipotent, it swept across the temple grounds like a tidal wave, penetrating every corner.

[Nascent Soul Divine Sense (元婴神识): A powerful perception ability of Nascent Soul cultivators, enabling them to detect and target souls with precision.]

“Anyone connected to this matter must die,” Shangguan Ce declared.

A pulse of divine energy rippled through the air.

The disciples of the temple were caught mid-action—some transcribing scriptures, others tending to the grounds. One by one, their bodies crumpled to the ground as though falling into slumber. Yet they bore no visible injuries, only the chilling truth: their souls had been obliterated.

Such was the might of a Nascent Soul cultivator. With but a thought, Shangguan Ce could annihilate hundreds, bypassing flesh to extinguish the very essence of life.

“Xiao Yu, prepare yourself. I am coming for you,” Shangguan Ce said.

With that, his figure blurred into a streak of light, surging eastward in pursuit of his prey. His flight was swift—ten times faster than any Golden Core cultivator could manage. It would not take long to catch Xiao Yu.

Shangguan Ce vowed, when I find him, I will personally obliterate him and reclaim the Mirror of Mystic Fire.