Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The knot was a Soul-Locking Knot, the needle was a Soul-Splitting Needle, and the weight was a Soul-Sinking Weight.

Someone had subdued him, first sealing his soul with the Soul-Locking Knot, then driving Soul-Splitting Needles into his Yin-Tang, Yu-Yao, and Bai-Hui acupoints to sever the connection between the soul and the physical body.

Then, using the Soul-Sinking Weight, they gathered the three ethereal souls and seven corporeal souls into one place, drawing them out through the soles of his feet.

This method of flaying a soul while the person was still alive was a heinous crime, an atrocity that the Heavenly Dao would never tolerate.

Humans possess three ethereal souls and seven corporeal souls. The three ethereal souls consist of the Heaven Soul, the Earth Soul, and the Life Soul. Among these, the Heaven and Earth souls do not usually reside within the human body; instead, they often drift outside.

Sometimes, when you visit a place you have never been to before but find it strangely familiar, it is because your Heaven or Earth soul has been there.

Even when a normal person dies, their Heaven and Earth souls do not immediately return, meaning the soul remains incomplete.

“This person is quite the expert. They used a Five Elements Soul-Drawing Array to lure back the Heaven and Earth souls before forcibly stripping the entire soul.”

I furrowed my brows in disgust.

The Five Elements Soul-Drawing Array was a specialized formation. Based on the five elements, it used specific ritual tools to stimulate the aura on Li Zhu’s body, enticing the Heaven and Earth souls to return.

Li Zhu had been wearing a swimsuit and a red dress while suspended from a wooden beam. With metal, wood, water, fire, and earth all present, the five elements were complete. Only after the perpetrator used the array to bring back the Heaven and Earth souls-ensuring Li Zhu’s three ethereal and seven corporeal souls were whole-did they begin the soul-stripping process.

Li Zhu’s father listened, dumbstruck.

“My poor boy died such a miserable death! What kind of monster could be so heartless? Master Qiao, you must help us!”

Li Zhu’s birth chart was pure Yin. A complete Yin soul was extremely useful, as recorded in many forbidden dark arts. However, these techniques were inhuman, and most had long since been lost to time. Only a handful of sects today would still know of such evil methods.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “Even if you hadn’t asked, I would still deal with an Evil Cultivator like this.”

As an Earth Master, it was my duty to purge such filth from our ranks.

“Qiao Moyu, I feel like something’s not right.”

Jiang Haoyan and I were strolling through the village. Once we reached a secluded spot, he glanced back and whispered to me.

“Li Zhu’s Living Soul was stripped away. If that’s the case, why was his body hanging from the beam the next day, and why did Li Yuan hear him say ‘run’?”

I nodded.

“You’re getting quite sharp, young man.”

“Either Li Yuan is lying, or another soul possessed Li Zhu’s body at that time.”

Li Zhu’s body had been emptied of its soul, making it an ownerless vessel. Any wandering ghost or lonely spirit could have hopped in for a moment. It wouldn’t be strange if some other spirit had decided to scare or play a prank on Li Yuan.

What was strange, however, was why there wasn’t a single wandering ghost to be found in the village now.

We reached the edge of the village, where a solitary old house stood. An old man sat by the entrance, smoking.

The sun was bright, and he squinted at us, the wrinkles on his forehead as deep as ravines.

“Little girl, you can’t trust what that boy Li Yuan says.”