Soul Transformation Technique: Alters the appearance and aura of the soul to achieve soul disguise.
"This soul technique seems useless!" Lin Yu murmured.
Other soul techniques at least had practical applications. This one merely changed the soul's form and aura, appearing to be utterly without utility.
It couldn't aid his cultivation, nor could it be used for offense or defense. For him now, this soul technique was rather redundant.
"Never mind, better than nothing!"
Lin Yu temporarily set aside his exploration of this soul technique.
At that moment, someone called him for dinner from outside. Lin Yu left his room and went to eat.
At the dinner table.
Lin Yu, Lin Fan, Bai Xiaosha, and Feng Mengqiu, the four of them, took their seats.
During the meal, Lin Yu said, "I've explored the last village today. If I continue exploring, the next destination will be the Chuyun Kingdom. Do you want to go together?"
Lin Fan immediately raised his hand and said, "Brother, take me along!"
Bai Xiaosha also nodded, "I'll go too. I hope these eyes can help you."
Only Feng Mengqiu remained. The three of them looked at her together.
Her face turned red, and she lowered her head, whispering, "Wherever Lin Fan goes, I go!"
Ugh~
Instantly, Lin Yu and Bai Xiaosha's moods soured.
The meal ended hastily.
The next day, as soon as it was dawn, the four of them packed up and headed towards the Chuyun Kingdom.
As soon as they left, the awakened ones noticed.
"Where did they go?"
"I asked this morning. They said they were going to check out the Chuyun Kingdom."
"What do we do?"
"No need to fear. Lin Fan said the Soul Suppressing Stele wasn't taken, so we don't have to worry about the eerie phenomena."
"At worst, if they don't come back, we'll go to the Chuyun Kingdom and find them again."
"That's right, right. We can advance or retreat strategically. Smart."
"You flatter me, you flatter me!"
Little did they know that Lin Yu's departure this time would truly be permanent.
However, the food left in the warehouse was enough for them to eat for a year or two.
That was, of course, if they turned the beast meat into jerky, as without Lin Yu's ice clone acting as a refrigerator, it wouldn't preserve for long.
On the road.
The ice clone led the way ahead.
Behind, the four of them walked on the flat ice surface, chatting and laughing.
Lin Fan, bored, said, "There isn't a shadow of a fierce beast around here. It's boring."
Bai Xiaosha rolled his eyes at him, "Go take a look in the water!"
Lin Fan snorted and indeed looked into the water.
Suddenly, a giant fish mouth lunged at him.
Splash!
A flash of white sword light cut through, and the fish's head fell to the ground.
Lin Fan was startled and clapped his chest, feigning fear.
"The fierce beasts in the water are quite fierce, even more so than those on land!"
His perception wasn't weak, yet he only noticed the fierce beast in the water when it lunged at him, which showed the fierceness of the fish.
"The water is not our territory. Don't stir up trouble, let's hurry."
Lin Yu spoke, and the four of them quickly picked up their pace, heading towards the Chuyun Kingdom.
Along the way, they encountered several more attacks from aquatic fierce beasts, all of which were killed by Lin Yu and the others.
After that, there was peace.
They walked for a long time.
Suddenly, the view opened up.
A towering peak that reached into the clouds appeared before their eyes.
"This is the Chuyun Kingdom!"
"So the Chuyun Kingdom is on a big mountain."
"Holy cow, no way, does it rain here regularly?"
"So they built the country on the mountain to avoid flood disasters?"
Lin Fan stroked his chin, switching between exclamations and acting like Conan, deducing the reasons behind things.
However, in the next moment, he was pulled along by Feng Mengqiu to catch up with the main group. His train of thought was interrupted, but he didn't dare to act out, grumbling all the way.
Lin Yu looked up.
This mountain peak, by his estimation, was no less than three thousand meters.
To have a mountain three thousand meters high in a secret realm was truly not easy.
After all, this world wasn't that large, so the mountains born within it wouldn't be too tall.
This was probably the tallest mountain in the entire world, Lin Yu mused.
Along the way.
Lin Yu discovered numerous cities submerged by floodwaters, but he saw no corpses, so they should have sought refuge on the mountain.
The arrival of Lin Yu and the other three did not attract the attention of the native inhabitants.
This was because people were constantly arriving to seek refuge, so they were long accustomed to it.
Walking along.
Lin Yu had his clones spread out to gather intelligence.
Halfway up the mountain, at an altitude of fifteen hundred meters.
Lin Yu and the other three were temporarily residing here because Lin Yu found the city to be quite chaotic, and a chaotic city made it easier for them to hide.
With a few small tricks, they acquired ownership of a large courtyard.
Within the courtyard.
In a small pavilion.
Feng Mengqiu went to the kitchen to cook, while the three of them talked.
Lin Yu said, "With this torrential rain, our objective has shifted from finding the divine artifact to simply surviving. Therefore, we will be living in seclusion here for some time."
Lin Fan stroked his chin and pretended to ponder, "Brother, how about this? I'll go to the capital at the summit to gather some information?"
Lin Yu shook his head, "No need. I'll have a clone do that. Oh, by the way, Brother Bai, use your eyes to observe the surroundings and see if there are any Soul Suppressing Steles in the city."
The Soul Suppressing Steles outside had almost all been taken, and he couldn't find any new ones for the time being.
Therefore, he could only place his hopes on there being a Soul Suppressing Stele in the city.
Bai Xiaosha nodded, "Brother Lin, leave this matter to me!"
Lin Yu hummed, "As for Lin Fan, you..."
"When you have nothing to do, go explore the city, primarily to gather information."
"Got it, leave this to me! I guarantee I'll complete the mission. I'll even find out the emperor's three meals a day."
Lin Yu gave him a sidelong glance.
"This kind of thing still depends on you. Keep at it!"
At that moment, Feng Mengqiu's voice called from outside.
"Dinner is ready!"
.........
In the Chuyun Kingdom, in the capital city.
The Empress stood by the window, looking at the continuous downpour with a worried expression.
"How deep has the water risen?"
"Your Majesty, it's over a hundred meters."
"Over a hundred meters? And that's only been half a month."
She didn't dare to say the next words, as she knew this rain would last for a long time.
Looking at the heavy rain outside the window, she asked, "What have the Prime Minister and the Great General been doing lately?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Prime Minister has been in seclusion in his residence and rarely goes out. The Great General is the same."
The Empress found it strange, "It's understandable that the Prime Minister doesn't go out, but the Great General, who loves to go out and have fun, why isn't he going out?"
"Your Majesty, according to our observations, the Prime Minister has befriended some capable individuals, while the Great General has captured many beautiful fierce beasts. As you know, the Great General is hot-tempered and impulsive, but he loves raising pets, so he's likely raising pets in his residence."
The Empress nodded.
The Great General's strength was among the strongest in the entire Chuyun Kingdom. Although he hadn't reached the legendary realm of flight, no one within the same realm was his match.
Furthermore, the Great General was loyal and devoted, her right-hand man.
It was the people the Prime Minister had befriended that made her feel rather uneasy.
"Continue your observations, and report any news to me promptly."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
On the other side.
The Prime Minister's residence.
The Prime Minister, with a smile on his face, was treating a group of youths with various delicacies.
There were a total of seven youths, six men and one woman, with a young man in black taking the lead.
Their distinguished bearing made the Prime Minister value them highly.
"Esteemed guests, please have some wine."
The young man in black waved his hand and refused, "I, Shui, do not enjoy drinking wine in my life. I hope Prime Minister, you will not be offended."
The Prime Minister's expression remained unchanged, and he smiled, "Since our esteemed guest does not enjoy wine, let us toast with tea. I, Wang, will drink first!"
With that, he downed a cup of wine in one gulp.
After a while, as the atmosphere reached its peak, they began to discuss important matters.
"If you can help me bring down the Great General, I will agree to any condition!"
"This matter is simple. All Prime Minister needs to do is invite the Great General to his residence. We will hide in the shadows, seize the opportunity, and strike together. We will surely be able to kill him with one blow."
"Good, I will agree to your plan. However, his soul technique is very strange, so you must protect your souls carefully. I entrust this matter to all of you."
On the other side.
The Great General's mansion.
A small gray worm projected everything that happened in the Prime Minister's residence.
After watching, the Great General trembled with anger.
"I knew this beast harbored ill intentions! I must go to the palace to see Her Majesty the Empress!"
At this moment, a small flood dragon, only three feet long, flew over and actually spoke human language.
"Great General, you seem to have forgotten your predicament!"
Upon hearing this, the Great General's expression changed drastically.
He looked around, and the sharp gazes directed at him made his expression falter.
"What exactly do you want?"
"What we want, you don't need to know. You just need to do as we say. Cooperate with us, and you will have endless benefits. We can help you eliminate the Prime Minister first!"
"Good, I agree. How should I proceed?"
The Great General gritted his teeth, feeling extremely stifled, but thinking of eliminating the Prime Minister, he gritted his teeth and agreed despite being held hostage.
The three-foot small flood dragon smiled, "First, you must accept the Prime Minister's invitation. When you arrive at the Prime Minister's residence and they make their move, we will seize the opportunity to kill the Prime Minister for you, and then we will kill those human geniuses as well!"
It felt excited. As long as these human geniuses were killed, no one would be able to stop them!
And the divine artifacts would ultimately belong to their beast race.
"Good, I agree to everything!"
"Then, here's to a fruitful cooperation!"
A while later.
Someone arrived at the Great General's mansion with an invitation.
The Great General accepted the invitation and gladly headed out!