Chapter 216 Stacked Treatmen (1/2)

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Whatever had happened in the cave of a mountain was like a story of a distant world to the villagers. If they did not see it and did not hear it, then what had it got to do with them?

Back at Du Mountain, Ning Tao and Yin Molan found the God’s Will electric bicycle and motorcycle at the foot of the mountain. After that, they sneaked into the Temple of Dead Tree on the mountain peak.

There was not a single soul in the entire temple. Even the two people who were made unconscious, had already vanished.

Ning Tao came to the second big hall, and pushed open the doors to the hall.

There was also a sacred altar in the second hall, which housed a statue made of pure white granite. The statue was wearing a sharp-tipped hat, and its face was hidden. A white long robe was draped over its body, a flower vase in one hand and a tree branch was pinched in his other hand.

After seeing it, Ning Tao could not help but berated. “Did you really think you’re some god? Emulating Guanyin’s poses?”

That statue was a statue of Bai Sheng, and the bottle in his hand was a shrunken Soul-devouring Urn. That tree branch was also no ordinary branch. It was a branch of the Silvermoon Cherry.

Below the altar were two prayer mats.

Ning Tao was suddenly reminded of the two people who were supposed to be here, but nowhere to be seen. He activated his power of smell, and very soon, he found the smell he had been tracking down for. It was the smell of the youths Wu Xiaolin and Liu Xian’er.

Wu Xiaolin and Liu Xian’er had been here at the second hall, but with just the leftover smells in the air, Ning Tao could not tell the duration they had been here, and when they had left the place.

Bang!

Yin Molan took out his Blade of Brotherhood, brandishing it as he charged towards Bai Sheng’s “idol”, intending to chop it.

Ning Tao grabbed Yin Molan’s wrist. “Senior Yin, it’s not necessary. Chopping it would leave behind traces.”

“Alright. Indeed, it’s not necessary.” Yin Molan placed his knife back into its sheath, but with a leap forward, he plucked the Silvermoon Cherry branch off. “It’s an alchemic ingredient. We shouldn’t waste it.”

“You can keep it. Let’s go take a look at the third hall,” Ning Tao said.

The pair came to the third hall. Pushing open the doors, they saw that it was empty. That huge urn had also gone missing.

Ning Tao furrowed his brows. “That rascal is still alive. If he were dead, who would be moving away such a huge porcelain urn?”

Yin Molan asked in puzzlement, “The cave had collapsed, so how did he escape?”

After thinking for a moment, Ning Tao said, “Perhaps there are secrets we don’t know about, or perhaps it has something to do with that Soul-devouring Urn. Oh right, Senior Yin, what else do you know about that Soul-devouring Urn? Tell me about it.”

“Let’s talk as we go. This is not the place to stay for long,” Yin Molan said.

Ning Tao nodded, and followed Yin Molan. He continued talking to Yin Molan as they were walking.

The top ten evil magic tools ranking was no Forbes’ list of billionaires. Each and every magic tool on the list were equally fiendish. No matter who was wielding it or was being used against, someone would be hurt, and would even raise a hellish battle. However, Yin Molan did not know about all of the evil magic tools. Apart from the Soul-devouring Urn, he was only aware of the Time-suspending Tower which was eighth on the rank. According to the legend, once activated, it could make every living object within a certain parameter freeze in time, just like time had been suspended. The living objects which were suppressed by the tower would be either dead on the spot, or would wither and die over the next few days. It was horrifying.

“Senior Yin, how did you learn about that top ten evil magic tool ranking?” Ning Tao asked.

Yin Molan said, “I’ve lived for hundreds of years. The people I’ve met and the stories I’ve heard are more than the grains of rice you’ve ever had. I’ve learnt about the ranking when I went to Spain for a cultivation trip during the Qianlong period, from a fellow cultivator. Later I learned that something went wrong with that guy’s elixir cultivation, and he died from taking a poisonous elixir. I’ve even heard that his grave was robbed.”

Ning Tao could not imagine how miserable it must be for that fellow cultivator.

However, not everyone would have a ledger of bamboo slips to assess elixirs for them. There were many cultivators who had died from consuming poisonous elixirs from cultivations gone wrong. Like previously when Zhu Hongqin had set Ning Tao up to die by leading him to the wrong elixir prescription, causing him to cultivate a poisonous elixir. If it were not for the ledger of bamboo slips’ ability to assess elixirs, Yin Molan who was so desperate to consume the Ancestor-seeking Elixir could have been dead by now.

“You shouldn’t ask about it anymore. After all they’re all hearsay, I’ve only ever heard of them. I have some impression of it, so I could identify it when I recognized some of the special features of the urn,” Yin Molan said.

All Ning Tao had on his mind was a person. “Senior Yin, I would have to trouble you to watch out for Zhu Hongqin during this time. Bai Sheng did not kill her, but instead, had released her. This isn’t normal. Watch her closely, we might get a lead,” he said.

“Sure, count on me,” Yin Molan agreed promptly.

The pair leaped over the metal bars, and headed towards where their God’s Will electric bicycle and motorcycle were parked.

After getting on their bikes and ready to leave, Ning Tao suddenly thought of a question. “Senior Yin, let me ask you another question. I heard you mentioning about tool souls. What’s that?”

Yin Molan said, “There are spirits in everything, but they’re of varying strengths. Cats and dogs are domesticated because of the acute nature of their spirit. Magic tools have souls as well, but they’re incomparable to human beings who the spirits above all spirits. However, advanced magic tools are comparable to the spirits of human beings, or could even surpass that of humans. It could feel what humans feel, think what humans think. They are hidden over the world, and would be activated when the time comes.” As he explained, he looked at Ning Tao who was deep in thoughts. “Do you believe what I said?”

Ning Tao nodded. “Of course I do. What I understood was AI. Even artificial intelligence could emulate the abilities of humans in chess, arithmetic, speaking, singing, and more. For magic tools to reach a certain level to attain human abilities, it would make them tool souls. There’s nothing hard to believe. That being said, don’t we have one in the clinic?”

Yin Molan was stunned for a moment, then said, “It is much stronger than that Soul-devouring Urn. Also once you’ve mentioned it, I feel quite bad. Alright, let’s separate ways here. I’ll go watch Zhu Hongqin, and I’ll let you know once there’s any news.”

“Senior Yin, be careful,” Ning Tao urged.

Yin Molan waved his hand, and rode off on his motorcycle.