C647 Accidentally

In the days that followed, individuals from various sects ventured into the alleys to seek out the Little Clouds Sect, specifically to inquire Huang Chuan about Xie Binn's origins.

The visit from Qi Jinghai, and his remarks, catapulted Xie Binn to instant fame.

Yet Xie Binn remained silent, refusing to engage in conversation with anyone.

Even Yu Yuan withdrew, spending his days behind closed doors, drowning his thoughts in liquor.

Yu Yuan was acutely aware that Qi Jinghai's parting words had struck a devastating blow to Xie Binn, causing him profound distress.

The Ice Thunder Mark was the revered treasure of the Little Clouds Sect. From his past life, Yu Yuan knew it to be a pinnacle Heaven Level artifact, possessing immense power to suppress the Outland Devaputra Race.

In those days, the sect master of the Little Clouds Sect had always wielded the Ice Thunder Mark. After perishing in the Outland, Yu Yuan had assumed the current sect master held it.

To his surprise, it was Xie Binn who wielded it now.

Had Qi Jinghai merely leveraged the Thunder Sect to pressure Xie Binn, he would have stood his ground fearlessly, potentially enlisting the support of the three upper sects to ensure fair treatment and prevent the Thunder Sect from overstepping.

But with the Thunder Sect swaying the three upper sects to their side, what recourse did Xie Binn and the Little Clouds Sect have?

Surrendering the sect's treasured Ice Thunder Mark was a concession Xie Binn could not stomach.

That evening, a tipsy Xie Binn flung open his door and beckoned Yu Yuan inside, instructing him to arrange the array that shielded soul thoughts and sound.

Once everything was in place, Xie Binn declared, "Chen Xi, I've decided to leave Luan Bird City."

Yu Yuan's mind raced, "Planning to lay low for a while?"

"I'm heading to the Desolate God Great Swamp," Xie Binn announced.

"Desolate God Great Swamp!" Yu Yuan exclaimed, taken aback.

"On the Profound Sky Continent, only the Desolate God Great Swamp can disregard the dictates of the three upper sects, along with the Devil Palace and the Demon Palace." Xie Binn's words were laced with the scent of alcohol, yet his eyes betrayed not a hint of inebriation. "I will not relinquish the Ice Thunder Mark!"

Yu Yuan nodded. "But for how long can you stay hidden?"

"Until another cultivation prodigy emerges from our Little Clouds Sect. Once he's capable of wielding the Ice Thunder Mark, I'll pass it on to him," Xie Binn replied.

"And how did this item come into your possession?" Yu Yuan inquired, his curiosity piqued.

"Well..." Xie Binn paused, then continued, "Since you're his direct disciple, I see no need for secrets. During the battle in the Outland Star River, my Yang God was destroyed. The old sect master sealed what remained of my Yang God soul within the Ice Thunder Mark, and I've kept it with me ever since."

"The Ice Thunder Mark contains a fragment of my Yang God, but our current sect master hasn't reached the Unrestrained Stage yet. He's not only incapable of controlling the Ice Thunder Mark, but he's also kind-hearted and reluctant to expel my lingering soul from it," Xie Binn explained, his face etched with concern. "And so, the Ice Thunder Mark remains in my care."

"Qi Jinghai mentioned there's still hope for your Yang God to be restored?" Yu Yuan asked, astonished.

"It's far from simple," Xie Binn let out a heavy sigh. "Qi Jinghai's master, being a Unrestrained Stage cultivator from the Thunder Sect and versed in the same Thunder Technique, might stand a chance if he dedicates all his efforts. But how could I possibly betray our old sect master, defect to the Thunder Sect, and surrender the Ice Thunder Mark?"

"Is there really no other way to reunite your Yang God?" Yu Yuan pressed.

"There are those in this world capable of extracting my soul fragment from the Ice Thunder Mark and reconstituting it," Xie Binn said, having clearly given it much thought. "They are masters of the soul secret arts in the Outland Star River. But getting involved with them would mean..."

He trailed off, offering a rueful smile instead.

Quietly, Yu Yuan uttered three words: "Divine Soul Sect."

Xie Binn was visibly shaken. "How do you know of them? All information about the Outland Star River has been suppressed! Their existence, their deeds—they're all cloaked in secrecy. I only learned of their origins in our Boundless Land after a desperate escape to the heavens, where I encountered some of their number."

The Divine Soul Sect's presence in the Boundless Land had been wiped away by the alliance of the three great upper sects, the Devil Palace, and the Demon Palace.

Only those cultivators who had ascended to the Yang God Stage, battling Heavenly Demons and alien races in the far reaches of the Outland Star River, would sporadically encounter remnants of the Divine Soul Sect.

Indeed, in Yu Yuan's former life, the Divine Soul Sect had vanished from the Star River for a time, with whispers suggesting they had ventured to even more distant and secluded parts of the cosmos.

Lately, the members of the Divine Soul Sect had begun to resurface, their power surging unexpectedly.

Xie Binn's encounter with the Divine Soul Sect was serendipitous. He initially mistook its members for a foreign race akin to humanity, only to later confirm they were fellow human cultivators who had departed the Boundless Land.

They were once a colossal force that commanded the obedience of the three upper sects, the Devil Palace, and the Demon Palace.

Yu Yuan, as a direct disciple of the Medicine God, should have been oblivious to the Divine Soul Sect's affairs. Yet, he mentioned them with such ease, leaving Xie Binn profoundly astonished.

"I've visited the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area and stumbled upon traces of the Divine Soul Sect," Yu Yuan said nonchalantly. "Is there really no alternative to the Divine Soul Sect?"

After a moment of reflection, Xie Binn replied, "I've been secretly mulling over this for nearly a century, reviewing it over and over. I believe that Qi Jinghai's master might possess the capability, and the Divine Soul Sect's secret arts could be a possibility. Beyond that, there's an artifact. But that artifact..."

"What artifact?" inquired Yu Yuan.

"The Evil Sect's revered treasure, said to possess the power to amass the essence of malevolent spirits. It's capable of absorbing the vengeful energies and various negative psychic forces from the souls of the deceased, then transforming them into concentrated malevolence. I have an inkling that the Evil Cauldron could extract the fragmented soul of the Yang God from the Ice Thunder Mark, and then fuse it back into the Heavenly Soul."

"If the Heavenly Soul can coalesce into a mass and return to the Niwan acupoint in my brain, I could refine it with the Yin God, nurture the primary soul, and perhaps embark on the path of cultivation once more."

Xie Binn let out a sigh. "The problem is, the Evil Cauldron has been lost for over a century. It was only last year that I heard it had been retrieved from the depths of the Ember Waters by a young man named Yu Yuan. I've kept tabs on him discreetly, but..."

He shook his head, a hint of resignation in his voice. "I've heard that all the artifacts he possessed were confiscated by the Desolate God before they even left the Great Swamp."

"As for myself, I'm considering taking refuge in the Desolate Swamp to escape calamity, and perhaps, just perhaps, to earn the Desolate God's favor."

"With the Evil Cauldron in the Desolate God's possession, if he's willing to assist me, I believe I can reunite my Heavenly Soul. As it descends into the Niwan aperture, I could directly ascend to the Soul Wandering Stage." Xie Binn spoke as if to himself.

Noticing Yu Yuan's peculiar expression, which hadn't changed for quite some time, he asked, "Chen Xi, what's with that look?" Xie Binn's voice was tinged with astonishment.

"This isn't the place for it. Come with me to the Blue Sky Shrine," Yu Yuan said abruptly, rising to his feet. "I'll rent a cultivation room there and show you something."

"Why?"

"All will be explained once we're there."

"Alright."

Two hours later, inside a cultivation room on the seventh floor of the Blue Sky Shrine, Yu Yuan shut the door without bothering with any protective banners. Here, they were free from prying eyes.

"What do you have to show me?" Xie Binn couldn't contain his curiosity any longer. Yu Yuan's odd demeanor had set him on edge the entire journey, leaving him anxious and unsure of Yu Yuan's intentions. If not for Yu Yuan being a direct disciple of the Medicine God, Xie Binn wouldn't have come to the Blue Sky Shrine on his word alone.

"Come forth," Yu Yuan whispered. From within the purple palace of his chest, a large black cauldron emerged, hovering in the air.

As the cauldron materialized, the Demonic Marks etched upon its surface began to writhe independently, releasing a peculiar and potent soul vibration.

"What is this?" Xie Binn, who had only heard of the Evil Cauldron through rumors and had never laid eyes on it, couldn't immediately identify it.

"This is exactly what you were hoping to find by taking a chance in the Desolate Swamp," Yu Yuan said with a chuckle.

"Ah! How can that be!" Xie Binn exclaimed, startled, as he stared at Yu Yuan as if he were a monster. "You, you're not the Desolate God, are you? Impossible! The Desolate God is a Tenth Level Great Demon. He wouldn't be practicing alchemy or be capable of receiving the Medicine God's legacy!"

Yu Yuan burst into laughter. "You've got it all wrong. I'm not the Desolate God. I'm a human, just like you. This item was mine to begin with. The Desolate God merely returned what was rightfully mine."

"You're Yu Yuan?!"

"Indeed."

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