Hearing Yu Qingya’s words, Qin Yu felt somewhat dazed, as if the things she had not understood in the past had suddenly become clear and distinct.
If she went by what Yu Qingya was saying, it seemed as though their past days had been like a pre-set program, destined to unfold in this exact way.
That was right. As characters in a male-protagonist novel, their sole existence seemed to be nothing more than a foil to highlight the protagonist’s blazing radiance.
A faint ache blossomed in her heart. Before hearing these words, she had only felt bewildered, but after hearing them, that bewilderment was replaced by an endless wave of heartache.
Qin Yu stepped forward and gently wrapped her arms around Yu Qingya from behind.
She felt the body in her arms stiffen momentarily before slowly relaxing.
“Older Sister, don’t worry. I will always be your best friend. From now on, by my side, you can just be your truest self.”
Qin Yu spoke in a very soft whisper right beside Yu Qingya’s ear.
The two of them remained in that position. The room was utterly still, both of them quietly relishing the peace brought by this fleeting moment.
Just as Yu Qingya was about to say something, the door was suddenly pushed open.
“Senior Sister Xiaoyou, it is bad.” Qingxu, standing outside the door, stopped short upon seeing the two embracing. The words that had yet to be spoken died in her throat, a clear, indescribable emotion flickering in her eyes.
As if jolted awake from a dream, Qin Yu hurriedly released Yu Qingya, clearing her throat with a deliberate cough. “What is the matter?”
Qingxu quickly recovered her composure. “Senior Sister, the villagers you sent disciples to rescue are acting rather strange. They would like to ask you to go and take a look.”
Qin Yu had not expected those people to move so swiftly. “Are there any anomalies?”
Qingxu paused to gather her phrasing. “It is as though they are walking corpses.”
Those words caused Qin Yu to freeze instantly. How could she have forgotten such a crucial detail? Those foreign clans possessed one final, most vicious skill, which was the ability to strip away souls.
After all, a rumor circulated in the cultivation world: if a person’s physical body perished, reincarnation and rebirth were still possible, but if a person’s soul was destroyed, that was true, permanent annihilation.
Without waiting to offer any explanations, Qin Yu rushed directly out the doorway and headed toward an estate they had secured on the outskirts of town.
The estate was desolate and completely unlivable. Coupled with its secluded terrain, it had also become an ideal location for them to exchange intelligence.
“Take me to see them,” Qin Yu said immediately to the disciple standing guard at the entrance.
After observing the people inside the courtyard, Qin Yu had a rough idea of the situation in her mind.
At first glance, these individuals appeared no different from ordinary people, but upon closer inspection, their movements were entirely rigid, and their eyes were hollow and devoid of expression.
A few who kept crying and making a fuss seemed as though only half of their souls had been harvested, leaving them half-witted.
No matter how anyone questioned them, they only responded with tears and wails.
When pressed too urgently, they would even flash expressions of sheer terror.
“Have you figured out what is going on?”
Hearing the voice, Qin Yu raised her head and was surprised to see Yu Qingya.
“Older Sister, why did you run all the way out here instead of resting properly in your room?” Qin Yu quickly stood up and hurried to Yu Qingya’s side.
Yu Qingya’s complexion was still somewhat pale, but her steps were light; she should make a full recovery after recuperating for a few more days.
“I am fine. It is just that this situation is far too bizarre, and I could not rest easy without coming to see for myself.”
Yu Qingya furrowed her brows slightly, a wisp of faint sorrow clinging to her features alongside a hint of self-reproach.
The moment she saw Yu Qingya, Qin Yu knew the older woman was blaming herself. After all, Yu Qingya’s rescue missions in the past had always been immensely successful, yet a mishap had occurred right here.
“Older Sister, I suspect these people have had their souls stripped away.”
Qin Yu voiced her hypothesis.
“A soul? How could that be possible?”
Before Yu Qingya could speak, a disciple of the Lotus Pavilion stepped forward to refute the claim, finding it far too fantastical.
Up until now, the cultivation world had never once heard of such a concept as stripping away a person’s soul.
Ignoring the others, Qin Yu fixed her gaze instead on Yu Qingya, waiting for her response.
“Go on.”
Yu Qingya nodded at Qin Yu. This was also the first time she had ever heard of such a theory, yet ever since meeting Qin Yu, she had encountered many small, unexpected surprises that she could not explain. For some reason, she felt that what Qin Yu was saying this time must be correct.
“How could it not be possible? Let me ask you, what is it that spiritual attacks actually target?”
Qin Yu posed the simplest possible analogy, looking toward the assembled disciples of the Lotus Pavilion.
While the others might not have immediately understood, those words served as an instant enlightenment for Yu Qingya, who had personally experienced the terrifying force of Qin Yu’s spiritual power.
If a spiritual attack targeted anything, it could only target the soul.
Most people simply assumed these were two distinct methods of combat, but during that past clash, Yu Qingya had clearly perceived her own soul vibrating under the assault.
That was also why, when Qin Yu unleashed the Eye of Enlightenment, Cheng Jian had collapsed in such excruciating agony, coming dangerously close to bleeding from his seven orifices.
Seeing the expression on Yu Qingya’s face, the rest of the group gradually dawned on the truth.
Yet, spiritual power cultivators were already exceptionally rare across the entire cultivation realm, let alone the possibility that the culprits operated as an organized faction.
What a terrifying existence that would imply.
“If that is the case, then what do they use the stolen souls for?”
Given her unfamiliarity with this domain, Yu Qingya asked out of genuine curiosity.
Qin Yu pondered for a moment before answering, “When I was young, I once read in an ancient text that certain individuals who cultivate a specialized, forbidden secret art will use human souls as nourishment to accelerate their cultivation. However, that usually applies only to ordinary mortals.”
“If they encounter someone with high cultivation, they can even brand the person’s soul and turn them into puppets to serve their own bidding.”
As Qin Yu’s voice trailed off, a series of sharp gasps rippled through the surrounding crowd. The description sounded truly hair-raising, and the method itself was undeniably vicious.
“You mean these villagers had their souls absorbed merely as nourishment, but what about the ones who were left half-witted?”
Someone raised a puzzled objection, pointing out that souls could not possibly be only half-absorbed.
“It is possible that because your Lotus Pavilion arrived too quickly with reinforcements, their extraction was forcibly interrupted before they could finish. Of course, there is also another possibility.”
As if suddenly realizing something, Qin Yu’s expression turned grave.
“You mean these villagers were merely decoys, and their true target is…”
The two of them arrived at the same conclusion simultaneously. After Yu Qingya spoke, they exchanged a glance, reading the answer clearly in each other’s eyes.
“Senior Sister, stop speaking in riddles! What is actually going on here?”
A Lotus Pavilion disciple could no longer contain her impatience and blurted out the question.
“Older Sister means that the souls of the villagers were just a ruse to lure us here, while their actual target is us, the souls of cultivators.”
No sooner had Qin Yu finished speaking than a wave of dense black fog swept in from the outside, accompanied by harsh and grating laughter.
“As expected of disciples from the Lotus Pavilion and the Ancient Tree Sect. I certainly was not mistaken; you figured it out so quickly. However, since things have reached this point, allow me to taste just how delicious a cultivator’s soul truly is.”
The crowd instinctively raised their heads, their complexions instantly draining of color into sheer terror. Even Yu Qingya, who usually wore little expression, turned grave.
It was none other than the Seventh Elder, whom they had struck down just yesterday.