Hetu had returned with a horse-drawn carriage not long after, but instead of a horse, he was pulling the carriage himself. In the sect, even though he wasn't a unique disciple, he was the only son of an outer elder. So, pulling a carriage like a horse was a burden, but there was no choice; he had sworn upon heaven.
When someone swore upon heaven, their souls were marked, and if they broke their oath, their souls would be instantly obliterated by another lightning strike from the sky. Most of the time, no one accepted being another's servant, for once you swore the oath, there was no other option. Often, if the owner of the servant was nearing death, they would make the servant swear the oath again and pass them on to the younger generation. If the owner died in battle, the victor would force them to swear again. In other words, once you chose to become a servant, you remained one until your death.
Zenith had already searched the bodies of the two dead on the ground. There was some money on both of them, but there was nothing else useful. Zenith muttered to himself, 'I've encountered beggars.'
If someone were to hear Zenith, they would be vomit blood. For someone with slightly more than one gold coin in his hand, he was too audacious.
When Hetu approached Zenith again, he gave another order. 'Carry the bodies side by side and burn them, then find a cave.'
'As you command,' Hetu replied monotonously, already getting to work.
Before long, Zenith, Hetu, and the young girl stood at the mouth of a spacious cave. Hetu had a sack on his back, containing more than 300 kilograms of 'Toxicthorn Herb.' This herb was extremely poisonous to humans; even a few leaves were enough to kill a person within minutes. However, it was mostly useless because of its distinctive smell and taste. Still, it contained a considerable amount of worldly energy, which is why it was often fed to horses and various other animals. If the animal survived, it would undergo mutations and could be sold for thousands of gold coins.
The trio soon entered the cave's interior, and Zenith gave another command to Hetu. 'Guard the entrance. If I don't call you within 20 days, you can enter.'
Hetu immediately got to work, as usual, saying, 'As you command.'
Zenith then turned to the young girl, who looked scared and hesitant. 'Don't worry; I won't harm you. Take this.'
He handed her a bottle containing one of the simplest sleeping medicine that could be bought from any pharmacy. Its only function was to induce a deep sleep for two or three hours.
The young girl, with a mixture of fear and reluctance, took the bottle from Zenith's hand and began drinking it. After the first sip, her vision blurred, and she soon lost consciousness.
Zenith laid the girl on the ground and sat cross-legged, closing his eyes.
All the techniques from the divine deity were etched into his mind, as if he had memorized them for years. The divine deity had left him with four techniques:
1. Five-Element Body and Soul Harmony
2. Soul Manipulation
3. Soul Tempering
4. Body Tempering
Zenith retrieved a small bottle and took out two tiny greenish-blue pills. These pills were known as 'Soul Awakening Pills' and were widely used by novice cultivators. They helped awaken one's soul and allowed them to sense the worldly energy around them. However, this awakening was only effective for a very small percentage of the soul; if one's body wasn't strong enough, their soul would truly awaken, leaving them without a body soul was just too powerful for mortal bodys.
After the ten minutes.
Zenith could see tiny golden particles resembling dust floating in the air. Although they were shallow, he could sense immense power in these tiny particles.
Zenith was slightly surprised but quickly focused on the unconscious girl lying in front of him. With a small dagger, the same one he had used to take her hostage earlier, he made a horizontal incision just below her navel, aiming to reach her womb.
In this world, most of the people were born with the soul of a reincarnated person, but occasionally, a new soul could be created. This possibility, albeit small, was exclusive to the female body.
Zenith knew all this thanks to the knowledge he had gained when he learned the technique. The moment he learned it, he had despised the deity who had created it. The so-called deity had hidden this method from the other gods to prevent them from using innocent babys to create perfect soldiers but how many innocent girls had he violated, and how many had he spared? Just to get this knowledge.People like him, who pretended to be righteous and good while committing all kinds of atrocities, were the kind of people Zenith detested the most. Zenith wasn't a saint, but at least he didn't try to present his actions as acts of kindness. Good was good, and evil was evil, and Zenith knew that what he did was far from good, but at least he didn't pretend otherwise.