"Sect Leader Red, you were right!"
Ma Xianhong's expression was far from pleasant. He prided himself on having grand ideals, but discovering such people among his subordinates felt like a slap in the face.
Seeing Zhao Guizhen lying there like a dead dog, Lin Jiu knew the two had fought. Ma Xianhong's facial expression gave it away—Zhao Guizhen wasn't stupid; he instantly sensed something was off.
It was normal for them to fight. If Zhao Guizhen had obediently followed Ma Xianhong back without a struggle, it would have meant he had no chance at all. This guy lost because of his poor cultivation talent and weak willpower. His intelligence was still intact.
"Start your work."
Lin Jiu instructed Lu Liang to begin as Zhao Guizhen had already passed out.
Blue Qi began to tug at Zhao Guizhen's soul. Unlike the souls Lu Liang had extracted before, Zhao Guizhen's soul was partially tainted with black energy, likely due to his practice of dark arts.
"I need some time to separate this polluted portion of the soul before I can proceed," Lu Liang said, pointing to the blackened section.
"No problem! You two are welcome to stay in Biyou Village as long as you need," Ma Xianhong offered.
However, Lin Jiu couldn't afford to spend too much time in Biyou Village; he was still thinking about the Lu family's research records. He responded, "No need to make it complicated; I'll handle this part."
Lin Jiu's hand was enveloped in a gray energy. After observing Lu Liang's Soul Seizing Technique several times, Lin Jiu managed to control the soul energy around his hand, making it appear relatively uniform on the surface—though he still had a long way to go for more precise operations.
But this was enough. Wrapped in purer soul energy than the Qi used in the Soul Seizing Technique, Lin Jiu grabbed the blackened part of the soul and violently tore it away, dispersing it with a slap.
"..."
Lu Liang was already numb after encountering so many shocking things today. The Body Refinement Furnace that could turn ordinary people into Outcast, and now Red, who managed to imitate a rudimentary form of the Soul Seizing Technique after just a few observations.
Lin Jiu didn't know what Lu Liang was thinking, but if he did, he would have told him not to overthink it. The principles and details were quite different, even though both involved manipulating souls through energy in their hands.
Even without having seen the Soul Seizing Technique, Lin Jiu could have done what he just did once he became proficient in controlling soul energy. The real brilliance of the Soul Seizing Technique lies in its ability to manipulate the soul without causing harm, unlike Lin Jiu's approach, which was more destructive.
"This speeds up the process."
Lu Liang said as he began processing the soul beside Lin Jiu and Ma Xianhong, who continued their conversation.
"Impressive, this Lu family's unique skill isn't inferior to the Eight Mysterious Skills!"
Ma Xianhong remarked as he manipulated a puppet to quickly reassemble a table, impressed by Lu Liang's Technique.
"Hahaha, Chief Ma, you're underestimating the Eight Mysterious. Did you know that 44 years ago, the Lu family didn't have anything like the Soul Sezing Technique?"
Lin Jiu revealed, hinting at his intention to bring Ma Xianhong along to the Lu family.
"44 years..."
Ma Xianhong was taken aback. As an inheritor of the Eight Mysterious, few understood the significance of that year better than him.
"Sect Leader Red, are you saying that the Soul Seizing Technique is related to the Eight Mysterious?"
Ma Xianhong immediately connected the two.
"I'd say it's likely a part of one of the Eight Mysterious. What I'm interested in is how the Lu family managed to turn the Soul Seizing Technique into their innate ability."
Lin Jiu mused.
"Damn!"
"What's wrong?"
Both men turned their gaze toward Lu Liang, who had exclaimed.
"Sect Leader Red, can you be a little more considerate with the information you reveal? I almost crushed it!"
Lu Liang muttered, realizing his mental resilience needed more training.
"If you're interested in the Eight Mysterious, this is the Mysterious Mechanism Converts All Art. Whether or not you help me recover my memories, it's yours!"
Ma Xianhong placed a Pouch on the table and handed it to Lin Jiu.
Ma Xianhong didn't mind if others learned the Mysterious Mechanism Converts All Art, as long as he approved of them. However, the number of people he acknowledged was few, and the person in front of him certainly counted as one.
Lin Jiu knew that his recognition stemmed largely from the development of the Reincarnation Sect. He hadn't expected to gain such a reward for completing a task.
"I won't be polite."
Lin Jiu said as he accepted the Pouch and examined its information.
[Devouring Pouch]
Origin: The Outcast · Biyou Village
Quality: Green
Type: Special Item
Effect: Contains a space of one cubic meter; cannot store living things.
Rating: 17
[Description: A masterpiece by Ma Xian-Hong of the Divine Machine Sect.
Note: Unnotarized item. Can be notarized with Paradise Coins at the end of the world mission.]
"..."
It seemed that he would need to check the information on the Divine Mysterious Mechanism Converts All Art later, Lin Jiu thought as he tossed the Devouring Pouch into his storage space.
Although the Devouring Pouch was also a spatial item, the storage space provided by Paradise was of a much higher tier. Lin Jiu considered filling the Devouring Pouch with explosives, turning it into a bomb, and then storing it in his storage space.
"..."
Ma Xianhong suddenly felt that he might have been a bit hasty in giving away his item.
"Is this how big shots communicate? They're just playing around with the Eight Mysterious!"
Lu Liang mentally noted.
The soul, now refined into a small golden Qi orb, was wrapped in blue Qi. Since Zhao Guizhen was already guilty of severe crimes and didn't intend to survive, Lu Liang didn't bother to hold back; he treated the soul as though it belonged to a dead person, speeding up the process considerably.
"Village Chief Ma, take a look!"
Lu Liang handed the small golden Qi orb to Ma Xianhong.
Ma Xianhong placed it on his forehead and saw Zhao Guizhen's memories. The memory of killing a child was there, but the memories afterward were missing.
This was because Zhao Guizhen had already practiced the Seven Calamities Body at that time, and that part of the memory, along with the polluted soul, had been dispersed by Lin Jiu.
"Our Lu family's Soul Seizing Technique can detect lies in a person's soul, read and delete memories... If Sect Leader Red's information is correct, it's indeed possible that it's part of the Eight Mysterious!"
Lu Liang found Lin Jiu's information highly plausible.
"Let's do this!"
Ma Xianhong calmly sat down in front of Lu Liang. If this could help him recover his lost memories, there would be no need to risk continuing with the Body Refinement Furnace plan. Following Lin Jiu's advice to focus on developing Biyou Village sounded like a good idea.
Ma Xianhong had his flaws, but his strengths were also clear. Once he chose to trust, he would stick to his choice. However, at his core, he was a fanatical technophile with little talent for judging people. Many of the Outcast gathered in Biyou Village had ulterior motives, and few were genuinely committed to the village.
As for later additions like Zhuge Qing and Wang Ye? They didn't need his judgment. Their character and abilities were already evident; Ma Xianhong just needed to complete the recruitment.
However, if Lu Liang attempted any tricks, even without Lin Jiu watching, he wouldn't necessarily succeed. Lin Jiu was certain that Yaoxing Sect had left some emergency measures in place.
Lu Liang did consider learning the Mysterious Mechanism Converts All Art by probing Ma Xianhong's soul, but becoming an artificer required talent. The Mysterious Mechanism Converts All Art could help the user craft quickly, but that didn't mean learning it didn't require talent.
Moreover, if he tried anything, the first person to kill him would be Lin Jiu, who was watching from the side. They weren't really on the same team as Ma Xianhong presumed. Ma Xianhong was far more important than him. If something unexpected happened, he would be the first to die.
Considering all this, Lu Liang decided to stick to his task honestly.