Started out getting scumbags, but then invested in the invincible Empress.

Chapter 192 Soul Devouring Body!

"call--"

A gentle breeze begins to stir, the willows sway, ripples spread across the water, and the hair at the boy's temples flutters in the breeze.

That tall and handsome figure stood there, his eyes looking down with disdain, neither happy nor sad, like a painting, with a transcendent and otherworldly aura.

The green-haired tortoise raised its dark neck, staring blankly at Li Wudao's profile, and couldn't help but murmur, "Perhaps... he really will have a chance to compete for that position in the future."

"Senior Brother Li—"

The quiet atmosphere was broken as Zhou Bai strode over and bowed respectfully to Li Wudao's back.

Li Wudao closed his eyes, quickly composed himself, turned around, and forced a smile, "Is everything taken care of?"

Zhou Bai nodded and said in a deep voice, "We've checked. There isn't a single member of the Meng family alive in the entire mansion."

At this point, he removed a storage ring from his index finger and handed it over.

“Senior Brother Li, this is all the loot from the raid. There are quite a lot of good stuff. We found 10,000 spirit stones alone, and dozens of hundred-year-old spiritual herbs... It seems that the Meng family has been involved in a lot of murder and robbery.”

At the end, Zhou Bai's tone was somewhat surprised.

It seems abnormal that a marquis's family from a lower-ranking dynasty could have wealth comparable to that of an elder from the Xuantian Sect.

"Didn't I say that I wouldn't take a single penny of the proceeds from the confiscation? You can divide it among everyone."

Li Wudao was taken aback, but then smiled faintly.

Zhou Bai scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "That's true, but we didn't do anything. These resources are practically free."

The resources of the Marquis's mansion, when divided among everyone, amounted to roughly the same as a year's salary from the sect, which was quite a fortune.

"Just take it. Why all the nonsense?"

Li Wudao's face hardened slightly. "If you do this again, I won't be taking you with me if there's anything good."

"No, Senior Brother Li..."

Zhou Bai's face immediately fell, and he forced a fawning smile.

However, her smile looked even uglier than her tears.

Seeing his expression, Li Wudao smiled slightly.

When this kid wiped out the guard and the old woman with one sword, he was incredibly fierce and ruthless. Why is he starting to "act cute" now?

Suddenly, Li Wudao remembered something, pondered for a moment, and then took out a long sword in the color of sandalwood.

The sword blade appears to be forged from special wood, with faint wood grain patterns, yet it gleams with a metallic sheen. Twelve emerald green crystals are inlaid along the spine of the blade, making it quite eye-catching.

"This sword is called 'Awakening of Insects,' a low-grade Heaven-rank sword. It's more suitable for you than the sword you have now. Consider it an extra reward for you."

As Li Wudao spoke, he casually tossed the longsword over.

He quite admired this person and wouldn't mind giving him a promotion.

Zhou Bai was taken aback, hurriedly took the longsword, gently stroked the spine of the blade, and said with great affection, "Senior brother, is this sword called 'Awakening of Insects'... It's truly a fine sword!"

After a moment, his expression returned to normal. He handed the longsword back, shook his head, and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Senior Brother, but this sword is too valuable. I cannot accept it."

He was just an ordinary disciple, and it was already rare for him to be able to use a high-grade earth-level spiritual weapon. He dared not hope for too much.

"You don't need to worry. What you consider valuable is nothing special to me."

Li Wudao smiled slightly.

"........"

Zhou Bai's lips curled into a bitter smile.

Listen, is this human language?

That makes sense, given that Li Wudao is the only disciple of the Misty Peak's leader and the sect leader's favoritism towards him, he won't lack any resources.

If Li Wudao knew what he was thinking at this moment, he would probably be cursing and swearing.

Prejudice, it's all prejudice!

Since joining the sect, his nominal master, Old Man Xia, only gave him some good things in the first few days, and then nothing at all.

The sect leader was the same; he only talked the talk, giving the title of a true successor, but in reality, he didn't gain much benefit.

If it weren't for the system he possessed and some extraordinary encounters, he might be even poorer than Zhou Bai now.

Looking down at the gleaming blue sword, Zhou Bai's face showed a struggle, and he remained silent for a long time.

After a long pause, he raised his head, took a deep breath, and said seriously, "Senior Brother Li, may I exchange this 'Awakening of Insects' sword for a reward?"

Li Wudao was somewhat surprised. "What do you want to exchange it for?"

"The Secret of the Convergence of All Rivers"

Zhou Baining spoke.

"This seems to be one of the core inheritances of the sect, which only true disciples can cultivate."

Li Wudao sized him up, slightly puzzled: "I can help you, but as far as I know, that cultivation technique is very different from the system you are currently practicing. Do you intend to start over?"

Zhou Bai shook his head, his eyes filled with struggle, and sighed sadly, "Now that things have come to this, I dare not lie to my senior brother. It is not that I want to cultivate, but that I intend to let my sister cultivate."

"The core cultivation techniques cannot be learned without being part of the regular transmission. I have already made an exception to help you. You know the consequences if it were someone else."

Li Wudao condensed his voice.

"I know."

Zhou Bai nodded bitterly, remained silent for a moment, and then began to speak:

"I have a younger sister who was born with a strange illness that causes her to unconsciously and frantically absorb the spiritual energy of the surrounding world..."

"As she grew older, the frequency of her attacks increased, and in severe cases, it could even cause plants around her to wither and small animals to fall into a coma."

“Every time she fell ill, multiple meridians in her body would rupture, causing internal bleeding. She vomited blood and fell into a coma several times. Fortunately, she met a wandering Taoist priest with superb medical skills who came to her rescue and pulled her back from the brink of death.”

"According to the Taoist priest, my sister is very likely to have a special constitution. He has only read about it in historical records and books. The mortality rate is very high."

At this point, his face darkened, and he said with worry:

"He once asserted that, given my sister's current condition, without a miracle, she would likely not live to be ten years old."

After hearing this, Li Wudao fell silent.

The thought of a little girl suffering from the pain of ruptured meridians day and night since birth is unbearable and cannot be endured by ordinary people.

How old is your sister this year?

Li Wudao couldn't help but ask a question.

Zhou Bai's tone was somewhat melancholy as he said, "Nine years old."

"That means there's only one year left..."

Li Wudao frowned, feeling that things were getting a bit tricky.

After a moment, he said seriously, "In principle, core techniques cannot be passed on to outsiders, but I will ask the sect leader for instructions, and I don't think there will be any problems."

Zhou Bai was overjoyed and couldn't help but grin, "Thank you, Senior Brother Li! If my sister cultivates the 'Ten Thousand Rivers Returning to the Flow Technique,' she might be able to stabilize the raging spiritual energy in her body and reshape her meridians."

He believed that given Li Wudao's standing in the sect leader's eyes, obtaining a core cultivation technique was still within his reach.

"Your sister's situation is not that simple; it cannot be solved with just one cultivation technique."

Just then, the green-haired turtle's untimely voice rang out, directly pouring cold water on Zhou Bai's enthusiasm.

Seeing Zhou Bai's expression turn somber, Li Wudao urged, "What do you know? Stop keeping me in suspense and tell me quickly."

"If I'm not mistaken, your sister doesn't have a strange illness. Just as that wandering Taoist priest said, she has a special constitution..."

The green-haired turtle narrowed its eyes and said in a deep voice, "This kind of creature, which feeds on the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and whose own meridians are damaged, fits the characteristics of a 'spirit-devouring body'."

"This is an extremely rare and controversial physique, with a very low lower limit and a very high upper limit. Because of the rupture of meridians in early years, it is difficult to cultivate and extremely easy to die young; some jokingly call it the 'Spirit-Devouring Waste Body.'"

"However, there are also a few exceptional talents who have grown tenaciously, their cultivation speed advancing by leaps and bounds. Their spiritual energy strength and recovery speed are more than ten times that of martial artists of the same realm, allowing them to fight almost endlessly, making them extremely powerful in combat."

"Even those with royal bodies and imperial bodies are no match for it, and it can even contend with holy bodies. Therefore, some people respectfully call it the 'Soul-Devouring Holy Body'."

"........."

Li Wudao was dumbfounded.

I never imagined that such a bizarre and special constitution existed in this world.

"Since you know about this Soul-Devouring Body, do you have a way to solve its drawbacks?"

Listening to the green-haired turtle's explanation, he vaguely understood why this special constitution led to an early death.

It's probably because children's meridians are too fragile. If they unconsciously absorb so much spiritual energy, how can their meridians not break?

Those who have had their meridians broken hundreds of times and survived countless near-death experiences have developed sufficiently resilient meridians that can serve as containers for spiritual energy, thus nourishing themselves and gradually becoming stronger.

The green-haired turtle tilted its head and thought for a long time before buzzing, "Yes, there is, but it's a bit troublesome."