Chapter 125: Life as Fragile as Paper Requires a Heart for Beauty

Slowly, she grew up alongside the Lin brothers.

It was not until recently, after seizing Blood Crystal City from the Hundred Refinement Sect, that the Holy Mother of the Black Lotus finally sensed the bloodline aura of her beloved daughter and, unable to wait a moment longer, brought her back. Over the years, the Saintess and Lin Yuan had developed feelings for one another, a bond that could be considered that of childhood sweethearts. When she was abducted years ago, she only knew her parents were building a faction; she never imagined that the infamous Black Emperor Sect was their creation. Consequently, she had never reached out, and the fact that two Core Formation cultivators could not sense her bloodline aura was linked to Lin Yuan—or more precisely, to the legacy of the Taoist of Yin and Yang.

Speaking of this, Lin Wangyuan was still furious, claiming he had saved an ingrate. It turned out that the two Core Formation cultivators could not sense their daughter’s aura because the place where the Lin brothers lived was the former residence of the Taoist of Yin and Yang from three thousand years ago. The dwelling contained an abundance of formations, cultivation techniques, and secret arts. Her aura had been masked by the residence’s concealment array. Logically, this should have been the Lin brothers' stroke of fortune, but the outcome was obvious.

After retrieving her daughter, the Holy Mother of the Black Lotus visited once. As a Core Formation expert, she possessed the necessary discernment. Upon discovering that this had been the residence of a Core Formation master, she chased the two brothers away, dismissing them with a pittance of supplies. She then dispatched a massive amount of manpower and resources to break the array’s restrictions, and after paying a certain price, she successfully obtained all the legacies within the dwelling.

To have her precious daughter returned, combined with the inheritance of a Core Formation array master—it was truly a double blessing. She had intended for her daughter to practice the advanced version of her own foundational technique, the Black Lotus Scripture. Unfortunately, because her daughter had stayed there since childhood and had obtained many treasures with Lin Yuan, her cultivation had long since shifted to the Taoist of Yin and Yang’s legacy technique, the Yin-Yang Dragon Subduing Art. Changing techniques would require too much time, and with her Dao body refinement imminent, she had no choice but to continue cultivating along the path of the legacy.

Listening quietly to Lin Wangyuan’s bitter complaints, Cao Chengyu suddenly realized that this was yet another protagonist template. Having experienced the affair with Xiao Yan, he no longer easily labeled people as "protagonists." It remained true that in everyone’s story, the protagonist is oneself. Which accomplished cultivator has not been a legend in their own right? Who has not once created a miracle?

Lin Yuan could, at best, be considered lucky. Now that his fortune had been snatched away, he likely loathed the Holy Mother of the Black Lotus to the bone. Cao Chengyu wanted to see the Saintess, but that required her mother’s permission, which meant he needed an introduction. He did not want to linger here for too long; he still held a high-level treasure chest provided by Luo Yuzhu, which had the potential to yield a "double yolk." He had originally reserved it for the Core Formation stage version of the Huangting Scripture.

Now, wanting to conquer his target quickly without involving genuine emotions, he had to take a gamble. To avoid trouble for his true self, he desperately needed a special secret technique for physical transformation. He had no choice but to open the chest; if the experiment succeeded, he might even be able to obtain three chests at once. With Lin Wangyuan’s introduction, meeting the Saintess would not be difficult. The only thing to consider now was how to persuade her.

Exchanging drinks with Lin Wangyuan, and with the aid of spirit stones, the man poured out all his resentment toward the Holy Mother of the Black Lotus. One could only wonder if he would panic once he sobered up. Making an excuse to pay, Cao Chengyu activated his "Scoundrel Radar," selected the only high-level treasure chest, and chose to open it.

A golden light, visible only to him, flashed, and two books appeared in his hands.

"A double yolk!"

[Minor Divine Ability: True Form Transformation], [Soul Cultivation Technique: Human Soul Immortal Chapter].

Good heavens, Cao Chengyu marveled. He had to admit the sheer power of the ranking system; regardless of the grade, the chest always produced exactly what he needed. Looking at it this way, the grade of the chest seemed almost useless.

In reality, that was not the case. Cao Chengyu had previously obtained the Huangting Scripture (Breath Cultivation) from a low-level chest, the "Hundred Interpretations of Immortal Cultivation" from a mid-level chest, the "Great Evolution Heavenly Demon Pill Formula" from a low-level chest, and the "Azure Dragon Yin-Yang Dao Treasury" from a high-level chest.

To date, the Huangting Scripture was undoubtedly the most formidable technique he had ever opened. The first instance, however, came from a low-level chest—the "Huangting Dao Song," a foundational technique purely for altering his cultivation aptitude and enhancing his comprehension. It was otherwise ordinary and lacked auxiliary products.

The "Hundred Interpretations of Immortal Cultivation" from the mid-level chest continued to provide assistance to this day; its practicality was immense, and it allowed him to choose two foundational arts, laying an incredibly solid foundation for his alchemy and artifact refining.

As for the high-level goods, the "Azure Dragon Yin-Yang Dao Treasury" was a treasure that would span his entire life. It came with the dual-cultivation artifact, the Yin-Yang Dragon Needles, the pill formula for the Yin-Yang Dragon and Tiger Intercourse Pill, and the method of dual cultivation. It was all-encompassing, truly worthy of being called a "Dao Treasury."

The distinction was clear. By his estimation, once his realm was higher—for instance, at the Core Formation stage—he would likely need at least a mid-level chest to open the subsequent chapters of the Huangting Scripture. While the treasure chest provided what he needed most at his current stage, there was clearly a cap on the contents. It only provided the most suitable item from the pool of treasures available to that chest level, without any derivative products.

Gaining a clearer understanding of the "Scoundrel Radar" rules, Cao Chengyu began to examine his haul. "Minor Divine Ability" was clearly a classification within the system of divine abilities.

[True Form Transformation]
Effect: By expending a certain amount of mana, one can perfectly simulate any physical form. One’s strength can be fully exerted, and the soul’s aura will change in synchronization. It is extremely difficult for Nascent Soul cultivators and below to discern any flaws.

[Human Soul Immortal Chapter]
Effect: One of the fragments of the Soul Refinement technique for the Deity Transformation stage. It is divided into the Human Soul, Earth Soul, and Heaven Soul chapters. Gathering all three allows one to refine a Pure Yang Soul, enabling one to wander the nine heavens by day and the nine netherworlds by night, treating lightning tribulations as nothing. With a single thought, one can perform soul possession. Once the Human Soul chapter is mastered, the lifespan of the soul increases tenfold.

"Holy cow."

True Form Transformation perfectly met his needs, which was not surprising, but the Human Soul Immortal Chapter was truly overpowered. A soul’s lifespan was the true root of a cultivator’s limitations. Once the soul’s lifespan broke through those constraints, even if the physical body decayed into dust, one could seek a new body and undergo rebirth through possession. It was equivalent to having many chances to start over, and because it was highly proactive, it was far superior to items like the Nine-Turn Reincarnation Pill.

Although Cao Chengyu was confident in clearing the game on his first life, having a "resurrection coin" was acceptable. It was like insurance—not because he truly feared disaster, but what if? If something happened, there would be no time for regrets. Compared to the "Floating Observation Method" he currently used, he could not yet determine which was superior, but he would need to be even more cautious in the future. Since he possessed a technique that could extend a soul’s lifespan, it was highly likely that other old monsters possessed similar secrets. He would need to be much more careful with soul possession.

Having agreed to have Lin Wangyuan introduce him to the Saintess in three days, Cao Chengyu left the area. For now, he would first attain entry-level mastery of the True Form Transformation before taking any real action.

He went to a rental shop in the immortal marketplace, opened a cultivation room, and went into seclusion for three days to focus entirely on mastering the Minor Divine Ability: True Form Transformation.