Chapter Forty-Four: The Divine Power of the Great Emperor

Everything within the Grand Dao Sect remained entirely unchanged.

Upon returning to the sect, Ji Qingyou sought out Lin Jun at the very first instance.

Hesitating at the doorway for a long while, she ultimately chose to step inside.

"Master, your disciple Ji Qingyou pays her respects."

Her voice was cool and clear, yet it carried a faint, hidden trace of weakness.

"Come in."

Lin Jun’s voice drifted out, sounding as though he had just awakened from a deep sleep. Over recent days, he had been researching the Laws of Karma, already achieving remarkable results.

The moment he laid eyes on Ji Qingyou, Lin Jun sensed that something was amiss with her and promptly asked, "What has happened to you?"

Faced with this sudden inquiry, a flash of shame immediately crossed Ji Qingyou’s exquisitely beautiful face. However, she did not conceal the truth and recounted the entire sequence of events that had transpired in the Great Yan Dynasty to her master.

Lowering her gaze, she continued, "When this disciple returned to the Great Yan to set things right and execute the crown prince, I accidentally allowed the lingering resentment of deities and demons to invade my body while commanding them. I have come specifically to seek Master's help..."

Hearing that she had been invaded by the resentment of ancient deities and demons, Lin Jun’s expression shifted drastically. Those were ancient deities and demons! For Ji Qingyou to be standing here right now was nothing short of a miracle!

"Such a momentous matter, and you didn't even bother to inform your master? You are far too reckless!"

Lin Jun grabbed her hand immediately. Checking her pulse, he discovered that the resentment within her had been temporarily suppressed, and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"This disciple knows her wrong. I simply did not wish to distract Master," Ji Qingyou said with a hint of grievance, yet her eyes were filled with absolute trust as she looked at her master.

The power of resentment originating from ancient deities and demons would leave anyone else utterly helpless, but placed in her master's hands, she believed he would certainly find a way! This was the underlying confidence that had emboldened her to provoke the resentment of deities and demons in the first place.

Indeed, Lin Jun was already racking his brains for a solution. However, Ji Qingyou's current condition was exceedingly difficult to handle. The crisis brought by that trace of deity and demon resentment had already surpassed that of the quasi-emperors who had besieged her. If not handled properly, her death was merely a matter of time!

And how to handle it—that was an entirely different problem.

The best approach would be to extract the deity-and-demon resentment from Ji Qingyou's body. However, that resentment, though seemingly settled in her flesh, had actually penetrated deep into her soul. Moreover, the resentment of deities and demons was immensely powerful. To forcibly separate it—not to mention whether it would succeed—would inevitably cause permanent damage to her soul! By then, even if the disciple's life was saved, she would be left mindless and soulless.

In such a situation, the optimal strategy was to have Ji Qingyou cultivate a secondary soul originating from her own essence, and then use certain techniques to transition the resentment from the primary soul onto the secondary soul. Only then could the problem be resolved perfectly.

While he did possess cultivation manuals for the spirit and soul, their grades were extremely low. He would have to rely on the system's hundredfold return to try his luck. Fortunately, he had the system; without its hundredfold return, he truly wouldn't have known what to do.

With these thoughts in mind, a Mysterious-tier cultivation manual suddenly materialized in Lin Jun's hand. Handing it to a bewildered Ji Qingyou, he instructed, "Your current situation is exceptionally unique. Try cultivating a secondary soul using this manual first."

"???"

Staring at the mere Mysterious-tier manual titled *Divine Soul Art*, Ji Qingyou was filled with a mind full of question marks.

Just at that moment, the system's voice rang in Lin Jun's ear.

[Hundredfold return successful! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Emperor-tier cultivation manual: *Great Art of Divine Division and Thought Manifestation*!]

Instantly, a cyan scroll appeared within Lin Jun's sleeve.

Sweeping his divine sense through its contents, Lin Jun let out a long breath of relief. Whether the system had intentionally aided him or not, this Emperor-tier manual explicitly recorded methods for dividing the soul and refining an external avatar!

"What I gave you just now was merely a joke. Go and cultivate this instead," Lin Jun said with a smile, exchanging the *Divine Soul Art* back from Ji Qingyou's hand.

"This—this, Master..." Holding the scroll of the Emperor-tier manual, the *Great Art of Divine Division and Thought Manifestation*, Ji Qingyou's expression shifted drastically, overwhelmed by emotion.

As a reincarnated quasi-emperor, how could she fail to recognize an Emperor-tier manual? Yet, after hesitating repeatedly, she felt it was simply too precious. Gritting her teeth, she said, "This item is far too valuable. This disciple is unworthy of such a gift. Please take it back, Master."

"What nonsense are you uttering? Are not your master's manuals meant for you to cultivate?" Lin Jun gently patted her shoulder, and with a flick of his wrist, he produced a *Qingdi Longevity Pill* he had previously acquired.

"Take this pill as well. Should you encounter any situation that requires the consumption of your life force, use this pill to make up for it. I believe that with your talent, you will certainly succeed in cultivating this technique!"

"This disciple is undeserving..." Ji Qingyou bowed deeply. Such treasures were things she had never even laid eyes upon in her past life as a quasi-emperor, yet they were now being bestowed upon her by her master...

Others might remain ignorant of the value of these two items, but she was acutely aware of what they truly represented.

"Take it since it's given to you. There is no need for such formality between master and disciple. You need not feel unworthy; simply repay your master with filial piety once you achieve success in the future."

Seeing the internal conflict within his disciple, Lin Jun feigned displeasure.

Witnessing her master's reaction, a surge of deep emotion welled up within Ji Qingyou. Thinking that she had already belonged to her master in this lifetime anyway, she ceased to refuse further.

"Qingyou expresses her gratitude to Master."

She bowed profoundly, feeling that the tribulation of her past life was simply her great fortune for having met her master in this present existence.

"Very well, go cultivate. Should you encounter anything you do not understand, you may come find me, and I will search for further means to assist you."

Lin Jun waved his hand, sensing the deep emotional stirring in his disciple. Furthermore, what she had done previously—though unsaid—had warmed his heart.

"This disciple takes her leave."

Respectfully retreating, Ji Qingyou returned to her own grand hall and immediately set to work with burning anticipation to study the *Great Art of Divine Division and Thought Manifestation*.

Ji Qingyou had initially assumed that although this "Emperor-tier" manual was of an unprecedented grade, she would still need to comprehend it through her own efforts. To her surprise, the moment she brought out the scroll, a streak of cyan light flashed directly into her mind. In a mere instant, she gained complete comprehension of the entire Emperor-tier manual.

"This disciple deeply thanks Master." She stood up and bowed once more toward the direction of the peak master's grand hall.

She knew this was entirely the doing of her master, Lin Jun. Otherwise, while Emperor-tier manuals were rare, cultivating them was by no means an easy task.

With this form of direct, inherited comprehension, everything within the *Great Art of Divine Division and Thought Manifestation* was now crystal clear in her mind. Furthermore, aided by the Emperor-tier medicinal pellet bestowed by her master—the *Qingdi Longevity Pill*—the very first step in cultivating a secondary soul lay before her: severing the soul!

This was an exceptionally agonizing endeavor, but for Ji Qingyou, a reincarnated quasi-emperor, it was not entirely unbearable. Though the process was extremely perilous and on several occasions nearly exhausted her entire life force, she ultimately gritted her teeth and pulled through, relying entirely on the *Qingdi Longevity Pill* given to her by her master.

数十 days later, a faint, translucent white soul-shadow identical to Ji Qingyou hovered blankly in mid-air.

This secondary soul was not entirely perfect; although the soul-splitting had succeeded, it had not formed an independent consciousness of its own and still required her direct control. However, for Ji Qingyou, this was already more than sufficient. Her primary goal in refining this secondary soul was not to cultivate an external avatar, but rather to secure a vessel identical to herself.

She projected a wisp of her divine sense into the secondary soul, controlling it much like a puppet. Her divine sense faced no restrictions and could enter and exit freely. Gaining the dual perspective of her main body and her secondary soul gave her a bizarre sensation. Such a high-tier divine ability was something she had never even witnessed in her past life as a quasi-emperor.

Presently, that malevolent force of deity and demon resentment was wreaking havoc within her main soul. She felt the urge to transfer it over immediately, but clearly sensed that her current secondary soul was far too weak to bear the burden. To thoroughly relieve her main body of its agony, her foremost task was to strengthen this secondary soul!

Though the most direct method was soul-devouring, she was unwilling to harm innocent lives. Consequently, she had no choice but to seek out someone who was "dead" and perform soul-seizure, utilizing their physical shell to temper her secondary soul until it grew sufficiently powerful!

In truth, she had stepped squarely onto the path of refining a supreme divine ability—the "external avatar"—with only the lack of an independent consciousness in the secondary soul remaining.

"Fortunately, my main body still retains a portion of the residual Emperor pill. It will not be a problem to hold out for a while longer..."

With these thoughts, Ji Qingyou manipulated her secondary soul, transforming it into a streak of white light that flew out of the Grand Dao Sect to search for a physical body suitable for "soul-seizure" without harming anyone else.

This proved to be rather difficult.

Yet, after lingering for dozens of days, Ji Qingyou finally located a suitable target!