Cultivating With Mutated Heavenly Spirit Roots-Chapter 59: Soul Searching

"She’s just a girl. If she dies, she dies. If you want, I can bear one for you too." Xiao Yue said with a smile, a hint of madness in her expression.

Fang Hong was stunned, looking at the woman in front of him in disbelief. He immediately shook his head; it seemed this woman was truly insane.

Afterward, Fang Hong inserted the silver needle Spiritual Artifact into Xiao Yue’s head with swift, clean movements, silently chanting a spell as he began to cast the Seven Ghost Soul Reading Technique.

The incantation was low and eerie, echoing within the stone house, making the surrounding air feel sinister!

"Ahhh..." As the spell was cast, Xiao Yue’s eyes rolled back, a painful expression appeared on her face, and she let out a series of shrill screams.

Above Xiao Yue’s head, faint red lines continuously emerged.

These lines followed the skull-shaped silver needle, coiling and drilling into Fang Hong’s glabella.

Fang Hong closed his eyes tightly, fully sensing the memory information carried by these lines.

"Bang!"

After nearly half an incense stick’s time, Xiao Yue’s body fell heavily to the ground, her eyes still rolled back, empty and lifeless, completely devoid of Qi.

Fang Hong remained seated on the ground, his eyes tightly closed, his brows sometimes furrowed, sometimes relaxed, sorting through each memory...

After another moment, Fang Hong finally slowly opened his eyes, a complex expression flashing within them.

Through the Soul Reading just now, he had obtained most of Xiao Yue’s memories, including the hidden location of the Four Symbols Formation’s deployment method.

At the same time, he now had some understanding of the Xiao Family mother and daughter’s identities.

Xiao Yue was originally a disciple of the Divine Fire Sect in Sand Country. Back then, she must have been a beautiful, vibrant woman with dreams of Cultivating Immortality.

After being noticed by Elder Li Mu of the sect, the two became Dao Companions.

At that time, they might have had sweet and loving moments, supporting each other on the Dao of Cultivating Immortality.

But for some reason, their relationship broke down.

In the end, Xiao Yue cruelly poisoned Li Mu to death, absconded with all of Li Mu’s wealth, and fled south from the Divine Fire Sect to Black Sand City, living a wretched existence.

As for the reason their relationship broke down, Fang Hong did not find any relevant information when reading her memories.

He only knew that Li Mu was a early stage of foundation building Cultivator skilled in formations, and Xiao Yue learned how to deploy formations precisely from Li Mu’s relics.

When Xiao Yue arrived in Black Sand City, she was already pregnant with Xiao Xue.

Helpless, she had no choice but to give birth to the child and raise her alone.

Relying on Li Mu’s wealth and relics, Xiao Yue had sufficient resources for her Cultivation and successfully advanced to the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Later, she discovered that her daughter Xiao Xue possessed a Three Spiritual Root, which, while not top-tier among Cultivators, was still considered to have some talent, so she began to Cultivate with her daughter.

After that, it was about how the mother and daughter tricked others.

Fang Hong was not their first victim; before him, the mother and daughter had already killed fifty Cultivators, six of whom were in the Foundation Establishment Stage.

The reason they succeeded so easily was, firstly, because the mother and daughter were excellent actors, always finding clever ways to gain the trust of other Cultivators;

Secondly, it was due to a peculiar poison called Soul Deterrent Powder.

This poison was colorless and odorless; once poisoned, a Cultivator would lose their magical power within a short time, becoming weak and at the mercy of others.

Xiao Yue had used Soul Deterrent Powder to poison Li Mu back then, which allowed her to succeed.

Fang Hong speculated that the scroll Xiao Xue had given him earlier was very likely coated with this poison—colorless, odorless, and impossible to guard against.

Fang Hong still felt a lingering fear as he thought about it now, a cold sweat breaking out on his back.

If it weren’t for his superior Divine Sense, sensing the abnormality of the poison in advance, it would probably be him lying on the ground right now...

Afterward, Fang Hong used the demon gourd to absorb the bodies of the Xiao Family mother and daughter, refining them into spirit pills.

Having completed all this, Fang Hong left the Xiao Family mother and daughter’s house.

He walked towards the southwest direction of the city, based on the information he had obtained from Xiao Yue’s memories.

Fang Hong walked unhurriedly for half an incense stick’s time, finally arriving in front of a small stone house.

This place was located on the southwestern edge of the city, precisely where the Xiao Family mother and daughter had hidden the formation deployment method.

The small stone house looked unremarkable, its walls somewhat mottled, appearing particularly dilapidated against the backdrop of the surrounding houses.

A defensive restriction had been placed on the stone house’s door. Fang Hong calmly took out a black token.

He had found this token in Xiao Yue’s Storage Pouch. After injecting a bit of magical power into it, the door flashed with spiritual light, and the defensive restriction on the door was effortlessly lifted.

Fang Hong looked around, and after confirming there was no one else, he carefully pushed the door open and entered.

Upon entering the stone house, Fang Hong immediately closed the door, then used his Divine Sense to carefully perceive the situation inside, lest the Xiao Family mother and daughter had secretly left any dangerous traps.

After a thorough investigation, Fang Hong finally breathed a sigh of relief. There was nothing unusual inside the stone house, and the wary expression on his face also eased slightly.

Following Xiao Yue’s memories, he went to an inconspicuous small corner of the stone house.

In the corner, there was a somewhat worn-out vase, its body covered in dust, looking as if no one had touched it for a very long time.

Fang Hong gently moved the vase, revealing a small, raised brick on the ground.

Fang Hong reached out and pressed the small brick. Several surrounding stone bricks made "clack-clack" sounds, slowly collapsing inward to form a secret compartment.

Inside the compartment was a wooden box the size of a human head. The box looked very ordinary, without much decoration.

Fang Hong’s face lit up with joy; he had finally found it.

However, he did not directly reach for the box. Instead, he once again used his Divine Sense to carefully perceive it, and after confirming there was no danger, he slowly reached out and opened the box.

Inside the box were several books and scrolls. He took all these items out and began to examine them one by one.

After a while, Fang Hong obtained three relatively useful things: a book titled "Li’s Insights," the detailed deployment method of the Four Symbols Formation, and the recipe for Soul Deterrent Powder.

Li’s Insights was a book of formation insights written by Xiao Yue’s husband, Li Mu. It recorded his insights and understandings regarding formations.

Li Mu had profound attainments in formations, and this book contained many unique insights and formation deployment techniques.

Fang Hong felt as if he had found a treasure. With this book of insights, learning formations would be much easier for him.

Next, he picked up a scroll and unrolled it. It was precisely the detailed deployment method of the Four Symbols Formation.

This Four Symbols Formation was an ancestral heirloom of Li Mu’s. It was estimated that Li Mu’s ancestors were also Cultivators skilled in Formations; otherwise, they would not possess such a grand formation.

Fang Hong briefly looked at the deployment method of the Four Symbols Formation. There were some formation seals and similar things that he did not quite understand yet, but he did understand the principle of the formation.

To deploy the Four Symbols Formation, it actually required the assistance of four types of demon blood, specifically demon blood with gold, wood, water, and fire attributes, corresponding to the Four Symbols Formation Spirit...