Worldwide Awakening: My Soul Kinds Are Lost-Chapter 541: The First Seal Engraving in the Mountain Range_1

THUD.

Looking at the collapsed Heng Emperor and Meatball on the ground, Wang Linchi casually tossed a stone. He could indeed knock them out by hand, but why use hands when a tool is available?

Dragging both of them, he abandoned the chaotic palace and left. You almost had a peaceful death, kid, Wang Linchi knew. If the Heng Emperor had cooperated with Pei Jiang, he would have at least been granted the title of king and then dispatched to some small place to live out his retirement. As for his descendants, they could also have obtained noble titles; they would not have perished. Moreover, they could have lived happily as long as they didn’t get involved in rebellions or the worship of Demon Gods. They might even have had the opportunity to act as despotic local rulers in their own territories. Unfortunately, they encountered Wang Linchi, who was intent on completely exploiting the Heng Emperor’s value. If the Heng Emperor had been completely worthless, he wouldn’t have caught Wang Linchi’s attention.

Not long after Wang Linchi had left, their pursuers began to catch up. "The traces end here. What should we do?" one of them asked, looking troubled as he examined the area. They could see that the person had either been taken away or intercepted here; regardless, the trail stopped cold.

"Let’s return and report to our lord first," another person said. Since they couldn’t find them, there was nothing more to be done. Besides, Pei Jiang wasn’t an unreasonable man. He hadn’t held a powerful position for long, so he hadn’t yet developed a heart of stone. They arranged for someone to secure the scene to prevent any tampering and then went back to report. The scene must be kept intact, they thought. It’s vital for clearing our names. Failing to find him is one thing, but neglecting to protect the scene would be a serious dereliction of duty.

Wang Linchi noticed this pursuit but paid it no mind, returning to the Dai Temple in Springhead City with the Heng Emperor and Meatball. He first placed Meatball somewhere safe. The creature was resilient and wouldn’t die easily; not even being smashed by a stone from Wang Linchi would have killed it previously. However, if its head were blown off now, it would actually die. This was because the Calamity of the Last Law had become more severe, causing Meatball’s strength to decline and making injuries to its head or heart fatal, which hadn’t been the case before. Therefore, Wang Linchi had avoided hitting its vital spots.

The Heng Emperor, however, was different; he was just an ordinary person. To avoid any mishaps, Wang Linchi needed to extract the meager remaining national fortune of Great Heng from him as soon as possible.

I’ll use the principle of the new replacing the old; it’s one of my divine abilities, Wang Linchi decided. However, there aren’t many aspects of my divine office that are truly useful to me. The best are probably the primary powers over Life and Death. Those two allow me to resurrect myself more effectively and kill others more easily.

Wang Linchi sighed. Luckily, he only used this divinity as a foundation and didn’t plan to develop it extensively. It’s really just a low-tier version of the fundamental principles within my own being, so it’s generally not that useful to me. Of course, it was essentially a bonus. It doesn’t really matter whether I have it or not. What I truly sought was the process of accumulation, not the entirety of this power itself.

Extracting the national fortune of Great Heng went very smoothly. Logically, such an act should have incurred retribution from the Great Heng Dynasty. Indeed, there was a backlash, but it was so feeble it was practically nonexistent. Considering the state of the Great Heng Dynasty, it was essentially ready for its funeral rites. Even if it had wanted to resist, the force of its retribution against Wang Linchi was so weak that an ordinary person would have survived it, let alone Wang Linchi himself.

The Heng Emperor died, bleeding from all seven orifices. He was in severe pain throughout the process and tried to escape, but Wang Linchi held him down. The principle behind Wang Linchi extracting the national fortune of Great Heng from him was akin to grinding all his flesh and blood into powder and then expelling it bit by bit. However, this was merely an analogy; if it were literally so, the Heng Emperor would have died long ago. But because it was the national fortune being extracted, he not only couldn’t die but had to endure the excruciating pain.

Watching it unfold, Wang Linchi almost regretted not sparing some anesthesia. Then again, he thought, there’s no connection between us. Why should I give him anesthesia for free? The national fortune I’m taking can be considered repayment for my original investment.

As for any accusations of double standards, shamelessness, or greed during the process, Wang Linchi would readily admit: Yes, I am small-minded and have a despicable character. There’s absolutely no need to hide it. When I was weak, I disguised myself as necessary. Now that I’m this powerful, why should I abide by morals? Haven’t you seen that my Fanciful and Fickle ability follows the path of the Restless Heart and Wild Horse, not the path of the Steady Mind and Tamed Horse? Only the latter requires adherence to virtue.

So, the question now is, how do I refine this thing? Wang Linchi pondered. At first, he had planned to use it as a mere tool, but on second thought, that didn’t seem suitable. I should craft it into a treasure capable of suppression, sealing, control, and great might, Wang Linchi thought. I can’t always rely on Fanciful and Fickle; I need to refine a suitable weapon for myself. A saber, spear, sword, halberd, axe, hook, or trident? No, those lack true inspiration, and I don’t possess any saber intent or Sword Qi.

Cauldrons, bells, sundials? Numerous ritual instruments came to Wang Linchi’s mind. For him, such items held more symbolic than practical significance, which wasn’t a major issue. After all, he embodied many symbolic meanings that could be converted into combat power. However, he soon dismissed these ideas. These items are too large. Wielding them would make me look small in comparison, and shrinking them for use would diminish their majestic aura. It was a classic case of wanting to have his cake and eat it too.

A seal, then, Wang Linchi quickly settled on an idea. A seal. It’s understated yet luxurious and deeply meaningful. It can be used for surprise attacks or as a symbol of identity. It can even be enlarged during a direct confrontation. I’ll plagiarize... cough, I mean, draw inspiration from the Overturning Heaven Seal. The Overturning Heaven Seal smashes foreheads; mine will smash the back of the head. The main thing is to avoid repercussions, Wang Linchi thought, deeming it feasible.

For raw material, I’ll use Meatball. The refining method, however, needs careful consideration. And, considering Meatball’s small size, is it really enough to refine my Overturning Heaven Seal... no, it should be the Tai Mountain Seal? Since it’s called the Tai Mountain Seal, it’s only logical and reasonable to refine the entirety of Mount Tai into it.

Wang Linchi felt it would be a waste to have come all this way and leave empty-handed. I should at least take the local specialty with me. As for the Dai Temple on its summit, that’s no problem. By my estimates, it’ll likely be destroyed soon anyway. Once it’s deserted, I can just pack it up and take it along too. By then, my Tai Mountain Seal will possess the power of an entire mountain.

Although it sounded strange, the seal would genuinely contain the weight of Mount Tai. Actually, Wang Linchi wasn’t primarily concerned with the physical power of the mountain. He was more interested in the imperial authority it symbolized. Great Heng had conducted their Feng Shan investiture ceremonies here, and any new dynasty would surely do the same. Therefore, if Wang Linchi could elevate this symbolism, his Tai Mountain Seal, when used, would carry not just the weight of Mount Tai itself, but also the crushing weight of an entire feudal dynasty’s imperial authority. This was the crucial aspect; everything else was secondary.

Wang Linchi quickly finalized his plan for the Tai Mountain Seal. However, one issue arose: the refining process would take an exceedingly long time. It will take at least three hundred years, Wang Linchi concluded after his calculations. For Wang Linchi, this timespan wasn’t a major problem. He also needed to absorb the civilization of the Great Heng Dynasty during this period. At worst, he could simply proceed a bit more slowly; three hundred years would pass in a flash for him. However, he was concerned that the world itself might not endure that long.

Accelerating the process isn’t a huge issue, but I neither have the spare time nor wish to bear the cost. I want to let time itself imbue it with the weight of history, making the Tai Mountain Seal even more powerful. Otherwise, why would I create a mere toy? It must, at the very least, be on par with Fanciful and Fickle. If not, wouldn’t all these excellent materials be wasted? My Fanciful and Fickle is constantly being upgraded, so its power hasn’t fallen behind. If the Tai Mountain Seal is to match that intensity, the investment can’t be any less; otherwise, the resources poured into Fanciful and Fickle would effectively be wasted. First, I’ll start processing the Tai Mountain Seal, and then I’ll deliver the Foundation Test Version of the Inner Alchemy Technique I recently developed to Pei Jiang.

The main principle of his Inner Alchemy Technique was ’Whale Fall, Birth of All Things’. However, this primary effect was concealed, overshadowed by other functionalities. Whether he would develop it further depended on its perceived value. If it proved worthless, he would abandon it. After all, it was merely a small component designed for artificially kickstarting a revival of the System of Qi.

The main thing is the difficulty—I want it cranked up to the maximum!