Chapter 5: 005 you can’t just look at the surface when looking at the problem

This was certainly quite sudden.

Not only that, but something else was rapidly closing in on me, its presence overwhelmingly aggressive.

‘Did they intend to seize the initiative while I was still disoriented?’

‘Naive.’

I casually ripped off the Ghost Lotus and accurately struck them squarely on the head.

“Agh—!” The shadowy figure tumbled away, accompanied by a shriek.

A mere 47,160-degree mid-air spin held as little excitement for a Soul Reaper (TL Note: A celestial official responsible for guiding souls to the afterlife or punishing them.) of my soul power level as sitting on a newspaper and watching a sofa. Dizziness? Non-existent.

Slowly rising, I calmly surveyed my surroundings.

Layers upon layers of living souls, human, beast, and insect alike, swirled around me, creating a rather crowded scene.

They constantly surged and growled, appearing formidable, yet not a single one dared to approach me.

‘Good, they know fear.’

I tilted my head back, gazing at the sole gaping maw above me: “Hey…”

“You—what do you want to do!?” Before I could even finish my sentence, the living souls shrieked, their bravado thinly veiled by fear. “Let me tell you, newcomer, no matter who you were in life or how unruly, once you enter this Soul-Collecting Bottle, all souls are equal; no one is nobler than another!”

‘Just a moment ago, they wanted to give me a warning shot, but seeing they couldn’t win, they quickly started preaching equality. They certainly steer the rudder fast.’

Nonetheless, I had received the answer I sought, even though I hadn’t even asked the question.

A Soul-Collecting Bottle; it sounded like a magical artifact specifically designed to gather souls.

Recalling my recent experience, I must have inadvertently entered the bottle’s range of effect and was subsequently sucked inside.

I attempted to fly towards the bottle’s opening, but the moment I left the water’s surface, a tremendous gravitational pull from below instantly dragged me back down.

‘This power… Is there something beneath the water?’

While I was still pondering, I suddenly heard a voice from above.

“Why is this bottle open?”

I looked up again, just in time to see Youth A’s large face, brimming with confusion, appear at the opening, followed immediately by a black bottle cap snapping down.

Whoosh!

Click.

The bottle’s opening was completely sealed.

‘Trapped, then.’

I sighed, then turned and helped the white figure, who had plunged into the water beside me with lightning speed, to their feet: “Old Bai, what were you rushing in for so eagerly?”

“I am a senior, of course I couldn’t let Little Hei face danger alone!” White Impermanence declared with utmost sincerity.

‘I’ll just pretend that’s the case.’

Seeing my tacit acceptance, White Impermanence cheerfully took my hand: “Little Hei, what should we do next?”

‘…Weren’t you supposed to be entering as a senior?’

I decided to proactively seek out useful information: “How do we get out of the Soul-Collecting Bottle?”

Since it was a magical artifact, simply passing through the bottle seemed unlikely; its walls must be imbued with Taoist magic.

White Impermanence replied breezily: “That’s not difficult. All we need is for someone outside to perform a Soul Extraction Technique on us.”

Splash!

The water inside the Soul-Collecting Bottle immediately surged.

The surrounding living souls scrambled to shrink into the bottle’s corners, casting terrified and incredulous glances our way.

‘It seems ‘Soul Extraction Technique’ is a forbidden phrase here.’

I asked again: “If we don’t get out, what happens next?”

“We might be refined into artifact spirits by evil cultivators?” White Impermanence excitedly held up a finger. “It’s called ‘Soul Extraction and Refinement,’ after all! By my reckoning, we might be on the path to being refined after soul extraction, you know.”

Clatter, clatter, clatter…

The sound of chattering teeth echoed from the corners.

‘Look at how scared the poor souls are.’

As for an exit, I would find it myself.

I shook my head, then bent down and swirled my hand in the “water.”

Aside from not getting my clothes wet, this liquid truly behaved like water.

By rights, things from the mortal realm—metal, wood, water, fire, earth—none should be able to touch souls. Even a cultivator’s spell relies on the power of the Tao to forcibly scorch evil spirits.

What exactly was this “water” that could touch me yet appeared harmless?

I paused my movements, closing my eyes to perceive more carefully.

Soon, I opened my eyes.

“Has Little Hei figured it out already?” White Impermanence looked at me expectantly.

I nodded: “Yes, these ‘water-like’ substances are actually Yin Qi (TL Note: In Chinese philosophy, the dark, negative, feminine principle in nature.) condensed by Taoist magic. The powers of both largely cancel each other out, yet some of their individual effects remain. Thus, on the surface, it appears not only harmless but even nourishing to souls.”

“As expected of Little Hei, you immediately saw through the essence of ‘Yin Water’! But why do you say ‘on the surface’?”

I looked at White Impermanence suspiciously, but she simply wore an innocent expression.

“…Evil spirits cultivate soul power, using it to collect, convert, and control Yin Qi for their own use. Taoist magic, on the other hand, harms the soul, specifically diminishing soul power. Yet the Yin Qi in this Yin Water can only serve as a supplement to the Yin Qi within an evil spirit’s soul,” I hesitated for a moment before explaining to her. “It’s like a person whose body is constantly aging; no matter how many vitamins you give them, you can’t restore their strength to what it was in their prime. So, nourishing souls with Yin Water is tantamount to drinking poison to quench thirst.”

“Little Hei, you’re amazing!” White Impermanence said, utterly captivated.

“Even seeing through it is useless. If we can’t escape the Soul-Collecting Bottle, even the two of us will ultimately be dissolved by the Yin Water.” Having developed a considerable immunity to her gaze, I casually conjured a rope from Yin Qi and tied my long hair back.

“Little Hei suddenly has a new hairstyle, could it be that you’re…” Seeing my action, White Impermanence suddenly covered her cheeks with her hands and excitedly blurted out two words: “Proposing!”

‘Which planet has a custom where changing one’s hairstyle equals proposing?’

“…No, I’m going to check out what’s beneath the Yin Water.”

“Then I’ll also…”

“I’ll go alone. Old Bai, you stay up here and let me know if the lid opens.” With that, I submerged myself in the Yin Water.

Although the Yin Water didn’t wet my clothes, I still formed a protective film of my own Yin Qi around my body—I certainly didn’t want the soul power I had painstakingly cultivated for 5,000 years to be weakened for such a reason, not even a little bit.

As for why I risked diving down—

Besides searching for a way out, there was “something” I wanted to confirm.

After the bottle’s opening was sealed, there was no other light source inside the Soul-Collecting Bottle apart from the faint purple glow emanating from the bottle walls. Logically, the deeper I dove, the darker my surroundings should become. However, a green light soon appeared before my eyes.

There was indeed something at the bottom of the Yin Water.

I immediately moved closer to the light source, but as its brightness increased, an increasingly heavy, invisible force gradually pressed upon me, pushing me away.

‘A Soul-Collecting Bottle with an area off-limits to souls?’

‘Isn’t this just like a horror movie where the protagonist’s large villa always has a forbidden basement?’

By convention, something terrifying was likely hidden down there.

Unfortunately, the best way to overcome terror was to become terror itself.

Having been a Soul Reaper for too long, I could no longer comprehend the mindset I had in my past life, listening to horror movies with my eyes covered.

‘Could this green light make me remember the fear of being dominated once more?’

Gathering Yin Qi around my body, I prepared to continue my descent.

“Little girl, don’t come any closer. It’s very dangerous down here.”

Just then, an aged voice resounded.

‘Oh?’

I stopped.

‘Cultivation, treasure bottle, old man.’

‘Am I about to stumble upon some strange main questline?’