Chapter 6: 006 finally wait for you

I stopped searching, opting instead to inquire, “You are…?”

“Who this old man is holds no importance. Tell me, young lass, do you desire power?”

The ancient voice resonated once more, laced with a hint of inquiry and a potent allure.

‘Oh? Simple, direct, straight to the point—how refreshingly straightforward!’

Taking a deep breath of Yin energy, I sincerely replied, “No, I do not.” Without a backward glance, I swam towards the green light.

“You…!” The voice choked.

‘Thousands of words converging into a thorn lodged in his throat—that must feel truly awful, wouldn’t it?’

‘Tsk, tsk, what a pitiful old man.’

Shaking my head sympathetically, I decided to help him escape his predicament more quickly through my actions.

With that, I increased the output of my Yin energy.

As it turned out, my efforts were quite effective.

After witnessing my performance, the old man’s throat cleared instantly, and he roared in exasperation, “You actually sped up! Impudent little girl, stop! Stop at once!”

‘Stopping is out of the question.’

That ‘light of love’ was radiating a powerful allure, compelling me to descend further. I was quite eager to find the ‘devil in the basement’ within it.

‘As for the old man’s anger, it seemed utterly inexplicable.’

‘If he truly wished to stop me, then as the initiator of this transaction, the one with a request, shouldn’t the old man have shown some sincerity first?’

“It’s useless! A mere young lass like you could never possibly touch it. Instead, you’ll be needlessly injured, perhaps even utterly annihilated, body and soul! Are you not afraid of any of this!?”

‘Oh? That voice sounds full of vigor, utterly unlike an old man on the verge of death.’

‘So, did I help him find his second spring?’

‘A meritorious deed, absolutely a meritorious deed.’

‘It’s just a pity that a grim reaper’s task is to collect souls, not to save people; no matter how much merit I accumulate, it won’t count towards my performance.’

‘What a shame.’

With a soft sigh, I transformed my indignation into power, my Yin energy condensing into fins upon my limbs, propelling me downwards like a shark!

“You, you, you! You even mimic a fish! You fool, you court death! Go ahead and descend! Just watch! Your soul will disintegrate like a clod of earth hitting a stone! You’ll meet a terrible end!” The tumultuous sound of water in my ears was interspersed with the old man’s impotent fury.

Despite being consistently ignored, he persisted in ‘persuading’ me to stop, even resorting to threats and provocation. He truly was a persistent old man; I was almost touched.

‘But reality is so cruel; when the direction of one’s efforts is wrong, no matter how much energy is expended, the only outcome is utter exhaustion.’

Watching me, impervious to his words, draw closer to the core of the green light, and seeing my body not disintegrate as he had imagined, he grew desperate, reaching his breaking point. Finally, he erupted in a self-defeating roar, “What exactly will it take for you to stop? Just tell me!”

A rush of water!

The sound of water ceased abruptly.

“You, you…” The old man seemed violently startled, stammering ‘you’ for a long moment before finally spitting out, “Why are you unharmed?!”

Azure lines reflected in my pupils. I closed my eyes, burying the sight deep within my heart, then turned to gaze at the dark purple wall of the bottle. “Why should I be harmed?”

“Impossible! This is impossible!” The old man’s voice began to tremble. “If it were the nascent soul of an ordinary cultivator, they’d be repelled just by seeing the light, let alone getting this close! How much cultivation could a young lass like you, without a shred of spiritual energy protecting your body, possibly have? How strong could your nascent soul be? How can you resist this power? Unless… unless you are a Soul Cultivator!”

‘Soul Cultivator?’

‘Grim Reapers cultivate soul power, so calling me a Soul Cultivator isn’t wrong, is it?’

Thus, I answered forthrightly, “I am a Soul Cultivator.”

“So that’s it, so that’s it!” The old man repeated, agitated.

‘Don’t just keep saying “so that’s it” to yourself; I’m still completely bewildered.’

“This old man is certain,” the old man declared with deep emotion, “Young lass, you are precisely the one this old man has been waiting for!”

A shiver ran down my spine.

‘The Yin water is quite cold.’

“What do you mean?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest.

“This old man has waited here alone for a full two hundred years, encountering countless living souls, before finally finding the only suitable candidate! And that candidate is you!”

‘It’s just a soul.’

“How am I suitable?”

“Your soul’s strength is remarkable, only slightly inferior to this old man’s. And you are so young, making you this old man’s ideal chosen successor!”

‘So there’s only a slight difference between us. And here I am, a pure maiden with a ghost age of over 5,000 years. No wonder Old Bai keeps calling me Little Hei.’

“But you must also understand the saying, ‘Pride invites loss, humility brings benefit.’ While your soul is indeed sturdier than an ordinary person’s, and your temperament quite headstrong, you still cannot enter the core of the light to examine its secrets. This old man is not exaggerating; if you delve any deeper, you truly will turn to ashes, and then you will be beyond redemption!”

‘I don’t think this much force is enough to make me start being headstrong.’

‘Also, with all due respect, you are indeed exaggerating.’

Seeing my indifference, the old man gritted his teeth and declared, “But if you become this old man’s disciple, it will be different. Firstly, the entire Soul-Collecting Bottle will be under your control, and the power over life and death for all living souls will be yours to command!”

‘What an immense benefit that would be.’

‘However, I seem to already have the authority to manage all souls in this world.’

“Secondly, there will be no more secrets here for you! You will no longer be repelled by that power, you won’t have to bear the risk of annihilation, and you’ll be able to move freely within the light!”

‘Just moving back and forth, getting my head tinged with green? If I could also traverse magical artifacts at will, *that* would be double the joy.’

“Finally,” the old man coughed, his tone turning solemn, “this old man will impart all of his knowledge from four hundred years of life and two hundred years of insights! With this old man’s guidance, you will realize how superficial your past understanding of souls has been, and thereafter, you shall truly become a genuine Soul Cultivator!”

‘Indisputable, indeed. The title of Soul Cultivator was one I had just bestowed upon myself.’

‘And souls enter reincarnation; reincarnation is tied to the Heavenly Dao. How could a mere five millennia suffice to fathom the vastness of the Heavenly Dao?’

‘My understanding of souls, in the end, was merely superficial, exceedingly crude.’

‘There is still so much for me to learn.’

“This old man asks again: Do you desire power?” He had returned to the very beginning, yet the old man’s tone was vastly different from before.

Now, while he lacked some of his previous desolate profundity, he exuded an air of spirited ambition.

“Answer this old man!” The old man—no, the Master—bellowed.

‘It seems not answering is no longer an option.’

I gathered my thoughts, then spoke solemnly, “I have one last question.”

“Speak!” the Master declared with grand spirit.

I pointed at my feet. “This Soul-Collecting Bottle belongs to Quan Teng, doesn’t it? Does he know you’re looking for a successor?”

“…”

Silence immediately descended within the bottle, broken only by the vibrant green light that burst forth with endless vitality.