As Clear Wind Ancestor crushed the jade tablet, the four people inside the Soul-Locking Tower also spat out a mouthful of blood.
Although this treasure could trap people, once there were occupants inside, it could no longer be stored in a Storage Bag, though its size could be shrunk by a certain proportion.
The small tower remained in Zhang Zuo's hand, while Qin Xiao watched with curiosity, naturally noticing the four figures spitting blood.
"Zhang Zuo, what's going on here? Didn't you say everything was fine? Why are all four of them spitting blood?"
Qin Xiao asked with some concern.
"Boss, you needn't worry. Their spitting blood simply means the old Clear Wind ghost has made his move. While this treasure can lock souls, the restriction is quite potent, so they will inevitably suffer some backlash, but it's nothing critical. Their lives are secure."
Zhang Zuo hurriedly explained.
Moreover, the Dharma Treasure was primarily designed for confinement, with soul-locking serving as merely one of its functions. Naturally, it could not provide complete defense, but preserving their lives should not be an issue.
"That's a relief. Does that mean the trouble is lifted?"
Qin Xiao asked curiously.
"Boss, it's hardly that simple. Although the remote method has been broken, the internal restrictions within their bodies remain. Now that their souls are locked, it can also create the illusion for the other side that they are dead. Only when the restrictions are completely dismantled can they be released."
Zhang Zuo continued his explanation.
"Wait, that doesn't add up. They must have left Soul Tablets in the Clear Wind Sect to monitor their life and death. Isn't this method just deceiving ourselves?"
Qin Xiao suddenly recalled the existence of Soul Tablets, realizing this method had a flaw.
Thinking of Soul Tablets, Qin Xiao remembered that his own Soul Tablet was still back in the Tianyuan Sect. He needed to figure out a way to have Second Brother steal it back; otherwise, his life and death would remain an open book, ruining any future plans to fake his death.
"Boss, the reason I dared suggest this method is that I accounted for that long ago. While I don't know how to forge such a restriction, I have heard of it. To create this type of restriction, one must surrender ten percent of their Soul Power to forge a Blood-Soul Tablet. The blood they just coughed up was a manifestation of that Soul Power damage. The moment I pulled them into the Soul-Locking Tower, they severed their connection to their primary Soul Tablets. However, those tablets won't shatter immediately; instead, they remain linked to the Blood Tablet holding that ten percent of Soul Power. Only when the Blood Tablet shatters will the Soul Tablet shatter as well."
Though complicated, Zhang Zuo laid it out in detail for Qin Xiao.
A person's Soul Power resembles an intricate web, where every fraction of severed Soul Power remains linked to the main soul. These individuals had split their Soul Power into two additional locations, meaning including the main soul, there were three points of Soul Power forming a triangular relationship. The Soul Tablet's power was extremely weak, so once the main soul disconnected, it should have shattered.
Yet because the Blood Tablet containing ten percent of their Soul Power remained, that fraction was enough to keep the Soul Tablet intact for a time. However, if the disconnection persisted too long, the Blood Tablet would eventually wither and shatter on its own due to losing its tie to the main soul.
This was also why top-tier experts, even reduced to remnant souls, could attempt body seizure for rebirth or choose cultivation through reincarnation. Their stronger Soul Power consumed at a much slower rate, leaving them a viable path to rebirth given the right opportunity.
Qin Xiao still found the intricacies of Soul Power somewhat difficult to grasp, though he happened to possess treasures capable of augmenting Soul Power, such as the Saint Origin Spirit Fruit. Could a Primordial Spirit essentially be equated to Soul Power?
"Master's Wife, is Soul Power the same thing as a Primordial Spirit?"
Qin Xiao asked Ye Qiuyue with a puzzled expression.
"You could say that, yet you cannot entirely equate them. It is more accurate to say they are two sides of the same coin."
Ye Qiuyue replied.
"What does that mean? I don't follow."
Qin Xiao was completely lost. What kind of explanation was two sides of the same coin? It sounded entirely too abstract.
"I can only explain it clearly once you possess a Primordial Spirit. Some matters simply cannot be understood through mere words."
Not knowing how else to break it down, Ye Qiuyue offered only that.
"Master's Wife, just indulge me a little. You know my situation-where am I supposed to conjure up a Primordial Spirit right now?"
The more vague she was, the more curious Qin Xiao became.
"Very well, if you insist, I will give you a rough sketch. It is rather convoluted, mind you, so I cannot guarantee absolute clarity."
Seeing that Sword Flight was tedious anyway and Qin Xiao remained inquisitive, Ye Qiuyue decided to elaborate.
Soul Power forms the foundation of an individual, uniting with the physical flesh to constitute a complete person.
Yet through cultivation, Soul Power grows until it eventually hits cultivation bottlenecks. After countless generations of exploration by predecessors, the concept of the Primordial Spirit emerged as a derivative of Soul Power capable of supplanting it to advance alongside one's cultivation realm.
The capacity of a physical body is finite. To transcend mortal limits and push further along the path of cultivation, one must manifest Soul Power into a Primordial Spirit.
Although cultivation technically begins as early as the Qi Condensation stage, true transcendence of the mortal frame and entry into the immortal path truly starts from the Soul Formation stage onward.
Beyond the Soul Formation stage, one enters an entirely different tier. While Soul Power remains Soul Power, the Primordial Spirit inherits all attributes of Soul Power and can be regarded as such.
If a Soul Formation cultivator perishes, as long as their Primordial Spirit manages to escape, they can reshape a physical body or execute a body seizure for rebirth, because it retains all functions of Soul Power. Should the Primordial Spirit shatter instead, the cultivator will survive, though severely injured with their cultivation plummeting below the Soul Formation realm.
Your Soul Power is you, and your Primordial Spirit is also you-simply representing different states during cultivation. The two coexist; as long as they are not exhausted to death, so long as either endures, a chance at survival remains. Of course, if consumed gradually, both Soul Power and Primordial Spirit will mutually drain until both dissipate entirely.
Thus, they can be considered one entity or separate ones, yet both originate from Soul Power.
Precisely because of this characteristic, once Duan Mingfei reached the Soul Formation stage, Clear Wind Ancestor layered additional restrictions upon him. Otherwise, Duan Mingfei could have abandoned his physical shell entirely and fled with his Primordial Spirit, seeking out a suitable body to attempt rebirth.
Naturally, rebirth seldom guarantees success; failure results in total dissipation, and the success rate is low. Unless facing imminent death, few would court such risks.
Alas, Clear Wind Ancestor had anticipated all eventualities, embedding not only the Soul-Burning Art but also the Spirit-Burning Art within Duan Mingfei's blood jade. The moment the restriction triggered, both Soul Power and Primordial Spirit would burn to ashes, leaving no avenue of escape.
Though he listened through to the end, Qin Xiao remained only half-enlightened, finding the entire concept dizzying.
"So... it's Soul Power when we aren't fighting, and a Primordial Spirit when we are?"
Qin Xiao ventured.
"How should I put it... you can interpret it that way, though it isn't entirely accurate. Just think of it like that for now."
Finding herself tangled in her own explanation, Ye Qiuyue simply let Qin Xiao settle on whatever interpretation he preferred.
It was indeed a single essence manifested in two forms-fused yet separable. Explaining it clearly was a lost cause; letting him believe Soul Power and Primordial Spirit were essentially the same was at least digestible.
"So that's how it is. I think I understand a bit now."
Qin Xiao replied, looking like he understood roughly half.
"As long as you grasp the general idea. Once we return to Tianyi City, you can inquire at the Immortal Dao Merchant Association. They may possess methods to lift the restriction or know someone capable of doing so."
Ye Qiuyue instructed Qin Xiao.
"That was precisely my thought."
Qin Xiao nodded in agreement.
The highest-tier faction he could leverage at present was the Immortal Dao Merchant Association. Fortunately, they were allies rather than adversaries, and the association's capabilities were undoubtedly formidable.