The Town Soul Tablet.
A divine object, supposedly, according to beings from Blue Star.
Considering the circumstances of this world, the Town Soul Tablet can deter the uncanny. If this line of reasoning holds, then this tablet is at least a treasure, if not a divine object.
What perplexed him, however, was its origin.
Why was no one trying to steal it, and why did every village possess one?
It was truly strange.
Upon reaching the Town Soul Tablet, he finally understood why no one was snatching it.
This thing was enormous.
It stood over ten meters tall, five to six meters wide, and two to three meters thick, plunging an unknown depth into the earth.
Its entirety was black, with a material resembling marble.
It appeared utterly ordinary, as if it were merely a colossal stone tablet.
Yet, who could have imagined that this very tablet could scare away the uncanny, and that its influence extended quite far, affecting an area of a hundred meters around it?
Lin Yu stood before the tablet, his hand caressing its surface for a while. The touch was cold, feeling no different from any ordinary stone.
It seemed he would need to dedicate some time to studying it.
Lin Yu turned and said to the villagers who had accompanied him:
"I require a quiet environment. You may all go."
"Lord Nightwalker, we shall take our leave. If you require anything, just call us."
"Yes, you may go."
The villagers respectfully withdrew, leaving only Lin Yu and the other two before the tablet.
Lin Fan gazed at the tablet with wonder, touching it here and there, though he could discern nothing. He was merely feigning a search.
"This thing is so massive. If it truly is a divine object, it would be quite difficult to move," Bai Xiaosa remarked.
Bai Xiaosa reminded him, "The Town Soul Tablet protects the villagers. We cannot tamper with it until the uncanny are dealt with."
Lin Fan nodded, "Alright, then let's study it."
The three of them circled the tablet, examining it, while the villagers watched from a distance.
At the village entrance.
The village chief's son had been brought back to his home to rest.
The village chief and the shaman, along with others, looked towards the direction of the Town Soul Tablet with a sense of unease.
The Town Soul Tablet had become the cornerstone of their village's survival. Now, the Nightwalker was going to study it.
Although they weren't overly worried about the tablet being damaged, such a critical matter for their very existence made no one truly at ease.
The shaman worried, "Surely they won't damage the Town Soul Tablet, will they?"
"No."
"Why?"
"I trust my intuition. Besides, if they truly wanted to damage it, we wouldn't be able to stop them."
"Alas, that is true."
The shaman sighed.
He had ventured out before and witnessed the methods Nightwalkers used to vanquish the uncanny.
However, he had never encountered anyone like Lin Yu, who could eliminate the uncanny so effortlessly.
He knew his humble position meant he only encountered low-ranking Nightwalkers.
Yet, he marveled at Lin Yu's strength at such a young age.
He suspected Lin Yu was likely from a prominent family within the Chu Yun Kingdom.
As the two conversed, their thoughts remained fixed on the Town Soul Tablet.
Meanwhile.
Bai Xiaosa suddenly exclaimed, "Brother Lin, I've made a discovery!"
Bai Xiaosa's eyes widened, fixed intently on the front of the tablet.
Lin Fan quickly followed his gaze, but saw nothing on the tablet's surface.
Lin Yu looked with confidence but also found nothing.
"Brother Lin, there are characters inscribed on this tablet."
Characters?
Lin Yu's heart quickened. He widened his eyes and looked again, still seeing nothing.
Lin Fan leaned so close his eyes were nearly pressed against the tablet's surface, but a look of disappointment crossed his face.
He decided to try his soul vision.
Lin Yu's innate talent, Soul Dome, had been upgraded to S-class, granting him the ability to activate soul vision.
This vision allowed him to see souls, and the uncanny were essentially mutated soul entities.
In essence, they were beings of the same ilk as devils.
Lin Yu willed it, activating his soul vision.
Then, he turned his gaze towards the tablet.
Instantly, the tablet transformed in his eyes.
"This is..."
"Ding, discovered a special cultivation technique. Do you wish to expend one million upgrade points to translate it into text familiar to the host?"
"Yes!"
"Ding, recorded. The translated text has been automatically transferred to the host's mind and can be accessed by silent recitation at any time."
Lin Yu deactivated his soul vision, rubbing his temples. This state was still too draining on his mental energy.
Seeing this, Bai Xiaosa asked, "Brother Lin, what's wrong?"
Lin Yu shook his head, "I'm fine. You said you saw inscriptions? What kind of characters were they? Can you transcribe them?"
"No, I could only see some blurred forms, not clearly discernible."
"It's possible the tablet's influence is deliberately misleading you. Also, it's getting late. Let's continue our research tomorrow."
With no breakthroughs, the group departed from the tablet.
Soon after they left, villagers approached the Town Soul Tablet to check on it.
Upon finding that the tablet was completely unharmed, they breathed a sigh of relief.
Lin Yu and his two companions were assigned to a side room in the village chief's residence.
The room was small, only accommodating two people. However, Lin Yu did not sleep. Instead, he sat cross-legged, meditating and cultivating.
Lin Fan pouted and said, "My elder brother just loves to cultivate, he's so diligent. Let's not follow his example and just sleep!"
Bai Xiaosa, hearing this, cast an admiring glance at Lin Yu and nodded.
He had used his Heavenly Eye frequently today, depleting a significant amount of his mental energy and stamina. He was utterly exhausted and felt the urge to do nothing but sleep.
The two lay down on the bed and soon fell asleep.
Lin Yu, however, silently recited, "Access information!"
The next moment, streams of information surged into his mind.
His mind was instantly filled with some obscure and difficult-to-understand text.
Soul Refining Technique: Using the soul as a flame to form soul fire, with a pill furnace as the vessel, refine the soul, expel impurities, leaving pure soul power, and forge soul beads.
Soul beads can be used to enhance soul power, but only one can be consumed per month. Consuming more will inevitably lead to soul disorder, or even soul explosion and death.
"Soul Refining Technique. This method can actually refine souls into pills. Isn't that similar to Blood and Flesh Pills?"
"Moreover, why does it feel like the Soul Capturing Technique and this Soul Refining Technique originate from the same source?"
"Strange. Could the Soul Capturing Technique have come from another Town Soul Tablet?"
As he pondered this, a sense of anticipation surged within him.
If the Town Soul Tablet of Willow Village contained a Soul Refining Technique, then perhaps the Town Soul Tablets of other villages also contained some form of soul art?
He was too excited to sleep. He decided to retrieve the uncanny he had trapped in the soul cage.
Then, with a thought, he conjured a pill furnace.
He directly placed the soul cage into the pill furnace and attempted to perform the Soul Refining Technique.
Soul fire!
This was the foundation of the Soul Refining Technique, the flame used to refine souls.
However, no flame appeared.
Lin Yu was not discouraged. Learning was a process of continuous repetition.
As long as he persisted, he would eventually succeed.
Thanks to his soul-aligned talent, Soul Dome, he possessed a higher comprehension of soul-related skills.
After hours of continuously adjusting his hand seals, a wisp of ethereal blue flame suddenly shot from his palm.
The flame had no temperature, yet it illuminated the surroundings.
The entire room was bathed in its glow, but it was not eerie. Instead, it was remarkably beautiful.
"Now that I have soul fire, I can proceed with soul refining!"