"Why don't you sit back down first?"
Glancing at Zhen Qing Huai, Long Hua says—
"Lao Zhen, if you have words to say, say it quickly, and if you need to get a fart out, get it out quickly as well."
"…"
Hearing this crude remark, Zhen Qing Huai frowns, and says—
"Not a trace of delicacy from you, is there, Lao Long?"
"There's little need to show someone who's clearly after something of mine any hint of tact."
Heaving a sigh, Zhen Qing Huai asks—
"Other than spirit herb cigars, is there anything else you can think of?"
"I…-"
Just as Long Hua is about to say no, he suddenly recalls Zhen Qing Huai's previous claim—about her bloodline branch being able to cultivate the best spirit herbs.
"There was a native spirit herb called the thousand dream flower. It's a poisonous herb."
"…Is it used for killing?"
Shaking his head, Long Hua answers—
"It's used for making wine. But it's rather selective with what it chooses to work with."
"And the wine made, is there anything special about them?"
"In high concentrations, even a practitioner at the realm that is two stages above the Nascent Soul realm can get drunk off them."
"Oh?"
Immediately, Bai Wen turns to Zhen Qing Huai, and says—
"Lao Zhen, be quick about it."
As far as Zhen Qing Huai is aware of, a spirit herb of this nature is completely unheard of. That being the case—
"…Lao Bai, you're asking my bloodline branch to breed out a completely new spirit herb."
Although the task will be difficult and time consuming, the profit that can be made is something that Zhen Qing Huai cannot see the end of.
For elderly practitioners, drinking has become a favorite pass time of theirs.
At the same time, remarks—made towards the woes of not being able to get drunk, are often heard of in practitioner-centered celebrations.
"I can put some people to this task. Anything else?"
"Grounded spirit herb mixes, which are placed into smoking pipes."
Hearing this, Zhen Qing Huai directs an odd look at Long Hua, while asking—
"Lao Long, the previous world you were in…- Does the people there only know how to pull blasphemous crap like this?"
"Piss off, I wasn't the one who came up with this stuff, so quit giving me that look."
"Don't you have anything… Normal?"
Feeling like this is going to be a long conversation, Long Hua seats himself back down, and places his cup near Bai Wen, who refills it for him.
Gathering his thoughts, Long Hua asks—
"…Does the Everlasting Spirit Realm have something called a soul refinement art?"
"…?"
Seeing the look on Zhen Qing Huai's face turning stranger at the mentioning of this, Long Hua has his answer.
Down a bit of wine, Long Hua explains—
"This soul refinement art is basically the art of taking one's soul and refining it like a magic treasure. The result is an increase in the soul's strength and purity, which results in the strengthening of one's divine senses. A person's talent is also something that can be drastically altered by this art."
"Ah this…-"
Just as this method begins to sound attractive to the ears, Long Hua cuts Zhen Qing Huai off by saying—
"But failure means immediate death without any chances of reincarnation."
"…Who the hell is that bored of living—to go through the effort of inventing this art? What is the name of this world you were in before even?"
Leaning back in his chair, Long Hua replies—
"Sorry, those of us in the Zang Luo Realm—we're simply that bored of living, and go through every effort to make ourselves different from everyone else."
Having said this, Long Hua suddenly feels like the people who had invented these odd methods were those that he had met during his previous life.
"Ai, this method is generally done in portions, so instant death doesn't happen that often."
Narrowing his right eye, as he refills Long Hua's cup, Bai Wen asks—
"What do you mean?"
"There're two divine arts involved in this method working successfully. One is meant to sever the soul itself into portions. The other is meant to repair the damages that can be caused during the process, or to mend the lost portions of the soul."
Hearing this, Zhen Qing Huai suddenly feels like this soul refinement art isn't as insane as it would have sounded initially, causing her to ask—
"Are there special resources involved with attempting this?"
"A soul cauldron, it's a specialized magic treasure meant to contain and nourish the soul held within—prior to the refinement process. Practitioners would generally house their souls inside of these cauldrons to prepare themselves. The finer details of this magic treasure aren't something that I'm too clear about. Other than that, specialized flames. We call these soul flames. They can be manufactured; however…"
Contemplating for a bit, while sipping away at the wine, Long Hua eventually adds—
"Ai, different manufacturers of soul flames have different methods, which works for them, and only them exclusively—upon reaching a certain level. But generally speaking, it requires the manufacturer to amass the roaming souls of the dead together to create just a single flame."
"Hmm."
Folding his arms and parting his lips, Bai Wen thinks deeply about the feasibility of this soul refinement art—under the Everlasting Spirit Realm's conditions.
"…The tool can be made, but this flame… It's going to require a very specialized environment to manufacture."
One specific place does come to mind in Bai Wen's head; however, it's impossible to say if it will work or not without actually going there with the proper knowledge of how soul flames are manufactured.
Shrugging a shoulder, Long Hua remarks—
"I don't know how different the laws of the Zang Luo Realm are compared to the Everlasting Spirit Realm. For all I know, this soul refinement art might only be viable in the Zang Luo Realm alone."
Sucking in a deep breath of air, Zhen Rong asks—
"…Long-shao, you mentioned that a person's talent can be altered drastically through this method. What about making a breakthrough with it, do you think…?"
Setting his cup down, Long Hua says—
"In order to have a chance at reaching the unattainable apex, a person's soul, body, and cultivation base—these all need to reach a specific level. Of these three requirements, the soul is the most difficult one to fulfil. This soul refinement art is only one of many ways to maybe fulfil this condition."
"Ai, Long-shao, just get to the point."
Shaking his head towards Zhen Rong, Long Hua remarks—
"Young people these days, no patience to be found in them."
"…Long-shao, as someone who is always itching to beat others, do you really have any rights to say that?"
Ignoring this remark, Long Hua continues to explain—
"The soul contains untapped potentials. Some people are born with most of their potentials tapped into, while others aren't as fortunate—or at least that's what some of the scholars back in the Zang Luo Realm used to say. Regardless, cases of an individual making a breakthrough after going through soul refinement does exist. But this is assuming that they actually have a large reservoir of potentials left to be tapped into."
"…?"
Tilting her head, Zhen Rong feels like there is something off about the way Long Hua is phrasing this, causing her to ask—
"Long-shao, other than cultivation talent potentials, what other potentials are there?"
"Oh?"
Raising an eye, Long Hua remarks—
"Little girl, you're actually quite sharp."
"I haven't watched my brother work for so long for nothing."
"Other than cultivation talent potential, there's bloodline potential, and past life potential. Bloodline potential is especially prevalent in clans that have a long history."
Thinking about how to explain this, Long Hua begins with—
"This is only an example, but let's say all of us have an ancestor, who was a peerless powerhouse. Why isn't the same talent that the ancestor possesses transferred onto the future generation as clearly?"
Towards this question, Zhen Qing Huai answers—
"Hmm, some theorize it's because the blood that came from the ancestor has thinned out over the passage of each successive generation."
"Mm a common theory. Well, the bloodline potential that is unlocked through soul refinement is meant to give new life to the thinned-out ancestor's blood."
Hearing this, everyone other than Long Hua sucks in a deep breath of air.
"A-And the past life potential?"
Towards Zhen Rong's excitement, Long Hua answers—
"This one is a bit more special and especially rare. Even if you unlocked this potential, it might not even grant you anything of benefit."
"Meaning?"
"If in your previous life you were an old tortoise, what's the benefits of unlocking the potential of an old tortoise in your current life? Unless, you want to be an even greater old tortoise?"
"Hahahaha!"
Immediately, Bai Wen bursts into laughter.
Batting an eye at Bai Wen, Zhen Qing Huai asks—
"And what if you were a dragon in your previous life?"
Raising a subtle smile, Long Hua answers—
"Then congratulations, you've become a dragon in this life as well—that's if you managed to unlock this potential. In any case, those who've awaken to such a potential are able to demonstrate the abilities that are unique to a dragon."
"Ai… Outer star region technology truly are fascinating."
Having come this far, Long Hua figured that he may as well talk about the other refinement art.
"There's also a refinement art related to blood. This one is more directed at the flesh and blood body, and uses the blood of others to perform the process. However, the blood used needs to be compatible with the individual undergoing the refinement."
"What if the refinement process fails?"
Turning to Zhen Rong, Long Hua answers—
"Only a ghost would know the result of what would happen."
"So, they die?"
"Or they end up turning into a hideous monster. Ai, if in your previous life, you were a lion, it's a no-brainer to think about using lion-type magic beasts to refine yourself through this method. Also, I should mention, the soul refinement art is something that should only be used after you reach the Nascent Soul realm. Prior to that, the soul is far too weak to handle the process."
Hearing this, Zhen Rong drops her shoulders with a frown.
Rising off his seat, Long Hua is thoroughly prepared to not stay any longer.
"Lao Long."
Just as Long Hua turns around, Bai Wen calls out to him, and continues to say—
"Once you emerge from this world, let's go to the Wailing Ghost Valley. That's the only place that I can think of—that might allow the creation of soul flames."
"We'll see then."
As Long Hua leaves the terrace, Bai Wen presses a hand to his left eye that is covered by a black piece of cloth, while thinking—
(Past Life… I wonder… This obsession to create, but also this feeling of loath towards the act—is it mine, or was it inherited from the past?)
Contemplating this, Bai Wen frowns.