"Young people really know how to have fun."
Out in front of the hall, Grandpa Blind basked in the sun and said to Deaf, "Look at those two kids, pouring out their youth, so full of energy and passion—working so hard at dual cultivation. Deaf, have you ever thought about finding a partner yourself?"
Deaf didn't answer, just pointed at his ear, indicating he couldn't hear what Grandpa Blind was saying.
"Playing deaf and dumb!"
Grandpa Blind sneered, leaned on his cane, hopped over to Emperor Evan, and said, "In-law, your daughter is dual cultivating with my Quinn... Hey, why are you coughing up blood? You're still cursing! An emperor cursing people—where's the law in that? And you dare hit me? You think I'm scared of you...?"
Quinn and Lynn tried again and again, and when they'd finally played enough, they remembered that if they kept fooling around like this, they'd never finish perfecting the Sixfold Primordial Spirit cultivation method in this lifetime.
Only then did the two settle down and start studying the Sixfold Primordial Spirit cultivation method in earnest.
"I think we should start with soul resonance and primordial spirit harmonization!"
Lynn said seriously, "If the two partners in dual cultivation can harmonize their primordial spirits and resonate their souls, they can use each other's strength to let their primordial spirits leave their bodies."
Quinn nodded, thinking aloud, "But what you're talking about is after the primordial spirit is formed. What if it hasn't formed yet? Before primordial spirit harmonization, the key is the fusion of the spirit embryo and the soul."
Lynn said excitedly, "Then let's start with soul resonance! Soul resonance lets us use our souls to draw out the spirit embryo; when the spirit embryo and soul combine, the primordial spirit is born!"
Quinn's eyes lit up. "Then the technique needs two people to cultivate together! I use my soul to draw your spirit embryo, you use your soul to draw mine, and at the moment our souls merge, we both leave our bodies, swap souls, and each forms a primordial spirit!"
The two exchanged a glance, both feeling incredibly excited.
As they worked out the principle of this technique, Quinn would use his soul to draw Lynn's spirit embryo, and Lynn would use hers to draw Quinn's. Then comes the crucial step: both their souls and spirit embryos leave their bodies, and using the resonance between spirit and soul, they swap souls, each fusing their own soul with their own spirit embryo.
At the same time, harmonizing the primordial spirits ensures they won't split back into spirit embryo and soul.
This way, the primordial spirit can be formed in the Six Directions realm!
Lynn suddenly worried, "Then the only problem is how to turn this idea into a real technique—how do we draw each other's souls and spirit embryos?"
Quinn pondered, pacing around twice. "This technique needs to mobilize the primordial spirit, the soul, and the spirit embryo all at once. The most crucial thing is, neither partner can have any reservation. Only those as close as true family, with no selfishness at all, can hand over their spirit and soul without holding back."
Lynn nodded, feeling a bit sweet inside.
Quinn saying this basically means she's his closest person, that he trusts her completely without holding anything back.
"Let's not worry about who can cultivate it for now—let's just invent the technique first!"
Quinn perked up, refined a few more sticks of Soul-Guiding Incense to have on hand, and the two each used their souls to draw the other's spirit embryo, observing their own yuanqi flow and jotting everything down.
After a few more tries, they were both exhausted and had to stop for a break. They'd played around so much earlier that now their spirits were running low.
After six days, Quinn and Lynn had sorted out the rough framework of the technique—a general outline. All that was left was to refine the details.
Butcher still hadn't returned from chasing Aiden Starr, leaving Quinn, Granny Sue, and the others worried. Starr was just too strong—if he fixed his tonic problem and his body recovered, Butcher might not be his match. Starr's medical skills were formidable too; otherwise, he couldn't swap out organs so easily. Solving the tonic issue shouldn't be too hard for him.
Serena Yunxiang, Crystal Blaze, and Lina the Spirit Fox arrived by fast boat from Shuzhou City, bringing the herbs, giant cauldrons, and steamers Quinn needed.
Quinn set aside the matter of Butcher chasing Starr for now and got busy at once—prepping herbs, setting up the cauldrons, brewing medicinal soup, and steaming or boiling the wounded, working himself to the bone.
Granny Sue hurried over, "Quinn, you can't steam the ones with low cultivation—they'll get cooked!"
"I know."
Quinn arranged things carefully, had the deer demons watch the fire, then went to the True Dragon Nest, pulled out five legs, and asked, "Grandpa Joe, which two are yours?"
Crippled Joe checked the legs, picked out two, and said, "These two. Quinn, why do you have so many legs here? What are they for?"
Quinn smiled, "Spare parts. If Grandpa Joe loses his legs again, the remaining three can be used to reattach."
Pah pah! Kids shouldn't talk nonsense—good luck and fortune!
Crippled Joe spat twice, and Quinn quickly got to work, boiling a pot of medicinal soup, preparing the Worryless Sword, ointment, and Dragon Spittle Elixir to reattach the legs.
He was used to this, having reattached bodies for Crippled Joe and Butcher before. Reattaching these two legs wasn't difficult—actually, it was pretty easy.
Crippled Joe praised, "Quinn's skills keep getting better!"
Deaf raised his eyebrows and said, "That's because you've been chopped up so many times—gave him plenty of practice!"
Crippled Joe grew furious. Quinn picked him up and dunked him into the medicinal soup, while Joe kept spitting at Deaf, "Pah pah! Old men shouldn't talk nonsense—good luck and fortune!"
As the two bickered, Quinn carried a jade dragon bowl over to Grandpa Blind. "Grandpa, which of these god-eyes are yours?"
The bowl held more than a dozen eyeballs—all god-eyes collected by Aiden Starr. Without activating them, it was impossible to tell which two contained the Ninefold Heaven. From the outside, they all looked the same.
Grandpa Blind reached into the bowl, picked out two eyes, and frowned, "It's been so long since my eyes were gouged out—the wounds are fully healed. Is there still hope to reattach them?"
Quinn tossed the other eyes and the jade dragon bowl into the True Dragon Nest, then carefully examined Grandpa Blind's eye sockets, taking it very seriously.
Grandpa Blind smiled calmly, "It's okay if they can't be reattached—I've gotten used to the way I am now."
They can be reattached, but some of the optic nerves have withered. I'll need to treat Grandpa Blind for a few days—maybe medicine can stimulate nerve activity...
Quinn looked up and smiled, "Don't worry, Grandpa Blind. My medical skills aren't as good as Grandpa Apothecary's, but I'm at least second-best in the world."
He thought for a moment, then prepared the medicine for Grandpa Blind. The structure of the optic nerve is even more complex than the heart, and as fragile as the brain. Quinn had to be extra careful—every medicine must be pure, with no side effects, and strong enough to stimulate the nerves gently.
This was a huge test for him.
Quinn prepared several methods to stimulate the optic nerves: oral medicine, topical ointment, and a small device that fit over Grandpa Blind's eyes, filled with medicinal soup that steamed his eye sockets.
On top of that, after refining the medicine several times, he injected it into Grandpa Blind's half-dead eye muscles with a hollow silver needle—a multi-pronged approach.
After several days of treatment, Grandpa Blind felt his eye sockets burning, as if countless fine tendrils were sprouting inside. Only then did Quinn begin to reconnect the nerves of the two eyes, then wrapped his head in ribbons soaked with crushed spirit pills, covering his eyes.
"Grandpa Blind, wait until the eye muscles and nerves are fully healed before you take off the ribbons."
Quinn gave detailed instructions, then called over a tree demon to remind him to change Grandpa Blind's medicine on schedule. The tree demon nodded repeatedly, took root beside Grandpa Blind, and waited for the right time.
Quinn breathed a sigh of relief, checked the Dragon Nest, and thought, "If I put all these body parts from Aiden Starr together, I could probably assemble a god's body. Too bad I don't know what weird technique Starr cultivates—he must have kept his real body or primordial spirit, or he couldn't survive. Strange, what part of his true body is left?"
During battle, this terrifying being swapped out his own head, and naturally his brain too. His divine blood, heart, legs, everything had been replaced.
Even scarier, he had different primordial spirits—it seemed even those could be swapped!
When he fought Ariel Skyfeather, he used his own primordial spirit—different spirits attacked Ariel, leaving her badly wounded!
His true body must still have some part left that hasn't been replaced. His life is tied to that part—everything else can be discarded, but not that.
That's his life-gate!
Only by destroying his life-gate can he truly be killed!
He's swapped out every part of his body, but there's no way to replace his soul.
Quinn's eyes lit up. He found Granny Sue, and the two studied the problem together. Granny Sue's research on souls was deeper than Quinn's. She explained, "The soul is divided into the hun and the po. The hun are the celestial soul in the brow, the earth soul at the tailbone, and the life soul at the navel. The seven po are: Celestial Spirit—Corpse Dog, Brow Wheel—Hidden Arrow, Throat—Shadow Sparrow, Heart—Swallow Thief, Navel—Non-Toxin, Perineum—Filth Remover, Lungs—Stinky Lung. In theory, if these parts are swapped, his soul would be incomplete. But his soul is clearly intact."
Quinn pondered deeply. According to Granny Sue's deduction, Aiden Starr's head, dantian, spine, neck, lungs, heart, and stomach must be retained, otherwise his soul would have to parasitize whatever body he took over.
But Grandpa Blind and the others had destroyed Starr's heart, smashed his head, and even knocked his spine loose, yet Starr's soul wasn't seriously damaged—he could still repair his body.
So that means Starr's real head, dantian, spine, neck, lungs, heart, and stomach are all still intact. His soul remains in his true body, only parasitizing the bodies he seizes when necessary. Then his true body must be hidden...
He exchanged a glance with Granny Sue, both blinking—Starr's box!
Starr's true body, containing his soul, must be hidden inside that box.
Butcher split open that box—who knows if he killed Starr's true body as well.
He still has a weakness.
Quinn steadied himself, thinking, "Even if Grandpa Butcher couldn't kill him, as long as I see whether he brings a box next time he appears, I'll know if my guess is right!"
Granny Sue nodded, "If he shows up next time still carrying the box, it means his true body is inside. He's not invincible! Killing him will be much easier!"