# 1711
Chapter 1711: Soul Concealment
"Soul Concealment……"
After hearing Yan Zhong's words, Huo Qubing's eyes in the blood pool gradually lit up.
Not only could it preserve the soul from death, but it could also seal a lifetime of power within a weapon. The only flaw was that the process was unbearably painful… If he couldn't endure it, his soul would scatter. Even if Hu Jia arrived in time, he couldn't save his spirit.
But pain meant nothing to Huo Qubing. As long as he could preserve his strength, no amount of suffering was worth it.
"I'll use this method." Huo Qubing spoke resolutely.
"Marquis, but that's skinning, bone extraction, heart dissection, and blood drawing!" Zhan Yuwu's hands trembled involuntarily, as if he couldn't bear to witness it.
"What's there to fear about skinning and bone extraction?" Huo Qubing's voice was hoarse. "My bones are already shattered, and my heart is the same… You only need to skin and draw blood. I can endure this much pain."
Zhan Yuwu, Yan Zhong, and Chloe exchanged glances, each seeing the不��� in the others' eyes… This was Huo Qubing! The Marquis of Championship whom the people of the realm revered… Skinning, bone extraction, heart dissection, blood drawing… Who could bear to do it?
"I'll do it."
Just then, a voice sounded from behind. Gongyang Wan was walking calmly toward them, dressed in a flowing ruqun.
"You?"
"None of you can bring yourselves to do it, so naturally, I must." Gongyang Wan said calmly. "I've tortured so many people, so I have experience with skinning and bone extraction. If your hands tremble, it will only make his suffering worse… Don't worry, I'll be quick."
Seeing Gongyang Wan appear, Huo Qubing's expression actually relaxed. As if recalling something, his bloodied right hand slowly lifted from the pool.
"Gongyang Wan… take this."
"What's this?" Gongyang Wan frowned, looking at the heart in Huo Qubing's hand.
"That willow tree monster can replicate all living beings, perfectly creating corresponding flesh bodies out of thin air… Didn't you need a body that could house your brother's soul and had no original owner? This should help you."
Staring at the hand extended from the blood pool, Gongyang Wan was struck like by lightning, frozen in place.
He… was helping me?
He had charge through Kusuen's true form, one man with one spear, plunging into the tree's deepest core just to retrieve this heart for Gongyang Zhuo?!
"Why!?" Gongyang Wan spoke in disbelief. "I'm just a man-eating demoness. Why do you keep helping me? What do you gain from this??"
"If one must weigh gains and losses for everything in this world, it would be too heartless." Huo Qubing spoke slowly. "However, I do hope that you will preside over the Bureau of Evil Suppression for me after this… I've always believed your nature isn't truly evil, only that your戾气 is too heavy. If you can properly resolve it, with your decisiveness and boldness, you should be able to preserve the Bureau of Evil Suppression for a thousand years without decline.
The facts have proven that I wasn't wrong about you."
Gongyang Wan's pupils slightly contracted. She gazed at Huo Qubing for a long moment, her expression complicated beyond words.
Finally, she extended both trembling hands and accepted the blood-soaked heart… Then her knees bent, and she knelt in the bloody pool.
"Gongyang Wan, along with my brother Gongyang Zhuo, kneel in gratitude to the Marquis for saving our lives!"
Her forehead struck the bloodied ground heavily, producing a dull thud. This "Marquis," she called with genuine sincerity, with complete faith.
"Do it." Huo Qubing's voice was hoarse. "After I die, the【Heart-Returning Gu】will lose its effect, and from now on, no one will bind you anymore…
Also, take my appearance. Try to keep news of my death from the world for as long as possible…"
Gongyang Wan slowly stood up. That cyan ruqun had already been dyed crimson by the blood. She picked up the broken spear beside her and walked to Huo Qubing's side, her pale knuckles clenching tightly around it..
"Marquis, please endure for a moment…"
She raised the spear's tip and plunged it violently toward the body in the blood pool!
……
Bang——!
A hand broke through the tree trunk, easily tearing open an opening. Lin Qiye's figure emerged from within.
He turned to look behind him. In his vision, the enormous willow tree had been wrapped into a cocoon by countless causal threads, standing like an ancient specimen on the earth, motionless.
Lin Qiye rubbed his temples, a wave of dizziness washing over him, nearly causing him to fall from the sky.
Creating so many【Causeless Cause】in one breath had drained nearly all of his spiritual power. If Huo Qubing hadn't injured Kusuen beforehand, sealing it this way would have been nearly impossible.
However, this way, Kusuen was completely immobilized. Once the Heavenly Court gods returned, they could easily slay it.
Lin Qiye swept his gaze across the surroundings, searching for the others. Finally, his gaze fell on a certain spot, and his body shuddered.
"That's……"
Lin Qiye's pupils contracted. He swiftly leaped off Kusuen's surface and charged toward a certain direction.
"Seven Night!" Zhan Yuwu's eyes widened as he saw Lin Qiye descend from the sky, his face pale. "The Marquis he……"
Lin Qiye passed by Zhan Yuwu and the others, stopping before the blood pool. Seeing the gruesome scene before him, his expression slightly shifted.
"Seven Night, the Marquis can't wait for【Mind Wander】anymore, so……" Yan Zhong stood with his back to Huo Qubing, his voice trembling. Even though he knew Huo Qubing wouldn't truly die but would instead conceal his soul in the weapon, he still couldn't find the courage to witness the execution-style flaying of the young commander he had followed for years.
Lin Qiye slowly closed his eyes and sighed helplessly…
So this had to happen after all.
Lin Qiye had seen Huo Qubing manifest as a heroic spirit in the future, and he had heard about the agonizing process of transforming a dying person into a heroic spirit. He knew this day would come eventually, but he hadn't expected it so soon……
"……The Marquis won't die." Lin Qiye softly comforted the two. "He will become the strongest heroic spirit on this land, guarding our nation's fortune for us. Someday, he will return."
As Gongyang Wan, following Yan Zhong's guidance, smelted the bone and blood into the weapon, Huo Qubing's form completely vanished from this world. The dim twilight filtered through the drifting dust, and only a broken spear stood on the blood-drenched earth.
Clang——!!
Gongyang Wan pulled out that spear. A hum resonated from its shaft, as if an unyielding battle spirit howled within the wind.
"Next, the smelted weapon must be placed in the flow of qi and fortune, and after nurturing it for two years, the soul can revive……" Yan Zhong recited the final words of the《Soul Concealment Art》in a hoarse voice.
"In this era, where is the qi and fortune strongest?" Lin Qiye asked.
Yan Zhong and Zhan Yuwu exchanged glances and said in unison:
"Chang'an!"