"Why would your master have you pass the Divine Soul to me instead of leaving it to other spirits? Your master surely had more than just you as a spirit, right?" Egg Egg asked.
A treasure like this had no reason to be given away to outsiders.
"Of course there were more than just me."
"The reason he passed it to an outsider was precisely because my master was too powerful."
"I said it before—there are only nine Divine Souls in this era, each born from one of the nine Celestial Rivers."
"But my master obtained eight of the nine Divine Souls back in his day," Taowu said.
"Your master obtained eight Divine Souls?" Egg Egg's face showed a rare look of shock.
"That's right." Taowu's face carried a hint of pride as he spoke of this.
"That is… genuinely impressive."
"No—it's not just impressive. It's absolutely terrifying."
Even Egg Egg couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration.
The ancient era must have been a time of chaos, and those who knew what the Divine Souls were would have fought tooth and nail for them. For his master to have seized eight—that meant he must have been an incredibly powerful existence, likely possessing abilities that could blot out the heavens. At the very least, very few Spirit World Masters could rival him.
"What was your master's name?" Egg Egg asked, her admiration piqued.
"My master…" At this, Taowu wore a meaningful smile and turned his gaze toward Egg Egg. "That Vein-Finding Technique—you were the one who passed it to Chu Feng, weren't you?"
Taowu asked.
It turned out he had already confirmed from Chu Feng's earlier use of the Celestial Eye that Chu Feng had mastered the Vein-Finding Technique.
"You know about the Vein-Finding Technique?" Egg Egg's eyes widened in surprise.
"Judging by that reaction, it was definitely you who passed it on."
"So where did you learn it? Was it from the great beauty Chi Yu?" Taowu asked with a grin.
"You know Lady Chi Yu?" Egg Egg was even more surprised.
"Holy crap, so it really was you." Taowu had only been guessing before and hadn't held out much hope, but to his astonishment he had guessed correctly. Now he grew incredibly excited. "What a heaven-sent coincidence this is!"
Taowu shouted with excitement.
"Could it be… the Spirit World Master that Lady Chi Yu once served was…"
Egg Egg suddenly realized something extraordinary.
The Vein-Finding Technique she knew had been taught to her by Lady Chi Yu—an incredibly powerful existence even within the Asura Spirit World. But Lady Chi Yu had once served a Spirit World Master in the Martial Cultivation World as well. Although she eventually remained in the Asura Spirit World and her strength reached a terrifying level, she had always spoken of the Spirit World Master she once served with the highest regard, calling him an extraordinarily great Spirit World Master. And the Vein-Finding Technique had been created by that very Spirit World Master.
"You guessed right. The great beauty Chi Yu once served my master alongside me. Later, due to certain matters, she had to remain in the Asura Spirit World permanently, so she dissolved her contract with my master."
"That became a regret for all of us brothers."
At this, Taowu's face was full of genuine regret.
"Regret? Don't tell me you were lusting after Lady Chi Yu's beauty?" Egg Egg said with a mischievous smile.
Although Lady Chi Yu had already been quite old by the time Egg Egg was born, she had obtained a Spirit Medicine that preserved her appearance indefinitely. So no matter her actual age, her looks remained frozen in their most beautiful prime—not through deliberate maintenance or disguise, but because that was simply how she truly appeared. On top of that, Lady Chi Yu's cultivation was extraordinarily powerful, making her the goddess in countless hearts. Of course, it was mostly admiration or secret affection—very few dared to pursue her, because Lady Chi Yu was simply too strong.
"Well…"
"Guilty as charged, partly."
"But more than that, back then we had all yet to fully mature, so none of us brothers could match the great beauty Chi Yu."
"The strongest spirit of the strongest Spirit World Master turned out to be a woman—naturally, we couldn't accept that."
"Later on, our strength grew considerably, but by then the great beauty Chi Yu was no longer in the Martial Cultivation World. We never got the chance to compare, and that's what's truly regrettable," Taowu said.
"Then you can forget about it. I don't mean any disrespect, Senior—I can tell you're very strong, but compared to Lady Chi Yu, you clearly wouldn't stand a chance." Egg Egg said this with absolute certainty.
It wasn't that she looked down on Taowu. She had witnessed Lady Chi Yu's power with her own eyes.
"I never said I stood a chance. I just wanted another comparison, that's all."
Taowu was a proud and arrogant individual.
Yet when it came to Egg Egg's words, he offered no rebuttal—because he knew exactly how formidable the great beauty Chi Yu was. Although their time together had been brief, whenever he recalled that woman with her peerless beauty and cold, aloof aura, she felt like an insurmountable mountain. One he could never overcome, not in all of eternity.
"Oh right, oh right, Senior—was your master the strongest Spirit World Master of the ancient era? What exactly was his name?" Egg Egg asked curiously. Now that she knew Taowu had known Lady Chi Yu, her respect for him had grown even more.
"The great beauty Chi Yu didn't tell you our master's name?" Taowu looked somewhat surprised.
"No. Lady Chi Yu refused to say, only that he was an extraordinarily great Spirit World Master," Egg Egg said.
"That great beauty Chi Yu, honestly—what was there to hide? Fine, fine, I'll tell you."
"My master was the universally acknowledged strongest Spirit World Master of his time."
"The formations, techniques, and methods he created were beyond counting."
"The barrier treasures he possessed were equally limitless."
"Because his barrier arts were unmatched in the entire Martial Cultivation World, he was hailed as the one and only emperor among Spirit World Masters. The world reverently addressed him as: the Spirit World Emperor."
"However, he himself never acknowledged this title, so he forbade us from ever mentioning it. He preferred to go by his actual name."
"And speaking of his name—it's actually rather amusing. It's somewhat similar to those Dragon Totem Nine—Dragon Seven, Dragon Eight, Dragon Nine."
"My master had many siblings, and he happened to be the ninth child. His surname was Qin. So tell me—what do you think his name was?" Taowu asked in a teasing, mysterious tone, even poking a bit of fun at his own master.
"Don't tell me it was Qin Jiu?" Egg Egg asked.
"Qin Jiu it was." Taowu nodded emphatically, wearing a mischievous grin.
"That is… admittedly a bit casual," Egg Egg said with a snicker. It wasn't that Qin Jiu was a bad name—it was just that she immediately thought of the Dragon Totem Nine, Dragon Seven, Dragon Eight, Dragon Nine, which was already amusing enough. For someone as incredible as Qin Jiu to have such a name made it even funnier.
"But my master didn't care at all. He said that our bodies, our hair, our skin—all are gifts from our parents. A name is given by one's parents, and no matter what it is, it stays with you for life. So rather than seeing it as something shameful, he took pride in it."
"Oh, and speaking of which—when little brother Chu Feng broke through that formation just now, there were traces of my master's methods in it. It's entirely possible that he received the inheritance of someone who inherited my master's legacy," Taowu said.
"His formation-breaking technique—he obtained it from the ancestral grounds of the Yue family. Do you think it's possible that the inheritance site the Yue family found was actually the true inheritance site of Lord Qin Jiu? It's just that the Yue family ancestor had limited comprehension, so he only grasped the barest surface, which is why Chu Feng learned it but never mastered it thoroughly?" Egg Egg asked.
"Of course that's possible."
"My master loved to bring blessings to the world, so he particularly enjoyed leaving behind inheritances. Even the Vein-Finding Technique was spread far and wide back then—though sadly, very few were able to master it."
"This kid may have only grasped the surface, but even that is remarkable. And his current cultivation is limited, plus his barrier bloodline hasn't fully awakened yet. Once it fully awakens, he'll surely achieve true mastery of the Vein-Finding Technique," Taowu said.
"Is Chu Feng's barrier bloodline that powerful?"