276: Spirit Slave_1
Mo Hua’s interest was piqued.
He looked over it a few times more and confirmed that the Pale-faced Man’s Fireball Technique indeed had some subtleties, differing from the common Fireball Technique.
Mo Hua wanted to study it further.
Scarface and the Pale-faced Man had already stopped fighting.
This was the Black Mountain Stronghold, and they were responsible for guarding the gate. If they caused any trouble over a petty squabble, it could cost them their lives.
So, even if they did fight, it was a half-hearted affair; they didn’t dare to really go at it.
Mo Hua was somewhat disappointed.
He had been hoping the two would have a fight to the death so he could take advantage of the situation.
But it turned out to be all bark and no bite; after a few moves, the conflict was over.
Scarface and the Pale-faced Man hurled a few harsh words at each other and then sat down together to drink cheap liquor, as if nothing had happened.
However, in the glances they exchanged, there was a hint of murderous intent.
Mo Hua thought it over and was still very much interested in the Pale-faced Man’s Fireball Technique.
He now had defensive spells to protect himself, but his offensive spells were lacking.
The Fireball Technique was fast and accurate, but its power was indeed mediocre.
If he could learn the secrets of the Fireball Technique from the Pale-faced Man, he wouldn’t need to learn other spells, and he could strengthen his arsenal.
With this in mind, Mo Hua paid close attention and began to track the Pale-faced Man after daylight.
The Pale-faced Man, after finishing his night watch, went straight back to his room.
The Pale-faced Man was just an ordinary Evil Cultivator; his room was no different from the others—spacious enough but messily furnished, not particularly bloody, just an oversized trunk in the corner.
Having been up all night, the Pale-faced Man appeared tired. He rested for a while, then got up and started to meditate and cultivate with his eyes closed.
Mo Hua found this odd.
It seemed that the Pale-faced Man did not use Spirit Stones while cultivating.
Without Spirit Stones, what could he possibly cultivate? Air?
After a while, the Pale-faced Man opened his eyes, a flash of irritation in his gaze.
He went straight to the corner and opened the large trunk.
Mo Hua, lying on the roof beam, looked down and saw that the trunk actually contained a living Cultivator!
The Cultivator was thin and sallow, cowering in the trunk, silent and afraid.
The Pale-faced Man ordered, “Come out.”
Upon hearing the command, the Cultivator looked around vacantly before stepping out.
“Kneel!”
The Cultivator didn’t resist; he knelt as told.
Seeing the man kneeling in front of him made the Pale-faced Man excited. He then pressed his palm against the Cultivator’s forehead.
The Cultivator’s Spiritual Power began to flow in reverse and then gathered in the Pale-faced Man’s Qi Sea through his palm.
The Cultivator seemed to have become used to being treated this way. His expression was dull; he neither resisted nor made a sound, like a piece of wood or some dead thing accepting his fate of having his Spiritual Power drained.
In the time it took to brew a cup of tea, the Pale-faced Man had fully absorbed the Spiritual Power, his satisfied heart adding a flush of color to his pale face.
He patted the Cultivator’s face, speaking in a tone of benevolence, “The Cultivation Technique I taught you, you’d best practice diligently.”
“You have to remember, it was I who saved your life. Making you a ‘Spirit Slave’ is a gift to you. Otherwise, you would have been drained dry by other Evil Cultivators already.”
“You owe your life to me!”
After speaking, the Pale-faced Man pointed to the trunk and said, “Go back, and don’t make a sound.”
The Cultivator, now a ‘Spirit Slave,’ walked back to the trunk with a blank expression and silently curled up inside without emitting a single sound.
Mo Hua watched with a chill in his heart.
He now understood that ‘Spirit Slaves’ were Cultivators used like slaves, their Spiritual Energy completely wrung out of them.
These Cultivators could be said to be more like moving ‘Spirit Stones’ than people.
To treat people like Spirit Slaves and Spirit Stones…
Mo Hua’s slender eyebrows knitted together.
As Elder Yu had said, the Cultivators here were indeed beasts.
After absorbing the ‘Spirit Slave’s’ Spiritual Energy, the Pale-faced Man began to meditate and refine it.
The Spiritual Energy in Spirit Stones was pure, but that of Cultivators varied.
Refining the Spiritual Energy of other Cultivators was easier and more convenient, but it clashed with one’s own Spiritual Energy, leading to anomalies and could easily lead to a drastic change in temperament or demonic possession.
Therefore, techniques that absorb Spiritual Energy were considered Evil Skills and not tolerated by the Taoist Court.