Ning Zhuo smiled faintly, first treating Wen Song a few times, then stuffing him back into the storage cabin of the Ten-Thousand-Li Travelling Dragon.
"So, Silk Lady, what do you think of my Nine Nether Bone Bell?"
Silk Lady gritted her teeth, fully aware that this technique was essentially about using local materials, forging a bell that could connect with one’s heart and evoke the deepest feelings.
To use it on her, just extracting her bones and refining them would make the bell several times more powerful than a wooden one!
After all, the name of the technique is Nine Nether Bone Bell, not a wooden bell.
And because it connects from the heart, none of Silk Lady’s triple-layered techniques could fully shield against it.
Ning Zhuo noticed Silk Lady’s expression change slightly, knowing she was beginning to tense up.
He smiled faintly, took out a Spiritual Sparrow with Foundation Establishment cultivation. This too had been purchased by the Chef.
Ning Zhuo switched to a different spell and released it towards the Spiritual Sparrow.
Soul Technique—Soul Cicada Shedding!
Mana was expended, acting on the soul of the Spiritual Sparrow, causing its soul’s outer layer to rapidly change, forming a cicada-like shell armor.
The Spiritual Sparrow flapped in Ning Zhuo’s palm, feeling very uncomfortable.
Ning Zhuo manipulated his Divine Sense and suddenly tore, ripping off the outer cicada shell of the Sparrow’s soul.
The Spiritual Sparrow let out a sharp screech, conveying piercing pain that made Silk Lady’s brow twitch!
Ning Zhuo picked up the sparrow soul’s cicada shell, holding it in his hand, eagerly absorbing.
The cicada shell dissolved like melting ice, disappearing rapidly.
Ning Zhuo, however, gained a series of vivid images.
Wrapped in a sticky eggshell, chilled to the bone. It pecked desperately, light piercing through the crack, penetrating the dark world.
It couldn’t open its eyes, a violent hunger made it open its mouth, chirping loudly. Then, a warm soft mass was shoved into its mouth, bringing the earthy smell of a worm and the sour rot of the mother bird’s crop.
On its first flight attempt, it crashed into a rock, breaking its tender feathers, bleeding profusely.
Hiding among branches, suddenly a wild cat pounced, in a moment of life and death, it burst into flight, dropping excrement onto the cat’s head in shock.
...
The Soul Cicada Shedding technique is actually a method for cultivators to temper their mental state. It can fully reproduce the hardships and pains a cultivator has endured throughout their life, allowing them to savor and learn from them.
Ning Zhuo tried it successfully, and once again, smiled and asked Silk Lady, "How about this technique?"
Silk Lady forced herself to muster a semblance of a smile, still holding on, "Young Master, you should know, I am neither a Spirit Plant nor a Spiritual Sparrow."
This demon cultivator from the Demon Path no longer had her earlier arrogance.
She understood: Soul Cicada Shedding, like the Nine Nether Bone Bell, could bypass her defensive techniques and steal her layers of skills.
Ning Zhuo cast a spell, healed the Spiritual Sparrow, and put it away.
He looked at Silk Lady, sighed, "Demon Cultivators, so stubborn. Very well, I have no choice but to properly teach you a lesson."
Silk Lady forced herself to remain calm, puffing out her chest, "Come on!"
Ning Zhuo put on a serious expression and, in front of Silk Lady, slowly performed a third different soul technique—
Three Souls Spinning Wheel Technique!
Silk Lady’s body trembled as if electrocuted, then immediately tensed like a bowstring.
The Fetal Light Soul, The Brisk Spirit-Soul, and the Nether Spirit Soul shook at the same moment, and then were forcibly drawn out by a strange power.
The intense pain made Silk Lady’s pupils contract sharply, her face turned pale, and she couldn’t help but open her mouth, releasing a moan full of pain: "Ah..."
The Fetal Light Soul first withdrew from her body, transforming into pieces of Plain Snow Brocade before her eyes. The brocade surface emitted a misty chill.
Then, The Brisk Spirit-Soul was twisted into threads of blood, vibrant as rouge, inserting into the Plain Snow Brocade, continuously weaving, and the ice mist diminishing rapidly at a visible pace.
Finally, when the ice mist completely disappeared, the Nether Spirit Soul transformed into the Purple Miasma Gauze Curtain, spreading over the entire red and white brocade until the purple miasma was wholly absorbed by the brocade.
In the end, a soul cloth of mixed red, white, and purple gradually took shape.
The pain continuously came in waves.
Ning Zhuo’s fingers moved nimbly, constantly manipulating.
Silk Lady, in soul technique-induced convulsions, could no longer stand, collapsing directly onto the ground.
"Ugh—!" Her nails dug into the ground, leaving claw marks, and she was on the verge of collapse, sweat soaking her hair, sticking to her skin.
Rolling her eyes, she nearly fainted on the spot.
Ning Zhuo stopped casting, glancing at the tricolor soul cloth floating mid-air, then turned his calm gaze to Silk Lady: "Demon Cultivator, have you learned your lesson? Do you still want to resist?"
Silk Lady’s chest heaved violently as she breathed heavily and weakly said to Ning Zhuo, "I-I’m about to be killed by you. You might as well just finish me off!"
The intense pain unleashed her ferocity and anger; at that moment, she wished she could perish together with Ning Zhuo.
Ning Zhuo sighed, "Since you’re still resisting so stubbornly, don’t blame me."
He pointed with his hand towards the three-colored soul cloth.
In the next moment, the soul cloth ignited spontaneously without fire.
Boat Burning Soul Crossing Technique!
The soul cloth burned fiercely, transforming into a small boat in the flames.
Ning Zhuo escaped from his soul, with a small leap, he boarded the boat.
Waves of memories, like river waters, surged into his soul, as if Ning Zhuo was experiencing it all firsthand!
In the valley, the Silk Lady, not yet having taken form, was being hunted.
A young man in white laughed heartily, "Stop running, if you keep running I’ll kill you. What’s wrong with obediently becoming my demon pet?"
...
During an adventure, the Silk Lady accidentally consumed an Earth Treasure and successfully took form.
Looking at the naked Silk Lady, the young man in white was dumbfounded, his face blushing with embarrassment, "Little Silk, you turned out to be so beautiful!"
...
The face of the middle-aged cultivator still faintly showed the high-spirited look of youth.
He was severely wounded and on the brink of death, releasing the demon pet contract with the Silk Lady before he died, "My lady, I’m done for. Before I die, I have a question. I forcibly took you, do you blame me?"
The Silk Lady shook her head, tears streaming, her palm pressing on the middle-aged cultivator’s wound, yet unable to stop the flow of blood.
The middle-aged cultivator smiled faintly, looking at the Silk Lady with affection, "We’re trapped by the enemy, out of ammunition and provisions. If you eat me, you’ll have strength, possibly to escape..."
The middle-aged cultivator breathed his last.
The Silk Lady wept mournfully, "My lord! You forgot, I promised you, I would never eat anyone."
The enemy opened the confining array, only to see the Silk Lady sitting dazed on the ground, motionless, her face ashen. The middle-aged man had already been burned to ashes.
At first, the enemy was angry, but then, seeing the Silk Lady’s appearance, a smile crept to their lips as they lifted her chin, "Oh, not bad-looking."
...
The Silk Lady endured humiliation, willingly sacrificing herself, acting as an insider, and used spider silk on the bed to pierce the enemy’s heart, successfully avenging herself.
The female demon cultivator who used her developed a moment of compassion and saved the Silk Lady.
The Silk Lady was taken into the Charming Demon Sect, and devoted herself to cultivation.
...
Spider silk pierced through the enemy, and spells seduced the masses.
"Why don’t you eat?" the accompanying Tiger Demon asked in surprise.
The Silk Lady’s face was cold, "I do not eat people."
Witnessing this scene, a senior from the Demon Sect thought to themselves, "This Spider Demon is somewhat interesting." So they secretly guided her, teaching formations.
...
The soul cloth burned out, Ning Zhuo’s soul returned to his body, and he was silent for a moment, his gaze on the Silk Lady becoming complicated.
From the memories he obtained, it seemed the Silk Lady was merely toyed with by fate, repeatedly displaced. She was more often the victim, rather than the perpetrator.
Not eating people was her principle.
Many times, she was driven to hopeless situations. Many evil reputations were also due to slanders and manhunts, and the spread of rumors.
"Fighting back fiercely for survival and revenge is also understandable."
"She was captured by strong foes and served as a slave many times. Most of her evil deeds were carried out under orders."
Ning Zhuo didn’t manage to find Ban Ji’s relevant information, but he learned about the Silk Lady’s past, unexpectedly discovering that this demon woman was not as sinful as he had imagined.
Meanwhile, the Silk Lady’s pupils contracted, her face pale as she looked at Ning Zhuo, trembling with fear, "Boat, Boat Burning Soul Crossing Technique?"
Ning Zhuo revealed a slight smile, "You are quite knowledgeable."
The Silk Lady was utterly terrified; she knew that if it were cast on her, her soul would become fuel until it was completely burned away.
"No, please don’t..." she pleaded.
Her previous hatred and anger had been replaced by the will to survive.
"My lord, my lord!"
"I was wrong, spare my life, spare my life."
"I am your slave, I am your dog, leave me alive, I will serve you loyally, whatever you need me to do, I will do it!"