Chapter 00475: An Unfamiliar Soul Search
# An Unfamiliar Soul Search
Chapter 475
Novel: Abandon The Universe
Chapter 475: An Unfamiliar Soul Search
"Five Universe King, I truly did give the Heavenly Gang Formation Flag to Gu Xu. As you know, I wouldn't dare lie about such matters," Zhi Zhen'a replied respectfully.
Before Lan Xiaobu could respond, he heard Teng Mo's excited voice, "Brother Lan! I knew it had to be you who came to save me!"
Behind Teng Mo stood Guang Li, Guang Jie, Jian Xuanming, Gong Liangye, and others, including Xiao Yueshui.
The reunion was filled with joy, and Guang Li couldn't help but sigh emotionally.
He had watched Lan Xiaobu grow from a mere Golden Immortal to someone who could now effortlessly suppress an entire Immortal Domain's ruler.
Lan Xiaobu patted Teng Mo on the shoulder.
"Go and be a proper Immortal Court King. Restore the Star Ascension Immortal Court to its former glory. Don’t let your father’s legacy crumble after his passing. I saw chaos everywhere in the Star Ascension Immortal Court—likely the work of the Zhi Family. I’ll deal with them. Your job is to govern well. You don’t have to surpass your father, but at least don’t do worse than him. Otherwise, you’d be better off as a simple cultivator than an Immortal Court King."
Even Lan Xiaobu himself planned to pass on his title as Five Universe King once he returned to the Five Universe Immortal World.
Though he had contributed much, his frequent absences made him unsuitable to continue ruling.
Teng Mo bowed deeply.
"Brother Lan, you are both my elder brother and my life’s benefactor. Without you, there would be no Teng Mo, let alone a Star Ascension Immortal Court. Rest assured, as long as I live, I will restore order to the Immortal Court."
"Brother Guang, Brother Jian, Sect Leader Xiao… I have urgent matters to attend to, so I can’t stay long. But if anything arises, you can always send word."
Lan Xiaobu bid farewell to everyone, handing them communication pearls he had crafted—a silent promise that as long as he lived, they could rely on him.
---
Lan Xiaobu spared the four remaining Zhi Family elders, sending them back to the Moon Mirror Immortal Court under Zhi Zhen'a’s command.
Those who had killed people in the Mysterious Profound Immortal Domain were executed.
Zhi Zhen'a dared not falsify anything, fearing Lan Xiaobu might return and wipe out the Zhi Family entirely—something he could do with terrifying ease.
Zhi Zhen'a herself was taken away by Lan Xiaobu.
He needed a quiet place for her and Gu Xu to confront each other.
The Mysterious Profound Ancient Battlefield was the perfect spot—isolated and undisturbed.
When Lan Xiaobu unceremoniously dumped Gu Xu before her, Zhi Zhen'a sighed.
The once-arrogant Gu Xu now lay before her like a beaten dog.
Yet she felt no joy, knowing she wasn’t much better off herself.
"Gu Xu, Zhi Zhen'a claims she gave you the Heavenly Gang Formation Flag. Where is it?" Lan Xiaobu demanded.
"Just kill me," Gu Xu muttered weakly, knowing no answer would spare him.
Lan Xiaobu didn’t bother pressing further.
He pressed a finger to Gu Xu’s forehead, unleashing his divine sense to ruthlessly scour the man’s consciousness.
Agonizing pain tore through Gu Xu, and he let out a bloodcurdling scream.
This wasn’t just a soul search—it was a crude, brutal violation.
Lan Xiaobu’s untrained divine sense shredded his mind like a blunt knife, inflicting pain far worse than death.
"Stop! Stop!" Gu Xu shrieked.
"I’ll tell you everything! The Heavenly Gang Formation Flag was prep—"
But Lan Xiaobu, fully immersed in the search, ignored his pleas.
Beside them, Zhi Zhen'a trembled, her limbs shaking uncontrollably.
She wondered if Lan Xiaobu had kept her here as a warning—a demonstration of what defiance earned.
Whether intentional or not, she vowed never to cross this man again.
Half an hour later, Lan Xiaobu withdrew, frowning in frustration.
The fragmented memories he’d extracted were nearly useless.
Gu Xu’s life was a string of body-snatching—first as a sect leader, then as a victim of betrayal, then leaping from host to host in a desperate bid for power.
Normally, a cultivator could only possess another body once.
A second attempt would cripple the soul.
Yet Gu Xu, born with a scattered soul, had defied this limit, perfecting a technique to jump bodies endlessly.
But there was no trace of the Heavenly Gang Formation Flag.
Lan Xiaobu forced a pill down Gu Xu’s throat, waiting for him to regain some coherence before asking again, "Where is the Heavenly Gang Formation Flag? And how do you enter and exit the Mysterious Profound Canyon? This is your last chance."
"What Heavenly Gang Formation Flag? What Mysterious Profound Canyon?" Gu Xu mumbled blankly.
Lan Xiaobu’s anger flared, but he quickly suppressed it.
Gu Xu wasn’t this stupid.
He knew about the canyon—Lan Xiaobu had seen him emerge from it.
Unless… his crude soul search had damaged Gu Xu’s mind?
Zhi Zhen'a spoke up.
"While you were searching, he said, 'The Heavenly Gang Formation Flag was prep—' Then he became incoherent and never finished."
Lan Xiaobu’s frown deepened.
Gu Xu had been about to reveal something when an external force interfered, erasing key memories—not just the flag’s location, but also the canyon’s secrets.
This wasn’t his doing.
A botched soul search wouldn’t surgically remove specific details.
An external will had intervened, likely planted in Gu Xu’s mind to safeguard secrets.
Lan Xiaobu had experienced something similar in the Mysterious Profound Canyon, where the Karmic Array Disk’s presence had nearly cost him his life.
If Gu Xu’s backer had embedded mental triggers to erase sensitive information upon disclosure, it would explain this.
Turning to Zhi Zhen'a, Lan Xiaobu said, "I brought you here first to verify the flag’s whereabouts. Since that’s a dead end, there’s a second matter."
"Five Universe King, whatever you wish to know, I will answer truthfully," Zhi Zhen'a replied hastily.
"Years ago, while crossing the Void Canyon, I found a Void Soul Mushroom at the Slanting Angle Void Station. It carried the aura of Liu Ming, former city lord of Mysterious Profound Path Immortal City. I knew Liu Ming—he was a decent man. Explain your family’s role in his death."
He deliberately omitted mentioning Teng Jilou and Xi Shengyin, testing Zhi Zhen'a’s honesty.
Liu Ming’s death was linked to the Zhi Family—Lan Xiaobu had confirmed this through Zhi Hu.
Zhi Zhen'a stiffened at Liu Ming’s name but quickly composed herself.
"Liu Ming’s death is indirectly tied to my family. An ancestor of ours, Zhi Shou, had his soul extracted at the Slanting Angle Void Station. Unlike others, his captors found him useful and put him to work, promising our family Void Soul Mushrooms in return."
Lan Xiaobu frowned.
"If your family had Void Soul Mushrooms, why don’t you have more Immortal Emperors?"
Such mushrooms could elevate cultivators to Immortal Emperor status.
With access to them, the Zhi Family should have been overflowing with powerhouses.
Zhi Zhen'a sighed.
"If only it were that simple. Those mushrooms are artificially cultivated—each one contains the soul of an Immortal Emperor. Anyone who uses them to break through is ultimately enslaved by their creators."Zhi Shou, though controlled, warned us never to use the mushrooms, no matter how desperate we were.
Better to never reach Immortal Emperor than to become a puppet.""So Liu Ming was sacrificed by your family?"Lan Xiaobu’s voice turned icy. Zhi Zhen'a didn’t dare lie."Liu Ming, Teng Jilou, and Xi Shengyin were lured by my family to have their souls extracted for mushroom cultivation.
As the process grew more demanding, only peak Immortal Emperors qualified.
With few such experts in the Mysterious Profound Immortal Domain, we… had no choice but to offer them to preserve Zhi Shou.
However, only Liu Ming’s soul was taken.
Teng Jilou and Xi Shengyin escaped.""Tell me how and where these soul extractions happen,"Lan Xiaobu demanded coldly. Once he settled the matter of the Heavenly Gang Formation Flag, he would personally visit this place. Let’s see who dared try to extract his soul."Understood."
Zhi Zhen'a hastily prepared a jade slip, recording every detail.
(That’s all for today’s update.
Goodnight, friends!)
(End of Chapter)