Chapter Nineteen: Refining the Five Spirits God-Sealing Scroll!

Ni Cai gazed at the five-colored magical formation on the Five Spirits God-Sealing Map with the fervor of a drunkard finding vintage wine or a lecher encountering a legendary beauty. He began to study it with manic intensity. This ancient formation was profound and obscure, and given the White Dragon's immense power, erasing the soul imprint it had embedded within would be as difficult as fighting the beast all over again.

As Ni Cai devoted himself entirely to deciphering the formation, Yang Nan let him be. The White Dragon had suffered a crushing defeat and would surely seek revenge eventually, but it would be hard-pressed to recover its strength in the short term. If Yang Nan could ascend to the rank of Venerable within a century, he would be more than ready to welcome the dragon to its death.

Yang Nan retrieved his Yin-Erosion Dharma Weapon and the precious dragon tooth he had obtained at great cost. Opening his mouth, he exhaled Yin-Sha True Fire to refine the tooth. The Yin-Erosion weapon was already at the top tier of the King Grade; if it could advance further, it would reach the Saint Grade.

A Dharma weapon requires countless spiritual materials to transcend its rank, and Yang Nan’s Yin-Erosion had already consumed a vast fortune in spirit stones and iron without yielding. While a Saint-grade weapon could not compare to his master Bu Xu’s Immortal-grade Pan-Long, it would still be a premier treasure in this world. Though Yang Nan studied a wide array of disciplines, the Weapon Sect was his true foundation, and elevating his natal weapon was the correct path.

The dragon tooth was a condensation of the White Dragon’s power. After being refined for thousands of years, it was effectively a piece of extraordinary divine iron. Every day, Yang Nan sat in the boat, using his True Fire Heart-Refining technique to melt the tooth bit by bit and infuse it into the Yin-Erosion weapon. Bolstered by this pure dragon essence, the weapon’s material grew significantly tougher. Yet, once the entire tooth was melted down, Yang Nan discovered the weapon remained at the top of the King Grade—the final step was agonizingly difficult.

Without true heavenly roots or supreme divine iron, reaching the Saint Grade was a distant dream. He couldn't help but think of the White Dragon’s maw, filled with dozens of such teeth. If he could pluck them all, his weapon would surely become a Saint-grade treasure! However, a true dragon of the Venerable rank, like Long Yun, was not so easily captured.

After some thought, Yang Nan reluctantly abandoned the idea of hunting dragons and turned his mind to seeking divine iron. While such materials existed, every sect in the world had already carved out its territory, controlling all the spirit veins and mines. Unless Yang Nan ventured far into the wilderness or the eastern seas, the chance of obtaining such treasures within the Central Plains was virtually nil without wiping out entire sects.

After months of painstaking deliberation, Ni Cai finally devised a way to crack the Five Spirits God-Sealing Map. With the four masters—Old Crab, Chi Yang, Dapeng, and Yang Nan—already on the boat, they only needed one more master to assist him in operating the formation to unlock it.

But there were only five masters on the ship. Where could they find a sixth? There was a White Horse demon in Chi Yang’s Soul-Control Order, but having lost a portion of its soul, it was hopelessly dull-witted and useless. Fang Qingyan and her two companions were only at the Weapon Master level, still some distance from the Grandmaster rank. Yang Nan possessed a Grandmaster-level puppet in his Jiangshan Ring—Kui Han—but did he dare release him?

In the end, it was Commander Shrimp who found the solution. Wasn't there a giant octopus hanging from the bow? After months of grueling discipline under Commander Shrimp, the creature had suffered a nervous breakdown and loathed its own existence as a demon. If Yang Nan showed mercy, it would willingly descend into the netherworld.

Yang Nan was impressed by Commander Shrimp’s results and immediately ordered the octopus to be brought forward. Seeing the master of the ship who had sent his own lord fleeing in terror, and having endured months of creative torment, the once-mighty octopus general was now utterly broken and obedient.

Observing the wretched state of the octopus, Yang Nan asked curiously, "I thought there were only one hundred and eight types of torture. How did you manage to torment it for months?"

Commander Shrimp patted his chest and said brazenly, "Young Master, you created those one hundred and eight tortures, but how could I, Old Shrimp, fall behind? My soldiers have been enthusiastic, and those tortures have already grown to three hundred and sixty types. Most are still being perfected, but I will report back once they are complete."

Since Yang Nan had pioneered the art of interrogation, Old Crab had refined it to an art form. Fearing he would become useless after Yang Nan decided to stop using the Supreme Demon Body technique, Commander Shrimp had spent day and night researching new methods with his troops. With thousands of minor demons contributing, the variety had indeed become endless.

At the mere sound of Commander Shrimp tapping his chest, the octopus would shudder. It had been the test subject for most of the unrefined tortures, and it now wished it could capture a thousand man-eating demons to take its place, provided Commander Shrimp didn't turn his blade on it.

Seeing the creature had been sufficiently broken, Yang Nan released his pent-up anger. The demon had eaten countless humans; killing it would be too easy. Making it atone for its sins was the proper path.

"General Octopus, I did not call you here for torture today, but to ask for your help. Are you willing?" Yang Nan asked with a gentle, smiling face.

The octopus general’s brow broke out in a cold sweat. "Grandfather, kill me if you must, but please, I beg you, stop tormenting me! I will never dare to eat humans again!" The last time Yang Nan was this polite, it had resulted in countless wounds. It was terrified to its core.

Yang Nan chuckled. "Don't worry. I don't need your ink today. Just assist me in breaking the formation. If you catch a thousand man-eating demons in the future, I will allow you to serve in my personal guard. How about that?"

Upon hearing this, the octopus general was overjoyed and kowtowed repeatedly. "I am willing! Never mind a thousand—I can catch ten thousand!"

Knowing the creature was now paralyzed by fear and would not dare rebel, Yang Nan instructed Commander Shrimp to heal its wounds. Commander Shrimp, watching his master show mercy, lamented, "What a pity. I wanted to keep experimenting on you. Most of those two hundred-plus tortures aren't finished yet. How am I to report back?"

The octopus general’s massive body shuddered. "Brother Shrimp, a gentleman does not dwell on old grudges. Please, don't speak so loudly. I will catch as many demons as you want—I won't let you down."

Commander Shrimp sneered, "Thinking of escaping, are you? Don't forget, our Young Master has not only this lightning-fast ship but also secret soul-control techniques. He can make you lose your mind and exist in a state between life and death—that is the true horror!"

Having seen the terrifying state of the White Horse demon, the octopus was chilled to the bone. "I dare not escape! I will serve the Young Master for the rest of my life! Even in death, I will be his ghost!"

Seeing the octopus was truly sincere, Commander Shrimp adopted a kinder tone, patting its shoulder. "Little brother, you don't know—under the Young Master, as long as you are obedient and loyal, your future is assured. Strive for excellence, and even becoming an immortal or a sage is within reach! But if you dare to harbor a rebellious heart, you won't even know how you died."

With this mix of pressure and promise, Commander Shrimp completely extinguished the octopus's desire to rebel. It nodded incessantly. It was well aware of the benefits Yang Nan bestowed upon his demon soldiers—he gave out cultivation manuals for immortality and sagehood without hesitation, not to mention spirit stones and pills. Most of the treasures found at sea were given to his guards. Where else in the world could one find such a master?

Seeing Commander Shrimp, a mere ninth-rank Master, cowing a Grandmaster-level octopus, Yang Nan found it secretly amusing. With five Grandmasters assembled, Ni Cai took the lead, and they each poured their energy into the Five Spirits God-Sealing Map.

As the five streams of power entered, the black net began to glow. Five figures—four beasts and one god—rose into the air, as vivid and lifelike as if they were real. This was the effect Ni Cai desired. Clutching his formation-breaking artifact, he uttered a soft command, sank his consciousness into it, and directed it toward the map.

Yang Nan and the others focused on channeling their power to hold the five spirits in place, preventing them from interfering with Ni Cai. As the artifact breached the map, the soul imprints within reacted instantly, clashing with Ni Cai. However, trapped by the five masters, the spirits could not break free. Ni Cai did not engage them directly, instead methodically drawing the soul imprints out one by one.

When a White Dragon roared as it was pulled from the map, Ni Cai let out a sharp cry. The Dragon-Slaying Pillars instantly transformed into seventy-two colossal columns, trapping the dragon within. Ni Cai immediately activated the pillars, unleashing continuous True Fire to refine the beast.

With the Dragon-Slaying Pillars in hand, the dragon—merely a soul imprint—could not withstand the relentless burning of seven types of strange fires and slowly dissolved into nothingness.

Once the soul imprints were extinguished, Ni Cai had Yang Nan stop and reset the formation to refine the Five Spirits God-Sealing Map. Just as it was nearing completion, he had Yang Nan inject a strand of his consciousness to set his own imprint. After more than a month of exertion, the task was finally complete.

Yang Nan held the unique artifact in his hand, feeling his consciousness linked to it in perfect harmony. It was a wonderful sensation. Without the joint efforts of several Grandmasters, a genius like Ni Cai, and the Dragon-Slaying Pillars, refining this treasure would have been impossible.

Now, with this scroll, Yang Nan could enter it at any time to practice his techniques. It was equivalent to having a sparring partner of equal rank and strength—a truly miraculous benefit.

After the soul imprint was set, the "Five-Light World" would no longer harm him. Young’s Seven-Colored Divine Light was no longer needed for protection. Upon entering the world for the first time, Yang Nan discovered that while the enemies he faced were identical to him, they would not truly injure him. This was a pleasant surprise.

With this map, he had a constant sparring partner to refine his arts and神通—a treasure beyond compare. Every day, after his regular practice, if he made even the slightest progress, Yang Nan would enter the map to test his skills. Eventually, he placed the map above the Yang Lightning Pool, allowing any of his subordinates who wished to test their strength to enter and train. It became a universal tool for cultivation.