Find someone whose wisdom has been taken, whose soul seems to have lost its mind but hasn't dissipated, and who's not dead—then nourish that residual soul, the part representing spiritual intelligence, with your own, using soul to heal soul.

This method isn't all that evil, really—in fact, it's mutually beneficial for both parties.

Once complemented, one side gets to be nourished, slowly regaining some clarity, while the other, having been restored, no longer faces the risk of dissipating soul.

If you use other soul-nourishing methods on top of that, both sides benefit.

Seeing this, Wen Yan finally understood why Liu Qiying dared to come clean with Wu Tingsheng.

Thinking back on Xiao Wu's earlier state, Wen Yan was certain the information wasn't embellished in any flowery way; it was just the plain truth.

Back before the Soul Devouring Beast's job change, to be honest, this method really wasn't a problem.

At that time, even without He Changfeng, Xiao Wu couldn't possibly draw soul-imbued paintings, nor could he patch up his own soul with this method.

But once his own foolish son showed up, the definition of soul started to shift. After Xiao Wu switched to being a Soul Painter, He Changfeng's part really did become an obstacle.

Of course, nobody else knows about any of this. When Wu Tingsheng read it or showed it to anyone, no one would see a problem.

Being used was real, but so was the complementing.

There was more: the Taoist Sect's soul-nurturing method, using a suitable Dongtian as the base to nurture the tattered soul.

Unfortunately, according to the internal information, there were plenty of cases, but just none that actually fit the bill.

After that, Wen Yan found the Sacrificial Soul-Nurturing method: letting a piece of residual soul be worshiped and become a Water God, attaining a sliver of divinity. At the very least, that secures a baseline, but the downside is it's terribly slow—like, forget about it for at least a hundred or two hundred years.

After that came a bunch of random methods—all classed as unreliable, or even if they work, they only produce ferocious beasts, like raising a Fierce Ghost.

And after that were some shady, evil-path methods from beyond Divine Land.

Stuff like, in certain special places, under specific conditions, blood sacrifice can restore a broken soul.

But just looking at the location and the number of sacrifices needed, it's clear it's simply impossible.

Pulling off something that big inside a city—no way it'd succeed, you'd probably get killed on the spot.

There's also sacrificing something valuable enough, like a soul, to summon a Devil and broker a deal with it.

Wen Yan skimmed the record—these were clearly things Liu Qiying wouldn't even consider, just catalogued if found.

The CEO of Changfeng Group was clearly ambitious, not interested in anything with glaring flaws.

Her standards were even higher than Wu Tingsheng's; what she wanted was for this person's soul to be fully restored, and for them to come back to life completely.

Wen Yan didn't know if she really understood just how steep a price that would cost, bringing someone back completely.

Even the previous True Architect, burning up his own lifespan, could only bring someone back for a few seconds.

This kind of thing isn't just about willingness to pay—sometimes the price doesn't even guarantee success.

After reading, Wen Yan shut down the computer and unplugged the external hard drive.

Wu Tingsheng, on the other hand, was very clear-headed. He never even looked, keeping his thoughts pure and unwavering by default.

If you look, who knows—a seed might get planted, and one day you end up obsessed, getting as crazy as that woman.

Wen Yan left it alone. If he'd known there was a woman this hell-bent on resurrecting her husband lurking behind the scenes, he never would have gotten mixed up in He Changfeng's mess.

If you want to pick a fight, don't pick someone like that. They really will do anything.

He pulled out the Scorching Sun Department's phone and kept reading up on the West River water system's Dragon God—trying to figure out what the deal was.

The more he read, the more his head hurt.

Why is the West River water system so damn complicated? Never mind the different eras—even now, all those scholars and experts would still get it wrong. And with people muddying the waters on purpose, it only gets messier.

Thinking it over, he remembered the wandering merchant he'd run into last time.

He dialed a number; the call rang a few times then got hung up. Right after, a call from West Wu State came in.

Wen Yan let out a helpless laugh.

"Old Meng, what are you doing way out there?"

"Nanwu County is just bad luck for me; Virtue City outright curses me. I had someone read my fortune—if I set foot in Virtue City, I'll bump into a nemesis that'll wipe me out. I'd be lucky to die just once."

"No need to go thousands of miles away over that, though. If you go any further, you'll be outside Divine Land."

"Hey, this stuff is spot-on; I'm definitely not coming back."

Wen Yan chuckled to himself—Pei Tugou really is your nemesis, you scheming bastard. That's actually accurate.

"I'm looking to buy some information."

"Say what you want—I'll give you the lowest price." The moment he heard money was involved, Old Meng perked right up.

Wen Yan didn't have many small yellow fish left with him; if it wasn't enough, he'd have to sell something else, wouldn't he?

As long as he was willing to sell, Old Meng knew plenty of ways to string Wen Yan along for a little more.

"I want to know, the Dragon God that's just reawakened in the upper reaches of the West River—who exactly is it?"

"That...now that's not cheap; I'll have to find out."

"Just tell me if you can get the info."

"Of course I can! As long as you're willing to pay!"

"One Big Yellow Fish."

"Are you kidding me?"

"If it's not enough, forget it. I don't have any more. Maybe we'll work together some other time."

Wen Yan let out a regretful sigh and hung up the phone.

On the other end, Old Meng listened to the dial tone, totally stunned.

Who does business like this?!

He thought about it, still obsessing over Wen Yan's stash. Even if he'd never seen the rest, those two gold grains alone made his skin itch with want.

After a few minutes, he let out a long sigh.

"Damn it, I've been outmaneuvered by a kid! Fine, I'll give you a discount this once!"

He called Wen Yan back. Before Wen Yan could say anything, Old Meng cut in—

"Say nothing, just listen. I've never done a losing deal in my life.

This is your first time buying from me, so I'll give you a discount.

The price is all you've stashed with me so far. I'll go get that info for you."

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