Prime Originator

"That's a good question," Leon replied after the Aria's raised the question.

"Even though we have a large search radius, it's nowhere near enough to scour the Extreme Misty Forest. That's why we have to understand Lynne's purpose for coming to this place."

Since his mother went to look for Lynne, there's a high chance Leon would find her if he focused on looking for Lynne.

"And what purpose would Lynne have for coming to this place?" Faelyn asked.

"That's the question. Nevertheless, I have a hunch that it has something to do with the special environment within Extreme Misty Forest. Perhaps, Lynne is looking for the source of the cold yin energy in this forest," Leon speculated.

Shortly after that was said, Aria's eyes flickered before she asked, "Is that why we've been heading straight throughout the trip without taking detours?"

"Yeah," Leon replied calmly.

He had always been curious about exploring the depths of the four Perilous Lands and studying the origins of their special environments. Even so, he didn't expect that he would be exploring one under such circumstances.

"Nevertheless, we've been traveling nonstop these past several days. I think it's about time to stop for a break and adjust ourselves to peak conditions before we continue any further," Leon suggested.

"Mm," Aria was quick to agree.

"The deeper we venture, the more frequent we encounter stronger vengeful spirits. Therefore, staying in our peak shape is the best way to prepare ourselves in cases of unexpected situations and dangers."

Leon nodded. Aria understood him well.

Nevertheless, after Darlene and Faelyn agreed, they created a camp to rest. Faelyn manipulated the trees to build the wooden shelter, and Aria masked their camp's presence in ice.

Even beds and blankets were taken out to enhance comfort during their rest.

"What should we do with these soul cores?" Aria asked after reviewing their spoils during the journey.

Leon glanced at the soul cores in Aria's hands before he paused in contemplation.

The soul cores of vengeful spirits most likely contained impure and corrupted energy. Although much of the impure soul energy had been purified by lightning, it still wouldn't be safe for cultivation.

After all, besides the impure soul energy, the soul cores were also contaminated by artificial spirit energy and wrathful demonic energy. Thus, they had to undergo a second round of purification before being used for cultivation.

'Do you have any good refining techniques for these soul cores, Maya?' Leon sought out his artifact spirit's opinion, disturbing her leisure reading time.

He had finally made good on his promise and collected a bunch of random novels from the bookstore in New Capital for her to read.

'Why are you asking me? Can't you just look it up yourself in the Archive? I'm busy here,' Maya replied grumpily while lazing on a small pile of books in the Worldspace.

Although she seemed livelier, she had also become lazy like a person with a food coma after enjoying a great feast.

This was the result of consuming too much spirit energy at once.

The World Tree was full of spirit energy. Naturally, Leon didn't forget to collect a substantial amount of it to aid Maya's recovery before he left.

'Can't I talk to you? Besides, if you read everything at once, you won't have anything to read later,' Leon replied wryly.

Maya couldn't be too unreasonable with Leon after receiving the stories and spirit energy. Thus, she rolled her eyes and said grudgingly, 'I recommend you use Primal Soul Refining Art to refine soul energy. It has the highest purity.'

'If you want to start soul cultivation with these soul cores, the Mahayana Divine Soul Art would be the most suitable for humans. However, I don't recommend you start soul cultivation just yet.'

'After all, no matter how high the purity of soul energy you refine from these soul cores, there will still be a bit of impurity. Since you found a clue to the Astral Soul Realm, you wouldn't want to risk ruining whatever qualifications you have to re-enter that place, right?'

'Yeah, it wouldn't be worth it,' Leon admitted before saying, 'But if we don't use these soul cores for cultivation, they don't have much use, do they?'

'There are plenty of uses for everything. Why don't you figure that out on your own? You'll surely find another use for them,' Maya stated.

'Nevertheless, on the topic of Astral Soul Realm, I recommend you check out the Emptiness Sutra in the Archive. Perhaps, you'll find it helpful,' Maya added shortly after.

'The Emptiness Sutra? What kind of cultivation technique is this?' Leon wondered.

'It's not a cultivation technique. It won't improve your cultivation or anything. It's just a mental technique for meditating. You'll have to read it to understand the details,' Maya explained.

'I see. I'll check it out,' Leon replied.

Shortly after, Leon said to Aria, "We'll put aside the soul cores for now. Although we don't have a good use for them, it doesn't hurt to continue collecting them."

"Alright," Aria nodded.

Shortly after, Aria, Darlene, and Faelyn found their spots in the wooden shelter to meditate and adjust their mental states.

Leon took that chance to send his consciousness into the Archive and check out the Emptiness Sutra. Before long, Leon memorized all its information.

As Maya mentioned, the Emptiness Sutra was not a cultivation technique. No, it couldn't even be considered a mental technique either. More accurately, it was a mental exercise.

However, that is where Leon's interest in the Emptiness Sutra grew.

The Emptiness Sutra was created by Buddhist Monks from an ordinary mortal realm. It didn't have a grand origin. But despite being ordinary, it was found among the primordial heritages.

It was an ordinary mental exercise for meditation with extraordinary effects.

According to the Emptiness Sutra, once he mastered the mental exercise, he could freely adjust his state of mind and enter the state of emptiness. It was a state of having no thoughts and desires, just emptiness.

'Maya wasn't wrong. This could be extremely useful to me,' Leon thought.