On the cliff terrace of the cave mansion.

A vast scorching sun hung high in the sky, sunlight falling upon the earth, nourishing all creatures.

Shen Mo sat cross-legged, staring directly at the scorching sun, silently chanting the incantation of the Divine Soul Contemplation Scripture: "Soul contemplation, all creation's embodiment."

Thoughts began to flow.

His spirit trembled slightly!

A phantom of the sun slowly materialized within his Mind Sea, shining brilliantly.

Shen Mo felt only warmth enveloping his entire body, as if he were immersed in a hot spring, bringing comfort to his entire being.

If a soul were to be directly exposed to the sunlight, it would endure an agonizing pain, like being seared by fire and branded by charcoal.

Beings like Soul Ghosts, similar in essence to a cultivator's soul, were also averse to exposure under the scorching sun.

Powerful ones, however, could shrug it off. Their ghostly qi could shield them, and at most, they would feel some discomfort.

Those below Class II, if exposed to the midday sun, would likely be instantly incinerated and annihilated.

Unless one had other methods to withstand the scorching sunlight.

For example, a Soul Refining Flag could shield with a blood curtain, preserving a Soul General's strength to the greatest extent.

Moreover, in the Abandoned Ghost Country, the sky was veiled by dense ghostly qi, forming a thick layer of dark, misty clouds, allowing the thousands of Soul Ghosts within to move about as if in the mortal realm.

Shen Mo, using magic for contemplation, naturally wouldn't suffer the torment of burning and scorching like a soul directly exposed.

On the contrary, it could temper and nourish his soul!

BUZZ!

The image of the scorching sun in his Mind Sea suddenly shook violently.

It looked as if, just like in his countless previous failed cultivation attempts, it was about to shatter into a sky full of light motes and dissipate.

"Scorching Sun Soul Phase, condense!"

Shen Mo focused his entire mind, and his soul power surged wildly within his Mind Sea.

He strove with all his might, ceaselessly preserving the existence of the scorching sun!

In the next instant, the scorching sun hanging high in his Mind Sea halted its signs of collapse, quietly radiating a warm glow, nourishing Shen Mo's significantly damaged soul.

[You attempted to contemplate the scorching sun and circulated the Divine Soul Contemplation Scripture to condense a Soul Phase. Success!]

[Through continuous arduous cultivation and enlightenment, you have condensed a Scorching Sun Dharma Phase in your Mind Sea. Your understanding of the Divine Soul Contemplation Scripture has deepened. Divine Soul Contemplation Scripture Experience +10.]

HUFF!

Shen Mo took a long breath, rubbing the space between his eyebrows to alleviate the headache and dizziness caused by the damage to his soul.

He then consumed a Grade II Soul Nurturing Pill, nourishing his soul with the aid of the Scorching Sun Soul Phase.

A moment later, after the pain subsided, a smile surfaced on his face. "After so long practicing the Divine Soul Contemplation Scripture, I have finally condensed the Scorching Sun Soul Phase!"

It was also because my ambition was too great. If I had chosen to condense a different Soul Phase, it probably wouldn't have been this difficult.

In the Divine Soul Contemplation Scripture, there were dozens of Soul Phases to choose from, ranging from the sun, moon, Stars, clouds, mist, and rainbows above, to the mountains, rivers, flowers, and trees below.

There were also Soul Phases of many weapons and treasures such as sabers, swords, axes, battle-axes, cauldrons, pagodas, pearls, and chains.

The vast scorching sun was among the most difficult and top-tiered of the many Soul Phases one could choose to condense.

But after condensing the Soul Phase, the benefits to me are greatly increased! Even without consuming Soul Nurturing Pills or other Elixirs, I can recover from injuries on my own and constantly temper and strengthen my soul power!

The strengthening of the soul brought numerous advantages to a cultivator.

The most direct was heightened sense.

Those with powerful souls, with a single thought, could perceive all activity within a hundred-mile radius.

They could forcefully break open Universe Bags and similar items without needing a Realm Breaking Talisman.

Furthermore, their five senses and overall perception became sharper; they were less susceptible to invasion by Heart Demons; it was harder for others to perform Soul Search or soul-snatching on them; their resistance to soul attacks was stronger; and they could control magic artifacts more easily... not to mention many other wondrous benefits.

In addition, the Divine Soul Contemplation Scripture also provided many Spell methods for using soul power.

They weren't quite considered magic cultivation methods, but if applied properly, they could be even more effective than magical combat techniques.

The Soul-binding Spell, Soul Searching Spell, Soul Locking Spell, Soul-annihilation Spell... once I master these minor Spells, they will be enough to compensate for my deficiencies in soul-related techniques.

The Soul-binding Spell was a Spell to capture the souls of creatures.

In essence, it was not much different from the soul-binding ability of the Soul Refining Flag.

However, the Soul Refining Flag relied on a magic artifact that had undergone Blood Sacrifice to capture souls, refining them into Soul Generals on the flag.

But after Shen Mo learned this Spell, he could capture an enemy's three souls and seven spirits relying solely on his own soul power.

Whether for Imprisonment or torture, it all depended on his will!

He could even directly capture a creature's soul without using the Soul Refining Flag, preserve it temporarily, and then find a place to refine it into a Soul General using the Soul Refining Flag.

His flexibility had greatly increased!

The Soul Searching Spell was a method to search and erase a cultivator's soul memories.

When Shen Mo had been identified by Zhao Lingyin due to the scent of an Elixir, he had thought about going to the Market to find such a Spell.

However, most of those market Spells, when cast, were simple and brutal! It was like trying to open an intricate lock. A proper Soul Searching Spell, like the one from the Divine Soul Contemplation Scripture, would be a key, exercising precise control over soul power and causing minimal damage to the 'lock' of the soul. In contrast, the crude methods were equivalent to brutally hammering the lock open with sheer soul power. Although the purpose of unlocking was achieved, the 'lock' itself was also damaged. If the 'lock'—the target's soul—was exceptionally strong, it could even backlash and damage the caster's soul. This was the backlash power of the Spell!

The Soul Locking Spell, then, had the power of Imprisonment and control over a creature's soul.

The Soul-annihilation Spell, as its name implied, was a killing Spell designed to obliterate souls!

With a significant disparity in soul power, a single thought could make an enemy cultivator's courage shatter and their soul turn to ash and annihilate!

Besides these four Soul Curses, there were several other minor Spells with various effects, worthy of Shen Mo's careful study and research.

It was worth noting that all Soul Curses were, in essence, applications of soul power!

If one's soul was not strong enough, casting these Spells could actually harm oneself.

It was difficult to use such Spells against those with higher cultivation or stronger souls.

After all, the soul power of others was more robust and condensed.

If things went wrong, the Spell could backlash.

The caster's soul would instead suffer a shock, and in severe cases, their soul could scatter on the spot!

Even when casting Spells on cultivators of the same rank, or even low-class cultivators, one had to be extremely cautious.

After all, no one knew if the person targeted by the Spell had cultivated Soul Magic, consumed Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that strengthened the soul, or possessed magic artifacts that defended the soul.

Furthermore, when using Soul Curses against an enemy, one's own soul and five senses would be affected.

One's external vigilance would be insufficient, making it easy to encounter sudden disaster!

Internally, one would be unable to resist Heart Demons.

Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, very few cultivators would choose to kill using Soul Curses!

The safest method was to kill the enemy first, then use the Soul-binding Spell to capture their soul.

Except for beings like Soul Ghosts and Heavenly Demons, once other creatures lost the protection of their physical bodies, their souls, no matter how strong, became like water without a source, entirely at the mercy of the spellcaster to be molded and manipulated at will.

With the Scorching Sun Soul Phase successfully formed and his foundation laid, it took Shen Mo only one day to roughly learn the various Spell techniques in the Divine Soul Contemplation Scripture.

Just as he was about to continue his intensive study of the Spells, he suddenly sensed a subtle change in the Soul Refining Flag, which had lain unused for a long time since his return from the Ghost Nation Ruins.

Had he not condensed the Scorching Sun Soul Phase, he likely would not have noticed it at all!

"Hmm... what's going on?"

Shen Mo took the Soul Refining Flag out of his Universe Bag.

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