Ten Thousand Soul Banner: Deceased, do you have any unfulfilled wishes?
Chapter 204: Cultivating Netherworld Fire Fireflies

Chapter 204: Chapter 204: Cultivating Netherworld Fire Fireflies

Seeing the three little ones leave, Shen Siyuan also heaved a sigh of relief in his heart.

Even with the Ten Thousand Soul Banner as his ultimate trump card, tonight’s venture was extremely perilous.

This is why, after Shen Siyuan slashed the Black Mountain Evil God, he immediately made his escape.

Because he was unsure of what measures the Black Mountain Evil God might have, he did not wish to engage in a prolonged battle with him.

Because he still remembered his first trip to the Netherworld, that fleeting glimpse of the massive evil figure, which is why he would touch it and immediately withdraw.

However, he needs to quickly utilize the properties of the Five Elements Primordial Magnetic Sword and cultivate the Five Elements Escape Technique; he can’t always rely on Duoduo’s help to make a quick getaway.

If he can’t win the fight, he must at least be able to outrun the danger.

Nonetheless, tonight’s gains were still substantial, especially the pure Soul Power devoured by the Ten Thousand Soul Banner. In the mortal world, he didn’t know how many dead souls he would need to help, nor how much time it would take to accumulate such an amount.

While contemplating the gains and losses of the night, Shen Siyuan also thought about the matters he had promised Dou Dou.

In fact, Shen Siyuan wasn’t deceiving her; after making contact with the people of the Special Affairs Bureau, he contemplated using their assistance to refine some things.

Although the Jiuyou Demon Lord is no master of artifact creation, as an old demon with a longstanding reputation, he still has some means. Crafting some simple magical artifacts is not a problem for him.

However, in this current world without Spiritual Energy, those magical treasures that require Spiritual Energy to be activated are not even worth considering. It is the Netherworld Ghost Artifacts that can be considered, and these are precisely what the Jiuyou Demon Lord excels at.

He can freely control the Netherworld Fire and has mastered the Five Elements Primordial Magnetism. Using these two to refine ghost artifacts is most appropriate.

Currently, Shen Siyuan only has three usable items on hand, one of which is a flagpole from the Black Command Flag, acquired from Xu Laisheng in Xiajing. The Black Command Flag was stripped bald by a stroke of Shen Siyuan’s sword, leaving only this flagpole, showcasing its extraordinary nature.

Additionally, there are two more items that he got from the Qingyun Old Taoist.

A damaged Jade Seal, and a piece of the Red Water River Order.

It’s a pity they have lost their spirit and become mundane objects.

Shen Siyuan took out the flagpole and the Red Water River Order from the space, comparing them in his hands.

These two things, if they were to be fused together, seem to have some potential.

Therefore, Shen Siyuan threw them directly into the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.

But not into the space within the Ten Thousand Soul Banner that stores items.

Instead, it’s a section where the Netherworld Fire burns and ascends, with both objects entering to be tempered by the Netherworld Fire day and night.

In the following days, besides dating Ruan Hongzhuang, Shen Siyuan seemed to have returned to his daily life; when he wasn’t punctually going to and from work, he would be playing in the arena with Hong Wenqing.

Having not been on the game for a long time, Hong Wenqing had some complaints, feeling that Shen Siyuan had forgotten his old friends due to new acquaintances.

During this period, Dou Dou brought her Sister Mei Qi to visit twice, but Sun Meiqi seemed not yet ready to see her parents. Shen Siyuan went along with her, not rushing matters.

Apart from that, Yu Leye followed Song Meixian and Wan Xinghui to Lingyou to visit her Grandma Xia.

Meanwhile, Zhong Xiaonan was left in Bin Hai, and she would contact Shen Siyuan directly if any issues arose, reporting directly to Captain Song.

However, no sooner had Captain Song left than Shen Siyuan asked Zhong Xiaonan to meet up.

Zhong Xiaonan was somewhat nervous, unsure of why Shen Siyuan was so eager to see her, but she couldn’t say no.

What made her even more uneasy was recalling Captain Song’s instructions before she left.

Shen Siyuan asked her to meet at a milk tea shop by the seaside.

By the time she arrived, Shen Siyuan was already sitting under the sun-shielding canopy outside waiting for her.

"Sorry for causing you to stay in Bin Hai because of me," Shen Siyuan said apologetically and politely, which somewhat relieved Zhong Xiaonan.

"It’s okay, Bin Hai has a nice environment. I’d be happy to stay here for a rest, and I don’t need to go on missions either," Zhong Xiaonan sat down across from Shen Siyuan.

"Do you have many opportunities to go on missions?"

"In fact, it’s not a lot, but nationally, there are always a few cases each month that require our intervention."

"Is it difficult to resolve?"

"Not particularly difficult; what’s troublesome is controlling the media. With the rise of social media, many things can easily get leaked, and if that sways public opinion, it can be bad for social stability."

"Waiter..." It was only now that Shen Siyuan remembered he hadn’t ordered a drink for the other party.

So he gestured to a server in the distance.

"What would you like to drink? It’s my treat."

"Do you have lemon water?" Zhong Xiaonan wasn’t shy with Shen Siyuan.

"Do you know why I’ve been keeping an eye on you? Why I had Captain Song keep you here to contact me directly?"

Zhong Xiaonan thought to herself, so you actually knew about it, but jokingly said, "It can’t be because I’m pretty, right? Captain Song is much prettier than me."

"Ha ha, you can’t put it like that. You are actually quite good-looking yourself, and you have a unique aura, kind of ethereal and serene, as if you should be living in the jungle, not in today’s bustling city..."

Zhong Xiaonan reached out to take the lemon water handed to her by the server and said, "Well Mr. Shen, you guessed right, I’ve always lived in the forest."

"I can tell."

Shen Siyuan noticed the back of her hand—her fingers were long and slender like green onions, but her palms were not fair, rather a bit yellowish and rough.

Though beautiful, this wasn’t why Shen Siyuan took notice of her.

What caught his attention was the faint and intermittently visible young spiritual body on the back of her hand.

"The reason I wanted Miss Zhong to stay is that I’d like your help."

As he spoke, Shen Siyuan flipped over his palm that was resting on the table, revealing a long beetle in the center of his hand.

Zhong Xiaonan immediately widened her eyes, forgot about her lemon water, and reached out to touch it.

She recognized it—it was the alien bug that was protecting a little ghost girl called Xiao Yue that day.

"Be careful." Shen Siyuan withdrew his hand before she could touch it.

Under her puzzled gaze, Shen Siyuan explained, "This is the Netherworld Fire Firefly. As the name suggests, the bluish glow flickering beneath its belly is the Netherworld Fire."

Zhong Xiaonan quickly retracted her hand in fear at his words. As a member of the Special Affairs Bureau, she naturally knew what Netherworld Fire was.

Then she looked at Shen Siyuan with a shocked face—he could actually touch the Netherworld Fire directly without being harmed.

"Mr. Shen, what do you want me to help you with?" Zhong Xiaonan asked somewhat shakily.

"I want you to help me breed a bunch of Iron-eating Fireflies. Once it’s done, I can give you a few," Shen Siyuan said.

"Iron-eating Fireflies? Isn’t it the Netherworld Fire Fireflies?" Zhong Xiaonan asked in confusion.

"Iron-eating Fireflies are a precursor to Netherworld Fire Fireflies; they need further cultivation. Of course, if you learn to control Netherworld Fire, there’s no problem with me giving you a few Netherworld Fire Fireflies," Shen Siyuan said with a smile.

Zhong Xiaonan fell silent, seemingly hesitant.

"Actually, as the precursor to Netherworld Fire Fireflies, Iron-eating Fireflies are also quite powerful. They can pierce through human flesh and consume blood easily, and they can also cut through metal and jade effortlessly."

Shen Siyuan flicked his finger, and the Netherworld Fire Firefly on his fingertip immediately took flight, piercing through the iron table where they sat, leaving a hole the size of a fingertip.

Upon seeing this, Zhong Xiaonan quickly explained, "Mr. Shen, you misunderstand, it’s not that I don’t want to help you. Even without compensation, I would be willing; I just feel my own abilities are too meager to be of any help to you."

"Don’t worry about that. With your understanding of the habits of insects, I’ll tell you the detailed cultivation steps. With your experience, I believe there shouldn’t be a problem," he reassured her.

"In that case, should I give it a try?" Zhong Xiaonan said.

"Don’t worry, even if it fails, it doesn’t matter." Shen Siyuan smiled cheerfully.

Now, the Netherworld Fire Firefly version of "All Swords Return to the Sect" finally had somewhere to go.

PS: There will be another Chapter this afternoon~