The Rich Cultivator

Chapter 786: 786. The Trapped Soul

"First Level of the Foundation Establishment Realm."

A satisfied smile appeared on Tyler’s face as he stood on the balcony of the White Dragon Tower. Looking down from nearly nine hundred meters above the ground, the entire Darknow City seemed like a living painting. Cultivators walked through the wide streets below while Dragon Boats flew through the sky in an orderly stream. The White Dragon Tower had become the busiest place in the city, with merchants, cultivators, and travelers coming and going every hour. Even after three months, the excitement surrounding the tower had not diminished in the slightest.

Three months had passed since the suicide attack on the White Dragon Tower.

Since that day, no one had dared launch another direct assault. However, that did not mean Tyler’s life had become peaceful. The flying boat market across several kingdoms had become a complete mess. Countless old manufacturers had suffered enormous losses after the release of the affordable Dragon Boats. Some cursed the White Merchant Group openly, while others sent polite letters requesting cooperation. A few influential merchant families even offered alliances, hoping to share in the profits before they were completely driven out of business.

Threatening letters, invitations, secret negotiations, and requests for partnerships arrived almost every day.

Tyler merely smiled at all of them.

Whether they threatened him or tried to become his friends, they all had the same goal— to protect their own interests. That was simply how the cultivation world worked. There were no eternal enemies or eternal friends. Only benefits determined a person’s position.

After admiring the bustling city for a while, Tyler turned around and returned to his private room.

At the center of the room stood the familiar crystal glass casket.

The mysterious young woman still lay peacefully inside as though she had merely fallen asleep. Her appearance hadn’t changed in the slightest since the day Tyler had found her. Her silver-white hair rested neatly around her shoulders, and her beautiful face looked calm and gentle. No matter how many times Tyler saw her, he found it difficult to believe she was actually a corpse.

He stopped beside the casket and quietly looked at her.

"Now that I’ve stepped into the Foundation Establishment Realm, I should finally be able to attempt the Soul Split Technique."

The technique had come from Jin, one of his fellow disciples in the Dark Forest Society. Although it was classified as a corpse-controlling technique, it differed greatly from ordinary corpse puppetry. Instead of refining a corpse into a puppet, the cultivator separated a fragment of their own soul and used it to possess the corpse directly. In other words, the corpse would temporarily become another body for the cultivator.

Naturally, such a technique had severe requirements.

The most important condition was compatibility.

If the soul and corpse were completely incompatible, the possession would fail immediately. At best, the cultivator would merely waste spiritual energy. At worst, the soul fragment could be damaged, affecting future cultivation.

Blood relatives naturally possessed the highest compatibility. Parents, children, brothers, sisters, and twins were all ideal choices. Cultivators who shared the same elemental spiritual roots also had a much higher chance of succeeding.

As for strangers...

The chances were extremely low.

Tyler had no idea whether this mysterious woman possessed any compatibility with him whatsoever.

Still, curiosity had already overcome hesitation.

He slowly opened the crystal casket.

A refreshing fragrance immediately drifted into the room.

It wasn’t the smell of incense or perfume, but a naturally pleasant fragrance that resembled blooming flowers after a spring rain. Tyler couldn’t help taking another deep breath before lowering his eyes toward the formation carved beneath the casket.

"The corpse preservation formation has already stopped working."

He examined the damaged runes for a moment before reaching a conclusion.

Back when the mysterious corpse absorbed the countless spirit stones around it, the formation itself had also exhausted its energy and collapsed. Under normal circumstances, the corpse should have begun decaying long ago.

Yet...

Nothing had changed.

Tyler gently placed his hand against the back of the young woman’s breast.

Her skin was warm and soft, almost identical to that of a living person.

"There is no heartbeat."

He moved his fingers toward her neck.

"No pulse."

He carefully extended his spiritual sense into her body.

"There is no blood circulation, no breathing, and no signs of life."

Tyler frowned deeply.

"And yet... she doesn’t feel dead at all."

Even her complexion remained healthy.

The only strange thing about her body was that she seemed trapped somewhere between life and death.

"It seems there is far more to your origin than I imagined."

Tyler carefully lifted her body from the crystal casket before placing her in the center of the room. He made sure to remove her dress too.

Using spiritual ink mixed with his own spiritual energy, he began drawing several complicated ritual circles across the floor. Countless mysterious symbols appeared one after another, connecting into a large formation. When the final stroke was completed, the entire formation emitted a faint silver glow.

Tyler sat opposite the young woman with his legs crossed.

He slowly closed his eyes and began chanting the incantation recorded within the Soul Split Technique.

As his spiritual energy circulated according to the technique, an indescribable pain spread through his mind.

It felt as though someone had taken a knife and carefully sliced away a tiny piece of his soul.

A faint sphere of light slowly emerged from between Tyler’s eyebrows.

It was a fragment of his soul.

Countless thin threads extended from the soul fragment before gently connecting themselves to the young woman’s body.

The instant the connection was established, Tyler’s consciousness underwent a tremendous change.

He found himself standing within endless darkness.

There was no sky. No beginning nor end. Only an ancient forest covered in endless darkness stretched before him.

His soul fragment had become nothing more than a tiny speck of light drifting silently among towering black trees. Yet the darkness here was so dense that even the light from his soul could illuminate only a few steps ahead.

An ordinary person would have immediately lost their sense of direction in such a place.

Surprisingly, Tyler felt no confusion.

Instead, an invisible force seemed to be guiding him forward. It was as though someone was quietly leading him through the endless darkness.

Without resisting, Tyler followed that mysterious guidance. His soul floated deeper into the forest.

After what seemed like an eternity, the forest gradually opened into a secluded clearing beneath a steep rocky slope.

The moment Tyler saw the scene before him, his soul trembled violently.

There was the Young woman, the female corpse herself.

Her Naked Body was suspended against an enormous black tree by countless thick iron chains. Every chain was covered with sharp barbs that had pierced deeply into her body. Her arms were stretched wide apart, nailed firmly against the trunk, while her legs were similarly restrained below. Dried blood stained both the tree and the ground beneath her feet, creating a horrifying sight that seemed to have existed for countless years.

The chains didn’t merely bind her body.

They appeared to pierce directly through her soul.

Tyler couldn’t help drawing in a cold breath.

"What kind of cruel technique is this?"

Before he could think further, the young woman slowly opened her eyes.

Those blue eyes shines brightly in the dark World, as she quietly looked toward him.

Instead of hatred... Instead of anger... She revealed a faint smile.

It was a smile filled with exhaustion, as though she had waited for someone to find her for an unimaginably long time.

Her lips moved gently. No sound emerged from her mouth. The surrounding darkness swallowed every trace of her voice. Yet Tyler clearly understood what she was trying to say.

He read her lips without the slightest difficulty.

"Save me..."

Tyler’s eyes suddenly opened.

His breathing had become uneven, and cold sweat covered his forehead. He stared silently at the peaceful young woman lying within the ritual formation.

She remained exactly as before, as though nothing had happened.

After a long silence, Tyler slowly shook his head.

"So... you were never truly dead."

His expression gradually became complicated.

"What happened to you is far worse than death."