It took a while for him to calm down and take a seat.

The three of them gazed silently at each other in the dim light procured from the moon. Then, Cheng said: “Thank you”

He said it sincerely as well.

Regardless of who he was prior, it was a fact that he was freed by these two. They could have done without him. Sarina alone was enough. He knew that. Yet, they still broke him out of the temple.

He owed them.

Sarina waved it away and stated: “We’re still far from safe though. What’s your take on what we should do?”

Cheng pondered for a moment before he stated: “We need to disappear. There’s no way we will be able to grow if we remain watched by the different forces. We’re too weak right now”

Sarina and Jin both agreed but Jin was worried. How could he hide?

Maybe sensing his shift in emotions, Sarina told him: “Don’t worry, the three of us are in this together. Right, Cheng?”

Cheng nodded as he added: “Obviously”

Jin remained tense as he asked: “How do we disappear?”

Cheng chuckled as he stated: “We need to create some chaos”

Then, they began to discuss about how they would escape.

…

Ultimately, it came to one thing: work had to be done.

From what Jin understood, those two made deals with all the other remnants. In exchange for the location of their treasures, they would free them much in the same way they were freed by him.

However, unlike Jin, they did not plan to go through with their oath.

Betraying an oath to the heavens was akin to forfeiting one’s life however, with every oath, the wording mattered the most.

In this case, as long as they did not reveal the location of treasures or collected them themselves, it would not break the oath.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

And as such, there was some leeway.

Cheng instructed Jin: “You will have to take our memories of those locations out of us. As long as you do so, it won’t break any oath we’ve made. Of course, you will then have to go take the stuff yourself but that shouldn’t be too difficult”

“Honestly, in this land, there’s really only one place you must go to. Even though there are a few hidden treasures here and there, that one is really the only one you must get. Of course, I can’t tell you anything about it… But I can, and I will, teach you how to get that information from me”

Jin asked back: “How?”

Cheng began to explain: “I will teach you a skill called ‘Soul search’. It enables the user to quite literally interact with another’s soul however he wants. And, it is within a soul that are found the memories”

Jin frowned. This seemed like a very difficult thing to learn. After all, when it came to souls, he did not know much.

Obviously, considering that Sarina and Cheng were just soul remnants, it was not too far-fetched to consider that souls did exist and contained one’s memories.

However, being able to interact with them… He sensed that this was on another level.

He had never dealt with souls before. Not directly. Not out of his own actions.

Sarina added: “It’s a very high-level skill derived from understanding oneself after reaching the 40th stage usually. However, we don’t have the time nor the ability to get you there so we will have to shorten the process”

Jin asked: “How so?”

She answered: “By pushing you out of your boundaries. Usually, it becomes a natural thing for a cultivator to come into contact with the soul and its mysteries. Interaction with the soul sea bring this kind of understanding and awareness. We plan to reverse this flow”

Jin worried slightly: “Is it dangerous?”

Both reincarnators nodded.

This did not reassure Jin. Taking risks was one thing but it depended on the consequences. He was quite certain it would succeed since he trusted Sarina and, as she trusted Cheng, he did too moderately. At least, if it helped them, it was quite likely they would act accordingly.

However, what about afterwards?

When Hae-Hyuk helped him learn to use the liquid forms of elements before he reached the 10th stage, it brought huge consequences afterwards. It made it impossible, or close to impossible, for him to comprehend the truth behind these elements.

What if this made him unable to comprehend the mysteries of the soul later on?

This time he did not want to be the one that would need to make sacrifices. So, he told them straightforwardly about his thoughts.

And they answered: “It won’t negative effects like that. There will only be danger during the process. We plan to help you grasp something ahead of your realm but it won’t affect your later progress, on the contrary, it might speed it up”

Cheng added: “And beyond that, it will make you invincible until the 40th stage”

“Close enough to that” whispered Sarina.

To be fair, there were no ways for Jin to make sure that those two were not lying unless he asked Nangua. But asking Nangua would bring trouble of their own. Nangua did not know Jin either. And while the monster remained loyal until now, there was no telling what would and could happen in the future.

Blind trust was nothing more than foolishness and Jin was too aware of that.

Then again, if this was their only way to leave this place alive…

He made up his mind. He would learn.

He asked: “So, how do I go about learning this technique?”

Cheng grinned as he cracked his knuckles and stated: “You wait until I reach the 1st stage, I can’t do it with this mortal kid’s body yet. It won’t take long, don’t worry”