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nAs the domain experts were lost in their thoughts, Yang Qing was lost in his own, too.

n“The art’s effects seemed to have improved drastically than I expected!” he thought as he contained his surprise while examining the effects on the two rogue cultivators.

nThe cultivation spell he had just used, Yin Yang Genesis: Lark’s serenity aria, wasn’t a spell he learned in some cultivation scroll or talisman somewhere but rather was an innate spell that came from his peerless jade physique, the Yin Yang Jade Nature Bones. Every peerless jade physique user would suddenly acquire innate abilities tied to their physique similar to how spirit beasts, spiritual plants, or those born with natural physiques would have innate abilities.

nYang Qing received a few innate traits and spells when he broke through and the spell he just used had been one of them.

nIn the early days after he had just unlocked it, the spell’s ability was restrained to just offering him protection against abilities that disrupted the mind while also offering him a certain level of sensitivity to different ranges of killing intent directed at him.

nAs he improved his cultivation base, the range of those abilities grew to the point that when he was in the foundation establishment stage, the art’s effects evolved from granting him extreme sensitivity to even mild killing intent to sensitivity to the state of other living being’s soul, especially if it was tainted either by miasma or was injured somehow.

nHowever, even if he knew it, he still couldn’t do anything about it. The art relied solely on the strength of his soul. As a foundation establishment cultivator, even though his soul was more powerful than most, owing to the innate benefits afforded by his peerless jade physique, it was not strong enough for him to heal someone’s soul of the various maladies he saw.

nHis soul’s strength at the time could only support the spell’s restorative features on himself. Only when he broke through to the core formation realm did he finally have an active effect on others. He could finally do something about the disorders he saw in other people’s souls but only up to a degree.

nThe degree of the effect he had, improved as his cultivation base grew. When he was at the late stages of the core formation realm, using the spell, he could finally even affect heart demons and mental demons, whilst also accurately judging the strain of someone’s soul state.

nHe had other innate attributes that gave him the ability to determine the state of someone’s soul, but when it came to effecting change, none was better than Lark’s serenity aria, whose ability got more stupendous when he broke through to the palace realm. Whereas when he was in the core formation realm where though he could see those mental and heart demons, and even have an effect on them somewhat, the effect was no different than using a salve on a serious injury. He could only slightly soothe the strain and damage left by them but when he reached the palace realm, that effect catapulted.

nHe could restore the damages done by those mental and heart demons, while at the same time revitalizing the spirit of its victims, by restoring it to its original ‘flavor’ before it got contaminated by the heart and mental demons, and in doing so, the victim could seamlessly rid himself free of those mental demons, provided they were willing.

nThat particular effect of the spell was useless on him, but it had a great effect on others, and it was an aspect that was highly appreciated at the Medical Valley as the spell’s effects were effective on anything with life, from cultivators to artifacts with spirits.

nWhat made Yang Qing shocked though was the ease and rapid effect of the spell when he executed it. When he was using he was only looking to alleviate some of the mental pressure the two cultivators were under by stirring their spirits slightly and revitalizing their souls a bit. He was in no way targeting the demons that had laid them captive.

nEven with his new found abilities,?and the two of them being weaker than him, it would have taken considerable effort and time for him to restore them to the point that they could rid themselves of those shackles, but what he was seeing was exactly that. The souls of the two cultivators were bright, and full of life, and when he was executing the art, he felt something shake within him as a soft ethereal power blended with the spell as he was casting it, and next thing he knew, the spirits of the two peak stage core formation experts had been revitalized.

n“It must be because of that jade tree..”?muttered Yang Qing, increasingly certain of his guess. The nature of his qi and the effect of all of his spells had changed ever since he woke up from his coma. Though his understanding was still rudimentary, he could tell that deep within him, something had been unlocked, he wasn’t sure what, but it had completely changed his entire being somehow.

nHe couldn’t help but sigh at the thought of his insane grandfather being right. It went without saying that he knew all these changes were brought about by his physique. As much as it pained him to admit it, his grandfather was right in saying there was more to the peerless jade physique than met the eye. There were tonnes of mysteries left to uncover from it.

n“But all of that will have to wait..” thought Yang Qing as he brought his attention back to the courtroom only to find himself puzzled at the gazes he was getting from Deng Wei, Lin Guiren, and Liu Guan.

n“What’s with them? Do I have something on me?”?Yang Qing curiously wondered as he quickly used his palace sense to check his body and robes for any changes.

n“Lei, does he know?” asked Hou Dehui with an amused smile on his face as his gaze fell on Yang Qing.

n“You know he doesn’t. As per the Order’s policies, he will only be made aware of it when he is in the later stages of the palace realm.

nIf that brat knew, knowing his personality, he would be using any chance he got to flaunt his abilities even more than he does, but not before he makes more noise at the salaries and remuneration department about how he needs to be given better consideration.

nHe would have long milked it for everything it’s worth..”

nHou Dehui couldn’t help but chuckle lightly at the remark as he said,

n“Of that, I have no doubt..”

n…

nYang Qing unaware of the discussions happening around him, after confirming there was nothing wrong with his robe, and that he was still as handsome as ever (self-proclaimed), moved the case along.

n“Xiao Gun, Yao Chang, would you please?”Yang Qing said with a gentle tone and an encouraging smile. He may have cleansed them of the accumulated fatigue and stresses to their soul, but whatever phobias they had, they were still there. The experiences of all they had gone through and endured up to this point, were still there, the only difference now, was they had a bit of clarity and breathing space from it.

nYang Qing had not eliminated their ability to feel fear or anxiety, he just healed the accumulated toll it had on them and gave them a chance to face off against it.

nThe duo took a second to compose themselves before the herbal scent-filled cultivator nodded at the tall and thin cultivator as a sign that he should go first, who threw a helpless smile before nodding agreeably.

nOut of habit, he lowered his head slightly as he subconsciously reached for his waist only to realize that the sword that had always been there, was absent today, having been confiscated before he was brought to the courtroom. It wasn’t that he had any intention to use it, just that its presence would have served as a great pillar of support in such an unnerving situation.

n“M.m.. My name is Xiao Gun, and I’m a rogue cultivator, originally from Haishu village, a fishing village in Duck Lilly Kingdom. I have been a rogue cultivator since I was eight years old..” said the hawk-faced cultivator.

nHe started slightly nervous, but as he talked more, he gained a sense of calm and comported himself well. One could hardly believe he had been the trembling twig from before.

nInfected by his composure, the other rogue cultivator stepped forward.

n“My name is Yao Chang, also a rogue cultivator, and was once a member of a small clan in the Bluefish Kingdom, called the Yao clan,” Yao Chang as his tone and expression turned melancholic. 𝖋𝔯𝖜𝖇𝖔𝔳𝖑.𝖈𝔬𝖒

n“They are not there anymore..” he added, before stepping back, leaving the stage to Xiao Gun.

nXiao Gun comfortingly patted Yao Chang on the back, before he straightened his robes slightly at the chest as a way to prepare himself for the testimony.

n“The reason I am here today is because 65 years ago, a friend of ours, also a rogue cultivator, by the name of Fu Yong, was robbed and assaulted whilst he was out on business in Red Maple Empire.

nThe identity of his robbers was, City Guard Commander of the Red Maple Empire, Duan Mu,who was working at the behest of Branch Chief Yao De.

nTogether, they wanted to rob Fu Yong of a legacy he had on him. A legacy belonging to the Verdant Water Crane Sect…” said Xiao Gun.

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