Chapter 1972: Seize the Body

“Meow!”

At the street corner, amidst the pouring rain, a cat’s cry echoed from the end of the long street.

Before long, a small cat with an elegant gait and bright eyes emerged from the hazy rain.

The fluffy white cat was completely unaffected by the downpour, as if someone was crying for it.

“Woof, remember, don’t grow big. You need to minimize your presence as much as possible. If a fight breaks out later, just help me keep an eye on his eyes. Your only use is to be split from my body, don’t forget.”

“Meow!”

“Woof, he’s similar to you. One has San Yan Tong Mu, one has San Jie Nan Yan, one has a Devouring Body, and of course, other miscellaneous things like a Decaying Body, Immortal Body, Cui Yin Forbidden Technique, Blood World Pearl, and simultaneously masters the Way of Life and the Way of Reincarnation… Hmm, I don’t know exactly what kind of combination he is, but anyway, I can’t undergo tribulation now. I’ll avoid his San Jie Nan Yan. If I accidentally get controlled by Transferring Orifices, you help me, and I’ll deal with the rest.”

“Meow, meow!”

“Woof, don’t worry. If he dares to hit you, I’ll take the opportunity to hit him. If he controls me, you release me. Our greedy and enduring duo, supporting each other, will be invincible… He, Bei Huai, has never even seen a parasitic ghost beast that can separate. He’s just a frog in a well, no need to be afraid.”

“Meow?”

“Woof, relax. I’m just crying now. If things go south later, either you cry, or everyone cries. In any case, his ability, though bizarre, is not insurmountable… Trust me, it’s not a big deal. I’m very strong now.”

Following the little cat out of the rain curtain, a young man in black appeared.

At this moment, under the cover of the grand formation, all traces at the street corner vanished.

This person traveled lightly, with only a cat in front of him and a sword in his hand, nothing else.

The spiritual black sword, as the man and cat communicated, twisted its blade with a soft hum, as if it had fleas on it, or perhaps it was just sobbing.

What a pity, a sword has no hands to scratch fleas or wipe away tears; it can only grieve with the heavens.

“Here we are.”

A soft call.

The white cat, Tan Shen, stopped its cat-walk, its neck and back slightly arched, appearing very tense.

Cang Ku also stopped twisting, having been warned beforehand that even the experienced sword-wielder couldn’t be sure what kind of creature that thing would eventually combine into.

“Pitter-patter…”

The heavy rain fell, hitting the orange-clad figure sprawled on the ground not far away.

Xu Xiao Shou reached out, and circles of ripples exploded on his palm, like an endless, surging tide of events.

Yes, he had entered the fray.

Of course, he had gone through many meaningless internal struggles, weighed the pros and cons of profit and loss, and feared that if he entered early, all his previous efforts would be in vain.

But after much thought, only one answer convinced him:

“Is it called winning to win nothing at all?”

Ye Xiao Tian escaped from Si Ling Mountain, Yao Zu was returning to zero, and Cui Yin was transforming into a seed, unnoticed by the rest of the world.

Xu Xiao Shou, at the peak of his Way of Intent, saw it.

He chose not to delve deeper, not wanting to alert the enemy.

What happened on Si Ling Mountain didn’t actually require going inside to see; a smart person could figure it out with a little thought.

It was probably that when Gui Fo fell, and the Sword Tower arrived, the Spirit of Mo Zu also attacked Si Ling Mountain.

What for?

The Holy Palace only had two Holy Emperors left, no significant gains.

But it was said that the Source of the First Holy Ancestor was split into two, one in the Holy God Hall and one in the Holy Palace.

The Holy Mountain had been shattered, and Xu Xiao Shou hadn’t found that half of the Holy Ancestor’s Source, thinking it was a rumor at the time.

Now, it seemed, if Mo Zu was eyeing the Holy Palace, then this rumor was likely true.

Because only the Source of the First Holy Ancestor was enough to catch His eye and worthy of Mo Zu’s elaborate scheme, using the Holy Palace’s grand formation as a base to elevate its level before Yao Zu returned to zero, deceiving the heavens to engage in petty, underhanded affairs.

Xu Xiao Shou had no interest in the Source of the Holy Ancestor.

At this moment, to expose Mo Zu’s plan would mean bearing His wrath alone.

It would be like actively surfacing from underwater and sticking his backside out for Yao Zu, too reckless.

Moreover, Cui Yin wasn’t completely dead, and Dao Qiong Cang also seemed to have designs. The initiative absolutely could not be handed over to these two treacherous individuals.

Since direct confrontation was impossible, the Holy Palace’s grand formation’s concealment actually offered Xu Xiao Shou a glimmer of opportunity.

If you, Mo Zu, are engaging in petty, underhanded affairs, then I’ll follow suit.

Copy the grand formation and set it up at the street corner, how about that?

“Bei Huai…”

Looking at the orange-clad figure through the rain, Xu Xiao Shou’s mood was somewhat complex.

He had searched for Shou Ye for a while afterward, but there was no news.

He had no prior acquaintance with Tian Ren Wu Shuai, yet on Void Island, Tian Ren Wu Shuai had helped him repeatedly. Xu Xiao Shou had pondered this for a while, but found no answer.

He had made some associations, but could never be certain.

Now, the Tian Ren Wu Shuai mask had cracked, and what emanated from his body was the righteous aura of the red-clad Shou Ye, but his face was no longer purely Shou Ye’s face…

As expected.

Yet not entirely reasonable.

But if all impossibilities were combined with Bei Huai, that madman, it all seemed understandable again.

“How much is left?”

The rain on his face was cold.

For Shou Ye’s tribulation, outsiders could truly help very little.

After all, from beginning to end, he seemed to have been within Bei Huai’s calculations, including the current possession process.

If Shou Ye couldn’t resist, then all he could do was bid farewell.

If he could resist even a little…

“Heh.”

Sometimes Xu Xiao Shou didn’t want to think so clearly, but he couldn’t stop his thoughts from independently surging.

At least he understood one cruel truth: Shou Ye and Bei Huai were like a firefly and the bright moon, with no comparison whatsoever.

If Shou Ye could resist Bei Huai’s possession, could Shou Ye still be the pure Shou Ye? How much of his self would remain?

“Tap.”

This didn’t hinder his progress.

One cat, one Cang Ku, stepped forward.

With the same setup, on that day in the Four Manifestations Secret Realm, he fought a wisp of Bei Huai’s intent. Today, Xu Xiao Shou actively sought him out.

“Time to settle the score.”

The dark world suddenly squeezed in a sliver of light.

It was also like a tender green bud pushing aside stacked stones, seeing the world beyond the cracks.

What a pity.

In the dead of night, nothing could be seen clearly.

“It’s so quiet.”

The power of life gathered, forming Bei Huai’s appearance.

After entering, he surveyed this consciousness space, unable to see his hand in front of his face.

So he closed his eyes and sensed with the Way of the Soul, quickly sweeping out hundreds of figures scattered on the steps leading to the distant black throne.

There were those in red, full of murderous intent.

There were those in orange robes, looking utterly dejected.

There was a black-feathered person with a three-legged black owl perched on their shoulder, whose shoulder and bone structure looked extremely exaggerated from behind, making it impossible to tell their gender.

There were also towering Void Servants, countless alchemists, spirit beasts, and other creatures…

All were backs!

Bei Huai glanced over, unable to remember much else, only barely recalling the few identifiable ones.

Even ant-like beings could have their names remembered by him.

This proved that in their respective struggles, compared to their peers, they were worthy of being called “excellent.”

Of course, that was all.

“My name is Bei Huai.”

In the darkness, amidst the ten-thousand-foot steps, stood the high throne.

Bei Huai stood at the very bottom, facing the backs on the steps, smiling as he spoke, as if he were the master of this place:

“It’s a pleasure to meet everyone. I know there are many residual consciousnesses in this body.”

“Don’t be afraid. I’ve come. I’m proficient in life and reincarnation, and I can help you escape the sea of suffering and find new life.”

“So, I’ll begin…”

The darkness seemed to hold no fear for Bei Huai.

He strode forward, moving swiftly, and slapped the faceless back on the first step.

With a bang, that humanoid substance, resembling a soul, will, or solidified resentment, exploded into dust.

“Reincarnation.”

Bei Huai gently inhaled.

This palm strike was simple and unadorned, without any trace of magic.

The shattered life essence did not enter through any special reincarnation channel to be reborn; instead, it was drawn into Bei Huai’s nostrils.

Bei Huai nodded with satisfaction, raising his eyes to look at the trembling backs on the steps, his lips curling:

“I am reincarnation.”

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang…

His movements accelerated, one palm strike per figure, stepping upward, ascending towards the throne at the highest point of the steps, devouring the startled souls along the way.

These stubborn wills, which even Xing Ye, Shou Ye, Tian Ren Wu Shuai, and others could not refine, were merely ordinary supplements in his eyes.

He had seen wills more stubborn than these; they were all just obsessions.

For those who valued them, obsession was higher than the heavens.

For those who didn’t care, such obsessions were as good as nothing.

Without exception, all the obstinate spirits he had seen in the past had become the little radishes, little peanuts, little Bei Huai’s of the Tragic Emperor Realm.

“Reincarnation!”

“Life!”

He ascended the steps, destroying everything in his path.

Those backs had no power to resist; after merging into Bei Huai’s body, they were instantly refined.

Bei Huai shattered the three-legged black owl, recovering the Immortal Body.

Bei Huai shattered Tian Ren Wu Shuai, recovering the Decaying Body.

Bei Huai shattered the red-clad Shou Ye, his palm piercing through the surface of the will, seizing Xing Ye, one of the original Six Xu, representing the Devouring Body…

“Long time no see.”

The red-clad figure actually turned its head.

Xing Ye’s residual will had clearly all disappeared, or rather, it had been inherited by the red-clad Shou Ye before him.

Bei Huai looked at him, his movements pausing slightly.

This will was completely different from the hundreds of shattered ones before it. Perhaps its realm was insignificant during its life, but its self was incredibly tenacious.

“You have something to say.” Bei Huai could feel the continuous devouring suction from the other party; clearly, he had no intention of surrendering.

The red-clad Shou Ye’s face was already blurred, and his voice was layered, as if a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand people were speaking at once:

“I started as white-clad, then put on red-clad; I started by slaying ghost beasts, then became a ghost beast parasite; I started alone, and finally carried so many wills and residual souls…”

“You are lost,” Bei Huai clarified for him.

“I once thought that after taking the final step, devouring the fourth and fifth ultimate bodies, I would have a chance to go from weakness to strength, to turn the tide and defeat you…”

“You have no chance, and it’s absolutely impossible.”

“It wasn’t until I met Emperor Cang Sheng that day, and even he didn’t mention anything about ghost beasts, that I realized you are far from as simple as I imagined…”

“You are very smart. A Yao also deceived me. Like Ai Cang Sheng, I was tricked by A Yao, but unlike Ai Cang Sheng, I can win.”

Bei Huai understood.

Though Shou Ye’s self was strong, his power was too weak.

At this moment, he couldn’t even maintain the most basic ability to “converse.” This will was merely talking to itself.

Bei Huai was also very good at talking to himself.

Shou Ye said his piece, and he said his.

They would exchange different ideas and eventually merge into one, becoming each other’s self. That would be perfect.

“We…”

At this point, the red-clad Shou Ye’s voice trembled, tinged with more emotion: “We can’t win.”

“No!” Bei Huai shook his head, “We can. Come here, we will share one name.”

“We will share one name…”

“Yes.” Bei Huai revealed a satisfied smile, and with a grasp, he pulled out the ability of the Devouring Body. “We will all be called Bei Huai.”

“No!”

This time, it was Shou Ye’s turn to shake his head.

The cluster of will was held in his hand, and with Shou Ye’s resolute cry, the entire world suddenly darkened.

The steps and the throne could no longer be seen.

The will and residual souls in front of him could no longer be seen.

Bei Huai couldn’t even see Shou Ye, Xing Ye, or himself, but there was a strange movement in his hand.

With a hum, at the very end of the possession, the most difficult-to-obtain Devouring Power actually actively threw itself into his embrace.

Before he could feel joy, in an instant, the Devouring Power surged within his body, causing a resonance with the wills he had previously swallowed and refined.

No…

It wasn’t a resonance…

Those wills had long since been refined.

All of these thousands of wills resonating came from the red-clad Shou Ye alone, meaning that before he arrived, Shou Ye had already accepted everyone; they had become a collective!

“What do you want to do?” Bei Huai had obtained everything, but found a tumor within his body that he couldn’t easily remove.

“I won’t do anything.”

“You want to live? You want symbiosis? You want to use this to destroy the perfection of my Way of Life and Reincarnation, becoming a blemish on me?”

“That’s impossible!” Bei Huai laughed, “Just one reincarnation, Shou Ye? Xing Ye? They’re gone, all of them are gone, they all belong to me. We have only one name, called Bei Huai!”

“No!” The overlapping voice sounded again, calm and unhurried, “You are Bei Huai, you are you, and we are ‘Hei Ye’.”

Boom!

The night sky covered everything, drawing another curtain over the street corner.

In the torrential rain, the prostrate orange figure suddenly stood up, and a massive devouring vortex exploded around his body.

Uncontrolled power surged out. Water cannons, falling like rain-stones from the sky, were instantly swallowed by the black hole, devoured into Tian Ren Wu Shuai… no, into Bei Huai’s body.

“Crackling…”

Broken stones and low walls tumbled along the street, finally flying up with the accumulated water on the ground and being completely devoured.

The power of decay and the power of devouring erupted.

These were newly acquired powers, unfamiliar and not perfectly controllable, requiring even Bei Huai to adapt slightly.

It didn’t matter!

Instead, in the final step of possession, those few ridiculous words from the red-clad figure made him want to burst into laughter!

“Xing Ye?”

“Shou Ye?”

“Hei Ye?”

“No!” Bei Huai clutched his stomach, bending over and laughing loudly, “You can’t affect Bei Huai. All that’s needed is one reincarnation, and everything can be refined and merged. In even less time than it takes A Yao to return to zero, we can…”

“Yo!”

A mocking laugh interrupted everything.

With a boom, the devouring power and decaying power completely retracted into his body.

Bei Huai abruptly stopped, and then the torrential rain from the sky, after a momentary pause like a broken waterfall, once again furiously smashed down onto the street corner.

Water ripples spread on the ground, reflecting illusions in the water…

Bei Huai suddenly looked up.

The street corner should have been empty.

Those few ants were insignificant, and Mo Zu’s body and Shen Yi were too busy to stop him, but at some unknown time…

On the long street in the rainy night, a young man in black appeared, cradling a small cat, carrying a black sword on his back, and a playful smile on his lips.

The cat? Tan Shen…

The person? Xu Xiao Shou…

Wait, and this Heavenly Mystery Grand Formation…

Before the possession, the City of Dead Floating Buddhas didn’t seem to have this formation. Who set it up? Was it related to Dao Qiong Cang?

Just as Bei Huai was about to unleash his holy power to investigate the grand formation, a mocking laugh came from the rain, tsk-tsking:

“What’s going on?”

“Your soul, is it boiling?”