Chapter 582: The True Face of the Evil Spirit

Jiang Fan continued to descend the stairs, unsure how deep he had gone. It felt like he had descended more than the height of a mountain, yet he still hadn't reached the bottom.

Suddenly, the narrow passage gradually widened. Soon after, he reached the very bottom.

A red glow accompanied by rolling heat waves emanated. Looking closely, he saw surging lava, flowing calmly and releasing astonishing heat waves.

In the middle of the lava pool lay a circular black boulder. Most of it was submerged in the lava. At first glance, it resembled an egg, but it was incredibly massive, spanning a hundred zhang.

On the boulder stood an ancient and dilapidated small temple. It was very small, like a roadside shrine, requiring one to crouch to get inside.

Strangely, the rolling heat waves could not suppress the yin energy emanating from the temple.

What struck Jiang Fan even more was a corpse sitting outside the temple, leaning against the wall. No one knew how long it had been dead, yet its flesh was still glistening, its hair jet black, and it looked remarkably lifelike. It wore a dark robe adorned with six peculiar patterns.

Some patterns resembled fierce ghosts, others animals, some humans, and still others Asuras. Jiang Fan faintly recognized something and muttered, "Could these patterns be the legendary Six Paths of Reincarnation?"

The Evil Spirit nodded. "That's right. This is the Nascent Soul body I told you about. Do you see the red ring on his finger? That's a spatial storage device. Back then, I used an illusion to hide this body and deceived the Tiger Demon Emperor; otherwise, the device would have been taken by him long ago. Now it's yours for the taking."

He took a deep breath, his voice filled with uncontainable excitement. "After wandering as a remnant soul for fifty years, I can finally find a body to inhabit. Kid, thank you for everything on this journey. Meeting you was my good fortune. If you ever face difficulties in the future, you can always come to me. This great kindness of rebirth can never be repaid enough."

Jiang Fan cupped his fists and said, "Senior, you're too kind. You also guided me a lot along the way. We are even."

Although their initial meeting was unpleasant, after reaching an agreement, the Evil Spirit had sincerely guided him quite a bit. This included the glazed treasure and the Heaven-Thunder Stone from the Golden Cloud's ripped belly. Most importantly, he guided Jiang Fan to the hidden material storage point on the Great Wall. If not for that, humanity would undoubtedly have suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of Realm Mountain. Now, he had also guided Jiang Fan to take shortcuts, allowing him to seize many treasures before the people of the Hall of Ten Thousand Tribulations. It would be a lie to say he wasn't grateful.

The Evil Spirit remained silent for a long time, then spoke with reluctance, "Alright. Place the Ancient Mirror of Inner Reflection on that corpse's chest. My remnant soul will enter its body. At that point, you won't need to worry about me anymore. Take the spatial ring, and also take this Ancient Mirror of Inner Reflection that I promised you. Our fate together will temporarily end then."

Jiang Fan rolled his eyes. "The way you say that, it's as if we're a loving couple. You old rascal."

Though he said that, a hint of melancholy also appeared in his eyes.

The Evil Spirit gave a few weary laughs, then fell silent, speaking no more.

Jiang Fan remained silent. With a slight sigh, he leaped onto the boulder and walked slowly to the corpse.

Confirming the corpse was indeed completely dead, he took out the Ancient Mirror of Inner Reflection from his pocket. He examined it for a moment, then sighed, "Senior, I hope everything goes smoothly for you." Crouching down, he placed the Ancient Mirror of Inner Reflection on the corpse's chest.

Sizzle— A sound like a fleeting electric current could be heard. Then, a fist-sized, dilapidated, transparent humanoid figure slowly walked out of the mirror with its hands behind its back. It stepped onto the corpse's glabella and took one step inside. Just as it was about to fully enter, it suddenly stopped.

Its blurred face looked towards Jiang Fan, and it chuckled, scolding, "Kid, aren't you going to take the Ancient Mirror of Inner Reflection and the spatial storage ring and leave? Be careful, if I change my mind after taking over this body, you'll suffer a great loss."

Only then did he notice Jiang Fan had, at some unknown point, retreated several steps away. With a complex expression, Jiang Fan sighed softly, "This junior has a question I've always wanted to ask."

The Evil Spirit nodded its chin and said, "Ask away." Jiang Fan said, "May I ask for your esteemed name, Senior?" All this time, he had never asked for the other party's name or origin, yet at this moment, he suddenly did.

The Evil Spirit was silent for a moment, then calmly uttered four words: "Venerable Six Paths."

Jiang Fan nodded gently. He retreated a few more steps and said, "Then... this junior, Jiang Fan, congratulates Venerable Six Paths... on returning to your original body."

The Evil Spirit was greatly startled. Its blurred face twisted as if made of clay, and its voice suddenly became sinister and sharp: "How did you know this is my original body?" A hint of panic appeared on its face. Clearly, Jiang Fan's words had completely exceeded its expectations.

Jiang Fan said calmly, "Not only do I know that this corpse is actually the body you left behind back then, but I also know that there's actually nothing inside this spatial storage device. And I know that you... don't want to return to your original body at all. The body you truly desire... is mine!"

The Evil Spirit's features twisted even more. The palm-sized soul body floated continuously, and it growled sinisterly, "How on earth did you..." Suddenly, it noticed the Ancient Mirror of Inner Reflection suspended in mid-air, reflecting its image. It was instantly alarmed and whispered, "You can use the Ancient Mirror of Inner Reflection now? But didn't you let me control it when you were in the Southwest military camp? Wait! You were wary of me all along?"

Jiang Fan said calmly, "I haven't forgotten the scene of our first meeting. An evil spirit that needed to consume human blood to strengthen itself. How could I not be wary?"

The Evil Spirit—or rather, Venerable Six Paths—now exuded a sinister aura. "Good kid, I truly underestimated you. That's right! I never intended to return to my original body. In fact, I couldn't go back even if I wanted to."

Venerable Six Paths clasped its hands together and looked up at the sky. "This world has its own rules. A remnant soul cannot return to its original form. It can only seize a new body, and only once."

Jiang Fan's gaze turned slightly cold. "So, when you suggested finding a body for reincarnation, you actually wanted to seize my body?"

Venerable Six Paths shrugged. "Why not? A rare Limitless Spirit Root, stronger than mine was back then. You also possess the Purple Sword, a spiritual weapon of great origin, and master many mysterious cultivation techniques. Later, it became even more incredible: your cultivation soared, and you successively obtained tremendous opportunities like the Five Magnetic Elemental Mountain, 'Five Currents of Void Energy,' 'Five Magnetic Divine Light,' and so on. I can't think of a reason to refuse such a perfect body."

Jiang Fan said coldly, "Why didn't you seize my body from the start? Back then, I was only in the Foundation Establishment realm; wouldn't it have been much easier to seize my body then?"

Venerable Six Paths spoke like an old friend, in no hurry to make a move, chatting with keen interest. "Because I was too weak then. But now it's fine. After a period of slumber, I've recovered quite a bit. I even tailored some methods specifically for you, all to ensure foolproof success. It's just that you're too clever, which caused a slight alteration to the plan."

Venerable Six Paths pointed to the spatial storage device on its own corpse and said, "This spatial storage device is actually a trap. Anyone who touches it will be frozen, unable to move, and then their body will be drained dry by my corpse, becoming its nourishment."

As it pointed, the surface of the spatial ring twisted, shedding its disguise and revealing its true form.