BOOM!!!

Pure-white sword qi!

Confident and liberated sword qi!

Sword qi of the selfless anatta!

Sword qi unconfined to the self!

In this fleeting moment, everything gathered into a sword! Between heaven and earth, only this sword existed! A streak of sword-light and twenty-six red rays violently collided together! A resounding boom echoed to stir the heavens!

“Fuck!” Xu Yangyi stared intently at the six seemingly cave-like spaces around him… however, the scenery was still the same.

“Bro, don’t worry!” Zhao Ziqi’s somewhat juvenile voice echoed at Xu Yangyi’s ear side. In kind, a little solemness caused his impatient heart to calm down a bit. “This qi… keeps on running. It’s really hard for me to chase it down…”

Xu Yangyi licked his lips. Moving?

As expected of a living creature. This place… was even more of a maze than a maze! Countless exit tunnels and entry passages, yet they still appeared the same under a glance. No wonder squadrons that had entered previously had been trapped to death here. If it weren’t for Zhao Ziqi, he would basically be unable to find the correct road from these endless identical rooms!

No… even if he found the right path, then what?

This thing… could actually move! And this place as well… was its nest of many, many years. Any place and anything else couldn’t flee from the Spirit Parasite’s eyes. Hide-and-seek with an unseen enemy in its domain? How could it possibly be found!

“No… this isn’t the way!” Xu Yangyi gritted his teeth very tightly. It was unknown how the situation outside had developed. Another second stayed here was an additional fraction of danger beyond the Reincarnation Puppet’s belly. “Is there no other way?” he asked lowly.

Silence. Several seconds passed, and Zhao Ziqi quietly replied, “There is… but its very dangerous.”

“Like?” Xu Yangyi followed up without missing a beat, his gaze flashing.

“Let me… take you over.” Zhao Ziqi floated in midair and flew before Xu Yangyi, violating the Earth’s gravitational law. He pursed his lips and said, “I don’t want to hide it from you. The Netherpierce Eye is neither human nor ghost. I can stay inside anyone’s body for thirty minutes. I can’t chase this thing down… but you probably can, big bro.”

What Zhao Ziqi spoke of was somewhat like containment, but Xu Yangyi understood. This was a kind of spiritual sense-like movement, yet what he had to do was release his own spiritual sense and let the youth enter!

If… Zhao Ziqi held one shred of malice, a ruthless battle of spiritual sense versus spiritual sense would follow. Only through one party’s death could there be conclusion. To be short… forced possession!

Quiet. After the passage of a couple seconds, Xu Yangyi lifted up his gaze and nodded. “Come on.”

Zhao Ziqi, on the contrary, was stunned. How many seconds was that? Three seconds? And Xu Yangyi resolved himself just like that?

In a battle of spiritual sense, everyone was placed in the same plane. Be it Core Formation or Qi Condensation, all depended on whoever’s spiritual sense was more powerful. Xu Yangyi… actually wasn’t afraid in the slightest.

“You… Aren’t you even a little scared?” Zhao Ziqi couldn’t help but ask.

“Don’t waste words.” Xu Yangyi’s expression was calm. “Another second waited is another person dead. I can’t afford to wait.”

Furthermore… the demon slayer had the confidence that he wasn’t inferior to any cultivator in the aspect of spiritual sense!

The effect of the Eternal Alchemy Canon’s spiritual sense strengthening was nothing to joke about.

“Good.” Zhao Ziqi didn’t spare any words, either. Both his hands formed seals, and his entire figure grew increasingly faint as he went faster and faster. Five seconds later, he lowly cried out, and he became like mist, suddenly rushing over.

Xu Yangyi’s muscles tensed up by a hair, but then relaxed. To say he wasn’t uneasy was an impossibility. Nonetheless, any worry was founded on strength. Besides, he was willing to believe in the other.

Three seconds… five seconds… ten seconds passed, and Xu Yangyi opened his eyes. His pupils had become a pair of Taijis! He took a deep breath and stretched out his muscles. There wasn’t a trace of discomfort.

Zhao Ziqi hadn’t made any action against his spiritual sense. But now instead, as far as his eyes reached… the world was an alternating black-and-white expanse, especially… 

Right now, he could clearly see! A wisp of green qi was frantically running away to a distant place!

“I see you…” There was no time to link up with Zhao Ziqi. Thirsty for blood, he licked his lips and slightly arched over. Quick to act, he threw himself towards the jade-green qi ahead like a fierce tiger!

“Wind Brandishes Traces!!!” He faced back and roared, the qi around him curling away! Whirlwinds, visible to the naked eye, even formed besides him! Without delay, his speed increased!

Yet he still wasn’t done! Both his hands weaved seals at a dizzying pace. Very shortly… 

“Life Sacrification! Starfire!”

A triple-layered superposition!

His silhouette transformed into streaking white light in the air, hot on the tail of the qi ahead!

Thrum… Thrum… 

At his ear side, all that was audible was the sound of wind, and yet there was another kind of sound, the ticking second hand of a clock.

From the start, Xu Yangyi had taken out his wristwatch, having it float at his side. Since he had entered the Reincarnation Puppet’s stomach, ten minutes had already passed!

His speed suddenly picked up. In the next ten seconds, he would have a clear visual of the thing in front of him!

Seemingly fog yet not fog, the orb of green qi was containing something within… A shadow vaguely akin to a human figure. Xu Yangyi gazed ahead with rapt attention, yet couldn’t see it clearly at all!

“What are you…” Xu Yangyi gritted his teeth ruthlessly, his body in a perfect running stance. Even an Olympic champion would feel inferior to him. With the descent of each of his steps, the stone brick on the ground levelly sunk in! Following a heavy thump, a one-foot-long footprint made an indent. The rise of each step even held the faint sound of wind and thunder.

“Still want to run?!” He shouted angrily, his tongue lashing out like spring thunder. The mist-like organism ahead seemed to tremble and immediately sped up in kind!

“Drop dead…” The killing intent in Xu Yangyi’s eyes glimmered, and he weaved seals. In the next second, two fire dragons rumbled out from his hand and raged straight to the green fog-shaped organism ahead!

Ten Cardinals Red Lotus! Twin dragons toying with a pearl!

“ROAR!” The black fire-dragon bore a thundering snarl. Neither large nor small, it just so happened to tightly seal off the fair-sized tunnel. Although Xu Yangyi had fallen behind, the Ten Cardinals Red Lotus’s impact force far exceeded his present speed! In almost the blink of an eye, it clashed down on the green qi’s light tail!

He was none the wiser that at the same time, there was activity brewing in a place that only the clan master, clan elder, and grand elders of the Nalan Clan could enter. Inside was a vast thousand-meter-sized pond of blood.

Above the blood pond was the skull of some unknown giant beast, no less than several hundred meters in size. It was firmly welded to the roof. In the vicinity, there were ten cultivators wearing black clothes and high caps, as if they were the underworld’s deities of escorting souls. Their hands were gathered in their sleeves, and at every couple dozen meters was one person. They calmly encircled both sides of the pond. 

The banks of the blood pond were piled up with all kinds of bones. Yet in the middle, there were dozens of dried one-meter-sized wrist bones sticking out from the pond. Six formed one set and crafted an ash-gray lotus. Bloody marks appeared on the withered bones and slowly bubbled up on the lotus palm as the blood pond seethed. 

Dusky lines of light, the seething blood pond, and reaper-like shades transformed the region into a facsimile of a blood-reeking hell.

On each lotus of withered bone a person was seated. Since long ago, they had not made so much as a whisper, but a jade plate, densely scrawled with small characters, was placed before each of them. These were their life slips, yet they hadn’t shattered!

At this moment, a skeletal hand suddenly wobbled twice. The cultivator sitting upright on it was a woman. Her facial features were cool and elegant without peer, and she wore the snow-white long skirt of palace dress, appearing to be merely sleeping. Yet now, plumes of black smoke wafted off of her from head to toe!

Moments ago, the smoke was merely wisps, but in the next second it immediately became rocketing black flame!

“Change with No.7!!!” One of the impermanants suddenly cried out. Without any hesitation, the seventh Reincarnation Puppet’s jade slip zoomed into his hand!

[1]

“Black fire counter-bite… Someone’s barged into the Spirit Parasite’s dwelling, and… they keep on approaching the Spirit Parasite’s body!” A hand wreathed in black grabbed the jade slip and drew a sharp breath with only a glance. “The strength of the other’s total-determined power… Late Qi Condensation, estimated S-rank!”

Without a moment’s delay, he gently pricked his finger, and a blood-colored dot appeared on his thumb. On the jade life slip, it drew a long scar of blood!

“Spirit Enlightenment Wood!”

In the wake of this bloody scar’s tracing, the eyes of the originally silent woman on No.7’s skeletal hand now actually shivered. She seemed to show signs of waking up!

“Should I say your luck is good… or too rotten?” The soul attendant’s voice heaved out a sigh and finally calmed down somewhat. Orbs of green fire flickered as if they were studying the jade medal in her hand. “Nalan Liusu… The Nalan Clan’s 42nd generation holy maiden was born in 1631 and died in 1721… Great Circle Qi Condensation. And a hare that’s charged in, eh… No matter what methods you use to find the Spirit Parasite’s body… you seem to have drawn the ugliest stick of certain death from the ballot…”

“The sole holy maiden among the Twenty Reincarnation Puppets, heh heh heh… wait for death… you piece of trash…”

BOOM!

 Xu Yangyi’s footsteps rose and fell. The Spirit Parasite before him was already within spitting distance!

Ten minutes had already passed. From 200 meters, he had reached 180 meters to 120 meters, and now… 

Ten meters! Barely a ten-meter gap! He could overtake this strange thing in front of him!

Nine meters!!!

Xu Yangyi tightly gripped Falling Moon in his hand. Ten meters wasn’t needed… Anything within three meters was in his attack range!

Eight meters!

On Falling Moon, black flame soared and brightened! The Ten Cardinals Red Lotus was shockingly in his grasp, but he wasn’t satisfied at all!

A little bit faster… A little bit faster!

Twenty minutes had already passed since he had entered! He feared that the defense outside had long since reached the state of a bloodbath!

His left hand began to form seals.

Seven meters!

Even now, the green soul ahead was whistling in the distance! The demon slayer took a deep breath, and the fingers of his left hand quickly pinched together!

“Pill Cauldron Builds Spirit!”

Hum!

 A formless white ripple swiftly spread around him! Everything in the surroundings became even clearer! Xu Yangyi’s spiritual sense having strengthened again, Zhao Ziqi, who was possessing him, let out a groan. Nonetheless, the youth tenaciously held onto Xu Yangyi’s spiritual sense, by no means breaking away. It was because of this that Zhao Ziqi could look upon a scene that he hadn’t been able to previously!

As if all the surrounding illusions had been dispelled… he saw that the entire space above was actually blurry! Twisting! Spinning!

That’s… 

Xu Yangyi’s gaze shrunk a little. These distortions were building a tunnel! And in this tunnel, an indescribable object was descending at great speed! 

At the same time in the Nalan Clan’s blood pool, Nalan Liusu had completely opened her eyes. She had separated from the bone lotus and was floating in the air. Powerful green ripples of qi light slowly radiated out of her body!

The spiritual light resembled a tide, unexpectedly solid-like. In the area, a fierce whirlwind seemed to kick up! The bone lotus somewhat close to her was actually teetering on the verge of collapse!

“That’s the Nalan Clan’s holy maiden…” Presently all the impermanants were crouching on the ground. “Even though she died so many years ago… her power still hadn’t weakened since then…”

The blood pond was wildly swirling with great billows! As if she and Xu Yangyi could read each other’s minds, a hazy white light bolted out from the crown of her head like lightning in the instant Pill Cauldron Builds Spirit was activated! It followed the linked Reincarnation Puppet’s qi thread and rushed down!

1. “Impermanants” You may remember I made a note about this a long time ago. Impermanants is my take on “Hebai Wuchang” the name of a Chinese death deity known otherwise as the “Black and White Impermanances”.

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