“You’ve been implanted with a restriction by me. Don’t even think about using your spiritual power. Right now, you’re no different from an ordinary mortal.” A lazy voice suddenly spoke, startling the woman surnamed Song as she turned to look.
In the corner of the cavern, a tall, shadowy figure sat cross-legged. Motionless, it had escaped her notice entirely at first.
Almost simultaneously, she realized that her spiritual power was indeed impossible to gather or summon, as if she truly had been subjected to a formidable restriction. Her heart sank instantly.
“Who are you, and why have you captured my sisters?” the woman surnamed Song demanded, glancing beside her to see Mu Peiling and Liu Yu lying unconscious behind her. Though they were out cold, they seemed unharmed, which eased her mind slightly.
“Heh, I didn’t expect to run into the three of you in the inner valley. Blame yourselves for crossing my path—and for being of some use to me. Nephew Bai, as long as you stay put obediently, I won’t make things difficult for you out of past sentiment. But if you try to escape, don’t blame me for being ruthless.” The tall figure spoke coldly.
“Nephew Bai? I don’t recall having a senior like you in our sect. Are you perhaps mistaken?” Song Yu asked in shock and confusion.
“It’s no surprise you don’t recognize me. I know you, and that’s enough. How is Zi Ling these days?” the figure asked indifferently.
“You know Zi Ling? Who exactly are you?” Song Yu’s alarm grew as she snapped back.
“Want to know who I am? That’s simple enough.” The shadowy figure muttered before suddenly standing and stepping toward her.
Within a few strides, he emerged from the darkness, revealing his full appearance to her.
Clad in a pitch-black robe, his skull-like head bore a pair of massive fangs protruding slightly from his mouth, giving him a terrifying visage. One of his exposed arms gleamed like forged gold and silver, radiating an eerie brilliance.
“Who are you? I’ve certainly never seen you before,” Song Yu said, though her heart skipped a beat at his appearance, she kept her composure.
“Is that so? In this form, you naturally wouldn’t recognize me.” The black-robed man wasn’t angered but spoke calmly. Yet his gaze suddenly shifted as he studied her, as if something had struck him as odd.
The moment Song Yu met his eyes, she felt an uncanny familiarity, abruptly recalling someone.
“You… you’re… impossible!” she gasped in shock.
“So you’ve finally realized. But don’t be surprised—this isn’t yet that person. But soon enough, I will become him.” The black-robed man let out a sinister chuckle before retreating to his original spot, sitting cross-legged again and ignoring her.
The woman in palace attire wore an expression of utter disbelief, her mind in turmoil as the image of a young man flickered in her consciousness, merging with the black-robed figure before splitting apart again.
“Could it really be Uncle Han? But he never looked like this. Did he suffer a calamity while traveling and was forced to seize another body? No, even though he was only at mid-Nascent Soul stage, his abilities rivaled those of late-stage cultivators. How could such a thing happen? And even if his body was destroyed and his Nascent Soul forced to seize another, why wouldn’t he return to the sect to recuperate? Why hide in the Fallen Demon Valley and attack us without mercy? And what did those last words mean?” Despite her sharp intellect, Song Yu found herself staring blankly at the shadow, her thoughts in disarray.
“Hmph, you two are awake. No need to keep pretending.” The black-robed man suddenly opened his eyes and snorted.
Before Song Yu could react with joy, Mu Peiling’s voice rang out behind her.
“You’re not the Young Master—you’re his second Nascent Soul! How did you break free from his control and gain your own consciousness? Where is the Young Master now?” Her tone was laced with a mix of worry and fear.
“Junior Sister Mu, you can’t be mistaken. This person is truly the second avatar Master refined?” Song Yu’s astonished voice followed, equally incredulous.
Song Yu turned to see the other two women sitting up, with Liu Yu covering her mouth in shock.
“I don’t know the details, but I heard the Young Master cultivated a rare secret technique that allows him to refine a second Nascent Soul. But this second Nascent Soul is extremely dangerous—if mishandled, it can develop its own consciousness and turn against its master.” Mu Peiling stared fixedly at the shadow, her expression shifting between dark and light.
Song Yu and Liu Yu exchanged bewildered glances.
“You recognize my true form. Ah, I remember now—Silvermoon must have let it slip. But I never intended to hide it. I was indeed that person’s second Nascent Soul. But once I achieve full cultivation and devour his soul, I will become him, and he will become me. Stay put here, and if all goes well, I’ll let you leave. This place is an extremely hidden spot I found in the inner valley. Even if he comes looking, he’ll never find you.” The black-robed man admitted frankly, seeing no need for concealment.
He was indeed the second Nascent Soul formed from the lost Wood Spirit Nascent Soul during Han Li’s battle with the Great Heavenly Masters of the Grasslands.
Back then, the Nascent Soul had been severely injured by one of the Great Heavenly Masters and should have dissipated. But having cultivated some of the Profound Yin Devil Qi Han Li had taught it, it triggered the protective mechanism of the Ghost Luo Banner, which had been infused with the demonic energy of the Endless Sea. The banner absorbed it and nourished it with pure devilish energy to heal it.
Had Han Li not been too far away, the second Nascent Soul would have returned to him upon awakening.
But at the time, Han Li was also gravely injured, forced to seal himself in ice and drift downstream to the Great Jin Empire.
Thus, after recovering, the second Nascent Soul, unable to locate Han Li, wandered the grasslands aimlessly.
Two or three decades later, it developed a sliver of independent consciousness and quietly returned to the Great Jin, infiltrating the Fallen Demon Valley. There, it easily found the Skyfiend Corpse, which had been wandering the inner valley like a mindless husk.
Though the corpse had been heavily damaged by the ancient demon, its undead nature allowed it to slowly recover rather than perish.
Without Han Li’s control, the corpse operated purely on instinct. Left unchecked, it might have developed its own consciousness in a few centuries.
But when the second Nascent Soul found it, it effortlessly took over the corpse using the original restrictions, devouring its meager remnant soul.
This was why the second Nascent Soul hadn’t sought another cultivator to possess—the corpse, with its Nascent Soul-level power and lack of independent consciousness, was the perfect vessel.
The Nascent Soul naturally seized the opportunity.
Using the residual demonic energy from the spatial rift where the ancient demon had stored its body, combined with the corpse’s innate deathly energy and the Ghost Luo Banner’s aid, it cultivated the Profound Yin Devil Qi to near completion in just a few decades, even advancing to mid-Nascent Soul stage.
Afterward, it searched the valley’s hidden spots, retrieving several unclaimed treasures. Just as it prepared to leave, it encountered Mu Peiling and the others.
Initially unaware of their identities, the Nascent Soul—now steeped in devilish energy and having absorbed the Skyfiend Corpse’s essence—had grown vastly different from Han Li. Overcome with bloodlust, it sought to kill the three Core Formation cultivators to eliminate witnesses and vent its pent-up malice.
But upon recognizing them, the copied memories from Han Li took hold. After a moment’s hesitation, it changed its mind, capturing them alive and imprisoning them here under restrictions.
“How long do you plan to keep us here?” Mu Peiling asked, mustering her courage despite her inner turmoil.
She had recognized the second Nascent Soul thanks to an unnamed jade pendant Silvermoon had given her years ago while delivering pills. The pendant, kept close to her body, contained a trace of the second Nascent Soul’s aura, allowing her to sense its presence up close.
At the time, she hadn’t understood its purpose, but now it became clear—Silvermoon had anticipated the second Nascent Soul’s potential rebellion and given her the pendant as a safeguard. Its strange reaction had instantly revealed the figure’s identity.
The black-robed man cast her a cold glance before replying indifferently, “Until there’s only one Han Li left in this world.”
“With Uncle Han’s abilities and cultivation speed, do you really think you stand a chance?” Song Yu, now composed and having pieced things together, spoke calmly.
“Right now, I’m no match for him, but I can at least escape. And with you three as leverage, I’m even more at ease. As for how I’ll succeed, that’s none of your concern.” The black-robed man chuckled darkly, revealing nothing.
“But you—” Liu Yu began, but the black-robed man cut her off sharply. “Enough. I know exactly what you’re scheming. Don’t waste your breath. You’ll leave here only if I devour him or if he erases my consciousness and reclaims me as his second Nascent Soul. For now, sleep.”
With that, he formed a hand seal and chanted an incantation.
Instantly, multicolored lights flashed around the women as thick black mist surged from the ground.
Realizing too late that they stood in the center of a massive formation, the three were engulfed by the mist and collapsed into unconsciousness once more.
The black-robed man ceased his chant, releasing the seal, but his gaze remained fixed on the swirling mist, his expression inscrutable and complex.
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