Dissipation

Dusk had fallen, and the golden sunset cast its light upon the eerie, greyish-white forest.

As night fell, not knowing how long the battle between the two "soul entities" below would last, Xu Yuan led Ran Qingmo back to the carriage to wait.

When they returned to the tree-lined path, the carriage was nowhere to be seen.

After a careful search, they discovered that the Flame-Hoof Carriage had been led by someone to a stable in the woods.

Xu Yuan subconsciously assumed that Xu Changge had done it.

After all, apart from the demon who called himself the Old Ghost, there were no other living creatures in this Ghost Mist. However, upon seeing the clearly carefully prepared hay, dried fruit, and other horse feed in the trough, he immediately dismissed the idea.

Xu Changge Xu Changge be able to drive a horse, but the idea of him preparing horse feed seems out of place.

Xu Yuan grabbed the mahogany handle leading to the car and shook his head.

"The horse feed is well-prepared, but this Old Ghost actually has such a leisurely and refined taste."

"Third Young Master. This old servant has spent my whole life leading horses and driving carriages for the Prime Minister. Besides killing, this is all the skills I have left."

"." Xu Yuan.

A hoarse voice, like scratching old tree bark, suddenly rang out, and Xu Yuan's grip on the mahogany handrail abruptly froze.

A moment of silence,

The sound, like cracking old tree bark, continued from behind, dull and strange.

"If I have frightened the Third Young Master Third Young Master, please forgive me."

Xu Yuan composed himself and slowly released the armrest, but what he caught in the corner of his eye made his heart skip a beat.

The stable here is very simple, just a few wooden pillars with a wooden shed on top. It is well-ventilated and has a wide view, allowing you to see the surrounding twisted, gray-white trees.

But at this moment,

The once relatively bright forest was being swallowed up by some kind of seeping black mist at a visible speed.

Within a few breaths, everything around them seemed to vanish into thin air, turning completely black.

Ran Qingmo had been standing a meter away from him just moments before, was also gone. Apart from the stable, only a tangible spirit remained quietly standing beside him.

But it wasn't the appearance of Ghost Seven; rather, it was the soul of a saint, with the jet-black Soul Ring still on its fingertip.

Upon seeing this, Xu Yuan's pupils contracted slightly.

He never cared about the life or death of the Saint's Remnant Soul.

Although the Saint's Remnant Soul has lived for tens of thousands of years, the useful information he possesses may not necessarily be as much as what he actually knew.

The only thing Xu Yuan truly cared about, from beginning to end, was the power of the Saint's Remnant Soul that could protect him.

After all, no matter how strong Ran Qingmo is, she cannot become one with him.

If they were to encounter a truly formidable enemy, he would only become Ran Qingmo's weakness. She would have to fight while simultaneously worrying that the aftershocks of the battle might kill him.

The Saint's Remnant Soul, acting as a personal grandfather figure, can possess others to fight.

It's fully AI-controlled, and you don't have to worry about being killed by the aftershocks.

The perfect bodyguard.

However, Xu Yuan actually planned to use benefits to bind this Saint's Remnant Soul.

He knew perfectly well what kind of person this Saint's Remnant Soul was, and he also knew what this Saint's Remnant Soul wanted.

However, it seems that Xu Changge has other ideas now. Xu Yuan is not sure what his elder brother is planning to do, but it seems that Xu Changge wants the Ghost Elder to directly devour the Saint's Remnant Soul, take over the nest, and then have it protect him.

But the problem is,

Are Yingui really reliable?

While the Saint's Remnant Soul are unreliable, they can at least be bound together by the logic of mutual benefit. However, the existence of Yingui is inherently for destruction.

The situation before him caught Xu Yuan somewhat off guard, and his mind raced with thoughts.

Was this also planned by that older brother?

It shouldn't be that bad, right?

To put a seventh-grade Pulse Tempering like him directly against a second-grade Yingui right from the start—isn't that a bit too much of a challenge?

But if it weren't for that older brother's planning...

hiss.

Xu Yuan quietly circulated his Cultivation Method, carefully considering his words:

"Are you the Ghost Elder?"

The saint's soul had no whites in his eyes at this moment; his eyes were filled with an extremely dense black. His voice remained as dry as ever.

"Third Young Master, there's no need to be nervous. For now, I'll remain your old servant."

Xu Yuan silently dissipated his Cultivation Method.

A demon of this caliber could be killed without any reasoning, but what did the other party mean by that?

"Temporary?"

"Um."

"Here it is?"

"This is Ghost Domain created by this old servant using the sage's Source Soul."

"The Saint's Source Soul. What about Luo Daofan?"

"They've been temporarily suppressed by this old servant."

"You didn't swallow him?"

"Of course not," Ghost Seven answered without hesitation.

Xu Yuan paused, his voice hesitant, "From now on, will you share a single soul body?"

He knew that in this world, a body could be shared by two souls, but whether a soul and body could be shared was something that touched upon his cultural desert.

Ghost Seven remained silent for a moment, his voice completely flat:

"No, this old servant is about to vanish."

Xu Yuan's pupils contracted. "Dissipated? Didn't Xu Changge tell you to devour that saint's soul?"

Ghost Seven's chapped lips seemed to twitch, but in the end he only shook his head slightly.

"This old servant naturally wishes to protect the Third Young Master as he travels the world, and to continue serving the Prime Minister, leading his horse and driving his carriage, but my demonic form makes this difficult."

"If it weren't for the arrival of the Eldest Young Master a month ago, this old servant would probably have become a mindless ghost. Even with the Secret Method to lock the soul, it has reached its limit by now."

silence.

In the dark, Ghost Domain, Xu Yuan remained silent for a few breaths before softly asking:

"But if that's the case, what's the purpose of doing so?"

"For the sake of Soul Fusion."

As he spoke, Ghost Seven slowly turned his eyes, raised his palm, and pointed to his own soul form:

"If successful, this sage will pledge allegiance to my Prime Minister's Estate."

The ghost's rough voice boomed, "But this old servant is incompetent and has failed. However, Third Young Master, rest assured, although I cannot make him loyal to the Prime Minister, this old servant has already engraved the thought of protecting you into his mind."

Xu Yuan was taken aback upon hearing this.

To exchange one's life for a "thought imprint"?

A thought flashed through his mind, and he finally understood what Xu Changge wanted to do.

But looking at the extremely calm Ghost Seven in front of him, he suddenly fell silent.

Even as Yingui, his loyalty remains unchanged.

After a long silence, Xu Yuan said in a low voice:

"Ghost Elder, you came all this way to see me because you have something you want me to tell my father?"

He remembered the request the other person had made to him inside the cave.

Ghost Seven nodded slightly:

"Um."

Xu Yuan took a deep breath:

"Go ahead and tell me, I will relay it truthfully."

"Third Young Master."

Ghost Seven bowed deeply in a solemn salute, his dry, withered voice trembling slightly:

"Ghost Seven is incompetent and has failed the Prime Minister."

After saying that, Ghost Seven slowly straightened up.

Xu Yuan remained silent for a few breaths:

"That's all?"

"Having been stained with the blood of my comrades, this old servant has no face to say more."

Ghost Seven shook his head.

Having said that, the Soul Ring slipped from his fingertip and flew to Xu Yuan's front.

And the next moment,

The Ghost Domain dissipated.

A nearly dissipated, hunched phantom separated from the almost solidified soul of the saint and drifted into the sky.

The setting sun was like blood, just as it had been sixty years ago.

The hunched old man stood amidst the mountains and forests, kneeling down one last time in the direction of the Imperial Capital.