Cold.
An absolute coldness that transcended physical concepts and reached straight into the core of the soul.
Just as Hyuga Xiao used gravity to forcibly lock down Kurenai Yuhi's body, believing he had temporarily stabilized the situation, an incomparably sinister force surged upstream through the soul link formed by the Humanity Anchor between him and Hong!
It was neither chakra nor any known form of energy.
It was a pure, lofty "concept."
Like an invisible venomous serpent made of countless tiny silver fishhooks, it followed the link's path and precisely sank its teeth into Hyuga Xiao's spiritual world.
[Lower lifeform, everything you possess belongs to me.]
A cold, utterly emotionless thought exploded directly inside his mind.
The next second, the world spun.
Hyuga Xiao felt his consciousness seized by an irresistible force and violently dragged into an infinitely deep, infinitely dark vortex!
Everything around him lost its meaning. The Extreme Cold Formation, the underground shelter, even his own body... every perception of the real world rapidly faded and peeled away, like an old photograph soaked in strong acid.
The only thing that remained clear was the soul chain connecting him and Kurenai Yuhi, radiating a faint red glow.
At that moment, the chain was being frantically pulled by the silver force, stretched taut as it let out a mournful groan beneath the strain.
"Urashiki... you damned bastard!"
Hyuga Xiao's consciousness let out a soundless roar.
He understood instantly.
The struggle for the body had only been a facade. That persistent Ōtsutsuki's target from the very beginning had been Kurenai Yuhi's soul! It wanted to drag Hong's consciousness completely into this unknown abyss and assimilate her for eternity!
And because of that damned Humanity Anchor, he had been dragged in as well!
He did not know how long the sensation of