Sukuna possessed Qian Renxue [Bonus update, thanks for the tips]

"Who... exactly are you?" Snake Lance Douluo's teeth chattered. That terrifying pressure of soul power made his body tremble; even standing up was a struggle.

"Heh... Sukuna. You can call me that!" Qian Renxue—no, Sukuna—grinned.

He seemed to have lost interest in the two Titled Douluo kneeling on the ground. In his eyes, they were no different from ants.

He slowly raised his head toward Jogo, who had already restored his severed hand and was glaring at him with his single eye.

"Sukuna." Jogo warily took two steps back.

"You stand in my presence. Why do you not bow?"

Jogo retreated at full speed as a deluge of slashes swept toward him.

Having just activated his domain, Jogo was suffering from cursed technique burnout and could not use his cursed technique, leaving him in a rather sorry state.

Invisible slashes shredded a massive boulder along the gorge. The instant the shattered rock hit the ground and sent dust billowing up, Sukuna appeared behind Jogo.

"If Dismantle alone can't kill you outright, then..."

Sukuna placed his hand on Jogo's volcanic head.

"Cleave!"

Sukuna's cursed technique, Malevolent Shrine, had two effects: slashing and severing.

Its two different types of slashes were Dismantle, a standard slash, and Cleave, which adjusted to the difference in cursed energy to ensure it severed its target.

Dismantle delivered high-frequency, long-range slashes capable of shredding anything. Cleave required physical contact to unleash, but was far more powerful than Dismantle. It could freely adjust its power according to the difference in cursed energy and kill with a single strike.

Of course, once his domain was active, Cleave no longer required physical contact.

A single slash instantly sliced off the volcanic top of Jogo's head.

Jogo crashed to the ground in a heap, but he was not dead. As a soul beast, he possessed extraordinary vitality and could rapidly heal his body with soul power.

Staring at the utterly unruffled Sukuna before him, Jogo panted, down on one knee.

"Still only kneeling on one knee?" Sukuna strolled over, looking perfectly at ease. "They say the fuller the grain, the lower the stalk bows. An empty head like yours certainly makes for an amusing sight."

Sukuna yawned and stopped in front of Jogo. "Soul beast, I'll give you one minute. Tell me what you want from bringing me back."

"What I want?" Jogo restored the severed top of his volcanic head and rasped, "Nothing."

"Oh?" Sukuna seemed to take a little interest in the soul beast before him.

"Sukuna, my goal is to fully resurrect you, the strongest Evil Soul Master in history, known as the King of Curses, and have you drown the entire Soul World in blood, just as you did countless tens of thousands of years ago... I imagine you'll be quite pleased with a body possessing the six-winged angel martial soul!" Jogo said expressionlessly.

Only by having Sukuna kill those powerful soul masters would soul beasts have a chance to replace humanity and rule this world.

"An interesting proposition—" Sukuna first nodded in approval, then his face went blank again. "But are you ordering me around?"

"No. I'm merely suggesting a choice you're certain to make." Jogo appeared calm, but in truth, he was drenched in cold sweat and poised to flee at any moment.

To Jogo's surprise, Sukuna looked deeply intrigued instead. "I see. But I have plans of my own. You certainly are a persistent soul beast... In return for those Three Fingers, I'll give you a chance. Defeat me as I am now, and I'll do whatever you ask!"

"You have... a deal." Jogo shot forward like a cannonball and drove his fist at him.

His cursed technique burnout had not yet ended, so he could not attack with lava.

Sukuna merely took a small step back and avoided the punch.

"By the way, soul beast..." Sukuna drew farther back and slowly formed a hand sign. "I hate hearing people use the title King of Curses as though they're passing judgment on me."

"Let me show you what a real curse and a real domain look like!"

"Domain Expansion! Malevolent Shrine..."

As though a drop of blood had fallen onto the ground, the entire landscape seemed to turn into a pool of blood. An eerie shrine took shape, and white, ox-headed bones stretched outward, paving a long avenue toward godhood.

Unlike Jogo's Coffin of the Iron Mountain, which used Barrier Ninjutsu to construct a small enclosed space, Sukuna's Malevolent Shrine was an Open Domain. In exchange for allowing others to enter and leave freely, its range extended to a full four hundred meters in diameter.

"Urgh!" Just then, Sukuna's four eyes widened, and his body suddenly began to spasm slightly.

Crack!

The domain shattered.

Confusion crossed Jogo's face.

"You don't get to take over my body... Give it back!" Qian Renxue's voice suddenly emerged from Sukuna's mouth, and the strange black markings on his face actually began to fade.

"Impossible. How can you still move?" Sukuna's brows knitted tightly.

"This is my body!" Qian Renxue roared.

As though sensing something, Sukuna suddenly sneered. "This suppressed presence... the Angel God? Hahaha... To think I'd meet you again, you little brat!"

"So you actually possess a soul fragment of the Angel God... Heh, now this is getting interesting!"

The two extra, uncanny eyes on Qian Renxue's face slowly closed and disappeared, leaving two distinct slits behind.

The strange black markings vanished completely, and Qian Renxue regained control of her body.

She sank weakly onto one knee, gasping for breath.

"Young Master!"

Snake Lance and Pufferfish hurried over.

"Young Master, are you all right?"

"I'm... fine." Qian Renxue barely had the strength to speak.

Suddenly, a second mouth appeared on her face, and Sukuna's hoarse, mocking voice rang out. "Brat, three fingers must be your limit, right? Your six-winged angel martial soul alone can only suppress the power of three of my fingers for a short while. Once I've taken this body completely, you'd better be ready to die! Hahaha, Spirit City will be the first place I slaughter!"

"Shut up!" Qian Renxue angrily slapped a hand over her face, covering that mouth.

But Sukuna's mouth emerged on the other side of her face. "Hey, soul beast! If you want my help, go retrieve all my remaining fingers!"

Jogo fell silent, then gave Qian Renxue a long, searching look. "A change of plans, then!"

Without answering Sukuna, he leaped backward and vanished from the gorge in a few swift bounds.

As Qian Renxue drove the angel martial soul within her to its utmost, Sukuna's mouth gradually disappeared.

"Young Master..." Both elders watched Qian Renxue with deep concern.

Qian Renxue gasped for breath. "Back to Spirit Hall. I don't know what's going on, but Grandfather will surely have a solution."

"Yes, the Great Enshrined will surely have a solution." Snake Lance Douluo nodded hastily.

Their carriage had already been destroyed, but none of the three could spare a thought for that. They hurried toward Spirit Hall.