Chapter 2: Soul and Body Separation
"Ning Luo! You, you killed Senior Brother Lin?"
Song Ziyan ran over in a rush, quickly arriving in front of Lin Xingyan.
She squatted down with her slender, graceful figure, furrowing her brow as she examined that still-bleeding wound, and scolded angrily, "There are only a few of us left, how can you still go about harming your fellow disciples?!"
Ning Luo raised his head, unfazed and icy as he said coldly, "Everyone's going to die. Rather than letting him abjectly grovel and beg the old devil, only to end up dying in the maw of that demonic snake anyway, it's better that I killed him! It saves him from making a disgraceful spectacle of himself!"
As he spoke, his chilling gaze, brimming with a murderous intent, suddenly swept toward Lu Tao and Xu Yifei, and he sneered, "Senior Brother Lu, Senior Brother Xu, if the two of you dare to pressure Senior Sister Song, I will treat you the exact same way!"
Lu Tao and Xu Yifei exchanged glances, simultaneously falling silent.
"Senior Sister, you don't need to grieve for someone like Senior Brother Lin; his death is well-deserved."
"Master and Mistress treated us well, and their bones are not yet cold while Senior Brother Lin wanted to offer the sect's treasure to Old Teng in exchange for a chance at survival-he didn't deserve to live!"
Ning Luo spoke with earnest conviction.
On the other side.
Zhao Changfeng, who had been ignored by the few of them, sat down by himself beside Lv Yang's corpse, occasionally glancing over at Ning Luo, who had pulled Song Ziyan into a corner, lowering his voice and offering endless words of comfort.
"Since this kid is already thinking of a way, let's just watch for now."
Zhao Changfeng frowned slightly, lowering his head to continue integrating his memories.
Judging from the memories of the other "him", this junior brother named Ning Luo had always been clever and astute, and seemed to have been the young master of a wealthy household before Song Zejun sought him out and brought him away.
Had Song Zejun not intervened, with Ning Luo's talent and background, he might truly have stood a chance of joining a Devil Dao Sect to cultivate.
In that case, Ning Luo could have walked openly among all parties in the Lingyao Realm, rather than being reduced to a Lingxiao Sect disciple who was like a rat scurrying across the street.
Under these circumstances, how much genuine affection could he hold for his master and mistress?
Since even he did not know the whereabouts of the Soul-Pacifying Bead, the person most likely to know was Song Ziyan, seeing as Song Ziyan was their biological daughter.
However, Song Ziyan's parents had just been killed by the old devil, and persuading her to hand the Soul-Pacifying Bead over to the old devil in exchange for everyone's survival was an impossibly difficult task.
Therefore, he could adopt a roundabout approach.
After pondering for a short while, Zhao Changfeng calmed his mind to sense himself, and quickly perceived that a faint current of air was winding around his lower dantian, capable of flowing with his thoughts.
The spiritual qi in my lower dantian is so full it's overflowing. This fellow is actually at the Ninth Heaven of the Yuanjing stage, just a single step away from the Yuanqi Stage.
Zhao Changfeng looked slightly surprised.
He certainly hadn't expected that this silent original owner possessed quite strong cultivation, his realm only falling a fraction short of the deceased Lv Yang.
This world divided cultivation realms into nine stages: the first three stages were Yuanjing Stage, Yuanqi Stage, and Primordial Spirit; the middle three realms were the Three Calamities and Six Tribulations, and Freedom; and the final three stages were Penetration, Heaven-Opening, and Creation.
Old Devil Teng Kun should be at the stage of the middle three stages, currently undergoing the terrifying Three Calamities and Six Tribulations, with the possibility of suffering a deviation and dying suddenly at any moment.
As for the crowd of Lingxiao Sect disciples inside the cave, only Lv Yang had successfully opened his middle dantian to nurture blood qi, possessing the cultivation of the Yuanqi Stage.
The rest were all in the Yuanjing Stage just like him, and all below the Ninth Heaven at that; solely in terms of realm, not a single one was higher than him.
Clearly having the highest realm yet being so naturally ignored, it seems this fellow is used to being a mild-mannered good guy normally-he truly has zero aggressiveness at all.
Muttering inwardly, Zhao Changfeng suddenly felt a stabbing pain between his brows, his soul feeling as though it were clutched by some force and instantly dragged away beyond the heavens.
In the dim, gloomy extraterritorial void, a giant bronze cauldron floated quietly, exuding an endless sense of desolation and solitude.
The giant cauldron had three legs and two ears, its walls engraved with mysterious, intricate, and blurry patterns. Illuminated intermittently by the distant glimmer of twinkling stars and moon, it would abruptly release a cold, hard metallic luster.
Suddenly, blinding silver threads appeared out of nowhere, tearing the void open like a sharp blade to create a long, dazzling slit of a doorway.
The next instant, numerous ferocious foreign entities surged out, rushing toward the giant bronze cauldron wave after wave.
Some entities were pieced together from insects and spiders, blade-like feathered legs and palps covered in barbs, their wings vibrating to send out ripples of visible power.
Some entities took the shape of armored dragon-pythons, their pale eyeballs casting a chilling cold light in the night sky, jagged unknown organs growing beneath their bellies.
Some entities were simply a giant shattered skull, wreathed in faint black fog, viscous flesh and blood constantly spattering outward amidst a howling sound as if capable of corroding all living things.
Yet the moment any of the bizarre foreign entities touched the giant bronze cauldron, they were immediately firmly adsorbed by the blurry patterns on the cauldron's walls, subsequently dissolving into the cauldron wall like shifting sand sinking into mud.
In the blink of an eye, the foreign entities vanished without a trace.
The foreign entities falling behind, upon seeing their companions ahead being swallowed up one by one by the giant cauldron, not only failed to stop but instead appeared even more excited and frantic, charging forward desperately as if determined to sacrifice themselves.
In the end, all the foreign entities that had flashed out of the spatial rift vanished entirely into that giant bronze cauldron.
The giant cauldron, which had remained suspended and motionless all this time, suddenly began to spin in place. The numerous patterns on the cauldron's walls writhed like living creatures, while the body of the cauldron unleashed an astonishing radiance in turn.
After three such revolutions, the giant cauldron returned to stillness once more.
At the bottom of the cauldron, a person lay naked, flat on his back with limbs splayed upward, eyes closed, dead or alive.
Wisps of gorgeous, flowing light were converging from all directions of the cauldron's inner universe, pouring into this naked body like streams flowing into the sea.
That is my true body!
Just as he couldn't help crying out in his heart, this bizarre scene abruptly vanished, and Zhao Changfeng was jolted awake with a start.
It was still the gloomy cave; the corpses of Lv Yang and Lin Xingyan remained where they were, while Ning Luo and Song Ziyan were still whispering in a distant corner, glancing from time to time at Lu Tao and Xu Yifei who were cowering in another corner.
Having transmigrated over, how did my soul and body separate? My soul replaced this fellow, but why is my body at the bottom of a giant cauldron beyond the heavens?
The three-legged, two-eared giant bronze cauldron feels somewhat familiar. It's as if I used to play with it in my original world.
"Strange."
Zhao Changfeng felt immensely astonished.
"Second Senior Brother."
Lu Tao beckoned, motioning for Zhao Changfeng to go over.
"Second Senior Brother."
At the same time, Song Ziyan also beckoned, likewise asking Zhao Changfeng to go over.
Zhao Changfeng stood still, unmoved.
The scene mirrored in his mind was too shocking, making it hard for him to distinguish between reality and illusion. He tried to chase and reproduce it, only to find he could not do so no matter what.
Suddenly, a magical sensory ability swept through his entire body in an instant, enabling him to perceive minute details around him like a deity.
He abruptly gazed toward Lv Yang's corpse.
In Lv Yang's right eye socket, where red and white bloody fluid remained, a snake-like consciousness lurked, quietly observing every move of the few people in the cave.
The thing left behind by the Brain-Devouring Snake-its split remnant soul?
Zhao Changfeng grew vigilant.
Through the fused memories, he learned that this world was extraordinary. High-tier spirit items like the Brain-Devouring Snake possessed super-high intelligence, and could even split their souls to leave the body and accomplish all sorts of unimaginable feats.
Killing souls, devouring spirits, and seizing bodies were all effortless, and spying in secret was merely child's play.
The Old Devil may have left, but he left his "eyes" behind and is still watching us in secret.
Zhao Changfeng was deep in thought.
"Second Senior Brother!"
The four people in the cave cried out in unison, continuing to summon him over.
Temporarily suppressing his novel sensory ability, Zhao Changfeng assessed the situation and roughly understood the intentions of the two factions calling out to him.
The four individuals' realms and combat prowess did not differ by much, and if they fought in pairs, the outcome would be hard to predict. On the contrary, his "self," who had always been harmless to humans and animals, was at the highest realm, and his alignment was enough to play a decisive role.
Therefore, both sides were vying for him.
Lu Tao and Xu Yifei are truly too stupid. That Old Devil is the one who is old and cunning. With the demonic snake's "eyes" present on the scene, he should have already seen through the clues through Ning Luo's actions and behavior.
The person who knows the whereabouts of the Soul-Pacifying Bead is nine times out of ten Song Ziyan!
The Old Devil confirmed his target but didn't immediately take hardline measures, likely because he understood that Song Ziyan, whose parents were killed by him, simply did not fear death.
Ning Luo also understands this point, which is why he wants to think of another way.
Zhao Changfeng took a deep breath, first glaring at Lu Tao and Xu Yifei with grief-filled eyes, then said in a deep voice, "Master and Mistress treated me well. The two of them have already been brutally harmed by the Old Devil, and since I have no ability to avenge them, I can only manifest my resolve through death!"
With those words, he marched toward Ning Luo and Song Ziyan without a single look back.
"Second Senior Brother! As long as the green hills remain, there's no need to worry about firewood! We also want to avenge Master and Mistress, but the premise is that we stay alive!"
"That bead is of no great use to us; let's use it first to trade for everyone's survival, and we'll have a chance in the future!"
The two Lu Tao anxiously tried to persuade him, but Zhao Changfeng turned a deaf ear.
In the corner.
Seeing that his honest, reliable, and usually taciturn Second Senior Brother was walking over firmly and clearly stating his stance, both Song Ziyan and Ning Luo breathed a long sigh of relief.
Human hearts are separated by flesh.
Under the desperate, death-shrouded atmosphere, the once upright Lin Xingyan revealed a cowardly side, and Lu Tao and Xu Yifei, who claimed they would serve Master and Mistress for a lifetime, were likewise making plans to scrape by and stay alive.
Before Zhao Changfeng expressed his stance, who knew what he might do?
"Junior Sister, Junior Brother, I am willing to die together with you."
Having come before the two of them, Zhao Changfeng had just calmly spoken these words when his mind suddenly stirred, keenly sensing an abnormal fluctuation emanating from Song Ziyan.
A bead the size of a finger was stored right inside Song Ziyan's body, concealing two very familiar auras within.
"The Soul-Pacifying Bead!"
Inside it are actually... the souls of Song Zejun and Zhou Jin? After the two died, their souls miraculously returned to the bead?
The bead isn't hidden somewhere, nor is it on Song Ziyan's person, but rather she swallowed it into her belly, and she actually managed to successfully evade the Old Devil's prying eyes.
Either the Old Devil's cultivation realm hasn't reached the height of perceiving such minute details, or the bead itself possesses other divine marvels!
Yet, how am I able to perceive it?
As this thought arose, that mysterious sensory ability that had pervaded his whole body suddenly vanished without a trace, as if it had never appeared.
In the outer-heaven void, my true form is at the bottom of the giant cauldron, successfully digesting those dazzling ribbons of light? Only in the process of digesting them did I have such a singular sensory ability?
Zhao Changfeng suddenly dawned with realization.