Possession

Chen Mo nodded to show he understood. "There are two methods. The Blue Silver Emperor should know one of them better than I do.

"As for the other, he can absorb Plant-type Soul Beasts compatible with Blue Silver Grass. If the choices are right, five Soul Rings will be enough for him to awaken it on his own.

"Of course, no matter how incompatible they are, as long as all the Soul Rings he absorbs come from Plant-type Soul Beasts, he should awaken it by the time he becomes a Soul Saint at the latest."

Chen Mo hesitated before saying, "However, the Soul Ring Your Majesty chose for Tang San doesn't seem suitable. The Soul Ring he absorbed wasn't from a Plant-type Soul Beast, but rather something like a snake-type Soul Beast."

Tang Hao's expression turned a little strange, and he asked nervously, "Then can Little San still awaken the Blue Silver Emperor on his own?"

Chen Mo shook his head. "That depends on what types of Soul Rings he absorbs next. If he chooses correctly, it's still possible for him to awaken the Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul when he becomes a Soul Saint."

Tang Hao asked, "What if he can't awaken it by the time he becomes a Soul Saint?"

Chen Mo paused. "Then there's a strong chance that path won't work. He'll have to rely on the Blue Silver Emperor to expend her power of origin to awaken it for him. But if she does that, I'm afraid the Blue Silver Emperor will lose a great deal."

Power of origin!

Tang Hao asked in his mind, Ah Yin, is what he said true? Could it be that you...

Ah Yin said, Little San is our child. I'm willing to give everything for him. Besides, Ah Hao, you want Little San to restore the Clear Sky Sect to its former glory too, don't you?

Tang Hao was heartbroken. But we have another way, don't we? Why didn't you tell me sooner? We could have found another way.

Ah Yin said guiltily, I considered absorbing Soul Rings from Plant-type Soul Beasts, as he just mentioned. In theory, it could work.

But that wouldn't bring out the Blue Silver Emperor's full potential. The later the Blue Silver Emperor awakens, the less potential it has.

Besides, I believe Little San will be a more worthy Blue Silver Emperor than I am.

Tang Hao was deeply saddened. No, I won't allow it. That would be too unfair to you.

Ah Yin said gently, Ah Hao, please trust my choice, all right?

Tang Hao thought, Ah Yin!

Tang Hao asked Chen Mo pleadingly, "May I ask if there's any other way to make up for it?"

Chen Mo shrugged. "There might be, but unfortunately, I don't know of one."

Chen Mo said, "Still, you don't have to be so pessimistic. Tang San being unable to awaken the Blue Silver Emperor might not be a bad thing."

Tang Hao was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Chen Mo lowered his voice. "Is Tang San really your son?"

Tang Hao raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

Chen Mo said, "Your Majesty, do you know of reincarnation?"

Tang Hao shook his head. "Reincarnation? I don't know. Perhaps it exists, or perhaps it's just something people tell themselves for comfort."

Chen Mo said, "We immortal cultivators believe reincarnation exists. Reincarnation generally falls into two categories: release from the body and possession.

"One is to release oneself from the body when one's lifespan comes to an end. The other is to die an unfortunate death but have one's soul escape, allowing one to possess another body and be reborn."

Chen Mo said, "In the immortal cultivation world, when a mighty expert's lifespan is nearing its end, they usually choose to release themselves from their body and enter reincarnation, preserving most of their soul's power and their innate spirituality.

"In this case, the advantage is that when they live another life, their soul is powerful and their spirituality abundant. Outwardly, this shows in extraordinary intelligence and a photographic memory.

"The disadvantage is that their true spirit is washed over by the Qi of reincarnation, leaving it clouded and unclear. They can't retain the memories of their past life. Only when they enter the immortal cultivation world again and reach their former cultivation level will their true spirit awaken and recall those memories.

"If they fail to enter the immortal cultivation world in this life, they can only pin their hopes on the next, until their true spirit is washed completely clean by the power of reincarnation, or until they attain a cultivation level greater than in their past life. Only then can they awaken their memories of that past life."

Chen Mo continued, "As for the other kind, possession, that happens when an accident occurs and the physical body is unfortunately destroyed, but the golden core or nascent soul and the soul remain intact.

"At that point, if the immortal cultivator can find a suitable body within a certain period, they can possess it and begin cultivating anew."

After listening to Chen Mo, Tang Hao's expression turned grim, but at the same time, he felt a trace of longing for immortal cultivators.

Immortal cultivators really are fascinating!

Tang Hao asked with a dark expression, "You mean my son Tang San was possessed by someone?"

Tang Hao had no choice but to think that way. Recalling the days he had spent with his son Tang San, his eyes filled with a strange look.

How could a little child know so many strange things?

He also remembered that Tang San had already been cultivating some strange things when he was very young, though at the time Tang Hao had been unable to understand what they were.

He had only found that they were harmless and even beneficial to Tang San's body, so he had stopped paying them any mind.

Now, after what Chen Mo had said, Tang Hao had no choice but to be suspicious.

He could just about understand the cooking and cleaning, since Tang San had seen him do those things.

But how could he explain Tang San cultivating things that even he didn't understand, things that didn't even exist anywhere on the Douluo Continent?

Chen Mo shook his head. "At first, when I saw him fight Little Dong, I noticed something was wrong. I thought he was an immortal cultivator like me, a fellow practitioner.

"When I probed his soul, I also found something amiss. There were slight flaws between his body and soul. In a few more years, as his body and soul grew more and more compatible, I'm afraid even I wouldn't have been able to see those flaws."

Chen Mo said, "But he's no immortal cultivator. He should be a Martial Dao expert, and he comes from the Tang Sect."

Tang Hao was puzzled. "A Martial Dao expert? The Tang Sect?"

Chen Mo said, "The heavens and myriad worlds contain more than just the Immortal Cultivator System and the Soul Master System. The Martial Dao System exists too.

"The Martial Dao System might not be as formidable as the Soul Master System in the early stages, but in the later stages, the Martial Dao System is in no way inferior to the Immortal Cultivation System. Its upper limit is no lower, either."

Chen Mo continued, "The Tang Sect exists in quite a few Martial Dao worlds. It's known for Hidden Weapons, poisons, assassinations, and the like. Though it can't be called a major sect, it's still a prominent one, but its reputation isn't very good.

"And 'Tang San' seems to be a death warrior trained by one of those Tang Sects."

Tang Hao asked, puzzled, "I understand poison, but what's a 'Hidden Weapon'?"

Chen Mo said, "You can think of it as a kind of formidable weapon for killing people. There are quite a few assassination groups on the Douluo Continent too, aren't there?"

Tang Hao nodded to show he understood.

Chen Mo said, "You can think of the Tang Sect as an organization of killers."

Killers and death warriors. Such terms wouldn't be unfamiliar in any world.

Though they were well known, none of their reputations were good.

The Douluo Continent naturally had its share of killer organizations, and their reputations naturally weren't much better.

In the Soul Master World, they were generally hated by everyone, though they did have close ties with quite a few nobles.

After all, killers worked for money, while nobles were usually wealthy. Nobles also often hired killers to murder Soul Masters, so theirs was a relationship of mutual exploitation.