Chapter 404: The Getaway

Fang Rui’s Divine Soul Will delved deep into Liao Yuanhua’s Sea of Consciousness, meeting no resistance.

‘Something’s wrong. Even if I’ve sealed his Spiritual Power, a dignified Source Master’s Sea of Consciousness defenses shouldn’t be this weak.’

‘So… is it a trap?!’

Fang Rui murmured to himself. Wary, he prepared to withdraw.

The Divination result had been highly auspicious, but he only took it as a reference. He wouldn’t trust it completely.

But just then—

Disaster struck.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Streaks of light flickered, sealing off Liao Yuanhua’s entire Sea of Consciousness.

Amidst a surge of golden-red light, Liao Yuanhua’s Divine Soul manifested in the form of his Half-Immortal Dharma Aspect, which now had two heads.

One head, in the center, bore his original face. Another head, on the right, was feminized. But on his left shoulder, there was only a severed, bleeding stump of a neck.

‘So the information I got from the Shallow Soul Searching was incomplete, just as I thought. It was bait, meant to lure me deeper!’

‘The Liao Family’s *Celestial Human Transformation Scripture*… it’s supposed to have three aspects: the True Self Aspect, the Male Aspect, and the Female Aspect.’

‘The True Self Aspect remains within, guarding the Sea of Consciousness. The Male and Female Aspects can be manifested externally and briefly separated.’

‘The True Self Aspect controls the Male and Female Aspects, and in turn, the Male and Female Aspects can also be reflected back into the True Self Aspect within the Sea of Consciousness.’

‘So, the three heads must represent the three reflected aspects. Did the Male Aspect self-destruct outside earlier? Is that why one head is missing?’

A flash of understanding went through Fang Rui’s mind.

At this moment, he realized this wisp of his Divine Soul Will was trapped and could not retreat. But he wasn’t worried. He calmly watched to see what kind of trick Liao Yuanhua was about to pull.

It was just a wisp of his Divine Soul Will, after all. Losing it would be no great loss, and besides, he still had a trump card up his sleeve.

“Junior! You destroyed my body and ruined my path! Even if it means my soul shatters, I’ll make sure you die a terrible death!”

Liao Yuanhua’s voice was a blood-curdling shriek of despair. Tears of blood streamed from the four eyes on his two remaining heads as his body melted like wax. He transformed into a rising, dense, black-red light, emanating a foul, ominous aura that would make one’s skin crawl.

Clearly, he was using some kind of terrifying Forbidden Secret Technique.

‘It must be some kind of Divine Soul curse. Is he trying to use this wisp of my Divine Soul Will to corrupt my entire Divine Soul?’

‘An ancestor of a Half-Immortal Family like him really does have a lot of tricks. But… why bother?’

‘Doesn’t he know that I fear nothing when it comes to the Divine Soul? Especially an undefended one like this!’

Fang Rui sighed internally. He activated his Divine Technique, Godslaying Spirit Shattering, and unleashed a strike.

SWISH!

The strike passed through.

Liao Yuanhua’s Forbidden Secret Technique was brought to a screeching halt. His eyes filled with resentment and unwillingness as his Divine Soul shattered like crystal.

The seal in the Sea of Consciousness instantly collapsed as well.

‘Pay the price of his soul shattering just to make me die a horrible death? I’ll even obliterate your True Spirit!’

Fang Rui chuckled, gathering Liao Yuanhua’s Divine Soul fragments to probe them for information.

The shattered fragments of the Divine Soul refracted light like pieces of a broken mirror as he extracted a massive amount of information from them.

‘As expected, an ancestor from a Half-Immortal Family knows many hidden secrets. For example, the creator of that nascent Underworld… was actually Saint Emperor Yu?!’

It was unexpected, but it made sense.

‘To artificially create such a wonder just to purify the world’s negative energy… what an incredible feat! A Great Power capable of such a monumental act… besides Saint Emperor Yu, I really can’t think of anyone else.’

“Also,”

A gleam flashed in Fang Rui’s eyes. ‘My student Yu Qian once said that Saint Emperor Yu died from a backlash linked to the world itself. But according to the Liao ancestor’s memories, Saint Emperor Yu’s status is unknown, and it’s highly likely he’s just slumbering in the Underworld?!’

‘That makes sense. How could an Ancient God like Saint Emperor Yu die so easily? I’m also inclined to believe he didn’t die completely.’

‘As for what Yu Qian said, perhaps he didn’t know the full story himself?’

Fang Rui shook his head, pulling his thoughts back to the present. Saint Emperor Yu had limited time back then and had only managed to establish a prototype of the Underworld. He then taught the Great Yu Royal Family and the Half-Immortal Families the method to open a passage to it. Over generations of changes, the Underworld eventually became a toilet for the cultivation of Divine Medicine.

However, according to the Liao ancestor’s memories, Saint Emperor Yu also seemed to benefit from purifying this energy, though the specifics were unclear.

He had his own guess. ‘Could it be to obtain Celestial Dao Merits?’

In the myths and legends of his past life, there was no shortage of Great Powers who achieved Ascension to Sainthood after performing some Great Merit for the world.

‘But Saint Emperor Yu probably never anticipated that the Great Yu Royal Family and the other Noble Families would gradually start treating the Underworld like a toilet, dumping their waste into it without a second thought.’

‘You have to remember, anything in excess is a problem. With this much dumping, that nascent Underworld might not be able to handle it!’

And the world’s will had long been dormant…

This was something even Liao Yuanhua didn’t know for sure, though he suspected the rising negative energy in the world might be one of the reasons the world’s will remained dormant.

‘The Great Yu Royal Family and the Half-Immortal Families are all well aware that the rising negative energy in the world is terrifying. But they’re enjoying the benefits of “devouring people” too much to stop!’

‘Also, according to the Liao ancestor’s memories, the Great Yu Royal Family dumps the most and the harshest waste into the Underworld. Whether their intentions in doing so are good or malicious is certainly intriguing.’

‘With the world’s will dormant for so long, what role is the Great Yu Royal Family playing in all of this?’

Putting himself in their shoes, if Fang Rui were in the Great Yu Royal Family’s position, he probably wouldn’t want the world’s will to awaken or Saint Emperor Yu to return, either. It would just mean having a master over his head again.

‘Enough. I’ll investigate these things slowly later. For now, I should sort through what I’ve gained.’

Fang Rui opened Liao Yuanhua’s Spirit Ring. As his Spiritual Sense swept over its contents, he was stunned. He instantly felt like a country bumpkin.

Inside, the materials, Magical Treasures, Divine Medicines, and inheritances… were all top-tier and numerous. It was like a small, exquisite private treasury.