Tian Ji Han was in peril. He was not learned in Gu biology and ecology, and was unaware that death was looming above his new tiny bug body in the form of one of its natural predators the Igneocopper Armadillo.

Both the Ka Gu and Igneocopper Armadillo were heat resistant and had affinity with fire qi. It was likely that the Igneocopper Armadillo had been buried a safe distance beneath the earth when the explosion from Tian Ji Han’s Golden Core occurred, and its tough, heat-resistant scales allowed it to endure the lethal scorching heat. The creature sought insects without discrimination, and in this particular region of the Green Valley Bamboo its main diet involved worms and common insects. Occasionally it would be lucky enough to pounce on a Gu insect unaware.

But a Ka Gu around these parts, which was also of the same fire element? This was a true delicacy!

If Tian Ji Han had not trained diligently in martial arts and cultivation all his life, he would have probably been slurped up on the spot, completely unaware of the danger he faced. But even with the body of a Ka Gu, Tian Ji Han’s soul was martial through and through, he was a true hero!

He sensed the closing-in of the Igneocopper Armadillo’s jaws, and moved out of danger at the last second.

“If I tried to hide and retreat by digging myself back into the ashes, the beast’s claws would just dig me back up.”

Tian Ji Han’s instincts were correct. Instead, he did what the Igneocopper Armadillo did not expect and disappeared completely from its sight. The Armadillo looked everywhere where the Ka Gu could have jumped, and even tried digging up the ashes and dirt around it briefly before giving up.

On the center of its back clung Tian Ji Han, holding on for dear life.

“Being in an insect’s body is too dangerous after all,” thought Tian Ji Han. “I will very likely be killed before I ever finish my grand mission.”

Tian Ji Han wondered briefly if he could take over the Armadillo’s body, but quickly shut down the idea as he only had two more chances left to soul transfer. In addition, he was not okay with stealing the body of something already living, even if it was a mere beast.

“I’ll hitch a ride until I can think of something else.”

Tian Ji Han endured his hunger and thirst as a Ka Gu bug, and he hitched on its back for a long time. After what felt like an eternity, the Armadillo stumbled upon a rubble of burnt corpses of beasts and Yao Guai that were fried to a crisp from Tian Ji Han’s Soul Overload explosion.

“These were all deadly beasts from Yin Na’s void ring collection, and now they’re all just desiccated corpses…” thought Tian Ji Han. “I wouldn’t even think of inhabiting one of these bodies since most of them are destroyed beyond function. Besides, other than raw power I don’t think becoming a desolate beast is that much of an improvement over being revived as an insect.”

While Tian Ji Han was contemplating his situation, a dark blob eyed the Igneocopper Armadillo he was on top of. This blob was actually a flock of birds!

The Mud Owl was an owl that earned its name because it slept during the day on the forest floor, where its ugly matted brown feathers made it resemble bramble or mud, especially during rainy seasons. However, at night it climbed the trees, where it looked for other nocturnal prey, such as the Igneocopper Armadillo, and dived at them with its vestigial wings that could only glide, but not fly.

The Mud Owl was also of Earth element affinity. Fire begets Earth, in other words, the former was insubordinate to and only strengthened the latter!

The Mud Owls did not even notice the Ka Gu on the Igneocopper Armadillo’s back, they only saw a juicy shelled dinner in the mammal, as they swooped down and mobbed it.

Muds Owl could not really fly anymore, they relied much more on their feet to climb and jump than their wings. However, they still retained their ancestral ability to dive at prey. The Igneocopper Armadillo rolled into a scaly ball seconds before the talons and beak of the Mud Owl made contact, where its fire armor was quickly torn to pieces by the Earth element talons and beak of the Mud Owls.

Tian Ji Han was sent flying from the impact, as his tiny Gu bug body flew a meter away from the initial force of the Mud Owls striking the surface of the Igneocopper Armadillo.

“I need to get out of here now!” Tian Ji Han scurried away from the horrific feeding of the Mud Owls, which he had no desire to see fighting over their slain prey.

After scurrying as far as he could, he couldn’t believe what he had discovered.

It was a lifeless humanoid vessel, one of Yin Na’s many material dolls made of wood, stone or other materials. The vessel had limbs, joints, and fingers that crudely imitated those of a human’s, it’s head was a square wooden block with no resemblance to a face whatsoever, having zero carved orifices. It was almost completely intact, how it had managed to survive the explosion while the rest of its vessel brethren were incinerated was nothing short of a miracle.

Tian Ji Han instinctively knew that his abilities to transfer his soul did not include the corpses of other humans, and he was grateful for this. It was against his morals to occupy the vessel of a fellow human being, even if its owner was long dead or was a mere mortal. The fact that fate somehow preserved a mostly intact fighting vessel from one of Yin Na’s armies for him filled him with gratitude.

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Tian Ji Han willed his thought, and instantly felt the sleepy advent of death coming over him. But just as death was about to conquer him, he felt rejuvenation seconds later, as he felt his consciousness becoming transferred into the Wooden Vessel.

“This body is stiff, its joints are limited compared to human movement,” thought Tian Ji Han. “But it feels good to have four limbs again.”

Even though Tian Ji Han possessed a form similar to a human, and could even move his wooden fingers and walk, he was immediately troubled.

“My cultivation is nonexistent!” Tian Ji Han didn’t even have a mouth to scream, but if he did, it would be open in shock. “But I guess it couldn’t be helped, I expanded my Golden Core until I blew myself up, it makes sense that I can’t just continue my progress in another body. Even if I didn’t use the Soul Overload pill, I have a feeling that the soul transfer spell can’t do something as miraculous and convenient as bringing my previous cultivation base with me in each and every new body.”

Tian Ji Han once again felt his spirits sink into depression, as he sat in his new wooden vessel body on the rubble of other destroyed vessels. He leaned on his wooden knees with one elbow, in a thinking position.

“I’m just going to have to make do with what I have now,” he decided. “Besides, I only have two more chances to transfer my soul into another body. I can’t use it so recklessly. I’m going to have to learn how to communicate without a mouth. I’m also going to have to figure out what to do about traveling back to Heavenly Sword Sect-”

Suddenly, Tian Ji Han heard a rustling noise in the nearby bushes, as well as a voice:

“Hmm, there’s a huge collection of Yin Na’s vessel warriors destroyed around here, maybe one of these vessels was equipping something special?”

Tian Ji Han saw the owner of the voice. It was the Rat Yaoguai, Liao Ya Shu. It was still in its beast humanoid form, which meant it wasn’t even in the Foundation establishment stage.

However, Tian Ji Han himself had no cultivation base! He was nothing more than a wooden doll right now, and he did not even have a weapon to defend himself with.

Tian Ji Han froze, in his thinking position like a curious statue.

“Eh?” Liao Ya Shu’s ears perked up. “What the? This wooden vessel died like this?”

Liao Ya Shu spotted the hunched over wooden figure that was Tian Ji Han! The Rat Yao Guai was instantly on guard.

“Well,” thought Liao Ya Shu out loud after a few seconds. “It is just a dumb wooden vessel after all, it can’t even think. It’s not going to attack me without a command from Master. But is it really destroyed? It looks perfectly intact…”

Liao Ya Shu drew closer to Tian Ji Han, and began inspecting the vessel closely with its ugly Rat face.

Tian Ji Han was rigid as he could be, when suddenly- PA! - he felt a blow to the head, which rang hollow and painlessly in his wooden ears.

Liao Ya Shu slapped the head of the vessel, which gave a dull wooden sound. PA! PA!

“Stupid vessel,” thought Liao Ya Shu. “It’s really dead after all. As impossible and crazy it is for something to die in this position, it’s not that special if I can’t loot something from it. I can’t just carry this vessel on my back unless…”

The Rat Yao Guai’s beady eyes glimmered in hope, as he began to push Tian Ji Han’s wooden vessel onto its back. Tian Ji Han could only comply with the Yao Guai’s rough treatment by playing the dead doll Liao Ya Shu believed he was.

“Unless Master hid all sorts of treasures inside this vessel!”

Liao Ya Shu began prying at Tian Ji Han’s limbs.

“I never saw the insides of a vessel before, but if this one survived, it should have some form of talisman or protective amulet that resists lethal explosions or fire, right?”

Liao Ya Shu was pummeling the sides of Tian Ji Han’s torso, trying to crack it open. Tian Ji Han felt alarm as he physically felt his insides being exposed as Liao Ya Shu was shattering his torso.

“Hahaha, let’s see what’s inside you!” Liao Ya Shu snickered excitedly.

Suddenly, Liao Ya Shu leaped back a meter.

“What the-?!” the Rat Yao Guai was startled. Tian Ji Han’s wooden fists had come together powerfully like the jaws of an alligator right where Liao Ya Shu’s head would have been had he not dodged in time.

“Did I activate its self-preservation command or something?” Liao Ya Shu thought out loud. “Either way, I must find out what’s inside a wooden vessel!”

Liao Ya Shu was a Qi Condensation cultivator, and on top of that, he was a Yao Guai, he could not easily be dispatched by a surprise attack from a mere wooden vessel. Tian Ji Han could not survive a battle lasting three breaths in this body against the Rat Yao Guai!

“Oh no,” thought Tian Ji Han as he tried to futilely block and dodge Liao Ya Shu. “I haven’t even settled into my new body for an hour, and it’s already falling apart!”

SNAP! Liao Ya Shu swiped a powerful claw strike that completely tore off Tian Ji Han’s arms that were blocking in a primitive X-shaped guard.

“Hahaha, now you’re defenseless! You had pretty good techniques though, I could have sworn I was fighting an actual cultivator trapped inside of you. Let’s see what mysterious treasures you got hidden inside you!”

Liao Ya Shu flew at Tian Ji Han in a blur. Seconds before his claws made contact with him in the fatal blow, Tian Ji Han concentrated with his will and felt his soul leaving the vessel.

Tian Ji Han did not even see the shards of wood and other mysterious material from the vessel fly out in all directions as his soul flew through the air, nor did he see the dismayed look on Liao Ya Shu’s face as he realized there was nothing he could loot from the destroyed vessel after all.

Tian Ji Han did not have a target in mind, his soul was exposed and wandering blindly! To escape the destruction of his own soul, Tian Ji Han immediately inhabited the nearest object he could sense.

…

It was cold and dark. Forget limbs, he did not even have a body. He could not “feel” anything.

“This is it then,” thought Tian Ji Han. “I messed up for real this time. I shouldn’t have soul transferred without a target in mind, I guess I’ve finally met my end.”

But slowly, brightness faded to his consciousness, despite him lacking any eyes to see. Inexplicably, Tian Ji Han slowly realized what he had inhabited.

“Oh no…” Tian Ji Han couldn’t possibly feel any worse. “I’ve transferred my soul into a rock!”