Performing a series of hand seals, Demorgon’s eyes shined as he looked at the boy in front. He found it hard to control his excitement. If not for the ceremony he had to perform before the possession, he would’ve lunged at the kid.

For a high custodian who led a war that laid countless worlds to waste, it should have been easier to control his emotions. But it was not.

All these eons, he had clung to the purple yin stone to maintain the last fragment of his soul. He could not leave this cave. Purple yin stone can only stop his soul from degenerating. It could not help him recover. And now, purple yin stone was all but gone.

In the beginning, he sucked the life energy around the mountains to recover his soul. But it was far from enough. Even after he sucked the life out of every living thing on the mountains, only the tiniest fraction of his soul had been recovered.

Even a high custodian in the Will Cultivation Realm could not resist the corrosion of time. Just when he thought he was a goner, the kid appeared!

And the kid got the best constitution he could hope for!

The brat stood there in front of him, straight as a pillar, eyes closed. Demorgon could not sense fear in the kid. Only relief.

This brat is sly. Demorgon smiled. He could naturally read the brat’s thoughts. He wasn’t relieved because he trusted him. He was relieved because, once Demorgon had worn his body, Demorgon could not avoid the skirmish with the outlanders. But he is ignorant.

The older the ginger, the spicier it gets. If even a fifteen summers old brat could plot that far, then what about an old monster like him?

Demorgon’s eyes darted to the mask that lay on the altar. With that thing, no one could find him if he decided to hide.

Hand seals were completed. Without further ado, he dived into the brat.

When he felt no struggle from the soul, Demorgon nodded with satisfaction. The brat knew what was better for him. If only for this, he’d give the boy a painless death. He made a hand seal to isolate the brat’s soul from the body. That way, he would not suffer pain.

He coiled around the brat’s soul like a python and took a bite. Without soul cultivation and soul skills, it was fragile as a block of butter.

But when he was about to gulp it—

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The brat’s soul rocked. Tendrils of dark smoke unfurled. Slowly, they began to curl around Demorgon’s soul.

Demorgon’s pupil shrank. Pure dark element? How can anyone in this world have it?! Even the shadow clans’ dark element was corrupted. Can he be…

But the dark tendrils didn’t give him any chance to think the things through. They began to consume his soul.

Demorgon’s soul trembled. He quickly located the source of the darkness. Inside the brat’s soul body, there was a dark vortex. At the center of the vortex sat a humanoid shadow.

When Demorgon saw the dark vortex, he didn’t dare to hesitate even for a jiffy. He immediately seized all his actions and turned to flee. Soul devouring wheel! That’s a Soul Devouring Wheel! How can it come to this world?

Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong. He wanted nothing but to leave. Then—

The humanoid shadow opened its eyes and held up its hand. And Demorgon found himself caught in its clutches.

His eyes widened. “Who are you? Why are you against me? You should know we—”

The shadow pinched Demorgon’s soul indifferently. Demorgon’s soul was blown to bits. Soul searing pain was excruciating. He lost half of his soul energy.

When Demorgon condensed into the soul body again, he found that he was still in the shadow’s clutches, ready to be pinched again.

“Hear me out!” Demorgon shrieked.

Pinch.

“We are in the same—”

Pinch.

Every time his soul was shattered, he lost the soul energy. If it continued, he would really die. Everything would’ve been in vain then. The grand scheme, seizing the world treasures, and the take over... everything would’ve been for nothing.

“Not for nothing,” the shadow spoke.

Pinch.

Soul energy fluctuations washed through the cave. The soul seal he placed on the brat broke. And the kid shook vehemently.

Then Demorgon saw a weathered scroll fall from his vest.

Demorgon’s eyes widened. That scroll was very familiar to him. It looked exactly like the scroll on the altar. His gaze cut to the scroll that lay on the altar. His face was distorted in anger and panic. “You’re on the move! You chose—”

Pinch.

That was the last time his soul shattered. All the soul energy he had been saving for eons was used up. His consciousness started to blur. He knew he was dying. In his final moments, he foresaw the war that once shook the multiverse to its core coming back to settle the debts.

*****

Ray woke up in an unspeakably dark space. He swung his hand in front, but he saw nothing. And he realized his physical senses were working no more.

So, I really died huh? At least I hope the old monster will wipe out the outlanders.

He looked around in the endless darkness. Which way should I go then?

A tiny light coming from afar attracted his attention. That way?

Ray began in that direction. He was both nervous and expectant.

His past life had been quite pathetic. He had to choose studies because he couldn’t cultivate. He had to seek others’ assistance to avenge Dada. He even had to give up his life so that an old fogy might avenge Dada in his stead.

Compromised. Helpless. Hopeless. Such life, he didn’t want to live it.

His new life, how was it going to be? He hoped, at least in the new life, he could be stronger.

Strong enough to make decisions for himself. Strong enough to protect himself and his dear ones. Strong enough to be free.

He wondered if he could bribe someone to get a good life. Whether it was in hell or heaven, Ray believed, bribes had their way.

Ray made his way to the source of light. When he saw the source — or rather sources — he stopped short, nonplussed.