Volume 4, Chapter 63 – Tracing the Source

The strange soul-form was pinned by the throat in Bai Xiang’s one-handed grip, its body below the head wobbling nonstop like crystal jelly.

It kept twisting and struggling, but no matter how hard it tried, it could not break free of Bai Xiang’s vice-like grip. Even the most basic ability to make a sound had been forcibly suppressed by “Void-Imagination Shenming,” turning the whole thing into a silent pantomime.

Bai Xiang examined it with a gaze that carried a faint trace of satisfaction.

How rare…

At this level of power, it had been a long time since she had encountered a soul like this, one that dared come wandering out without some self-destruct secret art in reserve.

Without wasting another word on it, Bai Xiang crushed it outright.

Its howl was still soundless. Only Bai Xiang’s own soul could hear the brief scream that came from the void. The grayish, translucent soul-form burst apart like smoke and dust, all of it drawn into the sword at her waist.

At once, countless shattered, fleeting memory fragments rose in her mind.

Bai Xiang finally saw, from a real point of view, the temple Hannah had described from her dreams.

It was a many-columned structure somewhat reminiscent of ancient Greek architecture, though far more advanced in its carved details and use of buttresses. Strange statues really had been placed all around the building, just as the log described. Only the statues at the main entrance and rear entrance depicted the two “World Gods.”

“I can feel it…” a broken murmur came from the memory. “I can feel that to the southeast… in that place… there is one of my god’s remnant people… she is waiting there quietly… waiting for the true arrival of the Day of Purification…”

What was going on with this perspective?

Bai Xiang frowned.

The image was too dim and obscure. For a moment, she could not tell whether this was because the speaker had entered some dark, unlit interior, or because the speaker had covered their own eyes.

Immediately after that, she heard a round of hushed whispers.

It sounded like a secret gathering.

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“That is territory marked out by the ‘Eastern Demon Court’…” From the front left came the hoarse voice of an elderly man, sounding advanced in years. “We still do not have enough confidence to contend with those monsters. My suggestion is that we ignore that summons for the time being.”

“But that is a ‘God-Chosen Remnant’! A factor like that remains incomparably precious for a very long time! If we ignore it, how are we supposed to face our faith in the future?” From the front right came another man’s voice, deep, steady, and full of magnetic resonance.

It sounded a little like the breathy resonance of a broadcast announcer, polished enough for professional dubbing. Bai Xiang immediately pictured a curly-haired man in a black robe.

He had appeared several times in the soul-form’s memories.

What was his name again… Tielmons?

“My god is majestic and omnipotent, but also broad-minded and merciful…” the earlier voice said again. “He will not mind this degree of retreat, and this kind of retreat is not without precedent…”

“That was before, my brothers and sisters. I must emphasize this to you all again. If you still intend to overturn the rule of those monsters and let this world truly obtain freedom, then you can no longer hold yourselves to the standards of the past.”

“Easy words, Tielmons. But we have long been suppressed by the Demon Court, and we also lack the power to resist the conquest-generals they dispatch. That too is an indisputable fact.”

“I know. Of course I know! That is why we must find a way to change the current situation!”

“I know what you want to say. It is not as though we have never tried, Tielmons… We did attempt to guide in remnant people before, but every god-descent ritual was destroyed by the Demon Court’s conquest-generals, and the price we paid was enormous.”

“Yes. I believe some of our movements are under their surveillance. We have no way to commit too much force to this matter.”

“But Tielmons’s proposal is not bad. If we try it through dreams, those monsters may not discover it in time…”

“Most of them do not dream. Those dreadful creatures have minds and wills that are too tightly focused to be lured into the dream realm at all. They have always looked down on methods like this. That may become our opportunity.”

A low buzz of discussion rose from the gathering.

It was clear that some supported Tielmons, while others opposed him.

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They feared that such an act would expose their origins to the ‘Eastern Demon Court.’ If the matter were ultimately exposed, not only would none of them gain anything, they might even lose their lives while being hunted down by the conquest-generals.

“Let us decide it by vote.”

It was Tielmons’s voice.

“Voting is a mark of civilization. Let us put to use the virtues bestowed by god, and let fate decide the road we will walk.”

“I agree.”

“Then let us vote.”

Another burst of discussion followed, then a rustling of movement, as though the votes were being counted.

“Eight to two.” The elderly man’s voice from the beginning suddenly spoke again. “It would seem that the thoughts in the hearts of everyone present are not as conservative as you make yourselves appear.”

“Have I won, respected Yamo?”

“It was your plan that won, not you.”

“Then I should have your support.”

“Yes. I will dispatch the angel ‘Yiin’ to handle this matter.”

After the main segment of memory finished playing, most of what remained were disordered scenes of passing movement.

It was rather astonishing. Those scenes were mixed with first-person memories belonging to many different people. Living through and experiencing them felt like stepping into one brief life after another, except all of them were short, and most of them ended in death.

Could the true primary point of view have been that angel ‘Yiin’ they mentioned?

Bai Xiang thought it over.

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The angel ‘Yiin’… seemed to be the same hideous figure Hannah had seen in her dream, which also meant it was the very soul-form Bai Xiang had just killed?

So this thing’s special ability was to move through dreams? Were those different borrowed lives the result of it sneaking into and manipulating other people’s dreams?

There was a lot of information to digest. Bai Xiang was just about to sort through it again when she sensed another soul not far ahead crying out in agony.

Her awareness returned, and she saw that it was Hannah.

The lizard-person had already broken free of her restraints and fallen to the floor. Her dark green lizard hide was rapidly ulcerating and suppurating. Blood and flesh were dissolving into a black, sticky fluid that streamed down her body, while proliferating bony knobs had appeared at joints such as her elbows. The sight was horrifying beyond words.

Gene collapse.

The relevant term flashed through Bai Xiang’s mind. Her gaze swept rapidly through the room and quickly caught sight of a metal case stored beneath the cot.

She stepped over in a single stride, opened the case, and rapidly rummaged through it until she found an injectable dose of the “Suppressive Prototype.” Bai Xiang prepared the medicine and injected Hannah with it.

The effect was remarkable. The worsening trend stopped at once. The self-healing function inherent to the body began working again, and some of the smaller wounds were already clotting and scabbing over at speed.

She had finally been dragged back from the brink of death.

Several minutes later, after watching Hannah sink into a glass chamber filled with restorative fluid, Xiang Xian finally had the leisure to turn around and take a proper look at Bai Xiang’s face.

“I had thought before that you were simply born with an unusually full soul, and that you were especially outstanding in that respect.” She slowly shook her head. “…I am somewhat ashamed to be your master.”

A master ought to have a general understanding of a disciple’s cultivation state and areas of aptitude.

Otherwise, how could she determine a development path for that disciple?

She truly had been far too inadequate.

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“The meaning of a teacher’s guidance does not lie in how long their protection lasts.” Bai Xiang simply continued observing the glass before her as she spoke. “Sometimes, even a single movement or a single sentence is enough to influence a person’s whole life.”

“You are even better at comforting people than I am.” Xiang Xian pressed her lips together and decided not to dwell on the matter any further.

“So, do you understand the situation now?”

“Yes.” Bai Xiang nodded. “The basic chain of events is clear.”

The true culprit was not Hannah, but the real primary consciousness of this lizard-person body, ‘Samsis X.’

This thing had been kept suppressed for a very long time. Though it had shown no intention of resisting, its genes, that portion of tissue in the body extracted from an ancient demon fossil, still existed like the scent of blood spreading through darkness, drawing covetous thoughts to it.

It was a clandestine organization of a more Western bent. They possessed certain supernatural powers, worshipped the traditional Western Augu pantheon, regarded Hannah’s existence as a ‘God-Chosen Remnant,’ and intended to locate her through the channel of dreams and bring that power back.

At least, that was what it looked like from the chaotic memories of that thing.

As for the later attack against Bai Xiang, that should have been the angel ‘Yiin’ acting on its own initiative.

Through Hannah, it had learned part of the secrets of the Shenming Sword Dao, and it had tried to control Bai Xiang through this sort of ambush.

At the very least, this proved that these people’s channels of information were not broad enough…

Bai Xiang pondered.

Even the people from Taixu Monastery and the Qinglan Immortal Sect already understood what sort of “ecological niche” she occupied.

Anyone with even a little worldly sense would never have dared do such a thing.