Chapter 26: The Soul of the Reluctant Beast

A battle broke out!

Ouyang Duanhai's sternum twisted eerily and the wings of the crimson phoenix tattoo extended to his armpits and arm bones.

The strange phoenix tattoo enveloped his body, pulsating with power. His movements became more agile and swift.

Like a streak of crimson light, the inhuman Ouyang Duanhai appeared before Jin Yang and effortlessly knocked the Cicada Wing Swords to the floor with his wing-like hands.

Swish!

A captivating beam of blood-red light shot out from the top of Ouyang Duanhai's head. Leaf-like feathers whistled within it, and the faint cries of a phoenix rang out.

Pain bloomed in the eyes of everyone at the bottom of the pond.

At first glance, it seemed like a crimson bone of the Celestial Phoenix had pierced through the crown of Ouyang Duanhai's head.

Alarmed, Jin Yang grabbed a jade pendant adorned with a Hornless Dragon[1] from his waist and held it in front of him.

The exquisitely carved Hornless Dragon on the jade pendant released a cold halo. The water in front of Jin Yang's chest instantly froze, turning into a thick block of ice.

Bang!

Ouyang Duanhai violently surged forward, shattering the block of ice into countless fragments. The impact was so intense that Jin Yang spat blood and was flung to the floor of the pond, still clutching the Hornless Ice Dragon Jade Pendant.

Once Ouyang Duanhai succeeded in putting distance between Jin Yang and the bone of the Celestial Phoenix, his insatiable bloodlust was sated and he halted his assault. Retracing his steps, Ouyang Duanhai once again returned to his spot at the skull of the giant serpent.

His blood-red eyes remained fixed coalescing light at the center of the withered bone.

The blood-red beam shining from his head was filled with feathers, intricately arranged in a captivating pattern that resembled an array. It appeared to be attempting to extract the essence of the Celestial Phoenix contained within the bone.

Clusters of blood floated above where Jin Yang lay, and he quickly utilized the Hornless Ice Dragon Jade Pendant to absorb it.

Ouyang Duanhai stood motionlessly on the skull of the giant serpent.

Jin Yang urgently pointed in his direction, imploring Hong Tai and the others to deal with him.

Hong Tai and the others had initially planned to assist him. However, after witnessing the power with which Ouyang Duanhai shattered the block of ice formed by Jin Yang's life-saving treasure, they found themselves hesitating.

Ouyang Duanhai's ferocious combat ability surpassed even Hong Tai's expectations. He did not anticipate that someone widely regarded as useless by the seven major clans would be such a formidable adversary.

After a moment's contemplation, he discarded the iron chains, no longer concerned with Ning Yao.

He shook his head at Jin Yang, wordlessly advising him not to rush, then communicated with the two Meridian Opening Realm squad leaders through hand gestures.

At this point, the essence of the Celestial Phoenix was on the brink of forming, and Jin Yang feared Ouyang Duanhai would seize it. Ignoring his injuries, he swam up from the floor of the pond.

With an irritable expression, he repeatedly gestured to Hong Tai, once again urging him to eliminate Ouyang Duanhai.

Hong Tai grew suspicious of what the light could be.

He was largely in the dark about the mysteries surrounding the bones of the Celestial Phoenix as the leader of the Shadow Specter Sect had not divulged much to him when he had been instructed to come here.

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Jin Yang, on the other hand, was different. Given his connection to the Sect Master of the Shadow Specter Sect, he undoubtedly knew much more.

Both Ouyang Duanhai and Jin Yang fixated so intently on the faint light within the withered bone.

Could it be?

Hong Tai formulated a plan.

He waved his python over, gently pet its head, and instructed it to search the pond floor for potential anomalies. Beckoning Xu Rui and the masked man to join him, he positioned them so one was on his left and the other on his right.

After doing this, he waited for Jin Yang to arrive before the four of them swam toward Ouyang Duanhai.

***

Pang Jian observed the battle from a dark corner near the rock wall.

Jin Yang had relied on his life-saving jade pendant to narrowly evade Ouyang Duanhai's attack. This close call prompted him to adopt a more cautious and prudent approach.

Hong Tai's Spirit Beast scouted the bottom of the pond.

By the time Pang Jian caught sight of the python, it had already sensed his presence and was slowly swimming toward him.

A feeling of foreboding rose in Pang Jian's heart.

He had originally planned to take advantage of the chaos between the Shadow Specter Sect and Ouyang Duanhai to seize the essence of the Celestial Phoenix. However, he had not expected Hong Tai to be ruthless enough to send his python to track him down.

Not only was Hong Tai's python intelligent, but it was also more agile in the water than Pang Jian.

It would be difficult for him to shake off its pursuit.

Pang Jian immediately prepared to escape through the stone door!

Just as he had this thought, a sharp twisting pain suddenly emanated from below his stomach near his navel region.

A storm brewed in the depths of his constantly churning navel region.

Pang Jian cursed his bad luck.

The disturbance within his navel region caused him to question whether his cultivation of the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art had led him to deviate, inducing hallucinations.

The pain was so scalp-numbingly intense that Pang Jian was unable to muster the energy to retreat to the stone door.

Pang Jian could not clearly discern what was happening in his navel region as he did not have divine sense. He could only vaguely sense that something was attempting to break free from within.

His face twisted into a grimace as he roared in agony. Air bubbles gurgled up in streams, creating a strange, eerie sound.

He grasped the Dragonwood Spear in one hand while clutching his abdomen with the other. The pain forced him to crouch down and curl into himself.

At that moment, he vowed to never again absorb energy indiscriminately while cultivating the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art.

He believed the peculiar situation in his navel region was because he had absorbed the Profound Yin energy in the rock and the corrosive energy in the water.

On the brink of fainting from the excruciating pain, he strained to look ahead, only to catch sight of the python swimming toward him.

The python was as thick as a water barrel and bore alternating black and white scales down its body. Its head was raised high and its emerald eyes glowed like ghostly flames.

Pang Jian inwardly sighed at his misfortune. Just when he had the unfortunate luck of being found by Hong Tai's python, his navel region went into turmoil.

Lacking the energy to escape, he could only watch helplessly as the python approached. Its intention was clear—to devour him.

It was reminiscent of how the bone of the Celestial Phoenix fell from the sky and consumed the giant serpent.

He seemed destined to meet a similar fate to the giant serpent.

Feeling utterly helpless, Pang Jian resigned himself to being eaten. However, to his surprise, he soon noticed the pain in his navel region rapidly diminishing.

Lowering his head to inspect the situation, he saw dark strands emerging from between the fingers of the hand clutching his abdomen.

These dark strands bore a striking resemblance to the corrosive energy from the giant serpent's fangs.

The pain in his navel region lessened with each emerging black strand. As the strands appeared, they coiled around each other to take the form of a slender black snake.

The black serpent was no thicker than a child's arm. It was covered in black iron scales, giving it the appearance of a living creature. Despite this, the serpent lacked flesh and blood, instead resembling dark energy.

He recalled the Spirit Devils and the floating blood shadow.

They were exactly alike!

A spirit body, or perhaps...a soul?

Pang Jian stared in bewilderment at the black serpent. He had a lingering feeling this snake was the manifestation of the giant serpent's soul.

Hong Tai's python finally reached Pang Jian. As it prepared to swallow him, it saw the black strands turning into a snake.

The python's emerald eyes shone with fear. It raised its neck as its head trembled slightly.

Not too long ago, Pang Jian had been paralyzed by pain and could not escape. The python now found itself in a similar predicament.

The python could only watch helplessly as the small black snake slithered into its mouth and disappeared into its skull.

The black snake devoured the python's beast soul and turned its body into its vessel.

Just as Spirit Devils could inhabit cultivators of similar cultivation realms, the Giant Abyssal Serpent could inhabit the bodies of other serpents using its beast soul.

The beast soul of the Giant Abyssal Serpent swiftly took control of the python's body, replacing its emerald eyes with pure black ones.

The Giant Abyssal Serpent stretched its new body to become accustomed to it then charged at Pang Jian.

Pang Jian had just regained control of his body and could barely comprehend the situation.

The python lunged at him once again!

Pang Jian was forced to raise his Dragonwood Spear to fight.

He sprang up from the rocks, unleashing the formidable strength from his arm bones. Without hesitation, he jabbed at the now black-eyed python, aiming his spear directly at its black eyes.

The python stared intently at Pang Jian, or rather—at the bronze pendant around Pang Jian's neck.

A hint of fear bloomed in the black eyes of the python.

It writhed and twisted its serpentine body in the water, tail thrashing about erratically. This allowed it to advance while switching directions at a moment's notice.

It was ready to bite and kill Pang Jian when it abruptly recalled something.

The python halted its approach. Just as Pang Jian's spear was about to come into contact with it, its thrashing tail swiftly propelled it backward.

It retreated!

The beast soul of the giant serpent was scattered at the bottom of the pond and I inadvertently absorbed it into my navel region when I absorbed the corrosive energy! This was the giant serpent's final bid for survival! The bone of the Celestial Phoenix only sought the essence of its flesh and blood and disregarded its beast soul.

Pang Jian finally understood the situation.

The black strands forming the black snake were the beast soul of the giant serpent. The beast soul now inhabited Hong Tai's python and was using the body of its weaker counterpart to move about.

By the time Pang Jian had fully grasped the situation, the retreating python had completed a circuit around the bottom of the pond. It reappeared behind Pang Jian and lunged.

Caught off guard, Pang Jain was unable to defend himself as the python sank its fangs into his back.

Pain surged through him!

Gurgle!

Pang Jian let out a scream of agony, choking on several mouthfuls of water. Surprisingly, the python had fractured neither his spine nor his ribcage.

He once again felt the bronze pendant on his chest grow hot!

An intense heat spread through his body and engulfed the python!

The Giant Abyssal Serpent had been afraid to confront Pang Jian directly, so it cunningly circled behind him intending to kill him in one strike. However, it had not anticipated Pang Jian's ribcage to be as strong as divine iron.

Just as the python loosened its bite to retreat, a strange heat quietly spread from Pang Jian to the python.

The Giant Abyssal Serpent abruptly realized it was in danger, but it found itself unable to flee.

1. A 螭龙 or "Hornless Dragon" is a mythical creature from Chinese mythology. It is often depicted as a dragon with the body of a snake, symbolizing power, strength, and protection. ☜