Chapter 76

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Chapter 76: Forgetful Name

When Shen Xinghai returned, he was almost unconscious. According to Zhu Erchong, he flew back to the sect lying on a sword. Before he could enter the mountain gate, he fell in the woods, his life hanging in the balance. Fortunately, Bao Pilong was patrolling outside the gate and carried him back.

"His injuries are too severe, we dare not move him carelessly. We placed him in a courtyard outside the main gate."

Wen Yun quickly understood what Zhu Erchong meant by the serious injuries that he mentioned.

The moment she pushed open the door, a strong smell of blood rushed to her nose. Looking down, she stepped in a puddle of blood, all coming from the person lying on the bed.

Shen Xinghai’s body was covered in numerous wounds as if torn by wild beasts. His once elegant white clothes of a sword cultivator were now dyed red, with the blood closest to his chest dried and wet again, now a deep brown color. His face was also frightening, blood flowing from every orifice, resembling a man emerging from a sea of blood, devoid of any signs of life, his chest rising weaker and weaker.

This person is a powerful cultivator at the Golden Core Stage, with the ability to lead a sect in a small sect. What could have happened to make them look so miserable?

Zhu Erchong anxiously asked, "Is the bleeding not stopping yet?"

Bao Pilong was next to Shen Xinghai, desperately sprinkling hemostatic powder on his wound. Sword cultivators often get injured, and this medicine was expensive but essential, besides swords.

Unfortunately, the precious medicine was now of no use. Shen Xinghai’s wound kept bleeding, and Bao Pilong, trembling, found the small porcelain bottle empty when he smashed it open.

Bao Pilong yelled with red eyes, "Where is the Medical Cultivator? Wasn’t someone sent to fetch the Medical Cultivator? Why aren’t they here yet?"

"A Medical Cultivator was invited, but they got drunk on spirit wine!" Zhu Erchong wiped his tears fiercely with his sleeve and said through gritted teeth, "I’m going to Castle Peak city to bring back some Medical Cultivators!"

Wen Yun gripped the Dragon Bone Magic Wand in her hand and pulled Bao Pilong up, saying firmly, "I’ll handle this, you all should wait outside."

In an instant, the golden power in her dantian surged to the top of the wand, as she murmured an advanced healing spell. As she finished chanting, golden lights sprinkled on Shen Xinghai like rain and mist.

This was an advanced healing spell that only bishops from the Holy See could master. Wen Yun had even seen the bishop use this magic to revive a reindeer that had half its head chopped off.

However, the scary wound on Shen Xinghai’s chest didn’t seem to be healing, it just stopped bleeding as quickly.

Wen Yun gritted her teeth and desperately used the golden energy in her abdomen to cast an advanced healing spell again!

After casting the healing spell three times in a row, he barely managed to hang on and not die, the wounds on his body stopped bleeding, but they were so severe that it would take time to heal.

But…

An advanced healing spell was not just about stopping bleeding, and considering Shen Xinghai’s level of skill, he should have woken up by now.

The daylight outside the window was covered by dark, gloomy clouds, the room became dim, a cold wind carrying the scent of grass, wood, and mud blew in through the window, and distant thunder and lightning could be heard from the clouds.

After using three advanced spells, Wen Yun leaned against the wall, feeling slightly more alert by the cold wind, she stared intently at Shen Xinghai lying in bed with his eyes tightly closed, her gaze finally fixed on the jade ring on his thumb.

A very faint aura of purity lingered on the ring, previously hidden by the strong presence of Shen Xinghai’s blood, now that the bleeding had stopped, it became apparent.

The aura of purity was used to dispel evil spirits, so it seemed likely that Shen Xinghai had not woken up because his spirit was injured.

Wen Yun grabbed the railing to stand up, feeling a bit tired. Just as she was about to investigate closely, Shen Xinghai suddenly opened his eyes and reached for the sword at his waist, a chilling intention to kill appearing boldly!

But Wen Yun reacted faster than him, lightly tapping his forehead with her hand and scolding, "Fake one, go back!"

Sure enough, someone had invaded Shen Xinghai’s soul. The person who had just woken up was clearly a different soul, hence the attempt to kill Wen Yun.

Wen Yun became alert. Although she had pushed the other person back with great mental strength earlier, she had not eliminated them. In order to save Shen Xinghai, she needed to get rid of the intruder. So, she cautiously condensed her mental strength into an invisible thread and slowly probed towards Shen Xinghai’s divine sense.

As she entered Shen Xinghai’s divine sense, a long and thick black snake tail viciously attacked her. Wen Yun swiftly dodged it, and when she saw the attacker clearly, her heart sank.

The appearance of this black snake was too familiar—it was the black python controlled by Mo You earlier!

Where did Shen Xinghai go? How did he get targeted by that scary guy Mo You again?

This python was also transformed by a strand of divine soul power. Since Wen Yun deliberately concealed her presence, it did not notice her arrival. The previous tail strike was only to attack Shen Xinghai’s divine sense.

Shen Xinghai’s divine soul was a fiery red dot, but now it had dimmed to almost transparent. It could only evade the python’s attacks in a sorry state. It seemed they had fought countless times, and the red dot was on the verge of being consumed by the black python.

No wonder Shen Xinghai didn’t respond to contacts before, he had lost control of his consciousness?

His opponent was Mo You, who had mastered the laws of the soul. Maybe it was the ring that helped Shen Xinghai retain a bit of willpower, allowing him to return to his sect. If it were someone else, even at the Nascent Soul Stage, they would have become a puppet of Mo You!

Nobody dared to show their soul power in front of Mo You, except Wen Yun; unfortunately, Shen Xinghai’s luck was extraordinary, as he happened to meet Wen Yun!

The battle of souls was extremely dangerous, as this was Shen Xinghai’s sea of divine sense. If he were injured, he might never wake up again in his lifetime.

Wen Yun had been observing the movements of that snake, which was just a strand of soul without consciousness, mindlessly attacking and devouring Shen Xinghai’s soul. Capturing it wasn’t difficult, but she had to be careful not to harm Shen Xinghai.

She concentrated her mental power to create a fine network, ready to catch the serpent as it attacked the light spot again. Suddenly, she ensnared it!

As she captured the serpent, Wen Yun’s mental power tightened, crushing the serpent into a dark mist, vanishing within Shen Xinghai’s sea of divine sense.

After erasing the fragment of Mo You’s soul, Wen Yun took human form and approached the dimming light spot.

Shen Xinghai’s consciousness was on the brink of fading, but he struggled to return to human form upon sensing Wen Yun’s arrival.

He lay still, covered in wounds from a python, with blood on his dark eyelashes. His eyes dimmed and then focused again.

"I must be dreaming," he forced a smile, looking up at Wen Yun. "Only then would I see you come to save me."

He thought it was a dream, fighting the python with all his strength until he was completely injured.

He didn’t give up in the dream so that Martial Sister Wen wouldn’t look down on him.

Wen Yun felt sad, trembling as she asked, "Martial Brother Shen, did you meet Mo You? Did he hurt you like this?"

Upon hearing the name, Shen Xinghai tried to stay alert, holding Wen Yun’s clothes and said slowly, "Martial Sister Wen, I followed… above the sea, a new devil ship arrived, carrying people from all four continents sailing towards the deep sea…"

Shen Xinghai noticed a light on the sea that day, decided to board the devil ship to explore. Unexpectedly, after the ship sailed into the mist, he saw another devil ship.

The second ship seemed to be heading from the four continents to the Demon Realm, with people dressed like the four continents.

Initially, Shen Xinghai thought demons had captured people from the four continents, but upon observing, he saw the people on the ship were relaxed, not being held captive. He also spotted several experts of the Soul Changing Stage.

Shen Xinghai faintly sensed something was wrong. Worried about being noticed by the people on the boat, he decided to put away the magical boat, stepped onto a decaying piece of wood, hid in the mist, and silently followed behind the large boat.

The magical boat seemed to be guided by someone, avoiding numerous hidden dangers, sailing straight towards the center of the mist, and finally stopping at an island.

A magnificent palace had been built on that island at some unknown time. The people on the boat seemed to have been aware of its existence long ago. Despite their different levels of cultivation, they joyfully rushed from the boat towards the palace.

Because they were too far away, Shen Xinghai could only vaguely hear the words and see the faces of those people. He could make out that the group seemed to be from the same large family, shouting phrases like "new home" and "finally reunited".

Then, hidden in the shadows, he witnessed the most terrifying scene.

A completely black giant python swam out of the palace, its blood-red mouth mercilessly opening wide and devouring all the people on the island.

The joyful laughter quickly turned into sharp screams, and everyone on the island ran in panic. However, no one escaped, not even the powerful cultivators at the Soul Changing Stage, who met a tragic end at the snake’s mouth.

After that, a group of black-clothed demon cultivators quietly emerged from the palace. They led over a hundred demon cultivators from unknown tribes, looking like they were in a trance, and willingly walked into the python’s mouth like sacrificial animals.

Shen Xinghai realized that something was wrong, but it was already too late to escape.

The huge python found him and opened its big mouth to attack him.

"If I hadn’t been walking on this old wood to catch fish often, and gotten used to the sea fog so well… I might not have escaped the chase of that black python," Shen Xinghai said softly as he finished telling his story.

"That black python is Mo You."

Shen Xinghai wasn’t surprised to hear this answer. He forced a smile and said, "I’ve heard the title of Mo You from those people in black clothes before. It seems Mo You has already unified the Demon Realm. It’s impressive that I escaped from the ruler of the Demon Realm…"

"By the way, I seem to have heard Mo You say something back then… ‘The law is perfected, ascension is imminent?’ Martial Sister Wen, what is the law?"

Wen Yun was stunned, feeling a chill in her heart.

Has Mo You gone crazy, directly practicing the law of the soul by devouring souls alive?

"The law is the power of various natural sources, it is said that only immortals can master it, mortals cannot touch it…"

Wen Yun had not finished explaining when she saw Shen Xinghai tilt his head, close his eyes and faint. She panicked, hurried to check, and found that Shen Xinghai had just fallen into a deep sleep, not died.

She felt a bit calmer in her heart but couldn’t help feeling emotional.

Being able to go to the sea alone at the Golden Core realm, tracking a group of experts from the Soul Changing Stage without being discovered, finally finding the enemy’s hiding place and still managing to run back alive… Even Wen Yun couldn’t be sure she could do it.

You truly are exceptional, Shen Xinghai, blessed by fortune!

*

Wen Yun cast several healing spells on the unconscious Shen Xinghai, and when she came out, she saw Zhu Erchong and Bao Pilong hugging each other and crying.

"Junior Brother Shen is gone like this, thinking about the past, it’s unbearably painful."

"It’s all my fault, if I had gone to meet him, he wouldn’t have been killed on the way."

"Blame me, as his senior brother, I couldn’t protect my junior brother, I’m useless!"

From the looks of it, these two have already let go of their past grudges.

Wen Yun whispered, "He’s not dead, stop cursing, go in and guard."

Without waiting for their reaction, she hurried to Ye Shubai and solemnly said, "Something’s wrong out at sea, Mo You might be going mad, he’s starting to consume souls to cultivate his power…"

After explaining the situation briefly, Ye Shubai understood the gravity of the issue. Realizing that the two of them alone may not be enough to handle it, he swiftly flew back to The Tenth Peak.

Coincidentally, today the sect masters of the other two families were also at The Tenth Peak.

The patriarch of the Wan family was playing with Little Hong using a cat toy topped with a ruby, while Dharma Master Du Yuan watched with a loving smile and hands clasped together.

Seeing the two return, the patriarch of the Wan family quickly tried to hide the toy behind his back, blushing as he said, "I was just playing around…"

However, Little Hong had already run off with the toy, leaving the old man fuming and his eyebrows twitching.

Wen Yun didn’t have time to comfort her old friend and hurriedly said, "It’s fortunate that both of you are here, listen to me, there’s a big problem at sea."

In a few words, she explained the situation, but after she finished speaking, Dharma Master Du Yuan’s expression suddenly changed.

Wen Yun noticed something and turned her head to look. "Dharma Master Du Yuan, do you know about this?"

"Very well." Dharma Master Du Yuan put his palms together, his snowy white eyebrows lowered, and a look of sadness appeared in his eyes. "To tell you the truth, when the Xie Family had trouble before, they came to the gates of my Tianyin Temple seeking refuge for their escaping family members…"

When the Xie Family was divided by groups like Blizzard Island, their main members all fled, and no one could find their whereabouts, but it turns out they received help from Tianyin Temple!

"However, just half a month ago, the Xie Family’s Xie Xun came to my Tianyin Temple again, saying they had found a safe place, and then left with the Xie Family members. If what Xie Xun said is true, and he is leading with five Soul Changing Stage experts, it’s likely the people on that ship are indeed from the Xie Family."

Upon hearing this, Ye Shubai’s eyes filled with frost, standing silently to the side with his sword.

The elder of the Wan family exclaimed, "Could it be that Mo You took over Xie Xun’s body, deceived the Xie Family members to their deaths, in order to advance his dark powers?"

"I don’t think so," Wen Yun quickly analyzed the situation in her mind, pursing her lips. "Martial Brother Shen said everyone who went to the island was eaten, including Xie Xun. If it was really Mo You who took over him, then who is the black python? How could he have died?"

Based on the situation, Xie Xun willingly took the Xie Family to the open sea because the Xie Family had no place left in the four continents.

However, little did they know that Mo You was there, using soul devouring techniques to cultivate his powers, waiting for the Xie Family members with inescapable death.

"He has become the ruler of the Demon Realm, why is he practicing such dark magic? Does he want to invade our Four Continents like his ancestors did before?"

Wen Yun said coldly, "Mo You has always been ambitious. He has set his sights on the Four Continents for a long time, so it’s only a matter of time before he launches an attack. But his ambitions this time are not as simple as ruling the cultivation world."

Ye Shubai slowly raised his head, his eyes meeting Wen Yun’s, calmly stating Mo You’s true goal, "He wants to ascend to become immortal."

Wen Yun snorted, "Does he think mastering the laws will make him immortal?"

Their memories flew by almost simultaneously, starting from the mist in the Dark Heaven Secret Realm, through the strange occurrences in the Demon Realm, the various traces left by Senior Su Yuan, and the inexplicable dragon bones.

Understanding the laws of heaven and earth might not be the key to true immortality, as she did not sense any law aura on the ‘immortal bones.’

The current fragmentation of the sects in the Four Continents, aside from the old criminals who brought their own downfall, is also largely due to Mo You’s scheming and planning, showing the depth of his cunning.

Judging by Mo You’s previous ruthless methods, he is definitely not one to waste his efforts.

"Perhaps he has found some kind of secret method, like mastering the laws to perfection will attract immortal beings and lead him to the path of ascension," Wen Yun looked at Ye Shubai as she spoke a sentence only he would understand, "But when I tried to control the laws, I didn’t see any immortals guiding me, I failed."

The consequence of failure was that she perished completely in the Magic World, leaving nothing behind.

Ye Shubai softly said, "I feel the same way."

Before he fully mastered the rules of life and death, he fell into a deep sleep for hundreds of years.

They both touched upon the laws of heaven and earth, but failed to achieve greatness before perishing midway.

"But after the incident with Senior Su Yuan, I have doubts about the so-called immortals and ascension," Wen Yun’s eyes grew colder. "I don’t want to risk my life again for now. Since Mo You isn’t afraid of death, I am curious to see what will become of him."

To see if there truly are gods manipulating the world?

Dharma Master Du Yuan and the ancestor of the Wan family were completely puzzled, they had no idea what Ye Shubai and Wen Yun were talking about.

Just then, the communication jade slip of the Wan family ancestor flashed with a faint light.

After listening to the message from the other end, his face changed drastically, exclaiming in shock, "Taoist Friend Yu, who guards the border island, sent word that the blood mist is spreading across the sea now! How many people has Mo You killed?"

*

How many people have been killed?

He didn’t know either. He only knew that countless tribes in the Demon Realm had been wiped out by him. They all thought they were going to attack the Four Continents, happily boarding the demon ship into the mist, and then never being able to return.

Mo You also inadvertently realized that directly devouring souls was much faster than cultivating slowly. The only downside was that while devouring souls, he would also receive all the memories of the target.

Sometimes he was troubled by these complex and jumbled memories, falling into a state of confusion.

At such times, another soul entangled and merged with him by chance would take the opportunity to come out, attempting to seize control.

Perhaps because at the time, Mo You was critically injured by Wen Yun’s divine sanction and could not suppress the opponent’s soul. After a series of tearing, killing, and devouring, the two intertwined completely, unable to eradicate each other’s existence.

The python’s eyes opened blankly, it opened its mouth and absent-mindedly spit out a small jade pendant from between its teeth.

There was an inscription on the jade pendant, he found it familiar, vaguely remembering that he seemed to have another one, and the words on it seemed a little different…

It seems like a puzzle?

Puzzle…

Oh, his name isn’t Mo You, it should be Xie Mian.

He is the Young Master of the Xie Family in the West Continent, a sword genius renowned in the cultivation world.

He stared blankly at the jade that he had just spat out, memories swirling chaotically in his mind, finally stopping at the image of him devouring a man.

The man widened his eyes, staring at him in disbelief, and seemed to have shouted, "Mian"!

However, he did not hesitate, ruthlessly taking a bite—

What’s going on?

Right.

He seemed to have taken over Mo You’s soul, while the others seemed completely unaware.

So he disguised himself as Mo You and became the young master of the Black Snake Tribe, using this opportunity to rescue his own brother and telling him that from now on, no one would dare to bully the Xie Family again.

He also seemed to tell his brother that he had found a magic boat, where they could find a prosperous island in the outer sea where nobody knew about, and could bring all their family members to live there safely, without fearing persecution anymore.

And then…

And then he died.

Everyone died.

The memory became clearer and clearer at this point, the slight resistance when the sharp teeth pierced Xie Xun’s body, the last word "Mian" he uttered before that kept replaying in his mind.

He saw it.

He saw all the memories when Mo You controlled his body!

"Mo You! You dared to kill my brother! You’ve slaughtered my whole family!"

Xie Mian curled up on the ground, his snake head despairingly raised high, his huge snake tail wildly flinging around, hitting and scattering countless sand, rocks, and trees.

After a moment, the giant python calmed down.

Those cold, gold vertical pupils stared blankly ahead, the chilling voice murmured to itself, as if talking to its other half of the soul.

"Ridiculous, you’re extremely lucky to have attached yourself to me, who is about to ascend and find the path to immortality. Why do you still need your brother and your family?"

"I have even devoured my own family, let alone yours."

"If I hadn’t devoured those old folks and gained their memories, I wouldn’t have known that only by mastering the laws of heaven and earth to the highest level can one summon immortals to this world!"

"Mastering the highest level? How many more people do I need to devour to reach that level? Wait… What’s my name again? Oh right, my name is Mo You, Mo You…"