232: Chapter 232 Chaotic Beast, Mirage

Jiang Changge did not move; the xuanchen whisk in his hand shimmered slightly with a silver-white light, keeping the thick fog within a zhang of his body at bay.

His gaze pierced through layers of churning gray fog, landing on the figure slowly emerging from beneath the skull of the skeleton.

It was an extremely illusory figure, so translucent that it seemed as if it could be blown away by the wind at any moment.

Its form was vaguely humanoid, yet it was several times taller than a normal human; even while sitting cross-legged on the ground, its head reached the middle section of the skeleton's ribs.

A layer of extremely dim golden light lingered around its body. The light was faint to the extreme, like a candle in the wind, flickering unsteadily, yet it still exuded an ancient aura that made even Jiang Changge feel a palpitation of fear.

This was by no means an ordinary remnant soul. The feeling this phantom gave him was even more powerful and ancient than that Immortal Slave he had subdued in the Cave of Years.

Even though it was just a wisp of a remnant soul, and even though it was so weak that it could dissipate at any moment, the vaguely emanating pressure still caused the circulation of spiritual power within his body to stagnate.

This phantom was likely an extremely terrifying existence during its lifetime.

"Young man, there is no need to be nervous."

The phantom's voice was clearer than before, yet it remained hoarse and distant, like two ancient stone slabs rubbing against each other.

"I am already but a wisp of a remnant soul; I cannot harm anyone."

Jiang Changge still did not take a step. He slightly raised his chin, his gaze calmly fixed on the phantom, his tone flat yet carrying a hint of scrutiny: "Who are you? Why are you here?"

The phantom was silent for a moment, and a trace of extremely complex fluctuation flashed in those eyes whose contours were almost impossible to see.

There was recollection, unwillingness, anger, and more than anything, an obsession that had not dissipated even after countless years of accumulation.

"My name has long been forgotten by the world." The phantom spoke slowly, its voice carrying a hint of self-deprecation.

"Even in the most ancient records from the Primordial Era, I fear one cannot find a single word about me. My identity, truth be told, is nothing glorious; I am merely a prisoner sealed here by someone."

"Sealed here?" Jiang Changge asked. "What kind of person could Seal you here?"

"My master." After saying these two words, the phantom fell into a long silence, seemingly chewing on the complex flavor contained within this title, only speaking again after a long while.

"I was originally a Chaos Vicious Beast from the Primordial Era, roaming between heaven and earth, feeding on all things, unrestrained. Later, I encountered my master. He defeated me but did not kill me; instead, he subdued me, bestowed upon me Immortal intelligence, and made me his mount, accompanying him to conquer the heavens. At that time, I thought this was my destiny."

The phantom's voice gradually became deep, and the anger contained within it grew increasingly intense.

The thick fog churned violently around its body, as if it were also resonating with its emotions.

"But I was wrong. He subdued me only to utilize the power of my Chaos Origin. When his time was nearing its end, he sealed me together with this Nine-Orifice Stone Forest here, setting up vicious Restrictions to continuously extract the power of my Chaos Origin to maintain the existence of this stone forest."

"Over countless years, my power has been squeezed dry bit by bit, and my consciousness has gradually blurred during this long attrition. If not for that aura on your body waking me up, I fear that in another few tens of thousands of years, I would have completely dissipated between heaven and earth, leaving not a single trace."

The phantom raised its head, those blurred eyes looking straight at Jiang Changge—or more accurately, looking at a certain power within his body that it was incomparably familiar with.

"You have the aura of Chaos on you." There was a hint of undisguisable yearning in the phantom's voice, as well as a bit of cautious probing.

"I can sense that you have just refined a Chaos object. That kind of aura—I have not sensed it for too, too long. Young man, I have a request."

Jiang Changge still did not speak, simply waiting calmly for what would come next.

"Help me escape." The phantom's voice became incomparably solemn.

"I am willing to gift you everything I have collected in my life. All the supreme treasures in this Nine-Orifice Stone Forest—those Stone Galls, Stone Crystals, and Stone Marrows you speak of—are merely scraps formed from the leakage of my power."

"The real treasures are sealed beneath my skeleton. Those are things that even my master coveted. As long as you help me escape, all those things will be yours."

The phantom paused for a moment, seemingly observing Jiang Changge's reaction. Seeing that he remained unmoved, it added another sentence: "If you do not believe me, I can first tell you the location of one hidden treasure. After you retrieve it, you can decide whether to help me."

Jiang Changge was silent for a moment. His expression remained unchanged, but his mind was racing like lightning.

The System provided a prompt the moment the phantom began to speak.

That information flooded into his mind like a tide, giving him a far clearer and more objective understanding of this phantom claiming to be a Chaos Vicious Beast than its own self-description.

[Ding, detected the remnant soul of the Primordial Vicious Beast, Shen. Shen, a Primordial Chaos Vicious Beast, shaped like a giant Dragon, without horns or scales, entirely dark gray, naturally controls the Law of Illusion and part of the Law of Chaos.

Its strength was ranked seventeenth on the Vicious Beast list during the Primordial Era. In its prime, it was comparable to an Immortal King realm powerhouse. A single breath of Shen could plunge an area of ten thousand miles into an eternal illusion, where all things would sink without realizing it.

This beast is cunning and intelligent, extremely adept at bewitching hearts. It once created countless illusions during the Primordial Era, devouring billions of living beings, before being subdued by the Primordial almighty Immortal Venerable Yuanchu, who bestowed upon it Immortal intelligence and made it his mount.

When Immortal Venerable Yuanchu's time was nearing its end, he discovered that Shen was secretly devouring his Immortal essence to plot a rebellion. He then used his lifelong cultivation to Seal it beneath the Nine-Orifice Stone Forest, using the Law of Petrification to extract its Chaos Origin and convert it into the Foundation of the Nine-Orifice Stone Forest.

The Nine-Orifice Stone Forest was originally a top-tier Secret Realm of the Immortal Realm, but later, due to a great battle in the Immortal Realm, it fell into the Xuanhuang World.

Shen's remnant soul is sealed here. It is now so weak that it is less than one-one-hundred-thousandth of its prime, but its Law of Illusion is still deeply embedded in the remnant soul and should not be underestimated.]

After reading the information on the System panel, Jiang Changge could not help but sneer inwardly.

Shen, Primordial Vicious Beast, Law of Illusion, cunning and intelligent, extremely adept at bewitching hearts—every entry provided by the System was diametrically opposed to the image of the "pitiful prisoner sealed by someone" that the phantom before him described.

The words it spoke were likely a mix of truth and lies, blurring reality and falsehood, making it impossible to tell which sentence was true and which was false.

But one thing was certain: Immortal Venerable Yuanchu would not have sealed his own mount here without reason, nor would he have laid down such a vicious Restriction for no reason.

However, Jiang Changge did not intend to expose it immediately.

Although this Vicious Beast was now only a wisp of a remnant soul, it still knew this canyon like the back of its hand and was undoubtedly extremely familiar with the Restrictions and treasures in the depths of the Nine-Orifice Stone Forest.

If he were to tear off the mask directly, it would be counterproductive.