433: Soul Extraction and Reincarnation

The moment Xiao Zhuo stepped into the passage, he was completely enveloped by a blinding white light.

An indescribable immense power descended with a roar, like the sky collapsing, instantly suppressing his will. He only felt his mind grow hazy, his thoughts stagnate, and even staying conscious became extremely difficult.

In a daze, he could vaguely perceive that this power was forcibly peeling a wisp from his Divine Soul, mercilessly erasing the memories within it.

He had no power to resist!

At this moment, Xiao Zhuo deeply realized how ridiculous his previous confidence had been.

Just resisting the unknown power's suppression of his will had exhausted all his Heart-Nature.

By then, he finally understood why everyone who entered the Nirvana Realm returned unharmed—because what truly entered this realm was not their main body at all, but merely a Split Soul!

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

Want to erase my memories? Even if he couldn't directly contend with such immense power, he would never be content to be manipulated!

The Time-Space power within the Time-Space Dao Fruit was completely unleashed without reservation. Violent Time-Space power surged out from his body, actually freezing that incredibly terrifying immense power for a negligible instant.

In this fleeting moment, Xiao Zhuo gathered all his remaining will and pointed a finger at the Split Soul that had been extracted and had its memories erased... The next moment, the Time-Space power dissipated, and the immense power returned.

All his strength and will were completely depleted, and he sank into boundless darkness.

— — — — — —

When he regained consciousness, Xiao Zhuo found himself lying on the cold ground, surrounded by a noisy crowd pointing and gesticulating at him.

"Original identity of the body! Original identity of the body!" a voice urgently called from beside him.

"Quick! Uncle Wu! Get some water!"

"The water's here, Original identity of the body, drink some quickly!"

Xiao Zhuo felt his head splitting, and a young man with an extremely handsome face, even a bit delicate like a woman, was anxiously squatting beside him, directing a middle-aged man to hand over a water skin.

Just as he tried to prop himself up, a torrent of complex and chaotic memory fragments surged into his mind. The violent impact made his vision go black, and he lost consciousness again... After an unknown period, Xiao Zhuo slowly opened his eyes.

What greeted him were ordinary wooden tables and chairs, with two pots of nameless green plants beside them. He himself was lying on a bed with a plain gauze curtain.

It looked like an ordinary inn room.

After confirming he was temporarily safe, Xiao Zhuo closed his eyes again and began to fully sort through the chaotic memories in his mind.

If his memories were correct, he was now in the legendary Nirvana Realm.

This realm could not be directly entered by one's true body.

Other entrants, he feared, were like him: their true bodies were confined somewhere by an unknown power, and only a stripped-off wisp of Split Soul was thrown into this realm for Reincarnation.

Recalling that terrifying and boundless immense power, a bitter self-mockery welled up in Xiao Zhuo's heart.

He had, after all, been too overconfident.

If that was the true power of a Saint, then his past estimation of the Saint Realm was wildly off the mark.

He had once encountered a Saint in the Boundary Sea, and even then, without having condensed his Dao Fruit, he had managed to escape from him.

After achieving the Quasi-Saint stage, he even felt confident that he could kill him in the Boundary Sea environment.

But now he knew that was merely a weakened state, without the saint position's blessing.

The true immense power of a Saint was far beyond what a Quasi-Saint could achieve. Even a Peak Quasi-Saint like Haotian would likely not be a match for a Saint without the saint position's blessing in the Boundary Sea, and would struggle to even catch up.

And the power he encountered when his true body entered the Nirvana Realm passage was definitely the true Saint's might, possessing a complete saint position's blessing!

Even when he unleashed the Time-Space Dao Fruit with all his might, he only gained a negligible moment of opportunity.

He wondered if the owner of this power still existed in the world?

If merely a residual power possessed such might, then how terrifying would a Saint in their prime be?

Quasi-Saint and Saint, though both classified as "Divine-Grade" on the System panel, the gap between them was truly a chasm.

Xiao Zhuo quickly clarified his current situation.

A wisp of his Split Soul was cast into this realm by the Saint's power for Reincarnation, becoming this young man named "Original identity of the body"—the sixteenth son of the Prime Minister's Residence of Xu State, a kingdom under the Changfeng Imperial Dynasty, and also the legitimate son born to the deceased legal wife.

Today was the annual "Dao Competition" of Xu State. He had gone with his good friend, Li Jin, the son of the Grand General who guards the nation, to observe, but suddenly fainted in public.

Now it seemed that the memory seed he had desperately planted in this wisp of Split Soul before crossing realms had been activated. The vast memories of his true body instantly flooded in, directly overwhelming this young body.

"Creak—"

Just then, the door was gently pushed open.

Li Jin, with his effeminate beauty, walked in, followed by the taciturn middle-aged man known as Uncle Wu.

"Original identity of the body! You're finally awake!" Li Jin, seeing Xiao Zhuo's open eyes through the gauze curtain, let out a long sigh of relief, his face showing relieved surprise. "You scared me to death! If something really happened to you, my father would break my legs!"

Original identity of the body and Li Jin were born in the same year and studied and Cultivated together since childhood in the palace academy established by the Xu State royal family.

They were kindred spirits and very close friends.

Although Original identity of the body's father, Prime Minister Prime Minister Zhou Tianxiang, and Li Jin's father, Grand General Li Chen, were at odds and not harmonious in court, it did not affect the friendship of the next generation.

The palace academy was exclusively for the children of high-ranking officials of the third rank and above, as well as the royal family, with the aim of allowing these privileged descendants to get to know and build relationships with the royal children from a young age.

Therefore, very few high-ranking children in Xu State did not enter the palace academy, opting instead for private tutors at home.

Within the palace academy, both classics and history were taught, as well as Cultivation techniques.

This world was also a world where Cultivation civilization was highly developed.

Xiao Zhuo's current body, at only fifteen years old and not yet having undergone the coming-of-age ceremony, already possessed a Cultivation of the Foundation Establishment Early Stage.

Such talent could be called Genius in Xu State.

Because of this, even though his birth mother died early, his position in the Zhou Residence remained stable, and there was no clichéd drama of evil servants bullying their master.

"Li Prodigy, where is this?" Xiao Zhuo asked, his voice still a bit hoarse.

Li Jin, due to his handsome and almost demonic appearance and high talent, had earned the nickname "Li Prodigy" since childhood.

He himself was not offended by this, but rather secretly a little proud.

"Laifu Inn!" Li Jin rolled his eyes exasperatedly. "You suddenly fainted, and I saw your breathing was stable, not like an acute illness, so I just carried you here. If we alarmed the family, we'd both be scolded and punished when we got back."

Laifu Inn was right next to the square where the Dao Competition was held.

Xiao Zhuo nodded slightly. If the news of his fainting reached the Prime Minister's Residence, it would indeed add unnecessary trouble.

Remembering the complex interpersonal relationships within the Zhou Residence, a hint of cold light flashed imperceptibly in his eyes.

Li Jin didn't let him think too much, leaning closer and asking with concern, "How do you feel now? Your complexion doesn't look like anything's wrong?"

"I've already reached Foundation Establishment, so ordinary illnesses don't bother me anymore." Xiao Zhuo swatted away Li Jin's hand, which was trying to feel his forehead. "Perhaps I Cultivated too hard last night and am a bit tired."

Li Jin nodded upon hearing this.

Original identity of the body's diligence and hard work were well-known; otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to successfully reach Foundation Establishment at the age of fifteen.

"Alas, no matter how hard you try, wanting to catch up to this Prodigy is a fool's dream!" Li Jin immediately became proud again, putting his hands on his hips and striking a pose of a lonely master.

Xiao Zhuo found it amusing, thinking, how long has it been since I've seen such a pure and boastful young Heart-Nature?

He caught him off guard, his finger flashing like lightning to Li Jin's soft flesh at his waist.

"Hahaha! Original identity of the body! You ambushed me!" Li Jin instantly broke down, laughing and curling into a ball, tears almost coming out. After finally stopping his laughter, he immediately glared.

This was his well-known weakness—he was extremely ticklish, especially on his waist.

Xiao Zhuo looked nonchalant, pouting, "Isn't it just that you're about to Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment Middle Stage? Look how smug you are."

He paused, then asked, "How long was I unconscious?"

Li Jin, seeing Xiao Zhuo's serious expression, also put away his joking, and replied, "About two hours."

"That's good." Xiao Zhuo felt a little relieved.

They had come out in the morning, and after two hours of unconsciousness, it was just noon now.

The annual Xu State Dao Competition was to last a full seven days, and today was only the first day.

It was common for the two of them to sneak out and play for a day or two without returning home, so this amount of time was not a problem.

"Come on, let's go fill our stomachs first, then we'll go watch the Dao Competition this afternoon." Xiao Zhuo threw off the thin quilt and got up to put on his shoes.

Li Jin naturally agreed.

Uncle Wu, behind them, remained as silent as a rock, simply following along.

The two went down to the second-floor private rooms of the inn, only to find them already full.

Only one empty table remained in the ground-floor main hall.

The three had no choice but to go downstairs.

Just as they reached the empty table, before they could even sit down—

Clang!

A long saber with a leather sheath was slammed heavily onto the center of the table, blocking their path.