173: The backlash from the Dao seed.

“No! I won't go!”

Gu Changfeng's roar echoed through the sea of blood, as shrill as a dying beast.

However, those legs seemed to have a mind of their own, stepping across the last inch mechanically and firmly.

The strange stone that had long been embedded in his breastbone no longer hid itself; the blood vessel-like patterns on its surface suddenly lit up with a piercing dark light.

Puchi.

Countless pitch-black roots instantly pierced through Gu Changfeng's skin, growing wildly along his Meridians.

They bored into his muscles, wrapped around his bones, and finally bit into his spinal dragon like venomous snakes.

“Ah—!”

Gu Changfeng's whole body convulsed violently, his eyes rolling up to reveal a large area of white.

His facial muscles twisted to the extreme, as if countless insects were crawling under his skin.

This pain had long exceeded the limits of what a mortal body could endure. In just a single breath, Gu Changfeng's Divine Soul was torn to pieces by this domineering corrosive force.

His consciousness sank into darkness, and he only had time to let out a faint wail before completely losing control of his body.

“Noisy.”

Gu Changfeng's mouth opened and closed, but the voice that came out was no longer his own.

It was an old, cold, and raspy tone, like two pieces of rotten wood rubbing against each other.

‘Gu Changfeng’ straightened up, his back, which had been hunched from fear, now standing perfectly straight.

He lowered his head and moved his stiff fingers; a look of satisfaction appeared in those eyes, which had now turned completely pitch-black.

“A decent vessel.”

The old ghost let out a low laugh through Gu Changfeng's mouth.

“Though he is a worthless Pseudo Spirit Root, the Bloodline flowing in this body actually has a trace of karmic connection with that person.”

“It's barely qualified to carry this ‘Blood Transformation Demonic Flame.’”

He no longer hesitated and stepped into the scalding blood pool.

Zila.

The blood, which was enough to corrode metal and iron, washed over his ankles but did not harm his flesh in the slightest.

The black roots protruding from his body now plunged into the blood in reverse, greedily absorbing the Evil Qi and essence within.

One step, two steps.

He walked up to that translucent, dark red flame.

Without any protection, he reached out his right hand, which was covered in black veins, and grabbed the demonic fire that made countless Cultivators turn pale at its mention.

Boom!

The moment the demonic flame entered his hand, it did not burn; instead, it seemed to have a consciousness of its own as it tunneled into his body through his pores.

“Ugh...”

‘Gu Changfeng’ let out a muffled groan, his entire being wrapped in a blood-colored cocoon of light.

A visible mutation began.

The flesh that originally belonged to the Human Race began to harden, and layers of dark red wooden texture grew on the surface of his skin, like a set of natural armor.

His left shoulder bulged high, and as the flesh writhed, the faint prototype of a second head began to grow.

Half-demon, half-wood.

A terrifying aura that caused one's heart to palpitate was rapidly brewing within this shell. It was a power fluctuation far exceeding the Foundation Establishment Stage... Three thousand zhang above the cavern.

Gu Changsheng watched this scene, the cold light in the depths of his eyes finally solidifying.

“Finally couldn't hold back anymore, I see.”

He slowly stood up, his wide sleeves snapping in the gale.

That ‘wood chess game’ dao seed was indeed intended to use this Physical Body to fuse with the demonic flame, thereby reshaping its true form.

If it were allowed to complete the Fusion, this perfect ‘Clone material’ would be ruined.

Now, the timing is just right.

The demonic flame has entered the body but has not yet been refined; the dao seed has left its original state, and its Foundation is unstable.

It is the perfect time to kill and loot.

“Chen Mu.”

Gu Changsheng spoke indifferently to the void.

The young man fighting several Blood Corpses at the entrance of the cavern suddenly heard the Old Ancestor's voice in his mind.

“Retreat a hundred miles away. No matter what you see, you are not allowed to look back.”

Chen Mu shattered the Blood Corpse in front of him with one sword strike, without any hesitation.

“This Disciple obeys!”

He turned and ran, not even bothering to pick up the Demon Cores on the ground.

Having dealt with the bystanders.

Gu Changsheng took a step forward.

This step did not land on solid ground, but seemed to step on the very pulse of this world.

Buzz.

The space in the northwest corner of the entire Soul Severing Gorge froze for an instant without any warning.

In the next moment.

Gu Changsheng's figure appeared directly in the depths of that cavern filled with blood Evil Qi.

He hovered above the blood pool, looking down from a height at the transforming monster.

No nonsense.

No probing.

As soon as he acted, it was with thunderous momentum.

“Freeze.”

Gu Changsheng spoke the true word, and the terrifying pressure of the Purple Mansion Realm poured down without reservation.

Boom!

The originally boiling sea of blood was instantly pressed flat as a mirror, unable to produce even a single ripple.

That impending explosion of demonic power was forced back into the shell by an invisible giant hand.

‘Gu Changfeng,’ who was fusing with the demonic flame, suddenly looked up.

For the first time, a look of utter horror appeared in those pitch-black eyes.

“Purple Mansion?!”

The old voice became sharp and piercing, filled with an unbelievable panic.

“In this backwater place, how can there be a Purple Mansion True Person?!”

And this aura... the cycle of Wither and Flourish, the flicker of life and death.

Even in Zhongzhou, this would be an extremely top-tier Daoist Legacy!

“Who are you?!”

The dao seed roared frantically, controlling Gu Changfeng's body in an attempt to retreat.

But the surrounding space had long been locked down. At this moment, he was like a fly trapped in amber; even moving a finger had become a luxury.

Gu Changsheng did not pay any attention to its questioning.

He just calmly extended a hand and pressed down towards the space below.

In his palm, the two Qis of Wither and Flourish intertwined, transforming into a black and white cage that slowly descended.

“This body, this Seat shall take it.”

His tone was flat, as if he were picking out a cabbage at a vegetable market.

“Arrogant!”

The dao seed was completely enraged by this contempt.

It was originally an ancient exotic species. Although it had suffered a calamity and only a remnant soul remained, it was by no means something that could be slaughtered at will.

“You want this old man's dao fruit? You're not worthy!”

A look of ferocious determination appeared on ‘Gu Changfeng’s’ face.

The ‘Blood Transformation Demonic Flame’ inside his body suddenly surged, and a destructive fluctuation exploded from his Dantian.

It was going to self-destruct!

Even if it meant destroying this Physical Body, even if it meant dying together, it would never let this robber who appeared out of nowhere succeed!

“Wanting to die?”

A touch of mockery curled at the corner of Gu Changsheng's mouth.

“In my presence, you don't even have the qualification to die.”

Just as that self-destructing energy was about to break through the Physical Body.

The seemingly ordinary ancient jade on Gu Changsheng's chest suddenly lit up with a ghostly light.

taiyin submerging spirit jade · Wuchen.

All Karma and Qi in the world were forcibly cut off at this moment.

The dao seed discovered in horror that its connection with the outside world had been severed.

The power of the Law it had invoked was like a clay ox entering the sea, vanishing without a trace in an instant.

Immediately after.

Gu Changsheng changed his palm into a finger and pointed into the air.

“Withered Wood Meets Spring.”

A gray beam of light shot accurately into Gu Changfeng's brow.

This was not a killing move.

But a supreme Divine Ability that reversed life and death.

The raging, expanding demonic flame energy was struck by this Wither and Flourish power and, as if encountering a natural enemy, instantly withered.

The Physical Body that was about to explode quickly regained its calm under the soothing of this power.

The layer of dark red wooden texture did not fade; instead, it was completely solidified, becoming a part of this body.

“No... This is impossible...”

The dao seed roared in despair.

Its will was being forcibly squeezed and partitioned by an even larger and colder Divine Sense.

It was the crushing of a Purple Mansion Realm Divine Sense.

It was simply not something a fragmented dao seed could withstand.

“Nothing is impossible.”

Gu Changsheng's figure slowly descended, his toes tapping on the surface of the blood.

He looked at his cousin, whose eyes were gradually losing focus; there was no hint of pity in his eyes, only the coldness of a hunter harvesting his prey.

“Your schemes, your trump cards, even your anger.”

“In this Seat's eyes, they are nothing more than a joke.”

Gu Changsheng reached out and grabbed.

A pitch-black, twisted shadow was forcibly pulled out from Gu Changfeng's crown.

The phantom struggled frantically, manifesting an old and ferocious face that roared silently at Gu Changsheng.

“Seal.”

A spiritual light flashed at Gu Changsheng's fingertip, transforming into a complex Restriction rune that he slapped directly onto the phantom.

The black shadow let out an unwilling wail and quickly shrank, finally transforming into a pitch-black bead that was struck back into the depths of Gu Changfeng's Sea of Consciousness.

But this time.

It was no longer the controller.

Instead, it became the ‘battery’ and ‘nourishment’ for this body.

As the dao seed was sealed, the pitch-blackness in Gu Changfeng's eyes faded, returning to their original clear black and white.

However, those eyes no longer held their former spirit, becoming hollow and lifeless, like an exquisite marionette.

“It's done.”

Gu Changsheng withdrew his hand and looked up and down at this brand-new creation.

Fused with the ‘wood chess game’ dao seed and the ‘Blood Transformation Demonic Flame,’ the potential of this Clone even exceeded that of an ordinary Late Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator.

With just a bit of refinement, it would be a top-tier killing machine that only obeyed him.

“From now on, you shall be called ‘Shaying.’”

Gu Changsheng casually bestowed a name.

Just as he was about to put this Clone into his storage ring and take it back to the Sect for slow training.

Suddenly.

In the depths of his Sea of Consciousness, the long-silent system panel suddenly popped up a crimson warning.

The font was huge and accompanied by rapid flashing.

【Warning! Warning!】

【Detected intense fluctuations in high-dimensional Karma lines!】

【A True Monarch-level Divine Thought is crossing ten thousand miles to lock onto this location's coordinates!】

【Source: Zhongzhou】

【Estimated arrival time: Ten breaths!】

Gu Changsheng's pupils shrank.

His originally indifferent expression instantly became solemn to the extreme.

Zhongzhou?

True Monarch?

He suddenly looked at the black bead that had just been sealed into Gu Changfeng's body.

In that moment of struggle just now, this old thing actually risked consuming its Origin to send out a signal?

Although the taiyin submerging spirit jade had cut off most of the fluctuations, this signal was not a voice transmission but a kind of karmic perception similar to a ‘Soul Lamp being extinguished.’

It simply couldn't be stopped!

“Good methods.”

Gu Changsheng let out a cold laugh, yet he didn't show the slightest hint of panic.

Ten breaths.

Is enough.