278: Alternative Domination

Xiao Shi cast his gaze towards the crescent moon pattern.

He pondered over the chilling coldness within the crescent moon pattern, which felt most compatible with himself.

If he had to choose one among these three patterns, perhaps the crescent moon pattern would be the best choice.

Thinking this,

He didn't hesitate at all and walked directly towards the crescent moon pattern, placing his entire body within it.

Buzz!

Immediately,

The crescent moon pattern beneath his feet converged directly into Xiao Shi's glabella, transforming into a crescent moon mark on his forehead.

Xiao Shi felt the crescent moon mark on his glabella.

He discovered that this crescent moon mark was currently like an empty shell, with nothing inside.

And the moment the entire crescent moon mark formed,

The scene in front of Xiao Shi rippled like water.

This caused the passageway ahead to twist, emanating an eerie chill.

It became completely different from before.

"Indeed..."

"Choosing different patterns will lead me to face different situations and encounters!"

Xiao Shi was now completely certain of this.

He immediately proceeded along this chilling passageway.

The reason he chose the crescent moon

was because the eerie chill he felt from the crescent moon was similar to the Tai Yin he had once cultivated!

This meant that as he walked along this passageway filled with an eerie chill, he didn't experience any discomfort.

"I remember Man Gui once said..."

"There are powerful Soul Consciousnesses in this ancient ruin, but why haven't I seen a single Soul Consciousness yet?"

Xiao Shi was full of doubts about this.

He felt that what he had seen and heard since entering this ancient ruin did not match the information he had learned from Man Gui earlier.

As he continued forward,

Not long after,

He reached the end of the passageway.

Ahead was a gray vortex.

Clearly,

He needed to enter the vortex to exit this passageway.

Xiao Shi thought for a moment.

He had no retreat now.

He could only move forward.

Whoosh!

Immediately,

He stepped into the vortex, and his entire figure instantly vanished from the passageway... At the same time,

The moment Xiao Shi stepped into the vortex,

In a secluded valley on the outskirts of Luo You City,

The dilapidated small temple, sandwiched between the Nether Antiquity Sect and the Prayer God Temple, suddenly vibrated violently.

And with continuous tremors,

The entire dilapidated small temple began to sink.

"Hmm?"

This sudden situation

startled both groups from the Nether Antiquity Sect and the Prayer God Temple.

Especially the two Martial Demon Realm Experts who were suspended in the air, facing each other.

The moment they noticed the small temple sinking below, both their expressions changed dramatically.

They descended in unison.

Their full cultivation burst forth without reservation, attempting to stop the small temple from sinking.

However, even with the combined efforts of these two Martial Demon Realm Experts,

They couldn't slow the temple's descent in the slightest.

With a rumble,

The entire small temple sank directly into the ground.

The ground became flat.

As if the small temple had never existed.

"Damn it!!"

The two Martial Demon Realm Experts looked grim.

They instantly realized... someone had entered the ancient ruin!!

But what they couldn't understand was that they were clearly guarding the entrance to the ancient ruin, and they would sense anyone approaching immediately.

It could be said that within the entire Star Luo Territory, the only person who could secretly infiltrate the ancient ruin right under their noses was the Star Luo Lord.

But if it were the Star Luo Lord... there would be no need for a stealthy infiltration.

He could simply enter openly.

No one here would dare to stop the Star Luo Lord.

"There's another possibility..."

"That is, this ancient ruin has other entrances!!"

The Martial Demon Realm Expert from the Prayer God Temple immediately focused his gaze on the Martial Demon Realm Expert from the Nether Antiquity Sect and asked,

"Does this ancient ruin have another entrance?"

The Martial Demon Realm Expert from the Nether Antiquity Sect snorted upon hearing this.

"How would I know! I was about to ask you!"

The Martial Demon Realm Expert from the Prayer God Temple looked at him suspiciously, feeling that the other party didn't seem to be lying.

However, this ancient ruin was, after all, first discovered by people from the Nether Antiquity Sect.

If there was another entrance... the people from the Nether Antiquity Sect were most likely to know about it.

But the people from the Nether Antiquity Sect had always been under his surveillance, and he hadn't seen them make any abnormal moves from beginning to end.

This was very strange!

...The moment Xiao Shi stepped into the vortex,

He appeared out of thin air under a pitch-black night sky.

In this black night sky,

A silver-white crescent moon hung, emitting a hazy moonlight that carried a chilling coldness.

This made the entire world filled and enveloped by this coldness.

Xiao Shi found himself standing at the entrance of a small town, and he looked around.

Ahead was an ordinary small town, behind him were black dirt fields, and silently standing mountains.

The architectural style of this town was completely different from the architectural style in the current Star Luo Territory.

At the same time, the materials used to construct these buildings were also materials Xiao Shi had never seen before.

The most peculiar thing was that all these buildings had a crescent moon symbol on them.

It was identical to the crescent moon on Xiao Shi's glabella.

"You've arrived..."

Just then,

An aged voice suddenly emerged from the town ahead.

An old man, leaning on a walking stick, with a bent and hunched back, white hair, a face full of wrinkles, and a crescent moon mark on his glabella, walked out of the town and approached Xiao Shi.

Xiao Shi instinctively nodded.

"You must be Town Chief Fang, right? According to our previous agreement, I will stay in your town for three days, and during these three days, I will be responsible for the safety of your town."

As his words came out,

Xiao Shi himself felt surprised.

He realized that at some point, he had already integrated into this world on his own.

There was no abruptness or strange feeling.

"Then I'll leave it to you."

The aged Town Chief Fang cupped his hands.

He personally led Xiao Shi into the town.

The entire town was very quiet.

Strangely, apart from the Town Chief, Xiao Shi didn't see anyone else in the town.

All the houses in the town were tightly shut.

The interiors were pitch black.

However, Xiao Shi didn't find this phenomenon strange at all; instead, he felt it was only natural.

Not long after,

Under the Town Chief's guidance,

He arrived in front of two courtyards.

"Currently, only these two courtyards in our town are empty. Which one would you like to stay in?"

Town Chief Fang asked.

"The one on the left."

Xiao Shi blurted out.

Town Chief Fang nodded.

After settling Xiao Shi in the courtyard, he left directly.

Xiao Shi glanced around the courtyard, then silently walked to a tree within the courtyard and sat down.

His expression was solemn.

"After entering this place, it seems I was given an identity."

"But I didn't feel any abruptness or strangeness."

"And I don't need to adapt to this identity; when people in this world interact with me, I instinctively assume this identity..."

Xiao Shi found this very peculiar.

This situation

He had never encountered before.

And the strangest thing was

was that when he tried to recall everything related to this identity, he couldn't remember anything at all.

There was no information about this world in his mind.

But when facing Town Chief Fang earlier... he was able to respond fluently.

There was no sense of unfamiliarity or awkwardness.

This was very eerie!

"Could I have been possessed?"

Xiao Shi vigilantly checked his own Soul Consciousness.

There was no abnormality in his Soul Consciousness.

No Soul Consciousness had entered his body.

Moreover, he believed that with the strength of his own Soul Consciousness, especially the Myriad Treasure Pagoda Spirit within his Soul Consciousness, it would be impossible for him to be possessed without him knowing.

"Or is it... that my body has been altered, and the moment I walked out of the passageway, it was no longer my original body?"

Xiao Shi continued to examine his body.

There were no abnormalities in his body either.

"Both my body and Soul Consciousness are perfectly fine..."

"But the strangest thing is that when I interact with people in this world, I automatically perform actions that are not of my original will."

"Just like when I was asked to choose a courtyard to live in, I didn't even have time to think, and an instinct made the decision for me."

"And I don't find this decision strange..."

What Xiao Shi was most worried about right now

was if someone suddenly told him to commit suicide.

And then he would find it perfectly reasonable.

And do it uncontrollably.

He gradually realized... this was a different kind of control!

But he currently had no way to escape this control.

He began to call out to the incomplete consciousness in the coffin, hoping it could help.

However, no matter how he called,

The incomplete consciousness in the coffin did not respond at all.

"What's going on!?"

Xiao Shi's expression was grave.

He felt a sense of foreboding.

After entering here, he couldn't even awaken the incomplete consciousness in the coffin!?

He quickly tried to enter the Myriad Treasure Pagoda.

He found that he couldn't enter the Myriad Treasure Pagoda either.

The same went for the Tianji Hall!

Xiao Shi then took out the dream jade stone.

He was directly unable to enter the dream state.

It had no effect either!

"All the ways I can contact the outside world are unusable here!"

Xiao Shi took a deep breath.

The current situation was even worse than he had imagined.

Just then,

Whoosh!!

A cold gust of wind suddenly swept through the town.

The moment this cold wind appeared,

Whoosh!

Xiao Shi immediately rushed out of the courtyard.

He arrived directly in front of a house not far from the town.

Boom!!

With a loud bang,

A black coffin suddenly exploded from the rooftop.

Swoosh!

It plunged vertically into the ground.

With a grating sound that made one's teeth ache, the coffin lid fell off, revealing a pale-faced, disheveled corpse inside the coffin.

Buzz!

The corpse's eyes suddenly opened.

Revealing a pair of grayish-white pupils.

And the moment its eyes opened,

The corpse had already transformed into an afterimage, creating a terrifying sonic boom, and charged directly at Xiao Shi.

The moment he saw the coffin fly out,

Xiao Shi's Soul Consciousness had already spread out.

Immediately, he used his Soul Consciousness to sweep and strike the pouncing corpse from all directions.

But when his Soul Consciousness struck the corpse,

It didn't cause any damage to the corpse.

Completely ineffective!

"Hmm?"

Xiao Shi was greatly shocked.

Although his current Soul Consciousness had just formed, he was very confident in his Soul Consciousness attacks.

"How can it be ineffective!?"

Xiao Shi raised his hand and grabbed.

A long sword immediately appeared in his hand.

Clang!

He held the long sword horizontally in front of his chest, blocking the opponent's incoming claw. He only felt that the opponent's claw contained extremely powerful force, sending him flying backward.

And while flying backward,

Xiao Shi swung the [Ferocious Soul Ancient Sword] in his hand, striking the corpse.

But it only sparked a shower of fire.

It didn't cause any substantial damage to the corpse.

It didn't even break the opponent's surface skin.

"My attacks are ineffective against it?"

Xiao Shi's heart sank.

The corpse's speed was astonishing, and its strength was immense. With a flash, it continued to attack Xiao Shi.

Its sharp claws whistled out, creating a tearing boom in the air.

It sent Xiao Shi retreating repeatedly.

"Something's not right!"

Xiao Shi frowned deeply.

The strength of this corpse was only comparable to the Soul Awakening Stage, yet his attacks were ineffective against it, causing him to fall into a passive state.

"Could it be that Soul Consciousness power is ineffective here?"

Xiao Shi had a guess in his mind.

After all, the corpse in front of him did not possess any Soul Consciousness power.

But the corpse's strength level was at the Martial Soul Realm.

This made Xiao Shi think of the Martial Soul Realm under body cultivation.

"If that's the case..."

Xiao Shi's eyes narrowed.

He placed his index finger on his glabella.

Hiss!

His body seemed to ignite.

Instantly turning crimson.

His entire figure became slender and well-proportioned.

It was... the Crimson Tiger Form!

Whoosh!

Xiao Shi, in his Crimson Tiger Form, had astonishing speed. With a flicker of his figure, he transformed into a bloody lightning bolt.

Compared to the corpse's speed, he was even faster.

With just a flash,

He had already bypassed the corpse from the front and appeared behind it.

His pupils instantly turned silver-white, his fur also became silver-white, and a silver-white cross mark emanated from his forehead.

He instantly switched to the Dongkui Form.

Xiao Shi did not choose to attack with the [Ferocious Soul Ancient Sword], but instead, like the corpse, formed his hands into claws and extended them forward.

Pfft!

His five fingers directly pierced into the corpse's back.

The body that he couldn't even cut through with his full strength earlier was now easily pierced by his five white fingers.

And emerged from its chest.

"Roar!!"

The corpse roared.

It turned and struck Xiao Shi with a claw.

However, what it hit was a rapidly flashing streak of blood light.

Xiao Shi, who reappeared in front of him,

Directly grabbed its head with both hands.

"Rise!!"

Accompanied by a low roar,

Xiao Shi violently tore the corpse's head from its neck with sheer force!!

Once the corpse was headless,

Its entire body immediately stiffened and stopped moving.

Then Xiao Shi clearly saw

An item fell out from within the corpse.

"Hmm?"

"This counts as a kill?"

Xiao Shi was somewhat surprised by this.

He had just dealt with a corpse, which, logically speaking, shouldn't drop items.