Alliance

Aberrant ghosts possessed hundreds, if not thousands, of ways to transform other living beings into their own kind, varying by race, cultivation, physical constitution, and even temperament. To ensure stealth, some ghost transformations unfolded over years, working through long, subtle assimilation so the victim remained utterly oblivious to their own abnormality. From mind to body. Other transformations were crude and violent, forcibly pumping a massive amount of irresistible life origin directly into the body to proliferate and multiply within. From body to mind. The transformation Xu Yuan was undergoing belonged to the latter. A forced, overwhelming transformation from above. His meager cultivation left him entirely incapable of resisting the life origin's remodeling of his flesh from the very start. Fortunately, the presence of the Black Serpent demon crystal had temporarily preserved his human intellect. Yet an aberrant ghost was an aberrant ghost after all. Every time he used this aberrant ghost body to regenerate, every time he refined life origin into usable Source Qi, and every time he relied on the black death armor, he accelerated the ghost transformation process from body to mind. Upon reaching a critical threshold, the clash between his original consciousness and aberrant ghost instincts would plunge his mind into a state of chaotic haze. Of course, such a clash was a mere formality. Because aberrant ghost transformation was irreversible. Ten thousand years ago, during that great golden age when Source Qi surged and talents bloomed across the world, not a single person had ever overcome aberrant ghost instincts at this stage. Yet though none had conquered those instincts, many cultivators in that final moment had chosen to have their friends strike them down. The chaotic haze of consciousness left the transformed practically incapable of resistance at this juncture, making it the most vulnerable transition from living being to aberrant ghost. However, things changed when an outside force guided him. A voice suddenly bursting beside his ear caused Xu Yuan's consciousness to snap taut, and a glint of clarity surfaced in his crimson eyes. Luo Xiran... Why was Luo Xiran's voice appearing here? As fellow aberrant ghosts, why couldn't he sense her? The instant his human consciousness reclaimed control of his body, countless thoughts raced through Xu Yuan's mind. Yet those thoughts were suppressed the moment he saw the Barbarian King before him, his gaze turning uncertain and wary. Hadn't this Barbarian King been half-dead just moments ago? Why had his aura suddenly become so bizarre? In the spark of a fleeting thought, the endless crimson mist of the Inter-Abyss had already billowed in from all directions, enshrouding the entire cavern. Luo Xiran's voice rang in Xu Yuan's ear once more: "Xu Changtian, what are you standing there for? Can't you see he is about to break through?! I am lending you my Inter-Abyss—kill him now!" "..." Xu Yuan felt his brain freeze for a moment. The Barbarian King, breaking through? No, this plot was wrong. As a transmigrator, shouldn't common sense dictate that he would be the one to break through in battle, comprehend the Heavenly Gate sword intent, and slay the Barbarian King first, then Luo Xiran? And what realm came after Semi-Saint again? "..." Sensing the crimson mist of the Inter-Abyss that felt as close as blood kin, Xu Yuan instantly knew he could once again channel Luo Xiran's Inter-Abyss to deploy his Charm God Dao domain. Before sorting out his thoughts, Xu Yuan's body had already moved. Taking a step back, his boot drew an arc across the ground, and blood-tinted ink instantly surged over Qingyu's blade. Simultaneously, ethereal, celestial music drifted through the air, and countless alluring female silhouettes began flickering within the crimson mist. The Charm God Dao domain had quietly unfurled. The charm-god intent woven within would manifest different visions depending on the target. The next instant, the tip of Qingyu in Xu Yuan's hand swept through the air in an exquisite arc of splashed ink, slashing toward Chi Feng's throat. *Hum—* Amidst a resonant sword cry, Chi Feng simply stood where he was, watching the strike descend. Pure Source Qi formed a barrier around him, making him look like a heavenly deity! Yet the anticipated clash never occurred. Xu Yuan had not used a blood-ink sword skill at all; he had used Void-Stepping Slash. He had fled. "..." Luo Xiran. "..." Chi Feng. Watching the blood-robed figure vanish, the Barbarian King had no intention of pursuing him. Instead, he sat cross-legged at the bottom of the cavern. His cultivation had already reached the pinnacle of the Semi-Saint realm. Under normal circumstances, he would have naturally broken through in another year or six months. Achieving a breakthrough ahead of schedule amidst this life-and-death struggle was an unexpected accident, but also a stroke of fortune amidst crisis. And since it was an opportunity, he had to grasp it firmly. Because his clansmen, who regarded him as a god, were still waiting for him in their desperate plight... Meanwhile, under the coverage of the Charm God Dao domain fueled by the Inter-Abyss, the range of Void-Stepping Slash was nearly doubled. With a flash of his form, Xu Yuan had already vanished from the cavern, sprinting toward the location of Li Qingyan and Bai Muxi without once looking back. At this moment, the tunnels of the Blood Demon Cave were thoroughly saturated with the aberrant ghost's Inter-Abyss. The Inter-Abyss replenished Source Qi, and with his aberrant ghost body, Xu Yuan moved through it like a fish in water, burning huge amounts of energy to continuously cast Void-Stepping Slash to cover ground at top speed. The crimson figure crossed several li in the blink of an eye. "Xu Changtian, what are you doing?!" As Xu Yuan sprinted away, Luo Xiran's exasperated voice rang in his ear once more: "Go back! Kill him!!" Hearing this, Xu Yuan retorted without a second thought: "Shut up and stop nagging." "..." Luo Xiran breathed heavily in fury for a moment before adopting a grave, earnest tone. "Changtian, he has not yet broken through to Saint. If we don't kill him now, once his breakthrough is complete, all of us will die." "..." Hearing this, Xu Yuan did not respond. Through this brief exchange, he realized that Luo Xiran's voice was not echoing within him through the Inter-Abyss, but through the crimson fungal armor completely merged with his flesh. The Blood God Stone jade pendant... No wonder Luo Xiran could accurately track anyone wearing the black death armor—it was through the other Blood God Stone jade pendant. In *Cangyuan*, there was also a Blood God Stone jade pendant inside the Blood Nest of the Silent Crypt, which was why Xu Yuan had wanted Bai Muxi's pendant the moment he saw it on her. Thinking of this, and recalling the effects of the pendant in Xiao Bai's possession, Xu Yuan suddenly understood a few things. After successfully developing an antidote against aberrant ghosts, this Silent Crypt was still attempting to... "Hey, did you hear me?! That fellow—" "If you want to fight, go fight him yourself!" His train of thought interrupted, Xu Yuan snapped testily, "Don't even think about using me as a pawn." Luo Xiran's voice grew urgent. As a former Saint, she understood all too well the gulf between the Transcendent Realm and a Saint: "Xu Changtian, have you lost your will to live?! I helped you temporarily regain your senses—" "Cut the crap. You were the one who bewitched me, and you were the one who woke me up." Xu Yuan cut across Luo Xiran's gnashing words once more. "Even if I go back and manage to kill Chi Feng, after the fight I'll only end up reduced to an aberrant ghost." "Reduced?" Luo Xiran sounded somewhat disdainful of the word. "After all this time, do you still not understand what a magnificent race we are? Undying, eternal life, boundless time, shared life origin—" "Right, humans are far inferior to your aberrant ghosts. So why were you all wiped out ten thousand years ago?" "..." Luo Xiran fell silent. "All right." Xu Yuan chuckled softly. Through Luo Xiran's Inter-Abyss mist, he had already locked onto the location of the chest-bound princess and Xiao Bai. "Luo Xiran, let's cut the nonsense." "Cut the nonsense?" Luo Xiran took a deep breath, her cold, glamorous voice sharpening as she shouted, "That fellow is about to break through to Saint! Do you have any idea how vast the gap is between a Saint and the Transcendent Realm?!" "No idea." "Xu Changtian, you..." Luo Xiran panted. "Don't be so angry." Xu Yuan's voice softened slightly, carrying a trace of a smile. "While I don't know exactly how strong he will be, I know that because of him, we now have a basis for cooperation, don't we?" "You want to cooperate again?" Luo Xiran's tone grew guarded. She had heard his conversation with that brute earlier. Dao Protector... Holy Son... Not a single word this man had told her previously was the truth. "I admit I lied to you before, but you know that was forced by the situation. If I hadn't lied, we would have died." Xu Yuan chuckled, seemingly anticipating her thoughts, and spoke rapidly: "The situation is different now. Both you and I want to get out of this crypt, and Chi Feng is breaking through to Saint on the battlefield. Whether from the perspective of our enemy's strength or our shared objectives, we now have a very solid basis for cooperation." Luo Xiran chuckled coldly at this: "In that case, why shouldn't I cooperate with your 'Dao Protector'? He seems to want to leave as well." Xu Yuan seemed entirely unbothered by the threat, laughing: "A tripartite balance in this world always involves the two weaker sides allying. If the strong and the weak ally to destroy the other weak one, it is sheer suicide. You can't be that foolish. Furthermore, aside from me, none of you know how to get out in a short time." Hearing this, Luo Xiran seemed to understand Xu Yuan's scheme, her chilly, glamorous voice turning bone-chilling: "So you deliberately spared that barbarian who is about to break through?" Xu Yuan did not deny it: "Heh... you could put it that way. Hurry and make your choice: cooperate, or die together?" With those words, silence fell. On the other end, Luo Xiran did not answer immediately. Seeing this, Xu Yuan directed his focus toward the pure aura gradually expanding within the cavern behind him. Through Luo Xiran's Inter-Abyss, he could clearly feel that terrifying aura on the Barbarian King, one capable of destroying everything. With the assistance of Luo Xiran, an aberrant ghost queen, Xu Yuan had a fair degree of confidence that he could kill the Barbarian King before the breakthrough was completed. However, doing so ran completely counter to his interests. Fighting another round meant death if he lost. Even if he won, given his current stage of transformation, both his mind and body would very likely be completely converted into an aberrant ghost after the battle. Although he had that Blood God Stone jade pendant capable of manipulating consciousness as a contingency, no one knew how much control it held over someone who had thoroughly transformed into an aberrant ghost. That choice carried far too much risk. It was better to retreat first and use the Barbarian King's impending Saint-realm strength to force Luo Xiran to cooperate. Only by doing so could he keep as many variables as possible in his own hands! In the deepest part of the Silent Crypt, inside the Blood Nest. Crimson mist swirled, fungal mats spread everywhere, and countless aberrant ghosts lay quietly dormant across the ground. At the center of a colossal altar sat a woman. Luo Xiran tightly clutched a jade pendant similar to the Blood God Stone at Xiao Bai's chest. Sensing that the fellow had no intention of turning back, she let out a long breath. Her cold, glamorous voice echoed across the vast, desolate cavern: "How do you want to cooperate?" "You've finally come around. Excellent." Hearing her words, Xu Yuan felt a surge of joy, yet his voice remained calm and measured. "First, I need you to immediately carve out a path leading to the Blood Nest for me." "Agreed." Luo Xiran's voice was flat. Her crimson eyes opened slightly, sweeping downward from the altar as an aberrant ghost pulse rippled outward. Rustling sounds immediately erupted in the massive cavern below. Led by a Transcendent aberrant ghost, over a dozen Origin Realm aberrant ghosts began excavating toward a specific location. Xu Yuan sighed inwardly. It seemed that the basis of cooperation truly required an irresistible common enemy. "Second, the moment we arrive at the Blood Nest, I need you to immediately provide me with a demon crystal." "A demon crystal?" "Either a Transcendent or an Origin Realm demon crystal will do." "I'm asking if it's even useful." Luo Xiran's voice carried a hint of mockery. "Aberrant ghost transformation is irreversible. Using a demon crystal to drag it out will only delay the inevitable; you will still end up as one of my kind in the end. But since you insist, I can grant your request." With that, Luo Xiran, seated at the center of the altar, suddenly raised a hand toward a hairless giant tiger prostrate on the ground below. *Swish!* Her slender, jade-like hand instantly stretched and elongated, transforming into a shuttling tendril of flesh that plunged directly into the terrifying beast's skull. *Roar!!* As if sensing impending death, the terrifying hairless giant tiger let out a low roar, but under the suppression of her bloodline, it could not move an inch. With a churning motion, the flesh tendril plunged into the tiger's head began devouring its flesh and blood, channeling it back along the tendril toward Luo Xiran atop the altar. *Squelch... squelch...* Nothing remained in the silence except those gruesome swallowing sounds. Within moments, the giant tiger's massive frame had withered, reduced to a deflated pool of skin adhering to the stone flagstones. *Slurp...* The flesh tendril retracted, reforming into a hand. At Luo Xiran's fingertips lay a crystal as black as ink. Through the Blood God Stone jade pendant, she spoke to Xu Yuan: "I have prepared the demon crystal for you. What can you provide in return?" Still sprinting at full tilt, Xu Yuan chuckled softly: "I said from the very beginning: I can take you out." Luo Xiran frowned slightly. "Take me out? What about that barbarian named Chi Feng?" Xu Yuan grinned. "As long as we can get out, his life or death doesn't matter. Outside, there are plenty of people who can deal with him." "Is that so?" Luo Xiran murmured thoughtfully, then lowered her voice. "I have satisfied everything you require. Can you now tell me the method to leave? That way, I can also—" "Are you stupid, or am I?" Xu Yuan cut her off with a laugh. "Once I reach the Blood Nest, I will naturally cast the technique immediately." "..." Luo Xiran fell silent for a moment before letting out a long sigh, sounding as if she were resigning herself to fate. She instructed in a low voice, "You had better be quick. Judging by that barbarian's aura, he will break through in an hour at the earliest. Our Inter-Abyss won't be able to disrupt a Saint's intent-soul very much." Hearing this, Xu Yuan chuckled. "An hour? That's plenty. As long as your judgment isn't flawed, we won't die."