Getting into Character

"Hahaha!" At that moment, Quan Juehua suddenly burst into laughter as well. Anger, suspicion, murderous intent, shock—every last trace of emotion vanished. Quan Juehua looked toward Dui Tianji and remarked in the tone of someone who had seen it all, "You were still too impatient. If it were me, I would have lain low for a while before suddenly appearing, rather than putting on such a mysterious show like you did. "Dui Tianji? "What should I call you... my inner demon? "Or... an archdemon... or perhaps... a karmic scourge?" His demeanor, reaction, and tone at this moment were completely different from before, giving the impression of someone with a split personality—one persona one moment, and an entirely different one the next. Yet this was no split personality. Rather, he was a consummate method actor. He often played different age versions of himself, took on personas with completely different temperaments, and threw himself wholly into the role. His anger, killing intent, suspicion, shock, and guilt were all genuine, but in reality, they were merely the emotions that 'Quan Juehua' ought to display according to the persona's setup; he had simply performed the part to perfection. The Quan Juehua of a moment ago was his 'youthful' setup, whereas now he had adopted his 'middle-aged' persona. The former was calculating yet still somewhat callow, whereas now he was far steadier, and even more insidious and ruthless. Dui Tianji was not surprised. She sighed and said, "A pity. I still couldn't fool you." "Come on, I'll give you a chance to possess me." Quan Juehua put away his fierce saber, spread his hands, and looked at Dui Tianji with a smile. Transcendent practitioners in the cultivation world all feared inner demons. Because Transcendents did not die, their inner demons did not die either. No matter how many times an inner demon was slain, so long as one had not truly let go and attained true enlightenment, the inner demon would be reborn again and again. What made it worse was that an inner demon could harm a Transcendent and even possess them—which was what was known as succumbing to qi deviation. Just moments ago, Quan Juehua had slaughtered Dui Tianji countless times, yet she kept popping back up every single time. That was the quintessential trait of an inner demon. "I wouldn't want to possess you. I will haunt you forever, stay with you forever, right until..." Dui Tianji looked at Quan Juehua and spoke in an eerie, wistful voice. Quan Juehua opened his eyes in realization. "You think I'm bound to fail the Origin Return?" Once he failed the Origin Return, his life and cultivation would naturally be snuffed out, and his body would even turn into an abyss. That was when Dui Tianji's opportunity would arrive. This creature wanted to claim his remains, inherit his legacy, and finally step across his corpse to be reborn as a true living entity, rather than remaining in her current state—neither living nor dead, and entirely bound to his person. "Are you going to stop me, then?" Dui Tianji asked, looking at Quan Juehua. Quan Juehua laughed. "I will make you watch with your own eyes as I become an Origin Returner!" "Then I shall wait and see!" Dui Tianji smiled faintly. Quan Juehua closed his eyes. In the next moment, as though stepping out of one role and into another, his demeanor reverted to that of the earlier, more irascible and vicious Quan Juehua. "Since you want to see me fail the Origin Return, then serve me well. Aside from the part of you born of my inner demon, you also carry the archdemon and all the negative energy within this entire Transcender's body. You should be able to sense when the time is right to escape this place and return to the Tree Universe!" Quan Juehua barked at Dui Tianji, entirely self-righteous. Dui Tianji was not a pure inner demon. When Quan Juehua had entered the body of the Transcender Whale and inadvertently touched the ring between the black dot and the white dot, his inner demon had slipped free from him. At that instant, all the negative matter and energy inside the Whale—which it had inadvertently swallowed earlier—merged with his inner demon. Among them, the most terrifying component was an archdemon. Though it was unknown which world that archdemon had originated from, any entity designated an archdemon was an amalgamation of countless negative emotions and energies from countless worlds. All of that chaotic energy, information, and emotion had materialized from the intangible into reality, ultimately giving birth to the present Dui Tianji. "Your luck is quite good. Soon—very soon, we will be able to return to the Tree Universe. When that time comes... I hope you succeed." Dui Tianji cared nothing for Quan Juehua's attitude; after all, it was all just an act anyway. Feeling the calamity power steadily radiating from the Origin Seed within his body, Quan Juehua nodded. "That would be for the best. I can hardly wait to see it take root and sprout, ultimately growing into a towering tree on par with the Tree Universe itself!" "Hehehehe..." Dui Tianji did not argue, letting out only a string of chuckles. A failed Origin Returner was still a half-step Origin Returner—a staggering legacy. She did not believe Quan Juehua could succeed. When that time came, all of Quan Juehua's efforts would become hers. Perhaps she might even take it a step further, stepping over Quan Juehua's corpse to become a true Origin Returner herself. ... Meanwhile, the story branched into four threads. While Yu Xian fled with his spoils, Margot Moxi stewed silently in humiliating frustration, and Quan Juehua awaited the opportunity to return to the Tree Universe, the Aska was also facing its greatest challenge yet. The Sun and Moon Brothers: the Sun God Apollo and the Moon God Robos. They were the embodiments of the sun and moon of a certain world, a world where the sun and moon were the same size and had always revolved around the Earth. If nothing unexpected had happened, they would have orbited the Earth forever. But due to a petty accident, the trajectory of their lives was shattered, casting them into the Myriad Realms of the Heavens. Ultimately, relying on the adage that 'when brothers unite, their strength can cut through gold,' along with a modest stroke of luck, both of them managed to become Mighty Ones. That petty accident was actually quite simple. Put plainly, two Emptiness Realm experts with full bellies and nothing better to do got into an argument over whether a sun that revolved around the Earth truly existed in the universe. As they bickered back and forth, neither would back down, so they set off together to search for such a world. When they found the world of the Sun and Moon Brothers, one of them felt spiteful and obliterated the Earth with a single energy blast. And so, the two experts came to blows. As their fight escalated, they shattered the world itself. The Sun and Moon Brothers thus left the world of their birth and embarked upon their extraordinary lives. "Hand over all the Calamity Origins you possess!" "Or, if you'd rather not hand them over, defeat us!" By this time, Apollo and Robos were no longer the two spheres of their past. One wore red battle armor while the other wore a blue robe. Flanking either side, they blocked the Aska's path, looking at the people on the deck as they spoke one after the other. Both were extremely cautious; upon their appearance, they had immediately activated the effect of a ring they wore. The ring was a Transcender-grade item known as the Constant Velocity World Ring. It could force all matter within a vast expanse of space into a constant velocity. However, because it clashed head-on with the high-speed Aska, the Aska's momentum was neutralized, and the ring's effect was exhausted as well. Now, against the Sun and Moon Brothers, the Aska was effectively in an undefended state, leaving the two of them free to launch an attack against everyone on deck at any moment.