Chapter 653: Fatal Mistake P1

Aksai browsed through Loken’s most recent memories first—his orders, his plans, his panic, and everything that had happened right before the battle.

Then he dove deeper. Core memories came next, revealing the truths Loken had tried to hide, the secrets regarding Kalingoot buried far inside him.

To Aksai, it felt almost effortless.

To Loken, it felt like his mind was being peeled open layer by layer.

Aksai kept his hand on Loken’s head, calm and steady, as the Soul-searching Technique continued to pull memories out like threads of light.

Images, thoughts, and emotions drifted into his Mind Palace. He sorted through them one by one, trying to understand how Loken had gained his strange powers.

Aksai had unknowingly made a huge mistake this time. He had let Shuan and the others rest instead of asking them for the latest intel first.

He did that to make sure they received the physical and mental rest they deserved after facing a life-and-death situation. But by doing so, he had made himself vulnerable in ways he couldn’t have imagined.

While scanning through the memories, Aksai felt something odd.

He frowned. A cold ripple passed through the bridge that connected his Mind Palace to Loken’s. Something was wrong. It felt as if a road meant only for heavy vehicles was suddenly being used by a lone cyclist who had appeared out of nowhere.

Before he could pull back, something lunged at him.

Aksai’s eyes widened. It wasn’t Loken’s soul.

It was someone else. Someone stronger.

The attack hit him like a cold blade slipping under his guard. One moment he was reading Loken’s memories, and the next, a foreign soul rushed straight into his Mind Palace through the link he had created.

Aksai staggered slightly on the outside. Inside his Mind Palace, his spirit form took a step back as a tall, blurry human-shaped shadow appeared at the gate.

This was the ghost who had possessed Loken.

He felt it at once—the ghost’s soul was not weak like Loken’s. Even in its damaged state, it still carried the weight and sharpness of a true Core Formation Lord. Its presence pressed down on his mind like a mountain, cold and ancient.

The ghost’s soul was stronger than Aksai when it came to having pure soul essence. Even though the ghost’s Aether Essence was dormant for the most part, he could still make use of it to overwhelm Aksai’s soul.

Aksai’s heart tightened. He hadn’t even finished sorting Loken’s memories. He didn’t know the full story yet. He didn’t know exactly who or what this thing was.

But he understood one thing—Loken had been possessed. And the ghost had been waiting. The shadow laughed, its voice echoing inside Aksai’s mind like wind through empty halls.

"So careless. Hahaha. And it seems you have just gone through your Core Formation breakthrough. You’d serve as an ideal vessel, far better than the deadweight I was forced to possess."

The ghost didn’t give Aksai much time to process what was happening. It acted quick and didn’t waste time explaining anything to the original soul of his potential vessel. In an instant, the ghost struck, activating a Soul-possession Technique so fast that Aksai barely caught the first hint of it. The attack surged at him like a dark tide, trying to force his spirit out of his own Mind Palace.

Aksai felt his vision blur. It was too fast—faster than anything he expected. He had thought he was only facing Loken.

He had thought a pseudo Core Formation soul was all he needed to handle. He had thought the Soul-searching Technique was safe because the target was weaker.

He had been wrong.

The ghost had lived in the Third Order Cultivation Cave for centuries, surviving only because of the cave’s special environment. His body was long gone, but his soul had stayed intact enough to act.

When Loken had entered the cave, the ghost had been too weak to take him by force. So he had made a pact instead.

Aksai saw flashes of it now—Loken kneeling, the ghost speaking, a soul-bound deal formed in desperation.

Aksai gritted his teeth. This was preplanned soul possession by force from the ghost’s side. He didn’t care about the well-being of Loken’s body once he realized that Aksai’s body was a better alternative as a vessel.

The ghost had let Loken fight him on his own. Had watched quietly from inside Loken’s borrowed Spirit Core. Had waited until Aksai came close. Until Aksai used a technique that required opening a passage between their minds.

Even the ghost was pleasantly surprised to learn that Aksai had made use of his sect’s Soul-searching technique to scan Loken’s memories. He didn’t know that Aksai had already dealt with someone like Loken named Aram Talak and obtained the technique from him. But he didn’t care about how Aksai came to possess the technique.

After all, this coincidence was in the ghost’s favour. That was the opening. And the ghost took it without hesitation.

Inside the Mind Palace, the shadow rushed toward Aksai like a spear of black fog. Its killing intent was sharp and wild, as if it had been hungry for centuries and finally found a feast worth devouring.

Aksai raised his soul form’s hand, trying to defend, but the attack crashed into him before he could gather his full will.

"Aaaargh! Where... where the fuc*k did this bastard come from?"

Shock rippled through Aksai. He hadn’t expected this. He hadn’t prepared for another Core Formation soul hiding inside Loken.

The connection pulsed violently. The vines around Loken tightened as Aksai’s body trembled.

He forced himself to stay still, but inside, his Mind Palace shook as the ghost’s power tried to dig into his spirit.

"So this is your Mind Palace..." the ghost whispered, its voice growing sharper, greedier. "Clean... strong... full of potential. Yes. This body is much better. Hehehehe."

Aksai’s expression hardened.

He was under attack. Inside his own mind. By a true Core Formation ghost who had been only a step away from becoming a Nascent Soul King in his prime.