Chapter 263 : One Body, Two Souls?

Chapter 263: One Body, Two Souls?

The Imperial Pool and the Imperial Tomb were the two great sacred sites of the Moon Country's royal family.

Only citizens of the Moon Country who had received special commendation from the royal family would have the chance to enter.

Every generation of the Moon Country’s 【Guardian of the Nation】 would merge all their power into the Imperial Pool before death.

It was said that the Imperial Pool still contained the power of the founding emperor of the Moon Country.

The strand of emperor-level divine sense that Qin Xuanxiao used to forcibly elevate his 【Artistic Conception】 came precisely from the Imperial Pool.

As for the Imperial Tomb, it housed the remains of all the emperors of the Moon Country, including the founding emperor, as well as other powerful members of the royal family.

The Moon Country was unique in that the royal family controlled a secret art to absorb the fate of the nation.

This made the national fate within the Imperial Tomb especially strong.

The Old State Preceptor Ming Xuanji had once entered the tomb and received the blessing of the Moon Country’s national fate.

Only then was he able to merge his body with the formation, tightly linking himself to the imperial formation of the Moon Country’s capital.

So long as he remained within the capital, his strength would not be weaker than that of the Ninth Realm.

All this information was known to Chu Huaixu.

Comparatively, the Imperial Pool would be of greater benefit to him.

His primary area of activity had always been the Eastern Continent.

Even if he absorbed the fate of the Moon Country, it would only be useful within its borders.

Chu Huaixu had no intention of “immigrating”; he was already close to becoming a Dao Son in the Dao Gate. Only a fool would abandon that and flee to the Moon Country.

Hence, his response at this moment was, “This disciple wishes to enter the Imperial Pool.”

Xiang Yan and the others nodded slightly and said, “Indeed, the Imperial Pool will be more useful than the Imperial Tomb.”

Jiang Zhi, however, scoffed from the side.

“The Moon Country’s royal family has always been stingy when it comes to rewarding those of our Eastern Continent. Even though this was a deed that saved the world, the reward is barely a token gesture.”

“Chu Huaixu isn’t even a native of the Moon Country. Whether he enters the Imperial Pool or the Tomb, the benefit will be minimal—just a formality.”

“On the contrary, it only serves to make their two sacred sites seem all the more remarkable!”

The little old man let out a cold snort.

The other Dao Gate elders echoed his sentiments.

Li Chunsong mused, “Entering the Imperial Pool... if he can improve by even one minor sub-realm, that would already be quite good.”

Zhao Shuqin offered advice from the side, “Huaixu, remember to activate your Body Training Divine Ability when the time comes. Absorb as much as you can.”

Nangong Yue, listening to their words, showed a helpless expression. “No matter how much he tries to absorb, there’s still a limit. You all expect a man from Mirror Country, someone who’s being rejected by the environment, to drain the power of the Imperial Pool?”

Chu Huaixu stood quietly at the center of the grand hall, listening to the Dao Gate higher-ups’ back-and-forth, maintaining a polite smile.

‘Once I enter the Imperial Pool, I don’t mind pretending to be a Moon Country citizen for a little while during my bath,’ thought the Dead Fox.

Eastern Continent, at the border between the Dao Gate region and the Spring and Autumn Mountain region—

In a secret realm beneath a riverbed, a man shrouded entirely in a black cloak and wearing a bronze mask sat cross-legged.

His left arm had been severed, and black mist was still rising from the wound.

After a long time, he slowly opened his eyes and glanced at his severed arm.

“Jiang Zhi, you’ve really done a number on me!” he said through clenched teeth.

“That sword strike not only severed my arm—it also left behind sword qi, demonic qi, and baleful qi...”

“If I don’t erase them, no matter how powerful a pill I take, I won’t be able to regenerate my body!”

He had been hiding here these past few days precisely to deal with this problem.

Otherwise, traveling the world with one missing arm would be far too conspicuous.

A Dao Gate elder had died; they wouldn’t just let it go.

Without an arm, the search range would be reduced.

What was strange was that as the Sect Leader of the Black Moon Sect erased the lingering energies from his severed arm, the spiritual fluctuations on his body were at the Eighth Realm.

It wasn’t even Nascent Soul Stage cultivation!

After managing to erase a bit more of the demonic and baleful qi, he couldn’t help but snort coldly and muttered, “Look at the trouble you’ve caused me!”

And then, something even more bizarre happened.

The Sect Leader of the Black Moon Sect spoke again—but this time, his tone and cadence changed: “Just a little setback and your mental state is shaken? Truly disappointing.”

As he spoke, the aura around him changed instantly, shifting from the Eighth Realm of the Xuanhuang Realm to the Nascent Soul Stage of the Kunlun Grotto-Heaven!

He seemed somewhat like a case of split personality, or rather—more like one body, two souls?

“You were the one who said it was foolproof, and now I’ve lost an arm, a key subordinate, and a sub-banner! Do you know how many resources and efforts I spent to raise him to the Eighth Realm?”

The aura of the man under the bronze mask changed again.

He continued this back-and-forth, seemingly talking to “himself.”

The Vice Sect Leader of the Black Moon Sect followed the true path of the evil cultivator—one that required “devouring others” for advancement.

“With great talent but a heart bent only on shortcuts, seeking the evil path—such a disposition, I told you long ago, is unsuitable for anything major. At best, he’s a pawn to be discarded,” the voice spoke again.

“Hmph! Easy for you to say!”

“No need to panic. Follow the incantation I taught you. Within three days at most, you’ll be able to erase the chaotic aura on your severed arm. Then take the immortal pill I gave you. Not only will your arm regrow, but your body and bloodline will be reforged. You won’t be tracked just because someone got hold of your severed arm.”

Only then did the Sect Leader of the Black Moon Sect calm down a little.

What he feared most was the Dao Gate using that severed arm to uncover his identity.

Losing his public identity meant he could no longer live peacefully in the Eastern Continent.

When that time came, he would face the combined pursuit of the Four Great Sects!

Then, there would truly be no way to flee—neither to the heavens nor the earth.

“You seem afraid?” the other voice mocked.

“I almost got exposed this time. Of course I’m afraid!” the Sect Leader’s pitch even rose.

“Such fuss. I have roamed the Kunlun Grotto-Heaven for thousands of years—what perils have I not seen? This doesn’t even qualify as dangerous.”

He continued, “The path to ascension lies before you. As long as you find that lost 【Fruit Position of the Soul Transformation Stage】, you and I can both reach transcendence! What is there to fear then?”

The Sect Leader’s eyes darkened at those words.

Now, he had one body, two souls, possessing the power of the Eighth Realm and the might of the Nascent Soul Stage.

But it was as if he had only one mouth to speak two people’s words. Every conversation between them looked like crazed muttering to outsiders.

And the two powers could only be switched between, not used simultaneously.

Now that he possessed Origin Power—

But because of the Kunlun Grotto-Heaven cultivation within him, the Origin Power experienced a form of rejection, making it impossible to fully refine. Only half had been successfully integrated.

As a result, his own path to the Ninth Realm was obstructed. He might never reach it!

However, if he could obtain the 【Fruit Position of the Soul Transformation Stage】, perhaps he could merge these two forces and ascend to the supreme realm!

At that time, he might truly be able to transcend the mundane!

But—

“Fruit Position of the Soul Transformation Stage, Fruit Position, that’s all you talk about! And yet this time, we returned empty-handed again, without even a trace! Are you sure the aura lingering on Chu Huaixu is truly from the Fruit Position?”

“If it’s of the same origin, how could I possibly be mistaken?” the voice replied.

The Sect Leader of the Black Moon Sect knew the strength of this cultivator, so he did believe it.

“Then is it possible... the Fruit Position of the Soul Transformation Stage is actually on him?” he narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice.