A suffocating silence hung over the vast white expanse.
Without warning, the void shuddered.
Long, ink-black threads of dark energy began bleeding from the empty air above, writhing like living vipers.
Instinct took over, and Shen Hao scrambled back, putting distance between himself and the surging darkness.
The black threads twisted together, spiraling toward a single central point.
Like an eerie magnet, they coiled and compressed into one another.
Within seconds, a colossal ball of black energy—easily five meters wide—floated in the center of the white abyss, pulsing with a dark, terrifying power.
Shen Hao stood completely frozen in shock, his heart hammering against his ribs as he stared at the monstrous sphere of darkness hovering before him.
Shen Hao stared at the massive dark sphere, his mind racing to make sense of the sight before him.
When he executed that gangster at five years old, absorbing a full human soul memories for the very first time, the resulting orb was only about the size of a football.
Yet now, a colossal five-meter ball of condensed, writhing black energy was hovering right in front of him.
“What the hell”he was shocked to see this.
“What is this thing doing here?” Shen Hao muttered, his voice trembling as panic tightened its grip around his chest.
“I didn’t kill anyone today!
My physical body is supposed to be lying out there in a coma…
Did I somehow kill someone unconsciously without even knowing it?”
He let out a long, heavy sigh.
Left with no choice, Shen Hao slowly took a step forward, approaching the colossal, pulsing ball of darkness.
He raised his hand toward the very force that had turned his life into a living hell all those years ago.
The moment his fingertips grazed the dark sphere, a violent tremor shook the space.
WHOOSH!
The massive wave of black energy rushed straight into his body, surging through his veins like liquid fire.
Instantly, his vision flickered, and a chaotic torrent of foreign memories exploded inside his mind.
Shen Hao’s eyes widened in realization.These memories weren’t completely foreign or unfamiliar to him after all.
They belonged to Shen Tian.
One hour ago-
Shen Tian stood over the unconscious form of Shen Hao, clutching Yui Ling tightly under his arm.
He was just about to make his escape when a sudden, terrifying shift occurred.
BRRRRR!
A violent surge of crimson energy began bleeding out from Shen Hao’s motionless body.
The aura crackled through the air like wild lightning, heavy with raw toxicity and intense killing intent.
For a split second, utter panic gripped Shen Tian’s heart.
Realizing the extreme threat before him, he quickly set Yui Ling down on the ground.
His hand darted inside his jacket, drawing a long, gleaming dark needle—a weapon designed to deliver a lethal strike.
He wasn’t going to take any more chances.
This time, he was going to end Shen Hao’s life once and for all.
Clang!
The needle never reached its target.
The moment it hit the dense barrier of red energy swirling around Shen Hao, it bounced off into the air, completely deflected.
Shen Tian stumbled two steps back, his chest heaving as the oppressive pressure surging from Shen Hao exploded outward, choking the very air around them.
Then, something grotesque happened.
Shen Hao’s body jerked awkwardly, rising into the air like a puppet yanked up by invisible strings until he was standing completely upright.
His closed eyes snapped open.
The deep blue pupils that once defined his gaze were gone—replaced by a chilling, blood-red glow.
With those crimson eyes, the possessed boy lifted his head.
He glanced briefly toward Shen Tian, indifferent, before slowly sweeping his gaze across the surroundings.
The moment his eyes landed on the unconscious Yui Ling lying on the ground, a bone-chilling smile spread across his face.
It was neither happy nor sad—it was an empty, monstrous smirk that sent a wave of sheer terror straight down Shen Tian’s spine.
“Die”Before the possessed Shen Hao could make a move, Shen Tian lunged forward, closing the distance in the blink of an eye.
Channeling every ounce of his energy, he threw a devastating punch straight at Shen Hao’s face—the very same lethal strike that had previously crushed Skull Crusher’s skull into pieces.
BOOM!
The fist slammed forward, but it failed to move Shen Hao’s head even a fraction of an inch.
The devastating blow was completely halted in mid-air, repelled by the dense, suffocating shield of red aura wrapping around him.
Shen Hao didn’t even flinch.
Slowly and effortlessly, Shen Hao raised his hand.
A violent burst of crimson energy exploded from his palm, blasting straight into Shen Tian’s chest.
THWACK!
The impact launched Shen Tian backward like a broken ragdoll.
He crashed through the dense forest, snapping several massive trees in half before slamming violently onto the hard ground.
CRACK!
The horrific sound of fracturing bones echoed through the woods.
Yet, despite his shattered body, Shen Tian didn’t die.
In fact, the moment his blood stained the dirt, a blinding golden light erupted around him, flickering furiously like an ancient flame.
Within seconds, the horrific wounds across his flesh began to knit back together at an unnatural speed.
This was Shen Tian’s ultimate trump card—his secret cultivation technique: The Pain-Bound Buddha Physique.
The moment the technique activated, divine golden runes began swirling across his skin.
The core essence of this form was simple yet terrifying:
the more excruciating the physical agony the user suffered, the greater their raw strength became, driving their cultivation level to unprecedented heights.
As his broken bones snapped back into place, the overwhelming pain didn’t weaken Shen Tian—it fueled him, swelling his spiritual power into a monstrous, unstoppable aura.
With a roar that shook the forest, Shen Tian launched himself toward Shen Hao—not at the speed of a bullet, but a hundred times faster.
A blinding trail of golden energy flickered around his body as he tore through the air, channeling all his boosted cultivation into one single, world-shattering strike.
His fist slammed directly into Shen Hao.
BOOM!
Yet, once again, the devastating impact vanished into nothingness.
The dense, writhing red energy surrounding Shen Hao swallowed the strike whole, completely nullifying the blow.
Hovering silently, Shen Hao looked down at him with a mocking, villainous grin stretching across his face.
He lazily raised his hand once more.
But this time, the gathering power was on a completely different level.
The bloody aura condensed above his palm, forming a massive, terrifying crimson claw that tore through the very fabric of the air.
The blood-red claw lunged downward toward Shen Tian.
There was no doubt about it—if that strike landed, not even his regenerating physique would save him.
Shen Tian would be erased from existence!
Before the catastrophic crimson claw could crush Shen Tian to dust, a thick, eerie white fog swept through the forest out of nowhere, swallowing everything in sight.
SWOOSH!
From the depths of the mist, a brilliant beam of pure white light pierced the haze, slamming directly into the bloody claw and completely nullifying the lethal strike in a blinding flash.
Taking advantage of the sudden interruption, Shen Tian pushed off the ground, vaulting backward to put a safe distance between himself and Shen Hao.
As the dense fog began to clear, the possessed Shen Hao narrowed his blood-red eyes, locking his deadly glare onto the mysterious threat ahead.
Standing tall within the mist was a majestic nine-tailed white fox, towering over five meters high.
Intricate golden ornaments and a shimmering crown adorned its head, glowing with divine authority.
Its piercing golden blue eyes held a fierce, unyielding aura—and deep within them,
Shen Hao could clearly feel a cold, unmistakable killing intent directed straight at him.