I Shall Be Everlasting In the World of Immortals

Chapter 196: The Transformation of the Nine Seal Stele

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The first three imprint frames on the Nine Seal Stele showed no change.

The image of the refined man from the first life and the white-bearded elder from the second life were both illuminated.

The third life, represented by a flowing white-robed man, had the exact appearance and demeanor of Lan Chang'an.

However, the true transformation occurred in the fourth blank frame on the Nine Seal Stele.

According to past speculation, this blank frame symbolized Lan Chang'an's "Fourth Life."

At this moment, on the previously dark and silent fourth blank frame, a swirling pale white light shredded a vibrant green, crystalline Gu insect into fragments.

Strands of pure white crystal light formed and began pouring into the fourth blank frame.

The once lifeless and dim imprint slowly lit up a small portion at the top.

"The 'Fourth Life' of the Nine Seal Stele... can be illuminated ahead of time?"

Lan Chang'an's mind trembled.

Even though only a corner had lit up, it shattered his understanding from his past two lives, marking a breakthrough from nothingness into something tangible.

Lan Chang'an had always believed that only after dying in his current life could the next reincarnation cycle be activated.

But judging by the current situation, that might not be the case.

"If I fully light up the fourth blank frame, does that mean I can control a new reincarnation at will? Or perhaps there's another unknown power to be unlocked?"

Speculations filled Lan Chang'an's mind.

"Why did the Nine Seal Stele light up after devouring the 'Hundred Abodes Soul Gu'? What conditions are necessary for this?"

In his previous life, Lan Chang'an had made many attempts to explore the powers of the Nine Seal Stele.

He had captured vengeful spirits and malicious ghosts, but the stele showed no reaction.

He also used some rare precious materials he could gather.

Recalling what had just happened, Lan Chang'an pinpointed two key factors.

First, his sea of consciousness had been invaded and inhabited, resembling an attempted possession.

This was something Lan Chang'an had never experienced in his previous two lives.

Possession carried great risk, with many limitations, depending heavily on the caster’s cultivation and soul strength.

Though common in the vast world of cultivation, the actual chance of encountering it was relatively low for individual cultivators.

Second, the Hundred Abodes Soul Gu was a legendary insect of the world, a rare soul-path creature with some connection to divine reincarnation arts.

"That Soul Gu just now wasn't particularly powerful, barely reaching the third-rank. However, its bloodline was extraordinary, and the essence contained in its soul far surpassed ordinary creatures."

The bloodline of the Hundred Abodes Soul Gu might even exceed the realm of heavenly-grade, approaching the level of a true spirit bloodline.

The fact that the "Fourth Life" of the Nine Seal Stele had partially lit up could be related to one or more of these traits.

"Wait... did the Nine Seal Stele also steal memories when it devoured the 'Hundred Abodes Soul Gu'?"

A sudden thought struck Lan Chang'an as he observed the small illuminated portion of the fourth blank frame.

This idea arose because in his previous two lives, the soul imprints engraved on the stele had given him memories and abilities, including a feedback loop that strengthened his soul.

However, there was no immediate response from the fourth frame, perhaps due to its incompleteness, or perhaps because it didn’t belong to Lan Chang'an.

"I'll explore it later."

With this thought, Lan Chang'an exited the Nine Seal Stele and returned to reality.

The events that transpired in his consciousness took only a brief moment in the real world.

...

In the secret room, the protective barriers remained intact.

A delicate girl in a yellow dress lay not far away, blood seeping from the corner of her mouth.

"Her sea of consciousness is wounded, and she's fallen unconscious?"

Lan Chang'an glanced at the girl and murmured softly.

Zhou Qingxuan's face was pale, her eyes tightly shut, and her brow furrowed in pain.

Her condition was terrible. Not only had her body suffered injuries, but the separation of the Hundred Abodes Soul Gu from her consciousness had inflicted severe damage on her mind.

The Soul Gu and its host existed in a state of symbiosis, distinct from possession.

Thus, when the Soul Gu was forcibly removed, it severely wounded Zhou Qingxuan’s sea of consciousness without killing her.

Lan Chang'an was certain that the Soul Gu had likely left some contingencies in Zhou Qingxuan’s sea of consciousness, a backup plan in case the parasitism failed.

After all, the powers of the Hundred Abodes Soul Gu were mainly dependent on its host.

Without a host, the Soul Gu was like a rootless weed.

"She won't wake up for a while…"

After confirming Zhou Qingxuan's condition, Lan Chang'an laid several layers of restrictive spells on her body.

As for how to deal with her, he hadn’t made a decision yet.

Setting aside the matter of the Soul Gu, he had no personal grievances with Zhou Qingxuan herself. In fact, they had a decent relationship, as Lan Chang'an had once enjoyed a favorable period with the Beast Taming Zhou Family.

If he killed Zhou Qingxuan, Lan Chang'an would likely have to flee.

Even though her visit to the Little Turtle Peak was discreet, there were still traces that could be followed.

After a moment of contemplation, Lan Chang'an reached out and placed a hand on Zhou Qingxuan’s forehead to examine her sea of consciousness.

Zhou Qingxuan’s cultivation was stronger than his, and as a genius beast tamer, her spiritual sense was only slightly inferior to his.

In her weakened state, it would be easy for Lan Chang'an to plant deep restrictions in her sea of consciousness.

"Sure enough…"

Delving into Zhou Qingxuan’s sea of consciousness, Lan Chang'an discovered a transparent green insect egg radiating a sinister and dangerous aura.

This was a high-level Gu insect restriction, one that even a late-stage Core Formation Immortal would struggle to resolve.

The dangerous energy from the insect egg was slowly dispersing. Once it reached a certain threshold, it would explode, claiming Zhou Qingxuan’s life.

This Gu insect restriction was far more advanced than any methods Lan Chang'an had used in his previous life.

As such, planting his own restrictions in Zhou Qingxuan’s sea of consciousness was now pointless.

Unless Lan Chang'an could gain control over the method to undo the Gu insect restriction.

"Live or die, it’s all up to fate now."

Without any emotion on his face, Lan Chang'an closed his eyes and returned his consciousness to the Nine Seal Stele.

The protective spells of the secret room remained intact, and the commotion from earlier had not leaked to the outside world.

...

Lan Chang'an's consciousness attempted to merge with the "Fourth Life" of the Nine Seal Stele.

The vast, dark, silent space showed no response.

When his consciousness touched the small lit area, Lan Chang'an felt his mind reel, his body sinking into an endless abyss.

In the next instant, he felt himself transform into a Gu insect, experiencing a flood of fragmented memories that kept pouring in.

The immersive sensation was akin to a fleeting dream.

In comparison to the reincarnations of his first and second lives, this was far less impactful.

The biggest difference was that in his previous two lives, the skills and instincts he had mastered had naturally integrated into his current life.

But as for the life memories of the Soul Gu, Lan Chang'an was more like a spectator, unable to carry those skills or experiences into reality.

"The Heaven Honoured Continent... the Central State… the pursuit by the Three Saints Temple…"

"The strongest host of the main Soul Gu perished, forcing the Gu to split and flee. One fragment of the Soul Gu, by chance, passed through a spatial rift and escaped to the remote Qingzhou region."

The memory Lan Chang'an experienced wasn’t complete, likely due to the small size of the illuminated area, which limited the capacity.

Most of the scenes were from the time after the Hundred Abodes Soul Gu had parasitized Zhou Qingxuan.

There were fewer memories from earlier, especially regarding the main Soul Gu before it split in the Central State.

Lan Chang'an had heard of the Central State in his past life after reaching the Core Formation Realm.

It was said to be the oldest hub of cultivation civilization on the Heaven Honoured Continent, home to fifth-rank spiritual veins.

In comparison, the Fenghua Continent where the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty resided was a more recent cultivation area, with a history less ancient than that of the Central State.

The Three Saints Temple was a top-tier cultivation force in the Central State, and they had once launched a hunt for the main body of the Hundred Abodes Soul Gu.

Unfortunately, the related memories were incomplete.

From what Lan Chang'an could gather, the main host of the Hundred Abodes Soul Gu had been a Nascent Soul cultivator who could easily kill ordinary Nascent Souls, capable of overturning heaven and earth.

Yet, when pursued by the Three Saints Temple, the Soul Gu stood no chance.

One memory fragment showed a Nascent Soul late-stage great cultivator's towering figure, striking with a sky-shaking blow that turned the heavens and earth upside down.

"The Central State is truly terrifying!"

Even this fragmented memory left Lan Chang'an trembling with fear.

That Nascent Soul late-stage expert from the Three Saints Temple might have been at the level of the legendary great cultivator, Yan Donglai. Even the mighty Hundred Abodes Soul Gu had to flee in terror, splitting itself to survive.

"So that’s how it is… Decades ago, in the Black Fog Mountain Range, that Heavenly Moon Wolf I encountered had been parasitized by one of the Soul Gu’s fragments. That fragment may have been the only survivor, becoming the new main Soul Gu."

"The new main Soul Gu then split off a portion, first parasitizing the body of ‘Chen Fuhai’ from the Qingzhu Sect, hiding in the sect while it quietly developed."

"I’m not sure who leaked the news, but Chen Fuhai's actions in the 'Green Underworld Mysterious Realm' were very unsuccessful, obstructed at every turn, and very irritated."

"Chen Fu Hai simply went crazy and let's shift to the younger, more talented Zhou Qingxuan amidst the chaotic situation."

As more memory fragments surfaced, Lan Chang'an gradually pieced together the story.

"The Nine Seal Stele devoured a fragment of the Soul Gu and lit up a small part of the 'Fourth Life.' If I could devour more fragments, or even the main Soul Gu..."

Lan Chang'an’s heart was on fire.

This was an opportunity to unlock the secrets of the Nine Seal Stele.

His goal in this life was to reach the Nascent Soul Realm, ultimately to uncover the mystery of this reincarnation stone stele.

To that end, even if he took a little risk, he would not hesitate to do so.

In the past, Lan Chang'an had been wary of the Hundred Abodes Soul Gu, keeping his distance.

But from what he had just experienced…

The Nine Seal Stele seemed to be the nemesis of the Hundred Abodes Soul Gu, at least ensuring he didn’t need to fear being parasitized.

Even his second life's overwhelming soul power hadn't been this effective.

"From the memories of this fragment, the main Soul Gu is limited by its cultivation level and distance, unable to perceive the specific details of what happens here. It can only sense a general state…"

Lan Chang'an's eyes flickered as he considered the possibility of using this to his advantage.

The Heavenly Moon Wolf currently had a third-rank early-stage cultivation. Progressing further at that level would take a long time.

As a demon beast, it wouldn’t dare to cause trouble in the human world openly. At most, it would try to sneak in to probe the situation.

"If my body-refinement manual reaches quasi-third-rank and I advance to the late-stage Foundation Establishment, I might be able to lure this underdeveloped main Soul Gu into a trap."

The thought flashed through Lan Chang'an’s mind, but he quickly shook his head.

It wasn’t a question of whether it could be done.

He suspected that the cunning and cautious Heavenly Moon Wolf, after losing a fragment in such a mysterious way, wouldn’t dare to probe so recklessly.

Even if it did, it would likely send more fragments in its place, minimizing risk.

"Wait… There was something about the Gu insect restriction in Zhou Qingxuan's sea of consciousness within the memories…"

After a long while, Lan Chang'an found useful information in the Gu insect’s memories.

The restriction was difficult to cast and belonged to the innate abilities of the Hundred Abodes Soul Gu, something human cultivators couldn’t easily learn.

Completely dispelling it would be incredibly difficult.

However, if it was just a matter of mastering the control switching method of the restriction, with Lan Chang'an's realm insight of peak Core Formation in his previous life, it was not difficult to comprehend it.

...

In a deep valley within the Black Fog Mountain Range.

A giant wolf with silver frost-like fur and long, muscular limbs crouched at the valley's bottom, absorbing moonlight from the nine heavens above.

"Instant annihilation? No information at all? It must have been the work of a Nascent Soul True Monarch or an Immortal Golden Dan expert!"[1]

The Heavenly Moon Wolf shivered, its fur standing on end.

"With this kind of ability, could it be that that brat is the reincarnation of the legendary great cultivator 'Yan Donglai' himself?"

Yan Donglai was one of the most mysterious and longest-lived late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators on the Heaven Honoured Continent.

Rumors had it that this great cultivator had not truly died and had somehow left behind a legacy in later generations.

"The plan failed! I can't stay in the Black Fog Mountain Range near Liang Kingdom any longer…"

(End of Chapter)

[1] Immortal Golden Dan = Core Formation cultivators with Golden Dan.