Chapter Fifty-Six: Scheming Against Each Other

With a muffled groan, the Marauder God was completely suppressed, yet a sliver of his pure and refined soul, though battered and incomplete, found a gap in the formation’s fierce suppression. In a flash, it slipped through and escaped.

Suddenly, an unexpected change occurred. The giant ape’s eyes flickered, and two bolts of silver lightning struck that wisp of soul with resounding crashes. Half of the soul was shattered, but the Marauder God dared not linger. With several quick flashes, he darted into Ge Qian’s brow, entering his sea of consciousness. His speed was so swift that Ge Qian could not hope to resist.

At the very moment the Marauder God’s soul entered, the giant ape’s eyes narrowed sharply. A blood-red wisp of its fiery thunder soul split off and followed in a flash into Ge Qian’s consciousness. Then, the formation returned to its original state as if nothing had happened.

Within Ge Qian’s sea of consciousness, the Marauder God burst out in hearty laughter. After tens of thousands of years, he was finally free—and now possessed a body. Naturally, he was overjoyed.

A faint blue soul, clearly Ge Qian’s, retreated several steps and said, “Master, what is your intention? Do you mean to seize my body?”

“Clever. Then obediently let me devour you, or perhaps I’ll give you a chance to reincarnate. If not, I’ll consume you utterly,” the Marauder God replied coldly.

At that moment, a bloody, fire-thunder soul entered, forming a triangle with Ge Qian and the Marauder God. It glanced at Ge Qian, dismissing him, and addressed the Marauder God: “You truly are despicable, Marauder God. With your level of cultivation, you’d deceive a junior who hasn’t even established his foundation? How shameless! I, the Fiery Thunder Divine Ape, have nothing but contempt for you.”

The Marauder God was visibly stunned. “Fiery Thunder, you were well hidden—waiting to take advantage now. But let me tell you, in my prime, I could have destroyed you ten times over with a flick of my hand. Be wise and leave, or you’ll lose your last chance at rebirth. Considering we both suffered under the same fate, once I master this body, I’ll find a more suitable vessel for you. This one’s talent is merely average. Unlike me, who practices the Marauder Deity Art and can possess bodies endlessly, you only have one chance in your life.”

The Fiery Thunder Divine Ape snorted. “As you say, at your peak I was no match. But after these tens of thousands of years of suppression, your soul is now hollow, your strength spent—a spent arrow, nothing to fear. Even if his talent is poor, working with him is safer than with you. Your reputation is ruined; in the end, I would be devoured too. Besides, I sacrificed my own body and most of my soul for this day. You’d better not fight me. Leave now, or I’ll act, and you will meet a miserable end!”

Ge Qian, ever shrewd, understood the situation from their exchange. The Fiery Thunder Divine Ape had been refined by the three ancient beings who had sealed the Marauder God, made into the formation spirit to strengthen the array. But any monster who had lived for ten thousand years possessed life-saving techniques. Now, both sought to seize his body for rebirth.

Though they each possessed only a sliver of their soul, Ge Qian was no match for either. Only if they fought and weakened each other might he have a sliver of hope. So he appeared stunned, shrinking into a corner, mumbling scriptures as if praying this ordeal was not real.

Neither paid him any mind. In their eyes, Ge Qian was already meat on the chopping block, ready for their taking.

The Marauder God laughed at the Fiery Thunder Divine Ape’s words. “To tell you the truth, I abandoned most of my memories to retain only the purest soul, making my strength unimaginable to you. These tens of thousands of years in captivity taught me the Marauder Deity Art emphasized the soul too much, neglecting other aspects—though powerful, it was flawed. At my level, it’s too late to change. This sealing was my tribulation, but also a chance for greater glory. I’ve given up everything—achievements, cultivation, even memories—forgotten myself to start anew, cultivating from the mortal world, step by step surpassing my former self. Do you understand? I am no longer who I was, yet I still exist.”

The Fiery Thunder Divine Ape shuddered. The Marauder God had grasped his own path—what resolve! Like a billionaire abandoning all wealth to start as a laborer, but more than that, forsaking all grudges, wholeheartedly seeking the Way.

The Fiery Thunder Divine Ape felt fear. If the Marauder God rose again, his achievements would be unparalleled, even ascending to the Immortal Realm. That could not be allowed. He must devour the Marauder God and master the Marauder Deity Art, so that he himself could ascend.

With this in mind, the Fiery Thunder Divine Ape shrieked, “Enough talk—die! Once I devour you, my glory will be unmatched!” With that, his soul lunged at the Marauder God.

The Marauder God responded calmly; only one could control this body, so battle was inevitable. It would come down to whose strength prevailed.

The two formidable souls entwined, frantically attempting to devour each other. Though the Marauder God’s soul was powerful, most had been destroyed by the formation. Meanwhile, the Fiery Thunder Divine Ape’s soul, painstakingly cultivated, contained his very essence.

The struggle was fierce and evenly matched; neither could gain the upper hand. Neither dared to spare any power to devour Ge Qian, fearing the other would seize the opportunity.

This granted Ge Qian precious time. In this life-or-death moment, he had no choice but to act.

His only reliance was the nameless Heart Sutra. The scriptural verses surged forth like a tide.

Because he still held control over his sea of consciousness, the sutras formed winding, mysterious runes, ignoring all barriers to slip into the warring souls of the Marauder God and the Fiery Thunder Divine Ape.

At first, neither paid the runes any heed, thinking Ge Qian was merely praying. But when the runes began to permeate their souls, they were startled. Though the runes seemed harmless—indeed, they felt warm and comfortable—the unknown is always most dangerous, and these old monsters knew it well.

Simultaneously, both unleashed their killing blows, determined to resolve the battle in one move, then eliminate this new threat and devour Ge Qian’s soul to seize his body and be reborn.

The Marauder God’s soul transformed into a rotund flesh-ball with a gaping maw, which bit down on most of the Fiery Thunder Divine Ape’s soul. “Die! With my Transforming Devour, your death is well-deserved!”

The Fiery Thunder Divine Ape’s soul flared with lightning and fire. “When the Thunder God is enraged, I’ll take you with me—explode!”

Both had revealed their trump cards. The Marauder God transformed into a Devouring Beast—one of the ten primal divine beasts, capable of swallowing anything; it was said a mature Devouring Beast could consume an entire world. Of course, the Marauder God did not possess such power. Only by chance had he acquired a drop of the beast’s blood, enabling him to cultivate the Marauder Deity Art. Otherwise, no one could devour other souls at will.

The Fiery Thunder Divine Ape was itself a primeval aberration, with a trace of the Thunder God’s blood. Its desperate strike was formidable indeed.

Thus, the two souls twisted together, like the black and white eyes of a yin-yang fish, slowly revolving.

Ge Qian’s heart stirred—this was his chance. He accelerated the recitation of the nameless Heart Sutra; countless runes densely wrapped around the two souls, sealing them tightly.