Eternal Life Begins with Learning

Chapter 322: Chapter 296: Parasite

All this speculation left him hesitant to act.

After all, if his guess was correct, and the Demon Beast Bloodline truly contained a Residual Soul...

...then that meant... something truly horrifying!

After all, before reaching Tier Four, Demon Beasts lacked sufficient Spiritual Wisdom and relied entirely on instinct.

Only after reaching Tier Four, undergoing a Celestial Tribulation, and achieving Human Transformation would they possess Spiritual Wisdom on par with a human’s...

’How could something without Spiritual Wisdom keep its Residual Soul from dissipating inside a Cultivator’s body?’

Chu Mu’s expression was grim. He retreated several steps, and with a wave of his hand, he unleashed nearly every tool and technique at his disposal.

Four Cyan Wolf Puppets formed the Array of the Four Symbols, capable of fighting someone at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment.

Three Guard Puppets formed the Array of the Three Talents, which he had recently acquired. They too could undoubtedly take on a cultivator at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment.

All seven Puppets were positioned around the remains of the corpse.

Next, with a sweep of his hand, the blazing Great Sun True Flame that he had been refining for many years appeared.

For beings like Yin Souls, fire and lightning were both fatal weaknesses!

For an intangible wisp of a Residual Soul, even a single spark of True Flame was lethal.

He patted Wangcai, motioning for it to move to the other side.

Only then did he slowly advance, the True Flame wreathed around his body and a faint Sword Intent circulating, ready to deliver a fatal strike at any moment.

But despite all his preparations, even as he drew near the corpse again and the True Flame neared the body, there was still not the slightest hint of an unusual reaction.

According to his Divine Sense Perception, the corpse’s reanimation was still proceeding at a slow pace.

Faced with this situation, he was once again unsure of what to think.

’Was my guess wrong, or is there some other unknown factor at play?’

His expression flickered. After a long moment of contemplation, he slowly advanced again. This time, he was fully prepared. He used his Sword Intent to protect his Divine Soul, tempered his spirit with the True Flame, and only then did he send out his Divine Sense to probe and observe.

This time, his observation lasted for a very long time.

Chu Mu’s expression morphed from terror to one of profound confusion.

An hour later, Chu Mu was crouched beside the corpse, his face still a mask of confusion.

The results of his in-depth observation differed from his initial hypothesis, yet at the same time, they weren’t entirely off the mark.

There was, indeed, a wisp of a Divine Soul within the corpse.

However, it wasn’t the Residual Soul he had anticipated. Furthermore, it didn’t seem to be the Divine Soul of a Demon Beast...

After a moment of thought, Chu Mu formed a series of hand seals. One by one, the seals sank into the corpse, and soon, faint strands of blood-red light began to emerge from it.

After about an hour, a fist-sized ball of Bloodline Essence was levitating in the palm of his hand.

As for the corpse, the signs of reanimation it had been showing had vanished completely. The body was now withered and utterly lifeless.

This change was clearly within Chu Mu’s expectations.

His attention remained fixed on the ball of Bloodline Essence in his palm.

It was the source of all his confusion.

Within the Bloodline Essence, the distorted shape of an eagle was faintly visible—unmistakably the form of a Demon Beast.

But with his Divine Sense Perception, he could detect a human aura within the Bloodline Essence. Although it was extremely well-hidden, he could faintly sense it by probing deeper.

As his Divine Sense seeped into the Bloodline Essence, he could even see the faint flicker of a human figure.

’A Demon Beast Bloodline and a human’s Divine Soul...’

’Two completely unrelated things, fused together in the most bizarre way.’

From his observations, the Divine Soul within the Bloodline Essence was severely damaged and seemed to have fallen into a deep slumber, much like a person in a vegetative state.

Normally, a Divine Soul in such a state should have dissipated long ago.

But perhaps, while its owner was still conscious, some contingency plan had been put in place, fusing his Divine Soul with this mass of Demon Beast Bloodline Essence.

The Divine Soul depended on the Bloodline Essence for survival, and the Bloodline Essence, in turn, depended on... a human host.

’In other words, if a Cultivator who followed a bloodline-based path happened to use this specific Bloodline Essence as their foundation...’

’Then...’

’...they would essentially be letting this dormant Divine Soul become a parasite in their own body.’

This was the root cause of the corpse’s strange behavior earlier.

When its host body died, the dormant Divine Soul had acted—perhaps out of a simple instinct for survival, or perhaps it was a conscious act.

The Bloodline Essence had begun to corrupt the corpse, likely in an attempt to create a Half-Demon Zombie, which would once again provide a nurturing environment for the dormant Divine Soul to survive in.

As his thoughts raced, Chu Mu couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine.

’This kind of "parasitism" is truly horrifying.’

Any Cultivator who unknowingly used this bloodline as their foundation would end up nurturing this dormant Divine Soul for their entire life.

After all, the Divine Soul and the bloodline were fused into a single entity.

And once a Cultivator began to cultivate this bloodline, they would be bound to it, which was tantamount to being bound to this Divine Soul!

There would be almost no way to get rid of it!

And once this Divine Soul awakened...

...it could use the bloodline to achieve Possession in an instant!

Chu Mu thought to himself. The Divine Soul was dormant and fused with the bloodline, making it incredibly well-hidden.

’But anyone wanting to cultivate this bloodline would surely inspect the Bloodline Essence first. With a thorough enough inspection, it would be nearly impossible not to notice the dormant Divine Soul inside...’

Thinking this, Chu Mu then dismissed the idea.

’With my Cultivation at the Foundation Establishment Realm, I could naturally detect it.’

’But a cultivator in the Qi Cultivation Realm? That’s not so certain.’

Although it was difficult to tell the Divine Soul’s original realm, it was undoubtedly at Tier Three or an even higher level.

Otherwise, a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Realm has to be extremely careful even when performing Divine Soul Emergence, to say nothing of having their soul survive for an extended period outside the body.

But this Divine Soul wasn’t just surviving for a long time outside its body.

It had fused with a Demon Beast Bloodline without being assimilated or corrupted by it, survived being subjected to a Cultivator’s Refinement, and could persist within that Cultivator’s body for an extended time!

In life, its owner must have been a truly terrifying figure!

"So... was it a trick? Or was it just a coincidence that led the hook-nosed man to cultivate this bloodline, all for the purpose of creating a host and eventually awakening?"

Chu Mu spoke as if testing the air, half to himself.

But in his Divine Sense Perception, the Divine Soul hidden within the Bloodline Essence remained as still as a Blank Divine Soul, showing no fluctuation whatsoever.

Chu Mu watched in silence. The Divine Soul relied on the bloodline, and the bloodline relied on a human body. That chain had now been broken.

Without a human body to sustain it, the bloodline itself was not far from withering away. And if the bloodline withered, the Divine Soul that depended on it would be annihilated.

What Chu Mu was curious about was what would happen next.

After all, just moments ago, its survival instinct had nearly brought the corpse back from the dead.

"Hm?"

A moment later, he seemed to sense something, and his brow furrowed slightly.

The Bloodline Essence floating above his palm, as if its survival instinct had suddenly flared, began to slowly seep toward his skin.

’The Bloodline Essence is trying to make me its host?’

With a flicker of his thoughts, a spark of True Flame appeared at his fingertip.

With a flick of his finger, the True Flame shot out and scorched the spreading Bloodline Essence. A burnt smell wafted up, and the essence, as if in pain, immediately recoiled.

And yet, throughout all of this, his Divine Sense Perception detected no fluctuation from the Divine Soul within.

’Is it really just instinct?’

Chu Mu still wasn’t sure. But then, an even greater problem presented itself.

’What should I do with this hybrid of Bloodline Essence and Divine Soul?’

’Such a bizarre entity...’

It was common knowledge in the Cultivation Immortal Realm that a Divine Soul resided in the Sea of Consciousness.

After the physical body’s destruction, a Divine Soul had to be housed in a soul-nurturing artifact to prolong its existence.

So for a soul to merge with something as instinct-driven as a Demon Beast Bloodline—not only remaining unaffected but also instinctively controlling it—was unheard of.

This went far beyond merely ’peculiar’.

After thinking it over and probing it several more times without any unusual reaction, he stopped hesitating. No matter how precious or peculiar this bloodline-soul hybrid was, it couldn’t change the fact that it was, at its core, a human soul.

The Divine Soul of a High Tier Cultivator, even one that was currently dormant—who knew when it might awaken?

Keeping it around was like holding onto a ticking time bomb.

’Better to be decisive and just refine it completely!’

As he formed a hand seal, a gout of Great Sun True Flame completely enveloped the ball of Bloodline Essence.

Under the True Flame’s Refinement, the Bloodline Essence began to CRACKLE. Wisps of acrid black smoke billowed out, and on an imperceptible level, he could almost feel the instinctive roar of the Demon Beast Bloodline.

The Divine Soul, which had been utterly still until now, seemed to show a slight reaction.

At this sudden anomaly, Chu Mu’s eyebrow twitched, and the fiercely burning True Flame dimmed slightly.

He was now almost certain that the Divine Soul was dormant.

’But this sudden reaction...’

’Could the Refinement process with the True Flame stimulate the dormant Divine Soul and cause it to awaken?’

Chu Mu’s eyes flickered. He glanced around at his surroundings—all his preparations were still in place, the Heaven and Earth Net poised and ready to be unleashed.

After confirming that everything was in order, he channeled his Magical Power, and the dim True Flame blazed brightly once more.

The True Flame flared, and the Refinement process began again.

Just as he had anticipated, as if it had instinctively sensed a mortal danger, the fluctuations from the Divine Soul deep within the bloodline grew increasingly distinct.

It was like watching a comatose person begin to stir, or like someone being roused from a deep sleep.

Sensing it had reached a critical point, Chu Mu halted the True Flame’s scorching and retreated more than ten meters. His Puppets stood guard, wreathed in the power of the Array Prohibitions, all on high alert.

"Was it... you who awakened me?"

As a clear Divine Soul Aura and a faint, oppressive pressure manifested, a distinctly weak voice echoed in Chu Mu’s ears.

Chu Mu remained silent. With a mere thought, the Array Prohibitions around the room and the Array of the Four Symbols formed by his four Cyan Wolf Puppets were ready to activate at a moment’s notice.

Faced with such a daunting setup, the voice that had just appeared suddenly vanished, and silence fell once more.

After a moment, the ball of Bloodline Essence began to change again.

The blood-red mass twisted and slowly took on a human shape. Finally, with a flash of Divine Soul Aura, a middle-aged, white-haired man in a gray-white robe appeared before Chu Mu...

...

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!