Chapter 248: A Trap Beneath A Trap Beneath A Trap

"If you don't mind me asking...how are you maintaining the clarity of your soul when the rest of the participants in this formation are not even able to stay conscious of themselves? Even someone with a reformed soul like Fang Xie is having trouble staying awake, from the looks of it," the senior enquired with curiosity.

Han Xuhan thought for a moment and decided to throw out a bait.

"Senior, I'm doing this through the use of an artifact I purchased from my sect during the initial period of my cultivation. It helps the carrier overpower all spiritual influences within a small area. Inside the formation, I'm safe as long as I wear this gauntlet," he replied, pointing at his right hand.

If Fang Xie was still conscious, or hiding his claws to wait for an opportunity, Han Xuhan wanted to force those claws out before the next stage of his plan could be initiated. Now that he had put his biggest trump card on the table-

Han Xuhan felt a tremendous vibration within his very being. For a moment, he lost his perception of this strange world of spiritual bodies. But he was jerked back to it a moment later.

Had Fang Xie really attacked him the moment those words came out of his mouth? Then why was he still fine and intact? Any attack from Fang Xie could reduce him to small piles of meat and bones as long as he meant it!

Then he heard the old voice chuckle inside his consciousness.

"Clever child, your instinct for traps never ceases to impress me. But, this time you were too reckless. If the attacker was Fang Xie...even my interference wouldn't have been able to stop your demise. Consider yourself lucky. The girl who tried to snatch this nonexistent artifact from you has been dealt with. And on that note, don't you exercise? Practice some martial arts, child. It was truly difficult to counter her moves with your stagnant muscles."

For a moment, Han Xuhan sank into a dumbfounded stupor. It wasn't Fang Xie who had taken the bait?

"...Who was the attacker?"

"The girl named Xueshi. I'm not sure how she had managed to stay awake and peep into our conversation in this spiritual prison. Maybe her soul contains some abnormalities. I can't detect it relying on your perception. But the soul that belongs here among these fifteen should certainly be a novelty!"

Han Xuhan glanced at the fifteen spiritual bodies around him. Other than the obvious flower-like form that belonged to Fang Xie, he couldn't sense much of a difference among the rest of the bodies. Each of them had their own unique traits, but they were too minor for him to glean anything, not to mention, he didn't really know much about such abstract concepts either. But it wouldn't hurt to know.

"Which one is hers, senior? Can you point it out to me?" he asked.

"What? You want to damage her spiritual body in an act of revenge?" the senior replied.

"No. I'm just curious to see which disciple of the Phoenix Faction has been hiding her strength. It helps me...orchestrate things."

The old man chuckled again and pointed it out to him. Han Xuhan closely examined the spiritual body. Apart from the common trait of being a mass of swirling colors, this body also contained some small, pitch-black holes that moved around the swirling mass like bubbles.

As he memorized every detail of Ning Xueshi's spiritual body, the old man suddenly said in a stiff voice, "That little bait you threw out for Fang Xie wasn't just for him, was it?"

In a tone full of puzzlement, Han Xuhan denied the accusation.

"I'm not sure what you mean, senior?"

"You wanted to test my reaction to any potential danger to your existence that you can't handle yourself," the old man said grudgingly.

"Unlike most of the threats you usually deal with, this was much more quick and direct, and you already had me engaged in an exchange, ensuring that my actions inside the formation could be unfettered compared to outside. You were testing my willingness to take control over your body in case the question of my own self-preservation came up and I wasn't constrained by the threat of being detected by Celestials. Tsk, tsk, tsk...such cunningness at such an age!"

"...It is flattering that you think so highly of my intellect, senior. But you're overthinking it. My decision to lay a trap was a spur-of-the-moment thing, not a plan of such complex depth."

"Hahaha, I've been inside your body for so long, watching the world through your paranoid vision. You can't fool me that easily."

The old man didn't exactly sound displeased with the fact that he had been baited into revealing something so crucial. But Han Xuhan was concerned that time was running out for both of them. He chose to sideline the issue and began his sincere volley of requests again.

"Senior, I've already explained everything to you. Since Fang Xie is merely suffering from a backlash, he has a good chance of recovering his peak cultivation sooner or later. Whichever it is, you'll be much safer inside him than my broken dao tower. So please...leave me be and possess him."

A long stretch of silence appeared following his request. In the end, it was broken by a tired sigh.

"I do not want to, child. Moving over to his dao tower would mean I would lose my connection to that burning planet you've seen your minions traversing. This formation you've set up, while being impressive for someone like you, is too rudimentary to be likely to fool heaven's eyes for long. There's a good chance that I might be discovered and 'erased' from existence alongside my new host, Fang Xie. In fact, I'm afraid you're even hoping for that possibility to happen. Perhaps just when I'm in the process of possessing him, you'll lift the formation and expose me to the Celestial's gaze. And then...two of your most powerful opponents will be erased from existence!"

"Senior, I hold no malice towards you! And you know me! Have you ever seen my go out of my way to harm anybody who hasn't tried to hurt me first?" Han Xuhan protested weakly.

"Of course I have. Look around you. There are fourteen examples of that very crime you deny."

"...None of them were harmed by me! And none of them are actually fatally injured either. For cultivators at their level, some nails through the body aren't even enough of an excuse to skip lessons!" Frustration began to chew at his nerves as he started shouting.

"If you want, I'll swear a dao heart oath! I promise not to do anything that exposes your existence to the outside world! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"I refuse. Good attempt at enticing me out of your body, but you'll need a better offer to make me actually do so. Goodbye for now. I suggest you escape before your enemies here recover their senses."

As the old man's voice began to fade, Han Xuhan's rage finally crossed all thresholds of tolerance. In a cold tone, he mumbled, "Do you remember that you asked me about this formation and how I came to learn something so sophisticated, old man?"

No answer came. But he wasn't bothered. He knew the old fart was listening.

"Since you claim to be unable to read all of my memories, it is natural that you wouldn't know. To be honest, it happened right under your nose."

Right then, the voice suddenly returned and interrupted him.

"Whatever it is, I don't really care at this point, lad. I just checked your dao tower and it seems like the connection through which your minions have been supplying you with enough mental power to withstand the influence of the formation is almost about to be lost. Also, the materials you've placed around the cabin to create the formation, including the Blood-based Sentient Contract beneath the overturned table, have almost reached its end. You have less than ten seconds here in this artificial realm of spiritual forms. I'm not saving your butt when all of them wake up."

"Oh, that's okay," Han Xuhan said faintly. "Since you've denied my sincerest offer, I suppose I should show you what the insincere offer looks like too. Unfortunately for you, unlike the sincere offer, the insincere one doesn't give you a choice!"

"...Was that supposed to terrify me, Child?"

Right at that moment, Han Xuhan's consciousness was tugged out of the world of spiritual bodies. He found himself back inside his physical body, his vision having reverted back to the Ghostsight mode. He had laid down at some point, and his entire body was in pain. Fang Xie was lying frozen several meters away. The girl who had attacked him, Ning Xueshi, was probably the silhouette lying just beside him.

Kneeling down, Han Xuhan produced a scroll from his pouch and dipped some of Fang Xie's blood in it. Then he silently read out the incantation.

With this separate sentient contract of blood, the two connected souls are placed on each end of the formation!

With the eye of heaven shut and the ear of the earth blocked, the Head of the formation and the Tail of the formation are reversed!

With a dozen sacrificial lambs offering up their blood essence, the reversion is carried out!

With the selfless protection by the permanent, inseparable spiritual connection between him and his two dao protectors outside, the reversion is safely completed!

The popular Body Possession Technique of the Superbeast Society had taken effect!