Conspiracy Trap

"I'm just teaching her, on your behalf, what it means to respect the strong."

Chen Fanzhu shot Mo Tianxiao an icy glare and said calmly, "Decent face, but too naive."

If Zhou Muxi hadn't been there, the mere fact that Mo Tianxiao had called him a "bald donkey" earlier would have been enough to get him killed ten thousand times over.

Mo Tianxiao looked at Chen Fanzhu with surprise, then turned to Zhou Muxi and asked, "Isn't he a bald donkey? I don’t think I said anything wrong."

Zhou Muxi replied flatly, "You're right. He is a bald donkey."

"Zhou Muxi, you're asking for death!" Chen Fanzhu's face instantly turned cold. He loathed the term "bald donkey."

"Alright, alright. The Blood God and the elders are still here. Whatever grudges you have, settle them later."

On the other side, a middle-aged man with a long beard spoke slowly, his squinting eyes glinting with a smile as he tried to mediate.

Hearing this, Chen Fanzhu ground his teeth but ultimately held back, only throwing out a threat: "You two just wait."

Zhou Muxi and Mo Tianxiao simply ignored him.

"Since everyone is here, let's begin directly."

A voice came from the high platform. Mo Tianxiao looked up and saw that, at some point, a figure had appeared at the main seat on the dais. The figure was entirely shrouded in a black robe, wearing a black mask on their face, and their voice was somewhat deep.

To the left and right of the main seat sat two more figures, draped in white robes and wearing white masks, presumably the elders of the Blood God Palace.

"This Blood God selection is the same as before, divided into two phases. The first phase is the contest among the three Tribulation Transcendence cultivators—namely, the next Blood Son candidates.

The contest among you three is meant to evaluate the insight of the three Blood God successors.

To lead the entire Blood God Palace, talent and strength alone aren't enough. Foresight is equally important. That's why the Blood God Palace has stood unshaken through the long years."

The Blood God's voice was unusually low. Listening closely, Mo Tianxiao felt that this Blood God might be nearing the end of their lifespan. From the aura emanating from them, he sensed the exhaustion of a dying flame.

His Culling Eye swept over the Blood God briefly, making him pause in shock.

"Three little ones, go test yourselves in the secret realm."

The Blood God waved a hand lightly, and a vortex gate appeared beneath Mo Tianxiao and the other two cultivators at the peak of Tribulation Transcendence, sucking all three inside.

Seeing this, Zhou Muxi frowned. "Blood God, this doesn't seem like the usual approach, does it?"

The other two also seemed to sense something off. If it were a contest, shouldn't it be held openly for all to see?

The Blood God only explained in a low voice, "We've simply tweaked the rules a bit this time. Whoever emerges first among the three will show whose judgment is best."

Hearing this, Zhou Muxi felt an eerie tension in the air and quietly crushed the jade token hidden in his hand.

The surroundings fell silent. The Blood God stopped speaking, settling into a long wait, while the other four elders remained as still as meditating monks, not saying a word since the beginning.

On the other side, Mo Tianxiao and the two others were teleported into a ruined cave dwelling. It was cluttered with various cultivation texts, pills, and artifacts once used by cultivators, but everything was thick with dust.

"What is this place?"

The other two looked around in confusion.

Wasn't this supposed to be a competition? Why had they been thrown into a place like this?

Mo Tianxiao quietly stepped back a few paces, carefully scanning his surroundings. The next moment, his pupils contracted slightly. "It looks like someone is ahead."

Mo Tianxiao's words startled the other two, who moved forward. On the altar hidden in the darkness sat three figures cross-legged.

Upon closer inspection, the figures beneath their black robes had withered faces and tightly shut eyes, as if they had achieved nirvana here.

"Could this be where a senior of the Blood God Palace passed away?"

The other two sensed no trace of life from the three figures, so they boldly stepped closer to investigate.

Mo Tianxiao took two more steps back. His Culling Eye had just swept over them when he sensed danger, and he called out a warning, "Be careful!"

The two who had entered with Mo Tianxiao instinctively turned their heads at his warning, but in that instant, three astonishing soul projections burst forth from the decrepit figures, shooting into the bodies of the two cultivators in the blink of an eye.

The final soul projection charged at Mo Tianxiao, cackling, "Little girl! Come to this old man! I'm about to pass away, and before I die, I'll transfer all my cultivation and memories to you to aid your training!"

Mo Tianxiao's eyelids twitched violently as he roared, "Bastard! Trying to possess me! You picked the wrong target!"

He whipped out the Soul Absorbing Banner, which blazed with brilliant light. An ancient formation instantly covered the incoming soul projection.

"Wow ha ha ha...."

"Someone dares to try possessing our boss! Brothers, teach him a lesson!"

"It's a Saint King peak soul—tough, but not impossible. Just needs some time."

A host of spectral souls appeared, dropping the temperature by dozens of degrees in an instant.

Old Man Yun glanced at the Saint King peak cultivator's soul that had stumbled into the Soul Refining Array, a glint flickering in his eyes.

With a wave of his hand, tens of thousands of spectral souls formed a perfect, orderly formation, trapping that soul tightly.

"What is this?! What have you done?!"

The pain of having his soul torn apart struck him. The soul's face contorted in agony as it desperately used its soul energy to resist the tearing force.

"Ah!! No! I won't possess you anymore! Spare me!"

Feeling the power of the Soul Absorbing Banner, the Saint King peak soul let out a miserable shriek.

He may have been an exalted Saint King peak powerhouse in life, but now, as nothing but a soul remnant, even a complete Saint King cultivation soul was no match for the aura of an Emperor realm soul fragment.

Paired with such a massive army of spectral souls, the soul attempting possession could only watch helplessly as it was refined.

"Ah~, so this is what possession feels like? Though my cultivation has dropped, the surging vitality of youth is truly intoxicating."

"Those old monsters would rather die than possess others, saying only cowards fear death! Ha! I spit on that! Now we're still alive, and they're dead—that's the truth. As long as we raise our cultivation back up, we might even surpass our original peak!"

In the distance, the two Tribulation Transcendence peak cultivators who had entered with Mo Tianxiao had already been fully possessed by Saint King souls. The gap between a Saint King soul and a Tribulation Transcendence soul was too vast, so their original consciousnesses had been extinguished almost without resistance.

"You two! Come save me!"

The soul trapped in the Soul Refining Array cried out frantically, as if seeing salvation.

The two possessed cultivators looked over, their eyes gleaming with surprise. "Not bad—a treasure capable of restraining Saint King souls! Excellent stuff!"

"Brat! Release him immediately and accept your possession! Hand over that treasure too! Such a divine artifact is not meant for an ant like you!"