Chapter 805: Spirit Transference Technique

"Old monster," Han Li said, breaking the silence after a moment, "when you possessed the puppet, did it never occur to you to transfer your soul out of it? Given your intellect, establishing such a method shouldn't have been difficult, especially since you single-handedly created the Great Evolution Art."

"Do you think the Soul-Possession Art I used was simple?" he retorted. "Back then, I prided myself on my exceptional intellect, believing no one in the world could match me. Consequently, I became engrossed in too many pursuits. Not only did I devise secret techniques like the Great Evolution Art, which strengthens spiritual sense, but I also established the Thousand Bamboo Sect and revived the art of puppetry, long lost in Tiannan. These endeavors alone consumed most of my lifespan. On top of that, I had to concurrently cultivate various techniques to advance my cultivation to the late Nascent Soul stage, aiming to dominate an area without rival."

"Dominate an area? Unrivaled?" Hearing this, Han Li's expression turned peculiar.

"What, do you think I'm boasting?" the Great Evolution God Monarch's voice filled with arrogance. "When my cultivation reached its zenith, I maintained a low profile and an arrogant disposition, challenging only renowned cultivators and never publicizing my victories. As a result, only the most elite cultivators knew my name. To give you an example, the two old patriarchs, once hailed as the foremost cultivators of both the righteous and demonic factions in Tiannan, were my vanquished foes. I beat them into complete submission; they even willingly surrendered the Far West, allowing me to establish my sect there and withdraw all their forces. Otherwise, do you truly believe a mere desert would deter Tiannan cultivators from coveting the Far West? Even if the Far West is desolate, it's still expansive enough to support two nations, ample space for numerous major sects."

"The Far West, you conquered it?" Han Li was speechless upon hearing this.

"Not only that," the old man continued, sounding smug, "I also compelled those two old individuals to swear a solemn oath that none of their disciples or descendants would be permitted to enter the Far West for the next ten thousand years."

"Given their standing, they'd truly be that compliant?" Han Li's mouth twitched in disbelief.

"If they were unwilling, I would have slaughtered all their disciples and descendants. Do you take me for a soft-hearted old woman? As for attempting to besiege me with overwhelming numbers, the thousands of puppets I refined were no pushovers. Yet, it does surprise me that cultivators from both the righteous and demonic factions still haven't encroached upon the Far West. Could they truly be adhering to their patriarchs' words to this day?" The Great Evolution God Monarch found this somewhat puzzling.

Han Li fell silent. He concluded that the old monster was either a compulsive liar or truly monstrously powerful in his prime. Even if the thousands of puppets he boasted of were merely at the Foundation Establishment stage, they would still have been terrifyingly formidable. Whether the righteous and demonic factions were truly bound by that ancient oath, preventing them from seizing the Far West, or if they simply found the region too remote and resource-poor to bother with, Han Li didn't care to ponder. This matter held no relevance for him. Han Li felt a sense of awe, when suddenly, the old man's sigh echoed in his mind.

"When I achieved all this," the Great Evolution God Monarch's voice suddenly lowered, sounding dejected, "and truly believed myself to be at the pinnacle of the cultivation world, I realized I had made a fatal error. My lifespan was dwindling, yet I remained stuck at the late Nascent Soul stage. No matter how extraordinary my aptitude and intelligence, the mere two hundred years I had left were utterly insufficient to break through to the Spirit Transformation realm. Had I not initially diverted my focus to puppetry and inventing new cultivation methods, I am confident that reaching the Spirit Transformation stage would not have been difficult for me. Otherwise, I would have ascended to the Spirit Realm long ago, instead of being trapped within a puppet for over ten millennia, now on the verge of dissipating."

Hearing this, Han Li pursed his lips and rolled his eyes internally, even feeling a slight hint of jealousy. For ordinary cultivators, forming a Golden Core or condensing a Nascent Soul was an arduous task. Yet, for this old monster, entering the Spirit Transformation stage appeared to be relatively straightforward. If his words were true, this individual was indeed a heaven-defying talent. Calling him a cultivation prodigy seen once in ten thousand years was an understatement.

"Realizing that reaching the Spirit Transformation stage was beyond my grasp," the Great Evolution God Monarch sneered, "I refused to passively await death. Though it's said that as long as the soul endures, one can reincarnate, to me, even if there were a next life without the memories and emotions of this one, would I truly still be 'me'? I would merely be a stranger. Furthermore, in the next life, I might become an unremarkable, mediocre individual, with scant hope of possessing spiritual roots or ever cultivating again. This fear consumed me. For the remaining two hundred years, I cast aside all other pursuits and relentlessly strove to create a method for eternal life or a reincarnation art that could preserve consciousness. After countless failures, I finally developed the Soul-Possession Art—a secret technique unprecedented in history—building upon the foundations of the Great Evolution Art."

"So, you sacrificed most of your cultivation, merely to suspend your spiritual sense within a puppet, becoming a living corpse for nearly ten millennia," Han Li interjected, a half-smile on his face.

"What do you know?" the Great Evolution God Monarch snapped, his voice turning cold by the end. "I simply ran out of time. I had only half-completed the Soul-Possession Art when I was forced to use it, which is why I ended up in this state. After possessing this specialized puppet, I was surprised that my cultivation didn't completely dissipate as expected; only my spiritual sense abilities remained barely usable. But attempting to let my Nascent Soul leave this body was a fool's errand. As for that secret chamber, I had it guarded by an incredibly potent formation and over a hundred puppets. Without a physical body or magical power, I couldn't even open the seals or summon the puppets. Furthermore, fearing reprisal from enemies, I never revealed the location of that chamber to anyone. My disciples and subordinates, only at the Golden Core stage, were entirely incapable of finding it. Consequently, I remained trapped for over ten millennia. Had I not been in a puppet body and had I not stored a considerable number of spirit stones in that chamber, I would have long since vanished into dust."

Han Li furrowed his brow, a silent murmur in his thoughts. However, his expression soon relaxed, and he began to ask, "Old monster, why are you so talkative today? Whenever I tried to ask you about the past, you always seemed indifferent and sluggish. What makes you willing to explain everything in such detail this time?"

"Hmph! If not to you, then to whom?" the old man huffed, seemingly annoyed again. "Since you cultivate the Great Evolution Art, you could be considered half my disciple. Furthermore, if you hadn't stumbled into the Thousand Bamboo Sect's secret chamber and found me on the verge of extinction, I would likely have dissipated completely. After all, the Soul-Possession Art isn't true eternal life. Even if the puppet body could endure for ten millennia, my Nascent Soul, deprived of nourishment from a true physical body for so long, was approaching its limit. What I hadn't anticipated was your cunning, young man. You recognized my distinction from the other puppets at a glance and moved to attack me first, almost costing me my life."

"I attacked first?" Han Li retorted bluntly. "If you hadn't suddenly assaulted me with that wretched Seven Emotions Art, even if I found your puppet unusual, I wouldn't have acted. As it was, caught off guard, my second Nascent Soul became inextricably linked with you, creating a dilemma. While you could use the Seven Emotions Art to drive my second Nascent Soul into an uncontrollable frenzy, I, too, could control it through my main Nascent Soul and employ an assimilation technique, causing both your spirit and my second Nascent Soul to be utterly annihilated."

"How was I to know that you, a young monster, had cultivated a second Nascent Soul at such a tender age?" the Great Evolution God Monarch retorted righteously, showing no hint of remorse. "Understand that at that moment, apart from my spiritual sense, I possessed no magical power whatsoever; my actions were purely for self-preservation."

This time, Han Li was speechless and did not want to continue the conversation.

"Alright, let's set that aside for now," the Great Evolution God Monarch said with a self-deprecating chuckle after a pause. "What truly surprised me was that you possess a supreme treasure like the Soul-Nourishing Wood. Without it, even if I had subdued you, I would have vanished from this world within a year or two at most. I suppose it's a blessing in disguise."

"I lent you the Soul-Nourishing Wood because you promised to teach me the latter three layers of the Great Evolution Art," Han Li stated calmly, coming to a halt. "Moreover, I am very interested in your puppet manufacturing techniques. After all, for the past ten millennia, your time in that secret chamber, apart from long periods of hibernation, has been dedicated to studying puppetry. Since I'm cultivating your Great Evolution Art, I certainly won't overlook your puppet techniques. This is merely a transaction between us."

"Haha, Han kid!" the Great Evolution God Monarch roared with laughter in Han Li's mind. "I find you increasingly to my liking now. In my time, I also couldn't tolerate hypocrites. Were it not for your truly abysmal aptitude, which makes it impossible for you to cultivate my techniques, I would genuinely consider taking you as my disciple and passing on all the knowledge I've accumulated in my life."

"I, Han, already find myself overextended merely cultivating my current set of techniques," Han Li responded after a brief pause, blinking and a faint smile playing on his lips. "Even if the cultivation methods you offered were a hundred times superior to what I currently practice, I wouldn't begin cultivating them anew. However, I do find some of your secret arts quite intriguing."

"Secret arts!" the old man said indifferently. "You'll likely be disappointed. My secret arts are all intrinsically linked to my primary cultivation method. If you don't cultivate my techniques, you won't be able to practice any of my secret arts."

"Then so be it," Han Li conceded, though a touch disappointed. "I'm already quite satisfied with acquiring the Great Evolution Art and those puppet techniques; it means my journey to the Far West wasn't in vain. However, I do have a question: why didn't you impart the true latter three layers of the Great Evolution Art to your disciples? Instead, you passed down a seemingly genuine but ultimately false incantation."

"My disciples?" the Great Evolution God Monarch scoffed. "Centuries have passed since then, and not a single one of them managed to reach the Nascent Soul stage. Not one was capable of inheriting my legacy. Leaving the latter three layers of the Great Evolution Art to them would only have brought them disaster. Look, you're not even a disciple of my Thousand Bamboo Sect, yet you still managed to acquire the initial parts of the Great Evolution Art. It seems I truly had some foresight, didn't I?"