Chapter 1663: Voodoo Plague Locks the Memory River, Choosing Life or Death to Decide the Scale Serpent

Boom!

The dark boundary was torn apart by an immense force.

Amidst the chaos, a massive serpentine tail swept forth, tearing through space—a truly startling sight.

As the seal shattered, a snake head rapidly emerged from within, its body covered in white scales and its eyes purple, frantically, desperately, and fearfully trying to escape.

"Dao - Great Suppression Art!"

A soft chuckle drifted from somewhere unknown.

Abruptly, the pressure in this realm shifted, as if an immeasurable weight had descended.

"Hiss—"

After a piercing scream, Profound Heavenly Mechanism Light materialized from behind the giant snake, transforming into countless chains that dragged its body back into the shattered space.

The fractured space healed and became calm. In the ethereal world, a long-haired figure in white robes, exuding an air of unhurried elegance, slowly walked forth.

His upper garment was open, casually draped over his legs, revealing his torso adorned with intricate tattoos.

The sky-blue Dao patterns appeared fundamentally different from the black-red Profound Heavenly Mechanism Light and Heavenly Mechanism Dao patterns previously seen on the Holy Divine Continent.

These Dao patterns pulsed with life, ebbing and flowing with the movements of the long-haired, white-robed man, and pulsating with the shifting contours of his muscles.

Thump, thump...Thump, thump...

Unseen, a rhythmic thumping resonated, unclear whether it was the giant snake's heartbeat, the man's, or even the Dao patterns, or perhaps the very pulse of the Great Dao.

"Dao Qiongcang! Let me go!"

The chains suddenly thrashed.

The colossal snake, large enough to obscure the sky, writhed violently.

Its forked tongue darted out viciously, nearly piercing the dust-speck-sized human below.

But when the distance was less than a palm's length, having stretched to its utmost, the man finally stopped, maintaining a "safe distance" from the bound snake spirit in the void.

"I am Second Generation."

The man, whose appearance closely resembled Dao Qiongcang, spoke, looking up and slowly saying:

"The Dao Qiongcang in the God's Legacy is called Third Generation, is unique, and is designated as the 'prime body'."

"He established the Ten Seats, served as the Dao Hall Master, and left all traces of 'Dao Qiongcang' on the Holy Divine Continent."

"The one you called out to, that was him, wasn't it?"

The giant snake fell silent.

The chains in the void swayed gently, as if revealing the snake spirit's unease and the further doubts that arose after receiving the explanation.

"Third Generation is named 'Dao Qiongcang'."

"For better distinction, you can call me 'Second Generation'—it doesn't matter; a name is just a pronoun. The distinction of 'generation' implies no superiority or inferiority, only different responsibilities and different missions."

He paused. This Dao Qiongcang, who called himself "Second Generation", continued to speak:

"Third Generation's semi-saint avatars, the intelligent Heavenly Mechanism puppets he created, his Heavenly Mechanism brain, and all his 'bodies' that could be used as substitutes for death, are collectively referred to as Fourth Generation."

"Anything below that, regardless of strength or weakness, is classified as Fifth Generation."

"Bai Zhou, this is 'me', the me you perceive!"

The giant snake fell silent once more.

It was very strange; although the language spoken was clearly that of the Holy Divine Continent, and each word, when separated, could be understood.

Yet, when put together, it felt utterly absurd.

"Thinking, indeed, quiets the mind..." Second Generation smiled, lowering his gaze.

He also seemed to be a Dao Qiongcang with a distinct personality; as long as his own objective was achieved, he would satisfy others' desires:

"Equivalent exchange, you may ask one question."

The giant snake spirit was Bai Zhou.

He had struggled for a long time in this space, which seemed to be inside a formation disk, but could not break free.

Now that he had finally met the true master who had trapped him, though the master seemed a bit eccentric, he wouldn't miss the opportunity and asked:

"What's the difference between Second Generation and Third Generation?"

"You asked a question I've already explained. I didn't expect your curiosity about me to outweigh your exploration of your own fate." Second Generation chuckled.

But he was clearly not someone who would use idle talk to evade questions, and concisely stated again:

"Third Generation moves throughout the world; Second Generation never appears."

"Third Generation is responsible for all matters except combat; Second Generation is responsible for combat."

"When necessary, for survival, Third Generation can request unsealing to gain Second Generation's power, but no one has yet forced him down this path, so I have never taken action."

"To put it simply, people on the Holy Divine Continent can at most only see Third Generation, which is 'Dao Qiongcang'."

"They cannot see me."

He raised his head, his gaze sweeping towards the giant snake in the void, yet it was as if he was looking down disdainfully: "They cannot see how a single move can suppress even my powerful self, who is weaker than you!"

Bai Zhou fell silent for the third time.

Upon hearing the last sentence, he could confirm that this was indeed Dao Qiongcang.

That brazenness...

And that aura of someone who had been trapped for too long and had gone a bit mad...

"So you never see the light of day, which is why you're telling me all this now?" Bai Zhou seemed to understand something.

Second Generation's expression stiffened.

He did not answer the question.

The giant snake twisted its body again, and after realizing it truly couldn't break free from the chains, it sneered:

"Am I some existence that surpasses Sui Yin?"

"You, Second Generation, who couldn't even meet Sui Yin, I've met?"

"To deal with me, you truly went to great lengths, even designing this elaborate setup... Is it just to highlight the mystery and supreme strength of some 'First Generation'?"

"Do you need me to cooperate and ask you? Fine! What about First Generation? What is First Generation? An existence beyond Ancestral Gods?"

The giant snake laughed wildly: "Dao Ancestor? Progenitor? Or some original creator of the entire world?"

Second Generation fell silent, pressing a finger to his forehead, and muttered softly:

"Third Generation's words are indeed unreliable. You actually have some brains..."

Bai Zhou burst into laughter: "I get it now. There really is a difference between you, Second Generation, and Third Generation; your divisions of labor are indeed clear. But you don't have to be so subtle about it—he has brains, and you don't, that's all!"

Second Generation pouted unhappily, seemingly having his secret exposed.

He opened the top of his head, took out a brain, and tossed it into the void.

With a soft pop, the brain exploded, and a vague, shadowy figure emerged.

Dao Qiongcang!

The giant snake Bai Zhou's purple eyes trembled.

He was indeed not foolish. He could probably guess that since Second Generation couldn't resolve the situation, he had likely thrown out a projection of Third Generation to try.

As soon as this Dao Qiongcang appeared, his unhurried ease felt perfectly natural, entirely unlike Second Generation's deliberate pretense.

He asked nothing, merely twirling his fingers, and as he paced, he eloquently narrated:

"One, 'Chronicles of the Xu Beasts' records: 'Purple-eyed, white-scaled, long-bodied creature, born of the Land of Sin, the Scaled White Shaman.'"

"Two, 'The Five Great Absolute Bodies' records: 'The Voodoo Body, Source of Plague, capable of polluting a region in ten days. The last of the Six Xu, the Scaled White Shaman, is extinct.'"

"Three, God's Legacy, Eighteenth Heaven, before the Eye of Sui Yin first descended, and Xu Xiaoshou pointed to extinguish Sui Yin... You might have forgotten this detail, but you did reveal your demonic beast true form before me... Just like the First Generation Six Xu recorded in the 'Chronicles of the Xu Beasts'. Unfortunately, I did not see the ability of the 'Voodoo Body'. This was my first suspicion: what were you hiding?"

"Four, the Heavenly Infant Holy Plant possessed a nascent divine court, its immense power something ordinary semi-saints could not contend with, let alone a mere Void Demonic Beast... According to Xu and Yue, you survived within it and even moved with ease amidst the attacks of the tree sea... After communicating with them, I had my second suspicion: what were you hiding?"

"Five, the Divine Court of Dying Tea, even if Sui Yin activated it reluctantly, it was still a fully mature divine court. The energy consumed to unleash it was vast. Perhaps Fengtian Saint Emperor alone could bear the supply, but if so, he would surely be drained to death... The fact is, besides Fengtian Saint Emperor, there were two great Oblivion Semi-Saints, two newly advanced Semi-Saints, and Yue Gongli supplying energy... There must have been another major contributor to the energy supply, perhaps even more so than Fengtian Saint Emperor, which is why no one was drained to death despite the Divine Court drawing power for so long."

At this point, the newly appeared Dao Qiongcang raised his head and said with a smile:

"Human spiritual essence and holy power are cultivated, and most souls are strengthened later in life; naturally, they cannot compare to Xu Beasts."

"But even if ordinary Xu Beasts are naturally strong, they wouldn't be able to supply the power for a divine court's extraction when they first become a saint."

"Therefore, I had my third suspicion: what you were hiding might be even greater than I imagined."

"That's exactly right!" Second Generation finally found a chance to speak, interjecting a sentence, wanting to snatch the final, simplest, yet most brilliant moment. However, the Dao Qiongcang beside him pressed his head to the side:

"Indeed, that is the truth."

"Fengtian Saint Emperor's soul body was shattered into fragments, the Oblivion Semi-Saints' were also fragmented, and Yue Gongli's likewise. They were all withered and dispirited."

"Only you, after entering this formation disk, with just a little nourishment from my power, instantly recovered and even almost broke through my seal."

"At that time, he was fighting Sui Yin..." Second Generation indignantly rushed forward, again wanting to interject, but was pushed back down:

"At that time, I was fighting Sui Yin and had no time to deal with you. But you were very important, so I could only let you meet him."

"That's right! It was me!" Second Generation put his hands on his hips, puffed out his chest, utterly oblivious that the Dao Qiongcang beside him had quieted him with nothing more than a small trick, like a sweet date.

"I had envisioned many times going south to fight you and forcing out the trump cards of the Xu Moon Gray Palace."

"Before I entered God's Legacy, I even planned an entire scheme to deal with your Xu Moon Gray Palace and entrusted it to Gou Wuyue for execution."

"Unexpectedly, you entered God's Legacy first and even fell into Sui Yin's hands. It helped me remove most of your disguises."

"Just when you thought you had a retreat and wouldn't have to reveal your trump card so quickly, you conveniently fell into my hands during my 'seemingly weak' period."

"What's that saying about finding something when you least expect it?" Second Generation burst into laughter, his previous aloof demeanor completely gone.

Dao Qiongcang tapped his finger in the air a few times:

"This is what's called 'effortlessly acquired'."

"Wouldn't you agree, Bai Zhou? Or perhaps I should call you by your other name... First Generation Six Xu, Scaled White Shaman, Bai Lin?"

"Dao! Qiong! Cang!"

A hysterical, hoarse voice emerged, no longer bearing Bai Zhou's timbre.

Behind the giant snake, a more vast, illusory snake shadow suddenly regenerated. Under its pair of purple eyes, murderous intent surged like a tide.

"Die—"

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

No sooner had the words fallen than a sky-filling surge of purple demonic energy erupted.

This demonic energy appeared to possess an extremely potent corrosive property.

Upon contact, whether it was the chains binding the snake's body, the Heavenly Mechanism Dao principles connected to the chains, or even the fractured space itself... everything melted!

"Voodoo power..."

Dao Qiongcang smiled and took a step back, unafraid for himself.

What had arrived here was merely a semi-saint's spiritual avatar, an insignificant Fifth Generation.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Second Generation's face suddenly turned pale, as if gravely ill, and his entire being rapidly aged.

But as Dao Qiongcang retreated, he immediately stepped forward, forming a hand seal with two fingers, and directly pressed it towards the void:

"Dao - Great Imprisonment Art!"

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

A Heavenly Mechanism Obscure Formation Diagram unfurled from beneath his feet, its brilliance illuminating the entire chaotic world.

The invisible voodoo plague, which had spread with the purple demonic energy, was quickly confined within an invisible bottle.

Spatial light and shadow rapidly interchanged.

The sky-obscuring giant snake rapidly shrunk.

The figures of Second Generation and Dao Qiongcang expanded infinitely.

Finally, the bottle settled in Second Generation's hand, and the giant snake within it became a tiny snake, no bigger than Second Generation's thumbnail.

The two of them, meanwhile, were colossal, like giants.

The Scaled White Shaman's snake shadow behind the giant snake Bai Zhou witnessed this, and its eyes showed astonishment. Was this Second Generation truly skilled in combat?

Before it could make any move...

"Dao - Great Imprisonment Art!"

Holding the invisible snake spirit bottle, Second Generation cast another spell, the same spell.

Instantly, the fractured space shrunk, their figures expanded again, and Bai Zhou and the Scaled White Shaman shrunk even further.

Ultimately, the entire space condensed completely, transforming into a formation disk that settled in Second Generation's hand.

Yes, all of this occurred within a separate Heavenly Mechanism world opened up inside the formation disk.

"Dao - Great Imprisonment Art!"

It wasn't over. Second Generation, whose eyes and expression were already unclear from the Scaled White Shaman's perspective, deeply understood how terrifying the Six Xu's abilities were, and cast another spell.

After this spell, including Second Generation himself, the formation disk in his hand, and the invisible snake spirit bottle within the formation disk that represented the 'Dao - Great Imprisonment Art', all were absorbed into Dao Qiongcang's semi-saint spiritual avatar.

A mustard seed containing a myriad.

The formless containing the formed.

When this semi-saint spiritual avatar self-annihilated and returned to Dao Qiongcang's prime body,

everything was once again sealed within Dao Qiongcang's prime body's memory, becoming an insignificant speck of dust in the long river of memory.

Second Generation was gone.

Yet Dao Qiongcang could, at any time and place, by reliving memories, enter the snake bottle within the formation disk deep in his memory to see Bai Zhou and the Scaled White Shaman.

He reappeared, at an equal size and in an equal stance, looking at Bai Zhou and the Scaled White Shaman in front of him, who were bound by the "imprisonment", unable to break free or shatter the seal, and calmly said:

"You have many choices."

"For instance, you could be handed over to Bei Huai. He loves studying unique demonic beasts like you and needs a specimen like you the most."

"Or, you could remain here. With the Xu Moon Gray Palace leaderless, my Heavenly Mechanism Divine Sect can soon help you realize your wish for demonic beasts and humans to coexist, for light to appear in the world—in my own way."

"Or, for example, I could implant a memory in you, making you pledge allegiance to me, and send you back to the Land of Sin in the Southern Region to meet someone..."

He paused.

The illusory figure of the Scaled White Shaman behind Bai Zhou's serpentine body immediately struggled wildly and roared heartbreakingly:

"Dao! Qiong! Cang!"

Dao Qiongcang paid no heed, continuing to speak to himself:

"Do you know of someone named 'Fivefold Decay of Heaven and Man'?"

"For some reason, his rise was extremely sudden. When I noticed him, he already possessed the Devourer Body, the Decay Body, and the Undying Body simultaneously."

"Do you think people have a collecting fetish?"

Dao Qiongcang pondered to himself, as if completely deaf to the frantic roars and curses around him, and said:

"Would anyone truly believe that by using the power of devouring to consume the other four Great Absolute Bodies, supplemented by consuming some Ancestral Source power, one could, by oneself, overturn the entire world order?"

"Actually, such a possibility truly exists; that is the terrifying aspect of the leader of the Five Great Absolute Bodies!"

"But surely no one would think that even though he has mastered three Absolute Bodies, even if it's an hidden accomplishment, it still hasn't attracted outside attention, right?"

"Even if the world is blind, and the Five Great Saint Emperor Families are blind... what about me? What about me, Dao Qiongcang?"

Dao Qiongcang pointed to himself, bewildered:

"What exactly does he want to do?"

"Avenge the Holy Divine Hall, destroy the existence of demonic beasts, or kill Bei Huai?"

"It's not important..."

"His goal isn't important, his thoughts aren't important, and whether he has a collecting fetish isn't important either."

Dao Qiongcang shook his head to himself:

"Because if, at this very moment, during the continent's turmoil, when he mistakenly believes no one has noticed his growth and development..."

"A weakened sealed body, expelled from the God's Legacy by Sui Yin, conveniently falls before him... will he consume it?"

"If he consumes it, and then a recently revived Scaled White Shaman, forced into desperation by the Dao Hall Master's journey south, coincidentally appears before him and even attacks him... will he resist?"

He paused, and a sharp glint appeared in Dao Qiongcang's eyes, as if he had uncovered the deepest, most ultimate secret, and he murmured divinely:

"What kind of power would one gain by gathering all five Great Absolute Bodies?"

"What kind of story would unfold after achieving that goal?"

"If, in the end, he loses and dies at the hands of his enemies, that proves his path was wrong from the start... that's not worth mentioning."

"But if he wins, yet due to devouring too many people during his cultivation, his memories become chaotic, and eventually all memories assimilate, merging into a completely new person, would he still be himself?"

"And what about me?"

Dao Qiongcang rubbed his chin, his gaze burning:

"What if, by chance, one of those memories was a disguise, implanted by me, and my Dao of memory super-transformed, integrating everything, turning his seemingly chaotic self into my stable avatar..."

"Who would have won?"

"No matter who wins, I will not lose."

Dao Qiongcang suddenly turned, looking at the Scaled White Shaman behind him, who had ceased struggling and fallen into a state of complete stupor, and said with emotion:

"I wish I could break one of you into several pieces to use."

"Those who should have died needn't be revived to invite disaster. Sui Yin is like that, and so are you."

"And in the struggle for the Dao, you have no way to retreat! So, the question is, Bai Zhou, or Bai Lin... among so many dead ends, which one do you wish to choose?"

Madman!

He's a madman!

There is no enigmatic Dao Qiongcang concerned with the Five Regions' Dao Hall Master.

This fellow is a complete madman, fully revealing his true hideous, fanged self in his own memories, after tearing away his disguise!

"Dao Qiongcang, I'll kill you!"

The Scaled White Shaman ignited his soul blood, and just as his power was about to activate, with a whoosh, the entire world fell silent.

He was frozen in memory, fixed in that instant, eternally raging.

As for Dao Qiongcang...

He calmly watched the snake spirit, which was now of equal height, put on his refined outer garment, and then faded from this memory fragment.

"You cannot kill me."

"As the current reality proves, I can give you choices, but from beginning to end... you have no choice."