CHAPTER 50: ANOTHER’S PATH TO IMMORTALITY

Xiao Ning’s expression sharpened instantly.

"...A foreign entity?"

His body stilled, and a dangerous glint surfaced in his eyes.

In all his years, few things could unsettle him. But a foreign entity lurking in the Spiritual Palace was not a trivial matter.

The spiritual palace was sacred ground nothing should be able to enter unnoticed.

And yet—

"...Did something sneak in during the Avatar refinement?" His pupils narrowed into slits.

Then, a sharp wind of killing intent began to gather within his body.

He hadn’t invited anything in, nor had he left his defenses open, even for a breath.

A strange thought struck him.

...Don’t tell me.

"Codex...Run a deep analysis. Focus on the Asura Avatar."

[Acknowledged. Beginning Deep Analysis of Avatar Structure...]

[Purity Level: 99.7%]

[Soul Link Stability: Perfect]

[Merge Process: No Deviations]

[Conclusion: Refinement Process was flawless. The issue lies elsewhere.]

Xiao Ning’s expression darkened. "Elsewhere? What do you mean?"

The Codex hesitated for a moment—then its next line came with a cold finality.

[The issue lies in the technique itself.]

[Ninefold Paragon’s Asura Scripture is anomalous. The creator’s intent is not straightforward.]

For a brief instant, Xiao Ning was stunned, then his eyes narrowed sharply.

"What are you saying, there’s something in the technique I missed?"

[Correct.]

[A sliver of foreign, independent consciousness has been detected embedded within the Avatar Soul.]

His eyes widened in disbelief. "That’s impossible. I scanned everything during the fusion. I even used my Yin Yang Origin Mirror Eyes. There was nothing."

[Clarification: The host’s eyes can see what is. They cannot perceive what is not, yet could be.]

[The sliver of consciousness is currently inert. In quantum terms, it exists in a ’collapsed dead state’—but given the right conditions, it may shift into an active form.]

Xiao Ning felt a chill run down his spine.

He had never encountered anything like this before. A seed of will that was dead, yet could come to life depending on future variables?

"When?" he let out resigned sigh.

[Estimation not possible.]

[Information is protected by the Heavenly Dao.....To calculate, a life-force offering is required.]

[Cost: 10 Years of Lifespan]

Ten years? Xiao Ning eyes narrowed slightly, the he let out a sigh of relief.

He had just gained a thousand. The price was acceptable.

But the very fact that the Heavenly Dao was shielding this knowledge unsettled him deeply.

"...Do it."

[Acknowledged. Initiating Quantum Divination and Temporal Calculation...]

[Analyzing Future Collapse Variables...]

[Searching Great Dao-Realted Catalysts...]

[Result: During the formation of the Divine Avatar, in the Divine Transformation Realm, the latent consciousness will awaken.]

[Estimated Outcome: The Host will be possessed.]

[Host Soul: Erased.]

[Avatar Will: Dominant.]

Xiao Ning’s pupils shrank to pinpoints. A part of him had expected trouble... but not this.

[WARNING: Host has been deceived by the Heavenly Dao’s restrictions placed upon the Ninth Asura Paragon Scripture.]

[The technique itself is bound by a Heaven-Karmic Seal.]

[Host has unknowingly stepped into a Dao-Scheme—intended as a stepping stone for the reawakening of the Ninth Paragon.]

[You are not cultivating the scripture. The scripture is cultivating you.]

[Host is being shaped into a vessel.]

[You are being used as a stepping stone... once again.]

Seeing this, his lips curled into a thin smile. "The Ninth Asura Paragon... so he wasn’t just a name."

He had always found the Ninefold Paragon’s Asura Scripture strange. Its fragmented state, its absurd demands for refinement, the need to devour nascent souls to ignite even the first fold—all signs pointed to something beyond a mere cultivation technique.

[Clarification:]

[The Ninth Paragon did not fall in battle as legend claimed.]

[He created this scripture himself.]

[Its sole purpose: to ensure his resurrection after death.]

[Current Epoch: Heavenly Dao alignment shifting.]

[Asura lineage reawakening permitted.]

[Host Selection: Arbitrary only on the surface.]

[Xiao Ning was used as a chess piece—to awaken the Paragon, and become the first step in his return to immortality.]

Xiao Ning remained silent for a long while, but his eyes turned as black as night.

"...I see....so this is what it means to be chosen by fate."

He stared into the darkness of the chamber, where the ancient statue of the Desolate Shadow Monarch stood unmoving—its faceless face seeming to watch him silently.

"To think I thought I was walking my own path," he murmured. "In the end, I was only walking theirs."

Then he smiled.

But this smile was not kind, It was sharp... As sharp as the killing intent that rose quietly in his heart.

Possession by an ancient paragon?

Becoming a pawn in some heaven-scripted game?

He would rather incinerate his soul and shatter his dao entirely than become anyone’s vessel.

Especially not for a so-called Ninth Paragon.

Not for the Heavenly Dao.

And certainly not for fate.

"I’ve already been used as a stepping stone once," he muttered. "Did they really think I’d let it happen again?"

Just then, the Codex displayed another line:

[Further anomalies detected.]

[Cross-analysis of host’s secondary cultivation: Annihilation Bone Scripture]

[Origin anomaly confirmed.]

[Sacrifice required: 10 additional years of lifespan to proceed.]

Xiao Ning’s gaze narrowed.

"...So even the bone scripture?"

He fell silent for a few moments, then gave a short nod.

"Fine....take it."

[Confirmed.]

[10 years of lifespan deducted.]

[Total Remaining Lifespan: 473 / 3000 Years]

[Initiating Deep Origin Trace... Accessing Ancient Codified Inheritance Fragments...]

[Initiating quantum-sealed data extraction...]

A hum rose in his ears.

His sea of consciousness quaked slightly as forbidden truths slipped through the seams of Heaven’s protection.

[Analysis Complete.]

[Origin of Annihilation Bone Scripture:]

[An original Asura Body Refinement Method.]

[Purpose: Cultivated by the Asura Race for hosts to refine the vessel after possession.]

[Scripture was used to break down, temper, and reconstruct the host body—into a divine-grade container suitable for the soul of an Asura Paragon.]

Xiao Ning’s expression turned strange, so it wasn’t just coincidence.

"...So I wasn’t just preparing the soul," he smiled faintly. "I was tempering the body, too."

His mind drifted back—every agonizing session of bone cracking, every marrow-forging refinement he had endured with the Annihilation Bone Scripture.

It hadn’t been to strengthen him.

It had been to prepare the perfect vessel.

[Combined Purpose of Cultivation Path: Resurrection Protocol of the Ninth Asura Paragon.]

[Asura Avatar = Rebirth Anchor]

[Annihilation Bone Scripture = Divine Vessel Refinement]

[Heavenly Dao = Facilitator. Current alignment: Shifting.]

[Conclusion: The host is a cultivated chess piece. The Ninth Paragon embedded his resurrection into the scripture, the avatar, and the body.]

Xiao Ning remained silent, lost in thoughts.

Then came the final line:

[Supposed Outcome: Upon Divine Transformation, the host’s soul will be erased, the dormant sliver awakened, and the Ninth Asura Paragon shall rise again—claiming a perfected body and soul-tempered avatar.]

So it wasn’t just the Asura Paragon manipulating fate.

The Heavenly Dao itself was part of the scheme.

"The cycle... was meant to complete itself through me."

A resurrected Asura Paragon.

A reawakened race.

And he, Xiao Ning—who had clawed his way back from death, who had built himself again from bone and soul—was to be the first step in another’s path to immortality.