Another scene unfolds.
Within the Gate of Life and Death.
Immersed in the Realm of Deathly Obsession.
Spectral Soul Demon Venerable no longer possessed a physical body. What appeared before everyone was a soul with three heads and a thousand arms.
He gazed at his reflection in the lake, studying his own appearance, and murmured: "Excellent. The Soul Devouring Technique I created from the Food Path has not only restored me to my peak condition, but also allowed me to devour the souls of other Gu Immortals, obtaining their life memories and cultivation experience! Hehehe... I suppose you could call this a blessing in disguise..."
"However, from the very beginning, I have not detected the souls of any other Immortal Venerables or Demon Venerables. Star Constellation Immortal Venerable is absent — that I can understand. But Robber Heaven Demon Venerable is missing too. Did he successfully return home?"
"It is time to return to the mortal world. Without the Soul-Shaking Mountain or the Spirit-Falling Valley blocking the way, walking out of the Gate of Life and Death will be far easier for me than it was for the Human Ancestor. However, it would be unwise for my true body to move out just yet. I should first send out several split souls to pave the way."
"Hmph! Once I retake control of heaven and earth, I will deal with you then."
Wherever the Demon Venerable's gaze fell, it rested upon a particular soul. This soul was fast asleep, its entire form radiating a golden glow like a sun that had fallen beside the lake.
...
The scenes that followed no longer centered on the Demon Venerable, but on seven mortals.
"How moving it is to see the light of day again." Among the seven, one raised his eyes to the sun and spoke.
"Though we are currently but mortals, with the cultivation experience our true body has bestowed upon us, we will surely be able to become Gu Immortals."
"The Against-the-Current River blocked our path. Originally there were ten split souls, but only seven of us made it through."
"For our true body to emerge, it will require tremendous effort. If the wrong people find out, it will cause even greater trouble. They certainly will not stand by and do nothing."
"For the sake of caution, we should scatter and develop covertly across the Five Regions. At regular intervals, we will exchange information with one another."
"In that case, why not establish an organization as a front?"
"A fine idea. Let us call it the Shadow Sect — inconspicuous like a shadow, yet everywhere. One day, the entire world will be cloaked beneath our shade!"
"Agreed. There are seven of us. We shall take the code names Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. Just like the Seven Primordial Heavens — once lofty above all, yet now fallen. This shall serve as a reminder to ourselves: we must never grow complacent or idle!"
...
"So Sword Immortal Bo Qing was truly one of the Spectral Soul Demon Venerable's split souls all along!" The Gu Immortals of the Heavenly Court exclaimed in shock.
Among them, an elderly woman spoke with shame: "With ironclad evidence before us, there is no room for argument. Our Spirit Affinity Hall is indeed culpable for failing in our duty of oversight."
"The Demon Venerable's methods are impossible to guard against. Even within the Heavenly Court itself, he managed to plant sleeper-agent split souls. What hope does a subordinate sect like Spirit Affinity Hall have? It is only thanks to the Tower Master's vigilance — who used the Heaven Monitoring Tower to uncover this earth-shaking secret — that we were given the chance to stop this peerless demon!"
The Gu Immortals of the Heavenly Court sighed with emotion.
Though they could no longer continue their harassment for the time being, the Spectral Soul Demon Venerable's situation did not appear to be favorable either.
Ever since the Grey Memory Tribulation descended, the Demon Venerable had remained perfectly still, allowing the subsequent Myriad Tribulations of the Great Purity Void to strike him. His injuries were now truly ghastly.
"Qing." On the ground, the remnant soul of Mo Yao within the body of the immortal zombie Bo Qing was also stirred by the image of the young and handsome Qing shown in the memory.
Around her, grey mist similarly churned and surged, presenting a vivid scene from the depths of her memories.
A scene of devastation — ruins strewn everywhere, shattered corpses, blood flowing across the ground.
It appeared that a brutal battle of unimaginable ferocity had just concluded.
"My Qing! Don't die — you must not die! If you die, how can I go on living?" Mo Yao cradled the dying Sword Immortal Bo Qing in her arms, weeping helplessly.
Bo Qing weakly squeezed her hand in return: "Since it has come to this, I will no longer hide anything from you. I come from the Shadow Sect. I was originally a split soul of the Spectral Soul Demon Venerable. You loved the wrong person — you loved me. It will only bring you pain and ruin. Go. Leave now. If you don't go, it will be too late."
Mo Yao's entire body trembled, but she immediately shook her head. With absolute resolve, she refused: "No! I won't leave! I don't care what you are — all I know is that we love each other, and that is all that matters. I care about nothing else! If I cannot live with you, then I will die with you!"
"Oh, oh, oh!" Ying Wuxie watched from the side, clicking his tongue in wonder, his face full of fascination.
The grey mist continued to churn and roil, and the scenes beside the Spectral Soul Demon Venerable grew increasingly complex and tangled.
Before, it had shown only the Spectral Soul Demon Venerable's own perspective. Now it split into seven.
These seven had each inherited only a small portion of the foundation, and each bore their own share of hardship and suffering.
Furthermore, at regular intervals, the true body of the Spectral Soul Demon Venerable, still immersed in the Realm of Deathly Obsession, would continue to trek through the Against-the-Current River, sending out yet more split souls.
This made the scenes even more chaotic.
Nevertheless, the grand visions continued to unfold, captivating everyone's gaze.
Six members of the Shadow Sect had gathered together.
They were the earliest batch to have escaped the Gate of Life and Death, and by now, every one of them had ascended to immortality.