Chapter 147: Devour Me

That chunk of flesh dropped onto the ground.

An overwhelming chill gripped my heart.

Even more terrifying to me were the words she had spoken.

What Zhang Chang said was actually true; the seven ginseng stalks truly had a purpose.

Yet he never intended for me to obtain the seven ginseng stalks; instead, he made me nurture the blood ginseng.

Although he insisted that I must capture my mother's Three Corpses God, his ultimate goal was to bring both the Three Corpses God and the Soul-Nourishing Corpse to life, with no intention whatsoever of resurrecting my mother.

And my mother's Three Corpses God, just as Li Cangshui had claimed, was thoroughly evil.

Trembling violently, I let out a hoarse cry, "Mother..."

Deep within me, a glimmer of desperate hope remained—hoping that the Three Corpses God still retained my mother's conscience, and that my mother might yet awaken.

My mother smiled coldly, studying me before reaching out to hook my chin with her finger. She breathed gently upon me and said, "Do not speak of the original body again; she only ever fills me with disgust. Cutting off the Three Corpses? How utterly laughable. I am her evil thought? Even more ridiculous. Does she truly believe that clinging to her own foolish notions constitutes the so-called righteous path?"

"Look upon her fate today. Her soul devoured by her own son, leaving not a single trace behind. Now nothing remains save for a corpse, and this very corpse is destined for me—her so-called evil thought, her so-called Three Corpses—to claim."

My mother's voice grew increasingly chilling.

Soul blood poured unceasingly from her palm.

The blood fell to the ground, slowly seeping into that chunk of flesh.

Mother.

No! She could no longer be called my mother.

The Three Corpses God lowered her head, murmuring softly, "Using this mortal's lifespan and primordial essence, let the blood ginseng take form."

I felt my soul rapidly wither and weaken, and alongside that weakness came another terrifying sensation—aging!

It seemed as though a voice was calling out to me from the very edges of my hearing, even from within my own consciousness, summoning me toward death.

That chunk of flesh on the ground slowly sprouted roots, piercing deep into the earth and beginning to grow.

The Three Corpses God raised her head with a hint of displeasure and looked at me. "The primordial essence of a soul alone is simply not enough. Otherwise, the blood ginseng would have fully matured in the span of a single meal. Now, even if I drain you dry, it cannot accelerate the process."

"Rest assured, since you were born of my original body, and you also devoured the original body's soul, using you to cultivate the blood ginseng is equivalent to devouring the original body itself. I shall be made whole, and you may consider this your repayment to me."

I could only feel myself growing ever weaker; that feebleness was so overwhelming that I was entirely powerless to resist.

My soul withered, and a profound sense of despair began to take root in my heart.

The expression on the Three Corpses God's face, however, grew deeply satisfied.

"Despair. The more you despair, the greater the anguish inflicted upon the original body's lingering consciousness. The more she suffers, the stronger I become, and the more... exhilarated I feel."

With those words, she turned her head, casting her gaze upon Aunt Grey and my father.

"A pair of wretched dogs. Yet, repulsive though the original body may be, I must admit they have done rather well. Presumably, the original body must have lived in ceaseless torment all these years, or else I would never have had such an endless stream of power."

Her words sent a tremor through my heart.

Yet the only thing bringing me a shred of relief was that, given what she had just said, she at least would not harm my father and Aunt Grey, right?

At that moment, the Three Corpses God suddenly raised her gaze to the sky. A faint smile curled the corners of her lips as she murmured, "Now, let me go and see what other surprises the original body left behind for me. Her magic artifact is neither on her person nor within this courtyard; therefore, it must still be hidden somewhere in this village."

***

Simultaneously, the Three Corpses God lowered her head, waved a hand toward the blood ginseng, and a series of golden threads enveloped it.

However, that did not prevent my soul blood from flowing into the blood ginseng.

At that moment, the blood ginseng had already begun to sprout two blood-red leaves.

The Three Corpses God slowly floated upward, rising into the air above the courtyard. She passed straight through the Heaven-Man Body-Guarding Array and vanished from sight.

I knew in my heart that she was going to search for the things my mother had left behind.

My mother's magic artifacts, alongside her other possessions.

Once she acquired those items, she would become even more formidable and nearly impossible to counter.

Feeling my strength ebb further while watching the blood ginseng slowly grow, the despair in my heart multiplied.

A dazed thought flashed through my mind: if I were to die here, the Three Corpses God would take my mother's place.

Shi Zhangsheng would take my place.

In the eyes of others, I would not be dead at all.

Yet everything, absolutely everything, would no longer be as others perceived it.

It seemed, however, that all of this was already a settled conclusion, beyond any hope of change.

Staring fixedly at the blood ginseng, a fierce resolve surged within my heart.

I could not let her succeed; even in death, even if it meant detonating my own soul, I would never let her claim the blood ginseng!

With that thought, I instantly sought to command my soul to ignite itself.

Yet the oppressive might of those golden threads bound me so tightly that I could not execute even the smallest movement.

Could it be that this was truly the only outcome awaiting me?

My despair deepened.

Right at that moment, a very faint, weak voice echoed from the courtyard.

"Don't... don't be hasty..."

That voice caused a violent jolt in my heart.

Though my soul could not move, I could sense that the speaker was none other than Xie Yu, lying upon the ground!

The Overshadowed Fetus—the son of my father and Aunt Grey!

He was not a ghost, for he had not died.

An overshadowed fetus could never truly die, existing somewhere between a living corpse and a ghost.

Especially now that he had become an overshadowed fetus, he possessed the ability to freely traverse both the netherworld and the realm of the living.

Xie Yu scrambled up from the ground and crawled over to my side, his hand instantly clamping down upon my palm.

The soul blood leaking from me immediately poured into his grasp, and he began to recover his vitality at a visible speed.

Deprived of my blood, the blood ginseng ceased its growth.

"I am not a ghost; this Heaven-Man Body-Guarding Array could not trap me..."

***

Xie Yu's voice was no longer weak. His eyes pitch-black and fathomless, he stared deeply at me before suddenly calling out, "Elder brother."

A shudder ran through my heart, leaving me utterly at a loss for words.

Catching my breath, I gazed deeply at him and said, "Devour me."

Xie Yu's expression shifted.

Staring at him with unblinking intensity, I forced out every ounce of remaining strength and said, "Swallow my soul and get away from us! Both of our souls are trapped here; rather than letting me nourish this blood ginseng and allowing that monster to seize my mother's corpse, you would be far better off devouring me. Once you leave, you will possess my memories and know what must be done."

Xie Yu fell silent, offering no further response.

After a long moment, he spoke quietly, "I... cannot leave."

I froze, then said in a raspy voice, "There is no such thing as someone who cannot leave; there is only a path you haven't found. I have only this single soul left, and my body has been taken by someone else. You are the last remaining bloodline of the Xie family. Once you leave here, you need not shoulder too much—just find a way to locate Li Yue and Wang Erjun, and make them leave Zhang Chang. Above all, you must never approach Zhang Chang; he will tell you he is your great-grandfather, but you must never follow him."

Having said that, my gaze shifted into a plea.

"Do not let her use my life for resurrection; she is not my mother."

"Though I wanted to kill you the moment you were born and have no right to ask anything of you, I harbored no malice. Back then, I merely wished to protect Father and Aunt Grey."

Xie Yu suddenly smiled faintly and replied, "I am not human."

"You were born to my father and Aunt Grey; why would you not be human? Even as an overshadowed fetus, you are still human—that is not something you could choose."

Xie Yu shook his head once more. "If it were merely that, I would not feel such anguish. This sort of days-long existence has persisted for quite some time. Long ago, I realized that none of us could ever leave."

"I cannot leave, Mother cannot leave, and Father cannot leave."

"They seem content, as long as they can endure such a life for one more day."

"Yet for me, it is a form of torture, because I can dimly sense that *he* is coming."

My pupils constricted sharply.

Xie Yu smiled and said, "You must find it terribly strange, do you not? Wondering who *he* is?"

"Then aren't you even more curious as to how I could possibly know so much? I have only been born for a few dozen days."

I nodded silently.

Xie Yu sighed. "Not a few dozen days. I have been born dozens of times over. I am a destiny prepared in advance."

"A natural vessel, waiting through dozens of lifetimes, and finally, he is coming."

"I do not wish to have my body seized by him, for this time, I feel as though I cannot allow myself to be prepared in that manner."

"My life lasts only forty-nine days. You may use my body; there are still ten days of life remaining."

"For you to devour me would be a dreadful waste. Rather than me swallowing you, you would be far better off swallowing me."

Xie Yu suddenly looked straight at me, speaking with profound earnestness.