591: Chapter 592 The One Who Laughs Last

However, the joys and sorrows of people are ultimately not interconnected.

Just as Lu Ming was immersed in the joy of his Dao fruit growing increasingly close to Perfection.

Behind him, the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord was staring intently at the Soul-Devouring Demonic Banner that he had forged with his own hands.

At this moment, that banner was actually cuddling tamely in another person's palm, not only not struggling, but instead trembling slightly, humming like a chant.

It completely looked like a satisfied appearance of enjoying it to the extreme and willingly bowing its head.

The expression of the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord had already turned from iron-blue to distorted, his knuckles clenched so tightly they crackled, and fire could almost spew from the depths of his eyes.

Throughout his life dominating the Demonic Path, it had always been him seizing others' Magic Treasures and pillaging others' Opportunities; when had he ever suffered such humiliation?

The natal Spirit Treasure that he had painstakingly refined was actually cuddling in someone else's arms like a fledgling bird, and even revealing a submissive posture that had never been displayed to him.

This was simply going too far!

However, the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord was ultimately not an impulsive person.

He had lived for tens of thousands of years, able to wield power smoothly between the Righteous Path and the Demonic Path until now; what he relied on was never brute force.

Long before the other party broke through their Realm, he hadn't made a move. Now that person's shortcomings had been mended, the dao Opportunity had formed, and his aura was a bit stronger than before, making it even more impossible for him to act recklessly.

Although the envisioned situation where the other party fell short of success and their Divine Soul collapsed did not play out, it caused a fleeting moment of disappointment in his heart.

But after all, he was an old Devil Head who had lived for tens of thousands of years, and the stability of his Heart-Nature far surpassed ordinary Cultivators.

Since matters had already reached this point, he instead changed his scheme within a split second.

Since he could not defeat him, he would turn this outsider's view—which could only be watched—into his own nourishment.

Since the other party could freeload off his creation Divine Ability, why couldn't he freeload off this observation of a Dao Breakthrough?

At this thought, the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord actually suppressed his surging anger.

His expression returned to calm, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and he stood with his sleeves folded outside the high heavens, quietly watching.

At this time, Lu Ming had completely restrained his mind and started doing the final wrap-up.

He sat cross-legged in the Void Realm, a speck of spiritual light between his brows shining like a lamp, and his surrounding aura slowly collapsed inward, resembling an entire world converging toward him.

The Dao fruit slowly rotated in the depths of the Dantian, like an endless ring, like a beginningless wheel; every single revolution seemed to pluck the strings of a layer of the Laws of Heaven and Earth.

Lu Ming slowly closed his eyes, and at that instant, he seemed to hear the sounds of all things being born and perishing.

Withered and flourishing alternated, the sun and moon shone in succession, Life and Death repeated, and Karma bit its own tail.

Everything rolled forward within an invisible track of Reincarnation, never resting.

Although he had not seen true Reincarnation, endless profound principles gushed out murmuringly from within the Dao fruit, like an ancient scripture being chanted silently.

"Great is the Profound Origin, the gate of all marvels; it moves in a cycle without exhaustion, returns to the root through repetition, knowing the constant is called clarity, not knowing the constant leads to reckless misfortune..."

That was an understanding transcending cognition, a transparency piercing straight into the Divine Soul, allowing him to clearly understand what Reincarnation was.

The very moment the Dao fruit was completely condensed and formed, a profound-beyond-profound power suddenly surged out from within it.

That power was neither majestic nor fierce in appearance; instead, it was like a wisp of extremely light and quiet wind, drifting up from the depths of the Divine Soul, gently supporting the soles of the Nascent Soul's feet.

In a flash, the Nascent Soul within his body shook violently.

That Nascent Soul had originally sat upright in the depths of the Divine Soul with lowered eyes and a serene demeanor, but at this moment, it suddenly opened its eyes, its pupils reflecting the phantom of the entire River of Reincarnation.

At the same time, Lu Ming's entire person also seemed to be extracted from the "interior" of the world.

He felt that his body was still sitting cross-legged in the Void Realm, and the Qi of all spirits was still circulating around his body.

But those scenes began to become distant and blurry as if separated by a layer of water curtain.

His perception was no longer restricted to the six roots and five senses, but instead upward and outward.

Rapidly climbing toward a higher and broader dimension, like a fish leaping out of the water surface, or like a butterfly breaking out of its cocoon.

The Nascent Soul slowly lifted under that supporting force.

That was not an elevation on the spatial level, but a shedding on the level of existence.

The entire person stood up slowly from a painting, truly seeing the scenery outside of Heaven and Earth for the first time.

As if layer after layer of "defined" shackles were silently cast off.

From this point on, the Five Elements no longer constrained him, Yin and Yang no longer bound him; the principles of birth and destruction, the threads of Karma, and the walls of space-time all retreated from around him like a tide, revealing an unprecedented clarity underneath.

He looked down; the mountains, rivers, plants, trees, and Spiritual Qi tides in the world below were still operating, yet they seemed to have shrunk into a picture scroll standing beneath his feet.

Raising his hand slightly, the dao rhyme was born following his thought; wherever his fingertips swept past, he felt all daos like a tide, prostrating themselves and crawling.

That feeling was just like Heaven and Earth being a chessboard, and all living beings being pieces falling, while he himself finally stood outside the chessboard for the first time, never to be drawn in again.

He understood that this was the true meaning of "jumping out of the Three Realms and not being within the Five Elements".

It was not flying higher, but thorough transcendence.

Lu Ming's heart trembled slightly, but he did not panic; instead, a very deep peace welled up.

This is... Soul Transformation?

The feeling truly makes one's mind surge.

In the Soul Transformation Realm, the mind merges into the Dao, the Primordial Spirit ascends in dimensions, not relying on the Physical Body, not bound by Realms.

He couldn't help taking a deep breath, his chest surging with turbulent emotions.

Within this trial, he finally stood at this step, stepping across that doorway which countless Nascent Soul Cultivators could never knock open in all their lives.

However, although Lu Ming's heart was surging, he also soberly knew that this was merely a trial.

In reality, he had just stepped into the Early Stage Nascent Soul.

Yet there was no disappointment in his heart.

On the contrary, a nearly burning anticipation ignited within his chest.

Because this Reincarnation trial had given him something more precious than the Realm itself.

He knew that after returning to reality, although his Realm would fall back down, those insights were like Dao patterns branded deep within his true spirit, unable to be erased or forgotten.

Therefore, what he lacked was only resources; as long as the resources could keep up, everything would fall into place naturally.

And coincidentally, he had long prepared resources for himself!

Whether it was the various Origin Luck collected earlier, or that Dao of Reincarnation about to be refined by him, both were sufficient to push him in one breath to Nascent Soul Perfection, or even impact Soul Transformation.

But now was not the time to consider these, precisely because at this moment the Soul Transformation transformation had not yet ended, lacking just a final kick.

Lu Ming took a deep breath, suppressing his surging thoughts, and pulled his attention back to what was before him.

However, at the very last instant when his Nascent Soul completely finished its dimensional ascent and turned into the Primordial Spirit.

The moment his true "Primordial Spirit" crossed that threshold and stepped into the gate of the Soul Transformation Dao, Heaven and Earth suddenly stagnated!

As if something in the dark suddenly snapped, Lu Ming only heard a very light "crack" sound, resembling the shattering of colored glaze.

Then, the world began to flow backward.

Spiritual Qi flowed backward returning to the Void Realm fissure, the Primordial Spirit was pulled back into the Sea of Consciousness to re-condense into a Nascent Soul, and even that Reincarnation Dao fruit also gathered its luster amidst slow rotation, becoming blurry and indistinct.

Everything and every event seemed to begin reversing at this moment.

Like a stirred-up wave in the River of Time, the tide rising and falling.

In Lu Ming's perception, he only felt heaven and earth spinning, his vision alternating between black and white.

However, Lu Ming did not panic; instead, at that instant, a thought became clear in his mind.

This trial itself was a shadow cast by Reincarnation, and everything was within Reincarnation.

Therefore, it was completely impossible for him to truly undergo Soul Transformation and achieve Ascension.

Or rather, he had already successfully achieved "Soul Transformation".

Precisely because Soul Transformation was already considered "transcendence", if he were still bound within the trial, what kind of "transcendence" could that be considered?

Therefore... have I passed the trial?

The final thought surfaced, and Lu Ming's consciousness completely sank into darkness.

When he opened his eyes again, he had already returned to reality.

But in just an instant, Lu Ming detected that something was wrong.

At this time, his Dantian was empty, his aura plummeted in a cliff-like manner, and as for things like the Dao fruit and Primordial Spirit, they were even more illusory.

If this sense of disparity were placed on someone else, perhaps their mind would lose its defense and their Dao Heart would collapse.

Yet within Lu Ming's eyes, it was incomparably calm.

He comprehended the various memories regarding the trial surfacing in his brain, and the corners of his lips slowly curved upward.

He profited; this time he really won to the max!

However, his smile had not yet fully unfolded when it suddenly froze on his face.

Just because at this very instant, a malice as extreme as that from the depths of the Nine Netherworlds precisely locked onto his Divine Soul.

Within that malice carried undisguised killing intent and greed, resembling a long-starved Vicious Beast that had finally waited for its prey.

Lu Ming also suddenly realized that his damn situation right now couldn't be counted as safe, and moreover, his current state was not right.

Because he gained the upper hand in the Reincarnation trial, the moment he came out, he directly took over the dominance of this Clone.

As for the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord, he naturally got forcefully logged offline.

But the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord was no pushover.

The instant he discovered he was being replaced by a duplicate login, he immediately figured out all the key points.

Why did the Reincarnation trial have an extra person out of thin air?

Turns out from beginning to end, this person had always been parasitizing inside his body, and was already there before entering the Reincarnation trial.

It was that "chess piece" he had subjected to Possession in the Divine Court!

However, the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord no longer thought of that as any chess piece at this moment.

Being able to set up such a seamless layout and lurk within his Sea of Consciousness for so long without revealing flaws, this person was definitely an authentic Nascent Soul True Monarch.

However, after figuring out this layer, far from panicking, the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord became even more excited.

What he most worried about?

Naturally, it was the Dao of Reincarnation falling into the hands of others.

If there were a Nascent Soul True Monarch ambushing outside, relying on his currently damaged state, it would be extremely difficult to gain any advantage, and there might even be a threat to his life.

But now the situation was completely different.

The Nascent Soul True Monarchs of various grotto-heavens were still trapped within the Reincarnation barrier, and since this person resided in his body, he must exist in the form of a consciousness body.

Having no true body meant having no complete cultivation support!

If the other party kept hiding all the way and launched trouble at the end, he might still suffer a muffled loss.

But now that the trump card had been exposed, the threat was greatly reduced, or even no longer a threat.

If he couldn't clean up other people, could he still not deal with a wisp of consciousness?

Moreover, if he could extinguish this wisp of consciousness right here, then there would be no more competitors for the Dao of Reincarnation here.

Even if this person had already passed the Reincarnation trial, so what?

Without refining the Dao of Reincarnation, that could not be considered truly succeeding.

As long as he died, there would only be the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord left here, and the fisherman profiting from their conflict would be himself.

Therefore, along with the end of the Reincarnation trial, the very instant consciousness returned to reality, the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord fiercely made his move!

He had not a shred of hesitation, not a trace of probing, making his move with full force right from the start.

That strike condensed all his remaining Divine Soul power, resembling a soul-destroying blade quenched with ten thousand poisons, piercing with peerless precision into the core of Lu Ming's consciousness body!

Lu Ming didn't even have time to make any reaction before that attack had already penetrated his consciousness body.

It was too fast, so fast that before his perception had time to transmit, his consciousness began to disintegrate.

Finally dissolving and shattering silently, until annihilation.

During this period, there was zero capacity for resistance!

And the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord, after finishing all this, still did not stop there.

He still vigilantly scanned every single inch of this Physical Body over and over again.

Like an assassin, vowing to cut weeds and eliminate roots, leaving not a shred of hidden trouble.

Sure enough, in the crevices deep within the Sea of Consciousness, he discovered that supremely secretive "Du'e" brand.

The Soul-Devouring Demon Lord guessed that this might be the last backup plan left behind by the other party.

As long as this brand was still there, even if the consciousness body was destroyed, the other party might still revive again after a period of time.

"Good methods." The Soul-Devouring Demon Lord whispered to himself, his tone cold as frost.

"Pity, you met me."

Therefore he stretched out his finger, a stream of pure Divine Soul power gushing out like raging flames, precisely enveloping that Du'e brand, and then crushing it fiercely!

That brand turned into ashes like a burned piece of paper, dissipating into nothingness.

At this point, there was no longer any trace of foreign objects within this Physical Body.

Only then did the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord let out a long sigh of relief, immediately throwing his head back and laughing loudly.

"Hahaha... No matter your hundreds of schemes and thousands of calculations, in the end, wasn't it this seat who laughed until the end!"

The laughter of the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord was unrestrained and arrogant, filled with carefree complacency, and a kind of wild joy of surviving a catastrophe.

Ultimately, he was still a notch higher!

However, right at this moment, a voice untimelily and suddenly rang out in the arena.

"Oh? Is that so?"

"What?"

The laughter of the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord stopped abruptly, as if someone had grabbed him by the throat.

His expression froze on his face, the corners of his mouth still lingering with that extremely complacent arc from just moments ago, but his eyes had already surged with a layer of unbelievable astonishment.

He abruptly turned his head following the direction from which the voice came.

Then, his pupils contracted slightly.

He saw a young man holding a banner intertwined with Xuan and Huang in his arms stepping over slowly from the array of the Myriad Spirits Flesh Soil.

That young man was tall and slender, with a handsome and calm expression, and his brows were full of composure.

A trace of doubt flashed in the eyes of the Soul-Devouring Demon Lord; he was certain he had never seen this young man before.

Moreover, observing his entire aura, it was merely Golden Core Perfection.

However, this was not the reason he needed to be wary; rather, how could anyone else possibly exist in this place?

He had exhausted his mind, scheming against True Monarch Chiyan Yinglei, and finally leveraged the sealing rules with the Luck of the Heavenly Dao, even paying the price of his true body's demise to open up the path here.

Logically speaking, there should only be him alone in this place, how could there possibly be other people existing!

The scene before him was just this real; this person walked out so swaggeringly, still strolling as if in his own courtyard.

Could it be... that the six True Lords had already broken free? And then sent someone in?