Swish!

  The moment the Overlord Skyslaying Saber charged out of Xiang Shaoyun's body, the presence of dragon and tiger appeared as well, dazzling the entire room. Although the saber had yet to return to its perfect form, part of the might it once possessed was starting to show.

  And as the Overlord Skyslaying Saber flew out, an object flew out of the person's body as well. It was a crude-looking medal that emanated the same aura as the Overlord Skyslaying Saber.

  "Master's Overlord Skyslaying Saber!" he cried out in alarm, emotions flaring in his pair of green eyes.

  Xiang Shaoyun was completely stunned. He had sensed the Overlord Skyslaying Saber stirring earlier and had wanted to suppress it. But it had still flown out and had even summoned something out of the person on the wall as well.

  Inwardly, he felt relief as he thought, Looks like this person is related to the original owner of the Overlord Skyslaying Saber. Surely, he won't make trouble for me anymore.

  Staring at the saber and the medal in the air, he asked in confusion, "Lord, what is going on here?"

  "Do you really not know anything at all?" asked the person after taking some time to calm himself.

  Xiang Shaoyun nodded solemnly and said, "This is a saber I had acquired by fluke. I do not know its origin."

  "This is a saber that only my master can own. He is also the only person who can activate it. Thus, it is certain that you have the blood of my master coursing in you, allowing you to form a resonance with the saber. Looks like you really are a descendant of my master. Anyone else wouldn't have been able to make use of this saber even with the saber in hand," he said with an utmost certainty.

  Xiang Shaoyun was out of words, so he circulated the Heaven Conquering Overlord Manual before waving his hand at the Overlord Skyslaying Saber. The saber flew back to him, but surprisingly, the medal came along as well.

  He hesitated slightly before wrapping his hand around the medal.

  The moment he had the medal in his grip, a sense of intimacy rose within him, as if he had known the medal for a long time. The blood within him started stirring while his lightning bone started crackling with lightning energy as well. The presence of dragon and tiger around him grew even more solid while a seemingly matchless aura started appearing around him.

  With his eyes fixed on the character carved into the medal, Xiang Shaoyun bellowed, "Overlord!"

  His shout was filled with ample aggression that shook the tiny space he was in. The look of someone viewing the entire world with contempt appeared in his eyes. That look had come so naturally to him, as if he was truly unrivalled and that the medal was merely a fuse that had sparked this true side of his.

  "M-master!" the person on the wall cried out emotionally, more and more emotions filling his pair of eyes.

  Xiang Shaoyun could sense a vague and indescribable emotion covering his mind, yet he couldn't figure out what the emotion was for some reason.

  Shortly after, he recovered from deep thought and looked at the person before asking, "Please tell me the history of the Overlord Skyslaying Saber and this medal."

  \r\r\r

  Xiang Shaoyun was now much calmer when facing this person; much of the fear he had earlier was nowhere to be seen.

  "Yes. The Overlord Skyslaying Saber is a weapon my master had personally forged. My master was once the strongest existence in the Nine Gods Dominion. His name is Xiang Dingtian, known as the Overlord, one who had founded the super clan, Xiang Clan. He ruled over the Western Desert and had nearly conquered the other eight regions as well. Alas……my master fell victim to the tricks of some villain, causing him to be surrounded by the strongest experts of the other eight regions. He alone fought the various heroes, and they battled until the sky itself dimmed. Finally, after slaying most of them, he helped his followers escape while he himself perished from pure exhaustion," said the person.

  In Xiang Shaoyun's head, the image of a lone imposing hero appeared in his mind. Alone, the hero battled the strongest the eight regions had to offer. How overbearing was such a person? It was no wonder that he dared proclaim himself the Overlord.

  "How did you end up trapped here?" Xiang Shaoyun asked.

  "Back then after my master perished, we fought the eight regions to the death in order to protect the Xiang Clan from being wiped out. The eight regions were unwilling to force our hand too much. Thus, we parleyed. The eight regions agreed to withdraw from the Western Desert and no longer make trouble for the Xiang Clan. But the Xiang Clan was also required to live in seclusion. They were no longer allowed to claim hegemony over the Western Desert or to extend their influence to the other eight regions. Apart from that, we, the main generals of my master, were all imprisoned at different locations. The imprisonment was to last 5,000 years!" said the person with intense indignation. He continued furiously, "But the period of 5,000 years has long passed. In fact, I reckon it has been more than 10,000 years! Those damnable bastards still have me trapped here!"

  Xiang Shaoyun was completely dumbfounded.

  In the Nine God Provinces, cultivators generally had longer lifespans than regular humans. A Transformation Realm cultivator would have no problem living for about 200 or 300 years, and those in the Skysoar Realm could live for 500 years. As for those in the Emperor Realm, they could live for 1,000 years.

  Of course, Xiang Shaoyun was not a person with only such shallow knowledge. He was well aware of the higher realms above the Emperor Realm. Those capable of living beyond 10,000 years were most certainly the top existences of the Nine Gods Dominion.

  Xiang Shaoyun calmed himself down before asking, "Do you want me to release you?"

  "If you are that strong, you wouldn't have been afraid of my threats," said the person. "Tell me about yourself. I can sense that not only are you the descendant of my master, but you are also his chosen heir."

  Xiang Shaoyun gripped the medal in his hand. His intuition was telling him that this person would most likely be related to the so-called inheritance he was supposed to obtain. He then told him the story of how he had entered a strange land out of nowhere to obtain the Heaven Conquering Overlord Manual while he was still a child.

  "Heaven Conquering Overlord Manual! It really is the Heaven Conquering Overlord Manual! I thought this inheritance had been severed with my master's death, but it had actually survived! Haha! What great news! Looks like the inheritor for my master's legacy has appeared!" said the person in excitement. But then he suddenly sighed, "I wanted to borrow your body to escape, but looks like I can't do that anymore."

  Xiang Shaoyun shivered when he heard that as he thought, Turns out this fellow did harbor ill intentions toward me.

  He couldn't help but to feel grateful that he was in some way related to this person. Otherwise, the consequences of coming down here would have been grave.

  "How should I help you escape then?" Xiang Shaoyun asked.

  "Find me a body that can store my soul. That will be enough to free me."

  "That's easy enough. I'll just kidnap someone. You'll be free then?" Xiang Shaoyun asked.

  The Lightning Alliance people were most certainly hunting for him. He only needed to grab one of them.

  "Haha, that sounds simple, but it's not all that simple." The person laughed before he continued with a grave tone, "After 10,000 years of imprisonment, my body has completely dried up. My vitality has been severed, and in truth, I am already dead. But they had never expected that my soul foundation is capable of self restoration. That is how I have survived until now. But they had still left a backup plan behind in the form of formations. Only weaklings below the Skysoar Realm will be able to come here. Because of that, I haven't been able to find a body capable of storing my soul even after so many years. How vile of them!"

  1. Nine God Provinces will be changed to Nine Gods Dominion from this chapter onwards to avoid confusion with the smaller provinces in this book, e.g. Soaring Dragon Province, etc.

  Chapter 289: Devouring Ghost of the Five Skyslaying Generals

  Others might not know what the term soul foundation referred to, but Xiang Shaoyun knew exactly what it was. There were no limits to cultivation, and at certain points in one's cultivation, one would have to take a step forward to continue to grow.

  One would start at the Basic Realm and advance to the Astral Realm, then to the Transformation Realm before eventually reaching the Skysoar Realm, also known as the King Realm. Beyond that realm was the Emperor Realm, whose official name was the Dragon Ascension Realm, as it was during this realm that one would be akin to a dragon among humans, known as Emperors. Those in the next realm were known as Sovereigns, with the official name of the realm being Soul Foundation Realm.

  Since this person had mentioned soul foundation, it could only mean that he had a terrifying cultivation level, high enough to have a soul foundation. Xiang Shaoyun came from a tier-7 sect. Thus, he was clear that even those at the Sovereign Realm would have a hard time living for 10,000 years. This person was most likely above that realm.

  Of course, his physical flesh was already dead and only his soul survived. But his soul alone was so powerful few people could contend against him. Because of that, when that person noticed that Xiang Shaoyun had talent in soul cultivation as well, he lured him down here so as to snatch a new body for himself. But since Xiang Shaoyun was the heir of his master, he gave up on that plan.

  "You are saying I need to find a body capable of storing your soul foundation? That is the only way you can leave?" Xiang Shaoyun asked.

  "That's right. There is a formation in place preventing my soul from leaving. Thus, I am forced to remain in this body. Otherwise, I would have been free long ago," he said with a sigh.

  "What cultivation level does a person need to be at to be able to store your soul foundation?" asked Xiang Shaoyun.

  This person would be a great help to him if released. The thought of that tempted him more to help this person.

  "I need the body of at least a late-stage Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator," he said.

  Dragon Ascension Realm, commonly known as the Emperor Realm, and the cultivator even had to be in the late stage. That was quite a high requirement. One ought to remember that it was basically impossible for Emperors to enter this place. They would be killed by the formations here.

  "I'm afraid I won't be able to get that done," said Xiang Shaoyun helplessly. "Are there no alternatives?"

  "Yes, you have to find me some treasure capable of storing souls," he said. "But forget it. With your strength, it will be impossible for you to get one. Just go look for the experts of the Xiang Clan to come rescue me. Tell them I am the Devouring Ghost of the Five Great Skyslaying Generals serving under the Overlord. They will know to come for me after hearing that."

  Devouring Ghost, a name that struck fear in one's heart. In truth, 10,000 years ago, this person was indeed a top expert that was greatly feared by many. But it had been too long since that era, and because of that, Xiang Shaoyun had never heard of the affairs from back then.

  Xiang Shaoyun smiled bitterly, "I won't be able to reach the Xiang Clan, so I'm afraid that will not be an option either."

  \r\r\r

  "Looks like the Xiang Clan of today has changed," said Devouring Ghost with a sigh. "Fine. Just wait until you grow strong enough. You can come for me then. But I really don't know if I can last that long. AHHHH! Damn it! I can't accept this!"

  His voice was extremely mournful, filled with enough hatred that anyone hearing it would feel their hairs stand on end. Xiang Shaoyun sank into silence, but a voice seemed to have appeared in his head, telling him he had to rescue Devouring Ghost.

  Perhaps the Nether Dragon Soul Headband will be able to help. Xiang Shaoyun decided to try using the Nether Dragon Soul Headband after thinking about it for a bit.

  The Nether Dragon Soul Headband was a treasure that could be used to control the soul of others. But it was unknown if it could be used to store Devouring Ghost's soul. The only thing Xiang Shaoyun knew was that his own soul was currently stored in the space between the two ends of the headband. Staying there, his soul was protected from all sorts of soul attacks and could grow at an enhanced speed.

  If he moved his soul out of that place, he might be able to allow Devouring Ghost's soul to enter it instead. At that thought, he summoned out the Nether Dragon Soul Headband.

  When Devouring Ghost saw the Nether Dragon Soul Headband, his eyes lit up as he cried out, "This……is this the Nether Dragon Soul Headband from the Imperial Nether Clan? Why is it on you?"

  "You know about this thing as well?" Xiang Shaoyun was surprised.

  The Nether Dragon Soul Headband was something he had obtained from the Cloud Margin Pavilion auction. The Cloud Margin Pavilion people knew nothing about the Nether Dragon Soul Headband, yet Devouring Ghost was able to recognize it with one glance. It was obvious Devouring Ghost had seen the headband before.

  "Haha, how would I not know it? Back then, the Imperial Nether Clan was one of the main forces besieging my master. Their ancestor was killed by my master, but the headband had actually fallen into your hands? Only the direct descendants of the Imperial Nether Clan are supposed to be able to control this headband," said Devouring Ghost as he roared with laughter. "Wait, you can't have the blood of the Imperial Nether Clan in you as well, right?"

  Xiang Shaoyun smiled helplessly. "You said it yourself. Only the direct descendants of the Imperial Nether Clan can control the headband. I suppose I do have their blood after all."

  Yes, he was a member of the Xiang Clan, but he had most likely gotten the blood of the Imperial Nether Clan from the previous generation. Since his father was a Xiang Clan member, it could only mean that the mother he had never met was the one who had given him the Imperial Nether Clan’s blood. But of course, he wasn't sure about that either.

  "The Xiang Clan has never got along well with the Imperial Nether Clan. It is very rare to see someone with the blood of these two clans. But that also grants you the talents unique to the two clans, giving you an even brighter future in your path of cultivation. Then again, you sure are weak. You're only at the Transformation Realm?" said Devouring Ghost.

  "Now is not the time to talk about all that. See if you can enter the headband," said Xiang Shaoyun.

  "If even the Nether Dragon Soul Headband can't store my soul foundation, nothing else in this world will be able to cut it," said Devouring Ghost. "Put it on my forehead."

  Xiang Shaoyun did as told and sent the headband flying toward Devouring Ghost's forehead. Abruptly, strands of fearsome power surged out of Devouring Ghost.

  Bang! Bang!

  The dreadfully destructive power slammed right into the headband. Fortunately, the Nether Dragon Soul Headband was incredibly tough and wasn't the least bit damaged. Xiang Shaoyun was given a fright, and because of that, he lost control over the headband, and it started to drop down to the ground.

  "Bastards! You people imprisoned me for so many years! You dream of preventing my escape? Impossible! Just you wait. I, Devouring Ghost, shall reappear in the world. I will not spare a single one of you!" roared Devouring Ghost as he lifted the headband with his soul power and placed it on his forehead again. Next, a clump of boundless soul power converged at the space between the two ends of the headband.