The red mist rushed into Jiang Xuan, his face turning deathly pale.

He was terrified beyond reason, despair filling his eyes. “No! This can’t be happening! Y-you couldn’t possibly have this thing!”

Gu Han was also vomiting blood nonstop, swaying and on the verge of collapse. “Didn’t you ask for an opportunity?!”

Crushing the red bead did not leave him unharmed. About a quarter of the mist had seized the chance to enter him, churning his flesh, blood, and bones into a pulp.

Jiang Xuan gnashed his teeth. “You bastard, you call this an opportunity?!”

Gu Han wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. With great difficulty, he propped up another protective spirit light. “Yes. Believe it or not, this is my opportunity. As for whether you can handle it or not, that’s your problem.”

He felt much better than before. With the erosion of his will blocked, the mist became a great tonic for him. Despite his miserable appearance, his cultivation was continuously rising, and his injuries were recovering at an extreme speed.

Chu Kuang came to Jiang Xuan’s side, his expression grave. “How are you? Can you still hold on?”

He could see that Jiang Xuan was using nearly all of his cultivation to suppress the divine power.

Jiang Xuan laughed bitterly. “C-can’t hold on... it’s over—”

He staggered back several steps. An unnatural flush swept across his face, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. The light in his eyes dimmed.

“Completely over.” His back suddenly became hunched, his jet-black hair gradually lost its luster, and many wrinkles appeared on his face. “Decades of effort, decades of planning, all ruined!”

With each sentence, his face aged further. In the end, he reverted back to that withered, skinny, decrepit old janitor.

Chu Kuang’s brow furrowed even more tightly. He could sense that Jiang Xuan was physically deteriorating, his foundation completely ruined. The man didn’t have many days left to live. Meanwhile, Gu Han was the exact opposite. More than half of his injuries had recovered, and he had also broken through to the third stage of the Spirit Profound realm, already close to the fourth.

Gu Han remarked sarcastically, “Old man, you’re truly useless! You can’t even handle this little bit of opportunity. A heaven-sent fortune, completely wasted by you!”

Jiang Xuan trembled with anger. “Nonsense! Bullshit opportunity! Nonsense fortune! You tricked me, you dared to trick me...”

Gu Han shook his head. “Wrong. In this world, there are a thousand opportunities and ten thousand fortunes, each unique. Just because you can’t handle it doesn’t make it nonsense. You’re too narrow-minded and inhumane. It will certainly be difficult for you to go far.”

Having his own words hurled back at him, Jiang Xuan burned with rage and spat out another mouthful of blood. Difficult to go far? I’m almost dead! How much farther can I possibly go?!

His eyes turned bloodshot. “I’ll kill you! I will definitely kill you! I will definitely cut you into a thousand pieces!”

A terrifying pressure instantly descended upon the area. At the end of the day, he was still a Half-Step Transcendent realm cultivator. Gu Han couldn’t possibly withstand his full power. His spirit light trembled incessantly again, on the verge of breaking.

Gu Han spat out a mouthful of bloody foam. “Serve you right, old man! If you hadn’t been greedy, coveting my fortune, would you have ended up like this?”

Jiang Xuan could no longer suppress his bloodlust, eager to reduce Gu Han into mincemeat. “I’ll kill you!”

Just then, Chu Kuang screamed, “Wait! Don’t kill him yet!”

Jiang Xuan whirled around, glaring fiercely at him, full of madness and despair. “You saw how he brought me to this state! How can I not kill him—”

Chu Kuang looked at him seriously, “Perhaps there’s still a way for you!”

A sliver of hope flashed in Jiang Xuan’s eyes. “What? Do you have a great medicine that can replenish vitality to save me?”

Chu Kuang shook his head. “No.”

Otherwise, why would a proper Saint realm cultivator like him end up walking this path?

Jiang Xuan despaired again. “Then there’s no other way! I’ve already consumed most of that divine essence! With the secret realm undergoing such a huge mutation, it’s uncertain it’ll be open again in the future! Even if it does, I can’t wait another five years!”

Chu Kuang shook his head. “Actually, you only broke through to the Half-Step Transcendent realm a few decades ago. Your lifespan is still quite ample!”

Jiang Xuan showed a miserable smile. “Ample? What’s the damn use! Without a physical body, I still can’t live!”

“So, your problem lies with your body. Have you ever thought about...” Chu Kuang analyzed quickly, his gaze turning to Gu Han. “Changing to a different body?”

Hearing that, Gu Han felt a swirl of anger, disdain, and disbelief. He hadn’t expected these two to circle around and set their sights on his body again.

Jiang Xuan also reacted. “Change? You mean—”

Chu Kuang stared intently at Gu Han, his eyes practically gleaming. “Just now, I very clearly saw a part of that divine power entering your body. Logically, you should have died long ago. Not only are you fine, but your injuries have mostly recovered—and you even broke through! Even in my previous life, I couldn’t possibly have done such a thing. How did you do it?”

Gu Han answered expressionlessly, “You want to know? Then call me ’Daddy Gu’ too.”

Chu Kuang’s eyes grew brighter and brighter. “I understand. No wonder Yang Lin still fell despite having those beads. Do you have a way to refine divine power, or rather, can you absorb it?”

Beside him, Jiang Xuan subconsciously shook his head. “No! That’s absolutely impossible!”

In fact, forcibly refining divine power was what led to his downfall in the first place. He knew full well how difficult it was to accomplish such a thing. No, it wasn’t just difficult, it was completely hopeless!

Chu Kuang smiled, pointing at Gu Han. “Then how do you explain his situation?”

Jiang Xuan was also at a loss for words.

Chu Kuang took a deep breath. “Hence why I’m suggesting you to change bodies. That way, we can learn his secrets.”

Jiang Xuan hesitated. “I—”

Chu Kuang raised an eyebrow. “What? Whether in natural talent and endowment, or in opportunities and fortunes, he ranks among the very top. Such a near-perfect body, why do you think I would give it to you?”

Jiang Xuan sighed. “But possession carries too great a risk!”

Although his soul had been greatly tempered in the Earthly Tribulation realm, the chance of recklessly possessing such a genius was minuscule. Even reaching thirty percent would be considered heaven-blessed. Such a losing gamble went against his very nature.

Gu Han frowned deeply. “You two want to possess me?”

Chu Kuang nodded. “Yes. Do you have an objection?”

Gu Han’s eyes narrowed slightly. “No shit! My objection is a huge one!”

“What a pity then. Your objection is the least important. Barely one-tenth of my soul power is left, but suppressing a puny Spirit Profound cultivator’s soul is still within my capability. This time...” Chu Kuang laughed, glancing at Jiang Xuan. “Your probability of successful possession is as high as ninety percent!”

Jiang Xuan’s breathing grew labored. “Ninety percent? R-really?”

Chu Kuang was very confident. “Of course! If you’re still afraid even with such odds, then you deserve to die!”

Jiang Xuan became agitated. “Not at all, not at all! That’s already very high! Given this kid’s talent, even limited to seventy percent of my potential, I would still surpass my current strength. If I still don’t dare, I might as well die!”

Suddenly, Gu Han roared angrily, “You want to possess me? Dream on!”

He held his sword across his chest, his aura instantly surging to its peak. Considering what was about to happen to him, Gu Han’s fury did not surprise the two.

Chu Kuang clasped his hands behind his back, displaying the domineering aura of a Saint realm cultivator to the fullest. “I said your objection is unimportant!”

Even Jiang Xuan resumed his previous detached demeanor. “Kid, this is the consequence of your actions. Why persist in something so futile? Accepting your fate peacefully might very well be a form of liberation!”

Gu Han’s expression darkened. “Liberation my ass!”

He spun around and started fleeing into the distance.

Chu Kuang’s expression turned cold. “Stop him!”

Without needing the reminder, Jiang Xuan swayed slightly and instantly landed in front of Gu Han.

He chuckled. “Kid, don’t run. There’s no escape.”

A determined glint flashed in Gu Han’s eyes. “I’d rather die than let you two succeed!”

As he spoke, he shifted the direction of his sword, thrusting it toward himself.

Jiang Xuan shouted, “No! Don’t!”

A terrifying pressure descended, instantly restraining Gu Han. Having regarded Gu Han’s body as his own, Jiang Xuan wouldn’t harm a single hair on him. In fact, he even kindly propped up a protective spirit light for him, blocking the encroachment of the red mist.

Looking at the immobilized Gu Han, Jiang Xuan grew more and more satisfied. “Not bad! You are dignified and uncommon in appearance, not bad-looking at all! In fact, you’re even more handsome than my original body. Good, very good!”

Not far away, Chu Kuang couldn’t bear to listen anymore. Handsome? Did your original body have even the slightest connection to those two words?

Gu Han gnashed his teeth. “Even if I die, I will definitely not let you off!”

Jiang Xuan wasn’t angered. “Curse away while you still have time. Vent properly. After I possess you, there will be no trace of you left in this world.”

Chu Kuang walked over. “Enough. Delays breed complications, start quickly!”

The faint layer of light around him suddenly blazed brightly.

Jiang Xuan took another look at him. "Hmm? As expected of a saint! Such profound soul power!”

Chu Kuang’s soul power far exceeded his expectations, greatly reassuring Jiang Xuan. Subduing a mere Spirit Profound realm cultivator would be all too easy! 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

In fact, even Gu Han felt intimidated. Chu Kuang’s soul power was actually much stronger than his.

Chu Kuang looked down at him. “Do you have any regrets?”

Gu Han suddenly regained his calm. “Pointless question.”

Chu Kuang nodded. “True. Whether you regret it or not, nothing will change.”

With that, the light in his eyes suddenly blazed brightly.

Staring directly into Gu Han’s eyes, he softly said, “Soul-Snatching!”