Chapter 2

Three black mists gathered and dispersed, rolling incessantly.

"These three black mists represent the three major karmic ties of this physical body. If I want to take over this body and truly become Qiu Yan, I must bear the karma, whether good or bad, and from now on, it will be my own destiny."

Qiu Yan's true spirit had returned to the clay statue and had lived in this place for decades. Although he knew nothing about the outside world, he had spent his time studying himself, thus discovering a lot of information, including the way of karma, which he understood to some extent.

"Grudges, ambitions, and kinship."

Through the karmic connections, Qiu Yan quickly understood the content each black mist represented and couldn't help but shake his head: "This kid is truly ambitious, clearly trapped in the village, but his spirit is not small."

He muttered to himself, but his mind was rapidly turning.

The three fine hairs had a mysterious origin, coming with him from his previous life. Over the decades, he had studied and deduced their effects, understanding that each could create a clone, but it required another person's body as a base, not creating something out of nothing.

After a while, Qiu Yan smiled.

"To take over someone's body, how can I fear the karmic ties? Wanting to take advantage without bearing the consequences, that's not reasonable in any world. I've waited for decades for this person. If he hadn't been on his deathbed, his soul wouldn't have left his body, and I wouldn't have been able to contact him, let alone make him willingly offer his body. Such an opportunity might not come again in another fifty years. Besides, I've promised to avenge him..."

Thinking this, he turned his head to look to the side.

The bird-headed man whose head had been crushed by the clay statue was gone, leaving only a pile of clothes. In the clothes, a headless bird lay.

"I accept this karma!"

As he spoke, the three black mists rushed toward Qiu Yan, quickly enveloping his entire body and seeping into his flesh through his pores.

Outside the temple, the thunder dissipated, and Qiu Yan felt his body become slightly heavier.

"This matter is settled. Next..."

He looked down at the headless bird on the ground, which was entirely black, clearly a crow.

"Hmm? These three fine hairs are not simple. They don't just create a clone. The new body, with its mortal eyes, can't see the changes in the soul, so I have to use my true form."

As Qiu Yan's thoughts concluded, the clay statue's eyes, covered in dust, suddenly emitted two beams of white light.

This statue was also Qiu Yan, the true form, using the clay statue's eyes to release divine power, enveloping the headless bird's corpse.

In the next moment, a dim, transparent shadow of a crow appeared in his vision.

The shadow was entangled by white threads, and no matter how it struggled, it couldn't break free.

Qiu Yan was slightly surprised: "The soul of a monster is indeed extraordinary, not confused, and can control its own soul!"

Noticing the white light, the crow's soul stopped struggling, turned its head, and opened its beak to speak clearly: "You, a wild deity, don't know the consequences of destroying my body, a grave mistake. Now you dare to try to trap my soul, which is a greater mistake. If you know what's good for you, release me quickly, and you'll suffer less in the future."

Qiu Yan listened without comment. His flesh clone stared at the headless bird's corpse for a long time and then said, "Truly amazing. Your original form is so small, how did you transform into a large human?"

"What's so strange about that? The path of life cultivation is about refining the flesh. Once you reach the soul-refining stage, condensing the soul and essence, expanding the flesh, and changing your form is easy... Hmm?"

The crow's soul responded instinctively but stopped halfway, then changed the subject: "You don't know the secrets of life cultivation?"

"Life cultivation? Refining flesh?" Qiu Yan paused, "Just refining flesh, why can you still control your soul after your body is destroyed?"

"Ha ha ha!"

Qiu Yan's words made the crow's soul laugh loudly: "Since you don't know life cultivation or nature cultivation, and you don't understand the seven souls or the opening of the soul, yet you are a local deity, you must be..."

"A born deity!"

The crow's soul trembled slightly.

"Deities and spirits, holding seals and wielding power, must be sanctioned. You know nothing, so you can't have seized someone else's seal to usurp a deity's position. Living in a remote temple, you can't have been sanctioned by the court or the heavens to become a deity. Therefore, you must have been born according to the principles of heaven and earth or the will of the people, a born deity!"

The crow's soul trembled more and more.

"If the king knew this, the credit would be immense! Then..."

"Unfortunately, you won't have the chance to inform him!"

A deep voice came from the clay statue, and white light flashed, with divine power surging from the statue's eyes, quickly enveloping the crow's soul and then contracting inward!

"Ahh! You dare to act? In the territory of Yuan Ning, my king's word is absolute, and nothing can escape his control! You..."

Snap!

A light sound, and the white light and the crow's soul vanished like bubbles.

...

Snap!

The wolf-headed man and his group had left the village and were heading to another village. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he stopped, taking out a thumb-sized jade token from his pocket.

The jade token was covered in cracks.

"The crow's soul is destroyed! He was supposed to chase the old scholar's son. Why is his soul destroyed?"

The wolf-headed man's expression was uncertain. He summoned two people: "Pass the order to the wolf army. All the little monsters must immediately go to Min Yuan Mountain and search the entire mountain! Any trace related to the crow, whether flesh, bone, trace, or smell, must not be overlooked. Those who dare to harm us must not be tolerated; we must make an example of them."

As he spoke, he handed the broken jade token to the two people.

"This jade token contains the crow's aura. Although his soul is destroyed, his body should still be there. Share the aura with the monsters, and report to me immediately if anything is found!"

One of them took the token and asked, "General, should we report this to the king?"

The wolf general shook his head: "The crow is just a minor monster. There's no need to disturb the king. Besides, he is under my command. If I don't handle this, and push it to the king, that's not right. Alright, go!"

"Yes!"

The two received the order, transformed into a horse and a sparrow, and quickly left.

"Alright, the rest of you, follow me to the next village." Seeing the two leave, the wolf general continued leading the group forward.

...

In the mountain deity temple, Qiu Yan was looking at the headless bird's corpse, deep in thought.

"Should I extract it? The last few actions have already consumed a lot of divine power. Suppressing this monster, using the fine hairs to create a clone, sending the scholar into the cycle of rebirth, healing my body, and then destroying the monster's soul, the divine power I've accumulated over decades, which formed ten stars, is now down to five."

As he thought, the clay statue suddenly trembled, causing Qiu Yan to change his expression.

"So soon? I can't hesitate. This body is too weak, slightly stronger than my previous one, but not enough to survive in the wild. Divine power can heal injuries, but it's not enough to strengthen the flesh and bones."

With this thought, the statue trembled again, and white light shone from its eyes, enveloping the headless bird's corpse, extracting the essence.

Rustle, rustle, rustle!

Feathers fell, and soon a red glow emerged.

It was a blood drop the size of a fingernail, with two flickering shadows inside.

"Blood essence!"

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PS: Thanks to Hengchuan and "Ke Guan Bu Ke Yi Ah" for the donations! Another chapter will be posted tonight.