Chapter Nineteen: A Conspiracy

Han Tianyue’s resistance arose from a strange force within his body. He could feel this power devouring his essence; as his soul swelled, he found himself powerless to halt its advance.

“What should I do?” Han Tianyue began to regret consuming the Ice Heart. “This must be a scheme of the spirit!”

“My fragment of consciousness harbors no such schemes. It’s simply that your frail body and soul, lacking even a hint of spiritual energy, cannot bear the burden,” came a distant, weighty sigh from deep within Han Tianyue’s soul.

“Who are you?” Han Tianyue asked in astonishment.

“I am the entirety of the consciousness you encountered in the spirit—the sum of all the memories within that crystal sphere,” the voice trembled slightly.

“Then how did you end up inside my soul?” Han Tianyue had already guessed that the Ice Heart was involved, suspecting the spirit had tampered with it.

“You’re right, but it wasn’t my fragment of consciousness at fault. It didn’t even know I was inside!” Suddenly, an elderly man with snow-white hair and a haggard face appeared before Han Tianyue.

“What are you after? To devour my body and soul?” Han Tianyue braced himself, accepting this as the consequence of rashly swallowing the Ice Heart.

“I seek nothing of the sort. The deal struck with my fragment of consciousness remains unchanged. I am merely lodging within your soul; once I recover my essence, I will depart from you!” The old man, though more profound than the youthful spirit, shared many mannerisms and expressions. Han Tianyue quickly grew familiar with him.

“But now I can barely control my own body—how am I to fulfill my promise?” Han Tianyue replied.

While Han Tianyue’s soul conversed with the old man, the four Advisors, Xinzhong, and the others were locked in fierce combat with Han Tianyue’s body. “Who would have thought this boy could challenge even the four Advisors—looks like I’ll have to pull out my ace!” Advisor Qin, disregarding whether Han Tianyue might be destroyed, launched a domineering iron fist straight at him.

The iron fist was immensely powerful, shattering layers of snow and ice, driving toward Han Tianyue’s chest.

The old man, explaining how to suppress the Ice Heart within the soul and communicate with his essence, glared furiously at Advisor Qin as he broke through the ice, his expression shifting. “Such a trifling iron fist dares approach!”

Just as the iron fist was about to strike Han Tianyue’s body, his form suddenly collapsed into a primordial void, a mouth intent on swallowing Advisor Qin.

“Not good!” Advisor Yun instantly summoned a towering divine tree, binding Advisor Qin and dragging him back.

“This isn’t the consciousness of ice!” everyone exclaimed in unison.

“It’s Primordial!” At that moment, a sleeping eye abruptly opened and all the surrounding snow and ice melted away.

“You old bastard!” The old man had already sensed the familiar aura, his face contorted in a fierce expression.

Han Tianyue’s consciousness grew hazy, yet he could still feel the oppressive force from that suddenly opened eye.

“You old fox, even now you manage to slip away from consciousness—I truly underestimated you!” The eye, wavering between wakefulness and sleep, trembled fiercely. Han Tianyue could still hear its vast, resonant thoughts echoing.

“If not for your shameless sneak attack, would I be in this predicament? Old bastard, go back to your slumber!” The enormous primordial vortex surged toward the source of the thoughts, swallowing up the sleeping eye, which then vanished.

“You old bastard!” The primordial vortex the old man unleashed consumed most of the power within his consciousness. He began to fade before Han Tianyue’s eyes, his awareness sinking deep into Han Tianyue’s soul.

“Where have you gone?” Following the old man’s instructions, Han Tianyue nearly suppressed the Ice Heart and regained control of his essence, but now could no longer sense the old man’s presence.

The old man let out a long sigh. “I’ve lost too much power. I must sleep now. Take care of yourself!”

“No, wait!” Han Tianyue pursued him, but deep within his soul, it was as if a door barred him from entering.

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