Hearing him say that, Nie Kong breathed a sigh of relief, yet his heart was filled with greater doubt: "Elder Chi Lian, weren't you and he friends?"

Chi Lian scoffed, "Pan Hu and I were indeed friends, but that was ten thousand years ago. Little fellow, Pan Hu's heart is now inside your body. You must have gone to the Underworld Sea, and even entered the spatial domain of Pan Hu's original corpse—what did he tell you back then?" Could the events of that time hold a hidden secret?

Nie Kong’s heart stirred, and he quickly recounted, "Pan Hu said that ten thousand years ago, a great war erupted in the Supreme Spirit Realm between the three major Star Clans and an invading Spiritual God. However, at the crucial moment, the Immortal Star Clan suddenly betrayed the Pan Star Clan and the Scarlet Star Clan, leading to the heavy fall of the Star Gods of both clans."

The more Chi Lian listened, the deeper the sarcasm etched on his face became. As Nie Kong’s voice trailed off, he let out a heavy snort: "That Pan Hu is truly shameless—to deceive a junior like this!"

"Uh... what do you mean by that?" Nie Kong asked curiously.

Chi Lian's eyes snapped open, and he sneered, "Ten thousand years ago, that war did occur in the Supreme Spirit Realm... however, the clan that betrayed the others was not the Immortal Star Clan—it was the Pan Star Clan! Still, Pan Hu miscalculated my strength, despite all his schemes. Back then, although he successfully ambushed me, my final counterattack left his Pan Star Clan Chief’s corpse utterly obliterated—the body you see now is merely solidified from Underworld Power."

"The truth is actually this?" Nie Kong murmured.

Pan Hu claimed the Immortal Star Clan was the traitor, but Chi Lian swore it was the Pan Star Clan... Their accounts were diametrically opposed. Either Pan Hu or Chi Lian was lying—or perhaps both were—but compared to the benevolent, mild-mannered Pan Hu, Nie Kong leaned toward believing this stern, rugged Scarlet Star Clan Great Elder, who resembled an angry Vajra.

"Pan Hu is truly vile. Several thousand years ago, sensing my awakening, he used a secret art via a Battle Clan member who had once entered the Underworld Sea to ambush me again, intending to turn me into his puppet. He did succeed; the soul of my original body is now completely under his control! It's a pity for him, though; back when we were still in the Supreme Spirit Realm, I separated a wisp of my soul and sent it into the Scarlet Flame Battle Robe," Chi Lian continued gravely.

"That wisp of soul slept when my main body slept and awoke when it awoke... but the connection between them is incredibly subtle, undetectable even by Pan Hu, who controls my main body. Otherwise, you and I couldn't be meeting here to talk today."

Nie Kong suddenly understood everything. In fact, he had harbored doubts in the Underworld Sea. The Battle Clan’s Spiritual Art came from Chi Lian, making that Zhan Xinzi akin to Chi Lian's disciple—and potentially the disciple of the Underworld’s second Spiritual God! How could such a formidable figure agree to Pan Hu's request to weaken his Great Evolution Spirit Venerable cultivation and scout the Ghost Domain? Wouldn't helping himself ascend to Spiritual God status as quickly as possible during his weakened state benefit Chi Lian far more?

Only now did Nie Kong feel a sense of relief. If the soul within Chi Lian's main body had been controlled shortly after awakening, everything would be easily explained. Of course, despite leaning toward Chi Lian, Nie Kong didn't wholly trust him yet.

With a flash of thought, Nie Kong suddenly asked, "Elder Chi Lian, I mentioned to others in the Underworld Sea that you sent a summons to me. Might this have alerted Pan Hu to your presence?"

"You worry too much," Chi Lian waved his hand dismissively. "When you were listening to the War Sound of the Divination Heart Drum, it was the main body's soul issuing the summons to you, not this soul of mine. Furthermore, even though the main body's soul is under Pan Hu's control, the Underworld Sea and Battle God Mountain are too far apart—Pan Hu cannot monitor everything happening here constantly. Summoning you was intended to pass on the Scarlet Star Clan heritage. If you had accepted then, Pan Hu would have been overjoyed."

Nie Kong looked surprised. "Why is that?"

Chi Lian chuckled, "If you had accepted the Scarlet Star Clan heritage, you would not only have gained my Battle God Star Seal but also acquired the Scarlet Star Clan’s unique Scarlet Star Battle Body. Cultivating both simultaneously would have made your physique incomparably strong, making it even more suitable for housing Pan Hu's heart. The heart currently residing in your body probably only makes up about seventy percent of Pan Hu’s entire heart. If your cultivation hadn't reached the Seventh Tier, your body could only have withstood thirty percent of it. If I guess correctly, after you met Pan Hu, he must have enthusiastically helped boost your cultivation."

Nie Kong did not conceal anything, nodding with a smile: "That is true. He gave me many benefits, one of which was helping me break through from the Sixth Tier to the Seventh Tier within a month!"

"Going from the Sixth to the Seventh Tier in one month... to achieve that, one must cultivate within his Spiritual Marrow, and the cultivator's aptitude must be exceptionally outstanding!" Chi Lian mused. Seeing Nie Kong nod, a touch of mockery reappeared on Chi Lian's face. "Pan Hu was truly generous. For us Star Gods who are half-dead, the Spiritual Marrow is everything. Little fellow, for your single tier increase, his Spiritual Marrow must have been depleted by nearly half! Hmph, if the depletion of the Spiritual Marrow hadn't threatened his heart, he might have given you his entire stock."

Recalling the scene, Nie Kong knew Chi Lian’s words held truth. The Spiritual Marrow must have been vital to Pan Hu, otherwise he wouldn't have strictly warned Nie Kong to stop cultivating in the Spiritual Marrow once he reached the Seventh Tier.

"Little fellow, Pan Hu didn't do this with good intentions." Chi Lian’s brow arched in disdain. "If I haven't misjudged, that Spiritual Marrow must contain Pan Hu's origin power. As you cultivated there, those origin powers would have subtly integrated into your body... Given Pan Hu’s nature, he would certainly find an opportunity to teach you the Pan Silk Star Sucking Art first. This Spiritual Art is specifically designed to absorb origin power. The more you absorb, the faster his origin grows, until one day the Underworld Power in your body is replaced by his origin power. If you were smart enough, you should have noticed his sinister intent by then."

Hearing this, Nie Kong felt a chill, and he began to largely believe Chi Lian.

Because Chi Lian could not possibly know that he had already discovered the red aura hidden within the death energy using the recently comprehended Silk Drawing from Cocoon technique, nor could he have witnessed Pan Hu teaching him the Pan Silk Silkworm Sucking Technique—yet here Chi Lian was, deducing the situation perfectly. Nie Kong had little choice but to believe him.

At this point, Chi Lian continued: "However, by that time, it will be too late. Pan Hu can, at any moment, employ a secret art of the Pan Star Clan called the Pan Star Bewitching Path, using his heart to swallow your heart, using his soul to replace your soul, and using his consciousness to erase yours, thus completely occupying and acquiring your body. Then, by merging with the remaining heart essence in the Underworld Sea and absorbing the residual Spiritual Marrow, he will become a brand-new Pan Hu, without worrying about the perfect compatibility between his soul and your body leading to any residual complications."

"Elder Chi Lian, Pan Hu has already taught me the Pan Silk Silkworm Sucking Art!" Nie Kong couldn't help but offer a wry smile. If Chi Lian’s analysis was entirely accurate, then Pan Hu was indeed deeply cunning. Moreover, although Nie Kong had doubted Pan Hu’s motives, judging purely by words and actions, Pan Hu had shown absolutely no flaws, maintaining the facade of a kind old neighbor. With his exceptional acting skills, he could have easily won an Oscar in Nie Kong's previous life.

Chi Lian’s face showed understanding. "This method takes years, perhaps a decade or more to complete... but for Pan Hu, who has lived countless years, that span of time passes in a blink. Obtaining a perfect body this easily is vastly superior to seizing one through forceful reincarnation. After all, forced possession would inevitably incite a natural resistance from your consciousness, meaning the soul and body compatibility could never be perfect. And even the slightest flaw between the two would result in a backlash that even he, an old fellow whose strength has not yet recovered, could not withstand."

Nie Kong nodded subconsciously but then asked, confused, "Elder Chi Lian, didn't you just say Pan Hu has already controlled your main body's soul? As far as I know, your body is still intact—why would he go the long way around and scheme so hard to possess my body?"

"Little fellow, you view things too simply," Chi Lian laughed heartily. "The reason Pan Hu could control my main body’s soul is simply because I had only just awakened and was extremely weak. But no matter how weak I was, I was still a Star God who once approached the Supreme Being level. With his current strength, devouring my soul would take at least a century, and whether my soul could integrate with my main body after being consumed is still uncertain. Occupying your body, however, is much easier. If he achieves his goal within ten years, he can spend another ten years regaining his Star God status! Most importantly, that woman from the Great Evolution Spirit Venerables has already begun making moves against him; he doesn't have a hundred years to waste!"

"So, I'm quite lucky, actually, to have drawn the attention of someone as calculating as Pan Hu," Nie Kong smiled self-mockingly, though he largely accepted Chi Lian’s explanation. Between two bodies—one requiring a century, the other only twenty years—and coupled with the immense threat posed by the Great Evolution Spirit Venerable, the choice of possession target for Pan Hu was obvious.

Chi Lian smiled faintly, "Little fellow, don't worry. If you hadn't come to the Underworld Source, perhaps I wouldn't have been able to stop him, and I would have had to watch helplessly as he neutralized the threat from the Great Evolution Spirit Venerable, occupied your body, and then came to swallow my soul. But since you have come here, how could I let him succeed?"

"Elder Chi Lian, do you have a solution?" Nie Kong couldn't help but ask. Since Chi Lian and Pan Hu were friends ten thousand years ago, they understood each other quite well. If anyone in the entire Underworld could truly counter Pan Hu, aside from the Great Evolution Spirit Venerable, it was likely this Scarlet Star Clan Great Elder. As for Nie Kong, he only had a way to rid himself of the heart in his right chest; dealing with Pan Hu himself seemed as difficult as ascending to heaven.

...