Lei Dong abruptly turned his head, following the sound with his gaze. He saw a woman standing by the thatched hut—plainly dressed, yet possessing a gentle grace that bordered on breathtaking beauty. In her pair of lively, soft eyes, there flickered a hint of quiet joy mingled with a delicate shyness.

The feeling was akin to a wife who had been weaving at home, finally seeing the husband she had awaited for so long return from a journey.

Lei Dong froze. Wanyan, how could Wanyan be here…?

“Wanyan?” Lei Dong started, but immediately shook his head, looking closer. He realized this woman was definitely not Wanyan. At most, she looked incredibly similar to Wanyan, strikingly so. But she couldn't be Wanyan; the Wanyan he grew up with was as familiar to him as his own left hand was to his right. Every subtle expression, every movement, held a unique flavor that belonged only to her.

Yet, Wanyan had no sisters. Could it be…? Lei Dong’s face gradually darkened, and he spoke sternly, “What does this have to do with my wife Wanyan? Did you take over her body?” He clung to a shred of hope; if he confirmed his wife had been possessed, he would surely act to destroy the usurping soul.

“Lei Dong, you’ve already come knocking at my door; do you truly not know who I am?” The plainly dressed woman smiled faintly, radiating an indescribable, dignified allure. The eyes that moments before held shyness now revealed a depth akin to the vast expanse of the starry sea.

“You are the Mother of Ten Thousand Spirits?” Lei Dong was momentarily stunned. “Then what about the one outside? Are you the original, or is she the clone? And you haven't answered my previous question.”

“What difference is there between a clone and the main body? I can tell you this: I did not possess your wife. She is the Mother of Ten Thousand Spirits, and so am I,” the Mother of Ten Thousand Spirits stated calmly. “If we must distinguish, I am the Mother of Ten Thousand Spirits who has undergone two cycles of reincarnation. She is a distributed consciousness from my current life. However, we both possess independent personalities. Lei Dong, with your current cultivation and insight, you should grasp this concept by now, shouldn't you?”

Lei Dong sucked in a sharp breath. For an ordinary person to reach the Supreme rank was difficult enough; even across an entire Heaven and Earth Epoch, having more than a few Supremes was rare.

Yet, the Mother of Ten Thousand Spirits could cultivate her distributed consciousness and clones to the Supreme rank as well.

Still, given the situation, Lei Dong had no choice but to take a desperate measure. He sensed vaguely that this Mother of Ten Thousand Spirits was more formidable than he had imagined, and she seemed to know a great deal about him.

Putting aside other concerns, Lei Dong stated seriously, “Fellow Daoist Mother of Ten Thousand Spirits, let us be frank. You awaited me here, so you must already know what I intend to do. Wanyan is my wife, and the child in her womb is mine. I would sacrifice my life before allowing anyone to harm her. Can you, considering we are both Supremes, return her to me?”

The Mother of Ten Thousand Spirits sighed softly and slowly shook her head. “Lei Dong, I fear you misunderstand. I never intended to possess your child. Although I am severely wounded, those are old injuries left from the previous era. Though mortals can defy heaven, if they cannot transcend, they ultimately cannot escape annihilation. Though my Ten Thousand Spirits appear mighty, in the recurring cycles of Heaven and Earth’s reincarnation, those mightier than I are numerous. Yet, they, too, could not always escape the sanctions of reincarnation and the Will of the Universe.”

“Then why?” Lei Dong asked, frowning slightly.

“That is my distributed consciousness—the Wan Ling you met earlier. Realizing my lifespan was drawing short, she devised this method to extend my vitality,” the Mother of Ten Thousand Spirits sighed. “She is both my clone and, in a way, my child. Her concern for my life and death is natural. Please do not blame her too harshly.”

“Since that is the case,” Lei Dong relaxed slightly and confessed, “then I thank the Divine Mother. I hope you will return my wife and child to me.”

“Lei Dong, didn't you ask what relationship Wanyan and I have?” The Mother of Ten Thousand Spirits let out a light laugh.

Lei Dong was momentarily speechless. That earlier question had merely been uttered impulsively while his mind was clouded. Afterward, he realized how impossible it was. Wanyan originated from the nobility of a human nation; she could never possibly have any connection with someone as supreme as the Mother of Ten Thousand Spirits, who overlooked all sentient beings. Even if they looked similar, there was no chance they were related. But hearing her say that suggested the matter was far from simple.

His eyes fixed on the Mother of Ten Thousand Spirits, showing a mixture of alarm and anger. Could it be that she had been secretly orchestrating everything?

“You foolish man, you’re being suspicious again,” the Mother of Ten Thousand Spirits chided lightly. “Do you think the Will of the Universe is easily fooled? If it had detected me secretly influencing or manipulating you, it would have found a way to destroy you long ago, long before you ever had the chance to declare war on it.”

Lei Dong fell silent, still staring intently at her.

“It is quite simple. I knew that after the Demon Emperor Yan Chixing died, the Will of the Universe would not give up, and it would certainly continue to covertly nurture a successor to eliminate us Defiers of Heaven,” the Mother of Ten Thousand Spirits deeply sighed. “In truth, if the Will of the Universe could truly be impartial and merely fulfill its eternal mission of purging Defiers, I, Wan Ling, would have no complaints. But under the guise of purging Defiers, it secretly works to eliminate potential threats to itself, seeking to gestate a replacement. Therefore, I utilized certain divination arts and roughly determined where the next Defier might appear. I sealed away my consciousness and memories, descending my divine soul and life essence to reincarnate.”

Lei Dong’s body trembled, and he spoke in disbelief, “You… you mean, Wanyan is…”

“You guessed correctly. Wanyan is me, and I am Wanyan,” the Mother of Ten Thousand Spirits looked at Lei Dong, a hint of tenderness and love emerging in her eyes. “It’s just that when I was previously Wanyan, my memories were sealed, and I did not know I was reincarnated.”

“Impossible!”

Lei Dong staggered back several steps, looking at her with an extremely stern expression. His aura slowly intensified, and a vast pressure bore down on her. He said coldly, “Are you trying to mislead me? Wan Ling, did you possess my wife’s body?”

“Lei Dong, you silly man, I am your wife Wanyan, but I am also the reincarnation of the Mother of Ten Thousand Spirits,” Ding Wanyan rolled her eyes and spoke with a coquettish pout. “I have always been Wanyan, but after returning, all my sealed memories have come back. If you, the fool, don’t believe me, you can ask me some secret questions—things only the two of us know. For example, what I told you in Peach Blossom Dock before the Grand Competition.”

Lei Dong’s heart stirred, but he remained vigilant. “I know that some forms of possession can absorb the memories of the possessed. This cannot serve as proof. Furthermore, if you truly are Wanyan, why didn’t you inform me sooner if everything was fine? I worried for ten thousand years.”

“Hmph, you stubborn fool, you wouldn’t believe me no matter what I said,” Ding Wanyan pouted slightly, giving him a playful glare. “My memories didn’t return all at once! I only woke up fully recently, and just as I was about to go look for you, you came charging in with your threats of battle and death.”

“There is only one way to prove what you are saying,” Lei Dong persisted, staring at Ding Wanyan. “If you are truly Wanyan, you would trust me unconditionally. Release your consciousness and allow me to enter it, to freely peruse your memories and thoroughly examine your mind. If you were a possessor, no matter how skilled your methods, there would be traces of memory splicing. Your consciousness could never perfectly mimic Wanyan’s.”

“I really can’t do anything about your stubborn, foolish nature. Normally, a husband and wife shouldn’t do things like this. But considering how much you’ve worried and suffered for me over these ten millennia, I will indulge you this once,” Ding Wanyan blushed slightly, casting him a sideways glance, and closed her eyes. “Come in, but don't look at my private matters.”

Lei Dong paused doubtfully—was this really Wanyan? If the person before him had possessed Wanyan, no matter how subtly, with his current strength and his deep understanding of the universe and the divine soul’s consciousness, it would be impossible not to detect anomalies. If it wasn’t Wanyan, she certainly wouldn't dare to open her consciousness completely to him, as that represented absolute trust. If he invaded her consciousness, making subtle changes would be effortless.

“Let me remind you one more time: I control the Eye of Reincarnation,” Lei Dong threatened. “If I discover any anomaly, I will use the Eye of Reincarnation to shatter your consciousness.”

“Come then, come then. After all, I, Ding Wanyan, am trapped by you in this lifetime,” Ding Wanyan closed her eyes, appearing utterly resolute.

Lei Dong hesitated briefly, then sent his divine sense to invade her consciousness. As expected, she offered him absolutely no defense, allowing his divine sense and consciousness to enter swaggeringly.

First, he examined Wanyan’s divine soul. It was immensely powerful, but it appeared to be Wanyan’s own soul. This suggested it was not a case of soul possession. Next, he observed the consciousness she had anchored within the soul. It seemed perfectly fused with the soul; there wasn't the slightest trace indicating that an external consciousness had usurped the divine soul. But Lei Dong was still uneasy, so he proceeded to meticulously flip through her memories, especially focusing on unimportant, minute details that had been sealed away for a long time, things even she might have forgotten subconsciously.

For instance, a time she bought a spiritual artifact on impulse during a shopping trip, or an instance where she saw an injustice while flying and decided to meddle. Human memories exist in vast quantities, but items that are not deeply significant are easily buried and forgotten. Lei Dong chose those items most prone to fading. Anyone attempting possession could never fully assimilate and truly internalize another’s memories in such exhaustive detail. It was not only incredibly difficult to achieve but would also lead to the possessor’s own personality fracturing.

… (To be continued) RQ