Douluo Continent. Beneath Sea God Mountain, the moonlight cascaded like a waterfall, illuminating the land in a silvery glow.
Xiao Wu had successfully absorbed Ma Hongjun's life force and soul, yet instead of feeling triumphant, she stood dazed, her eyes lifeless and her limbs motionless.
She stood on the platform at the base of Sea God Mountain. In the distant Sea God Temple atop the mountain, Bo Saixi and Ah Zhi were both paying close attention to what had just happened.
"High Priest, you've overseen Sea God Island for over a century. Have you ever seen something like this? Xiao Wu killed Ma Hongjun—shouldn't we follow the laws of the sea and execute her?"
"No need. On Sea God Island, Sea God is the supreme law. Both Xiao Wu and Ma Hongjun are undergoing Sea God's trials. Their conflict is not for us to interfere with."
"So we just let her kill as she pleases?"
"If Sea God has not punished her, then everything is by divine will. We should not presume to judge..."
...
A significant portion of the Rakshasa God's power from the Road to Hell had been transferred into Ma Hongjun by Yu Tianming. Even though Xiao Wu, with her superior level, managed to absorb him, the divine power of a first-class god was not something a mere Soul Saint could digest. She could only let the undigested life force and soul merge into her.
Because of this, Tang San found himself once again face to face with the greatest blemish on the reputation of Pure and Noble Young Master Tang San—Ma Hongjun. The sudden change stripped away all composure. He instinctively clutched his rear and backed into a corner of the spiritual space, silent.
Ma Hongjun glanced at the ordinary, hollow-eyed middle-aged man in front of him, not recognizing him as the one he pined for—Tang Shan.
Gazing at the boundless darkness around, Ma Hongjun felt a strange sense of relief and muttered, "Is this hell? Looks like I really am dead..."
From the dark void, Xiao Wu's voice rang out, clear and piercing straight into his soul. "Fatty, after you lost control, I did kill you. But you didn't return to hell. You're in my spiritual space now. I think you'll be here for good."
"Spiritual space?"
"That's right," Xiao Wu said, recalling the soul-linked skull she used for her resurrection. "Because of my special body, I possess the ability to link with souls. That's why you ended up here after death."
"To think I'd find such fortune after death—not only spared from obliteration, but even surviving within your spirit..."
"Fatty, I'm really sorry about your death," Xiao Wu cut in apologetically. "But you'd lost your mind. I had no choice."
Ma Hongjun looked up at the dark sky, paused for a moment, then smiled bitterly. "Don't blame yourself. My martial spirit is flawed. I should be the one apologizing, Xiao Wu. I'm the kind of man who should've stayed in brothels, not come to Sea God Island."
"Fatty..."
"I brought this on myself. Honestly, I should be thanking you. Ever since I came here, I've finally escaped the burning torment of the evil fire. Though the desire remains, without the physical agony, I actually feel much freer."
"I'm glad you think so. Fatty, San-ge is also in my spiritual space. Since we're all teammates, at least he won't be bored with you around." With that, Xiao Wu began inspecting her body.
Due to the Rakshasa energy of Ma Hongjun's desire-driven soul bone, which bore heavy malice, it had fused into her body during the absorption. This failed absorption caused some notable changes to Xiao Wu's physical state, which she now urgently needed to examine.
"San-ge?"
In the spirit space, Ma Hongjun looked around but saw no sign of Tang Shan, only a gloomy middle-aged man hiding in a corner.
Since awakening his martial spirit at age six, Ma Hongjun had lived in brothels under Flender's guidance. He'd been with countless women but never encountered anyone like Tang Shan. Her stunning beauty and gentle demeanor had utterly enchanted him during their two years in Slaughter City.
Even knowing Tang Shan's true gender, Ma Hongjun could never forget her. 'Three soft ones can't beat one round,' the saying goes. After what happened with Tang San, he couldn't be interested in regular women anymore. Even after returning to Shrek Academy in Nuoding City, he hadn't stepped into a brothel again—he preferred men now.
Having brushed death, Ma Hongjun realized his true feelings. 'If I really meet Tang Shan again in this spiritual space, I'll confess everything and never run away again...'
Still seeing no one, Ma Hongjun looked at the man in the corner and asked, "Brother, is it just you here? Have you seen a blue-haired woman?"
Tang San slowly raised his head, a murderous glint in his sunken eyes.
'Xuantian Manual, Article 6: Be unmoved before a collapsing mountain, unshaken before a flood. A true hidden weapon master must remain calm at all times.
Xuantian Manual, Article 3: Once you confirm an enemy, show no mercy if they deserve death.'
He couldn't escape the shame of the past. The best way to bury it forever was to destroy Ma Hongjun. Now was the perfect opportunity.
A dark hammer appeared silently in Tang San's hand. As a soul body, he'd lost all his forged weapons, but his spirit-connected martial spirit—the Clear Sky Hammer—remained. Having been nourished by Xiao Wu for months, his soul was vastly stronger than Ma Hongjun's. With Tang Sect's techniques, he was confident he could erase him.
As for explaining it to Xiao Wu afterward? Her brain wasn't normal anyway—he could make something up.
Just as he was about to strike, Xiao Wu's voice rang out in panic.
"San-ge, when I absorbed Ma Hongjun, it wasn't just his soul—his body fused with me too!"
Tang San said nothing.
Ma Hongjun asked urgently, "Xiao Wu, where is San-ge? I don't see him."
Xiao Wu ignored him and reached into her pants pocket, crying in the spiritual space. "San-ge, I only wanted to absorb his life force, but now I've fused his body into mine. I've become a man... You won't hate me, will you?"
Tang San's eyes grew colder.
At this point, even Ma Hongjun realized who "San-ge" was. Though Tang San's current appearance was grotesque, he didn't care. "San-ge, after everything, I've seen my true heart. Now that we've reunited, I just want to tell you—"
"Die, you fat bastard! Tang Sect's Tenth Style: Batwing Reincarnation!"
Before Ma Hongjun could finish, the Clear Sky Hammer shot out, striking him square in the face.
Unlike the real world, soul bodies in this space didn't bleed or suffer fatal injuries. Though the blow hit hard, Ma Hongjun's form only flickered and quickly returned to normal.
Seeing his secret weapon ineffective, Tang San recalled the hammer and charged, pinning Ma Hongjun down.
In the pitch-dark space, Tang San straddled the hefty Ma Hongjun, hammer in hand, pounding his head like a torrential storm.
In the real world, this would have caused severe trauma, possibly death. But here, though each strike hurt deeply at the soul level, Ma Hongjun didn't vanish—he just went silent from the pain.
"San-ge, what are you doing?! Fatty is our teammate! Why are you attacking him like this?" Xiao Wu's voice rang out in alarm.
Tang San struck harder. 'Damn it! I underestimated my combat power in this space. I should've killed him before Xiao Wu noticed. Now, all I can do is hurry and finish him off before she stops me.'
He believed his soul power was far superior. Even without his full arsenal, sheer brute force would win the day.
Xiao Wu continued shouting, "Stop! You're about to scatter his soul!"
"San-ge, calm down. No matter what happened, you two were teammates. Can't we talk this through?"
...
Gradually, Tang San's strikes slowed—not from Xiao Wu's pleading, nor because Ma Hongjun was fading.
Instead, Tang San was starting to doubt. 'Why won't this bastard die?! I've hit him a hundred times, and his soul just flickers, then bounces back!'
When he finally stopped, Ma Hongjun spoke in a trembling voice, "San-ge, I know the Road to Hell messed with your mind. You knocked yourself out to avoid losing control. I barely kept mine, and when you passed out, I… lost it. I'm not asking you to forgive me. But I risked everything to get you out. Doesn't that count for something?"
"Enough. Don't say another word." Tang San stood up, eyes fierce. "Fatty, let's pretend it never happened. Don't bring it up again."
"I understand, San-ge..."
Only then did the murderous glint fade from Tang San's eyes. If he couldn't kill Ma Hongjun, silencing him would suffice.
Silence returned to the dark spiritual space—no one paid any attention to the changes happening within Xiao Wu's body...
...
Far above, in the God Realm, the Rakshasa God cackled wildly.
"Kehehe, brilliant... Greed, Wrath, and Delusion—merged into one! What better successor could there be? Bibi Dong, I regret ever choosing you!"
In Buddhism, Greed, Wrath, and Delusion are the Three Poisons—the root of evil that leads to suffering and binds beings to the cycle of rebirth.
Greed is clinging to pleasure and desire;
Wrath is uncontrolled rage at obstacles;
Delusion is ignorance, unable to discern right from wrong.
These correspond to Daoist Three Corpses: Jù, Zhì, and Qiāo—parasitic spirits dwelling in head, belly, and feet, causing confusion, sin, and lust.
Ma Hongjun was greedy—for wealth, food, and flesh.
Tang San was wrathful—merciless, taking lives as weeds.
Xiao Wu was deluded—blindly loyal, unable to discern right and wrong.
Now, these three pure evils had all gathered in Xiao Wu's body.
As the deity of pure evil, Rakshasa drew power from such darkness. With this rare convergence, how could she possibly allow Ma Hongjun to die? If he perished, the triangle would break. So under her divine protection, Tang San's hammer would never be able to destroy him.
(End of Chapter)
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