After refining Hun Xuzi's soul, Xiao Yan finally uncovered the true intentions behind many of the Hall of Souls' plans. As a high-ranking member of the Hun Clan, Hun Xuzi knew far more than any vice hall master. There were things even Xiao Yan—who had spent a lifetime fighting the Hun Clan in his previous life—had never known in such detail.
And after learning the secrets of the Hun Clan's covert operations, a bold idea suddenly formed in Xiao Yan's mind. Originally, he had intended to wait until he reached the Nine-Star Dou Sheng Rank before planning how to deal with the Void Swallowing Flame. But one particular plan within the Hun Clan gave him powerful inspiration.
From Hun Xuzi's memories, Xiao Yan learned that the Hun Clan had already embedded agents within the other six clans. Their aim was to work from within to seize the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's Jade. These embedded agents were created by capturing high-level members from the six clans and having the Void Swallowing Flame forcibly fuse their souls with those of the Hun Clan.
This method was somewhat similar to soul possession, but far more covert. If Xiao Yan hadn't refined Hun Xuzi's soul, he never would have known.
Thinking back on this, it all suddenly made sense—no wonder the Hun Clan in his past life had gathered the ancient jades so easily. They had left behind such hidden pieces all along. If Xiao Yan hadn't destroyed the final piece of jade in that life, there was a good chance Hun Dai'er would've succeeded in opening the Ancient Emperor's cave.
That very scheme gave Xiao Yan a dangerous idea.
Now that Hun Xuzi was dead, all his memories belonged to Xiao Yan. More importantly, no one knew Hun Xuzi had been killed. In other words, Xiao Yan could disguise himself as Hun Xuzi and infiltrate the Hun Clan—just like they had infiltrated the other six clans.
Though there were many experts within the Hun Clan, Hun Tiandi remained in seclusion most of the time, and the rest of the clan's elites were busy with their own affairs. Few people actually interacted closely with Hun Xuzi. The only real risk was the Void Swallowing Flame—but that concern vanished now that Xiao Yan's soul had advanced to the Emperor Rank.
With his current soul strength, if he deliberately concealed his aura, only Hun Tiandi might be able to detect the truth. As long as that man remained in seclusion, Xiao Yan had a chance to pull off this infiltration. But if Hun Tiandi did appear... the consequences would be catastrophic. Even with all his recent power gains, Xiao Yan knew he couldn't fight his way out of the Hun Clan if exposed.
"I've got it!"
Suddenly, Xiao Yan thought of a way to cover all his bases. Though Hun Xuzi's soul had been refined, his body remained intact—effectively a living corpse. With his current soul realm, Xiao Yan could implant a portion of his soul into the body. That would make his disguise far more convincing and harder to detect.
This method was mainly a safeguard for meeting Hun Tiandi. After all, Hun Xuzi's status was significant enough that being summoned by Hun Tiandi was a real possibility. In most other situations, it would be more convenient to act in his own body. As for Hun Xuzi's corpse, Xiao Yan stored it in a portable spatial realm—just in case.
"Phew… fortune favors the bold." Xiao Yan exhaled, then formed a series of hand seals. His appearance and physique shifted rapidly. In the blink of an eye, he had transformed into the exact likeness of Hun Xuzi—a black-robed middle-aged man.
This was a unique transformation art—only Profound Rank in grade—but with sufficient soul power, one could easily spot flaws. However, now that Xiao Yan's soul had reached the Emperor Rank, he could create a soul barrier that rendered most detection methods useless.
After transforming into Hun Xuzi, Xiao Yan didn't rush into the Hun Clan right away. Instead, he stood before a mirror, practicing Hun Xuzi's gestures and demeanor. These details couldn't be mimicked by technique alone. Fortunately, he had access to Hun Xuzi's full memories. As long as he imitated the behavior he had seen in those memories, he would be fine.
After several days of practice, Xiao Yan felt confident that he had mastered around 80 to 90 percent of Hun Xuzi's demeanor. Achieving complete imitation was practically impossible, of course—and that was the one fatal flaw in his plan. If someone who knew Hun Xuzi well observed him closely, they might notice the discrepancies.
There was nothing he could do about that. All he could do was prepare thoroughly before entering the Hun Clan. This was a rare and precious opportunity. After all, this was his only viable path to get close to the Void Swallowing Flame. If he could refine the true body of that Heavenly Flame, his strength would skyrocket. At that point, even if Hun Tiandi emerged from seclusion, he would no longer need to fear him.
Letting out another breath, Xiao Yan summoned his black flame to shroud his entire body and shot off in the direction of the Hun Clan's territory. In his previous life, Xiao Yan had only entered the Hun Realm once—and that was during the battle where he joined forces with Hun Dai'er to challenge Hun Tiandi. Fortunately, with Hun Xuzi's memories, he now knew how to locate the entrance to the Hun Realm.
Hun Xuzi held a lofty status within the Hun Clan, and along the way, many people greeted him respectfully with bows. Xiao Yan ignored all of them—not because he feared being exposed, but because interacting with them would be beneath someone of Hun Xuzi's stature. In fact, the real Hun Xuzi had always been cold and arrogant toward others. In this way, Xiao Yan was simply staying in character.
"Tsk tsk… this old guy's collection is ridiculous."
Upon arriving at Hun Xuzi's personal residence, Xiao Yan couldn't help but be impressed. As the Hun Clan's number one alchemist, Hun Xuzi's stash exceeded all expectations. His personal treasury was even larger than the entire vault of Starfall Pavilion.
Inside were countless rare and exotic treasures—many Xiao Yan had never even seen in his past life. He didn't care for the techniques and dou skills, but when it came to pills, herbs, and special materials, he helped himself freely and without hesitation.
Of course, to avoid arousing suspicion, Xiao Yan left behind a few flashy but useless herbs—ones he had no use for. Thanks to the Flame of Living Spirits, all he needed to grow new herbs was a seed. After seeing the breadth of Hun Xuzi's collection, Xiao Yan added a new objective to his infiltration mission:
Rob the entire Hun Clan blind.
"If I don't empty this clan of every last treasure, I'm no Wrathful Demon Saint."
Xiao Yan grinned wickedly at the overflowing troves of wealth, his heart already burning with anticipation.
(End of Chapter)
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