Aspiring to the Immortal Path

Tang Jie's projection loomed in the sky, an imposing and unreachable mountain.

The ghost eagle was like a baby, a puny ant.

The ghost eagle screeched as it gazed up at this god-like existence, "How could this be? How could this be?"

Yes, how could this be?

How could a human Titan project themself here?

And his appearance was clearly that of this human.

Was this human the avatar of some human Titan?

The ghost eagle thought in shock that if this was really the case, then it had offended an enemy it couldn't afford to offend.

Even then, that human Titan shouldn't have been able to break through the Nether Domain's barrier.

But today, the ghost eagle had seen it for itself.

Not only that, this seemed to be an extremely powerful projection, so the ghost eagle couldn't help but be astounded.

This was one of the functions of the black grain.

When researching the black grain, Tang Jie found that as a substance that existed between illusion and reality, it could not just repair the Divine Soul but also link the Nether Domain with the mortal plane. With this black grain, the connection between Tang Jie and his avatar was much stronger, making him easier to locate. In addition, the avatar would encounter greatly decreased resistance when attempting to send over his projection.

Of course, this descent would swiftly use up the black grain, and when using the Dao of Wisdom to calculate, Tang Jie found that the black grains he gained from destroying the two Severing Hook Scythes put together would only be enough to maintain the projection for a short while.

This was an extravagant use, and until he found more Severing Hooks, he didn't dare to use it casually. But the heavens had blessed him by bringing him to the Corpsespirit Flowers. The Spirit Link Talismans refined from these flowers could greatly enhance the soul, which reduced the consumption of the black grain.

Coupled with that was the fact that the original body and avatar shared the same soul, allowing him to achieve this unprecedented feat.

The ghost eagle was utterly cowed by Tang Jie's Immortal Platform projection.

But Maraju still fearlessly raised his fork and charged into the fray, shouting, "Whoever you are, you're dying today!!!"

This wasn't because he was so arrogant as to believe that he could challenge a Godhead, but because he instinctively didn't believe that this was possible. Unlike the ghost eagle, who could sense the projection's power, Maraju wasn't that strong. He couldn't understand the gap in the same way an ant couldn't understand the might of an eagle. Thus, in his eyes, this mountainous projection was nothing more than Tang Jie's attempt to try and scare him away.

And the Yakshas were a combative race, charging in as soon as they could. Otherwise, their tough bodies would be going to waste.

Thus, when seeing Tang Jie's Godhead projection, he attacked rather than retreated, his fork letting out a chilling light as it streaked forward like a comet.

"Don't!" the ghost eagle yelled in alarm.

The Tang Jie in the sky cracked open his eyes, glanced down, and snorted.

This light snort was like a peal of thunder, and Maraju's mind exploded as an immense power suppressed him, rendering him completely immobile. At the same time, the numerous ghosts below were all obliterated, with only the ghost eagle surviving.

As Maraju was wondering what was going on, the Tang Jie in the air opened his eyes wider.

He gazed at Maraju.

Maraju was gripped by terrible fear.

This gaze encompassed the vastness of space, countless stars twinkling within it.

Maraju felt himself being lost within these stars.

And then Tang Jie sighed.

A soft sigh.

Maraju went flying.

He saw himself flying higher and higher, and down below, he saw himself fixed in the air like a statue, and then a gust of wind turned him into dust.

That's… me?

Maraju was stunned as he saw himself dissolve in the wind like he was made of sand…

I'm dead!

Maraju finally understood.

The moment he thrust his weapon at Tang Jie, he had died, leaving behind only his soul.

Because he was in the Nether Domain, when he died, his soul had immediately appeared, allowing him to exist in another form. If his luck was good, he could even return to his body and revive. Resurrection, which was so difficult for mortals, was sometimes incredibly simple for ghosts.

Alas, his luck wasn't good.

The moment he died, his body began to rot, dry out, and disappear. His flesh seemed to experience a thousand years at once, dissolving into dust. With no body to survive in, the soul could only wander the world as a ghost.

In front of Tang Jie, however, he wasn't even allowed this.

Tang Jie looked at the ghost and muttered, "Your memories are what I need…"

Maraju's soul began to fly over to Tang Jie's projection, and though Maraju struggled with all his might, he couldn't escape. The projection then opened its mouth and swallowed Maraju whole.

Without using a single spell art, Tang Jie digested and absorbed Maraju's soul, taking the majority of his memories as well. As for the part that he failed to get, these were mostly lost at his death, which Tang Jie couldn't do anything about.

Just like that, without being able to put up the slightest resistance, Maraju had been obliterated, his body turned to dust and his soul devoured, much to the ghost eagle's dismay. The Godhead projection burped, but rather than lower his majesty, it only made him seem more terrifying.

Tang Jie then looked at the ghost eagle. "Do you… also want to oppose me?"

Aghast, the ghost eagle prostrated. "This lowly one was ignorant and did not know they were offending a Godhead!"

"So long as you understand," Tang Jie muttered. As he spoke, his eyes flickered as he sorted through Maraju's memories.

Just as he was about to finish off that half-step Soul Transformation ghost eagle, he saw a certain memory.

"Is that what's going on?" he muttered.

He lowered his head and began to think.

While it was just a brief moment, the Dao of Wisdom let him run through countless simulations and finally create a plan.

It was an extremely dangerous plan, but if it succeeded, he would benefit richly.

Tang Jie had never feared death, and once he had confirmed the risks and rewards, he made up his mind.

He gazed at the ghost eagle and said, "If you want to live, hand over your Life Flame."

"What?" The ghost eagle raised his head in shock.

Tang Jie indifferently said, "I'll count to three. If you still haven't done anything then, I'll just kill you. One… two…"

He didn't count slowly, clearly not planning to give the ghost eagle any time to think.

The ghost eagle hesitated for only a moment before shouting, "I'm willing!"

A green flame flew out of it: its Life Flame.

The original Tang Jie grabbed it, upon which the flame disappeared. But the ghost eagle could sense that the Life Flame had not actually disappeared, only been stored away using some secret method.

The Godhead Tang Jie then reached out and grabbed the Ghost March Ship, which had been moving backward in an attempt to flee.

This ship was a Nether Domain treasure. The soul of a talented soldier dwelled within it, allowing it to make judgments in battle, which included running away when the situation turned sour.

Alas, escaping in front of Tang Jie wasn't easy at all.

The Godhead Tang Jie smiled. "I think you should stay."

With a light stroke, he wiped away the ship's soul and implanted part of his own soul into it to control the ship.

After doing this, the Godhead Tang Jie placed the ship in front of the original like he was giving him a toy. He then shook his hand, upon which another item drifted down.

It was a skin.

The skin of a Yaksha!

Maraju!

This was a skin of Maraju made from ghost energy, and as it fell on the original Tang Jie, Tang Jie assumed Maraju's appearance, even holding a fork identical to Maraju's. All of this was thanks to the Godhead Tang Jie.

The ghost eagle could already tell what Tang Jie was thinking and trembled in fear.

The Godhead Tang Jie gazed at the ghost eagle. "I'm sure you understand what I want to do."

"In… infiltrate Nightdark City…" the ghost eagle stammered.

Tang Jie smiled. "Good. Starting from today, I am Maraju, and you are still you… Saros!"

The moment it heard this name, the ghost eagle knew that this human had probably seized most of Maraju's memories, so even tricking him would be impossible, so it could only sigh.

It had no choice but to comply with whatever this human wanted.

Once all its business was done, the Godhead Tang Jie faded away.

The original Tang Jie leaped onto the ship and waved at the ghost eagle to also come aboard.

The two of them were the only passengers of the Ghost March Ship.

Tang Jie ordered it to advance.

The ghost eagle said in confusion, "Nightdark City isn't in that direction."

It immediately regretted saying these words. It would have been much better if this human went in the wrong direction, because that would mean that the eagle didn't have to go back to Nightdark City. But then it remembered that this human had inherited Maraju's memories, so there was no way he could have gotten the direction wrong.

Tang Jie glanced at it and calmly said. "I know, but I'm in no rush to go back."

"Then where are you going?" the ghost eagle asked.

"To gather some servants. I can't go back without a single soldier," Tang Jie answered.

After gaining Maraju's memories, he realized that the ghost cities of the Nether Domain weren't peaceful places. If he wanted to stay in a ghost city using Maraju's status, he would have some work ahead of him, part of which was gathering some soldiers.

Fortunately, there was no lack of ghosts in the Nether Domain, and with his status as a Yaksha, gathering them up wouldn't be hard.