Ever since his return from Destiny City, Lu Yun had been looking for the right materials to refine a replica, so he could give actual form and figure to Qing Yu’s Sidekick.

It had to be a separate entity from Lu Yun. Otherwise, Dusk Province would be razed to the ground by the sheer number of enemies Qing Yu’s Sidekick had made during the Sovereign Meet.

All eyes would be on Lu Yun if there was a hint that someone pulled the strings from behind the scenes. Even if he himself put up a perfect act, there were enough signs left in Dusk Province that might attract suspicion, such as the Lin brothers.

Although their relevant memories had been severed, leaving behind a belief that they’d entered Dusk of their own volition in pursuit of the peak of formation dao, their presence in the province was still a risk.

Sword Divine knew of Lu Yun’s true identity, but he himself had to keep a low profile. If someone learned about his existence, the world of immortals would turn itself upside down. All immortals would band together to destroy the divine race.

That was why Sword Divine had kept Lu Yun’s identity a secret, lest he, too, go down in a blaze of mutual destruction. Worse still, he’d drag his race down with him.

The Mo Clan knew the truth as well, but they were counting on Lu Yun to remove the soul seed in Mo Qitian. Given that, they weren’t foolish enough to reveal his identity. Besides, they’d never harbored hostility toward Lu Yun.

Nevertheless, one could never be too careful. It was best to have Qing Yu’s Sidekick publicly show his face and fight Lu Yun. Then, even the Lin Clan and Sword Divine would question what they knew as the truth.

Lu Yun had refined a few replicas and secondary nascent spirits before this, but those couldn’t fool heavyweights above the arcane dao immortal realm. That was why Qing Yu’s Sidekick had yet to appear again.

Here, he saw hope in the form of the Nine Yin Soul-Parting Wood. Its grain was remarkably similar to the pattern of human blood vessels, muscles, and meridians. Add to that unique shamanic refinement methods, it would make for a final product that not even the shaman kings of the past would be able to see through.

Not only was Lu Yun going to refine the wood as a replica of himself, he was also incorporating the complete extinction layout within, making the replica a fully-primed bomb. In truly desperate times, the layout embedded within it could detonate and slaughter everything.

A burst of thick crimson light blossomed from Lu Yun’s body and slowly seeped into the Nine Yin Soul-Parting Wood—his blood.

Shamanic methods centered around blood and souls, perfectly inheriting the cruelty and merciless nature of the human dao era. Bloodshed and death swirled in their wake; if something could be resolved with a fist, they’d never go for the peaceful route of communication.

They took lives and refined medicine and pills out of blood and souls. Most shamanic treasures were refined from the bones of their victims as well, just like Lu Yun had done in the Sovereign Arena.

Back in the Primordial Era, the shamans would hunt down other races and refine them into corpse coffins while their victims were still alive, displaying an even greater level of savagery. Here, Lu Yun was refining the replica with the shamanic method, bolstering the Nine Yin Soul-Parting Wood with his own blood.

A thick blanket of crimson light had draped over the wood, rejuvenating the shriveled branches, restoring its luster, and turning it a blood red.

“This is indeed a technique of the shamanic race,” Qi Hai murmured softly, watching the crimson light wash over Lu Yun and the blood-colored wood.

His spirit had also gone through the era of the shamanic race, and it happened to be the worst experience in all of Qi Hai’s many lives. He’d reincarnated nine times during the rule of the shamans, and in all nine lifetimes, he’d been brutally killed and refined into items.

It was the most barbaric era he’d ever lived through, and although his true self had now awakened, he was still reluctant to recall his time under shamanic rule.

“That little shaman girl, Xingzi, must have been her race’s last princess. It’s a pity that she died before coming into her full power.” Qi Hai sighed, lamenting Xingzi’s fate despite his previous happenings.

If she’d been able to fully come into her power, she would’ve been a great personage like the human kings of the Primeval Era. Then, perhaps, the shamans might’ve existed longer. Although the shamanic race was cruel and violent, they were the legitimate successors of human dao.

Now, although the immortal dao remained, all races prospered under the dao that humans had created. Even monster spirits, once nothing but servants and food, dared stick their necks out and vie for dominance with the human race.

Why, a gnat like Scarlet Ape even dared lead monster spirits in an assault on the resting place of the human emperor! That was sheer sacrilege in the eyes of a human dao purist like Qi Hai. He’d been trying to subtly influence Lu Yun, hoping that the successor of hell would conquer all of the other races and restore human rule, but the young man didn’t seem all that interested.

Qi Hai sighed again and struck his forehead with the side of his hand, erasing some memories he shouldn’t possess. “Perhaps I was the one who erased my memory about the separation of souls and spirits.”

……

“Hehehe, what a perfect body!” a sinister voice suddenly cackled in Lu Yun’s ear, dripping with the worst of ill intention. A tremendous consciousness then rushed into his body. “I’ve waited countless years for a host like you… Merge with me and become the greatest existence in the world!”

The consciousness beat upon Lu Yun’s mind like powerful waves. The boy immediately froze, a pained look on his face.

“Oh?” Qi Hai tensed as he turned to Lu Yun.

“Old thing!” A human face appeared on the Nine Yin Soul-Parting Wood and glared ferociously at Qi Hai. “I can sense your unusually old true spirit, but you cannot take this body from me.”

“You are the Dark Moon Shaman King,” Qi Hai said in surprise. “It is said that you were claimed by misfortune when trying to ascend to the emperor realm, but it turns out you were swallowed by the Nine Yin Soul-Parting Wood instead!”

The Dark Moon Shaman King paused. “You know me.”

“Of course I do,” Qi Hai responded darkly. “The first time I reincarnated during the rule of the shamanic race, it was your people who killed me.”

At the time, the Dark Moon Shaman King was missing and considered dead, but the Dark Moon branch of the Moon Shaman Tribe remained dominant. Qi Hai had been a powerhouse in his own right, but he was nothing when facing the Dark Moon shamans. He was killed and later refined into a treasure.

“I thought you were an ancient spirit, but you’re nothing but a piece of trash killed by my descendants!” sneered the shaman king.

Qi Hai gave a bark of laughter. “How I died is none of your business, but I do know that... you’re doomed.”

“What?” The shaman king tensed. Only now did he realize that the sliver of consciousness he’d extended into Lu Yun’s body was being devoured. The seemingly harmless young man with a perfect constitution had metaphorically transformed into an ancient wild beast and was leering ferociously at him.

“How?? Why?!” he wailed.