“Yours?” Zhang Xuan was stunned.
According to what Vicious had told him previously, in the battle against Kong shi back then, he had been completely obliterated except for a droplet of blood, and after several dozen millenniums of rest, the droplet of blood finally grew to become a heart.
In other words, there should be no other parts of Vicious remaining after the battle, so why would its finger suddenly appear out of nowhere?
Noticing the nuance behind Zhang Xuan’s words, Vicious replied, “I’m not too sure what is going on either; I am still missing many parts of my memories. However, I am certain that is my finger! That fellow is making use of my body part!”
As a former powerhouse of the Master Teacher Continent who was capable of reviving himself with just a droplet of blood, even though he had lost most of his memories, he could still recognize his body parts easily.
This finger was originally just his phalanges1, but after the Bluehorn Dragon Beast leeched onto it and devoured the vitality of master teachers throough it, it began to recover its blood and flesh.
“You are intending to snatch it back?” Zhang Xuan asked with a frown.
“Of course!”
Vicious’ heart began beating rapidly, and an overwhelming killing intent immediately surged forth from it, directed toward the finger floating in the air.
“What?”
The Bluehorn Dragon Beast’s soul, who had just left the finger for a moment, immediately felt the killing intent and began trembling in fear. With a piercing scream, it swiftly dived back into the finger while shouting, “Vicious, save me! Save me…”
Hong long!
Another powerful killing intent spilled forth from the finger, clashing with that from the heart.
As the two auras collided, the folded space began shaking intensely, seemingly on the verge of bursting apart under the pressure.
An incredibly powerful voice, which exerted a crushing pressure, sounded from the finger. “Who are you?”
Under the immense pressure, Zhang Xuan was forced to retreat all the way to the corner of the folded space. At this moment, his eyes were widened in astonishment.
He could clearly feel the intent from the finger… and to his shock, it was identical to that of the heart sealed in the Book of Heaven’s Path!
“Who am I? I am Vicious!” the heart declared proudly.
“Nonsense, I am Vicious!” the finger refuted coldly.
“Two Viciouses?” Zhang Xuan blinked blankly.
What was going on?
Even someone as knowledgeable as him was finding it hard to process what was going on.
“Bullsh*t, I am the real Vicious! How can a puny finger like you be Vicious?” the heart roared furiously.
The finger harrumphed coldly. “Back then, Vicious stood at the very top of the world, devoid of fear for even Kong shi. How could he possibly submit to an insignificant master teacher like the lad over there and listen to his commands? Stop soiling my reputation any further! You’d better sit obediently as I devour you, or else I will kill you along with your master!”
“You want to devour me? Hah, let me see if you have the capability to do so!” With a furious roar, the heart leaped forward furiously along with the Book of Heaven’s Path with unbelievable momentum to strike the finger.
Boom!
The finger retaliated with a tap, and a loud explosion sounded.
Suffering grave injuries from the tap, the heart convulsed intensely as it tumbled furiously backward, returning to Zhang Xuan’s hands.
“Zhang shi, hurry up and release the book’s seal on me. Otherwise, we might all die here…” the heart implored.
“What is going on?” Zhang Xuan asked with a frown.
“It could be because I was too powerful when I was still alive, so even a droplet of blood or the phalanges of a finger could form an individual entity in itself. During the time when my main body was still alive, these individual entities could still be managed and even combined into one. However, with the death of my main body, the sentience that sprouted in each individual part viewed itself as the real Vicious, resulting in the current circumstances. In order to fully recover, it seems like we will have to devour one another… but the side that is being devoured will stand to lose his consciousness once and for all!” Vicious hurriedly explained.
“There’s such a matter?” Zhang Xuan widened his eyes in astonishment.
To be able to revive oneself from just a droplet of blood… This was way too overpowered!
“Un. That fellow has devoured innumerable master teachers, and the vitality he has absorbed has made him far stronger than me. Unless you dispel the seal on me, I won’t be a match for him at all,” Vicious hurriedly explained.
“Dispel the seal on you?” Zhang Xuan frowned.
He could indeed release the seal from the Book of Heaven’s Path on him with a single thought, but it would be a huge risk to do so.
No matter what, the other party was an expert who had stood toe-to-toe against Kong shi at one point in his life. It was only due to the prowess of the Book of Heaven’s Path that the other party was obeying his orders, and if he were to release the seal, the other party could very well disobey his orders and even turn against him.
Feeling a burst of confidence after successfully overpowering the heart in the direct clash earlier, the finger sneered coldly, “Hah, with powers like yours, you still dare to vie with me? Die!”
Otherworldly Demons could grow by devouring humans, and master teachers could be considered an ideal tonic to them. Even though the Heart Vicious was able to make a substantial recovery using the spiritual energy in the underground chamber, it couldn’t be compared with the Phalanges Vicious, who had recuperated by devouring innumerable master teachers over the years.
More importantly, the finger could be considered one of the more flexible and active portion of a body, so it wielded might superior to the heart.
Hong long!
The finger gathered its might and charged at the heart once more. Overwhelming killing intent gushed over like a sharp sword, threatening to pierce through all that stood in its path.
Feeling the immense power of the finger, the heart panicked and quickly urged Zhang Xuan, “Hurry up and dispel the seal!”
“There is no need for that. It’ll suffice as long as I seal that fellow as well,” Zhang Xuan said.
Releasing the seal on Vicious simply wasn’t an option.
If he were to release the other party, that would be no different from leaving his life in the hands of the other party.
And to leave one’s life in the hands of an Otherworldly Demon was sheer foolishness.
Since that wasn’t an option, he would just have to seal the finger as well. At the very most, it would just get a little noisier as the two Viciouses wrestled with one another in the book.
Having made up his mind, Zhang Xuan was just about to call upon the golden page when a thought suddenly flashed across his mind.
Since he had the power to release the seal on the heart, was it possible for him to put the finger in as well?
If that was the case, he wouldn’t have to waste an additional golden page.
The golden page was his ultimate trump card, so it was best to save as many of them as he could.
“Go!” Zhang Xuan immediately put his theory to the test.
With a thought, the Book of Heaven’s Path, in which the heart was sealed, immediately flew straight for the incoming finger.
Hu la!
The finger, which was just on its path to slaughter the heart, suddenly felt an oppressive power shrouding it, which froze the finger on the spot.
“What is this…” the finger exclaimed in shock.
It struggled furiously in an attempt to escape, but as if pinned down by a mountain, it found itself unable to move at all.
The book before it seemed to harness the laws of the world, forming an unbreakable cage.
“Haha, didn’t you just mock me a moment ago? Let’s see how you are going to escape from this!” Seeing the finger getting suppressed by the book as well, just as he had been back then, the heart couldn’t help but burst into hearty laughter.
The other party had just claimed that he was a fake and that the Vicious who had dared to fight against Kong shi couldn’t possibly submit to a Transcendent Mortal 9-dan student. But with this, the other party should understand that it wasn’t only him… Even if the real Vicious was standing before this, he would have to kneel down as well!
This trump card of Zhang shi’s was simply that fearsome!
There was nothing higher than the heavens in this world. No matter how much power or authority one held, even if one was unmatched by any other being in the world, it was all futile!
No matter how much power one accrued, could one still be stronger than the heavens?
And as long as one continued to exist beneath the heavens, one would have no choice but to bow before it!
“NO!” Hearing the other party’s mocking, the finger was horrified.
Kacha!
Amidst the finger’s piercing screams, the book abruptly closed, sealing the finger within it.
That finger had devoured innumerable master teachers, granting him power considerably greater than the heart. Nevertheless, it was still nothing more than a hatchling before the Book of Heaven’s Path.
Hu!
Seeing that it had worked, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. With a slight grab, the Book of Heaven’s Path returned to his palm. He flipped it open swiftly and saw the finger and heart sealed alongside one another.
Previously, the heart had only taken up half of the page, and with the addition of the finger, the entire page was filled up.
This likely meant that this page was already full, and it couldn’t contain anything else anymore.
“I am the real one; you are the fake!”
“No, I am the real one; you are the fake!”
The heart on the upper half and the finger on the lower half glared at one another viciously as they bellowed in fury.
Until now, the finger still could hardly believe what had just happened to it.
As the phalanges of the great Vicious, who had faced Kong shi head on back then, even if a Saint realm 9-dan expert was here, it would still have some means up its sleeves to escape safely. Yet, in this instant, it was trapped within this ancient book.
It howled angrily and struggled with all its might, but it found itself unable to break free. “Where is this place?”
This book seemed to harness the will of the heavens, a lofty power that gazed coldly on all existences beneath, eradicating all who dared stand in its way.
Putting aside him, any existences that lived beneath the heavens, no matter how powerful, had to bow down to it.
The heart harrumphed. “Don’t bother with that futile struggling. Just let me devour you and end it once and for all!”
“Let you devour me? Dream on! It is your fate to be devoured by me… and that lad as well, I will kill him as soon as I find a way to get out! All of you shall die by my hand. There is no one who has dared offend me, Vicious, and ever met a good end…” the finger cried furiously.
But before it could finish its words, a finger suddenly flicked lightly on it, harnessing a surge of pure zhenqi.
Peng!
Before it could even react, it was already tumbling furiously within the page. Struck by the pure surge of zhenqi, it found itself unable to catch its breath.
It was as if that surge of zhenqi was its nemesis, capable of subduing it easily.
“Shut up!” Zhang Xuan frowned.
Even if you still carry the consciousness from your previous self and think that you are Vicious, in here, you are nothing more than a simple image. Learn your place and keep your mouth shut!
“You dare to flick me? Do you know who I am…”
The finger was exactly like how the heart had been when it first arrived, indignant and incomparably arrogant.
It thought that it was still the great emperor of the Otherworldly Demons, which even Kong shi himself had feared.
Peng!
But before it could finish speaking, another flick struck it.
There was only one way to make that fellow submit, and it was to pummel him!
Sealed in the Book of Heaven’s Path, even if the other party was the peerless monarch of the world, the other party’s life and death would still be grasped in his hands.
Peng peng peng!
Under consecutive flicks, the finger in the book nearly lost its life.
“You…” Howling furiously, the finger finally realized its current standing and dared not speak arrogantly anymore.
Finally, after seeing that he had finally managed to stamp out the other party’s arrogance, Zhang Xuan began his interrogation.
“Who are you? What is with the Bluehorn Dragon Beast? Why do you have two consciousness within you? Explain yourself well, or else… Vicious, I will make you know what true viciousness is!”
Whether you are Vicious or not, at the moment, you are nothing to me. If you dare cross me again, I will make you regret ever being born in this world!
