Chapter 161: The Past of Xiahou Fang

Xiahou Fang himself was now completely unrecognizable.

Although he still maintained a human shape, his entire body was covered in severe burn marks. His skin was shriveled, beet-red, and blackened, making him look as if he had shrunken from being burned.

In short, he looked just like a burned and shrunken human muscle display model, which was deeply terrifying.

Ning Xianyu did not catch what he said, and after catching a glimpse of his appearance, she pulled her divine sense back in fright before long.

With a lingering look of terror on her face, Xuan Yuan Tunhan asked her with concern what had happened.

Could that scoundrel Xiahou Fang have played some trick?

"This seat should have taken a look first."

She lacked experience and knew nothing; even if she fell into a trap, she wouldn't realize it. It was his carelessness; he hadn't expected Xiahou Fang to still dare to play tricks.

Ning Xianyu shook her head: "No, I think I saw Xiahou Fang's true face. It was so terrifying."

Xuan Yuan Tunhan let out a sigh of relief: "He became like that a long time ago. All these years he has always worn someone else's skin to show himself to the world; this seat almost forgot what he truly looked like."

Ning Xianyu asked in surprise: "You've seen it too?"

The world said that no one had ever seen Xiahou Fang's true face, and those who had were all dead. It turned out that living long enough meant you could see anything?

Xuan Yuan Tunhan actually sighed, as if recounting some sorrowful matter.

"Back then, he and his cultivation partner were cultivating near the Demon Realm and got swept into that incident. His partner was burned to death on the spot, and he was burned into the state you see now."

That incident naturally referred to the descent of the Demon Star. At that time, the falling Demon Star burned countless people to death, and no one expected Xiahou Fang to have been there as well.

"Doesn't that mean Xiahou Fang has lived for many, many years?"

Since he could date back to the descent of the Demon Star, he must have lived long enough.

Xuan Yuan Tunhan said, "Strictly speaking, he has lived longer than I have."

The world claimed he was the longest-living being in this realm, but in truth, there were others who had lived even longer than him.

Ning Xianyu was quite astonished: "Is he completely incurable, which is why he keeps changing skins?"

Xuan Yuan Tunhan replied affirmatively: "Injured by the flames of the Demon Star, his body not only fails to heal but constantly suffers from pain. Back then, Xiahou Fang visited all renowned physicians and failed to find a cure, so he came up with the method of skin-swapping."

"It's just that that fire didn't merely burn his flesh and skin; it damaged his soul as well. His soul cannot leave his injured torso for long periods, so even when he changes skins, he can only maintain it for a certain duration. Once that time is up, he must switch back, or else his body and soul will be utterly destroyed."

No one actually knew these things. People only knew that Xiahou Fang was an evil cultivator who liked to peel skin, unaware that he did so simply to alleviate his agony.

Ning Xianyu pitied him, yet she by no means supported his actions.

However, his perseverance was truly admirable.

"To endure such intense suffering for hundreds of thousands of years, this willpower is simply too formidable."

If it were her, suffering like that, she would have long since found a place to commit suicide.

Xuan Yuan Tunhan said, "Because he has an obsession. He has constantly been searching for the Astrolabe, actually in hopes of finding out whether his former partner's soul still exists, and where it went to undergo reincarnation."

Ning Xianyu asked curiously, "Can cultivators undergo reincarnation?"

If a cultivator died and went to reincarnate, wouldn't their powerful soul make them vastly stronger than ordinary mortals?

Nian Laisheng, who had been quietly listening to the secrets, suddenly chimed in: "My grand-disciple, have you not learned even the most basic introductory knowledge?"

"As long as a cultivator enters the Qi Condensation stage and steps through the threshold of cultivation, their soul forms a connection with the spiritual energy between heaven and earth. Once they die, their soul naturally dissipates into the cosmos; reincarnation is impossible."

Ning Xianyu thought back; it seemed the elder who substituted for their lectures when she first entered the mountain gate had indeed mentioned something like this.

"I forgot, haha. But that's not the point. The point is, knowing that his partner couldn't possibly reincarnate, why is Xiahou Fang still so persistently searching?"

To cling to an impossibility for so many years—this kind of willpower was truly hard to comprehend.

Nian Laisheng sighed: "Perhaps this is also his mental sustenance for staying alive. Having some form of sustenance is always better than having nothing at all and sinking endlessly into despair."

Xuan Yuan Tunhan also fell silent for a rare moment.

Perhaps cultivators who lived as long as they did all needed a powerful goal to sustain them, otherwise the loneliness of tens of thousands of years would be hard to bear.

Ning Xianyu scratched her head, suddenly feeling that Xiahou Fang was actually quite pitiful.

"Shall I lend him the Astrolabe to use the next time I see him?"

Knowing the result and letting go of his hope, perhaps he wouldn't be so obsessive anymore. Then he could end his hundreds of thousands of years of torment and leave this heart-wrenching, painful world without a single burden.

Yet Xuan Yuan Tunhan immediately objected: "No one knows whether he will go mad once he learns the truth, and the Astrolabe is of vital importance. It must never be lent out."

Nian Laisheng also felt it could not be lent.

Xiahou Fang had grown increasingly unhinged in recent years; the only reason he hadn't completely lost his sanity was because he still clung to a shred of belief.

Should even that shred of belief vanish, he would likely commit earth-shattering acts of madness.

With his level of cultivation, the destructive power he could unleash was unimaginable to anyone.

The system piped up: [Actually, I think you could help him.]

Ning Xianyu: [I already said I wanted to lend him the Astrolabe, but the Great Demon and Grand Master disagree.]

The system said: [No, I mean your body is the Breath Soil. You could allocate a portion of it to him to forge a new body. Breath Soil can mend the soul, and he would completely adapt to a new body.]

If she truly did that, Xiahou Fang would never suffer again, nor would he remain obsessed with finding his partner's reincarnation.

Yet Ning Xianyu felt she was no saint, and she refused to do it.

[No way. He wants to skin me alive, tried to rob me, and scammed me. I'd have to be insane to help him.]

The system instantly showed disdain: [Then why did you pity him just now and want to lend him the Astrolabe?]

Ning Xianyu said indifferently: [I was just talking casually. Besides, the Astrolabe isn't mine anyway; letting him borrow it once is no big deal.]

The system understood: [You're the type of person who is good-hearted for three minutes—you pity someone and forget about it the next second.]

[Say whatever you want.]

Ning Xianyu didn't care at all; she had no obligation to help that arch-villain Xiahou Fang anyway.

At that moment, Xuan Yuan Tunhan suddenly spoke up: "Do not assume Xiahou Fang is a good person just because you find him pitiful. If you truly pity him, he won't be grateful; he might just seize the opportunity to kill you."

This woman spoke so heartlessly to the system, but who knew if she would act foolishly and get herself tricked.

Ning Xianyu nodded along immediately, declaring she would never do such a thing.

Right as they were talking, they suddenly saw a flying magical artifact catching up from behind, carrying three people upon it.

One was Yi Tianling, one was Su Yun'er, and the last was a total stranger whom she did not recognize.

Yet for some inexplicable reason, the feeling he gave off was oddly familiar.

Xuan Yuan Tunhan's face turned icy: "That is Xiahou Fang."

Truly a ghost that refused to disperse.