"So, where is this Devourer at the moment?"
"Ah, that bastard! He's like a cockroach. But I managed to locate him near the tombs. The inner disciples are currently searching the ruins."
"This Devourer... can he copy abilities?"
Shen nodded. "This guy devours essences, he's a plague that needs to be eradicated! We don't have time to waste, big brother, I'm sure he hasn't left this realm yet."
'Just like me! Who is this devourer, then?'
"You're right, Shen. Go, I'll be right there."
Shen stood up with a smile. "Big brother, we must absolutely kill this Devourer, otherwise we might really be forced into isolation, hehe." he said, leaving with a carefree air.
The room fell silent after his departure. Bai She looked at his palm, still unable to feel the mana he once used. But his interaction with Shen had made him think of something.
He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Calming his mind, he felt his body float. His soul's energy began to surge, but suddenly, this pure energy became increasingly violent, escaping his control. On his forehead, an omega symbol slowly appeared, accompanied by green scales under his eyes. His long silver hair took on a black-olive hue. When he abruptly opened his eyes, his irises were reptilian, olive, with red sclerae. His appearance was close to Linfer's, except his wings were absent.
He opened his palm, revealing a reddish-green, poisonous, unhealthy energy, interspersed with destructive flashes.
"I'm here to hunt the devourer? Actually, I'm hunting myself, haha."
A wide smile revealing his canines stretched across his face.
***
[A/N: From now on, Linfer will be called Hu Bai She.]
Bai She left the meditation room, leaving behind residues of corrupted energy.
"I need to find a way to get rid of it," he thought, though he maintained a serene air. Despite a slight worry, he was satisfied to have regained his mobility and the power of his body, even if he didn't yet possess all his memories. For now, he could only fly and use this unhealthy energy, already familiar. It was the same as he used before.
Bai She crossed the courtyard, where servants guided him to Xuan Shen.
"Let's go, little brother," he said. Shen nodded and flew off, leaving behind a green trail. Bai She followed, but with less ease, still unaccustomed to this way of moving and the monstrous gravity.
They soon arrived at the ruins, where the tombs had been desecrated. Shriveled corpses lay there, drained of their essence.
"This Devourer is truly despicable," Bai She muttered with disgust.
"You said it, big brother. He's always been everyone's enemy."
Bai She nodded, an enigmatic smile at the corner of his lips. 'No matter the era, I'm destined to be alone against all,' he thought.
Inner disciples approached and greeted them respectfully:
"Honors to Young Masters Hu and Xuan!"
"No need for formalities," Bai She replied casually. "We're of the same generation, after all. How's the search going?"
The disciples explained that the place was filled with traps, slowing their progress.
"Just as I thought, this cockroach is probably hiding here," Shen growled, while the eye in the center of his forehead opened.
Bai She, meanwhile, was silently thinking.
'As a Devourer, respected and feared in the upper plane, why would I come to this insignificant realm to hunt myself? And the fear and disgust I inspire—I'm actually weak, in reality... Doesn't he know the true power of the devourer?'
He observed the corpses, an indecipherable expression on his face.
"They're too weak. It's probably not their essence that brought me all this way. Unless… I'm the one who set the traps in these catacombs. But for what purpose?"
A disciple interrupted his thoughts:
"Fortunately, Young Master Xuan is here. With his Eye of Truth, traps are easier to spot."
A fleeting smile stretched Bai She's lips.
"So that's it..."
Advancing beside Shen, Bai She deliberately triggered a trap, suddenly reshaping the entire structure of the catacombs. The two martial brothers found themselves isolated in the same room.
"That bastard, he was among the former disciples and activated a trap to isolate us," Shen muttered, frowning as he scanned the place with his Eye.
But something was wrong.
"Big brother?"
Bai She stood still, his head tilted to the side, a wide, frightening smile on his face.
"What's—"
Before Shen could finish, Bai She appeared in front of him and struck him violently in the chest. Shen was thrown against a wall. Wiping the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, he looked, dazed, at the corrupted and unhealthy aura emanating from the one he called his big brother.
'I refuse to believe… maybe he's possessed… He's been strange lately,' Shen thought.
Bai She's omega symbol lit up, emitting an energy so toxic that Shen already felt poisoned just being near him.
"Little brother, you're far too naive. I'll make good use of your ability," Bai She declared in a cold tone, slowly advancing toward him. Shen fell to his knees, spitting blood.
"I can't believe it! It was YOU, the DEVOURER." Shen spat a mouthful of blood,
"Bastard… This unhealthy Qi will alert everyone… You won't escape," Shen whispered, laughing, though his vision was blurring.
"Don't worry about me," Bai She replied, his fingers transforming into claws before tearing the Eye of Truth from Shen's forehead.
As he absorbed the Eye, a greenish light passed through Bai She's eyes, returning them to their normal appearance. But in that moment, he also regained his memories. He was no longer just Linfer. He had become the true Young Master Hu.
He cast a calm glance at Shen, who was dying at his feet. He had no intention of refining his essence now. Other plans awaited him.
"They're arriving faster than expected," he realized, feeling the presence of the inner disciples drawing near.
A few hundred meters away, the disciples were rushing in. Shen, despite his pain, managed a smile:
"Your fate is sealed, Devourer…"
Bai She briefly closed his eyes, regretful:
"I'm sorry, little brother. I'm too weak to save you."
"Huh?" Shen, confused, had no time to react before Bai She concentrated his Qi in his hand, triggering an internal explosion that tore through his own body.
Then he concentrated his power again and self-exploded.
The inner disciples were running toward the corrupted energy.
"We must act quickly. The Devourer separated us to ambush us more easily."
The others nodded, rushing to the scene when suddenly—
*Boom*
The extreme chaotic Yin Qi exploded, surging over dozens of kilometers.
In the night sky, a silhouette was violently thrown, crashing against the walls of the castle of the upper plane's hosts. His left arm was nothing but mangled flesh, eaten away by dark energies. Blackish blood dripped from his lips, but his gaze burned with fierce determination.
"Don't worry about me!" he roared, pushing away a disciple who tried to support him. His hoarse voice echoed in the cracked hall. "*Cough*… Go save Shen! He's trapped in that cursed mist!"