It's quite laughable, isn't it? An Ōtsutsuki, who had always been conquering and plundering, ended up being devoured and dying because his spiritual body was consumed. If the other Ōtsutsuki wandering the cosmos knew, they would probably mock and despise Ōtsutsuki Isshiki for being such a failure...
The consumption and replacement of the spiritual body meant that Bó Yáng truly possessed a physical body, which was good news worth celebrating. However, the bad news was that Isshiki's body was already in a state of disrepair. If it wasn't dealt with in time, Bó Yáng might follow in Isshiki's footsteps!
Fortunately, Isshiki had successfully parasitized this human's brain beforehand, allowing him to use the host's internal nutrients to stabilize the injuries to his own body, preventing further deterioration. But that was all it could do; hoping to recover from his injuries through this was undoubtedly a pipe dream.
"I want to live… to live…"
Even after consuming Isshiki's spiritual body, Bó Yáng's consciousness hadn't fully returned. It was still a sliver of his will to survive that was dominant. So, upon sensing the body's weakness, he instinctively began to unrestrainedly draw life energy from the host to restore his own injuries. This action undoubtedly directly affected the host's condition…
"Am I sick? I suddenly feel so much weaker…"
The ascetic monk, walking through the ancient forest, suddenly felt dizzy and lightheaded. He stumbled and quickly leaned against a nearby large tree. In his panic, he sat down cross-legged and began to meditate, attempting to alleviate his weakness.
Invisible natural energy, with the ascetic monk's breathing, slowly entered his body, transforming into pure life energy to nourish him.
And as the natural energy entered his body, the ascetic monk immediately felt much better mentally, but the feeling of weakness still persisted. Unable to understand why, he could only continue to meditate and cultivate, accelerating the absorption of natural energy!
The ascetic monk's name was Jigen, a preacher walking the world, and also a talented cultivator who had perceived natural energy.
Ever since he comprehended natural energy, his body had never been sick and had always been healthy and strong.
But the feeling of weakness just now cast a shadow over Jigen's heart. He seemed to foresee that something unpleasant was bound to happen soon…
After more than half a day of cultivation, Jigen finally got rid of that feeling of weakness, but a mysterious intuition told him that this situation would definitely recur in the future!
Sure enough, not long after Jigen continued on his way, that feeling of weakness reappeared…
"So comfortable…"
During Jigen's cultivation, when he absorbed the natural energy into his body, Bó Yáng immediately felt incredibly comfortable, like a tired person soaking in a hot spring.
Compared to natural energy, the weak life energy contained within Jigen's body was simply incomparable. So, Bó Yáng temporarily gave up on consuming the host's life energy and instead began to consume the natural energy that Jigen absorbed.
However, as time briefly passed, the natural energy within Jigen's body was completely absorbed by Bó Yáng. Desperate to recover from his injuries, he could only once again absorb the life energy from the host's body…
Thus, in the period that followed, a subtle, indescribable understanding developed between Jigen, the host, and Bó Yáng, the parasite.
Whenever Bó Yáng absorbed Jigen's life energy, Jigen, feeling weak, would immediately sit in meditation and absorb natural energy to alleviate his body's weakness…
And when Bó Yáng absorbed the natural energy taken into Jigen's body, Jigen's feeling of weakness would disappear, and he would naturally stop absorbing natural energy. But this, in turn, would lead to Bó Yáng soon needing to absorb his life energy again…
And so, several days passed.
Jigen's body grew weaker day by day. Though in his prime, he looked emaciated, appearing half-dead.
All of this was Bó Yáng's doing.
The essence of Ōtsutsuki was undoubtedly terrifying. Even with natural energy as a supply, Jigen could not withstand Bó Yáng's unrestrained demands and consumption. The vast majority of the life energy within his body was completely absorbed by Bó Yáng's body as nutrients.
"I'm truly sorry… Jigen."
Several days also allowed Bó Yáng's consciousness to gradually return to completeness. Therefore, understanding the situation, he immediately felt a touch of apology towards Jigen. If his consciousness had returned a little earlier, perhaps he wouldn't have had to endure such inhumane torment.
After all, being parasitized surely isn't a pleasant feeling, especially by a 'parasite named Ōtsutsuki' like himself…
Bó Yáng thought this.
In the face of death, everyone feels fear and dread, whether it's Bó Yáng, Jigen, or even Ōtsutsuki Isshiki. No one is an exception.
No one wants to die; everyone wants to live.
And this was Bó Yáng's current thought. He wanted to continue living, so he could only carve a 'Karma' on Jigen, using him as a vessel for reincarnation. This was the only way.
After all, his body was truly on the verge of collapsing…
"Jigen, I'm sorry…"
After murmuring to himself, Bó Yáng directly carved the 'Karma' onto Jigen from within his brain and forcibly injected his remaining energy into Jigen's body, causing his body to rejuvenate like a withered tree in spring, full of vitality. His face also showed a healthy color, and his body was stronger than ever before!
Having done all this, Bó Yáng's life traces disappeared within Jigen's brain…
One year later.
"May my Buddha bless you!"
Jigen, staying in a rural village, bowed gratefully to the middle-aged man before him, for he was the only one in the entire village who had offered him food.
Even though he was also starving.
Facing Jigen's thanks, the middle-aged man said nothing, only waved his hand at him, then walked woodenly towards his house.
Seeing this, Jigen also followed.
The house was built of thatch and tree trunks. From the various sized gaps in the house, it was clear that this dwelling could not protect against wind and rain!
Entering the house, Jigen first smelled a rotten odor. He frowned and followed the source of the smell to where an elderly couple lay neatly on dry straw. Their bodies were already visibly decomposed, and some white larvae were writhing within the corpses…
"Master, if you truly wish to thank me, please perform a ceremony for my father and mother to pass on…"
The middle-aged man was the first to break the silence in the room, speaking to Jigen.
"Buddha is merciful!"
Jigen first uttered a Buddhist chant, then sat cross-legged and began to recite scriptures for the elderly couple, who had been dead for an unknown period.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man quietly knelt beside him.
After a long while, Jigen stood up and said to the middle-aged man: "Please rest assured, benefactor, your parents have already departed for the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss…"
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man stood up and walked towards Jigen. As he approached, he clasped his hands together and bowed ninety degrees to Jigen in gratitude. Jigen, seeing this, also quickly returned the bow.
But the moment the middle-aged man stood up, a slight smile first appeared on his honest face, but the next second it turned into a look of ferocity. Then, under Jigen's astonished gaze, a dagger was plunged directly into his heart…