Chapter 180: Between Demon & Divine

“Oh? You’ve piqued my interest. This better be good,” intrigued by Xue Yuanshao’s words, Xinzi tilted his head, eyes locked on the Xue ghost.

“Mixing different energies into one organic whole is always a challenge. But why is it that you have a chance to fuse Holy Force with Evil Qi or Holy Force with Divine Power when attempting to do the same with Evil and Divine always lead to catastrophes?”

“Because Holy Force is neutral. It has no alignment, whereas Evil Qi is, well, evil, whereas Divine Power is…” Xinzi’s words died in his throat, and his eyes stretched at the nonsense he was about to spew.

“Let me guess. You were about to say something along the lines of ‘Divine Power represents hope, faith and good.’ That is inaccurate. Most deities may not care to interfere with mortal lives but times have shown that Gods are as bad—or good—as Devils. Divine Power is not good. If it was, why would divine light burn the eyes of the feeble? No. Good and evil are human concepts that do not apply to primordial forces.

Evil Qi is an invasive and corruptive force whereas Divine Power is austere and inviolable. One thrives on the dark, twisted and depraved, while the other mostly feeds off blind faith and pure devotion.” Here, Xue Yuanshao snapped his fingers, conjuring three clouds of golden, white and dark-purple mist respectively.

“Holy Force is different. It is generated through the monk’s self-enlightenment but doesn’t incorporate that enlightenment. The monk manipulates his Holy Force through his enlightenment to recite mantras, Words, Laws and so on, but at its core, Holy Force remains a pure and unadulterated force with no signature. This is why it is much easier to fuse.” Xue Yuanshao was correct.

Quantity was the only difference between Qingxin’s Holy Force and Xinzi’s. That aside, no one would be able to tell the difference. With Evil Qi and Divine Power, however, high-level experts could sense the dark emotions that fueled the former, while also noticing the nature of the latter.

“Fine. But we can sum up what you’ve just said by ‘Evil and Divine will never mix.’ Divine Power will always reject Evil Qi’s invasive corruption, unless said Evil Qi is so large that it can overwhelm it. And in that scenario, the fusion I’m looking for is impossible. So if you’ve nothing else to add, you’ve just wasted my time,” Xinzi said, yet didn’t doubt that Xue Yuanshao wouldn’t stop here. In fact, our monk had a rough idea of what the Xue ghost was getting to.

“Not quite. Look at your Five Elements Transmutative Technique. Water and fire, fire and wood. These should not mix, yet in your cultivation method and Dao Foundation, all stand in harmony. Fusion isn’t impossible. You just need the right catalyst. For your technique, you used Yin and Yang. Here, you need a bloodline or physique—preferably both—that operates in a similar way as your technique does, able to ignore core nature principles to synthesize a multitude of energies into one.” Xue Yuanshao paused, waiting for Xinzi to probe further.

‘The Ancient Spirit Lineage.’ Our monk thought, but would never say that out loud. Instead, his eyes flashed with burning curiosity. Satisfied, Xue Yuanshao went on:

“I’ve only seen such a bloodline once in my life. In my brother-in-law and semi-disciple: Qiu Meng. Once awoken, his Ancient Spirit Lineage enabled him to fuse a multitude of energies. Holy Force and Soul Force in his case. Unfortunately, his cultivation base was too low, so the battle-prowess that he unlocked through this synthesis wasn’t enough to resist Taiyang Yuan. If you could get his bloodline, 80% of your problems would vanish altogether.”

“But Qiu Meng is dead. And as the last Ancient Spirit, brought that bloodline to the grave.” Xinzi shook his head, faking disappointment.

“That’s fine. When Hengye Wuxin gathered the preeminent alchemists of the Great Desolation to research and carry out experiments for his Holy God Fusion plan. I had the opportunity to lead the team. Alongside my fellow researchers, we realized that even if we could find a way, the fusion wouldn’t be complete unless Hengye Wuxin first altered his physique. In Qiu Meng’s case too, his physique was far too weak to exhibit the bloodline’s true capabilities.

Holy Force, Divine Power and Evil Qi, it appears that at the root, all three stem from one origin. We called it Primordial Chaos. The closer your physique is to that origin, the easier it is to endure the colossal power that the fusion brings. Otherwise, you’ll always have to suppress yourself.”

‘Primordial Chaos? Nice. In the upper realms, we just call it Primordial Source. But I guess the old man didn’t have the qualifications to learn about the Primordial Source yet.’ Xinzi thought.

“After many failed prototypes, we completed a successful puppet which Hengye Wuxin refined to obtain a unique Holy Physique, with Saint flesh and a Divine Core replacing the traditional Golden Core. He then consumed our Heavenly Connection Pill to bind the core to his Divine Soul. That’s how he completed his Holy God Fusion.

The most overbearing of these prototypes built on the sacrifice of demons, divines and enlightened beings. It mirrors our perception of the Primordial Chaos, and while a complete failure, I can use it to refine Chaotic Connection Pills that will help you enhance the balance between your energies. You can use it to get enlightenment into the principles of the Primordial Chaos, and with enough energy, rely on your Five Elements Transmutative Technique to create a Primordial Chaos Physique. With that and the pills, even without Ancient Spirit blood, you can still perfect your fusion.”

‘But why would I settle for that, when I can also get the Ancient Spirit Lineage? Qiu Meng, Qiu Meng, you have to be the next protagonist. Otherwise, I can’t understand why fate seems so dead-set on having me, this great villain, make a mess of your existence.’

With Xiao Hu fallen from her protagonist seat, Heaven would select a replacement. No one could tell when, but Xinzi felt that Qiu Meng’s peculiar existence and reincarnation fit the mold of a new protagonist.

If this turned out to be true, then our monk would have to accept that Heaven had settled upon him as the challenge that all its chosen would have to go through:

The end-game young master.