Chapter 52: Brain Transplant

The desert heat was staggering. Wei Jing felt his entire body burning, his eyes achingly dry. He had no idea what the other person meant by the "Sea of Sentient Consciousness," but from their words, they seemed to know him intimately.

"Who are you, and why are you blocking my path?" The golden bell at Wei Jing's waist jingled. Under the control of the Dream-Chasing Bell, the golden desert gradually dissolved into a gloomy darkness.

Bizarre animal and human faces spewed forth from the dark, muddy depths. Snakes slithered out of parted human mouths, and blossoming flower buds spewed massive, colorful spiders. Every bizarre creature possessed colors of extreme vibrancy and sharpness, grotesque and erratic, rushing forward in a frantic scramble. Laughter, cries, and various shrill sounds rose and fell in succession.

It was as if this nightmare were a gushing stream of ink; the moment it touched clean water, it began to rapidly spread and pollute it, turning all the pure water pitch black and driving every normal thought to the brink of madness.

The newcomer stood within the muddy darkness, winged insects of all sorts crawling up his legs. He glanced at the Dream-Chasing Bell at Wei Jing's waist, then surveyed his surroundings, and said coldly, "Indeed the nightmare of a mad child. Truly a beast."

"What business is it of yours? Are you trying to snatch this child as well? If you know what's good for you..." Wei Jing had no heart for a protracted battle; he only wanted to leave Yujun as quickly as possible.

Yet he watched as the figure instantly dissolved into a pile of yellow sand, only to reappear by his side the next moment. Reaching out, the person tightly covered Wei Jing's mouth and said, "Since you are a beast, stop speaking human words."

The newcomer seemed to be in an exceptionally foul mood, biting out each word, "You stink too much of a beast. You make me sick."

Meanwhile, deep within the subterranean palace beneath the Prince of Laiyang's estate, an eerie quiet prevailed. This was not a peaceful silence, but the silence of a blade suspended over a neck, about to fall at any moment.

Ye Minwei's earlier prediction had been entirely accurate. The disciples of Canglang Manor were indeed no match for Qin Jiaze, and even with her assistance, it would have been a stretch. After all, the opposing side was extravagantly wealthy with an endless supply of Azure Crystals, and their subordinates wielded numerous esoteric arts, each executed with superior skill.

Sure enough, the moment Ye Minwei launched a surprise attack using the Shadow-Tracing Art, Qin Jiaze dropped his previous joking demeanor and ruthlessly unleashed all his techniques.

Thus, amidst a dazzling, overwhelming flurry of flying lights, the disciples of Canglang Manor, along with A-Yan, were securely bound by the Immortal-Binding Spell and hung high upon the giant tree spawned by the Thorn-Sprouting Art.

The destroyed high platform and its steps churned and restored themselves to their original state. Qin Jiaze made a welcoming gesture and smiled at Ye Minwei, "Respected Sovereign, please take the seat of honor."

Ye Minwei glanced at the hostages hanging from the tree. Judging by the circumstances, this sounded less like an invitation and more like hostage-taking.

"No wonder the furnace was destroyed earlier and yet Wei Jing claimed ignorance; it turns out he had made a deal with you. Blame those mundane fools for interrupting us earlier; otherwise, I would have had a proper chat with the Sovereign." Qin Jiaze acted as though nothing were the matter, seemingly entirely unconcerned by Wei Jing's escape.

At this moment, the earthen platform wrapped in all the spiritual artifacts was cradled under Qin Jiaze's arm. The entire stone chamber was illuminated only by a single hanging lamp at the very top, casting everyone's shadows directly beneath them.

He looked relaxed, but in reality, he was constantly on guard.

Ye Minwei stepped up the dais and sat beside Cangshu, asking straight to the point, "How did you acquire the Fish-Swallowing Ring?"

"Oh? That? I bought your whereabouts from the Ghost Market and originally sent Wei Jing to Ningyu to find you, never expecting a sudden volcanic eruption. Since he couldn't find you, it wouldn't do to return empty-handed, so he brought back this Fish-Swallowing Ring along with some raw materials for refining Azure Crystals."

"Those weren't raw materials. Those were people."

"Of course this prince knew they were people."

Qin Jiaze raised his eyes to look at Ye Minwei, seemingly finding it unbelievable, "Could it be that the Sovereign has come to reprimand me over this? They are merely a bunch of ants. Countless perish in natural and man-made disasters anyway; if they die so that Azure Crystals may be refined, it can be considered a fitting end. Did you not think the exact same way when you used people to refine Azure Crystals?"

"My Azure Crystals were not refined using people." Ye Minwei shook her head solemnly.

Qin Jiaze fell silent for a fraction of a second, half-believing, and smiled faintly, "So what? Whether they were refined using people or not, the principle remains unchanged. In this world, there must always be someone above ten thousand, and there must always be bones buried beneath the path."

"Then why is it you who are above ten thousand, while they are beneath the path?"

"It is innate. Does the Ancestor of Myriad Phenomena not understand? Someone as brilliant as you—just how many people could possibly comprehend the thoughts in your mind, your exquisite creations and designs? You were born with a brilliant mind, while some are born utterly foolish, unable to so much as slightly understand you even if they exhaust their entire lives. For them to remain beneath your feet and be driven by you is already their great fortune. A brilliant mind is like this; bloodline, wealth, and power are no different."

Qin Jiaze pointed to himself and said calmly, "You are like this, and so is this prince."

Qin Jiaze spoke as though it were the most natural thing in the world, yet Ye Minwei's reply was even more natural.

"Yet isn't this precisely because I am not clever enough? If I were clever enough, I would be able to devise a way for everyone in the world to understand me, or perhaps understand me not, yet still act just as I do. Since it is I who cannot think of a solution, why instead call them foolish rather than admitting I am the foolish one?"

Qin Jiaze, who had remained entirely at ease throughout this conversation, wore a look of astonishment for the very first time.

"What is so special about you? Your bloodline, wealth, and power were all bestowed upon you by others. How could you possibly have been born above ten thousand? You are merely an orange that happened to be placed atop the orange mountain—a bit lucky, and sufficiently selfish. Nothing more." Ye Minwei's tone was particularly sincere and wounding.

Cangshu looked at her, thinking that she hadn't learned the true essence of cursing from the Master of the Dream Ruins while by his side, yet her skill at heaping insults had skyrocketed the moment she left him.

Irritation finally flared in Qin Jiaze's eyes. He let out a mocking, booming laugh and said, "Indeed, this prince naturally cannot compare to the Sovereign. The Sovereign is so selfless that you actually tracked me all the way to my estate for a group of missing commoners. Come to think of it, all the load-bearing pillars in that furnace were completely undamaged—it turns out you were afraid the subterranean palace would collapse and endanger the citizens on the surface."

"Yet, would you believe me if I said that if I were to leak the news of your presence here, the cultivators hanging right here, the Canglang Manor behind them, the Nightmare Masters and spiritual bandits outside, and even the commoners in the city—the very first person all of them would want to kill is you, the Ancestor of Myriad Phenomena!"

"Such is the ways of the world. Does the Sovereign truly believe you have companions? Which of the people who approach you is not trying to use you? You are the pioneer of Nightmare Cultivation, the person in this world who understands Nightmare Cultivation best. How could Nightmare Cultivation fail, and the Master of the Dream Ruins have nothing whatsoever to do with it?"

"The Ghost Market tracked your movements via the message bead you carry and sold the information at a high price. How could Mr. Cangshu possibly have failed to calculate this? Yet, Mr. Cangshu didn't tell you a single thing, did he?"

Qin Jiaze spat out a lengthy stream of words, his tone mocking and deeply meaningful: "Does the Sovereign know who the person Mr. Cangshu is desperately searching for really is?"

"Your Highness." Cangshu finally spoke up. He narrowed his eyes, a trace of displeasure latent in his voice.

Ye Minwei glanced at Cangshu beside her.

Qin Jiaze said no more. He smiled with an air of inscrutable mystery, rubbed the earthen platform under his arm, and said, "Since the Sovereign is so compassionate toward all living beings, this prince might as well inform you that every brick, stone, and patch of soil within this subterranean palace is under my absolute control. Moreover, the majority of the houses in Yujun City sit directly above this palace. If the subterranean palace falls and collapses, the lives of thousands of commoners will be forfeit—everything rests on this prince's single thought."

"In exchange for the lives of half the commoners of Yujun City, plus those three cultivators and the child over there, I am going to demand something of the Sovereign."

"What do you want?"

Qin Jiaze gazed at Ye Minwei with profound eyes, speaking as lightly as if making a joke, "What if I said... I want the Sovereign's life?"

Ye Minwei fell silent for a fraction of a second, then let out a long sigh.

Here it came again—someone else wanting her life.

Was her life truly such a coveted, precious treasure? She had only just begun to feel that her life held things far more precious than death.

Even if she were to perish, this world would not simply return to how it was.

The hostages hanging on the tree nearby struggled to force out sounds. Their throats were choked by the Immortal-Binding Spell, rendering their speech garbled, yet they all appeared intensely indignant. A-Yan, of all people, was putting up the most violent struggle.

Ye Minwei looked at them, thinking that they, too, all wanted her to die. Come to think of it, they and Qin Jiaze ought to be kindred spirits and should be overjoyed right now.

Why at this exact moment? She had just confirmed that she had never used people to refine Azure Crystals; she had just acquired the raw stone capable of refining them; and she still wanted to rescue Cangshu and immediately go find Wen Xie and Xie Yuzhu.

She missed them so very much. She longed for Xie Yuzhu to call her Master, and she longed for Wen Xie to viciously snap out her name, "Ye Minwei."

Along this journey, she had heard that close companions always had unique nicknames for one another. Given her relationship with Wen Xie, Wen Xie ought to have called her "Minwei" or something similar.

Yet Wen Xie always called her by her full name, unendearingly, grinding out the three syllables "Ye Minwei" through clenched teeth.

Having grown accustomed to it, she found even this form of address quite special. After all, it was hard for anyone else to put such twists and turns of exasperated disappointment into a name.

Once dead, she wouldn't even get to hear that form of address anymore.

If only she could see them one last time.

Filled with regret, Ye Minwei nevertheless said, "Very well, I can agree to your terms."

The hostages bound by the Immortal-Binding Spell struggled even more violently. Yet Qin Jiaze suddenly burst out laughing, finding it utterly absurd as he said, "The Sovereign actually agreed... This truly disappoints this prince."

The other party had clearly met his demand, yet he claimed to be disappointed—leaving one completely baffled.

After a moment of silence, Qin Jiaze predictably shifted his tone and said, "What I said just now about wanting the Sovereign's life was merely a joke."

"Over the years, looking at these spiritual artifacts, this prince has often marveled at their profound ingenuity and how clever their creator must be. The Ancestor of Myriad Phenomena clearly lost her memories, yet within moments she was able to construct spiritual meridians within her body and execute esoteric arts, as though guided by miracles. That intelligence is the very source of all supernatural powers—the greatest supernatural power in the world. Yet just now you claimed to be foolish; how lamentable. This prince actually desires that very foolishness."

With the map exhausted and the dagger revealed, Qin Jiaze finally voiced what he truly desired: "I wonder if the Ancestor of Myriad Phenomena would be willing to cede this divine power to this prince?"

There existed a forbidden sect art known as the Transference Art. Provided both parties acted willingly, it allowed them to exchange portions of their physical bodies. From then on, old limbs parted from their old masters, and the newcomer used the new limbs. This art was entirely unrestricted and could be used to exchange any part of the body.

Including a brilliant mind.

Although this art was banned, it had been forged into a spiritual artifact by Ye Minwei herself, only to be snatched away by a nightmare beast. After twisting and turning for twenty years, the spiritual artifact for the Transference Art was now hidden within the earthen platform in Qin Jiaze's possession.

The greatest divine power in this world—the one thing Qin Jiaze had always desired—was not the life of the Ancestor of Myriad Phenomena.

He wanted that peerless wisdom itself, the very intelligence that had created the nightmare arts, nightmare cultivation, and countless spiritual artifacts.