Volume One, Chapter 40: Taking Over Another’s Body

"This is mine!" cried a scrawny, ragged child with tear-filled eyes.

However, the taller child standing opposite him kicked him straight to the ground and snatched the broken sword from his grip.

"Yours? Whoever grabs it first is the owner!" the taller child bellowed, glancing with a trace of disdain at the scrawny child who was curled up on the ground, clutching his stomach.

"I brought you out here to scavenge with me, not to fight over things with me."

"Since you like snatching so much, you can just stay here by yourself. Let's go!"

With a loud shout, the taller child turned and left, taking the rest of his lacklings along with him.

Watching the entire scene from his state as a wandering soul, Mo Jiuyou couldn't help but sneer.

"Hmph, who would have thought that even within the jurisdiction of the seemingly glorious Great Desolate Immortal Sect, there would still be children who have to scavenge?"

"If that's the case, how is this any different from my Bloodthirsty Demon Sect? It's merely better disguised—how ironic!"

Despite his words, his gaze never left the scrawny child curled up on the ground for even a second; he was eagerly anticipating a transformation.

And the transformation he anticipated duly arrived.

Feeling the pain radiating from his abdomen, the scrawny child gritted his teeth, an uncontrollable hatred burning in his eyes.

"All of them bully me... humiliate me... beat me... If one day I could gain power like those immortals in the heavens..."

"Every single one of you... will die!"

The child roared with all his might, his voice brimming with boundless hatred echoing continuously across the battlefield.

In Mo Jiuyou's eyes, a terrifying, greedy light flickered to life.

This was simply because the child was filled with an endless, incalculable mountain of hatred—he was quite literally a natural vessel.

"Good, good, good... Heaven has not forsaken Mo Jiuyou! It has delivered such a vessel right to my doorstep!"

At this thought, he gave a couple of dry coughs, and gradually manifested his previously concealed remnant soul.

"Child, do you desire revenge?" Mo Jiuyou asked in a spectral, ghostly voice.

Hearing Mo Jiuyou's voice, the scrawny child instinctively looked over.

Yet upon seeing Mo Jiuyou's dark, wreathed figure and his sinister visage, the boy was so terrified that he shrieked aloud.

"Ahhh, a ghost!"

Listening to the scrawny child's cries, Mo Jiuyou felt a trace of annoyance rising in his heart.

Still, there was no help for it. Although the child was brimming with resentment, at the end of the day, he still possessed the mind of a child.

Naturally, seeing a remnant soul like Mo Jiuyou would cause him to scream in terror.

And so, Mo Jiuyou let him shriek and wail for a good long while before finally frowning and saying, "Have you finished yelling yet?!"

Sensing that Mo Jiuyou had no immediate intent to kill him, the child gradually quieted down.

Once the weeping subsided, the scrawny child looked timidly at Mo Jiuyou and asked with a trembling voice, "Who are you? What do you want? I don't have anything."

Seeing the conversation return to track, Mo Jiuyou cleared his throat with a couple of coughs and spoke in a deeply seductive tone:

"I saw everything that just happened, child. Do you wish to possess the power of vengeance?"

"I can grant you the power to slaughter everyone who has ever bullied you, completely and utterly."

Hearing Mo Jiuyou's words, the scrawny child instinctively swallowed hard before asking, "I want power, but what is your condition?"

Mo Jiuyou felt a tinge of confusion. An ordinary child, upon hearing such words, would wag their tail even faster than a pug and eagerly declare they wanted it instantly.

Yet this scrawny child before him clearly understood the truth that there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

Seizing the moment, he continued, "It is very simple. Allow me to enter your body, and I will grant you the power to exact your revenge and kill those you wish to slay."

If the current strength of his remnant soul hadn't been so miserably weak, why would he ever wait for this child's consent? He would have simply seized the body by force long ago.

With his present strength, attempting a forcible possession might not only fail, but could even result in him being destroyed by a backlash instead.

A flash of greed crossed the scrawny child's eyes, but then, as if recalling something, a cold sneer replaced it.

After a long moment, the child spoke in a mocking tone:

"Don't take me for a fool. You want to possess my body, don't you? I've heard the storytellers in the village talk about this."

Mo Jiuyou was momentarily stunned. It was one thing for adults to know about soul possession, but how could a seven or eight-year-old child possibly know of it?

Realizing his plan was exposed, Mo Jiuyou prepared to forcefully seize the body right then and there, only to hear the child continue:

"I am willing to let you use this body of mine, but you must agree to one condition."

Mo Jiuyou raised an eyebrow. Seeing how things stood, he decided to cut straight to the point:

"Kid, you should know that once I possess you, your body becomes mine, and you yourself will die."

"Of course I know. But what meaning is there in continuing to live a life where I can't even get enough to eat or stay warm?"

"Might as well give you my body so I can go be reincarnated. In my next life, I'll be the young master of a wealthy household—or at the very least, a full belly would be fine too."

Hearing this, a smile curved the corners of Mo Jiuyou's lips. "Not bad, you've got some backbone. If I had met you earlier, I might have been willing to take you