A person who had lived for two thousand years, and unlike him, did not need to change bodies at all times!
This meant that Ying Chen's current body must have some unique characteristic that allowed it to resist the ravages of time!
Ashiya Douman speculated that Ying Chen's body had likely reached the level of a "Land Immortal" in China or a "Martial Immortal" in Japan!
Only then could it withstand the erosion of two thousand years and allow Ying Chen to remain in his youthful form throughout his existence!
Ashiya Douman looked at Ying Chen, his admiration growing with every glance.
If he were not a disembodied soul at this moment, he would have involuntarily drooled!
It was simply too tempting!
What use were high-grade magical artifacts, or beautiful cultivators? None of them were as alluring as Ying Chen's body!
This was the true treasure!
"I don't like your gaze."
Ying Chen, sensing something amiss with Ashiya Douman's eyes, frowned and said.
Then, Ying Chen flicked his finger.
With two explosive sounds, the statue's eyes burst open!
The statue, which had originally been glaring with its eyes open, was now left with two dark holes on its face!
"You!" Ashiya Douman was furious.
This statue was a golden body that he had refined with a large amount of Yin Infant bone powder!
Although it could not be used like a cauldron to roam the mortal world, its effect was very similar to that of a cauldron!
It could accommodate his soul and allow him a temporary dwelling!
Most importantly, this golden body could also receive the incense offerings of believers, gradually imbuing it with a trace of spirituality.
Once that happened, Ashiya Douman could refine the golden body into a magical artifact akin to an "external avatar," controllable at his will, to fight on his behalf.
Now, with a mere flick of Ying Chen's finger, the statue was disfigured.
How would Ashiya Douman be able to "show his face" in battles from now on?
"Never mind, I cannot be angry with you."
"After all, this body will soon be mine. If I get angry with you, what's the difference between that and getting angry with myself?"
"Oh, right, I haven't asked for your esteemed name yet. I'll be using your identity to travel the martial world in the future. What if your friends or lovers ask, and I slip up?"
Ashiya Douman's soul emerged from the statue, a smug smile on his face as he looked at Ying Chen.
It was as if he had already won, and was already planning for his future life.
Ying Chen's only response to Ashiya Douman was a sword.
He formed a sword with his fingers.
The sword energy, merely simulated by his fingers, seemed more terrifying than true sword energy.
In an instant, it carved a dazzling gap in the darkness, reaching Ashiya Douman.
Ashiya Douman sneered, "Mere sword energy, you think you can..."
But before he could finish his sentence, a *crack* sound was heard.
The golden body, which Ashiya Douman had painstakingly refined, was actually split in two by the sword energy!
It toppled to either side of the altar!
If Ashiya Douman had not dodged quickly enough and detached himself from the golden body in time, he suspected he would have been cleaved in two as well!
"Damn it!" Ashiya Douman roared in fear and anger.
He felt his heart bleed as he looked at the shattered golden body!
However, when his gaze returned to Ying Chen, he calmed down instantly.
It was fine, it was just a golden body!
How could it compare to Ying Chen?
Ying Chen's two-thousand-year-old body was the true golden body!
*Clang!*
Suddenly, a gust of yin wind surged into the shrine, closing the shrine's doors.
The incense fire that had been burning brightly on the altar instantly extinguished.
The entire shrine was plunged into boundless darkness, so thick that one could not see their hand in front of their face.
All that could be heard were the wails and howls of ghosts coming from all around.
It was as if countless monsters were kept within the shrine, and they had all awakened!
Ashiya Douman no longer concealed himself, fully revealing himself to Ying Chen.
He floated in mid-air, like a king of hell commanding myriad ghosts.
He stared at Ying Chen, his eyes flashing with a ferocious and triumphant glint. "Do you know why I've been chatting with you?"
"Do you know why I've been diverting your attention and stalling for time?"
"Because... I needed time to complete a ritual! A ritual that could erase your soul without harming your body!"
"And now, this ritual is finally complete! You can say goodbye to this world!"
As Ashiya Douman spoke, the wailing and howling of ghosts in the void grew louder and louder.
The sorrowful cries seemed to indicate that something momentous was about to happen, causing all the ghosts to tremble in fear and wail uncontrollably!
The darkness also intensified, subtly becoming substantial, flowing around Ying Chen like a pool of viscous mercury.
Suddenly, a ripple appeared in the darkness.
Initially, the ripple was only the size of a bowl. As the patterns undulated, it grew larger and larger...
Until it covered the entire shrine, encompassing Ying Chen within it!
Ying Chen felt his surroundings change as if he had entered another space. Above him, numerous blood-red moons appeared one after another!
These moons were densely packed in the sky, and by a rough count, there were thousands of them!
A spectacular sight!
Like a thousand enormous scarlet eyes, staring intently at Ying Chen on the ground!
The light of the blood moons cascaded down from the sky, illuminating the mercury-like viscous darkness.
The two instantly underwent a strange transformation.
Chimei wangliang (demons and monsters) of various forms, like hatched young snakes, reared their heads, hissed, bared their fangs, tore through the darkness, and emerged from it.
In the blink of an eye, Ying Chen was surrounded by ten thousand ghosts!
Each chimei wangliang greedily and ferociously stared at Ying Chen, as if intending to enjoy their first meal after hatching!
"Hahahaha... this is the Yin-Yang Grand Array that I created with all my life's learning back then."
"It's called the Thousand Moon Senluo!"
"You can slowly enjoy your final moments! Remember not to damage my body! Otherwise, I will be angry."
Ashiya Douman's voice echoed from the depths of the darkness.
As Ashiya Douman's voice faded, the chimei wangliang in the air seemed to receive an order and lunged forward, scrambling to attack Ying Chen!
And the thousand blood moons in the sky descended with countless moonbeams, providing energy to the chimei wangliang.
This caused the bodies of each chimei wangliang to swell and grow, then *crack* and split, becoming two chimei wangliang!
The same scene repeated itself endlessly.
In the blink of an eye, the chimei wangliang within the shrine became as numerous as a swarm of bees, obscuring the sky.
They surged forward like a tide, instantly engulfing Ying Chen!
"Eat, eat to your heart's content!"
"Devour his soul completely, so that I can have an absolutely pure body!"
Ashiya Douman declared triumphantly.
Like Yama, king of hell, he directly issued a death sentence to Ying Chen!