Chapter 1442: Severing His Own Flesh

Even if this wasn't the physical body of the Heavenly Dao, what kind of existence was it?

The Demon Sovereign had concluded that this was merely an ordinary physical body.

But upon careful reflection, was this physical body truly ordinary?

As he pondered, Chen Changsheng suddenly remembered something.

"The Demon Sovereign's demonic body is still in the Underworld, isn't it?"

Manyue turned to him. "It is."

"Take me there."

Manyue led him to the Gate of Reincarnation.

The demonic body sat quietly on a chair right before their eyes.

Surging demonic energy rolled off of it, just as it had when he first saw it.

Chen Changsheng couldn't help but feel a stir of curiosity.

"If two thousand years make one cycle of Reincarnation, then what is the final destination for this physical body..."

Chen Changsheng mused. Yet this demonic body was undeniably right in front of him.

"One lifetime, one physical body?"

He considered the idea, but it felt somewhat strange.

That shouldn't be the case!

If it was one lifetime per physical body, then what was going on with the Magical Power in his hair back then?

That meant, under normal circumstances, this physical body would be used continuously. Only the memories, Dao Cultivation, and lingering traces would be continually wiped clean.

"That means the physical body can be remade."

Chen Changsheng couldn't help but recall the time of his 'death', when his body had ultimately turned to grains of sand and dissipated into the world.

Back in Qiuyue Fang, a malevolent ghost had obtained a single grain of that sand and subsequently become a disaster.

The grains of sand his physical body ultimately turned into were capable of being preserved.

At this thought, Chen Changsheng fell into deep contemplation once more.

The critical clue lay in where this sand ultimately went—or rather, in what state it continued to exist.

Chen Changsheng raised his hand, suddenly lifted his Sword, and slashed at his own body.

This scene left Manyue stunned for a moment.

The long Sword sheared through his arm. Blood spilled freely as the severed limb fell to the ground.

The bloody sight caught Manyue off guard.

"What are you doing?"

Chen Changsheng bent down and looked at the severed arm.

Under his gaze, the severed arm gradually dissolved into grains of sand and faded away.

Chen Changsheng raised his hand and cast one of his Arts and Techniques, gathering all of the sand together.

It rested right in his palm.

He paused, as if realizing something.

He brought the sand close to his stump. The grains slowly gathered over, reforming into a new section of the arm. In the blink of an eye, it was restored to its original state.

This transformation gave Chen Changsheng a few clues.

"Perhaps I can follow this sand."

Seeing that Chen Changsheng did not answer, Manyue couldn't help but frown.

Chen Changsheng turned to leave, leaving behind only a single phrase: "We'll talk later."

Manyue sighed helplessly. She opened a door for him, allowing him to leave the Underworld.

After returning to the Mortal World, Chen Changsheng resumed his experiment.

He severed his arm again, letting it turn to sand once more.

"Whoosh..."

A gust of wind blew past, seemingly trying to carry the grains of sand away.

Chen Changsheng chased closely after them. However, as the windblown sand fell to the ground, it suddenly vanished.

He paused, then chased after the final few grains.

"Go!"

One of his Divine Abilities descended, planting a brand upon the sand.

Only then did Chen Changsheng discover where these grains of sand ultimately went.

The sand sank into the earth. Much like a ginseng fruit touching the soil, they ultimately returned to nature.

It was like a cycle of Reincarnation—from nothing to something, and from something back to nothing.

Chen Changsheng looked at his stump and muttered, "Then what should I do next? Doesn't this mean my severed arm won't grow back?"

He tried using his Arts and Techniques to make the arm grow back, but there was absolutely no reaction.

This physical body was special.

"The next time I wake up, it will be a complete physical body again."

Chen Changsheng understood the logic behind it.

He was nothing more than a clay figurine molded by the Heavenly Dao!

If a piece was missing or lacking, simply molding a new section would fix it.

It just inevitably had to be returned to the furnace to be remade.

As long as the entire clay figurine wasn't completely lost, whatever could be patched would be patched. If it couldn't be patched, a new one would be molded.

"Sigh..."

Chen Changsheng sighed, feeling that he had wasted his effort.

He sat down and pondered for a long time, but he just couldn't figure out where the Heavenly Dao's physical body had run off to.

Amid his thoughts, however, another idea sparked in his mind.

"What if there were two physical bodies?"

At this thought, Chen Changsheng abruptly stood up.

The Heavenly Dao could mold a physical body. Then couldn't he, Chen Changsheng, use this sand to mold a new physical body for himself?

He just needed to piece a little bit together every time. It wouldn't take long before he had a brand new physical body!

Upon returning to Reincarnation.

Chen Changsheng spoke of this matter with the Demon Sovereign.

The Demon Sovereign was stunned for a long time after hearing this.

He likely felt that Chen Changsheng's idea was like a heavenly horse soaring through the skies, or perhaps it truly exceeded his bounds of comprehension.

Perhaps his mindset as a cultivator restricted him, which was why the Demon Sovereign had never thought in this direction.

"You want to secretly hide a physical body."

The Demon Sovereign said in a daze, "Piece a bit together each time, then hide this physical body somewhere. When you wake up next, you'll hide inside that old physical body. This way, the Heavenly Dao won't know where you've gone, right?"

"Yes!"

The Demon Sovereign suddenly felt this method was viable.

The two of them then began to discuss it.

Regardless, giving it a try wouldn't hurt.

However, amid his thoughts, the Demon Sovereign frowned and shook his head. "But I feel that such a method might not necessarily escape the Mayfly Curse."

"Why?" Chen Changsheng asked.

The Demon Sovereign said, "The Mayfly Curse is of the Pre-Heaven realm. I feel that it might not have much relation to the physical body."

Chen Changsheng lowered his head. "What you say is true."

"Yes, and in that case, remaking a physical body would lose its meaning."

Chen Changsheng shook his head upon hearing this. "That might not be the case. At the very least, it can confuse the Heavenly Dao for a bit. I feel that perhaps it is precisely because my every move is under the gaze of the Heavenly Dao that we have never been able to locate the physical body's existence."

The Demon Sovereign felt this made some sense. After thinking it over, he prepared to start collecting that sand the next time Chen Changsheng woke up.

To mold a clay figurine!

And when he woke up the next time, Chen Changsheng indeed discovered that his arm had grown back.

Thus, right as he was about to die, he went to Nanyuan.

He severed his own limbs and used his Divine Abilities and Arts and Techniques to seal them away.

When he returned to Reincarnation, the Demon Sovereign teased him. "How did it feel?"

"A bit painful..."

Chen Changsheng let out a breath.

Severing his own limbs—such a sensation was truly exceptionally novel.

The Demon Sovereign laughed, then said, "I'll handle the rest later—the head, the torso—lest you can't bring yourself to do it."

Chen Changsheng replied, "That's true. After all, it's not your physical body, so you won't feel a thing."

The Demon Sovereign nodded, bursting into loud laughter.