Chapter 432: No Dignity at All
'Ye Lao, what's going on?' Seeing the tense atmosphere, Huo Yuhao cautiously asked in his mind, 'Why do you two, despite being the same person, seem to have completely different thoughts?'
From his perspective, if both were fragments of Ye Lao's soul, even if they weren't completely in sync, they shouldn't be this hostile toward each other, right? They were literally the same person why draw such clear lines?
With a sigh, Ye Lao explained helplessly, 'Yuhao, the real "Ye Cheng" was already dead when he perished alongside that Abyssal Overlord. His divine soul was shattered into countless fragments. In a strict sense, we fragments are merely personas formed from the vast memories left behind by "Ye Cheng." We are not truly him.'
'And each fragment inherits different memories and abilities sometimes overlapping, sometimes distinct. Since we are merely shards, we lack the complete powers of a Creator God, and even our memories are incomplete. Some of the memories he possesses, I do not. Likewise, some of my memories are unknown to him.
'Because of this disparity in memories and knowledge, it is inevitable that different personas will form.
'Perhaps only when all fragments reunite will the true Creator God be reborn.'
After hearing this explanation, Huo Yuhao finally understood. At the same time, a deep sense of anxiety settled in his chest.
Because right now, the other side had the upper hand.
Normally, all fragments should be of equal strength. However, the other Ye Lao possessed a fragment of the Feihong Sword an undeniable advantage.
'Ye Lao, what do we do now?' Huo Yuhao asked nervously. 'And what does his fragment want?'
'He wants to devour me.' Ye Lao replied calmly.
'Devour you?!' Huo Yuhao was shocked, never expecting such an answer.
'As fragments of Ye Cheng's divine soul, we can naturally fuse together. However, once that happens, the dominant fragment will absorb the other, while the weaker one ceases to exist.'
'And since we can sense each other's presence, he must have detected my approach long ago.' Ye Lao sighed. 'That's probably why this scorpion came forward without hesitation because he was guiding her.'
'So that's how it is!'
Huo Yuhao felt bitter. He had thought this trip to the Extreme North was a sure victory, a mission with guaranteed rewards. Even if unexpected challenges arose, he could rely on Ye Lao as a trump card. But now…
The other Ye Lao had a Feihong Sword fragment.
That alone tilted the scales entirely in their opponent's favor.
How the hell were they supposed to play this game now?
Silence fell over the scene.
Neither side spoke, merely staring each other down.
Finally, Ye Lao broke the silence.
"Let us go. How about that?"
"Sure."
Huo Yuhao and Tianmeng Iceworm barely had time to celebrate before the other fragment continued speaking:
"But you'll have to pay a price."
"What do you want?" Ye Lao asked bluntly.
"Your portion of the memories."
The black haired, white clad Ye Lao spoke calmly, as if discussing a casual business deal.
"Deal."
Ye Lao agreed without hesitation.
Huo Yuhao and Tianmeng Iceworm could only tremble and watch as the two supreme beings concluded their transaction.
A beam of white light emerged from Huo Yuhao's forehead and drifted into the younger looking Ye Lao's hands. The moment he received it, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
Without another word, he transformed into light and reentered Ice Empress's body, as if they no longer existed in Huo Yuhao's world.
The Ice Empress cast them one last deep gaze whether as a warning or something else, they couldn't tell.
Then, she too vanished into the distance, turning into a streak of emerald light.
Once she was far away, both Huo Yuhao and Tianmeng Iceworm collapsed onto the ground, legs weak from the sheer tension.
They gasped for breath, feeling an overwhelming sense of survival.
It was only after regaining their composure that Huo Yuhao turned to question Ye Lao.
"Ye Lao, what exactly did you trade with him? And… he really just let us go like that?"
Clearly, his opponent had a decisive advantage. Not only was he another Ye Lao, but he also had the Feihong Sword's power.
Yet he didn't kill them.
That didn't match what Ye Lao had told him earlier that fragments could devour one another to become stronger.
"Like I said before," Ye Lao explained, "while we are both fragments of Ye Cheng, the memories we inherited are vastly different. He happened to need the memories that I retained."
"Wait… So all he needed was memory?" Huo Yuhao asked, scratching his head. "But wouldn't killing us have given him the same thing?"
"You think he didn't want to?"
Even though Huo Yuhao couldn't see him, he could sense Ye Lao rolling his eyes.
Ye Lao snorted. "Even though he possesses a Feihong Sword fragment and can access some of its power, do you think I'm completely powerless? If he pushed me too far, I would've dragged him down with me."
"Don't forget we both come from the same soul. That means I still have some degree of control over the Feihong Sword. Even though the fragment is in his hands, I can still interfere with it."
"And since he knew that fighting us would come at an immense cost, possibly leaving him empty handed in the end, he chose to negotiate instead."
"So that's how it is…" Huo Yuhao finally understood.
But even though they had escaped disaster, his heart still felt uneasy.
Another question arose in his mind.
If the other Ye Lao had his own motives, then why was he helping the Ice Empress?
Was he being forced?
That didn't seem likely.
Someone at that level of power wouldn't be forced into anything.
Huo Yuhao voiced his thoughts.
Ye Lao then gave him an answer.
To Ye Cheng, the original Creator God, there was no difference between humans and soul beasts.
In his era, during the Abyssal Invasion, he had no choice but to unite all possible forces against the enemy. Over the centuries, the lines between humans and soul beasts had blurred.
Moreover, at his level of existence, race was irrelevant.
He didn't look down on soul beasts just because they weren't human.
And he didn't favor humans simply because they were the dominant race.
To him, all living beings were equal.
Since he and the Ice Empress had formed a connection, it was only natural that he would help her.
That was the kind of mentality a god should have.
Unlike those so called "gods" of the Divine Realm who, just because one Dragon God had rebelled, decided to banish all soul beasts from divinity, leaving them to rot in despair.
Not giving them a single chance.
"Such a pathetic way of thinking."
"Not even a shred of the dignity of a true god."
"Absolutely disgraceful."
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