Chapter 1 The Body is Breathing

The corpse was breathing, as if having lingered on the edge of death’s realm before returning to the world of the living.

The black-robed cultists in the room stared blankly at this scene. Some of them hadn’t even realized that the man before them had actually “died” just now, because the moment of life and death was so brief that it was almost imperceptible unless one paid close attention. They only felt that the dying "brother's" aura had suddenly become steady and strong for some reason, which was extremely surprising.

The next second, the man lying on the ground opened his eyes.

He seemed to have been in the darkness for too long, so much so that even the dim oil lamp in the room felt dazzling. He blinked, adjusting to the light, and then his eyeballs slowly moved, as if he had only just noticed the three black-robed figures gathered around him.

"Thank the Lord for his protection!" A younger black-robed cultist finally reacted and couldn't help but praise excitedly, "You made it! I thought you would…"

"Wait! No! Back off!" The cultist with the deep voice suddenly seemed to realize something. He stopped the others and stared warily at the newly awakened man, retreating as he said in a threatening tone, "His breathing completely stopped just now, I'm absolutely sure I didn't see wrong… something's not right!"

Duncan finally adjusted to his surroundings, and the tinnitus-like noise gradually faded from his mind. He saw the figures around him and his first reaction was – why are these people still here after I opened my eyes? Why am I still in the sewers?

Spiritual Realm Walking was supposed to be random. He chose his targets completely based on intuition, yet he didn't expect to end up among these cultists both times he opened his eyes. What kind of karmic debt was this?

But then, he noticed something was off from the reactions of those around him. The next second, he noticed the black robe on his body.

Duncan was silent for two seconds, and then realization dawned on him.

Last time, he was a sacrificial offering to the cultists. Now, after closing and opening his eyes, he was a "cultist."

He really had a connection with these people.

"…something's not right!"

Just then, a hostile, deep voice suddenly interrupted Duncan's confused state after "awakening." He followed the voice and immediately met a cold gaze full of vigilance.

The owner of that gaze was staring at him coldly, and beside him, the other two black-robed cultists also belatedly reacted, retreating and adopting defensive postures.

Duncan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized – he might have possessed a corpse again, just like last time.

He had risen from the dead in front of these cultists!

After understanding the situation, the nervous reactions of these cultists became understandable. Duncan's mind raced. He felt that the numbness and sluggishness remaining in this body hadn't completely dissipated, making movement particularly difficult. It wouldn't be easy to cause trouble under the watchful eyes of several cultists. He could only try to stabilize them first – and just as he was quickly searching for a way out, bits and pieces of fragmented, blurry memories suddenly floated into his mind!

In that fragmented, blurry memory, he suddenly "recalled" many experiences that didn't belong to him – he remembered "himself" hiding in the sewers, remembered "himself" offering his family's wealth to the emissaries of the sun, remembered "himself" participating in dark, insane, bloody, and sinful rituals to heal his illness, drinking the blood of the innocent in exchange for the "Sun's blessing"...

At the end of a series of chaotic memories, he again "saw" the scene of the sacrificial ritual, saw many people wearing black robes like himself standing beside a high platform, while a young sacrificial offering was pushed onto the platform, that young sacrificial offering wearing a stiff and strange expression, plunging the entire ritual into chaos…

He saw the "Sun's emissary" sacrificed his heart, everyone around the altar going mad, cultists killing each other, raging flames flowing from the sun totem, angry roars and empty murmurs filling the assembly ground, while the original owner of his body and the last few remaining cultists fled in panic…

Duncan didn't know how long he had been in a daze, perhaps it was only a moment. The surging, unfamiliar memories in his mind calmed down again. A pathetic and hateful life became a series of pale fragments, as if laid out for someone to read – like some kind of "nourishment."

This was the memory of the original owner of his body – although not much remained, the source was without a doubt.

Duncan blinked. This was a change that hadn't occurred during the last "Spiritual Realm Walking."

Last time, he didn't get any memories from the possessed corpse. The "sacrificial offering's" brain was just a blank… Why was there this change this time?

Was it because the body he occupied this time was still "fresh?" Or was it because the pigeon, Aiai, strengthened the power of the Brass Compass?

Duncan slowly sat up from the ground. He knew that no matter what the reason behind this change was, now was not the time to be in a daze. The tense cultists had obviously realized that something was wrong with his "resurrection."

As Duncan got up, the three cultists immediately took half a step back. Then, the deep-voiced black-robed man, who seemed to be the leader of the three, broke the silence with a hand on his waist: "Don't move – tell me, what's your name?"

"…Ron," Duncan recalled slightly, and quite naturally spoke the name he had just learned from his memory, "Ron Straine."

"His name is Ron." A younger black-robed cultist immediately lowered his voice and said to the deep-voiced black-robed man who was vaguely the leader of the three.

However, the black-robed man didn't relax his vigilance at all. He just stared at Duncan intently, then suddenly recited in strange syllables and tones, "In the name of the Sun, may the Lord's light shine upon us, in the name of the Sun, may the Lord's blessings descend!"

Listening to the cultist's sudden outburst, Duncan was stunned for a moment, then felt a burning sensation in his chest. He subconsciously reached out and pulled out the thing that was heating up under his clothes, only to see that it was a golden sun amulet – a strange heat was coming from the surface of the amulet!

The next second, the amulet suddenly burst into flames, the flames seeming to contain malice, rushing straight towards Duncan's heart!

"The Lord's glory is backfiring on him!" Seeing this scene, the cultist who had just recited the prayer instantly reacted. He pulled out a short sword from his waist and shouted, "His soul has been replaced! Kill this heretical filth!"

The other two cultists were noticeably slower to react, but then they quickly caught on. These people, who just a moment ago thought Duncan was a "brother," unhesitatingly drew their short swords and daggers, rushing over with murderous intent, shouting loudly, "Kill him!!"

Duncan held the already burning sun amulet, watching the three figures rushing towards him. The next second, another shadow suddenly appeared in his line of sight!

A ghost-like undead bird burning with eerie green flames tore through the air, sweeping across the roof with a stream of cold fire. It let out a strange, sharp screech, scattering invisible ashes and feather fragments as its wings flapped.

The three cultists were naturally drawn to this "undead bird." They subconsciously looked at Aiai, who had transformed into a spiritual form.

In the next moment, all of their movements slowed down, as if the connection with the real world had suddenly become distant and sluggish. The figures of the three black-robed men seemed to leave overlapping afterimages in mid-air like a frame-by-frame animation. They landed slowly and ridiculously, eventually freezing completely less than two meters away from Duncan.

Their eyes were filled with great horror, watching the undead bird circle the ceiling and land on the opposite black-robed "brother." They saw the sun amulet in the man's hand still burning brightly, but the next second, the burning flames turned into a faint green, becoming the same form as the flames on the "undead bird."

Duncan squeezed the sun amulet in his hand, strands of green spiritual fire wrapping around the surface of the amulet. The flame flowing from the amulet circled halfway in front of him, then settled down obediently like a pet, swirling slowly around his arm in a flattering manner.

He held the completely occupied and transformed sun amulet, slowly came to the three cultists, looked into their horrified eyes, and couldn't help but say with regret, "It would have been better if you had pretended not to know anything."

The next second, the figures of the three cultists suddenly flickered violently in mid-air a few times, then disappeared.

The bone-like "undead bird," wrapped in green fire, hopped on Duncan's shoulder, and amidst the crackling sound of burning flames, it let out a sharp, hoarse cry: "Oops, the page is gone, try refreshing it?"