Chapter 334: 51: Life and Death Are Not in Human Hands

“I have a friend,”

“His father is Real Person Ming Yan from the Nether Ghost Path, and his mother is Real Person Yu Hua from the same sect.”

“When his mother was about to give birth, she was ambushed by enemy cultivators.”@@novelbin@@

“In any case, his father couldn’t save his mother, and of the twins in her womb, the brother’s body was half-destroyed, hanging on by a thread; the sister, on the other hand, had her soul damaged by foul qi entering her brain.”

“So, his father took out the brother’s intact soul and transplanted it into the sister’s undamaged body…”

Wen Yang spoke with a somber expression, his voice gradually lowering.

Jiang Liyan also felt quite somber upon hearing this, thinking to herself that if this happened to me, I would just kill myself.

Wei Dongliu, who was beside them, suddenly raised an eyebrow and said,

“Since we’re all not strangers here, I might as well ask clearly: Is this ‘friend’ of yours really just you?”

Wen Yang’s face stiffened in an instant, and he almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

Jiang Liyan’s face twitched as well, only hearing Wen Yang gesture with his hands and awkwardly say,

“That’s not important, not important…”

“In any case, my friend… since he was a child, he has had the body of a girl, and everyone around him also saw him as a girl.”

“But his father belonged to the Nether Ghost faction. He told him the truth about his origins at an early age and posed a question to him that he couldn’t refute.”

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“If you were originally male, but due to your body being destroyed, you took possession of a female’s, does that make you female?”

Wei Dongliu: ……

Jiang Liyan: ……

“His father also said, what if the body you possessed was not a human female, but an animal? Would that make you an animal?” Wen Yang said in a low voice, “Father finally concluded that what determines who a person really is, is not their body, but their soul.”

Jiang Liyan looked puzzled, clearly not convinced by this statement.

However, the preceding “Soul Possession of a Beast Theory” was too impactful, and if she couldn’t refute it, there would be no way to convince Wen Yang regardless of how hard she tried in any other direction.

“On this matter, I have heard of a theory,” Wei Dongliu said expressionlessly, “It states that gender is determined by postnatal factors, not innate ones.”

“Even if you are innately male, if one day you suddenly awaken to the realization that you are female, then from that moment on you are female.”

Wen Yang, silently listening, pondered for a moment before revealing a troubled smile,

“What kind of nonsensical theory is that? If lechers falsely claim they believe themselves to be female, could they then freely enter and exit young ladies’ boudoirs?”

“Indeed, I also think it’s nonsensical,” said Wei Dongliu earnestly, “but it does reveal something, and that is, there indeed exists a notion of postnatal gender identity.”

“Your father’s theory is based on the premise that you have already formed a corresponding gender identity. After that, no matter which body you transmigrate into, you would choose to adhere to your identity.”

“But if the body swap happened in the mother’s womb before the soul had formed any gender identity, then I think even if you consider yourself female, it isn’t much of an issue.”

Wen Yang listened with a strained smile, awkwardly saying,

“It’s not me, it’s a friend of mine… but thank you, nonetheless.”

Wei Dongliu nodded, about to leave, but heard Wen Yang speak again:

“Fellow Daoist Jiang, my friend’s story has ended, now it’s your turn.”

This time, he didn’t choose to use some kind of deep, magnetic male voice; instead, he switched to a more androgynous one, cold and indistinguishable as male or female.

Jiang Liyan: ???

She revealed an embarrassed expression that seemed to say, “I can’t believe the gossip has landed on me,” and tried to change the subject:

“I don’t have any stories…”

“Fellow Daoist Jiang,” Wen Yang said with a chilly tone, “since Fellow Daoist Wei has been so generous to bring us to explore these ruins, we should naturally treat Fellow Daoist Wei with sincerity, don’t you think?”

Jiang Liyan felt like spitting blood; so it’s not enough for you to reveal your own secrets, you have to drag me into this as well!

However, what Wen Yang said did make some sense, she had already disclosed such a private matter, if I were still to hide and hoard my secrets, wouldn’t Fellow Wei Dong Liu start to harbor doubts towards me after comparison?

“Cough.” Jiang the Witch coughed and said, “Since that’s the case, I might as well share a little secret with everyone.”

“Actually, I was born in the year of the Nether, in the month of the Nether, on the day of the Nether, at the hour of the Nether, at the moment of the Nether,” she said mysteriously.

Then, the other two showed an expression of “That’s it?”

“Do you not understand what ‘one with an Innate Nether Body’ means?” Jiang Liyan said coldly, “If my body were to be used as a sacrifice to summon a Heavenly Demon, it would allow the responded Heavenly Demon’s rank to rise by an entire level!”

“Fellow Daoist Jiang turns out to be a high-grade Heavenly Demon Sacrifice,” Wen Yang immediately covered his mouth and laughed, “How dare you tell us such hidden matters so casually?”

“Us”? Jiang the Witch became furious, are you worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as Demon Lord Wei?

Wei Dongliu quickly caught on and sneered:

“Your master must have had ulterior motives in accepting you as a disciple.”

“Indeed,” Jiang Liyan said coldly, “but it’s also my amulet.”

“Such a fine sacrifice should naturally be used to summon the best Heavenly Demon,” Wen Yang mused aloud, “which means, before your master decides to make a move, he would actually protect you from being killed by other disciples.”

“Not necessarily so,” Jiang Liyan paused before speaking, “my master, in fact, might not have made up his mind yet.”

“If you truly show the talent of an exceptional cultivator, then raising a nearly perfect, controllable disciple would be more tempting than summoning a high-rank Heavenly Demon,” Wei Dongliu pointed out the key point bluntly.

“Exactly,” Jiang Liyan said distantly, “and as someone with an Innate Nether Body, I also receive certain boosts when cultivating the Heavenly Demon Dao Techniques.”

“So my master must still be weighing whether to keep me as a direct disciple or to turn me into a sacrifice for a high-rank Heavenly Demon.”

“I have roughly figured out the critical point between the two,” she stated with utmost seriousness and a chilly voice, “firstly, I must become the most excellent among all disciples.”

“Secondly, I must form a High-Grade Golden Core. This way, I can practically ensure that I will smoothly transition to the stage of bearing the immortal fetus and become a Nascent Soul Cultivator.”

“Only then will the future value of training me outweigh that of a high-rank Heavenly Demon.”

Although she mentioned only two points, Wei Dongliu keenly sensed that there was actually a crucial third point:

To gain her master’s absolute trust.

Otherwise, the more capable and robust her Daoist Foundation, the more her master would feel threatened, which might lead him to act against her prematurely.

Thinking this, Wei Dongliu also inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

The choice to set up his own sect in the Demonic Path was indeed the right one.

Had he chosen to serve under some old monster, he would have to constantly be on edge, taking each step carefully, planning ahead two steps and looking forward to three, with his life always at the mercy of others—what a suffocating and miserable existence that would be!