Chapter 479: The Inheritance of the Shadow Path

The shadow knew what Su Che wanted to know and took the initiative to say, “Swallowing and merging with that shadow is extremely beneficial for my future. In fact, it gives me the potential to reach the pinnacle of power. But for now, it’s impossible to achieve greatness overnight.”
Su Che nodded and said, “Even so, significant changes can already be seen. At the very least, you’re no longer just in a shadow state—you can take on my appearance and pass as me without any problem.”
“Yes, from now on, I can live like a human. That’s what I’ve always hoped for,” the shadow replied cheerfully.
After that, Su Che asked more questions about the power of the shadow soul. The answers were almost identical to his earlier guesses. The main purpose of the Sacred Ancestor Statue was to collect the soul energy of the deceased Shadow Clan members as their souls faded away.
When the statue’s capacity reached its limit, that soul energy would be transmitted to the Immortal Realm and offered to the Sacred Ancestor and the Shadow God, on a cycle of about once every thousand years.
Su Che murmured in awe, “A thousand years’ worth of soul energy—what scale must that be? Calling it an ocean of energy wouldn’t be an exaggeration. But for the Sacred Ancestor and the Shadow God, it’s just a feast; for me, even two months’ worth of soul energy would take at least ten years to absorb and transform. The difference is simply unimaginable.”
“The gap between mortals and true immortals must be enormous, without a doubt,” the shadow said. “But you won’t need ten years to absorb two months’ worth of soul energy. With me here, I’ll ensure you see results in a short time.”
“Really?” Su Che said joyfully. “What do I need to do?”
The shadow replied, “It’s simple. As long as I return to my original form and become your shadow again, I can assist you in absorbing soul energy, speeding up the process by over a hundred times.”
“A hundredfold speed increase? Does that mean I can absorb all that soul energy in just one month? And to what extent will my core spirit’s strength increase?” Su Che was overjoyed and eager to try right away.
Yet impulse was just impulse. Out of reason, Su Che knew he had to leave Shadow Star as soon as possible. Without that guardian shadow, the Sacred Ancestor and the Shadow God in the Immortal Realm would surely notice and likely take action soon. If he stayed out of greed, he would face their wrath.
But before leaving, there was one more thing he needed to obtain.
“I need the ‘Path of Shadows.’ Can you do that?” Su Che asked.

“I won’t.” Shadow shook his head and replied, “The Way of Shadows was created by the Holy Ancestor and is a mundane cultivation method left for ordinary Shadow Clan members. The Shadow God surely would disdain to practice it. That’s why there was no such information in the memories of that ‘Guardian Shadow’ just now.”
“Then obtain the Way of Shadows from the Holy Shadow Sect Leader,” Su Che immediately gave orders. “This task is assigned to you.”
“No problem,” Shadow agreed readily.
Su Che thought it shouldn’t be difficult for him to complete this task; he just needed to…
Next, Su Che remained hidden in the Mi Xian Realm, without needing to show himself, while Shadow transformed into the form of the Shadow God and slowly opened the gates of the immortal palace with a rumbling sound.
“The gates are opening!”
The thousand core followers of the Holy Shadow Sect who had been waiting outside rushed to the palace gates but dared not use their divine senses to penetrate inside, as it would be an extremely disrespectful and impolite act.
“Ying Chengzong, enter the palace!”
A majestic voice came from inside the palace—it was unmistakably the voice of the Holy Ancestor.
Ying Chengzong, the leader of the Holy Shadow Sect, responded promptly and hurriedly entered the palace. There, he saw a dark figure standing on the altar; no one else was inside.
Ying Chengzong thought to himself, “No matter what happened, this person must be the Shadow God.”
He came to this conclusion because he couldn’t possibly imagine the true Shadow God being defeated inside the Holy Ancestor’s immortal palace—it was utterly impossible.
“Ying Chengzong, a descendant of the Shadow Clan, pays his respects to the Shadow God,” Ying Chengzong said, kneeling on the ground and bowing deeply. It was unclear whether this bow was sincere and full of devotion.
“Ying Chengzong, how can you be sure that I am the Shadow God?” Shadow asked, maintaining that majestic tone on purpose.
“You descended directly to the immortal palace through the statue of the Holy Ancestor; you must undoubtedly be the Shadow God,” Ying Chengzong replied respectfully, still kneeling.
“Hmm,” Shadow responded briefly before adding, “This is just one of my avatars. My true body remains in the Immortal Realm, always by the Holy Ancestor’s side.”
“Understood, Chengzong,” Ying Chengzong said, bowing three more times before continuing, “In the eyes of our descendants, even one of your avatars representing the return of the Shadow God to the Star of Shadows is a cause for immense celebration among all people…”
Ying Chengzong spoke a lot of flattery, now completely convinced that the dark figure before him was indeed the Shadow God.

The more the Shadow explained, the more believable it seemed. The true form of the Shadow God resided in the celestial realm and could not casually descend to the mortal world; it made more sense for him to send down a clone.
“The reason for sending down a clone is that that shadow from the outside world is, in a way, of my kind. Such beings are extremely rare throughout the entire universe,” the Shadow continued. “Before now, I wasn’t even sure if I’d encounter one in my lifetime. This is the first time in hundreds of millions of years.”
“Lord Shadow God, encountering one of your kind must be very important to you, right?” Ying Chengzong asked cautiously.
“Indeed!”
The Shadow raised his voice. “By devouring him, my form of existence will undergo a fundamental change, which is extremely important for me—and even more so for the Holy Ancestor. Although he came to me on his own, I still need to acknowledge your efforts. Ying Chengzong, you did well on this task—very well!”
Ying Chengzong was overjoyed. He kowtowed repeatedly, of course also expressing humility and gratitude.
The Shadow patiently dealt with him, trying to dispel all his doubts until he felt the time was right. Then he said, “As for your personal reward, I’ll wait until you advance to the Tribulation Phase and ascend to the Spirit Realm before giving it to you. By then, I’ll surely give you a big surprise. What do you think?”
“I’ll follow Lord Shadow God’s arrangements. Chengzong thanks you for your grace,” Ying Chengzong replied eagerly, his joy beyond description.
For him, ordinary rewards no longer held much significance. Only the next step—advancing to the Tribulation Phase—was what he cared about most. With the Lord Shadow God’s promise and protection, ascending to the Spirit Realm in the future would surely be smooth sailing, without any worries…
“Let’s put your matters aside for now. When you’re about to reach the Tribulation Phase, I’ll send down another clone to make arrangements for your future. This time, I intend to give a great gift to the entire Shadow Clan—actually, a gift from the Holy Ancestor to his countless descendants…”
The Shadow spoke slowly, “The Holy Ancestor has further improved the cultivation techniques for the Path of Shadows. I believe they will be of great benefit to you all who are at the Void Refinement stage.”
“The Holy Ancestor has improved the techniques again?”
Ying Chengzong’s expression changed, his joy growing even more. Today was truly full of surprises and good news!

Theoretically, practicing the Way of Shadows can lead one to the Mahayana stage and ascend to the immortal realm. Yet, the difficulty involved far exceeds what ordinary people can imagine. The lineage of Shadow Star has a history of over a million years, and during this time, only a handful of people have truly achieved immortality—so few that they can be counted on two hands.

If the Sacred Ancestor Immortal were to improve the techniques of the Way of Shadows, it would undoubtedly increase the chances of attaining immortality. This would be excellent news for a sect like Shadow Inheritance, which is still at the Void Refinement stage.

“Give me the inheritance of the Way of Shadows.”

The shadow stood atop the altar and stretched out its right hand toward Shadow Inheritance below.

“Yes!”

Overwhelmed with joy, Shadow Inheritance had no doubts left. Moreover, he didn’t dare disobey the orders of the Shadow God. So, he took out an ancient-looking dark purple jade slip from his magical treasure space and respectfully handed it to the “Shadow God.”

Holding the jade slip, the shadow spoke calmly, “In three days, at noon, enter the grand hall alone. I will leave this jade slip on the altar for you.”

“Ah?”

Shadow Inheritance was momentarily stunned and quickly asked, “Shadow God, do you mean…?”

“Yes,” the shadow nodded. “After improving the techniques, I will return to the immortal realm. Even an avatar cannot stay in the cultivation world for long.”

“But, Shadow God…”

With a mask covering his face, Shadow Inheritance’s eyes and tone revealed clear reluctance. He truly regarded this shadow as a god-like ancestor, filled only with reverence and admiration, without any remaining doubts. At this moment, he only wished the Shadow God could stay on Shadow Star a few more days.

“You are also a cultivator of thousands of years old. You shouldn’t act so childishly. When you reach the Tribulation Crossing stage, pray in front of the Sacred Ancestor’s statue for a few days, and I will send down another avatar to grant you a personal reward.”

The shadow waved his hand and said directly, “That’s all. You may go now.”

“Yes!”

Bang! Bang! Bang…

Nine heavy kowtows—Shadow Inheritance offered his most sincere bow as a farewell to the Shadow God.

Boom!

The doors of the immortal hall closed again, leaving only the shadow and that intangible Immortal Realm within.

The inheritance of the Way of Shadows was successfully obtained!

The deep purple jade slip containing the cultivation techniques of the Shadow Path was the most comprehensive and advanced set of techniques among the Shadow Clan. Below this, there were also junior, intermediate, advanced, and supreme-level techniques of varying grades, which were granted step by step according to each member’s identity, status, and contributions. However, the true inheritance of the Shadow Path was only this one, and it was now in Su Che’s hands.

Swish!
Su Che sent the jade slip containing the Shadow Path inheritance into the Immortal Prison and instructed Lao He, “Make another copy for us to take. Then, input the real ‘Great Shadow Art’ into the inheritance and give it to the Shadow Clan. It’s only fair—we can’t just seek to take advantage.”

“Understood, master,” Lao He replied immediately.

This meant that in three days, when the Holy Shadow Sect’s leader, Ying Chengzong, entered the grand hall again, he would retrieve this inheritance from the altar without any loss. Moreover, he would be pleasantly surprised to find an additional set of techniques—the ‘Great Shadow Art’—added to the jade slip.

The Great Shadow Art was truly the ultimate path of shadows in the world. For a cultivator like Ying Chengzong, even if he couldn’t master its essence with a mortal body, understanding just a little bit of it would bring immeasurable benefits to his cultivation journey.

He did this because Su Che believed he was neither a thief nor a swindler. If he borrowed something from others, he should pay the corresponding price. Since the Shadow Clan had never harmed him, he shouldn’t harm them either…