He had a bad premonition in his heart.
The Cloud-severing Sovereign thought of returning to his body and slaying Xuan, or there might be repercussions in the future, but just as he tried to leave, he found a suction force pulling him in a certain direction.
The dragon statue, which was glimmering earlier, now had its mouth open.
"What's happening!" he panicked, trying with all his might to break free from the unknown force pulling his soul.
But the more he struggled, the closer he was pulled toward the dragon statue's open mouth.
His gaze landed on other numerous statues, starting from the dragon, the phoenix, and the white tiger, but they weren't the only ones.
There was a Qilin statue, a Pixiu, a nine-tailed fox, and even the Kunfeng.
He saw them all, but they were in a dormant, lifeless state, unlike the dragon statue that now pulsed with an otherworldly power.
"I don't want to die," he yelled in desperation, using everything he had to break free.
His cultivation of the Sky Sovereign realm clashed with the unknown power coming from the dragon's mouth.
Once both the powers clashed inside Xuan's consciousness, resulting in his orifices leaking blood.
"Did he fail again?"
Zhao Zen Wu believed that Xuan's body couldn't contain the old man's soul. He thought this was why Xuan's body started leaking blood before it would inevitably be destroyed, just like the others before it.
He had seen this happen many times when they had prepared other vessels for the Cloud-severing Sovereign, but not a single one had been able to handle the pressure and had collapsed.
...
Meanwhile, Cloud Severing Sovereign struggles to break free from the suction force of the dragon statue.
"No, this can't be my end, not like this." Now he was even closer to being devoured by the dragon mouth.
When he saw that he can't make it, his whole life began flashing before his eyes.
"NOOOO" With his last resort, his aura began to fluctuate widely.
"I don't know what secrets these strange beast statues entail, but you'll also have the same end."
Instead of fighting back against the dragon statue's suction force, he decided to blow his own soul inside Xuan's consciousness, taking Xuan down with him.
"HAHAHA-HAHAHA"
Like a madman he laughed. "I thought heavens were finally giving me a chance, but it seems I was never favoured by them."
He had no remorse against Xuan; Cloud Severing Sovereign was just trying to survive for another chance to live.
In the world of cultivation, dead or alive, everything in front of you is an opportunity to ascend to the higher realm, he also used this opportunity in a form of looking for a vassal for himself but today he finally met his demise.
However, in his last moment, he lost his last ounce of humanity. He wanted a satisfying death and right now, taking Xuan with him was the most satisfying death that he could have imagined.
"BOOM!"
His cultivation of the early stage of Sky Sovereign realm burst with the end of the old monster but the end he thought for Xuan, it never happened.
He did manage to inflict some damage in Xuan's consciousness but the remaining part of his soul spread like wildfire in Xuan's consciousness as the majority of it was sucked inside the dragon's mouth.
Meanwhile, Xuan throws another mouthful of blood due to the damage and his body which was on its feet, suddenly it fell to the ground.
Zhao Zen Wu thought of it as the end of Xuan but then something unexpected happened.
Something which he hasn't seen or imagined. The rotten body of Cloud Severing ancestor which was covered in his Qi finally shattered and crumbled.
The Qi around it began fluctuating before it finally vanished.
"Don't tell me!"
Zhao Zen Wu looked at the crumbling body of the old man, then shifted his gaze towards Xuan's body which was now brimming with otherworldly power.
The only thought in his mind was, "He succeeded!"
But in real, the Cloud Severing Sovereign met his end with facing something which he cannot express.
As his soul burst with his cultivation, it inflicted some damage to Xuan's consciousness but it wasn't enough to deal higher damage.
He thought of killing Xuan and imagined the end of the otherworldly power inside Xuan's consciousness with the end of Xuan but instead it accelerated the awakening of that strange power.
Those dormant statues of other beasts, including phoenix and white tiger, all of them now had a light glow as if they are going to come to the life one day.
While the dragon statue now had begun shedding its stone texture. At that moment, a few of its scales, especially around its limbs were now looked like a real dragon scales with light golden glow on them.
Oblivious of everything, Xuan finally woke up but not in reality but as his avatar form, inside his consciousness.
There were foreign memories assimilating in him which weren't his but Cloud Severing Sovereign's which are now part of Xuan's experiences.