It was now deep into the night. The sky was completely open. Above, among countless stars, the shining moon was spreading its cool moonlight throughout the vast cave, a large portion of whose ceiling was open to the sky. The moonlight fell upon the stones, making them appear silver and radiant.
At the center of the cave— Snehwal sat motionless in a cultivation posture.
His breaths were so calm that it seemed as though he himself had become a part of that night.
But the scene before him was anything but ordinary.
A short distance away— a dead body lay upon the ground. Its skin had turned pale.
Its eyes were closed. There was no sign of life within it. It appeared as though death had taken it away many years ago. Sitting beside that dead body, the squirrel watched Snehwal with her shining eyes.
Then her voice echoed throughout the cave—
"Child... your soul has two fragments."
Snehwal slowly opened his eyes.
"Now place one of those fragments... into this."
She raised her small paw-like finger toward the dead body. Silence filled the cave for a few moments. Snehwal's brows furrowed.
Although he had witnessed the squirrel's strange cultivation methods before, this still seemed impossible.
The division of the soul— and placing it within a dead body. So that even if one body was destroyed, the cultivator could continue to live.
This was not an ability possessed by an ordinary cultivator. But in the end, he took a deep breath. His consciousness descended inward, writhing mercilessly. Gradually, a portion of his soul began separating from his main body.
The very next moment— a divine light erupted within the cave. A transparent sphere of light emerged from Snehwal's body and shot directly into the dead body.
A sound like Wooooom! rang out, as though the air itself had spoken. The entire area trembled. The moonlight seemed to fade for a moment. Countless lines of light began revolving around the dead body. Ancient symbols engraved upon the ground lit up.
And then— the fingers of that dead body twitched. Snehwal's eyes widened. The dead body slowly opened its eyes.
Within its pupils was the very same consciousness—
that belonged to Snehwal himself.
A few moments later, that body slowly sat up.
And at that exact moment— a tremendous shock surged through Snehwal's entire existence. Because he was no longer sensing only one body.
He was sensing two bodies.
One—
the body sitting in a cultivation posture.
And the other—
the body that had just risen from the embrace of death. Two different visions. Two different breaths. Two different heartbeats.
But the consciousness— was one.
For him, the experience was so strange, despite the meaningful effort behind it, that for a moment he felt as though his mind would explode.
Both of his eyes were simultaneously looking in different directions. The sensations coming from both bodies were striking his soul at the same time.
"Ah...!"
A suppressed groan escaped his lips.
But then— a mysterious smile appeared upon the squirrel's lips.
"This is only the beginning, child."
"Until you learn how to control both bodies at the same time... you will receive no rest."
Her shining eyes looked terrifying beneath the moonlight.
"And if your consciousness breaks midway..."
She paused for a few moments.
Then she spoke in a low voice, "Then it is possible that you will lose not one body... but both."
A sudden silence descended upon the cave. Somewhere in the distance, the frightening cry of a nocturnal bird echoed through the night.
And for the first time— Snehwal felt that this training might be even more dangerous than the battlefield itself.
After enduring the sensations coming from both bodies for some time, Snehwal gradually managed to stabilize himself.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.
Looking toward the squirrel, he asked—
"Senior... should I leave the second body immersed in cultivation and use the first one for external affairs? Would that be alright?"
The squirrel looked at him for a few moments. Then she flicked her small tail and said— "Yes, idiot. You take a long time to understand."
There was a hint of mockery in her voice.
"If your real body is destroyed by Humbha's host during the competition, you still will not truly die."
A spark appeared in Snehwal's eyes. But then— The squirrel suddenly stopped speaking.
As though she had been about to say something more.
Snehwal immediately asked, "And what else?"
A strange glimmer appeared in the squirrel's eyes.
Then she said— "And if someday you wish to stay away from Lily... that will also become possible." Snehwal was stunned for a few moments.
"Why would I stay away from her?"
The question escaped his mouth almost immediately. The squirrel shrugged her shoulders. "That is your choice. I am merely telling you about the possibility."
After that, she changed the subject as though she had no interest in continuing that discussion.
"Forget about these things."
"I still have much to teach you."
Snehwal immediately became serious. The squirrel's eyes gleamed beneath the moonlight.
"I will also teach you the Third Method of the Bow."
"A kind of arrow... that cannot be seen."
"An invisible arrow."
"When it is released, most enemies will not even understand where the attack came from."
Snehwal's heart began beating rapidly.
Until now, the First and Second Methods of the Bow had already granted him extraordinary power.
Then just how terrifying would the Third Method be?
The squirrel continued, "And if everything goes well, then through the remaining power of the spiritual stones that you previously used to awaken Lily, which still exists within you in an unrefined state, you will also enter the Fifth Stage."
"After that... you will be able to put up a good fight in the competition for the throne of the Chintamani Empire."
Snehwal nodded seriously.
Now he understood just how far-reaching the Senior's plan truly was.
The first body— which had to be brought into the Fifth Stage as quickly as possible.
And the second body— which would remain hidden and continue cultivating without interruption.
If in the future he were defeated in battle against Humbha's host...
If his main body were destroyed... his consciousness would not disappear.
He would immediately awaken within the second body.
This was not merely a cultivation method. It was an arrangement created to oppose death itself.
Afterward, Snehwal took a deep breath.
A feeling of respect arose within his heart without him realizing it.
'Senior has truly thought very far ahead...'
The moonlight still spread throughout the cave.
But Snehwal felt as though an entirely new path toward the future had opened before him.