Chapter 474 - 99: Three Corpses
However, Murphy knew that this lifelike shell was not her real body.
Margaret’s true body, like those of the Inheritance Sect Wizards in the Sanctuary, was still trapped within that Half-Plane, able to connect with the outside world only through a puppet like this.
"Master," Margaret began, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Murphy, filled with joy.
But Murphy was in no mood for pleasantries. He walked straight to the desk and asked in a low voice, "Maggie, tell me, what’s the current level of your Elementalization?"
Margaret tilted her head slightly, the smile on her face deepening. "Master, you rarely call me ’Maggie’ so intimately... Why are you in such a hurry today?"
"Margaret!" Murphy’s tone grew heavy, leaving no room for argument.
Seeing Murphy’s serious expression, Margaret dropped her playful demeanor and straightened her posture. "Yes, Master. According to the latest check, my Elementalization process has reached eighty percent."
"Eighty percent!" A flash of surprise crossed Murphy’s eyes. "So fast?"
Margaret nodded lightly, a trace of reverence in her voice. "Fast? Perhaps. But how can it compare to you, Master? You completed your Elementalization—a feat bordering on a miracle—directly within the Old Realm, where the physical laws are stable."
"That is a path people like us spent countless years researching, only achieving it with the help of the Sanctuary’s special legacy and environment."
"Our speed is merely us stumbling along a rugged trail barely carved out by our predecessors. Your path, however, is a true, open road to the heavens. Though your start may have seemed a bit slow, your future is limitless."
Murphy gazed into Margaret’s clear, dark eyes and spoke slowly. "Your Elementalization is progressing so quickly, it should have started to profoundly affect your thought patterns by now. But your thinking still seems clear, and your emotions don’t show any obvious deviation. From what I know, the higher the degree of Elementalization, the more severe the erosion of one’s self-awareness. It seems your legacy provides a significant boost to your Spiritual Power."
The smile on Margaret’s face faded, replaced by a look of serious contemplation.
She walked halfway around the desk to Murphy’s side, tilting her head up slightly to look at him, a hint of worry in her eyes. "Master, you’re so concerned about this... Could it be that you’re already being affected by Elementalization?"
Her delicate brows furrowed slightly. "That shouldn’t be. With your talent and self-control, Master, you should still be in the initial stages of transformation. The effects shouldn’t be so significant yet."
Murphy was silent for a moment before saying, "That’s because the Path I walk is a special one."
Murphy had long since discovered that although the Path of a Cultivator was more comprehensive, allowing one to control more of the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, the Dao Transformation was also especially severe, giving rise to the concept of Red Dust Heart Refining.
Wizards, on the other hand, clearly didn’t have to go through such trouble.
Even if some roamed the mortal world, disguising themselves as "evil" Wizards and giving mortals the chance to exploit a feigned weakness to kill them, they were in the minority.
Priests had it even easier. Their power stemmed from faith and Divine Grace. Their Path itself was the practice of a certain philosophy, the strengthening of a certain worldview. In a sense, the journey of walking their Path was a process of constantly solidifying their self-awareness, so they rarely encountered the loss of self that came with drastic changes in their life form.
Unless their faith collapsed, but that was another problem entirely.
Seeing the subtle gravity in Murphy’s brow, Margaret continued, "Master, you came specifically to ask about this... Were you hoping to see if I had any way to deal with it?"
Murphy looked at her without answering immediately.
Seeing Murphy’s tacit agreement, Margaret fell silent for a long while before speaking. "But, Master, to assist with your research, didn’t I already compile and give you all the methods for Consciousness Anchoring, Thought Differentiation, and how to resist erosion? Edwin should have a backup as well. Those are the most systematic and proven methods known."
She paused, a hint of grievance in her voice. "Does Master think I’m still hiding something from you?"
Murphy looked into her eyes and shook his head. "No, I know you haven’t hidden anything."
He knew full well that Margaret had already shared everything she could.
His true reason for asking was that deep down, he was clinging to a sliver of hope, a ’what if’.
He was hoping that this enigmatic Witch, wielder of an ancient legacy, might still have some unspoken, more secretive, or even taboo methods that could deal with his current predicament.
"Never mind then..." Murphy sighed softly, preparing to drop the subject.
’Maybe I was being too impatient.’
’This is a risk every Cultivator must face. Forging a Golden Core was never meant to be this easy.’
"Wait, Master!" Margaret suddenly cut him off.
Murphy froze and looked at her.
Margaret took a step forward, suddenly closing the distance between them.
She tilted her face up, her dark eyes—so similar to Eleanor’s, yet possessing an aged depth and a demonic charm—staring unblinkingly at Murphy.
"There is one other way," she said softly, her voice quiet but carrying clearly to Murphy’s ears.
"What is it?" Murphy asked.
Margaret didn’t answer right away.
She tilted her head slightly, and a few strands of black hair slipped down over her shoulder.
Then, the corners of her mouth curved into a smile, a mix of girlish innocence and womanly allure.
"Love me."
Murphy was speechless.
It was as if Margaret didn’t see Murphy’s momentary shock—or rather, she saw it but didn’t care in the slightest.
Her actions were far bolder and more direct than Elizabeth’s.
"The reason I can still maintain my ’self’," she continued, her voice soft yet firm, "isn’t entirely because of the Spiritual Power boost from the Sanctuary’s legacy. That stuff, at best, only provides a little help."
Her gaze locked onto Murphy’s eyes. "More importantly, I have anchored myself—deeply and firmly—to you, Master."
She paused, enunciating every word with exceptional clarity. "My longing, my hopes, my joy, my worries... Almost all of my emotions and my sense of purpose are poured into my connection with you, Master. It is this wholehearted, unreserved ’love’ that allows me, in the torrent of Elementalization, to always remember who I am, why I must persevere, and where I must return."
"So," Margaret’s voice grew lower, laced with an almost bewitching tenderness, "Master, if the effects of Elementalization make you feel your sense of self drifting away... then try to ’love’ more intensely. Love specific people, love specific attachments, love the moments and connections that make you feel ’alive,’ that make you feel like ’yourself.’ Anchor your emotions, your cares, your ’heart’ more deeply to the people and things you cherish."
"For example," she gently shook Murphy’s arm, her smile tinged with a hint of slyness and anticipation, "for example... love me?"
Murphy fell silent once more.
He looked down at Margaret’s face, so close to his own. There wasn’t the slightest hint of a joke in her eyes.
He could feel the cool touch of her fingertips, could smell the faint, fresh scent on her.
He knew that what Margaret was saying was not a jest, nor was it about simple romantic love.
It wasn’t just about love, nor was it just a form of reliance.
It was a special technique that transformed an anchor into a form of extreme emotion.
Murphy murmured, "Mo..."
Margaret was confused. "Mo?"
Murphy didn’t explain. He simply swept Margaret into his arms. She let out a soft, delighted laugh, her arms naturally wrapping around his neck.
An Immortal without emotion is called Supreme.
A Demon of extremes is called Inferior.
In the myths, a Daoist Lord in the Purple Sky taught the Three Corpses Technique.
To separate the Good Corpse, the Evil Corpse, and the Self Corpse, so as to attain Primordial Chaos.