Just then, Jiang Xiaoshang's voice cut in.

"Isn't it a bit of a waste to just kill him like this?"

Wei Zhao's finger paused. He turned and glanced at him. "If I don't kill him, what am I supposed to do? I can't keep a disaster like this around to use, can I? My brain's not waterlogged."

Jiang Xiaoshang clicked his tongue. "Sure, this thing can't be used, but his body can still be put to good use. Waste not, want not."

Wei Zhao blinked. "What do you mean?"

Jiang Xiaoshang looked at him as though he were an idiot. "He doesn't have a brain, right? Just install someone else's brain in him, and you'll have yourself a perfectly obedient tool."

The moment those words landed, to say nothing of Wei Zhao, even the headless Xing Jun was so startled that he sat bolt upright on the spot.

But the very next instant, Wei Zhao pinned him back down with a single finger.

"You mean, give him a new head?"

Wei Zhao rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "The idea has possibilities, but he still has his own head. It can't be that simple, can it?"

Never mind that swapping heads was a shocking, outrageous piece of major surgery in its own right—the fact that the other's head was still there made for a huge hidden danger that could not be ignored.

Although the exact mechanism remained unclear, one thing was certain: between the other's head and body there existed some kind of deep connection akin to quantum entanglement.

If they were still in the New World, Wei Zhao would have a way to suppress it.

But once they left the New World, even if he gave him a new head, whether he could still keep him under control would be anyone's guess.

Not only was the technical difficulty enormous, but the risks were hardly trivial either.

"Of course it's not that simple."

Jiang Xiaoshang blinked. "But if it gets us a fighter of that caliber, don't you think that little bit of extra effort is worth it?"

Wei Zhao did not hesitate for even half a beat. "Of course it's worth it!"

Setting everything else aside, this was an existence that stood above Zhou Yuan and the other two. Even judging by future potential—since Zhou Yuan and the others were likewise reincarnations of primeval Chaos Emperors, their eventual ceiling might not truly be much lower than his.

But as things stood right now, the gap in combat power was real and unmistakable.

With a top-tier fighter like this holding down the fort, anyone who tried to stir up trouble in Tianjun from now on would have to think twice.

"See?"

Jiang Xiaoshang strolled slowly around the headless Xing Jun in circles, clicking his tongue in appraisal like a man picking over cuts of pork at the market.

Wei Zhao was speechless. "Stop keeping me in suspense and just tell me—how do we do it?"

Jiang Xiaoshang chuckled. "Normally, even if we gave him a brand-new head, it would be very hard to win out against his original one. But here's the good news—he's the reincarnation of a primeval Chaos Emperor."

Wei Zhao was baffled. "How is that good news?"

Jiang Xiaoshang gave him a meaningful look. "Have you forgotten the Tomb of Chaos?"

Wei Zhao still did not catch on. "What about the Tomb of Chaos?"

Jiang Xiaoshang's tone was thick with disappointment at his failure to live up to expectations. "What kind of brain do you have? Don't tell me yours got swapped out too? You used to be a bit slow, but never this incapable of turning things over!"

Wei Zhao's face went dark.

Jiang Xiaoshang, having seized the chance to get his digs in, was finally satisfied. "First, get one thing straight: the most valuable thing about this guy to us isn't the man himself—it's the fact that he's the reincarnation of a primeval Chaos Emperor."

Wei Zhao grunted in acknowledgment.

That much went without saying.

Setting aside future potential entirely, the fact that he had grown to this level step by step could only mean that such backing had carried him there—no need to guess.

Otherwise, where in the world would all these inexplicable, off-the-charts monsters come from?

Jiang Xiaoshang said slowly, "So if someone were to take his place, enter the Tomb of Chaos, and receive his past-life memories and power in his stead—tell me, who would be the genuine article and who the counterfeit?"

"Oh, right!"

Wei Zhao slapped his thigh, his eyes lighting up at once.

If it really worked the way Jiang Xiaoshang described—if they transplanted someone else's brain into him and let it absorb his past-life memories and power, then from the standpoint of being the reincarnation of a primeval Chaos Emperor, there was no question that this newcomer would be the real deal.

And one thing was certain: once that identity was firmly secured, no matter how badly Xing Jun's head might want to fight for control of this body afterward, it would have no chance at all.

Two birds with one stone.

Wei Zhao could not help but offer sincere praise. "Jiang Xiaoshang, when you're actually thinking straight, you really are something of a genius."

Jiang Xiaoshang tilted his head up smugly. "What do you mean, 'something of'? I've always been the genuine article."

He paused, then suddenly caught on. "Wait—what do you mean, when I'm thinking straight? When am I not?"

Wei Zhao laughed heartily, then shifted tack. "So here's the question—whose brain do we transplant into him? Mine?"

Jiang Xiaoshang eyed him sidelong. "How many brains do you have?"

Wei Zhao considered this in all seriousness. "Why not just make a decent avatar and use that?"

True, under normal circumstances an avatar could not exist for long, but certain specially made avatars were exempt from that limitation.

Jiang Xiaoshang curled his lip. "Wouldn't that just mean you're possessing him?"

Wei Zhao weighed it. "That's not necessarily a bad thing, is it?"

"Oh, give me a break."

Jiang Xiaoshang shot it down on the spot. "This thing has to go into the Tomb of Chaos. What kind of scheme is it if you're possessing him? Aren't you afraid he'll turn the tables and contaminate you right back?"

Wei Zhao scratched his head. "Fair point."

Given the strength of his primordial spirit, if he were facing Xing Jun himself and nothing more, he could handle him easily enough.

After all, they had already probed him earlier: this guy leaned heavily toward the physical, and while the primordial spirit was not an outright weakness, it was certainly nothing to write home about.

The trouble was, once he entered the Tomb of Chaos and lay down in that coffin, what he would be facing was the genuine, bona fide primeval Chaos Emperor.

Whether he could still hold out then—remain untouched by even a trace of contamination—well, that was another matter.

Even if Wei Zhao did not send in his entire primordial spirit, but only a portion of it, the risks involved were still not to be underestimated.

Jiang Xiaoshang clicked his tongue. "Even if your primordial spirit is strong and you can guarantee you won't be contaminated, it probably still won't work."

Wei Zhao was taken aback. "Why not?"

"Think about it. Even when you visit a tourist attraction, they still have to check your identity. Receiving the memories and power of a primeval Chaos Emperor—a matter of this magnitude—do you really think there'd be no restrictions at all?"

Jiang Xiaoshang looked at him with contempt. "If you really went and lay down in there yourself, want to bet they'd just kick you right back out?"

"..."

Wei Zhao could only sigh helplessly. "The way you put it, doesn't it make the whole thing very difficult?"

"Difficult it certainly is. If it weren't difficult, I wouldn't want to do it."

Jiang Xiaoshang eagerly rolled up his sleeves. "I've already worked out basically every link in the chain you could think of. I have a way to get you past the checks—but there's one precondition."