Inside the quiet dining hall, the crowd was still steeped in the terror of their weakened state. The sudden appearance of the white-haired young man gave them a jolt before comprehension dawned. *Is this... the Pure Yang Sect Master?*
"The Pure Yang Sect Master has shown himself! It's over, we're all going to die!" Liu Zhiyi scrambled frantically behind the others, lacking even the strength to stand up.
The others were equally bloodless. Though they were neither Stargazers nor Night Walkers, Yuanshi Tianzun and Liu Zhiyi had already explained that the Pure Yang Sect Master was cruel and deranged, entirely unrestrained by Morality or Reputation Points.
He would certainly never let them live.
Yin Ji's and Lingjun's expressions twisted in horror. The former stumbled forward, her beautiful eyes filled with desperate anxiety, intent on coming to Yuanshi Tianzun's aid.
The latter scrambled forward on all fours, his playboy visage ghastly pale and slightly contorted, as though already foreseeing Yuanshi Tianzun's demise.
"Son of a bitch! If you dare possess him, I swear I'll destroy you! I'll hunt you to the ends of the earth and kill you!" Lingjun roared in a low voice, like an enraged lion.
Yet he was far too weak. Having just revived from death and then been struck by the Witch's weakening potion, he lacked even the strength to stand.
Miao Teng'er grabbed her cousin in panic, refusing to let him throw his life away.
The Pure Yang Sect Master paid Lingjun's threats no mind. His eyes, hiding madness within their depths, turned toward the staggering Yin Ji. He curled his lips, his voice carrying on a frequency only Night Walkers could perceive:
"Don't be in such a rush. Once I've devoured this boy, it'll naturally be your turn."
This girl's lunar and astral energies were far more profound than Yuanshi Tianzun's, and for that very reason, she was much more powerful. Devouring her right away ran the real risk of suffering an unexpected failure.
With victory already within his grasp, it was all the more necessary to tread steadily and surely: consume Yuanshi Tianzun first, then feast upon the girl. That way, nothing could go wrong.
With that, sleeves billowing, he raised a hand and traced his fingertip through empty air. An intricate, profound talisman formed in an instant.
With a flick of his finger, the spiritual talisman shot forth, striking the black-gowned beauty as she stumbled forward.
With a soft whimper, Yin Ji collapsed limply, her pupils unfocusing as she lost consciousness.
Her spirit body and lunar energy had been sealed, heaping disaster upon an already weakened frame.
Without sparing her another glance, the Pure Yang Sect Master returned his attention to Yuanshi Tianzun, a frenzied grin spreading across his face.
"Surprised? I was hiding in the dog's dream! Did you think I possessed one of the people here? No, from the very beginning, I used the Dream Orb to enter the dog's dream. You were all far too foolish! Hahaha!"
Zhang Yuanqing sat sprawled on the floor, sighing. "I guessed it, but too late. If I remember correctly, dreams are a domain reserved for Saints, and you definitely haven't reached that level yet."
Seeing that bead swirling with countless dreamscapes, however, had made everything click into place.
Among the Illusionists the Pure Yang Sect Master had hunted down, there was bound to be someone of considerable status—perhaps the scion of some big shot in the Nihility Sect, or an elite student groomed with special care.
Otherwise, it would have been impossible to possess an item bearing Saint-tier traits.
"So your silent disappearance from Yan'er's body wasn't an escape of your primordial spirit, but a dream leap?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.
"Precisely!" The Pure Yang Sect Master stood with his hands behind his back. Though his expression was mad and wicked, he carried himself with an imposing, distinguished air.
"It seems I'm dead meat. But before I die, I have a few questions so I can at least die knowing the truth. Did you just stumble upon this item?" Zhang Yuanqing did his best to stall for time.
"Indeed." He nodded slightly, then added with excitement, "This is what is called 'heaven aids those who attain the Way.'"
*That damn idiot President is going to get me killed...* Zhang Yuanqing asked, "You aren't a Spirit Realm walker. How did you keep hold of it? You might not know, but there's a Human Immortal searching for it."
He looked thoroughly exhausted, gasping for breath after every sentence.
"You Spirit Realm walkers don't understand the first thing about dharma artifacts. A dharma artifact leaks spiritual energy only when it is in use. When it is dormant, a minor spell is all it takes to conceal its aura."
The Pure Yang Sect Master spoke with utter arrogance.
In his eyes, these fast-tracked Spirit Realm walkers were entirely unworthy of being compared to someone like him, who had endured decades of arduous cultivation.
"I see!" Zhang Yuanqing feigned sudden realization.
Meanwhile, his mind was racing at top speed, searching for a way out.
The most pressing task right now was to outlast the weakened state until the next safe period began, at which point he could turn the tables on the Pure Yang Sect Master.
The Yin-Yang Robe was definitely off the table. Against physical-damage dealers, it was an exceptional treasure, but facing an Illusionist and Night Walker, donning it was suicide.
Its water and fire avatars split the spirit body, weakening its spiritual strength.
The Military Spirit Opera Mask could hold out for a bit—it was his only remaining reliance.
"Now that your doubts are cleared, you may die."
The Pure Yang Sect Master's robes suddenly billowed as boundless lunar energy rose like an oceanic tide, threatening to crush everything beneath it.
"Wait, I still have something to say—" Zhang Yuanqing blurted out.
The Pure Yang Sect Master sneered, "Still trying to buy time? My idle chatter with you just now was merely waiting for you to bring out the Demon-Subduing Pestle. Yet you seem to have lost that tool—likely reclaimed by my dear disciple.
"Once I devour your spiritual energy and consume that wench, I will settle scores with her sooner or later."
The moment his words fell, he charged at Zhang Yuanqing, swept along by a tsunamic wave of lunar energy.
Zhang Yuanqing swiftly rolled backward, simultaneously pulling out a pair of logoless running shoes and slipping them on. Mid-roll, he barely pushed himself into a crouch and launched into a slide straight toward the Pure Yang Sect Master.
The two crossed paths.
The Pure Yang Sect Master spun around lightly, wisps of lunar energy wafting behind him. He stared in astonishment at Yuanshi Tianzun, his gaze falling upon the sneakers as he snorted coldly, "Quite a collection of dharma artifacts, boy. The more you have, the happier I am. They are all mine!"
Diving forward, the Pure Yang Sect Master lunged at Zhang Yuanqing once more, carrying a torrent of yin qi.
Mustering his exhausted body, Zhang Yuanqing executed another feeble sliding tackle.
Once again, they brushed past each other.
Pure Yang Sect Master: "..."
His expression suddenly turned savage. Roaring as though unable to control his temper, he launched a third charge.
Zhang Yuanqing slid beneath him yet again.
After repeating this five times, Zhang Yuanqing let out a helpless sigh, took off the Sliding Tackle Shoes, and put them back into his inventory.
Even if he died, he would never leave this item for the Pure Yang Sect Master.
Seeing this, the Pure Yang Sect Master burst into wild laughter. "It seems those shoes could only be used five times! Do you have any tricks left?"
With that, he channeled his lunar energy once more and collided into Yuanshi Tianzun. This time, meeting no resistance whatsoever, he successfully invaded the young prodigy's body.
Zhang Yuanqing's sea of consciousness detonated with a boom. Agonizing pain flared through his skull, as though a steel spike had been driven through the crown of his head.
In an instant, an intensely yin and sinister spiritual force, churning with immense corrupt desires, flooded his sea of consciousness.
This mental power domineeringly seized his mental space, devouring his weakened spirit body. The astral and lunar energies within him immediately broke like a burst dam, gushing endlessly out of him.
*Such terrifying power... His skill in Spirit Devouring far surpasses mine...* Panic erupted in Zhang Yuanqing's heart. He pushed his own Spirit Devouring skill to resist while activating the Golden Face's Mental Strike.
Without hesitation, he unleashed three consecutive Mental Strikes upon the Pure Yang Sect Master's primordial spirit.
"Aaargh!"
A bloodcurdling shriek exploded in his mind. The spiritual force that had nearly overrun his sea of consciousness seemed to suffer terrible damage, receding like an ebbing tide.
*Done? That weak?* Relief and joy washed over Zhang Yuanqing. His sea of consciousness, which had been shoved into a corner, reclaimed the high ground, and his awareness swiftly returned.
The sight of the dining hall materialized before his eyes once more. Behind him came Lingjun's anxious shouts, and floating in front of him, sneering, was the Pure Yang Sect Master.
*This...* Zhang Yuanqing's expression froze.
"You truly had another trump card. That opera mask is quite good—bound to your spirit body, is it? Once I devour you, it will belong to me," the Pure Yang Sect Master said haughtily.
"How was my illusion? This is true illusion art. You Spirit Realm walkers possess spiritual energy but no finesse. Truly laughable, laughable!"
He had never invaded Yuanshi Tianzun's sea of consciousness at all; everything just now had been an illusion crafted to create the impression of total defeat, forcing Yuanshi Tianzun to expend his final card.
*I have no cards left...* Despair welled within Zhang Yuanqing.
The Sliding Tackle Shoes and the Military Spirit Opera Mask had been his final resorts. Meanwhile, the weakened state from the Witch's potion had not dissipated; if anything, the toxicity was intensifying, making his head spin.
His stalling tactic had failed as well.
There was nowhere left to run.
In the depths of despair, Zhang Yuanqing suddenly remembered the black full moon sealed within his character card. It was an item left behind by the Demon Lord, and judging by its performance in the killing trial, it clearly possessed a consciousness of its own rather than being mere treasure.
A daring thought sprang up in his mind.
*Haven't I always wanted to figure out whether this character card poses a hidden danger? Haven't I lived in dread that the Demon Lord might not truly be dead?*
*If I can't test it myself, can I use the Pure Yang Sect Master?*
*If I die, the character card will either return to the Spirit Realm or fall into the hands of a powerful ancient cultivator.*
*If the card Brother Bing gave me holds no hidden traps, then if I die, I die—it's just my fate, since I'm out of options anyway. But if my suspicions are correct and the card does harbor a 'hidden danger,' will 'it' just sit by and watch itself fall into the Pure Yang Sect Master's hands?*
*I'm cornered anyway. First, I'll use the Blue Face's endurance boost to hold out; if I can't take it, I'll leave it to fate...* As this grim thought flickered through his mind, he saw the Pure Yang Sect Master pouncing toward him in ecstatic frenzy.
He didn't resist, silently activating the Blue Face.
His tired eyes lit up, his spirit briefly rallying.
Yet this surge of power, bursting forth in a desperate corner, was like the final flare of a dying ember. The moment it surfaced, it was scattered by a flood of negative emotion.
Zhang Yuanqing's mind buzzed, and he lost consciousness on the spot. Never before had he encountered a spirit body with such intense negative energy—vile, mad, chaotic... It felt as though all the malice in the world had been condensed into that single mental surge.
Compared to the Pure Yang Sect Master, the negative energy of evil classes was mere child's play.
After that brief lapse, Zhang Yuanqing was violently jolted awake by sheer agony. His soul screamed and wailed uncontrollably.
He was being possessed, his spirit body being devoured bit by bit.
The agony of a lacerated soul far surpassed any physical torment.
Within his sea of consciousness, two forces struggled furiously. A shadowy current exuding black smoke clamped down on a clear, faint spirit body, swallowing it morsel by morsel.
"Eh? You're actually a scattered-soul possessor! Your soul shattered long ago—you should have died back then! Who stitched your soul back together?"
As the Pure Yang Sect Master chewed upon the spirit body, he tasted the anomaly in this delicacy.
"Wait, there's something wrong with your soul... You are—"
Suddenly, high above the sea of consciousness, a pitch-black moon rose steadily, cutting short the Pure Yang Sect Master's mutterings.
A beam of soft, bright moonlight coalesced, bathing Yuanshi Tianzun's spirit body.
In an instant, boundless lunar energy surged into the spirit body with overwhelming, irresistible force.
The weakened spirit swelled dramatically, instantly pinning down the spirit body that radiated black mist and concentrated malice. The expansion continued as the brilliantly clear mass of light began to counter-devour its assailant.
In a single stroke, it swallowed a third of the Pure Yang Sect Master's spirit body.
"Aaargh!"
This scream was genuine. Caught entirely unprepared, the Pure Yang Sect Master experienced the agony of his own soul being torn apart.
"This power... Impossible! How could you possess the power of a Human Immortal?!"
Inside the sea of consciousness, the spirit body exuding black smoke was steadily consumed as the tables turned. But just then, it abruptly severed itself, voluntarily abandoning a portion of its primordial spirit.
Then, it fled the sea of consciousness in panic, scurrying away like a stray cur.
In the dining hall, the Pure Yang Sect Master flew out between Zhang Yuanqing's brows, shooting back over a dozen meters before whirling around. He stared at Zhang Yuanqing with a mixture of terror and greed.
"Human Immortal-level power... The power of a Human Immortal..."
His form had dimmed considerably, his boundless lunar energy drastically diluted. His face contorted, torn between the greedy urge to dive back into the boy's mind and the dread that kept him from taking a single step forward.
Had he not promptly cast the Soul Splitting Art to discard that portion of his primordial spirit, he would have been completely devoured by now.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yuanqing sat dazed, locked in a stupor.
He was digesting and absorbing the fragment of the Pure Yang Sect Master's soul.
Just as the Pure Yang Sect Master wavered, Zhang Yuanqing opened his eyes. One eye was clear and bright, while the other was crazed and sinister—good and evil converging simultaneously on his face.
His gaze remained somewhat vacant, as though his consciousness had not fully returned, yet his aura began to skyrocket. Shaking off his weakened state, he gradually climbed back toward the Saint stage.
"Curse you!"
Seeing this, the Pure Yang Sect Master hesitated no longer. Scooping up the two dharma artifacts from the floor, he phased through the wall and vanished.
With the disc retrieved, the illusory round table, the dice, and the information projections in the dining hall all dissolved at once.
The seal cloaking the dining hall dissipated.
Roughly ten seconds later, Zhang Yuanqing regained his senses. Without a word, he immediately pulled out the Ghost Mirror and gripped it tightly. Only then were the evil urges, bloodlust, and destructive impulses churning in his chest barely suppressed.
Yet a few seconds later, they surged up again.
The Pure Yang Sect Master's wickedness was too potent for even the Ghost Mirror to fully quell.
*So this is the Pure Yang Sect Master's spirit body? Truly deranged...* Zhang Yuanqing's left cheek tugged upward involuntarily into a smirk, perfectly matching the chaotic madness in his left eye.
After devouring that portion of the Pure Yang Sect Master's spirit, he had passively learned many techniques—such as the talisman drawn in midair that had subdued Yin Ji, illusion-crafting methods, Spirit Devouring techniques, and more.
It even included some combat techniques belonging to Stargazers.
It was virtually an indirect transmission of cultivation.
*The power of a Human Immortal... That black moon holds the power of a Human Immortal? Heh, that's quite a harvest.*
*A scattered-soul possessor? I should have died long ago? Who stitched my soul together...?* He murmured to himself for a few moments, then turned his head to look at the guests, who were trapped in a mix of lingering terror, confusion, and delight.
*These people witnessed the Pure Yang Sect Master fleeing. The fact that I'm harboring secrets can't be concealed anymore. Should I come up with an excuse to brush it off, or kill them to keep them silent? Let's just kill them all—they're nothing but ants anyway...*
His thoughts were a tangled mess. Raising the left corner of his mouth toward the crowd, he let out a sinister, twisted grin.
"Everyone, call the Songhai Branch... while I can still control myself."
That demonic expression sent a chill down the spines of the guests, who had just begun shaking off their weakness after narrowly escaping death.
Zhang Yuanqing then clutched his forehead in pain as goodness and reason regained the upper hand. He walked over to Yin Ji and knelt to examine her, confirming she had merely fainted.
He let out a breath of relief.
His gaze fell upon Yin Ji's long eyelashes, the delicate arch of her brows, and her pale, tender skin.
Below that, a black veil concealed the lower half of her face.
A question that had long piqued his curiosity surged into his mind: *Just how beautiful is this woman to have left the Demon Lord so utterly captivated?*
At the thought, sinister impulses regained dominance. Curling the left corner of his mouth, he seized Yin Ji's veil and ripped it away.
At that moment, Miao Teng'er had just connected with Elder Dog:
"Elder Dog, please come to the Baihui Club immediately! We were attacked by the Pure Yang Sect Master, and the casualties are catastrophic... Yuanshi Tianzun is fine, he drove the Pure Yang Sect Master away, b-but..."
Miao Teng'er glanced at Yuanshi Tianzun, her voice trembling slightly:
"...But there's something wrong with Yuanshi Tianzun! It looks like he might murder someone at any second! And... and he just tore off Yin Ji's veil!"
Chapter 395