Chapter 472: Seizing Sun Qiang's Body

When one soul dominates, it becomes the master of the body. Once it is expelled, if another soul cannot promptly take its place, the person may be unlikely to wake up and become a corpse.

Originally, with two souls in one body, even if suppressed, they could still barely survive. But this way, there would be no chance of recovery.

"Master Zhang, the mysteries of the soul are unparalleled; even deities cannot fully comprehend them. If he is now dominant and the other soul cannot revive... that would be murder!" The Pavilion Master's face was grave.

"Yes, you must think thrice before acting!" Luo Qin was also anxious.

Everyone knew that this old man had come to trade here. If he truly died here, the auction house would be unable to clear its name.

"Indeed, I must think thrice!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

What they said was correct. The soul is mysterious, unlike the physical body which can be dealt with casually. If handled poorly, turning him into an idiot might be one thing, but if he were killed, it would be truly inexcusable.

"I traded with you, and so many people witnessed it. If something happens, neither the Appraisal Pavilion nor the auction house will have an easy time!"

Seeing everyone hesitant to act, the old man grinned. "How about this: I'll give you a suggestion. Let's continue the trade. The Soul-Less Golden Man is yours, but... you must help me eradicate the original soul inside this body! After all, it's a trade either way—with him or with me. Why take the risk?"

After all, it was a trade whether with him or the body's original owner. If he expelled this one and revived that one, success would be fine, but what if it failed?

"Master Zhang..."

Luo Qin quickly looked over.

He was a businessman who understood weighing pros and cons. To save someone with whom he had no connection, taking such a big risk was not worth it.

Everyone knew this fellow was possessed by an evil spirit. Regardless of which soul was killed, as long as he walked out alive, it would not affect the auction house.

"Well said! My goal is the Soul-Less Golden Man. Now that I have it, there's indeed no need to cause trouble for myself!"

Sighing, Zhang Xuan raised his eyebrows and looked over calmly. "But, didn't you say I had no way? I just thought of one and want to try it..."

"Try?"

Unexpectedly, after all this talk, he still wanted to act, and even said 'try.' Luo Qin's face turned red with anxiety.

Was this something to try on a whim?

If it went wrong, someone could die...

"Young master..."

Jin Conghai was also worried and couldn't help looking at the young master, wanting him to dissuade.

But this time, Zhao Feiwu changed his usual attitude, waved his hand solemnly, and said, "Don't dissuade him. This is the duty and responsibility of a master teacher; he cannot evade it!"

A master teacher enjoys a noble status, so naturally, he must shoulder the corresponding responsibilities.

This old man, though his name was unknown, his background unknown, and he had no connection with them... but his soul was being seized by a sorcerer's soul, and his life hung in the balance. If one witnessed it and did nothing to stop it, where would be the righteousness in one's heart?

How could one still be qualified to educate the world and guide students?

When the leader is upright, orders are carried out without being issued. When the leader is not upright, orders are not obeyed even if issued.

Teaching students not only involves imparting profound techniques to help them mature and become accomplished, but more importantly, it is about establishing a correct outlook on life for them.

Otherwise, even if educated, they would become scum, and the true meaning of being a master teacher would be lost.

"This..."

Jin Conghai was stunned and clenched his fists.

He was a poison master who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, but the other was different. He was a master teacher who educated the world. If he himself retreated when faced with difficulty, how could he make his students believe in him?

...

The old man hadn't expected that after analyzing the pros and cons so clearly, this fellow still intended to oppose him. His face darkened. "Are you determined to be my enemy?"

"Enemy? You're overthinking. I'm just going to expel you. This body does not belong to you; you have no right to possess it!"

Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan flipped his wrist, and several silver needles appeared in his palm.

"Silver needles? You want to use these to deal with a soul?"

The old man sneered, thinking he had some kind of reliance, but seeing this, he scoffed.

These things could treat true qi, heal injuries and illnesses, but souls? What a joke!

It was like shooting a mosquito with a bow and arrow—utterly useless.

Ignoring his skepticism, Zhang Xuan channeled a stream of true qi, flicked his finger, and the silver needle turned into a cold streak, shooting straight forward.

"Silver needles have no effect on souls..."

Seeing that this fellow actually used silver needles against the old man, the Pavilion Master slapped his forehead.

He had thought that since the other spoke so confidently, he would have a good method, but it seemed he was just groping in the dark.

He had read many books about sorcerers and knew something about souls. To touch them with such external objects was fundamentally impossible.

It was like cutting water with a knife or slashing wind with a sword. Even if the silver needle struck, it would only hit the physical body. For the formless, intangible soul, it would have no effect, and might even block the flow of meridians, causing physical pain.

"To expel a soul, one must first prepare sackcloth, yellow talismans, various sacrificial tools, and then formations. Silver needles are just external objects..."

Knowing the method wouldn't work, the Pavilion Master shook his head and was about to explain the proper procedure, but halfway through his words, he choked, coughed, and trembled. "This... how is this possible?"

The old man, who had been so arrogant just moments ago, turned pale as the silver needle entered his body.

Then, his eyes showed terror. He tried to flee but fell to the ground, convulsing uncontrollably.

The silver needle entered his body, and the soul lost control?

How... did he do that?

If souls were easy to deal with, soul shamans wouldn't be such a dreaded topic that the Master Hall had to step in personally.

“Y-you… your true energy…”

The Pavilion Master Sai and the others were stunned; the old man had gone completely mad.

He had just said the silver needles were useless, and now this happened. Intense fear made him scream incessantly.

And at this moment, he also realized that the terrifying thing wasn't the silver needles, but… the other party's true energy!

This true energy carried the power to expel souls. As soon as it touched his soul, it was like ignited strong liquor—unbearably painful, as if his whole body were splitting apart.

“Is this… upper-third-grade true energy?” The old man's pupils contracted as a term surfaced in his mind.

Legend had it that upper-third-grade true energy was not only pure but also had the effect of warding off evil and avoiding misfortune. This was the main reason why soul shamans, though eerie, still kept their distance from masters.

But… upper-third-grade true energy was only mastered by a few in the Master Hall, passed down among Confucius and his disciples' descendants. How could this guy have it?

Could he be a descendant of Confucius?

If so, that would be terrifying!

Having just escaped from the gloomy graveyard, he runs into someone like this—could it be any more unfair?

“No, if this continues, I'll die for sure…” Feeling more and more silver needles on his body, with true energy transmitted through the needle tips, about to tear him apart, the old man's eyes turned bloodshot.

Upper-third-grade true energy was the bane of soul shamans. If allowed to accumulate, there was only one outcome: being burned alive, with no chance of recovery.

“No, I need to find someone to possess…”

Knowing that as time passed, he would definitely be unable to hold on, the old man suppressed the intense pain and quietly observed.

If he remained in this body, he would surely die. The only option now was to find a way to possess someone else, then seek revenge later.

But even if possession succeeded, he couldn't let the other party notice; otherwise, another attack would finish him off just the same.

“Damn it… forcing me to possess—I'll never forgive you!”

Though he had made a decision, the old man's heart bled.

Possession wasn't easy. Each time it was performed, it caused great damage to the soul, not only reducing cultivation but also severely injuring one's vitality.

For instance, when he had possessed this body, his cultivation before possession was not low—it had reached the early stage of the third level of Mortal Transformation. Unfortunately, after success, he had dropped a full two major levels, becoming only at the early stage of the first level.

In other words, even if he succeeded, his strength would continue to plummet, possibly dropping another two major levels, from Mortal Transformation to Supreme.

“One of those over there…”

Roaring incessantly, he looked around and found his target for possession.

The person with the lowest strength in the room should be Zhao Feiwu, who hadn't cultivated much. However, he had many treasures on him; even a Mortal Transformation third-level cultivator would find it hard to kill him, let alone a crippled soul like his.

Apart from him, the remaining ones were Zhao Ya, Sun Qiang, and the others.

Their strength was only around the Grandmaster level, so even if the power of the possessed dropped sharply, it could easily be suppressed.

"This one will do..."

His eyes lit up, focusing on a fat man not far away.

This guy had the lowest strength among the crowd, looked foolish and simple-minded, had the worst vigilance, and should be the easiest to possess.

"Possession!"

Having found his target, knowing that if he didn't leave now, it would be too late, he muttered inwardly.

Whoosh!

His soul instantly turned into a formless, intangible mist, flying straight toward the fat man not far away.

Thud!

As soon as the soul left, the old man's body immediately went limp, stiffening in place, motionless.

"He's gone..."

Seeing the sudden change, Pavilion Master Sai was delighted.

Suddenly losing all reaction meant the soul support was gone; the one who had possessed him must have been suppressed by this Master Zhang using some method and could no longer bear it, so he fled.

He had thought the young man's suggestion to try had little chance of success, never dreaming that not only would it succeed, but it would be so smooth.

"Hmm..."

Then, the old man who had been lying motionless on the ground stirred again and opened his eyes.

With the possessing soul gone, the original soul was finally no longer suppressed and regained control of the body.

"Luo Zhu, a rogue cultivator, thanks Master Zhang for saving my life..."

Although suppressed, he had been fully aware of the outside situation, knowing that if not for this young man's insistence, he would surely have died.

His gratitude was beyond words.

Standing up, just as he was about to express his thanks, he heard a sound not far away.

Achoo!

The fat man not far away felt a chill run through his body, shivered, and sneezed.

"Oh no, he... he... is possessing!"

Hearing the sneeze, the old man Luo Zhu recalled something, his pupils contracted, and he couldn't help shouting.

A martial artist's entire body is tempered by true qi, almost never falling ill; under normal circumstances, one does not easily sneeze.

When he was possessed, he had felt a chill and sneezed. Now that this guy had just left, and the fat man nearby showed the same symptom, it was obvious—he had been taken over!