Chapter 138 – Body Snatching

With the golden light, earthquake, blood moon, and other phenomena gone, the mountain forest returned to silence. Even the rustling of leaves disappeared, and the wind seemed to have stopped. In such tranquility, Yao Wei’s movements appeared somewhat noisy, but he seemed oblivious to it. Struggling to set up a defensive Four Symbols Formation, he crawled back to Zeng Jingxuan’s side and let out a soft sigh.

Now, the two of them were completely weakened and injured. Yao Wei was in slightly better shape, but Zeng Jingxuan could barely move a finger. The Forbidden Technique truly lived up to its name. Surviving this ordeal was a result of their accumulated virtue and good deeds over the years. It wasn’t for nothing that he had broken up so many unhappy couples… As his thoughts wandered, he leaned closer, carefully pulling Zeng Jingxuan into his lap. Such a bold move would have earned him a kick under normal circumstances, but this was an exceptional situation. If he didn’t seize the opportunity now, it might never come again. Yao Wei was not about to let go.

Holding Zeng Jingxuan in his arms, Yao Wei glanced at his slightly closed eyes and cleared his throat. He picked up the walkie-talkie from the ground, intending to make contact again. In truth, the distance from where Zhang Xiuqi was shouldn’t have taken long, but after the intense battle they had just fought, everyone had given their all. If even martial artists like them were in such a state, Wei Yang, that kid, must be worse off. With everyone injured and in such a mountainous area, it was better to take it slow, as long as nothing bad happened.

This was when the walkie-talkie proved its importance. Although Zeng Jingxuan rarely spoke, Yao Wei often filled the silence with chatter, not just to ease the tension but also to reassure both sides and prevent further mishaps. However, as soon as he pressed the talk button, a chilling sensation swept over him. The Four Symbols Formation beside him shattered into pieces, and yin energy surged!

What was happening? Yao Wei was so startled he nearly jumped to his feet, but the yin energy that engulfed them didn’t erupt. Instead, it tightly enveloped the two of them. A calm yet slightly arrogant voice came from the distance: “One with activated apertures, the other with a depleted inner core. Both useless. I should have gone to check over there earlier…”

A man’s figure gradually emerged from the distance. In the darkness, his plain white robes appeared especially ethereal, yet they also carried an eerie, ghostly aura.

Yao Wei didn’t have time to think. He grabbed a burning bottle and hurled it toward the man. Right now, he couldn’t use any proper Daoist techniques, so these tools were his only option. But since the formation had already been broken, how could someone still be alive over there!

The burning bottle flew through the air, but before it could reach the man, it burst with a “pop.” A copper coin had pierced through it, exploding the bottle mid-air. Although it didn’t harm the man, the spilled flames illuminated his face. He was a man of quite handsome features, refined and dignified, with a tall and straight posture. A faint smile played on his lips, exuding a warmth that made one instinctively want to approach him. However, his eyes ruined it all. Under the bright light of the burning bottle, they revealed a mixture of disdain and mockery.

As if recognizing the man’s face, Zeng Jingxuan suddenly trembled and struggled to sit up. “Impossible! Impossible… the soul lamp has already gone out! I… I buried him myself!”

Startled by Zeng Jingxuan’s sudden movement, Yao Wei quickly pulled him back, shielding him behind his body. Although his limbs were weak and he could barely use any spells, he wouldn’t let anyone harm Zeng Jingxuan!

Grabbing the stun baton he had placed nearby, Yao Wei’s face hardened with determination. Without hesitation, he charged forward!

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Having lost a lot of blood earlier and walking for hours on the mountain trail, Wei Yang’s legs were weak, and he could only gasp for breath. Stumbling behind Zhang Xiuqi, he struggled to make his way to the meeting point. Because of his condition, what should have been a short journey was dragged out several times longer. If Zhang Xiuqi hadn’t been equally exhausted, he might have just carried Wei Yang and rushed ahead.

Despite the slow pace, the journey was relatively safe, with Yao Wei occasionally sending signals over the walkie-talkie. The several kilometers of mountain trail weren’t too unbearable. However, just as they were about to reach the camp, a muffled grunt came through the walkie-talkie, followed by static. Without a word, Zhang Xiuqi’s expression darkened, and he sprinted forward.

Having experienced yin energy interference before, Wei Yang immediately understood what had happened. Such a sudden surge of dense yin energy could only mean that something dangerous had happened to Zeng Jingxuan’s team! Ignoring the cramp in his calf, Wei Yang gritted his teeth and ran as well. The weeds that had only reached his ankles now became obstacles, tripping him up. Struggling to stay upright, he rounded the last stretch of trees, only to nearly crash into Zhang Xiuqi’s back. For some reason, Zhang Xiuqi had stopped, standing there as if frozen. Wei Yang didn’t dare delay and quickly looked toward the camp.

What he saw sent a cold sweat down his back. Yao Wei lay face down in the grass, his blood staining the ground red. His condition was unknown. Meanwhile, Zeng Jingxuan was being strangled by a man, blood streaming from his facial orifices and staining the man’s pristine white robes. This was an extremely critical situation, so why was Zhang Xiuqi standing there like a statue?

Before Wei Yang could react, the man strangling Zeng Jingxuan let go. His unnaturally bright eyes turned toward them. As if struck by that gaze, Zhang Xiuqi involuntarily took a step forward, his shoulders trembling. However, Zeng Jingxuan, who had collapsed to the ground, suddenly moved his lips, and a faint whisper reached their ears.

“He’s not… Xiao Qi, he’s not…”

Not what? Wei Yang didn’t understand, but a trembling voice came from beside him.

“Father…?”

What?! For the first time, Wei Yang reacted so quickly. He looked at the man with a horrified expression. Who was this? Zhang Xiuqi’s father? But hadn’t he died twenty years ago?

The man’s lips curled into a smile. “These two are somewhat decent. You must be the little brat who escaped back then. I thought you’d died in the forbidden zone. Who knew you could live this long without a complete soul? As for the boy beside you…”

His gaze shifted to Wei Yang, pausing for a moment before suddenly lighting up with recognition. “You’re carrying the Bone Formation? My Bone Formation? How did you find it? Could it be that you were the one who activated it initially…”

As he spoke those last words, the man’s expression changed completely. Gone was the slightly arrogant demeanor, replaced by a chilling greed that radiated malice!

Snapping out of his daze, Zhang Xiuqi tightly gripped the hilt of his Suihou Sword. That couldn’t be his father! His father would never look at anyone with such eyes! But this face, this body—they were undeniably his father’s, unchanged even after twenty years… Someone had taken over his father’s body!

In an instant, rage boiled within Zhang Xiuqi. Without a word, he charged forward. There were no fancy moves, no feints. With a single swipe of his short sword, a talisman lit up! This was the Soul Shaking Talisman, unique to Longhu Mountain, capable of dealing with most evil spirits possessing a body. He was determined to destroy the malevolent soul that had taken over his father’s body!

However, the man merely smirked and said casually, “Longhu Mountain’s Daoist techniques. Pity the other one was better than you.”

As he spoke, a small bone fragment shot out, directly colliding with the talisman. With a loud explosion, the talisman’s power was shattered before it could fully form. Zhang Xiuqi, suffering from the backlash, hesitated for a moment, and in that instant, the man was already in front of him. A blood talisman was pressed against his forehead.

Unable to dodge, Zhang Xiuqi’s mind was struck with a deafening roar, and his legs gave out. The three souls and seven spirits that had just returned to his body began to stir, as if being forced out by the talisman on his forehead! This was the same talisman he had encountered years ago—the Soul Binding Talisman. This was the person who had harmed his father!

With a surge of strength he didn’t know he had, Zhang Xiuqi reached up and grabbed the blood talisman. It burned in his palm, the pain driving him to madness, but he couldn’t fall now. He had to kill this man, avenge his father, and protect Wei Yang… He couldn’t give up!

“Ahhh!” A distorted scream tore from his throat as he ripped the talisman off, feeling as though he had torn out half his soul. Seeing the man’s sneer as he pulled out another blood talisman, Zhang Xiuqi struggled to rise, but the man was faster, slamming the talisman toward the top of his head!

However, the strike didn’t land. Someone had stopped him. Wei Yang’s Bone Formation had lit up again, glowing with a brilliant golden light. The light was so intense that the blood talisman burst into flames. The man, momentarily stunned, dropped the talisman and turned his gaze to Wei Yang.

“So, it’s true. The bloodline of the Wu Family!” He licked his lips, his desire unmistakable. “It’s said that Sun Yunhe became immortal by consuming a Jiang Wu, creating such formations. I won’t eat you—I’ll just borrow your body. A hundred years of life, divine powers, becoming a god in the eyes of the ignorant masses…”

Wei Yang’s face was pale, almost sickly under the golden light of the Bone Formation, but he managed a mocking smile. “A thousand-year turtle, ten-thousand-year tortoise. I wonder which species you belong to. I’m a living person, not interested in becoming an ancient monster!”

Insulted as a turtle or tortoise, the man wasn’t angered. With a flick of his finger, several pieces of Dead Jade rolled to Wei Yang’s feet. As the jade hit the ground, a gust of yin wind howled, and several Malevolent Ghosts surged forward, aiming for the Bone Formation at Wei Yang’s chest. As a treasure of the Wu Family, the Bone Formation wasn’t something these ghosts could handle. However, as the golden light flickered and destroyed the ghosts, the man had already closed the distance. In just a few steps, he was in front of Wei Yang, his left hand—covered in a white glove—reaching out.

“What a good thing. It’s a shame you’re the one using it.” His hand moved slowly, almost languidly, as it pierced through the golden light and pressed against Wei Yang’s forehead.

The movement didn’t seem fast, but Wei Yang couldn’t dodge it. The icy touch of the man’s hand felt like a sharp needle piercing his mind. A muffled grunt escaped Wei Yang’s lips as he tried to bite his tongue and produce some protective saliva, but he couldn’t even move his jaw or fingers. The invasive sensation in his mind made him feel as though he was being forced out of his own body. It wasn’t exactly pain, but a burning torment that wracked his soul.

Was this what body snatching felt like? Wei Yang’s body trembled slightly. His left hand still clutched the Bone Formation, but the golden light emanating from it was fading, as if it would dissipate at any moment. He couldn’t resist this man. He wasn’t like Zeng Jingxuan or Zhang Xiuqi, who knew powerful Daoist techniques. Against this monster who had taken over the body of the Celestial Master, he was utterly powerless. His soul was about to be completely expelled, and his body would be stolen.

His soul…

Suddenly, Wei Yang remembered what Zeng Jingxuan had said before they entered the mountains: to truly activate the Bone Formation, one might need the Soul Attaching Spell, which involved attaching one’s soul to the formation. He had considered using this spell as a last resort and had even pondered how to perform such a feat. And now, his soul was being forced out of his body.

A faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared on Wei Yang’s lips as his gaze went blank, and he stopped resisting. The man chuckled softly. “That’s it, little one. This is the key to endless life…”

Just as he spoke, something tugged at his pants. The man glanced down and saw a turtle at his feet. What was this? He casually kicked it away, and the turtle’s shell cracked against a tree trunk with a sharp sound. Dismissing the turtle, the man turned back to Wei Yang, ready to complete the body snatching. But at that moment, something unexpected happened. The Bone Formation in Wei Yang’s hand lit up—not with golden or silver light, but with a thick, blood-red glow.

The light was like flames, like acid. With a sizzling sound, the white glove on the man’s hand disintegrated into ash, revealing a pale, artificial limb made of resin. The talismans carved into the arm were instantly burned away, followed by the arm itself. The man let out a bloodcurdling scream, trying to pull away, but it was too late.

The red light enveloped his entire body, seeping into his eyes, nose, and mouth like a swarm of parasites. The screams grew louder and more agonizing, sending shivers down the spine. After what felt like an eternity, the cries suddenly stopped. The man collapsed backward, his body twitching briefly before falling completely still, lifeless.

The red light faded. Wei Yang’s eyes remained blank, and without the man’s grip, his body crumpled to the ground.

A voice echoed in his ears, distant yet close, calling his name…