Junior Sister

Possession isn't actually that mysterious; it's just a matter of souls merging. Whoever wakes up first is the one who gets possessed. It's a 50/50 chance whether it succeeds or not.

Of course, some people will always want to do something fancy, like some kind of metaphysical ritual or sacrificial ceremony. For example, they might play background music, songs, or dances during the self-destruction ceremony, making it like a festival. They use familiar melodies or suggestive methods to specifically awaken the personality. This is the most common tactic used by the Saintess of the religion.

Of course, there are also more ruthless and direct methods, such as those of the Xuanmen sect, which take advantage of the vessel being possessed to launch a sneak attack while the vessel is asleep in a dream, or to take advantage of the person's mental tension and psychological vulnerability under the fright of illusion, or simply to be more straightforward, to break their limbs, peel off their skin bit by bit, and use the pain to stimulate their personality to collapse, so as to easily seize their body.

Therefore, Zheng Zetian did not want to be thoroughly tormented and manipulated by this Xuanmen until he was mentally and physically broken. Fortunately, fate was on his side. Moreover, the other party could not withstand the true scripture piercing his mouth and esophagus. When it reached the duodenum, he basically suffered a mental breakdown and his soul was scattered.

However, before he could digest the fragments of Xieluo Mountain's primordial spirit and check the company's intelligence, Zheng Zetian let out a burp. Ignoring the green flames that almost singed his eyebrows, he gritted his teeth, rolled over, and hopped off the formation on one foot.

"Aaaaaah--!"

Yes, the discarded skin is transforming into Devil Embryo! The unrestrained human bodies on the altar are swelling up like a bubbling giant, with mountains and waves of flesh surging and expanding outwards!

At this moment, it was almost unrecognizable as human. Bathed in moonlight and shrouded in malevolent energy, countless limbs twisted and stretched out, like a giant pinkish-white anemone, ferociously growing towards the sky! Hands, limbs, organs, heads, and all sorts of disgusting things were replicated in huge quantities! They rushed towards the world outside the formation!

"Huff, huff..."

Despite the stinging pain all over his body and the excruciating stomach ache from the food poisoning, Zheng Zetian sped up his single-leg hops to avoid being crushed to death by this mountain of flesh. No, if he didn't die instantly, being left paralyzed would be even worse!

"Aaaaaah--!"

As if smelling fresh flesh and blood, countless fleshy limbs sprouted faces and rushed up to embrace the wildly beating Daozi.

"Thunderfire Banner!"

Zheng Zetian roared, made a hand seal to control his weapon, and a flash of lightning appeared in the darkness. A blue lightning bead flew over and smashed the branch tentacles that were chasing after him.

Zheng Zetian grabbed the Magic Treasure in one hand, unleashed lightning from both palms, blasting through waves of flesh and blood, carving a bloody path through the formation!

"Ahh--!"

A hand grabbed Zheng Zetian's ankle, nearly dragging him back!

"Tu Lou! Dinner's ready!"

The Tu Lou rushed over quickly, stomped on and crushed the Devil Embryo's arm, and bit off half of its palm. Zheng Zetian quickly jumped up, pounced on the sheep's back, and grabbed its ears.

Stop eating! Let's go!

"What, what happened...?"

Before Yuzan could react, Zheng Zetian grabbed her around the waist and threw her onto the sheep's back!

Yuzan cried out in surprise, "Ah! What are you doing! Where is my master!"

"It's been corrupted! Close your eyes, put your hat on, and don't open your eyes if you don't want to die!"

Zheng Zetian pressed down on the Yuzan, reached out and tore off a piece of the azure silk cloth from the Tu Lou's neck to cover its eyes as a precaution, then turned his head to look.

The mountain of flesh had broken free of the array's constraints, overturning large sections of forest and tearing open the earth's crust. The sea anemone-shaped mass of flesh, soaring into the sky, roared furiously at the full moon. Then, from the crack in its inner cavity, a thick arm tore through the flesh and burst forth. It turned out that some kind of ferocious and terrifying demon god, which had been nurtured and born from the sea anemone's sac, was desperately trying to break free!

Meanwhile, the anemone's fleshy walls trembled and convulsed, spraying foul-smelling blood plasma skyward like a fountain! The spray of blood rained down, knocking the branches and leaves of the nearby forests to the ground, where they corroded into ash!

Zheng Zetian lay on Yuzan's back, shielding her from some of the Devil Embryo's blood, and also absorbing some of the evil energy to repair his wounds.

However, he broke through to the Demon God Realm so quickly. In the past, it would have taken at least ten years to cultivate such a Devil Embryo. The current lunar power is too ridiculous...

"Master, Master, Master..."

Yuzan curled up, sobbing, her whole body trembling.

Seeing that she hadn't transformed, Zheng Zetian was relieved and, not having time to pay her any attention, simply plucked the Tu Lou's mane.

"Fly over the lake! Fly lower, okay, this is fine. Let's see the world."

Although a blood-and-flesh volcano was erupting and a demon god was being born not far behind him, Zheng Zetian was not flustered at all. He grabbed Tu Lou as soon as they reached the lake.

After all, the people of Ink Bamboo Mountain cultivate this kind of thing, so naturally they were well prepared for the Moon Worship Evil Transformation. There are many protective formations hidden under Tianyu Mountain Lake. Anyone who has been to the cafeteria knows where those free meat and vegetables come from.

Sure enough, the newly born demon god had just torn open its amniotic sac, broken free of the placenta, and been born on the earth. Before it could even be arrogant for long, a clear sword cry rang out from the darkness.

Then, from the horizon, a glimmer of starlight appeared, followed by a purple light that swept across the sky. A sword rainbow slid across the mountain ridges, cleaved the lake's surface, and shone forth, its overwhelming sword power leaving deep marks on the mountains!

The moment the troll god turned its head, it had no chance to resist. It was swept in front of the purple light and before it could even scream, it was smashed into eight pieces from head to toe with a bang!

Then the sword rainbow folded, transforming into a crescent moon high in the sky, casting its purple meteor-like firelight down upon it! A blinding burst of plasma erupted, instantly tearing apart the mountain-like demonic body, shattering it into pieces! In a flash, flesh and blood flew everywhere! Charred corpses and rotting bones were all consumed by flames!

The blasted body parts swirled and scattered across the mountains, while clusters of purplish-black flames still burned on the pieces of meat roasted by the moonlight, emitting a tantalizing aroma, just like freshly fried roast meat...

He took care of it in one move...

Suddenly, Zheng Zetian's eyes flashed, and in the instant his pupils contracted, he saw that the dazzling starlight, whose shape he could not discern, had already flashed in front of him, circled three times, and after confirming that he was not a demonic Devil Embryo, it transformed into a long rainbow of light and shone into the night sky. It quickly disappeared into the moonlight, the whole process as fast as lightning, so fast that even the system did not have time to load.

Sword Pill, no, Sword Lord... I don't recognize it. But none of the previous Sword Lords would have shown themselves under such False Moon. Is it something new again...?

"Waaaaah, waaaaah, hee hee hee, waaaaah..."

Zheng Zetian looked down and found that the jade Yuzan that was blocking her had fallen into a coma. It seemed that she was still having a nightmare, crying and laughing at the same time. It seemed that although her body was not corrupted by the evil energy, she was still only a Foundation Establishment. Her primordial spirit was too weak. She had been subjected to the roar of the demon god and the sword lord's circling around her. Her spirit could not withstand it and she went into shock.

"Take her back to the mountain, then come pick me up."

Zheng Zetian gave instructions to Tu Lou, then jumped onto the lake surface and limped back to the shore.

The demon god was instantly killed by the guardian swordsman of Ink Bamboo Mountain, and his primordial spirit was devoured by him, so naturally he was no longer in danger.

At this moment, many more cultivators from Tianyu Mountain and nearby fleets, riding their precious lights, gathered from all directions and landed in the forest to collect the flesh and blood of the demon god that had been blasted apart by a single sword strike.

Meanwhile, Zheng Zetian was calculating as he walked toward the remains of the Devil Embryo that had been brutally killed by the Sword Light. He trudged through the swamp of flesh and blood, which had been steamed to a pulp by the sword force, feeling his way through the rotten flesh and internal organs.

In that short time, he had quickly reviewed the memory fragments of 'Yin Qinglan of Xieluo Mountain'. Although 'Yin Qinglan' guarded the various secrets of the inner sect of 'Xieluo Mountain' and the true teachings of Yuxu Palace very tightly, and sealed the memories with secret techniques, making them impossible to unlock in an instant, she did not seal the memories of the past few days regarding her schemes against Mozhu Mountain and Tianyu Mountain, and Zheng Zetian easily saw them all.

It turns out this person really was a 'temporary worker'. She knew less about the company than Zheng Zetian did, and was basically an outsider recruited by the company in recent years.

Just as Yin Qinglan herself said, she was originally a direct disciple of Xieluo Mountain. She was injured by the protector of the Divine Sect in Duizhou. She came to Ink Bamboo Mountain to study, mainly to heal her injuries. If she could overcome this calamity of death through the Tai Su Dao and make a breakthrough, that would be the best outcome. But if it was beyond saving, she could not just wait to die. She had to find a way to dissolve her body.

However, this person's aptitude is indeed not very good. He is still studying the "Advanced Tai Su" and his injuries are too severe. Seeing that he has been dragging this out for too long and can no longer suppress his Dao body, he began to focus on finding a reincarnated Dao body to prepare for his physical dissolution.

Whether through the pleasure boat or the auction house, it's unclear, but Yin Qinglan came into contact with the company and was recruited as a spy, providing intelligence within Tianyu Mountain and helping with minor tasks in exchange for various resource rewards. In reality, she also used the 'company' as a channel to prepare for her eventual dissolution of her Dao body.

Interestingly, Yin Qinglan herself did not know the concept of a "company," nor did she know anything about extraterrestrials or the Demon Prince. She only knew that she was being hired by a "very wealthy and mysterious organization lurking inside Ink Bamboo Mountain" to gather intelligence on the Inner Sect of Ink Bamboo Mountain.

To be honest, over the years, so many spies from Ink Bamboo Mountain have been trying to find out all sorts of new things from the Grand Master, but the Grand Master hasn't beheaded anyone. On the contrary, he's been quite friendly, inviting everyone to participate in experiments. It's much safer than the previous days when the Three Great Sects were infiltrating.

Furthermore, those who study abroad in the Xuanmen sect would openly or secretly exchange information about Taisu's research with various forces. If they obtained secrets, they could contribute them to their own sect—why wouldn't they be happy to do so?

So over the years, 'Yin Qinglan', as an unofficial temporary worker of the company, has indeed done quite a few tasks to raise the funds and magical artifacts needed for the dissolution of the army. That's probably why she caught the eye of the giant and was recorded in the system.

But today's preparations were rushed. Yin Qinglan was cultivating outside when she suddenly received a telegram from her contact, saying that they had found her a reincarnated body. Because a body is hard to find and such an opportunity is rare, she immediately and hastily arranged to dissolve her body.

With this intelligence, Zheng Zetian had already made a pretty good calculation.

Sure enough, the company witnessed the whole thing: he went to the trading market during the day, knocked on the door with the Heavenly Book, was attacked by a sword immortal, and finally escaped from the sword.

And the other party's reaction came immediately, tonight's events could be seen as revenge, or as a test.

The matter of the Heavenly Book was concealed, and Zheng Zetian's abilities were tested again using this "temporary worker." If he could discover more of Zheng Zetian's true nature, all the better. If his fate was not yet sealed, then he would become a reward sent to the "temporary worker"—a physical vessel for reincarnation.

But now that he has completed the trial, his importance in the eyes of the 'company' should have increased, and at least the next time they contact him, he shouldn't be a 'temporary worker' anymore.

Okay, found it.

Zheng Zetian dug a silver hairpin out of the pile of meat with his bare hands.

He clearly saw from the fragments of his memory that this thing was given to Yin Qinglan by the 'company agent' whose head was severed by a flying sword right in front of him. The latter would wear this silver hairpin when going to the exchange and when delivering props. It should be something like an identity token.

'During the item appraisal, it was determined to be a Level 2 civilian technology item. The hairpin head is a communication telephone, and a leather-bound tube is hidden inside the hairpin body.'

What?

"Oh, a Geiger counter, a vacuum tube filled with a specific gas, is a counting instrument used to detect the intensity of ionizing radiation. When a high-energy particle passes through the vacuum tube, it collides gas molecules into ions and cations. After processing by the signal circuit, a voltage fluctuation is generated. Receiving the radiation signal, the stronger the radiation, the more high-energy particles are in the space, and the counter will make a continuous 'clucking' sound."

Oh... so what is a telephone?

'Electricity, sigh... a portable communicator that uses satellite communication, used for communication and location... well... tsk, do you know what a telegram is? Hmm, a carrier pigeon?'

Oh, a telegram... So the silver hairpin can send messages directly via telegram? And it can even locate locations?

"Yes, in principle, it is possible to use the encrypted communication frequency band of the telegraph to receive and send information. Moreover, this is a civilian communication device, which does not require gene lock or authorization authentication. Cultivators can probably connect and use it using a specific primordial spirit technique. However, this temporary worker probably does not have this level of technical skill, and it is probably supported by the company's technology behind the scenes."

In addition, these kinds of civilian products are affected by the environment. If there is a Divine Transformation cultivator nearby, the interference will be very serious, not to mention under the influence of the sect's secret realm, it is impossible to make a call at all.

Once outside the array, in the open air, location communication signals can be received. However, as mentioned before, level-two civilian devices using public channels are easily monitored, potentially allowing for reverse tracking and location tracing, or even interception and tampering of your communications...

Flesh Scorpion hadn't had a role in a while, so he rambled on and on, and although many of the words were unclear, Zheng Zetian seemed to understand the gist of it.

It's like a telegram, an extraterrestrial creation that allows for long-distance communication. Its advantages are portability and its ability to be used specifically by cultivators. However, it's not a particularly powerful device. Messages can be intercepted and affected by arrays and barriers. In a sense, it's indeed similar to a carrier pigeon, although the pigeon flies much faster and farther.

However, it seems that the telegram that Master sent back then might have been intercepted and altered by the company...

Oh right, so isn't that scorpion on his back also part of the system? Can it be used as a portable communicator? Can it send telegrams?

"Theoretically, it's possible, but I'm a biological computer in a secret experiment. Many of my permissions are locked by the giant, and right now I can only communicate with other brainwaves of my own kind. Besides, I'm not a communication-specialized type. Of course, if you help me evolve a few times, maybe I can evolve organs specifically for hacking communication channels."

It can actually evolve, and even evolve in a completely different direction—a 'new organ'? That must be more advanced than this hairpin, right?

"Of course! We're at least at level five technology, okay? Pretty awesome, right?"

Oh, I don't see anything impressive about it, just a pigeon that flies faster...

"Wow! You country bumpkin! Level 5 is company technology! Let me tell you..."

Zheng Zetian shrugged, listening to the scorpion explain all sorts of strange and wonderful technological concepts while continuing his treasure hunt through the flesh and blood. Although his main purpose was to find the hairpin, he still needed to disguise himself. Fortunately, killing people and picking up corpses was only human nature. It would also earn him some food, clothing, and other necessities.

So Zheng Zetian rummaged through the various pieces of rotten flesh, broken bones, and tissue fluid, and found seven or eight Storage Jade, some damaged magic treasures, Banknotes, and some torn robes and skirts. Sure enough, the Xuanmen are quite wealthy.

"Qing--Lan--!!"

While they were collecting the corpses, suddenly a ghostly figure flew over, pounced on the ground, picked up a handful of flesh and blood, and wailed loudly.

Zheng Zetian glanced at him; this person also seemed to be a True Person of the Xuanmen sect, but his skin was withered, his face aged, and he was coughing up blood while crying. He clearly had severe internal injuries and looked like he was on the verge of death and reincarnation. Honestly, why are all the people who come to Ink Bamboo Mountain half-dead?

Zheng Zetian quickly searched through Yin Qinglan's memory fragments to see if she was a brother Dao Companion, but after searching everywhere, he couldn't find her. That can't be right; the old man was crying so hard he was almost passing out, why doesn't Yin Qinglan have any deep impression of him...?

Oh, found him, standing in the background. Okay, this person is also a disciple of Xieluo Mountain, that is, a 'senior brother from the same sect,' and their relationship is probably 'more than friends, Dao Companion.' However, he obviously thinks that he and his junior sister are childhood sweethearts, have secretly pledged their lives to each other, and that she smiled at me because she must want to be with me forever. In the end, he risked his life to save 'Yin Qinglan's' life. That's all there is to it.

Well, it's normal not to remember this kind of relationship. After all, 'Yin Qinglan' was able to escape from Duizhou alive entirely because of several 'fellow disciples' whose names she couldn't remember, who took seventeen or eighteen blows for her. How could she possibly remember who they were?

Besides, this old man has been beaten so badly that he's suffering from the Five Declines of Heaven and Man, and his physical body is about to collapse. Who knows when his soul will be scattered? He's no longer of any use to her. 'Yin Qinglan' is too busy with her own reincarnation to even glance at him.

The Flesh Scorpion System immediately marked this person's head with a green "senior brother from the same sect".

Hey, don't use tags randomly.

"You, it was you! You ruined my junior sister!"

The 'senior brother' probably spotted the tattered robe in Zheng Zetian's hand at a glance, roared at him hoarsely, and drew his sword to slash at him!

Zheng Zetian speechless.

This heaven is being way too jealous! Having to endure several tribulations a day... who can handle that? And they've run out of true energy to escape with? Foundation Establishment are really weak... there's nothing we can do...

Zheng Zetian sighed inwardly, then raised his eyebrows, put on a high-pitched voice, raised his pinky finger, draped his Daoist robe over his shoulders, and stuck a silver hairpin into his hair.

"Senior brother! You should leave. I'm no longer your junior sister!"

"W-what! Could it be you?!"

The 'senior brother' was startled and quickly stopped! He swung his sword at the Daoist and then withdrew it. He did a quick calculation with his fingers, then his whole body trembled. He laughed and cried at the same time, a strange expression of expectation, relief, sadness, and satisfaction spreading through his eyes, snot and tears streaming down his face.

"Master, Master, Junior Sister! Junior Sister, you've finally been reincarnated! That's wonderful, that's fantastic! Congratulations!"

Zheng Zetian mimicked the tone from the fragments of memory, turning his face away.

"Senior brother, Qinglan is single-mindedly focused on the Dao. From now on, I will be a disciple of Ink Bamboo Mountain! I hope you will grant my request!"

"Waaaaah, okay, okay, I'm leaving. Junior sister, it's good that you're alive. Waaaaah, you have to take care of yourself from now on. Waaaaah..."

So the 'senior brother' wiped away his tears and left, turning back every few steps.