Douluo Explorer Possessed by a Cultivator!

"Take these back and cultivate diligently. If you break through to the fifth level of Qi Refining within a year, I will make an exception and accept you as a registered disciple."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Tiezhu was practically stunned senseless by the overwhelming surprise.

Yellow Dragon Pills?

He had heard in the outer sect that these were precious medicinal pills for which outer sect disciples had to spend several years' worth of savings just to buy one!

Yet the elder had casually given him three? And even wanted to take him as a disciple?

With a thud, Zhang Tiezhu dropped to his knees again, his eyes reddening.

"Thank you, Elder, for granting me these pills! This disciple will surely devote everything he has to repaying Elder's boundless grace!"

Elder Wu smiled and waved his hand.

"Go on, go on."

Outside the scene.

The viewers of Douluo Continent sighed in amazement at the sight.

"The elders in this cultivation world are far too kind-tempered, aren't they?"

"Yeah, not only did he give him a cultivation technique, he even gave him pills for free and wanted to take him as a disciple."

"This is practically a pie falling from the sky."

In Heaven Dou City, quite a few young soul masters nearly drooled as they stared at the white jade porcelain bottle on the screen.

Even Bibi Dong, the Pope of Spirit Hall, nodded slightly.

"This High Heaven Sect has a deep foundation, and it treats its lower-ranking disciples quite generously as well."

"If there is an opportunity, Spirit Hall could try to establish good relations with such a sect."

In the common understanding of everyone on Douluo Continent, the strong were mostly arrogant and difficult to approach.

An expert like Elder Wu, who took the initiative to support a younger generation, naturally won immense favor from everyone.

However, just as everyone was happy for Zhang Tiezhu and felt that he was certain to rise rapidly in the cultivation world—

Zhang Tiezhu walked out of the cave dwelling after repeatedly expressing his gratitude.

The heavy stone door slowly closed once more.

Yet the heavenly screen's viewing angle did not follow Zhang Tiezhu as he left.

Instead, it remained within this sealed cave dwelling.

Inside the cave dwelling at this moment.

As the stone door closed, the smile on Elder Wu's face gradually vanished. He no longer looked like the benevolent, immortal-like elder from before.

It was replaced by a sinister expression.

Looking in the direction Zhang Tiezhu had left, the corners of his lips slowly curled into a strange arc.

"Three months, third level of Qi Refining."

"The spiritual power cultivated through the Eternal Spring Technique is indeed quite pure."

"My painstaking efforts were not wasted. I set up that fake test in the outer sect and lured in this pure shell of a body, one that has never been tainted by the internal energy of the mundane martial world."

After saying that, Elder Wu rose to his feet and paced around the hall.

At this moment, there was none of the composure expected of a sect elder left in him.

He suddenly began coughing violently.

The coughing grew worse and worse, until he even coughed up a pool of black blood.

"Cough, cough..."

Elder Wu wiped the black blood from the corner of his mouth, a trace of anxiety flashing through his eyes.

"This old man has less than three years of lifespan left at most."

"Back when I failed to break through to the Core Formation stage, I damaged the foundation of my meridians. This body has already decayed beyond repair and can no longer contain any more spiritual power."

"If I cannot find a suitable furnace cauldron for body-snatching, I can only sit in meditation and await death."

Body-snatching! Furnace cauldron! Death in meditation!

These unfamiliar terms reached the ears of every person on Douluo Continent through the heavenly screen.

Although no one yet fully understood what they specifically meant.

Paired with Elder Wu's sinister expression and that horrifying pool of black blood.

An inexplicable chill instantly shot from the soles of their feet to the crowns of their heads.

Within Shrek Academy.

Tang San's expression froze instantly. He abruptly stood up, clenching both fists as he said:

"Something's wrong."

"That old bastard's pills definitely had something wrong with them!"

In his previous life in Bashu, Tang San had seen plenty of hypocrites who appeared to be righteous and respectable but were secretly depraved scum.

Pies never fell from the sky—only traps did!

Over the next few days.

The scenes in the sky switched back and forth between Zhang Tiezhu and Elder Wu.

After returning to his wooden cabin, Zhang Tiezhu swallowed those Yellow Dragon Pills without hesitation.

Driven by the pills' effects, his cultivation began advancing by leaps and bounds.

Qi Refinement Level Four.

Qi Refinement Level Five!

In less than a month, he had actually met the requirement Elder Wu had set.

Zhang Tiezhu was so excited that he barely slept for several nights.

He felt that his life had reached its peak. He was about to become the personal disciple of an inner sect elder.

Filled with endless hopes for the future.

Zhang Tiezhu returned to Emerald Mist Peak and knelt before Elder Wu's cave residence.

The stone door opened.

This time, Elder Wu was not meditating beside his pill furnace.

Instead, he stood in the center of the hall, watching Zhang Tiezhu enter, the smile on his face even kinder than before.

"Good, very good."

"To break through two levels in less than a month—Tiezhu, you have not disappointed me."

Overwhelmed with excitement, Zhang Tiezhu repeatedly kowtowed.

"It is all thanks to the miraculous effects of the pills bestowed by Master. This disciple is willing to serve Master for life!"

The word "Master" came out remarkably smoothly.

Elder Wu nodded in satisfaction, stepped forward, and personally helped Zhang Tiezhu to his feet.

"Since you have met the requirements, I will formally accept you as my disciple today."

"Come with me to the inner chamber. I have a great fortune to bestow upon you."

As he spoke, Elder Wu turned and walked to the stone wall, pressing down on a protruding stone.

With a series of mechanical clicks, the stone wall slowly split apart, revealing a dark passage leading deep underground.

A bone-chilling gust of wind blew out from the passage, making Zhang Tiezhu shudder.

But he did not think much of it. Filled with joy, he simply followed behind Elder Wu and entered the passage.

The audience of Douluo Continent, however, all held their breath.

For some reason, the sight of that pitch-black passage sent chills down everyone's spine.

The passage was long. The farther down they went, the colder the surroundings became.

After walking for about the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

The space ahead finally opened up.

It was a hidden stone chamber deep underground.

The walls of the chamber were covered in moss that emitted a faint blue glow, making the entire place seem gloomy and terrifying.

At the center of the chamber stood a bed carved from a single block of ice.

The area around the ice bed was covered in intricate, bizarre crimson runes.

At the head of the bed sat a bronze incense burner, where purple incense was burning and releasing a sickeningly sweet stench.

"M-Master, what is this place?"

Zhang Tiezhu swallowed, instinctively sensing that something was wrong.

Elder Wu walked to the ice bed and turned around.

The kindness on his face had vanished completely.

Under the surrounding ghostly blue light, his wrinkled face looked incomparably sinister.

"This is the place where your great fortune awaits."

Elder Wu's voice had become somewhat hoarse.

He looked at Zhang Tiezhu as though he were admiring a perfect work of art.

"My obedient disciple, the Yellow Dragon Pills tasted good, didn't they?"

"To rapidly mature your body, so pure it contains not the slightest impurity, this old man even used up his treasured century-old spiritual herbs."

At these words, Zhang Tiezhu's whole body trembled.

He instinctively tried to back away.

But the instant he lifted his leg, a powerful wave of dizziness suddenly struck him.

Then he discovered that the spiritual energy within his body had abruptly gone out of control. His limbs became as heavy as lead, and he collapsed stiffly onto the cold stone floor.

Not only could he no longer move his body, he could not even lift a single finger.

The only things he could still move were his eyes, filled with terror.

"Y-you... what did you do to me?"

Zhang Tiezhu's voice shook, and tears nearly spilled from his eyes in panic.

Elder Wu walked to his side and looked down at him.

"Nothing much. I merely added a little Muscle-Softening Powder and Spirit-Dissolving Powder to those Yellow Dragon Pills."

"Together with the Soul-Bewildering Incense in this stone chamber, even a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator would have to lie down obediently."

With that, Elder Wu crouched down and extended a hand like dried tree bark, gently stroking Zhang Tiezhu's rosy cheek.

"What a perfect vessel."

"Only twenty years old, with undamaged meridians, and the spiritual energy cultivated by the Eternal Spring Technique is mild as well."

"It is practically tailor-made for this old man's possession."

Watching this nauseating scene on the screen of light, many people across Douluo Continent felt a chill run down their spines.

In Heaven Dou City, Emperor Xue Ye felt his stomach churn and nearly vomited up the lunch he had just eaten.

Within Shrek Academy, Dai Mubai gritted his teeth, his fists cracking as he clenched them.

"That old beast!"

"He took Zhang Tiezhu in from the very beginning just to use him as some kind of cultivation vessel?"

Tang San's face had gone pale. He took a deep breath.

"So that's how it is..."

"The cultivation world is not some paradise at all. It is a dark forest where the strong prey on the weak and devour people without even spitting out their bones."

"Behind every act of kindness, there may be a deadly killing intent hidden."

On the screen, Elder Wu had already lifted Zhang Tiezhu like a chick and placed him on the icy bed covered in crimson runes.

"You old dog! You'll die a miserable death!"

Zhang Tiezhu cursed in despair, tears sliding down from the corners of his eyes.

He was only a farmer who wanted to till his land in peace. Why had heaven given him hope, only to destroy it so cruelly?

But Elder Wu ignored his curses.

He sat cross-legged beside the icy bed and rapidly formed hand seals.

One spell after another struck the crimson runes around it.

At once, the formation within the entire stone chamber was fully activated.

A blood-red barrier enveloped the icy bed, preventing anyone from disturbing them.

"The time has come."

Elder Wu took a deep breath, a flicker of resolve flashing through his eyes.

"Today, this old man will defy fate and live another life!"

The moment his words fell, Elder Wu's body suddenly shuddered violently.

Then came a sight that everyone on Douluo Continent would never forget for the rest of their lives—one so horrifying that it would wake them from nightmares.

A mass of green light suddenly appeared at the crown of Elder Wu's head.

Accompanied by a scalp-numbing tearing sound, a fist-sized miniature figure glowing an eerie green, with the exact same face as Elder Wu, forcibly crawled out from the top of his head!

The primordial spirit had left the body!

After that tiny green figure left the flesh, Elder Wu's cross-legged body instantly lost all signs of life.

His head lolled to one side, and he became a corpse.

The green primordial spirit circled once in midair and let out a sinister laugh.

Then it transformed into a streak of green light and, with unstoppable force, viciously drilled straight into Zhang Tiezhu's mind through the center of his brow!

"Ah!"

A scream that no human should have been able to make suddenly echoed through the stone chamber. The process of possession tore the victim's soul apart while they were still alive.

Zhang Tiezhu's body convulsed madly atop the icy bed.

His eyes rolled upward until only the whites showed, the corners splitting open as two trails of bloody tears ran down his face.

The muscles in his face twisted together in agony, veins bulging one after another across his forehead as though they might burst at any moment.

This soul-rending pain, originating from the depths of his being, was transmitted through the heavenly curtain with perfect clarity to every person on Douluo Continent.

Inside Spirit Hall.

Bibi Dong drew in a sharp breath and unconsciously retreated half a step before collapsing directly onto the Pope's throne.

Even her usually cold, merciless eyes were filled with terror.

"Devouring a soul and taking over its body..."

"How could such a vicious evil art exist in this world?"

Compared with Zhao Hei having his soul extracted earlier, watching someone else's soul burrow into your mind and slowly devour your consciousness while you were still alive—

It was simply enough to make one despair and suffocate!

The screams continued for a full half hour before Zhang Tiezhu's convulsing body gradually calmed down.

For a time, the stone chamber fell silent as well.

After a while, Zhang Tiezhu, lying on the bed of ice, slowly opened his eyes.

He sat up from the bed, twisted his neck, and flexed his wrists.

On the honest, simple face that had once belonged to a young farmer now hung the weathered viciousness only an old monster could possess.

He looked at his hands and smiled in satisfaction.

"A young body truly is wonderful."

It was still Zhang Tiezhu's voice, but the tone had completely become Elder Wu's.

At the same time, the prompt from the heavenly curtain rang out right on cue.

It shattered Douluo Continent's last shred of hope.

[Qi Refining Stage Level 5 cultivator, Zhang Tiezhu, has died.]

[Cause of death: Encountered a late Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator attempting possession; soul completely devoured and assimilated.]

[Survival time: Four months and five days.]

[The first batch of five explorers has been completely wiped out.]

At the same time, in the imperial hall of the Heaven Dou Empire.

The hall was so silent that one could have heard a needle drop.

All the nobles and ministers, royal knights, and even the imperial consecrated masters hidden in the shadows lowered their heads, scarcely daring to breathe.

On the pure-gold dragon throne in the center of the hall, symbolizing the empire's highest authority, Emperor Xue Ye sat slumped in place.

He was too old.

The magnificent dragon robe that had once fit him perfectly now hung loosely over his shriveled body.

It was not merely old age—his complexion also carried an unnatural gray pallor.

Long-accumulated hidden ailments, coupled with some undetected chronic poison, were slowly eating away at this emperor's vitality.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

A violent fit of coughing broke the silence in the hall.

Emperor Xue Ye covered his mouth, coughing as if his heart were being torn apart.

The elderly eunuch at his side hurried forward with a bowl of ginseng soup, wanting to help ease his breathing.

"Get lost."

Emperor Xue Ye shoved the eunuch away, veins standing out on the back of his age-spotted hand.

He did not look at the kneeling ministers below. Instead, he raised his head, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the young farmer in the heavenly curtain who had already become "Elder Wu."

Everyone thought Emperor Xue Ye had been frightened by such a cruel evil art.

Even Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, standing at the head of the officials, furrowed her brows slightly.

She believed Emperor Xue Ye must have feared that this method of seizing other people's bodies would spread to the Heaven Dou Empire and trigger uncontrollable unrest.

Yet the truth was precisely the opposite.

Emperor Xue Ye's heart was pounding rapidly at this moment, but not out of fear.

After all, what emperor would not wish to live a second life, or even attain immortality?

He looked at his palm, shriveled like tree bark, then sensed the increasingly heavy feeling within his body, as though his heart could stop beating at any moment.

The shadow of death tormented him every night.

He did not want to die.

He was the ruler of the Heaven Dou Empire. He possessed the most supreme authority in the world, the vastest territory, and inexhaustible wealth.

With a single word from him, an army of tens of thousands would die for him.

But none of it could buy back even a single day of youth.

The imperial physicians had been replaced batch after batch, and Ning Fengzhi of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had also sent over many precious supplementary medicinal herbs.

But none of it worked.

Soul masters' healing soul skills could mend external wounds, but they could not cure one's allotted fate.

On Douluo Continent, once a person grew old, death was the only road ahead.

Even Titled Douluo could not escape the fate of becoming a pile of yellow earth.

Yet today, that immortal cultivator called Elder Wu on the heavenly screen had taught him a lesson.

"Possession..."

Emperor Xue Ye repeatedly savored those two words in his heart.