Chen Shi'an stood beside the bed, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on Jueming, his heart filled with unease.
He could sense that Jueming was relying on his remaining sliver of clarity to resist the control of the Mind Seizing Art with all his strength.
Jueming's body was weak, and the four courtesans from the Fragrant Joy House had unsettled his Buddhist heart, leaving his mind unguarded.
Guan Wentian had told him that to control someone whose Mind Power exceeded his own with the Mind Seizing Art, he first had to make that person's mind lose its defenses.
After some thought, he had decided to invite four courtesans from the Fragrant Joy House to seek Master Jueming's guidance on Buddhist teachings.
Time slowly passed.
After roughly half an incense stick's worth of time, Jueming's body stopped trembling, and his eyes grew clear again.
At the same time, a smile appeared on Chen Shi'an's face, and he cast the Mind Seizing Art again.
Soon, the invisible net of Mind Power flew swiftly out of Jueming's mind and returned to Chen Shi'an's.
However, the net of Mind Power was now contracted. At its very center was a tiny human-shaped shadow, bald and long-browed: Jueming's soul imprint.
Chen Shi'an channeled his Mind Power, sending the net into the deepest reaches of his mind, intending to suppress Jueming's soul imprint and bring him completely under control.
Just as the net passed the Saintly Dao Stele, something unexpected happened.
The Saintly Dao Stele suddenly radiated an azure light, swiftly enveloping the net of Mind Power along with Jueming's soul imprint.
Then the net flew uncontrollably toward the Saintly Dao Stele and clung to it.
Immediately afterward, Jueming's soul imprint also clung to the Saintly Dao Stele, floated out of the net, and was pulled beneath the