Jiang Xiaofeng slowly rose.
"..."
He looked over his body, somewhat speechless.
"The guy I possessed actually rotted away?"
"Looks like the mortal flesh of Teyvat still can't compare to the bodies of creatures born on an island nourished by the Philosopher's Stone..."
After all, in Dead Cells, the worst injury The Beheaded had ever suffered was being erased by the energy unleashed from the dead King's body.
Under other circumstances, it was very difficult to inflict serious damage on him.
Except through the Malaise.
But no matter how corrupted The Beheaded became in Dead Cells, he would never rot away from soaking in water.
Because the places where The Beheaded rotted away were lava or poisonous water...
"Maybe I need to find a stronger body to possess if I want to avoid the flesh rotting as much as possible."
"So the one I possessed wasn't that attendant... A miscalculation..."
As Jiang Xiaofeng thought, he kept pulling off the sea fish still biting into him.
Jiang Xiaofeng was rather good at holding grudges.
He would remember that attendant at Yanshang Teahouse. One day, he would go back and trash the place.
Jiang Xiaofeng carefully controlled the skeleton he currently possessed, making it stand up.
"Time for a new host."
Jiang Xiaofeng walked ahead, wanting to see whether there were any creatures on the island he could possess.
If there really weren't any, he would have to find a seabird to possess and head to the mainland...
As luck would have it, the endpoint of Jiang Xiaofeng's drift across the sea was Guyun Stone Forest.
In other words, the place where Rex Lapis had hurled his stone spears to seal away Naruto of the Vortex (cross that out), the demon god Osial.
But Jiang Xiaofeng did not know that yet.
He was simply happy to have encountered a human.
"Fatui Agent, thank you for your selfless contribution."
Muttering to himself, Jiang Xiaofeng activated Wings of the Crow and Tornadic Aura, then charged with the Blood Sword in hand.
The Fatui Agent saw only a white blur flash past, followed by a piercing pain. Before he could even use a skill, he knew nothing more...
As Jiang Xiaofeng absorbed the cells dropped from killing the Fatui Agent, he began possessing the body.
Soon, the Fatui Agent's corpse stood up, releasing a burst of energy to prove it had come back to life, and flames spouted from The Beheaded's head.
"This body... It's different from those big guys' bodies!"
Jiang Xiaofeng sensed the potential of this body.
It possessed both considerable strength and a body that had been eroded by a strange power...
Jiang Xiaofeng felt he had struck gold.
The more damaged a body was, the more completely Jiang Xiaofeng could control it.
Of course, that was without knowing whether there was a King's body that belonged to him.
The more exceptional the abilities Jiang Xiaofeng's host possessed, the stronger the abilities he inherited after possessing it.
"So... is this the difference between ordinary people and Fatui Skirmishers?"
Jiang Xiaofeng examined his new body's appearance.
Hmm... Apart from the head still being The Beheaded's head, wreathed in black flames, the rest of its appearance had barely changed.
In fact, if he put on the hood, it would be hard to notice anything unusual about him.
Jiang Xiaofeng picked up the head of the Fatui Agent he had decapitated with a single slash and removed his mask.
Hmm, a very ordinary face. Nothing worth remembering.
Jiang Xiaofeng tossed the head aside and put on the mask.
Now, he looked like a Fatui Agent.
"The Fatui Agent's blades look a lot like a pair of bladed tonfas..."
Jiang Xiaofeng played around with the two blades before putting them into his backpack.
Then he glanced at the system and froze.
"How did I level up again already?"
"Hmm..."
Jiang Xiaofeng rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Defeat a special human and receive thirty cells?"
"Vision holders count as special humans?"
"Then would killing Vision holders give me a few more cells?"
Looking at the cells he had received, Jiang Xiaofeng quietly pondered how a single Fatui Agent had provided forty cells, while those four guys had only been worth thirty cells each.
"But I really didn't expect that just throwing a throwing knife at the end would make it count them as unable to beat me."
Jiang Xiaofeng accepted the cells without a qualm, checked the rewards, and exited the system.
With Acceptance placed in the backpack slot provided by Porcupack, Jiang Xiaofeng planned to explore the island.
Soon, Jiang Xiaofeng discovered another red Teleport Waypoint.
"..."
Jiang Xiaofeng walked straight past the waypoint and continued onward.
He had guessed that this was Guyun Stone Forest.
He soon had another idea, too.
He could already detach his head, which meant he could possess relatively intact corpses.
His previous two possessions had both been thanks to the Homunculus Rune.
Monsters in Dead Cells exploded into chunks of flesh upon death by default, making possession impossible, but the world of Genshin Impact had no such rules.
Jiang Xiaofeng tried putting the skeleton into his backpack. Once he discovered it worked, his mind began racing.
When I possess an ordinary person, there's a small portion of Vision holders I can't beat.
Then how much would my combat strength increase if I possessed someone from the Fatui?
Thinking even bigger, Vision holders, Fatui Harbingers, demon gods of old, or even the current Seven!
Jiang Xiaofeng suddenly discovered the key to growing stronger.
If I could successfully possess the Geo Archon, I could do whatever I wanted in Teyvat!
Well, that sort of thing was best left to dreams.
The idea came quickly and left just as quickly.
If he offended the Geo Archon, Jiang Xiaofeng felt he would probably have to face the Wrath of the Rock.
But...
Jiang Xiaofeng raised his head, looking toward another island beyond the waypoint.
Perhaps he could give this big fellow a try.
Jiang Xiaofeng flung throwing knives to kill the Hilichurls foolish enough to charge at him along the way, snatched the huge axe from a Mitachurl's hands, and played around with it before tossing it to a Geo Samachurl.
After pocketing the Hilichurls' drops, Jiang Xiaofeng reached his destination.
The Geo Hypostasis.
A high-level Geo life-form codenamed "Gimel."
With eight inert outer shells, it could only be defeated by attacking the elemental core inside.
Jiang Xiaofeng looked at the giant cube resting quietly in place.
An elemental life-form... Could I possess it...?
Jiang Xiaofeng felt he could give it a die.
After all, it only had so many skills, and they were easy to dodge.
If things really didn't work out and he died, weren't there Hilichurl corpses all around?
I'll revive right here and wear it down to death. Hehe.
A deal with guaranteed profits and no losses.
With that thought, Jiang Xiaofeng took out his nearly forgotten War Spear and threw it at the sleeping Geo Hypostasis.
Clang!
The War Spear struck the Geo Hypostasis's shell, startling it awake.
The Geo Hypostasis immediately awoke, wanting to see who was foolish enough to come looking for trouble with it.
Then it saw Jiang Xiaofeng walking toward it.
"You're a product of blocked Ley Lines, right?"
Jiang Xiaofeng spoke.
"Did somebody call a doctor?"
The Geo Hypostasis immediately went berserk.
"Human, you are not welcome here!"
Suddenly hearing that voice, Jiang Xiaofeng looked at it in surprise.
It can actually talk?
Seeing that Jiang Xiaofeng did not answer, Gimel immediately summoned four stone pillars.
Jiang Xiaofeng darted aside to dodge the stone pillar erupting beneath his feet, watching the Geo Hypostasis with keen interest.
"Hahahaha!"
"That's a pretty neat trick. Hey! Can you perform it at parties?"