Being Possessed and All That? I Have Plenty of Experience
"This junior, Zhang Haiyue, greets you, senior."
Yu Zhi pretended he had just recovered from his shock and answered with a touch of restraint. There was no way he could tell him his real name. This was the Zhang Family's place, and he didn't know whether Daoist Green Jade had any connection to the family, so even if he made up a name, it had to sound convincing.
"You're a member of the Zhang Family?" Hearing Yu Zhi's name, Daoist Green Jade gritted his teeth. Heaven's justice comes full circle. Your Zhang Family imprisoned me for a thousand years. Now, taking over a Zhang descendant's body will be an eye for an eye. Once I get out, I must kill every last member of the Zhang Family to ease the hatred in my heart.
"The Zhang Family has already fallen into decline, and the whole family has disbanded. Now only my older brother and I are left, relying on each other and guarding this place. They're all dead, all dead. My brother and I grew up knowing nothing about the Zhang Family." Yu Zhi put on a dejected, helpless expression.
"How could this be? Back then, the Zhang Family... Forget it, there's no point talking about that. Actually, I'm half a member of the Zhang Family myself. You look young, so I doubt you know much about its affairs. Very well, I'll tell you. Ten thousand years ago, this was a continent at the edge of the cultivation world, part of the Queen Mother of the West's domain. The Zhang Family descended from the Queen Mother of the West. A plot against her unfolded unseen, and she was ultimately defeated. This continent was shattered and fell to an unknown place. After a long time had passed, a heavenly dao actually arose here, and this world gradually took shape. But as time went on, the spiritual energy here grew increasingly thin, and the heavenly dao also seemed to begin developing in a different direction. I pieced this information together from rumors in the cultivation world after I came here."
"Then how did you end up stranded here, senior?" Yu Zhi showed a suitable amount of curiosity. As he listened to this secret history, he reckoned that what the old ghost was saying was probably true.
"I was betrayed. Two thousand years ago, I accidentally fell into this world while being hunted. At the time, my cultivation had already reached the Body Integration Stage, but my close friends coveted my treasures and joined forces to kill me and take them. I intended to perish together with them, but unexpectedly ended up here instead, grievously injured and with my cultivation greatly diminished. My wife later saved me, and we gradually fell in love. We overcame countless obstacles and finally won the Zhang Family's approval, after which we married. My wife was the Zhang Family's Qilin woman, so I'm half a member of the Zhang Family myself." Daoist Green Jade's voice was tinged with nostalgia.
"Your experiences have been truly tragic, senior. Then how did you end up inside the ring, on the verge of dissipating? And I've never heard of cultivators before." Yu Zhi didn't believe a word of Daoist Green Jade's claim about being half a member of the Zhang Family. The Zhang Family didn't marry outsiders, especially not the main family's Qilin. Otherwise, Zhang Qiling wouldn't have had such a miserable childhood. This man really thought he was a child who knew nothing and had started spinning nonsense.
"I suppose it was because the heavenly dao had already taken another branch and no longer permitted cultivators to exist. And all this was probably also connected to what happened back then. The Zhang Family was as wealthy as a nation, so powerful that it could even have replaced the ruling dynasty. The emperor at the time was wary of them, and the Zhang Family drew an attack from 'it.' It was also then that a great war capable of destroying heaven and earth erupted in this world. Afterward, the world's spiritual energy was exhausted, and fewer than one in ten thousand cultivators survived. My injuries were too severe, and without spiritual energy to nourish it, my body deteriorated. In the end, I could only hide in the ring as a primordial spirit. My wife also perished in that great war."
When Daoist Green Jade came to the painful part, his voice trembled as though he were about to cry.
"Forgive me for making a spectacle of myself. After all these years, I still find it hard to let go."
"Please accept my condolences, senior." Listening to the ghost spin his tale, Yu Zhi spun one of his own. Even if a Body Integration Stage cultivator's realm had fallen and a thousand years had passed, a mere Nascent Soul like him was still no match for one. He had better see what the other party intended to do.
"Having met you, I have no more regrets. Today, I shall pass on all my arts to you."
"What must this junior do?" Yu Zhi now realized that the old ghost probably hadn't noticed he was at the Nascent Soul Stage and thought he was merely a mortal. That meant his current cultivation might be about the same as Yu Zhi's, which was why he hadn't noticed. It seemed Yu Zhi still had a chance of winning.
"You need only open your mind and spirit. I can use a secret art to impart them directly to you. After I die, you may take whatever you wish from the ring. There are also some of my belongings here; you may use them all. Consider it the last care I, your master, can show you, my final disciple."
"All right, let's begin." Yu Zhi had no other choice now. The ring still belonged to the old ghost, and he had already tried in secret; he couldn't leave this place. A starving camel was still bigger than a horse.
"Good disciple, your master will pass on the cultivation method now. Do not resist. Hehehe." Daoist Green Jade's primordial spirit rushed at Yu Zhi. Seemingly sensing that he was about to succeed, he couldn't stop himself from grinning.
Yu Zhi held his mind steady and fought back with all his strength. He had some experience being possessed, after all. This time, with no system holding him back, he was sure he could succeed. In any case, it was victory or death.
Daoist Green Jade returned to the body with Yu Zhi's primordial spirit. He had expected to take the body with ease, but the moment he made contact, he realized something was wrong. This brat had cultivation, and at the Nascent Soul Stage, almost equal to his own current level. He immediately tried to withdraw into the ring, where his true battlefield lay. But how could Yu Zhi let him have his way? He clung tightly to Daoist Green Jade, trapping him inside his own body. In this situation, even a fool knew he only had a chance of winning on his own battlefield. And so the two began fighting inside the body, each determined to devour the other.
Zhang Qiling silently held Yu Zhi's hand, intending to wait a little longer and see what happened. Then he noticed Yu Zhi's body suddenly begin to tremble violently. His arms and legs flailed nonstop, and his expression shifted from sinister to peaceful, then from arrogant to deranged. He looked as though he had split into different people. There was definitely something wrong with that ring. Zhang Qiling paced around anxiously, not knowing what to do.
As the body's owner, Yu Zhi had initially held the advantage over the old ghost. He had nearly gained control and was on the verge of finishing him off, when the old ghost used some unknown secret art. Black vapor began pouring from him, engulfing Yu Zhi's primordial spirit, and a searing pain struck in an instant. "Hehehe, brat, you're not a Zhang. Without Qilin Blood, this is the fate you're destined for. A single Wood Spiritual Root. It seems this body of yours was born for me. Heaven has treated me well!"
Caught off guard by the sneak attack, Yu Zhi felt his primordial spirit begin to weaken and spat out a mouthful of essence blood. It seemed he would have to perish together with the old ghost. Though the contract would cause Zhang Qiling to be injured, at least he would still live. If the old ghost succeeded in taking the body, Zhang Qiling would suffer even greater harm.
Zhang Qiling watched thick black vapor begin to pour from Yu Zhi's body, followed by a large mouthful of blood. His expression also began to grow listless. With no other option, Zhang Qiling decided to try letting some blood.
He quickly took a knife and slashed his palm hard. Blood gushed from the wound, which was deep enough to expose bone. He propped Yu Zhi's body half against himself, shoved one hand into his mouth, and gripped his chin with the other, forcing Yu Zhi to swallow. The instant the blood entered him-
Zhang Qiling saw that it seemed to be working. The dense, churning black vapor appeared to have diminished considerably. He clenched his palm hard, making the blood flow faster and in greater volume.
Yu Zhi was not destined to die either. As soon as Qilin Blood entered his body, the old ghost's secret art began to fail and even showed signs of dissipating. Mindful that villains died from talking too much, Yu Zhi didn't say a word. He lunged forward and began tearing at the old ghost's primordial spirit.
Qilin Blood really was a good thing, the natural bane of all evil things. At last, Yu Zhi destroyed the primordial spirit of the so-called Daoist Green Jade and regained control of his body. His head felt as though it were splitting open. The old ghost's memories spanning thousands of years were not so easy to absorb; if things went badly, the impact could turn him into a fool.
His consciousness gradually returned to his body. Tasting the sweet, bloody rust in his mouth, he raised a hand to Zhang Qiling's arm and shook his head slightly, signaling that he didn't need to feed him any more.
Seeing Yu Zhi come back to life, Zhang Qiling buried his head against his neck and wrapped both arms tightly around him from behind. His body trembled uncontrollably. He could feel that he had truly come close to losing him just now. At last, he knew what fear felt like.
Yu Zhi tilted his head and opened his mouth to offer a few words of comfort. Unexpectedly, a great gush of blood poured out as soon as he spoke, spraying Zhang Qiling's face. The two primordial spirits fighting inside his body had nearly ruined it.
"Don't talk, Yu Zhi. I'll help you lie down." Zhang Qiling paid no attention to the blood on his face. Instead, he carefully wiped the blood from Yu Zhi's mouth and slowly helped him lie down.
"I'm fine. I feel much better after spitting it out. Let me sleep for a while." Looking at Zhang Qiling like this, Yu Zhi felt a pang of sorrow. He didn't want his god, his bright moon, to be sad.
"All right. Rest first. I'll stay with you."
"Mm." Yu Zhi closed his eyes and began digesting the old ghost's memories.
Zhang Qiling watched the man's breathing gradually steady and felt a little more at ease. He held one of his hands tightly without letting go, as though that would give him much greater peace of mind.