The Long Journey to Immortality

This time, Li Gan and Wu Changqing, who stayed overnight in Yehu Village, did not pay, but they still helped the villagers treat their illnesses and injuries to cover their lodging expenses.

The villagers in the small mountain village rely on the mountains for their livelihood, and they suffer from many injuries and illnesses.

It took Li Gan and Wu Changqing a full quarter of an hour to treat the wounds and relieve the pain of the seven villagers in Yehu Village using various free methods.

The only patient who baffled the two renowned doctors was an elderly woman who had recently suffered a bout of "confusion."

Whether it was low-grade pills or healing techniques, Li Gan and Wu Changqing tried them all, but none of them could restore the old woman, whose eyes were lifeless and who seemed to have lost her soul, to health.

Fortunately, the "consultation fees" accumulated from curing seven patients were enough to cover one night's accommodation.

The two were still able to enjoy a meal of wild game brought by the patient's family members without any guilt, and settled down in the mountain village to rest and wait for the sun to rise the next day.

The two disciples of the Zhengyi Sect lived in a small courtyard in a mountain village. The accommodations were far inferior to those in the sect, and it was barely enough to provide shelter from the wind and rain.

Before resting, Li Gan took a pen and wrote down the paper sword he would give to Bai Xianzi, reporting on the day's achievements and the place where the two would rest.

Wu Changqing took out a set of array flags, which were only of magical artifact level, and set up a protective array around the small courtyard where the two were temporarily staying, just in case.

After the paper swords were issued, Li Gan and Wu Changqing even sparred with them for a hundred rounds in the courtyard before returning to their rooms to rest.

The mountain village was exceptionally quiet at night, and both of them chose to pass the time through spiritual practice.

In the early hours of the morning, when all was quiet, Wu Changqing, who was sitting cross-legged on his bed practicing meditation, suddenly sensed that the array flags and formations had been touched by an external object.

He instantly snapped out of his meditative state, instinctively placing his hand on the storage bag at his waist as he walked out of his room.

Under the moonlight, he saw that it was the senile old woman who had triggered the restriction, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Wu Changqing muttered to himself, "Huh? Why is this elderly man, who's having an episode, sleepwalking around in the middle of the night? Don't his family keep an eye on him and lock the door?"

Stepping out of the formation, Wu Changqing used a magic incantation to temporarily "bind" the old man, similar to using a magical artifact, and then kindly escorted him home.

Unexpectedly, an accident occurred at that moment.

The old man, who had just been white-haired and listless, suddenly had a purple light flash in his eyes.

Immediately afterwards, her withered mouth suddenly opened wide.

A large amount of purple viscous liquid flew out from it, crushing towards Wu Changqing.

Before he could react, Wu Changqing was swallowed by the purple slime.

This terrifying and exaggerated scene lasted for no more than ten seconds under the moonlight before it came to an end.

When the last bit of purple slime completely detached from the old man's body, his already withered body immediately turned to dust, along with his powdered hemp clothing, which scattered with the wind.

After completely controlling and killing Wu Changqing, the purple slime covering his body surface burrowed into his body through various orifices.

Chapter 896 Forbearance

The sight of purple slime covering Wu Changqing's "corpse" entering his body through his orifices was even more terrifying and gruesome than the sight of the old woman opening her blood-red maw earlier.

If someone were watching nearby, they would definitely feel a jarring discomfort similar to "scratching a blackboard with fingernails".

Fortunately, the purple slime looked viscous, but it was actually incredibly smooth.

The nose is not the only opening in the human body that leads to the outside world.

The process was much faster than expected.

Large amounts of mucus seeped into Wu Changqing's body through the gaps between his ears, nose, eyes, mouth, and even fingernails, thus creating a surrogate and establishing a powerful regime.

In the short time it takes to breathe, Wu Changqing, who had just seemed to be trapped in a purple cicada pupa, regained his freedom. From the surface, he looked no different from someone who was asleep.

Under the moonlight, the wilderness of Night Fox Village was exceptionally quiet. Apart from the chirping of insects and birds in early spring, only the sounds of livestock kept by each household could be heard.

The occasional barking of dogs could not wake the mortals and cultivators who were fast asleep in the dead of night.

Unbeknownst to anyone, within the consciousness of Wu Changqing, who had already fallen to the ground and died, his remaining soul was still engaged in a final struggle against the purple monster that had invaded his body, attempting to maintain the sovereignty of the corpse and to expel the purple monster that had used tricks to kill him from his body.

Wu Changqing's sea of ​​consciousness had transformed into a purple world, with purple snowflakes falling from the sky, as if to completely reshape the world in this way.

His remaining remnant soul, with only a few fragments, was struggling to hold on, as thin as a feather.

Even with his mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation and at his peak, Wu Changqing would find it difficult to engage in a battle of spiritual awareness with the purple monster under such circumstances.

Not to mention that the person is now dead, leaving only a remnant soul that acts on instinct.

Winning is even more difficult than climbing to the sky.

Wu Changqing's remnant soul's resistance did not stop the purple monster's invasion for long.

In just ten breaths, the purple snow completely engulfed and killed Wu Changqing's remnant soul in his sea of ​​consciousness.

Thus, apart from his corpse which was about to be "used up," Wu Changqing was completely erased from this world, losing all hope of being reborn.

Having taken over the sea of ​​consciousness, the purple slime that had already spread throughout Wu Changqing's corpse finally had a command center.

The purple monster read Wu Changqing's remaining knowledge and memories.

Wu Changqing's corpse was also completely taken over and gradually assimilated by the purple monster's innate supernatural power, becoming like a magic weapon or artifact for it to use.

Wu Changqing, who had just collapsed, got up from the ground with a slight stiffness and then went from lying down to sitting up.

His eyes were lifeless, but they had a faint purple glow.

Unfortunately, this was not a resurrection.

Wu Changqing's body has been taken over by a purple monster that came from nowhere to the Central Plains, and he has been afflicted with a secret technique similar to possession.

Having just taken control of an unfamiliar body, "Wu Changqing" was still somewhat unaccustomed to and adapting to it.

His expression was blank, his movements were stiff, and he even had some difficulty standing.

Despite its physical manifestations, the purple monster had completely inherited most of Wu Changqing's legacy in terms of thought and spirit, knowing the identity of the body's owner and the general situation in the Central Plains.

Sitting on the ground, the purple monster inside Wu Changqing's body activated its brain, summarizing the useful information in Wu Changqing's memories, making a series of judgments, and planning its future actions.

"So the owner of this body was a disciple of the Zhengyi Sect? A disciple of the second largest cultivation sect in this region called Zhongyuan." Through the old woman's memories, the purple monster had already learned some information about Zhongyuan.

"They actually dispatched two groups of people to search for me, one of whom was a Golden Core cultivator? Isn't this a bit too strong a reaction?"

"I only ate some cattle and sheep and slaughtered a dozen or so ordinary people. There's no need to make such a fuss."

The purple monster wondered why the Zhengyi Sect would act this way. "Could it be because the Central Plains is too peaceful, and the small ripples I've stirred up are enough to make the Zhengyi Sect wary?"

Based on this deduction, the purple monster thought to itself, "It seems that the cultivators in this world, no matter how strong they are, are definitely not easy to deal with."

After considering some major issues, the purple monster then focused on the immediate situation.

“Golden Core cultivators possess the ability to detect with their divine sense. If Fairy Bai were to scan me with her divine sense, she would definitely be able to discover that I am not her disciple.”

"Is it possible for me to defeat that White Fairy now? It's a bit difficult, but escaping shouldn't be a problem. If I have another six months to recover, I'm sure I can win in a head-on confrontation."

"But if we drive away the white fairy, we'll definitely attract a black fairy instead, and it'll never end."

"We should find a better way to hide in Wu Changqing's body for a while, and then travel in the Central Plains or other places after our strength has been fully restored."

……

After much deliberation, the purple monster decided to continue pretending to be Wu Changqing for a while longer. Before reuniting with the White Fairy, he would find a suitable opportunity to leave the team, either by hiding in the Central Plains or by heading to the Southern Frontier or the Western Regions to lay low for the time being.

Once this matter has faded away, I will try my best to carry out my mission here as an ordinary cultivator, laying the groundwork for the future.

After sitting blankly on the ground for a full quarter of an hour, the purple monster gradually adapted to Wu Changqing's body, was able to stand up, and move freely like a normal person.

However, if one wants to use Wu Changqing's body to perform Taoist magic and magical treasures to fight against others, it will still require a certain amount of time to adapt.

After casually brushing the dust off his clothes, Wu Changqing straightened the storage bag at his waist and thought to himself, "Although my real body is only ordinary, it is still much more useful than that old woman's body."

Sure enough, five days of hardship were about to begin, and the purple monster was overjoyed to have obtained the body of a "young and strong man".

He patted the storage bag, took out a spirit sword, and swung it a few times. "Wu Changqing" used this method to further familiarize himself with this body, so as not to reveal any flaws in the next few days due to poor circulation of spiritual energy.

After flying on his sword for a full quarter of an hour, Wu Changqing used two more relatively quiet spells before he was satisfied.

"Alright, that's fine then."

The purple light in his eyes dissipated, and "Wu Changqing" looked no different from the Wu Changqing of the past.

Having inherited most of Wu Changqing's memories, the purple monster was confident that it could conceal itself for a few days, waiting for its strength to recover slightly, so as to find a suitable opportunity to escape.

After putting the spirit sword back into his storage bag, Wu Changqing strolled leisurely back to his room.

Having just gotten used to his new body, and with his senses still somewhat dulled, "Wu Changqing" didn't notice that someone was watching him from the side.

After Wu Changqing returned to his room, Li Gan suppressed his grief and wrote furiously on a piece of paper.

A moment later, another paper sword flew out, still following the aura of the White Fairy, heading towards the direction where the Golden Core cultivator was.

Chapter 897 Caught Off Guard

The next day, just as dawn broke, "Wu Changqing" broke out of his meditative state and couldn't wait to find Li Gan.

The purple monster has adapted to 95% of the young and strong body it possesses.

He felt he could perfectly play the role of "Wu Changqing".

Given this situation, he naturally wanted to leave Night Fox Village as soon as possible, lest the old woman's unexpected disappearance arouse Li Gan's suspicion and lead him to suspect him.

This possibility may only be one in ten, but in a world full of "enemies," the purple monster only wants to seek a peaceful life and is unwilling to take any risks, lest it end up dying before it even gets started.

Wu Changqing made the choice to leave before the news of the old woman's disappearance spread.

Knock on the door and call out, "Wu Changqing" said, "Senior Brother Li, it's already dawn, it's time to set off, don't delay the mission assigned by Master."

Li Gan had set up an extra layer of security around his room. As soon as "Wu Changqing" knocked on the door, Li Gan, who had been thinking about countermeasures all night and was already somewhat exhausted, began to execute his plan to stall for time and wait for Bai Xianzi, his reinforcement, to arrive.

As the leader and dominant figure in the two-person team, Li Gan has a number of delaying tactics at his disposal.

After feigning deafness and delaying for about fifteen minutes, Li Gan finally answered.

“Junior Brother Wu, please wait a moment. Last night, I had some thoughts and insights that I gained from seizing an opportunity.”

"Once I have fully absorbed these insights, the two of us will continue our journey."

Faced with this excuse, Wu Changqing had no way to continue urging him.

Wu Changqing had no choice but to say, "Senior brother, please do as you wish, but don't forget the task assigned by Master."

Li Gan stopped responding, and Wu Changqing could only sigh and return to his room to meditate, further familiarizing himself with the circulation of spiritual energy within his body, hoping to fully recover his strength as soon as possible.

With this one trick alone, Li Gan was able to delay for a full hour. Only after he received a telepathic message from the White Fairy who had come to Night Fox Village and was hiding nearby did he follow the White Fairy's instructions to carry out the "luring the snake out of its hole" plan.