The Long Journey to Immortality

She stood up, casually made a hand seal, and tried to dry the clothes to hide this beautiful scene.

But they found that there was not a single flame emerging around her, nor any flow of spiritual energy within her body.

“Oh dear, I almost forgot,” Feng Bailu recalled another side effect of “The Reincarnation of the Mysterious Female”, “Now I should have no magic power at all, just like an ordinary mortal.”

Since he began formally cultivating at the age of fifteen, Feng Bailu has become accustomed to having spiritual power by his side.

Without the help of magic, she inevitably felt a little out of sorts.

Without any magical power, Feng Bailu couldn't even open his own storage bag, so he could only choose to endure it for the time being and put this trivial matter aside.

She took two steps and came to the Soul-Nourishing Wood located in the center of the formation. She bowed respectfully and said in a solemn voice, "Senior Xiaoyaozi."

"Awake?" Xiaoyaozi's phantom appeared in the center of the formation, smiling as he looked at the girl.

"Awake? Did the secret technique succeed?" Feng Bailu has no spiritual power at all, and there are no tools to test his spiritual roots. Naturally, he cannot use the internal vision ability that only the Foundation Establishment stage possesses, or use external objects to know the condition of his body.

Xiaoyaozi laughed and said, "Of course it was successful, but you must be careful not to cultivate on your own for the next three days. Let the remaining spiritual energy of the Xuanpin Pearl in your body continue to nourish your acupoints and moisturize your spiritual root. Only in this way can this reincarnation technique achieve its full effect."

"Yes, Senior Xiaoyaozi, I've noted it down." Feng Bailu bowed again.

Upon hearing the term "senior," Xiaoyaozi feigned displeasure, "Still calling me senior?"

Feng Bailu wasn't stupid, so he naturally understood what Xiaoyaozi meant. "Yes, yes, Master, this disciple understands."

“You’re a promising young man,” Xiaoyaozi’s illusory figure waved his hand, activating the array. A small bottle used to store pills appeared in front of Feng Bailu without him even realizing it. “Take this foundation-strengthening pill first, then meditate for three days. We can talk about the rest later.”

"Yes, Master."

Feng Bailu quickly picked up the medicine bottle, pulled out the stopper, and poured the pills into his palm.

There were only three pills in the small bottle.

Seeing the pitted blue pill in his palm, Feng Bailu's heart tightened. He remembered the ancient book he had read before entering the cave and couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

"What's going on? These three pills should be Soul-Suppressing Pills. But why did Senior Xiaoyaozi say they were foundation-strengthening pills?" Feng Bailu had already sensed something was wrong. Although he hadn't fully understood the reason yet, he had already changed the word "Master" back to "Senior Xiaoyaozi" in his heart.

Xiaoyaozi keenly noticed the change in Feng Bailu's expression, but remained calm and continued to persuade him, "Disciple, quickly take the pill and meditate. If you are late, it will cause a big problem."

Although Feng Bailu didn't know what Xiaoyaozi was up to, he already considered Xiaoyaozi's actions to be malicious, so he naturally wouldn't swallow the pill that was suspected to be a Soul-Suppressing Pill.

“Master,” Feng Bailu said, feigning politeness, “has this pill been stored for too long? It looks like it’s been eaten by insects; it’s probably spoiled.”

"Don't worry, the pills are fine," Xiaoyaozi said, still maintaining the demeanor of a good master, before revealing his true colors. "Since you don't want to take them, then don't take them yet. Let me ask you a question first."

“Master, ask away,” Feng Bailu said.

Xiaoyaozi put aside his question about why Feng Bailu recognized the Soul-Suppressing Pill and asked, "Disciple, do you know how many types of body-seizing techniques cultivators generally practice?"

Upon hearing the word "possession," Feng Bailu, who had just woken up, had her already sickly pale face covered with another layer of frost.

[Author's Note] The contract has been signed.

Chapter Nine: The Dagger is Revealed

See the picture poorly.

Feng Bailu understood that Xiaoyaozi's remnant soul's thoughts about her and what methods it intended to use had been completely revealed in this short question.

With such a blatant question, Xiaoyaozi must already have a plan in mind.

Moreover, Xiaoyaozi most likely had this idea when he built his cave dwelling, so there would be no room for her to bargain.

Having figured out these details, Feng Bailu did not feel despair. Instead, he calmed down and began to answer Xiaoyaozi's questions.

On the one hand, she was certain that her unintentional recognition of the "Suppressing God Pill" and her refusal to take it were definitely not part of Xiaoyaozi's original plan.

On the other hand, she also needed time to think things through carefully and see if she could find a glimmer of hope in this crisis.

Back then, he toiled tirelessly for the so-called path of cultivation, but never found the right method.

Now, having teetered on the brink of life and death several times, she has found a glimmer of opportunity, which has completely opened up the path of cultivation that was originally closed to him.

Having finally gotten this opportunity, she naturally wouldn't give it up and surrender to Xiaoyaozi.

Taking a deep breath, Feng Bailu recalled the knowledge he had learned while studying in the sect and answered Xiaoyaozi's question.

"There are seven or eight secret techniques for possession that are widely circulated in the cultivation world. The Zhengyi Sect also has several secret techniques for possession that some of its members can learn and practice."

"A cultivator can only use the Body Possession Technique once in their lifetime."

"These body-snatching techniques are all similar, and can be divided into two types based on the object being possessed."

"One type is the possession of the body by the spirits of mortals and wild beasts by cultivators."

"Another method is for cultivators to seize the body of another cultivator's Yang spirit."

"All the body-snatching techniques circulating in the cultivation world are Yin spirit body-snatching. Yang spirit body-snatching is too insidious and is therefore listed as a forbidden technique. Even cultivators who are considered evil cultivators by ordinary cultivators will not learn it, so as not to become the target of attacks by the majority of righteous sects."

Having answered this, Feng Bailu suddenly asked, "Xiaoyaozi, you wouldn't possess someone else's body, would you?"

Xiaoyaozi, with the air of a hunter toying with his prey, replied in a serious tone, "Although I act as I please and have few close friends in the cultivation world, I am not so much a heretic as to be considered a heretic among heretics. As for the possession of a body by a Yang spirit, I would never do that."

Upon hearing this, Feng Bailu subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, but almost instantly, she gasped for breath again.

"After the Xuanpin Reincarnation, I have no cultivation at all. Xiaoyaozi can only use Yin Spirit to seize my body, not Yang Spirit, which is enough to deal with me."

Seeing the changes in Feng Bailu's expression, Xiaoyaozi suddenly had an idea: "If I really take her as my disciple and teach her carefully, it would be a very interesting thing."

However, this thought flashed through his mind. The scheme he had set up a thousand years ago finally had a chance to be realized, and Xiaoyaozi, who was now only a wisp of a soul, would naturally not give up this opportunity to attain enlightenment again.

"Alright, I won't pretend anymore. Before I possess your body, I'll allow you to ask one more question to end our brief master-disciple relationship."

Feng Bailu cursed inwardly, "Why isn't this Xiaoyaozi a typical villain like those in supernatural tales? Shouldn't he be wasting time talking to me before making a move?"

"Senior, there's something I don't understand," Feng Bailu said inwardly, but still asked the question that had been bothering her for a long time, "How did I pass the first test? Why me?"

“This question is easy,” Xiaoyaozi laughed. “The first test does not examine how many spiritual roots a cultivator has or what their quality is, but rather the bloodline of the cultivator.”

"If you have the bloodline of those ancient cultivators from hundreds of thousands of years ago, or if you have the bloodline of a true spirit, you will be able to pass the first test."

"But possession is inherently a matter of damaging one's foundation. If the foundation of the person being possessed is stronger than that of an ordinary person, then after I possess them, I will naturally be able to cultivate with a lifespan closer to that of an ordinary cultivator."

Xiaoyaozi seemed quite willing to answer this question, and even elaborated on it for a few words, explaining the purpose of setting up this challenge.

“A thousand years ago, when I had just advanced to the Golden Core stage, I unexpectedly discovered that I had a congenital deficiency in my foundation, and my lifespan was only half that of cultivators of the same level.”

"If that weren't the case, with my talent, it wouldn't be impossible for me to achieve the Nascent Soul stage within nearly two thousand years by consuming some longevity-enhancing elixirs and treasures."

"But unfortunately, the congenital defects cannot be remedied, so I prepared for today very early."

“Find a cultivator with a strong innate foundation to be the object of her possession and reincarnation, and give her the best spiritual root talent…” Xiaoyaozi’s gaze fell on Feng Bailu, “and with my intelligence, ascending to the Spirit Realm will not be difficult.”

Xiaoyaozi's answer only deepened Feng Bailu's doubts.

"Ancient cultivator bloodline? True spirit bloodline? I don't seem to have anything to do with either of those things."

She looked confused, but Xiaoyaozi didn't continue to explain to Feng Bailu, letting her be a ghost who understood.

"Alright, just accept your fate..."

After saying that, Feng Bailu's nerves tightened, and he subconsciously took two steps back.

However, the formation originally engraved on the high platform was activated again, trapping Feng Bailu within it.

If this were Xuanpin before her reincarnation, Feng Bailu would have at least a 30% chance of breaking this formation controlled by a mere remnant soul.

But now, without any magical power, she could only force herself to stand up straight, recalling the tricks she had learned from the sect to resist illusions and attacks of divine sense, trying to resist the secret technique of possession by a Yin spirit at the Nascent Soul stage with her mortal body.

Unfortunately, most of the methods taught by the sect are related to spiritual power and cultivation level, and they are of little help to Feng Bailu now.

All she can do now is to pull herself together and keep her composure.

After the formation was activated, blocking Feng Bailu's escape route, Xiaoyaozi's remnant soul wasted not a single second.

Xiaoyaozi's phantom flew out from the Soul-Nourishing Wood, chanting incantations as he performed the Body-Seizing Technique.

For this possession, Xiaoyaozi from a thousand years ago went to great lengths, searching for many secret techniques for possession.

Ultimately, among the eight secret techniques for possessing another's body, he chose the "Soul Fusion and Qi Nourishment Technique" that he was currently using.

This body-snatching technique has very low requirements for the caster, which perfectly matches Xiaoyaozi's remnant soul identity.

After possession, the damage to the possessed body is minimal. In fact, there is a special "Qi cultivation technique" that can help the practitioner recover quickly and deepen the compatibility with the possessed body.

The only problem is that this body-snatching technique has a slightly lower success rate compared to other body-snatching techniques, but in Xiaoyaozi's view, this is not a problem.

Even a Nascent Soul cultivator, in the remnant stage, could easily defeat an ordinary mortal, especially one tricked into consuming a "Soul-Suppressing Pill," by using the secret technique of possession.

Although there have been some changes, Xiaoyaozi's remnant soul did not take it to heart.

With the secret technique activated, Xiaoyaozi's remnant soul transformed into a beam of light and directly entered Feng Bailu's sea of ​​consciousness.

Confined to his current mortal body, Feng Bailu was completely unable to perceive where his sea of ​​consciousness was or what it looked like. But soon, as he used the "Soul Fusion and Qi Nourishment Technique," the world before Feng Bailu's eyes became blurred.

In a daze, when she came to her senses again, her consciousness was forcibly pulled into the sea of ​​consciousness by Xiaoyaozi, a place that only cultivators who have reached the Foundation Establishment stage can access.

Upon entering his own sea of ​​consciousness, Feng Bailu, who was once a Foundation Establishment cultivator, felt a sense of unfamiliarity.

The phantom avatar of himself in his sea of ​​consciousness had changed from him to her.

The sea of ​​consciousness, which originally took the form of red clouds and mist, has also transformed into a pure white snowfield.

"It seems to be influenced by the Mysterious Female Pearl."

Feng Bailu muttered to himself as he looked around, but couldn't spot Xiaoyaozi.

"Could it be that we're lost?"

Just then, a long howl came from afar, and soon after, Xiaoyaozi's figure appeared in Feng Bailu's field of vision.

Having never fought in the sea of ​​consciousness before, she had no idea what to do and could only grit her teeth and wait for Xiaoyaozi to arrive.

Xiaoyaozi flew through the air and arrived a few steps away from her.

Looking at the conscious Feng Bailu, Xiaoyaozi was somewhat surprised. "Huh? Shouldn't a mortal be in a coma in the sea of ​​consciousness? Could it be because he was reborn from the Foundation Establishment stage?"

Ignoring the matter, Xiaoyaozi continued to use his secret techniques to deal with the helpless Feng Bailu, following the plan he had devised a thousand years ago.

"What should we do?" Feng Bailu had never experienced such a situation before.

"Stop struggling," Xiaoyaozi chuckled. "How could a mortal, without any magical power, possibly cast a spell to protect the soul in the sea of ​​consciousness? Lie down obediently, open your mind, and avoid suffering more pain."

Feng Bailu wouldn't believe Xiaoyaozi's nonsense. On the contrary, the more Xiaoyaozi told her to relax, the more she concentrated and stared at Xiaoyaozi.

Seeing that Feng Bailu was so "stubborn to the end", Xiaoyaozi was too lazy to waste words and stopped launching an offensive with words.