56: Chapter 56: Instrument vs. Shadow

"Boy, stop playing dumb. Your Spirit Platform is protected by a supreme treasure, which is why I failed to achieve Possession of your life. Otherwise, with my Divine Sense, which is a cut above the average Foundation Establishment, how could I have failed?"

Jiang Xingchuan closed his eyes, not responding.

He tried to concentrate his Divine Sense, pressing it toward the gray-white shadow deep in his mind.

The moment his Divine Sense touched it, a tearing pain shot through the center of his brows. He let out a muffled groan, cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead, and he nearly tumbled off the bed.

The voice laughed heartily.

"With you? A Middle Stage Qi Cultivator's Divine Sense, and you want to extinguish me?"

"Now that the moon soul cold essence has entered your body and the taiyin spiritual essence has infused you, our Divine Souls have long been entangled. If you want to destroy me, it would be like taking a knife to carve out your own Divine Soul."

Jiang Xingchuan gritted his teeth and withdrew his Divine Sense.

In his mind, that gray-white shadow remained, entrenched like a cold nail embedded in the edge of his Spirit Platform.

The evil Cultivator said slowly: "If you want to eradicate me completely, you must at least have the Realm of those land-bound Immortals in the Purple Mansion. Otherwise, it's all empty talk."

Jiang Xingchuan did not continue to entangle with him, turning instead to try and draw upon his cultivation.

Upon this attempt, his expression changed instantly.

His Meridians were empty; the Awakening of Insects Qi from before was gone.

Residual magic power still drifted within his flesh and Meridians, but it could no longer be gathered and circulated as it once had.

Jiang Xingchuan opened his eyes abruptly, the rage in his heart no longer suppressible.

"Old thief! Where is my cultivation?"

"You destroyed my Dao, I will fight you to the death!"

The voice in his mind gave a soft click, filled with disdain.

"That you call a Dao?"

"It was just an inferior Qi path. Before I started the Possession, I used the spiritual essence to disperse it completely. If I hadn't dispersed it, Foundation Establishment would have been incredibly difficult in the future—what kind of Dao would that be to speak of?"

Jiang Xingchuan's gaze turned gloomy.

The Cultivator continued even more calmly: "My Physical Body was destroyed, and I intended to use your shell to walk the path of the Immortal again. So, I used several pieces of spiritual essence to force open your spiritual apertures, helping you onto the true ancient method—that is, the Purple Mansion Golden Core Way."

"The Purple Mansion Golden Core Way starts with forming the five cycles of fetal breath, then drawing Qi into Qi Refining. Now that your cultivation has fallen back to the Perfection of the five cycles of fetal breath and you haven't officially drawn Qi, naturally you cannot summon that original Qi path."

"What you practiced before was merely a Qi-bearing method improved by the world, giving Mortals without spiritual apertures a slim chance to step onto the path of the Immortal. In terms of Foundation, it cannot be compared to the Purple Mansion Golden Core Way at all."

Jiang Xingchuan frowned, believing only half of it.

He could indeed feel that he hadn't completely become a Mortal; there was still spiritual energy lurking within his body, and there was even inner breath slowly circulating within five extremely subtle apertures.

But that bit of Awakening of Insects Qi he had painstakingly cultivated was indeed gone.

This meant that the cultivation he had built up with hard work over the past few years was destroyed in an instant.

No matter how high-sounding that evil Cultivator's words were, they couldn't change this fact.

Jiang Xingchuan said in a low voice: "Who exactly are you?"

The voice in his mind seemed to have finally been waiting for this question, and said leisurely: "Remember this, I have a name. I am Yan Zhaopo, and my Daoist name is Cold Toad Child."

He paused, his tone carrying a trace of old pride.

"I am an Immortal Master of Foundation Establishment."

Jiang Xingchuan sneered.

"An Immortal Master of Foundation Establishment? You are clearly only a Late Stage Qi Cultivator. If you were truly Foundation Establishment, how could you have been powerless against that lamp-holding Foundation Establishment Cultivator?"

Yan Zhaopo's voice cooled by a few degrees.

"What do you know."

"The Immortal Foundation I practiced is called Ritual Counterpart Shadow. That body at the time was merely my shadow body."

Jiang Xingchuan's eyes narrowed slightly.

Yan Zhaopo continued: "My original body was hunted by enemies in my early years and was too heavily injured to be saved, so I lodged my Divine Soul within the shadow body."

"The original body had long since disintegrated due to excessive injuries. If not for this background, do you think an ordinary Late Stage Qi Cultivator could take out six hundred Spirit Stones to buy moon soul cold essence?"

Jiang Xingchuan was silent for a moment, then asked: "Does this count as Possession?"

"The shadow body was originally created by my Immortal Foundation; it cannot be called Possession."

Yan Zhaopo's tone held a bit of mockery.

"Besides, one usually only has one chance for Possession in a lifetime. Even if you take a young shell, it won't increase your lifespan out of thin air."

"A Cultivator's aging Physical Body is often reflected on the Divine Soul. If the Divine Soul is old, changing the skin is just putting an old wick into a new lamp—it won't burn for long."

Just as Jiang Xingchuan was about to ask more, the wooden door was pushed open.

A middle-aged woman walked in carrying an earthenware bowl.

The woman was wearing coarse cloth clothes, her hair was casually pinned up with a wooden hairpin, and her hands had thick calluses from years of labor. Seeing Jiang Xingchuan awake, a kind smile immediately appeared on her face.

"Little brother is awake?"

Jiang Xingchuan subconsciously composed his expression and propped himself up to sit.

The woman placed the earthenware bowl by the bed and said: "Your companion is awake too, just outside. We've cooked some porridge, let's eat something first."

Jiang Xingchuan hurriedly got up to thank her.

"Many thanks to you, auntie, for saving our lives."

The woman's expression was a bit strange, and she waved her hand.

"No, no."

She seemed not to know how to say it, hesitated for a moment, and then said: "It is we who should thank you, little brother."

Jiang Xingchuan was slightly stunned.

The woman didn't explain immediately, only saying: "Come out to eat first, we'll talk at the table."

Jiang Xingchuan had doubts in his heart, but still followed her out.

The outer room was a low, main room. On the table were a few bowls of rice porridge and two dishes of pickles.

The door was half-open, and outside one could see a field ridge, and further away was a corner of Jinglan Lake, with morning mist pressing on the lake surface, the water color gray and white.

A young girl was sitting at the table.

She was lowering her head, drinking porridge, and lifted her face when she heard footsteps.

Jiang Xingchuan was stunned.

The girl's features were delicate and clear, her skin much fairer than an ordinary peasant woman's, and her features were much softer than Chen Xiaoyan's original ones.

Chen Xiaoyan originally had a bit of capable, heroic spirit, but the girl before him seemed to have had her bone structure washed by the cold winter, with a sense of coldness added to her face.

But the aura on her body still faintly carried the shadow of Chen Xiaoyan.

Jiang Xingchuan was shocked.

Who is she?

And where did Chen Xiaoyan go?

In his mind, Yan Zhaopo suddenly laughed loudly.

"Stop looking, she is your sweetheart."

"Those Winter Solstice and taiyin spiritual essence of mine helped you force open your spiritual apertures, which is equivalent to reshaping your magic body. The magic body was re-sculpted by the spiritual essence, so the appearance naturally changed. You are the same, you just haven't seen yourself yet."

Jiang Xingchuan was half-believing, slowly walking to the girl's side to sit down.

The girl saw him and was also clearly stunned. The porridge spoon in her hand stopped in mid-air, her eyes first showing vigilance, then a bit of disbelief.

Jiang Xingchuan tentatively asked: "Chen Xiaoyan?"

The girl's eyes widened instantly.

"You are Jiang Xingchuan?"

Jiang Xingchuan nodded.

Chen Xiaoyan stared at him for a long time and blurted out: "Why have you grown like this?"

Jiang Xingchuan's heart sank.

"You have also changed."

Chen Xiaoyan was instantly bristled, putting down the porridge bowl.

"What do you mean I've also changed? What have I become? What on earth is going on?"

Jiang Xingchuan was silent for a moment, then roughly repeated what Yan Zhaopo had just said, only hiding the fact that an evil soul was still living in his mind.

After listening, Chen Xiaoyan's face turned pale and then green.

She touched her face and looked down at her wrists, as if she had finally realized that this body was a bit unfamiliar.

The middle-aged woman sat down opposite the two of them with her husband.

Her husband was an honest farmer with broad shoulders and dark, tanned skin. He didn't say a word for a long time, only looking at the two with a bit of apology.

The woman sighed and said: "Let's not beat around the bush."

"Our Family is a farming Family that makes a living by Jinglan Lake, usually catching fish and farming, barely scraping by."

"Last night, my husband went to the lake to collect nets and saw you two passed out on the shore, so he brought you back."

Jiang Xingchuan thanked her again.

The woman's expression was even more uncomfortable.

"Later, when dawn was approaching, several Immortals came to the village, saying they wanted to pick a few people who could bear Qi to go up the mountain to cultivate. As long as someone in the Family has the Aptitude, they can take the whole Family to the Immortal mountain."

She looked at Jiang Xingchuan and Chen Xiaoyan.

"When that Daoist came to our house, you were still unconscious. We didn't know his intentions and were afraid he would be unfavorable to you, so we said you were a pair of siblings we raised."

Chen Xiaoyan frowned.

The woman hurriedly said: "Don't be angry, you two. At that time, we really thought we were protecting you. Who knew that when that Daoist took one look at you, he was very happy instead, saying you two were jade for the Dao and could follow him up the mountain the next day."

The farmer finally spoke, his voice very muffled.

"Only later did we realize that the Immortal was there to collect people."

The woman continued: "For our Family, this might be a great thing. But for you two, it might not be. You have your own origins, and we know we cannot force you to stay."

She smiled bitterly.

"But Immortals are fickle. We had already agreed at that time. If we turn back and say you are not our children, we are afraid that the Daoist will be angry and instead harm our whole Family."

Chen Xiaoyan pursed her lips and didn't speak.

The woman stood up and bowed deeply to the two.

"So, please help us go on this journey."

"It's not holding a favor to demand repayment. The Daoist said that if you cannot enter the Dao, you will be sent back. You can just pretend to act in a play for us. If you really have an Immortal affinity, that is a good thing; if you don't have an Immortal affinity, after that, our Family will definitely not drag you down again."

Jiang Xingchuan fell silent.

He looked at the porridge on the table, and then at the low roof beams of this farmhouse.

This Family saved him and Chen Xiaoyan.

If not for them, he might have drowned on the shore, might have been found by those hunting him, and might have been dragged away by the Yao Beasts in the lake.

Kindness cannot go unrequited.

He nodded slowly.

"We will go on this journey with you."

Joy immediately appeared on the woman's face, and she thanked them repeatedly.

Jiang Xingchuan asked: "Did that Daoist say which force he belonged to? What Dao lineage does he practice?"

The woman thought carefully and shook her head: "He didn't say anything about a Dao lineage. He only said he was invited to attend an auction on the lake, and on his way back, passing by this place, he had a whim, saw that there were a few families in this village who had affinity, and took them up the mountain to fill vacancies."

Jiang Xingchuan's hand holding the porridge bowl paused slightly.

The Canghu Grand Auction had just ended last night, and the lakeside was in such a mess. A Cultivator who could leave the auction completely unscathed and still have the leisure to pick people from the village to take away would definitely not be some ordinary wandering rogue.

Jiang Xingchuan suppressed the unease in his heart, looked up and asked: "Auntie, besides that, did the Daoist leave any other words? Like a surname, a Family, or people traveling with him?"

The woman hesitated and recalled for a moment.

The main room was quiet for a while, with only the occasional sound of sparks popping from the firewood in the stove.

After a long while, she suddenly seemed to remember something and added: "Oh, right."

"He seemed to say his surname is Zhou."

The expression on Jiang Xingchuan's face froze instantly.