224: Did Lan'er have a nightmare?

The pressure in the room increased several times over. Nearby, Zi Lan could only hear the sounds; she could not even open her eyelids, nor could she release her Divine Sense.

'True Person Xiao?!!'

'Is True Person Xiao going to attack my husband?'

"Why?"

She was terrified, yet powerless to do anything!

"Forget it!"

"You brat, you probably don't have a single honest word in your mouth. I'll just see for myself!"

With that said, golden light filled the room. A glowing, round, and lustrous Golden Core emerged from the mysterious aperture at his brow.

'So this is a Golden Core?!!'

It seemed both illusory and real, profound and mysterious, as if nothing could destroy it.

As the Golden Core exited his body, Xiao Changfeng's eyes dimmed, and his body stiffened in place, unmoving.

'Golden Core Soul Emergence—he really is attempting Possession!'

Liu Xuan felt a surge of joy in his heart, thankful that he hadn't acted rashly just now and exposed his cultivation prematurely.

He wasn't confident in winning a direct confrontation against Xiao Changfeng, but if he was attempting Possession, that was a different story!

He had also studied the secret arts of Possession and was intimately familiar with the process.

Once the opponent entered his Divine Soul and Sea of Consciousness, he would be the one to hold the initiative!

The Golden Core flew slowly toward Liu Xuan, its light gradually receding and dimming.

Worried that Liu Xuan's body might be ruptured by the power of the Golden Core, Xiao Changfeng continuously applied Seals to it.

He planned to wait until the Possession was successful before slowly letting the new body adapt to the Golden Core's power, restoring his cultivation bit by bit.

The Golden Core entered through the mysterious aperture at Liu Xuan's brow, then proceeded into the Sea of Consciousness to first control Liu Xuan's Divine Soul, crushing and merging it bit by bit, before taking over the body and seizing control of the Dantian...

The first step of Possession: suppress the original Divine Soul!

After Xiao Changfeng's Golden Core entered Liu Xuan's Sea of Consciousness, the light on its surface coalesced into a human shape, and it began to search for Liu Xuan's Divine Soul.

"Hmm?"

"Why is this Sea of Consciousness somewhat different?"

The Sea of Consciousness was inherently an illusory object; depending on one's cultivation, it would manifest as lakes of varying sizes.

Only those true great Cultivators had a Sea of Consciousness as vast as an ocean, hence why it was called the 'Sea of Consciousness.'

But Xiao Changfeng discovered that Liu Xuan's Sea of Consciousness was completely different from his own!

It was pitch black here, like a starless night sky, boundless and without end.

"Hum~"

The boundless darkness above began to rotate.

[Ding! Foreign Divine Soul detected. Eliminate?]

An emotionless voice rang out in both Liu Xuan's and Xiao Changfeng's minds simultaneously.

At the same time, Xiao Changfeng felt he could no longer move; a vast pressure of Divine Soul descended upon him from the vortex above.

What level of Divine Soul was this?!!

Compared to the massive vortex above, he felt as weak as an ant.

No! He wasn't even an ant. This pressure was boundless and vast; he didn't even have the qualifications to see its full form!

With a flash of light, Liu Xuan's Divine Soul appeared within the Sea of Consciousness. Looking up at the 'vortex' overhead, even he was somewhat shocked.

'Could this thing be the physical manifestation of the System? As expected, I cannot be subjected to Possession!'

A giant, translucent spider appeared beside Liu Xuan, and dense, translucent spiderwebs manifested around the Sea of Consciousness.

The trump cards he had prepared hadn't even been used; Xiao Changfeng had been suppressed by the System the moment he entered.

He only needed to click "Confirm Elimination" with his Divine Soul, and Xiao Changfeng would likely be reduced to nothingness.

Liu Xuan paced in front of Xiao Changfeng. In his Divine Soul state, his body was illusory, and the light of the Golden Core at his brow was growing increasingly dim.

"A moment ago I couldn't move, and now you can't move!"

"In just a moment, the roles have reversed. Didn't expect that, did you!!"

"Grandmaster, you and I share a deep bond. How about you beg me a little, and I'll spare you. What do you think?"

"If you don't speak, I'll take that as your agreement!"

Liu Xuan signaled the Puppet Gu spider, which immediately pounced onto Xiao Changfeng's soul body.

Layers of spiderwebs wrapped around him, its eight thin legs piercing into his body, and its fangs stabbing into his head.

With the System's suppression, Xiao Changfeng couldn't move a muscle. He couldn't even summon the thought of resistance; he could only be devoured bit by bit by the Puppet Gu.

...

Red Pine Sect.

Inner Sect Core Soul Lamp Hall.

The Xiao Family elder responsible for guarding the soul lamps was suddenly startled, because the soul lamp stored at the very top had flickered just now.

"Did my eyes deceive me?"

"How could an Immortal Master possibly encounter an accident?! Yes! It must be that my eyes deceived me."

After carefully inspecting it and finding the soul lamp burning steadily without any issues, he chuckled and shook his head.

"I'm getting old! In a few more years, my own time will be up."

"It doesn't matter if I die, but I just don't know what will happen to my Xiao Family in the future, and whether we can overcome this crisis."

Xiao Changfeng's time was approaching; this was the dark cloud hanging over the hearts of all the Xiao Family members.

Inside Liu Xuan's Sea of Consciousness, seeing that Xiao Changfeng's Divine Soul truly had no power to resist, he breathed a deep sigh of relief.

Xiao Changfeng could not die!

At least, not now.

If he died and the news spread, the Heavenly Sword Sect would immediately arrange for a new Golden Core True Person to come over.

With the news that the Beast Taming Sect might attack the Demon Court, the position of Sect Master of the Red Pine Sect would surely be highly sought after. If a Mid Golden Core Stage or Late Stage True Person came, Liu Xuan would still be in a difficult spot.

Furthermore, there was another problem: Xiao Changfeng's time hadn't come, so how did he die?

This question might lead them to investigate him, which would cause endless trouble.

"How long will it take to completely control him?" Liu Xuan asked the Puppet Gu spider.

"It will take one year to eliminate his will, and at least ten years to completely devour and replace it."

"However, if Master's cultivation breaks through to the Late Foundation Establishment Stage, this time can be reduced by thirty percent. If Master breaks through to the Golden Core Stage, this time can be reduced tenfold."

Liu Xuan nodded slightly. He understood that the Puppet Gu's abilities were drawn from his Divine Soul; the stronger his power, the stronger the Puppet Gu would be.

Although the Puppet Gu could theoretically control life forms no more than one major Realm above him, its limit was controlling Mid Golden Core Stage Cultivators.

But after all, it was crossing a major Realm, so the conditions were extremely harsh, and the time could not be short.

If not for the System's suppression, which resulted in him having absolutely no resistance, this time would only be longer.

"As long as it can be controlled, that's fine! A longer time is acceptable."

Ordering the Puppet Gu spider to control Xiao Changfeng's Divine Soul with all its might, Liu Xuan also devoted the majority of his own Divine Soul to monitoring the situation in the Sea of Consciousness at all times.

Two hours later.

Confirming everything was proceeding normally, he then diverted a sliver of Divine Thought to take control of his body.

On the large bed in the bedroom, Liu Xuan slowly opened his eyes. With the power of the stars shining, he broke free from the binding technique Xiao Changfeng had left behind and stood up from the bed.

With a movement of his Divine Thought, the dharma robe on the floor automatically draped over him and was put on. After messing around for so long, he hadn't even been wearing clothes...

He looked at Zi Lan, who was unable to move on the bed, and then at Xiao Changfeng's Physical Body, which was motionless and had lost its Divine Soul.

Liu Xuan waved his sleeve, taking Xiao Changfeng's Physical Body as it turned into a wisp of earthy-yellow smoke, merged into the ground, and entered the Star Space.

The Physical Body of a Golden Core True Person might be useful later, so it had to be preserved well.

After handling everything, Liu Xuan returned to the bedroom and used the Star Array to dispel the binding Xiao Changfeng had left behind.

"Husband!"

"Are you okay? Where is True Person Xiao?"

Zi Lan suddenly opened her eyes, looking around in a panic.

Liu Xuan embraced her and laughed, "What True Person Xiao? Did Laner have a nightmare?"