Before entering the black hole, Ye Yun stood directly beneath it as if his body had been petrified, maintaining his walking posture. The Heavenly Dao Ring emitted a massive light screen that enveloped him. Black Ant watched Ye Yun anxiously, running in circles but unable to help.
What's going on? Ye Yun wanted to question, but found he couldn't speak. His entire body was immobilized.
Ye Yun's face changed drastically, and the legend of soul possession from novels flashed through his mind.
"Young friend! What's happening? I originally intended to possess your ring, but I was immediately confined the moment I entered!" Ye Yun was still worried when he heard Xue Daoguang's cry.
Ye Yun's heart stirred, and he quickly sank his consciousness into the Heavenly Dao Ring to investigate.
System prompt: The player's 'Heavenly Dao' medium in reality has been impacted by a spiritual body. Since the spiritual body bears no ill will towards the player, the player may choose the following options.
1- Eradicate
2- Expel
3- Manifest the spiritual body into the 'Heavenly Dao' player's mount or life beast. Note: Upon manifestation, the player's life beast or mount will undergo a qualitative improvement, but it will become a one-time life form. It cannot be summoned again after death!
Upon entering the game, Ye Yun saw the system prompt and breathed a sigh of relief, simultaneously marveling at the power of 'Heavenly Dao.'
"Expel!"
Ye Yun's consciousness moved, and he exited. The light screen from the Heavenly Dao Ring cast Xue Daoguang out.
"What… what is this?" Zhang Junbao looked at the previously aloof Xue Daoguang in a disheveled state, his gaze towards Ye Yun filled with even greater fear. Although Xue Daoguang was dead, the remnant soul he left behind possessed enough power to instantly kill ten of him.
"What business is it of yours? Go and guard the Dragon Palace for me!" As the light screen dissipated, Ye Yun berated Zhang Junbao.
"Right away, right away." Seeing Ye Yun's apparent displeasure, Zhang Junbao quickly made his escape, leaving immediately via the teleportation array.
"Young friend, I didn't expect your encounter this time to be so significant. I thought I could possess your ring." Xue Daoguang looked at Ye Yun with a complex expression.
"Little Black, return to China and ask Zhou Ningdong for an unactivated Heavenly Dao Ring. Hurry back," Ye Yun ignored Xue Daoguang and turned to Black Ant.
"Yes!" Black Ant turned and left.
"Young friend, you..."
"Senior, do you wish to die or live?" Ye Yun's gaze was sharp, as if trying to see through Xue Daoguang.
"You, what do you want to do?" Xue Daoguang's heart pounded as he looked at Ye Yun. He knew he was currently in a spiritual body state, the sublimation of all his life's cultivation essence, a powerful tonic for cultivators seeking to advance.
"I guess your spiritual body state won't last long, right? There's only one way for you to survive now, am I right?" Ye Yun said calmly.
"This… you are correct. But I never thought of possessing someone to continue living. Because even though I am a spiritual body now, I am a masterless soul. Even if I were to possess someone, I would be an imbecile," Xue Daoguang said bitterly, looking at Ye Yun.
"So that's how it is. In other words, you don't want to, but you cannot." Ye Yun nodded. Cultivators walk a path against the heavens, a path of self-reflection and enlightenment. They can resort to any means for power, or sacrifice themselves for the greater good.
It can be said that in matters of personal gain, they are extreme egoists, but in matters of great importance, they are absolute embodiments of justice. Hence the popular saying online: in times of peace, monks adorn themselves with gold and silver to save the destined; in times of war, Daoists wield their horsetails to defend peace.
From the system prompt in the game, Ye Yun conceived of a possibility and decided to try his luck. The specifics would have to wait until Black Ant returned with the Heavenly Dao Ring.
"Senior, can you cultivate in your current spiritual body state?" Ye Yun's heart stirred.
"All things in the world can be cultivated, only the difficulty varies. As for me…" Xue Daoguang shook his head, "I have no method for cultivating a spiritual body. I can only sustain myself with my cultivation from my previous life."
Ye Yun fell silent and walked to the chest, taking out the "Annotations on the Wu Zhen Pian." He began to read it carefully.
"Annotations on the Wu Zhen Pian" was Xue Daoguang's personal understanding and commentary on the "Wu Zhen Pian." The origin of "Wu Zhen Pian" was significant. It was a classic of inner alchemy. Since Baiyang of the Han and Wei dynasties first revealed its principles, Zhongli Quan and Lü Dongbin of the Tang dynasty further developed it. Zhang Boduan of the Song dynasty, inheriting the teachings of Zhong and Lü, followed the style of the "Cantong Qi" to write "Wu Zhen Pian," thus bringing inner alchemy to prominence.
Ye Yun found himself reading with great concentration. Xue Daoguang's annotations on "Wu Zhen Pian" were extremely detailed, astonishing Ye Yun. Perhaps due to his cultivation of the "Burning Heaven Art," Ye Yun had different insights on many points compared to Xue Daoguang.
These insights immediately made Xue Daoguang, who was still wallowing in self-pity, regard Ye Yun as a heavenly prodigy. They immediately began to discuss the text, occasionally engaging in debates.
In over ten minutes, the two had debated and argued numerous times, yet they had only managed to read through two pages of the "Annotations on the Wu Zhen Pian."
"Truly one of the four major works on inner alchemy. Your grand-master was indeed a great talent," Ye Yun said, closing the book and looking at Black Ant, who stood silently by.
"Indeed, our Daoist lineage has produced many talents, and great talents are not few. It's just that the spiritual energy in this world has become nearly depleted. No matter how many ideas we have, we cannot withstand the erosion of the river of time," Xue Daoguang said, his demeanor returning to a state of calm.
"Then, if you were given a world where you could cultivate, could you create a world of cultivation?" Ye Yun beckoned to Black Ant, then took the Heavenly Dao Ring from him and tossed it to Xue Daoguang.
"Let's try."
Xue Daoguang looked bewildered. He was a spiritual body, transparent and ethereal, unable to touch physical objects. However, he still reached out to catch it.
"Boom!"
The moment the Heavenly Dao Ring touched Xue Daoguang's hand, it emitted a hazy light. Then, before the astonished eyes of Ye Yun and the others, the originally dark Heavenly Dao Ring slowly lost its color, its physical form gradually faded, and finally, it became a faint phantom wrapped around Xue Daoguang's hand.
Xue Daoguang stood there, motionless.
Black Ant looked on with envy. He had come from 'Heavenly Dao' and was originally a part of it.
After a minute, Xue Daoguang opened his eyes, filled with disbelief.
"How is it?" Ye Yun was very pleased with Xue Daoguang's expression.
"A universe, a world. I never imagined this small ring contained a universe, and moreover, a world where spiritual bodies run rampant!" Xue Daoguang murmured in shock.
"A world where spiritual bodies run rampant?" Ye Yun was greatly surprised by Xue Daoguang's words! He had originally thought Xue Daoguang would also be an Earth player. But according to Xue Daoguang, was it because he was a spiritual body that he was categorized as another race? A race of spiritual bodies?
Does that mean if an animal were to wear the Heavenly Dao Ring, a world of beasts would appear for that animal in the 'Heavenly Dao' world?
The more he thought about it, the more Ye Yun's scalp tingled. However, he did not press further.