Chapter 196: Possession

The very moment Zhang Nuo's gaze met Zhong Yan's, his heart sank, as if endless ice were freezing his body.

His fading consciousness told Zhang Nuo that he could not fall asleep like this; he had never expected that despite all his precautions, he would still fall into someone else's trap.

His pupils slowly dilated, almost completely spreading out; the final line of defense in Zhang Nuo's heart collapsed. He stood there blankly like someone without a self, letting the wind blowing in from the cave entrance brush across his face.

"Heh heh, kid, even if you are clever, how could you escape the palm of my hand! If your body becomes famous because of me in the future, it can be considered that your ancestors had virtue!"

The phantom gave a faint, sinister laugh. Seeing that Zhang Nuo had already been subdued, its face grew increasingly excited. It had waited for this opportunity for a long time; the Remnant Soul had hidden inside the Flying Sword, enduring wind, frost, rain, and beatings, all for this day of seeing the light of day again.

After a long while, Zhong Yan finally steadied his mind and slowly began to approach Zhang Nuo, while simultaneously setting aside the Measuring Heaven Ruler he had been clutching tightly in his hand.

When the phantom's eyes met Zhang Nuo's again, a bitter and incomprehensible incantation sounded from Zhong Yan's mouth. Following the incantation, he slowly extended a hand, reaching toward one of Zhang Nuo's eyes.

The phantom's hand began to turn ethereal, transforming into a wisp of green smoke, slowly drilling into Zhang Nuo's eye. The dilated pupil was like a black hole, greedily absorbing the phantom.

Suddenly, at this very moment, the hand that had already submerged more than halfway into the eye was withdrawn as if bitten by a snake, the face full of terror.

"This is impossible!"

Zhong Yan looked as if he had seen a ghost; his illusory face shifted several times, nearly unable to recover. At this moment, within Zhang Nuo's dilated pupil, a mass of crimson flame was slowly burning. That flame was incomparably bright red, as if composed of blood.

"To think that at the Foundation Establishment Stage, you have already refined flame into your body! This... how is this possible!"

The phantom looked at Zhang Nuo's pair of eyes, its body involuntarily retreating several steps. In its consciousness, refining flame into the body required at least the cultivation of the Golden Core Stage. It never expected that this young cultivator before him, merely at the Foundation Establishment Stage, had managed to do this.

Although Zhang Nuo had already fainted, the Red Glow Fire possessed an autonomous consciousness for protecting its master. When his body suffered external erosion, the Red Glow Fire actively jumped out, forcing Zhong Yan's Remnant Soul out of Zhang Nuo's body in one fell swoop.

At the same time, the surface of Zhang Nuo's body began to emit a large amount of crimson flame, wrapping his entire person within it.

Zhong Yan looked at all this powerlessly. If his body had not been destroyed, the mere flame before him would not have caused him any harm at all. But now it was different; he was only a Remnant Soul, and the remaining Spirit Power had long since been depleted under the erosion of time.

He had intended to possess Zhang Nuo's body to cultivate again, but he never imagined that at the very moment of imminent success, the Red Glow Fire would cut off his hopes.

The phantom stood in place for a long time, not daring to act rashly. Seeing that the Red Glow Fire finally disappeared from the surface of Zhang Nuo's body, he then approached again.

Tentatively extending a hand, he reached toward Zhang Nuo's eye once more. "Whoosh!" The crimson flame swept out, forcefully driving Zhong Yan back.

"Damn it!"

After roaring in a rage for a while, the phantom had never imagined that he would be helpless against a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator. His Remnant Soul power was already scarce; if he dragged this out, only annihilation awaited him.

"I don't believe it! As a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, how much Spirit Power can you have to supply the flame!"

Because he wanted to occupy Zhang Nuo's body, the phantom did not dare to wantonly destroy his fleshly body and could only carefully probe. However, the Red Glow Fire was quite clever; no matter what Zhong Yan did outside, it ignored him, but as soon as any situation unfavorable to Zhang Nuo appeared, it would immediately erupt.

As a result, Zhong Yan only felt that he was holding a hot potato; he couldn't throw it away, and he couldn't take a bite without throwing it! Standing more than three yards away from Zhang Nuo, the phantom fumed.

"I will fight you to the death and see whether your flame is stronger or my Remnant Soul is!"

As if having made a certain decision, Zhong Yan gritted his teeth, and his form quickly detached from the Flying Sword. The phantom condensed and twisted in mid-air, finally turning into a funnel-shaped vortex. Inside the vortex, Zhong Yan's trembling groans were emitted, as if he too were enduring immense pain.

The vortex, over a foot in size, slowly approached Zhang Nuo. At this time, the Red Glow Fire within Zhang Nuo's body also sensed that things were going poorly. In its agitation, it surged out almost entirely from his body, covering his entire body in a single flow.

The flames emitted a whistling sound, the raging fire looking more like a demon, not letting the vortex get half an inch closer to Zhang Nuo's body. However, the vortex formed by the phantom seemed not to see it; with a forward charge, it intertwined with the Red Glow Fire. The two bit at each other, neither willing to give up!

"Ah! I will not lose to you!"

The voice became incomparably shrill. Zhong Yan felt his Remnant Soul being violently scorched by the Red Glow Fire, his life essence draining away at a terrifying speed. However, he did not retreat, because this was his last chance. If he did not obtain Zhang Nuo's fleshly body, within a year or so, this wisp of Remnant Soul would completely dissipate.

With the Nascent Soul Stage cultivation Zhong Yan had before he fell, the might of this Remnant Soul was not small. Even though the Red Glow Fire resisted with all its might, the flame without a master's conscious control still slowly weakened, finally leaving only a faint layer blocking before Zhang Nuo's eyes.

"Heh heh! The life essence I've consumed! It's worth it! It's worth it!"

Seeing victory in sight, Zhong Yan's voice trembled. Under his constant shouting, the vortex quickly rushed toward Zhang Nuo's eyes.

"Swish!" After a strong impact, the remaining Red Glow Fire was scattered in one blow. The next moment, the funnel-shaped vortex was quickly drilling into Zhang Nuo's pupil. Accompanied by bursts of crazy laughter, Zhong Yan was about to occupy Zhang Nuo's body.

Once he occupied Zhang Nuo's body, he could start cultivating again. With his many years of cultivation experience, he believed that within three or four hundred years, he could advance to the Nascent Soul Stage realm.

The vortex slowly drilled into Zhang Nuo's pupil. Just when it was about to succeed, suddenly, from the Nine Dragon Sword Case on Zhang Nuo's back, a long sigh was heard.

This sigh was very distant, yet it possessed a not-insignificant deterrent power, startling Zhong Yan, who was in the middle of the Possession. However, no matter what happened now, he would not stop. The young cultivator's fleshly body before him would soon be his! All beauty would begin from this body.

"Get out!"

An aged voice, like a thunderclap, came from the Sword Box. Subsequently, the surface of the Sword Box erupted with dazzling spirit light, instantly transforming into a large hand. This large hand did not pause at all; the moment it formed, it grabbed at the vortex formed by Zhong Yan's Remnant Soul.

At this moment, the vortex was only a little bit away from being completely submerged into Zhang Nuo's pupil. Seeing success right before his eyes, the large hand formed by white spirit light, at this most critical moment, grabbed the Remnant Soul and simultaneously pulled outward with force. Only a light "swish" sound was heard.

The majority of the Remnant Soul that had submerged into Zhang Nuo's pupil was forcibly pulled out, and then the large hand formed by white spirit light threw it heavily to the side.

After rolling on the ground a few times, Zhong Yan's Remnant Soul turned back into the phantom state. He looked at Zhang Nuo with anger and shock, as if he had seen a ghost, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Having been about to succeed, he never expected to be pulled out by some great force. How could he not be furious!

"Who is it?"

Following the white spirit light hand with his gaze, he saw it had come from the Sword Box on Zhang Nuo's back. Coupled with the previous roar, Zhong Yan concluded that there was something strange inside this Sword Box!

At this moment, the Sword Box flashed with spirit light, and the white large hand disappeared. The next moment, from the top of the Sword Box, a phantom slowly rose. This phantom was the same as Zhong Yan, without a fleshly body, wearing a fiery red robe, its face looking aged beyond recognition.

"So it is also a Remnant Soul!"

Frowning, Zhong Yan sneered. The thing that came out of the Sword Box was actually the same as him, also an unextinguished Remnant Soul!

"Consider yourself unlucky. If it were any other cultivator, your Possession this time might have succeeded!"

The red phantom that appeared was none other than Chunyangzi, who had long slept within the Nine Dragon Sword Case. He looked at Zhong Yan's phantom with a stern gaze and spoke unceremoniously.

"You..."

He had intended to rebuke loudly, but when Zhong Yan sensed the aura emitted from the red phantom, his face changed drastically, and his form retreated repeatedly! His pair of eyes were full of fear!

"You... you are not a cultivator from the Human Realm!"

"Heh heh! Your discernment is not bad! I am indeed not a cultivator from the Human Realm!"

Chunyangzi gave a faint, light laugh, but to Zhong Yan, this laughter was harder to accept than a thunderbolt! That a Magic Treasure used by a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator could contain such a powerful Remnant Soul was something he had never dreamed of.

Just at this moment, Chunyangzi reached out and patted Zhang Nuo's crown. Immediately, Zhang Nuo's body shook, and he gasped in surprise as if waking from a dream. Then, everything before his eyes stunned him once again.

Above his head, a red phantom stood proudly. Several yards in front, Zhong Yan's phantom body trembled slightly, and facing the awakened Zhang Nuo, he gnashed his teeth even more!

"Kid Zhang, it's a pity that you were careful everywhere, yet you still fell for his trick!"

Hearing the voice, Zhang Nuo knew that the phantom above his head was indeed Chunyangzi's. This was his first time seeing Chunyangzi's form, and he couldn't help but look a few more times.

Recalling everything that had happened before, everything in his heart became clear. His gaze turned cold as he looked toward Zhong Yan's direction, and his clenched fists emitted a "crack-crack" sound of finger joints.