Divine Transcendence

Chapter 255: Assassination

Having just possessed a body and learned a practical spell, Yuan Ming was quite thrilled. He repeatedly hinted to the old crone to try cultivating other spells.

After more than ten hints, the old crone with a cane finally stopped her cultivation and rose to the entrance of the cave.

A massive stone several meters high blocked the entrance. The old crone pressed her palm against it, and a yellow glow emanated from the stone. It shot up from the ground like a bullet and flew out with a "whoosh."

Yuan Ming’s thoughts stirred, recognizing that the old crone had used an intermediate-level Earth spell, Stone Manipulation Technique, capable of controlling soil and rocks, very useful in battle.

Unfortunately, his spiritual root lacked the Earth element, so he couldn’t grasp Earth spells and didn’t bother to comprehend the casting process.

Outside the cave was a vast stone forest with vines and trees growing densely, and even further were countless tall trees, appearing to be a wilderness. It was unclear why the old crone had come here. Just as the old crone with a cane was about to leave, a black sword light shot out from the stone forest without warning, aiming for her neck.

Startled, the old crone swung her cane, and a yellow shadow met the black sword light.

Her other hand shone with a thick yellow light, seemingly ready to use another divine ability.

However, at that moment, the black sword light suddenly twisted like a serpent, easily avoiding the cane’s shadow and piercing the old crone’s chest with lightning speed, exiting through her back.

A spray of blood mist shot backward, staining a large area of the ground red.

Yuan Ming, possessing the old crone, was also startled by such an immersive and sudden attack, barely recovering his senses.

Being only a spirit attached to the old crone, his perception of the surroundings was limited, and he couldn’t see everything clearly. The old crone spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, her eyes filled with shock and rage. She took out an elixir and swallowed it, then stretched out her hand, shooting out five dragon-like purple lights from her fingernails, swiftly striking the stone forest ahead.

The stones and trees in the stone forest, touched by the purple light, "sizzled" and melted away as if they were candles.

Yuan Ming couldn’t help but admire the old crone’s deadly poison on her fingernails; not just a cultivator’s body, even magical artifacts might not withstand it. The poison of Hua Zhi was incomparable to hers.

Although the old crone’s poisonous divine ability was formidable, her vital point had been hit, and due to her severe injuries and the loss of mana, she soon collapsed to the ground, her eyes fixed on the stone forest, filled with hatred and unwillingness, as if she desperately wanted to know who had killed her.

This old crone held a high position in Bailuo Villa, yet someone had assassinated her so easily. Yuan Ming was also curious about the identity of the killer, looking towards the passage.

Time passed, but no one appeared from the stone forest.

The old crone’s breath grew weaker and, after a few breaths, ceased, her eyes slowly closing.

Yuan Ming sighed inwardly. Now that he was possessing the old crone and she had died, his possession would likely end, and he wouldn’t see the killer.

Unexpectedly, as the old crone’s breath completely dissipated and her soul’s power began to overflow, he could still see his surroundings.

"Why is this happening?"

Yuan Ming was astonished and quickly sensed his possession status, soon making a discovery.

His spiritual consciousness could actually overflow, similar to when he used his spiritual consciousness to probe, but much more subtle. If he didn’t pay close attention, he would hardly notice it.

Yuan Ming realized why he could see his surroundings even when the old crone’s eyes were closed.

The reason for this, he guessed, might be related to the ash of the spiritual incense. Could it be that the ash, once worshipped by cultivators, could cause so many changes after possession? Just then, a black-cloaked figure emerged from the passage, wearing a wide black cloak, their face unseen.

Yuan Ming extended his soul power, trying to discern the person’s appearance, but as soon as his soul power touched the black cloak, it was blocked by an invisible force, unable to probe anything.

The figure in black approached the old crone’s corpse, extended a pale hand, and took her storage artifact and the cane artifact.

Yuan Ming felt darkness before his eyes, his consciousness completely plunging into the dark, returning to his body.

***

He slowly opened his eyes, silent, his thoughts churning.

Who was this black-cloaked person who had suddenly killed the old crone?

However, how would he react if he encountered such an attack? After a brief consideration without a conclusion, he set the thought aside for the time being.

This possession had been full of unexpected events, and he hadn’t been able to test the duration of possession with the addition of the pine wood to the black incense. He would have to wait for the next possession to find out.

Yuan Ming lit a stick of Zixuan Incense, inserted it into the Heaven-Stealing Cauldron, and the smoke rose, forming a snake-like shape, coiling around him. Yuan Ming inhaled, and the spiritual smoke split into two streams, entering his nostrils. He swallowed a Four Spirits Pill and began to circulate the Nine Elements Formula.

His spiritual consciousness in his mind suddenly fluctuated.

This was due to the vibration of the Beast Taming Rune within Hua Zhi’s body. The demonic vine was likely battling a formidable enemy again, its demonic power operating too intensely, affecting the rune within.

Yuan Ming wasn’t surprised; similar situations had occurred many times this month. Hua Zhi seemed to enjoy hunting, and he had grown accustomed to it.

After steadying his mind, Yuan Ming closed his eyes again and immersed himself in cultivation.

***

Inside the Rain Ruins Swamp.

Hua Zhi was battling a black mantis-like demonic beast.

The mantis was about two zhang long, with sharp eyes, and its two forelimbs were like black cleavers, drawing black lines as they swung, cutting through trees and stones upon contact.

Hua Zhi was cautious against the black mantis, driving numerous demonic vines to attack from all directions, trying to avoid the forelimbs.

Around Hua Zhi, many small demonic beasts followed, including vine demons like Hua Zhi and various poisonous insects and small beasts, numbering twenty or thirty, all seemingly under Hua Zhi’s command.

These small demons attacked the black mantis from all sides along with Hua Zhi.

The black mantis gradually became overwhelmed, attempting to fly away several times but was blocked by Hua Zhi.

After a while, the black mantis’s movements slowed down, and in a moment of carelessness, Hua Zhi’s vine pierced its hard shell and entered its flesh.

Enraged, the mantis swung its forelimbs, cutting off the vine.

Just as it was about to counterattack, it suddenly felt intense pain in its chest. The vine that had entered its body could still move, burrowing deeper into its chest and quickly piercing its heart.

The black mantis let out a mournful cry and fell to the ground, struggling for a moment before dying.

Hua Zhi extended a vine into the mantis’s chest, quickly wrapping around the severed vine, which twisted like a snake.

A flash of purple light, and the severed vine slowly merged into the vine that had captured it.

Hua Zhi’s other vines pierced into the mantis, quickly draining its blood until only a dry husk remained.

It then manipulated the vines into blade shapes, cutting off the two black forelimbs and bringing them in front of itself, then waved its hand.

The surrounding small demons swarmed, eagerly devouring the black mantis’s remains, leaving nothing behind.

Hua Zhi spat out a storage ring and collected the mantis’s sharp forelimbs.

The storage ring was given to it by Yuan Ming before coming to the Rain Ruins Swamp, and with Hua Zhi’s demonic power, it could be used.

Yuan Ming had let it roam freely, not without conditions; he wanted Hua Zhi to help collect various spiritual materials from the swamp and bring them back periodically.

"Really knows how to use others." Hua Zhi put away the ring, muttering slightly discontentedly before leading the group of small demons forward.

***

Seven days passed quickly, and the Taiji pattern on the Heaven-Stealing Cauldron was restored. Yuan Ming took out an hourglass, lit a black incense stick with added pine wood, and possessed another body.

This time, his target was Liu Tianming.

Yuan Ming’s vision darkened, and when he awoke, he was in the body of the young emperor, Liu Tianming.

***

Liu Tianming was walking on a white jade mountain path, a long road leading to a towering peak that seemed to reach the heavens.

Under the sunlight, the white jade path shimmered, and the peak was resplendent with golden light. Nearby, magnificent buildings stood tall.

In the sky, auspicious clouds drifted, and cranes soared, creating an atmosphere of a celestial palace.

"Wow, this is Changchun Temple, truly the number one cultivation sect in Great Jin, incomparable to Bi Luo Cave," Yuan Ming marveled at the scene before him.

"Who thought of building the library at the peak? I have to run all the way up every time." The young emperor Liu Tianming suddenly stopped, sitting down on a nearby boulder, grumbling discontentedly.

Yuan Ming didn’t bother being polite with the young emperor, subtly influencing him, continuously instilling the words "Fire Cloud Secret Technique."

Since entering the world of cultivation, the most powerful fire spell he had seen was the Fire Cloud Secret Technique. When he had fought Elder Yuhu, he had thought of learning it by stealth. He had encouraged the young emperor to learn the Fire Cloud Secret Technique during their casual conversations in the Great Jin palace, to facilitate his own covert learning.

It had been a long time; had the young emperor learned it yet?

The young emperor’s cultivation was slightly lower than Yuan Ming’s, and his spiritual consciousness was not as strong. After a few attempts, he was quickly influenced by Yuan Ming’s hints, his thoughts shifting from the books to the Fire Cloud Secret Technique.

Suddenly, he took out a red jade slip from his storage ring, but then his movements paused slightly, and he muttered to himself in confusion, "Huh, why did I suddenly take out this jade slip of the Fire Cloud Technique?"

He intended to put the jade slip away, but after a moment’s thought, he pressed it to his forehead and released his spiritual consciousness into it.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming also unfolded his spiritual consciousness, entering the jade slip, finally seeing the long-desired Fire Cloud Secret Technique.

However, the content in the jade slip was quite complex, giving him a headache at first glance.

The Fire Cloud Secret Technique was not a simple spell; it integrated several fire spells, along with sealing techniques, rune systems, and more, far more complex than any spell he had encountered before.

Although Yuan Ming considered himself somewhat talented in spells, such a complex secret technique, he admitted, would take him a year or more to learn, even if he explored it.