Chapter 43: Possession

I checked the panel.

My slaughter points had jumped from four to six.

Clearly, that saber strike hadn’t just shattered the illusion; it had also inflicted some kind of damage on the evil spirit.

The increased slaughter points were proof of that.

It also made Shen Changqing realize that he didn’t need to kill these evils; even inflicting some amount of damage would earn him slaughter points.

Back in the Demon Prison, he had already suspected this when he gained slaughter points from the remnants of demons.

So, there was more than one way to gain slaughter points.

Killing evil was not the only path.

The long saber lowered, its tip lightly touching the ground. Shen Changqing made no further move.

The evil spirit had attacked once.

It certainly wouldn’t stop there.

Judging from their brief exchange, that evil spirit’s strength was at most Nether Rank, and even weaker than the one in Gu Yue Village.

Even before his breakthrough, Shen Changqing was confident he could slay it with his saber.

Now, having achieved the Innate Realm, he didn’t even regard a Nether Rank monster as a threat.

However—

Shen Changqing’s concern had never been with Nether Rank monsters. He worried that the Eternal Life Alliance would send out monsters of Grievance Rank or higher.

Frankly speaking.

He had only just broken through to the Innate Realm.

Although his transformed Pure Yang True Qi was far more effective at suppressing evil spirits, if a powerful Grievance Rank monster appeared, Shen Changqing wasn’t entirely confident he could defeat it.

That one saber strike.

The Nether Rank monster was already injured and wouldn’t be so quick to attack again.

Time passed.

Shen Changqing stood there, saber in hand, his senses stretched to their limit, observing the slightest changes in his surroundings.

Yin energy surged around him.

*Whoosh!*

Shen Changqing moved with lightning speed, his long saber slashing out like a thunderbolt, a wave of heat washing over the area.

A pallid hand collided with the saber, instantly recoiling in defeat.

“Ah!”

A piercing scream echoed as the evil spirit retreated.

Shen Changqing stepped forward, trying to pinpoint its location, but it vanished too quickly. By the time he reached the spot, he found nothing.

“Damn it!”

He cursed inwardly.

Shen Changqing’s gaze was cold as he scanned the surroundings for any disturbance.

The greatest difficulty in dealing with evil spirits was their intangible nature. Unless you could find the object they possessed, it was hard to do anything to them.

“Right now, there are only two solutions. Either I can kill it with overwhelming force the next time it appears, or I need to find the object it’s possessing.

Aside from those two, there’s no other way.”

Shen Changqing was somewhat frustrated.

Evil spirits were indeed troublesome. If you couldn’t find their weakness, you were forced to be on the defensive.

There were many objects within his sight right now, and he couldn’t be sure which one the evil spirit was possessing.

Moreover.

The possessed object might not even be inside the Yamen; it could even be outside.

From what Shen Changqing knew about evil spirits.

The range of an evil spirit’s illusion was determined by its strength.

But a Nether Rank monster’s illusion would only affect an area of a thousand to two thousand zhang, and its attack range would be within a hundred zhang, never exceeding that limit.

In that case.

The object the evil spirit possessed had to be within a hundred zhang.

If it weren’t the Yamen, Shen Changqing would’ve burned the whole place down.

“It’s either inside the Yamen, or just outside, but it definitely won’t be too far. Unfortunately, I can’t leave right now. This attack on the Yamen is definitely aimed at the Zhao family!”

Shen Changqing calmed himself. Now it was a battle of endurance.

As long as he didn’t leave, the evil spirit wouldn’t be able to break the Zhao family out of prison, provided no stronger evils appeared.

Right now.

His mind was fully focused. He circulated his Pure Yang True Qi throughout his body, bringing himself to peak condition.

Shen Changqing waited.

Waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike a fatal blow.

Before his breakthrough to the Innate Realm, he didn’t have the strength to do so, but after the breakthrough and the transformation of his Pure Yang True Qi, it was a different story altogether.

As long as the timing was right.

Even if he couldn’t find the evil spirit’s possessed object, he might still be able to kill it.

After their last exchange.

The scene fell silent once more.

Shen Changqing stood at the entrance of the prison, like an iron tower, not moving an inch.

Not long after.

His ears twitched, picking up some faint sounds. Then, Yin energy erupted beside him.

But this time.

Shen Changqing didn’t move, letting the Yin energy approach—

However.

The Yin energy dissipated suddenly when it came within three feet of his body, as if it had never appeared.

A test!

Shen Changqing sneered inwardly.

From their previous exchange, the evil spirit realized his strength and didn’t dare attack carelessly. Now it was only making simple probes.

After one fruitless attempt, the scene quickly calmed down again.

Less than a quarter of an hour later.

A commotion erupted on the other side of the Yamen, causing quite a stir.

Shen Changqing gripped his long saber tightly, coldly watching the other direction, where flashes of fire could be seen, as if a battle was taking place.

“Attacking the east to strike the west!”

“Or relieving the state of Wei by besieging Zhao?”

He couldn’t be sure, but he was alone. He either had to stay here, ensuring the evil spirit couldn’t break the Zhao family out of prison, or abandon the Zhao family and go to rescue the others.

Just then.

A man ran over in a panic.

“Sir, something has happened!”

“What happened?” Shen Changqing frowned, looking at the staggering Hong Cheng.

There was no blood on Hong Cheng, and he looked panicked, but for some reason, something seemed off about him.

Wait!

Off!

Shen Changqing was shocked. Without a second thought, he slashed his saber at Hong Cheng.

The face of the man who should have been panicking broke into a bizarre smile. In an instant, he dodged the attack. His calloused hand grew sharp nails, stabbing towards Shen Changqing’s chest.

“How dare you!”

Shen Changqing was furious. Instead of retracting his saber, he attacked with his other hand, a bitter palm wind roaring out, colliding violently with the other’s hand.

*Bang!*

The powerful force shattered the nails, and the arm was twisted by the violent energy.

“Hong Cheng” recoiled, but even with his arm twisted into a mangled mess, the pale bone piercing through his flesh, there wasn’t a hint of pain on his face. He merely looked at Shen Changqing with shock.

“Innate!”

“A Grievance Rank monster!”

Shen Changqing spat out the words, his voice like the freezing winter wind.

His worst fears had come true.

The Eternal Life Alliance had not only sent evil spirits to break the Zhao family out of prison, but had also dispatched a Grievance Rank monster.

Grievance Rank monsters were no longer limited to possessing inanimate objects; they could directly possess living people, controlling everything about them.

The Hong Cheng before him was in a state of possession.

Adding in the original Nether Rank monster, there were now two evils in the Yamen.

Without another word, Shen Changqing took a step forward, directly attacking “Hong Cheng”.

The long saber pierced the air!

Its sound like thunder!

End of Chapter