Chapter 337 - 159: Possession (Part 3)

"But before me, you’re still far too green."

"I have lived for hundreds of years. I’ve devoured more Divine Souls than you’ve ever seen!"

Liang Cheng didn’t answer.

He gritted his teeth and continued the desperate fight.

One slash.

Another slash.

And another.

Though his movements grew slower and his aura grew weaker, he never gave up.

Because he knew.

The moment he gave up would be the moment he died.

He absolutely could not die!

ROAR—!!!

Liang Cheng threw his head back and roared at the sky!

Blade Intent and Sword Momentum erupted at the same time!

The Mental Realm of the Nine Heavens Mountain-Breaking Saber and the chilling intent of the Ling Frost Sword actually showed faint signs of merging at this moment!

He slashed with his saber!

He thrust with his sword!

The combined attack of saber and sword shattered eighteen golden dragons!

Watching this, a trace of shock finally flickered in the Evil Thought’s eyes.

"A breakthrough in the middle of a battle?"

’This boy’s temperament is truly terrifying...’

It took a deep breath.

’I can’t drag this out any longer.’

’Delays breed trouble.’

It formed a seal with its hands once again.

This time, it wasn’t an attack seal.

But rather—

The Possession Seal!

In an instant, the entire Sea of Consciousness suddenly froze!

All the surging golden seawater, all the roaring golden dragons, came to a complete standstill.

Liang Cheng was also frozen in place, unable to move.

Only his consciousness could still function.

He looked at the Evil Thought, his eyes filled with unwillingness to yield.

The Evil Thought slowly walked up to him, looking down on him from its superior position.

"Kid, you’re pretty good."

"To last this long against me, to achieve a breakthrough with your Blade Intent mid-battle, and to advance further with your combined saber and sword attack."

"If you were allowed to continue growing, you would surely surpass the Golden Core realm in the future, and perhaps even reach the Nascent Soul realm."

"A pity—"

It shook its head.

"You have no future."

"Your body, your Divine Soul, everything you are... from this day forward, it all belongs to me."

It raised its hand and pressed it to the center of Liang Cheng’s brow.

The possession began.

Liang Cheng felt an immense Divine Thought surge into the core of his consciousness like a torrential flood!

His memories, his emotions, his very being were being stripped away and devoured, bit by bit!

His mother’s smile.

His master’s teachings.

The sight of Zhou Hu’s back.

San Ya’s cloth shoes.

Yun Jinghong’s fighting spirit.

Ye Zhiqiu’s excitement.

Scene after scene flashed before his eyes, only to gradually blur and fade away.

’No...’

’I can’t let this happen...’

’I can’t die...’

’There’s still so much I have to do...’

Liang Cheng struggled desperately, but the restraints were too strong. He couldn’t move an inch.

The Evil Thought’s voice echoed in his ears, growing closer and clearer.

"Give up."

"No one can save you."

"From now on, I will be you, and you will be a part of me."

"Wouldn’t it be better for us to become one and seek the Great Dao together?"

’NO—’

Liang Cheng roared in his heart.

The core of his consciousness was being eroded, inch by inch.

Only thirty percent remained.

Twenty percent.

Ten percent.

At the very last moment—

In the deepest part of his Sea of Consciousness.

The drop of Divine Soul Liquid, which had been dormant for so long, suddenly stirred!

BOOM—!!!

That drop of Divine Soul Liquid exploded like a sun in the depths of his Sea of Consciousness!

The golden light was ten times more intense than the Evil Thought’s golden light from before!

A hundred times!

Wherever the light passed, all the Prohibitions set by the Evil Thought, all the golden dragons it had manifested, and all of its corrosive power were utterly annihilated!

Like ice and snow meeting a scorching sun, they melted in an instant!

The Evil Thought trembled violently and jerked its hand away from Liang Cheng’s brow. It staggered back a hundred feet, staring down at its own hands with eyes full of horror.

Its hands were now dissipating, starting from the fingertips, turning into motes of light that scattered throughout the Sea of Consciousness.

"What is this?!"

It snapped its head up, looking into the depths of the Sea of Consciousness.

There, a ball of golden light was slowly ascending.

The light was boundless and immense.

It was without a single impurity.

That was the true Power of the Divine Soul Origin!

Liang Cheng was also stunned.

As he looked at the ball of light, a scene suddenly surfaced in his mind.

The Lin Wu City Secret Realm.

The stone tablet.

The tomb.

The drop of Divine Soul Liquid that had merged with his Sea of Consciousness.

Back then, Elder Huang had only said it was a fortunate encounter and told him to refine it well.

He had refined it, but he had never truly used it.

Now, it had finally revealed itself.

The ball of golden light slowly drifted before Liang Cheng’s consciousness-form and merged into the center of his brow.

In that instant.

Liang Cheng felt the core of his consciousness suddenly expand. His Sea of Consciousness, which had been mostly eroded, was instantly restored to its original state!

And it was even vaster than before!

Even deeper!

The golden ocean surged with turbulent waves, stretching out as far as the eye could see!

The Evil Thought stood in the distance, watching all this unfold with utter despair in its eyes.

"Impossible..."

"That is..."

It suddenly remembered something and began to tremble all over.

"The Divine Soul Origin!"

"How could you have something like this?! Are you the reincarnation of a Great Power?"

"How is this possible?"

Liang Cheng didn’t answer. He just looked at the Evil Thought, his gaze calm.

Then, feeling the Power of his Divine Soul swell once more, he raised his hand and made a grasping motion with his fingers.

Instantly, the entire Sea of Consciousness, all the golden seawater, churned in unison!

Countless golden dragons burst from the sea’s surface, soaring into the air!

But unlike the dragons manifested by the Evil Thought, these dragons held not a trace of coldness or evil energy.

They were pure, immense, and full of majesty.

The Evil Thought stood surrounded by the dragons, its face deathly pale.

It wanted to flee.

But dragons were on all sides.

It wanted to beg for mercy.

But Liang Cheng wouldn’t give it the chance.

In an instant, the dragons dove down as one!

AWOO—!!!

Ten Thousand Dragons Devouring the Soul!

The Evil Thought’s tormented scream lasted for only a single breath before it was drowned in the golden light.

...

An unknown amount of time passed.

The golden light faded.

The Sea of Consciousness returned to calm.

Liang Cheng stood upon the surface of the sea, his eyes closed.

In his mind, countless memory fragments surged forth like a tide.

The life of the Crossing Sea Master.

The Crossing Sea Master’s path of cultivation.

The Crossing Sea Master’s Cultivation Techniques.

The Crossing Sea Master’s secrets.

He absorbed it all.

Seven hundred years of Cultivation experience.

Seven hundred years of Martial Dao comprehension.

Seven hundred years of life-and-death battles.

It all merged into his Divine Soul.

Liang Cheng opened his eyes.

A golden light flashed in their depths and was gone.

He raised his hand.

And clenched his five fingers into a fist.

BOOM—!!!

He threw a punch!

A thunderous explosion rang out of thin air above the Sea of Consciousness!

That Fist Force was not physical strength.

It was not the power of Pill Qi.

But rather—

Fist Intent!

The Power Breaking Technique!

A fist to suppress mountains and rivers!

The Crossing Sea Master had entered the Dao through his physique, following the path of the Power Breaking Technique.

The Crossing the Sea True Intent was fundamentally based on a powerful physique, tempering the body and Refining Essence and Transforming Qi until one could physically battle Fierce Beasts and withstand Magic.

Now, Liang Cheng had absorbed all of the Crossing Sea Master’s memories and comprehension.

He had completely mastered the Crossing the Sea True Intent.

He had achieved the Dao through strength.

And his Fist Intent was born.

Liang Cheng looked down at his fist.

’So that’s how it is.’

’The true core of the Crossing the Sea True Intent isn’t the Cultivation Technique, but—’

’The will.’

’The body carries the will, and the will drives the body.’

’The stronger the body, the stronger the will.’

’The stronger the will, the stronger the Fist Intent.’

He raised his head and looked toward the space above the Sea of Consciousness.

There floated the last wisp of light left behind after the Evil Thought had dissipated.

It was the Crossing Sea Master’s comprehension of the physical body, of power, and of the Power Breaking Technique.

Liang Cheng took a step forward and merged with that ball of light.

...

Outside the Sea of Consciousness.

「Dragon Burial Island, atop Cross-Sea Cliff.」

Liang Cheng stood before the stone tablet and opened his eyes.

A brilliant golden light flared in his eyes!

Within his body, the True Pill spun madly!

At this moment, the ice-blue and fiery-red Pill Qi faintly took on a golden sheen!

Liang Cheng looked down at his own hands.

He didn’t use any Pill Qi.

He didn’t circulate any Cultivation Technique.

He just simply... clenched his fist.

BOOM—!!!

Fist Force tore through the air, blasting a three-foot-deep Fist Seal into the cliff face a hundred feet away!

The edges of the Fist Seal were as smooth as a mirror, without a single crack.

It was a mark that could only be made when power was condensed to the absolute extreme.

Liang Cheng looked at the Fist Seal, a smile finally touching his lips.

[Crossing the Sea True Intent: Perfection]

[Fist Intent: Basic Level (15,684/100,000)]

[Ice Soul Scripture, First Layer: Beginner Level (1,156/50,000)]

[Heaven-Burning Scripture, First Layer: Beginner Level (1,100/50,000)]

[Blade Intent: Basic Level (654/100,000)]

[Cloud Soaring Step: Beginner Level (1,582/10,000)]

[Turtle Breath and Spirit Concealment Technique: Beginner Level (1,693/10,000)]