Gu Yao realized that his three handy spiritual weapons were of no use against the stone monkey statue. He decided to put them away and faced the monkey statue head-on with his fists and body.
"Pounding sounds!"
In a few breaths, Gu Yao was knocked down, landing with a thud on the green jade slabs. He climbed back up, wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth, eased his muscles and bones, then relentlessly charged at the stone monkey again, enduring longer each time.
When unable to get up, he sat down to recover, took an unnamed elixir suitable for body refinement from the Nameless Alchemy Technique, and allowed its medicinal power to penetrate every corner of his body. After recovery, he resumed the fight.
Chi Changye didn't take long to deal with the tiger beast. Although it could exert the strength of the early Yuanying stage, it was ultimately an inanimate object. Puppets still needed to be controlled through an internal central hub. Chi Changye's swordsmanship had improved lately, and his sword energy penetrated the outer shell, directly destroying the control hub inside. He then stood aside, watching Gu Yao practice against the stone monkey.
Although he felt sorry for Gu Yao getting injured repeatedly, on the path of cultivation, standing still meant falling behind. If he stopped Gu Yao this time, would Gu Yao still have the courageous and enterprising spirit next time? Therefore, Chi Changye's role was to intervene and save Gu Yao when he was in danger.
Observing Gu Yao persisting longer and longer against the stone monkey, Chi Changye couldn't help but think, the sight of Gu Yao in this state would surely astonish many. How many alchemists relied on their fists and bodies for such contests? When did alchemists become so bold and tough?
After who knows how many rounds of fighting, when Gu Yao pounced again, he found that the stone monkey's movements had slowed down. He knocked it down with a few moves, and then... it remained motionless.
Gu Yao was puzzled, "What's going on?"
Chi Changye came over to assist and checked his condition, "It should be that the energy inside this puppet's body has been depleted. These two puppets have been squatting here for who knows how many years. Although they haven't moved, the spiritual energy inside the control hub, in the form of the spirit stone, has been dissipating."
"I see, that's why. I knew it couldn't be so simple for me to knock it down. I'm not that powerful yet." Gu Yao laughed twice, swayed a bit, then simply sat on the cushion Chi Changye brought out, waving at him, "You go inside and take a look. I'll rest here for a bit."
"Sure, little one, keep an eye on Xiao Yao." Chi Changye left the kitten behind, with Xu Chen watching. It should be fine; if there's danger, he can enter the space in time. Then, with some concern for Gu Yao, he set up a restriction next to him before turning and heading into the main hall.
The two original stone beasts could no longer block his entry. Chi Changye, upon entering, saw a stone platform in the center of the hall, with a jade sphere above it. The jade sphere gave Chi Changye the feeling that it was the control center of this ancient mansion. Once the sphere was refined, the palace would become his portable cave.
At this point, Chi Changye didn't rush. The mansion was a stroke of luck for him. He was thinking that in the future, when he and Gu Yao traveled outside, having this portable cave would eliminate the need for tents. The quality of the portable caves available for sale outside was far inferior to this one.
Halfway through, Chi Changye stopped, summoned the Purple Thunder Sword, let it fly around the stone platform, and suddenly a thunderstorm erupted. Indeed, there were traps around the stone platform, and the powerful Purple Thunder Sword destroyed the set restrictions.
The restrictions weren't very powerful, but they were well-hidden. Chi Changye, relying on his own spiritual awareness, hadn't discovered them. Following a cautious approach, he let the Purple Thunder Sword go first and indeed found several hidden restrictions.
Sweeping away the restrictions with the sword, Chi Changye finally stood in front of the jade sphere. After circling around it, he took several items from his storage ring and arranged them in a circle around the sphere. Then, he withdrew his spiritual awareness and cautiously probed into the interior of the jade sphere.
At that moment, a dark shadow followed that strand of spiritual awareness and lunged forward, targeting Chi Changye's sea of consciousness. Occupying his sea of consciousness would enable it to replace him and take over his body. Unexpectedly, the swift actions of the shadow caught Chi Changye off guard, but the external Chi Changye reacted even more swiftly. He decisively abandoned that strand of spiritual awareness upon detecting the shadow.
Simultaneously, with a thought, the items previously placed around the jade sphere came into play. A small array instantly activated, securely trapping the dark shadow in the center of the array. Despite its collisions, only a hissing sound was heard, indicating that it couldn't break free from the array's constraint.
The shadow seemed to finally recognize the situation, ceased its movements, and revealed its true form—a virtual image of a cultivator who appeared to be in their forties or fifties but exuded a fierce aura.
"Kid, be wise and let this seat out. I can give you anything you want—this palace, countless treasures of heaven and earth that I've cherished for years. This seat can also promise not to take over you anymore, as long as you find a suitable body for me."
Chi Changye, however, stepped back, took out a cushion, and sat in the center of the hall, assuming a meditation posture. He even found the virtual image's voice too loud, so he used a spiritual technique to silence it. This infuriated the virtual image, making its hair stand on end.
Yet, Chi Changye maintained an indifferent attitude.
The virtual image struggled for a while, realizing it couldn't break free or call the outside kid over. Eventually, it stopped and thought, "After waiting for so many long years, a little more won't hurt."
Xu Chen did hear the commotion in the main hall. Upon understanding the situation, he realized that there was still a remnant soul in this ancient mansion trying to seize the opportunity to take over Chi Changye. However, it happened to encounter someone as composed and cautious as Chi Changye, who seemed not to have fallen for it, perhaps having learned a lesson from a previous encounter.
Xu Chen had no sympathy for the fellow spirit, also not in a hurry to enter and observe. Instead, he stayed with Gu Yao, guarding against the remnant soul and any other potential schemes. What if the remnant soul tried to seize Gu Yao while he was away? Not everyone would tolerate having a soul residing in their alchemy chamber like Gu Yao did.
After an unknown period, Gu Yao finally completed his meditation, stood up, stretched his muscles, and felt extremely comfortable. He had a fleeting illusion that he could knock down the stone ape with a single punch if he were to fight it again. Of course, this was just a momentary feeling, and Gu Yao didn't seriously believe he could achieve that.
Xu Chen said sarcastically, "Your husband almost got his body taken over by a remnant soul who knows how many years it's been dead. And you're out here having a good time?"
Xu Chen's tone was definitely gloating. Honestly, the aptitude of Chi Changye's body could be considered one in a million. Placed in any sect, it would be regarded as a treasure. The old ghost probably rejoiced at first sight, but joy turned to sorrow as he quickly fell into Chi Changye's hands. Failing to seize control, he ended up being trapped.
Gu Yao was initially startled, not expecting such a trap inside. However, looking at Xu Chen's expression, he composed himself and raised an eyebrow. "Then he's definitely not Night Brother's match. Besides, with the seniors here and the little one, we can't let that remnant soul succeed no matter what."
Gu Yao walked towards the main hall, appearing calm, but his steps were a bit hurried. How could he not worry until he saw Chi Changye safe and sound?
As Gu Yao entered, Chi Changye opened his eyes and stood up. Gu Yao smiled.
Both of them approached the jade sphere. By now, the virtual image inside had calmed down. Seeing Gu Yao was expected, as he was never the target for possession. However, when the virtual image noticed the cat cub, especially Xu Chen, its expression changed drastically.
He never expected that these two individuals had a more powerful spiritual cultivator than himself. He had exhausted his soul over the years, becoming weaker. Hence, when Chi Changye's spiritual awareness entered, he hastily tried to possess him. Waiting for so long and seeing no cultivator accidentally entering his hideout, he couldn't wait any longer.
However, upon seeing the cat cub, especially the Black Nightmare Beast, and Xu Chen, the virtual image felt despair. He realized there was a more powerful spiritual cultivator accompanying them. Spending so many years in this state weakened his soul, making him eager to seize control. Still, when Chi Changye's spiritual awareness entered, he knew he had failed. Survival became the priority. He quickly lowered his posture, "I wonder which Daoist friend this is. Perhaps we have met before. I am Elder Cangyue of Xuanxing Sect. I can give away all my treasures. I just hope the Daoist friend will let me leave alone."
As long as he could leave this place, he could search for another person with excellent spiritual roots to possess, starting anew. With his experience and insight, it wouldn't take many years for him to climb back to his previous peak. As for the people before him, he planned to seek revenge when he regained strength. Passing the current challenge was his immediate concern.
"Xuanxing Sect? Elder Cangyue? Have you heard of them, senior?" Chi Changye found the name Xuanxing Sect somewhat familiar and looked up to ask Xu Chen.
"Never heard of it. What kind of sect is that among the myriad of sects? Should I know every single one?" Xu Chen raised his chin. If Cangyue had a physical body at the moment, he would have been infuriated. How dare this guy dismiss his sect as one of the common ones?
Chi Changye raised an eyebrow. The name Xuanxing Sect did ring a bell. He remembered seeing records about it in the sect's archives many years ago. However, Xuanxing Sect had long disappeared into the river of time. Could it be that Cangyue still thought Xuanxing Sect was a significant sect from the past?
"Let the cub deal with it." Chi Changye wasn't interested in negotiating with this old ghost. If he wanted to possess him, then attempted revenge afterward, it was better to deal with the immediate threat. "Cub, go."
Chi Changye gave the cat cub access to the array.
The cat cub was delighted. Since Gu Yao didn't allow it to devour other souls, the taste of this one should be quite good. Even though this spirit had high cultivation in its past life, now reduced to a remnant soul, the cat cub's body emanated a black flame with a "whoosh." If Cangyue had a body, he would have been shocked. The emergence of the Black Abyss Flame made him feel the burning of his soul and the loss of soul power.
"No—I'm willing to submit... I really am willing..."
Chi Changye and Gu Yao outside ignored the plea, letting the cat cub capture the remnant soul like catching a mouse. The remnant soul's voice grew weaker until it was completely devoured by the cat cub, who let out a satisfied burp in the end.