Hun Yu stood at the entrance of the cave, a sinister aura enveloping him.
His expression mirrored the dark energy surrounding him. Though it appeared to be Hun Yu's body, something inside seemed fundamentally different.
He walked slowly inside, carrying fruits, fish, and berries in his hands. Yun Xiu, sitting on the ground, heard the approaching footsteps. Hun Yu's face came into view, holding the food.
As he walked in front of her and placed the items on the ground, he said, "Miss Yun, you must be hungry. Why don't I cook some food for you?" His voice was identical to Hun Yu's.
Yun Xiu looked at Hun Yu, feeling a strange sensation in her heart. There was something different about him, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was. She watched as he slowly lit a fire and began cooking the fish.
While she wasn't looking, he skillfully took out a plant and dripped a liquid from a flower known for causing sleep, often used in assassinations.
After some time, he handed the fish to Yun Xiu. "Here you go," he said in a low voice as he started to cook another for himself. She took a bite of the fish. Although the taste was average, she was hungry and ate it.
About 20-25 minutes later, she looked at Hun Yu, who was eating.
She suddenly felt sleepy. The abrupt change alerted her. She knew her body well and recognized the difference between normal sleepiness and something induced. Her gaze turned to the fish bones nearby, then back to Hun Yu in disbelief.
The impostor wearing Hun Yu's appearance noticed her realization and decided to drop the act.
"Hmph, so you noticed. I thought you wouldn't," a voice escaped from Hun Yu's mouth, sounding completely different and sinister.
"You! You are not Hun Yu," she said, trying to stand, but the overwhelming feeling of sleep overtook her.
"It took you long enough to realize. These tricks wouldn't work on you if you were at full power, but currently, you're just a tempering body ant. You're unlucky.
If you had recovered the strength of the Elementalist realm, you might have resisted the effects of this sleep-inducing flower."
"Now go to sleep faster and let me enjoy you," the sinister voice said from Hun Yu's mouth.
Yun Xiu, hearing this, had a serious expression on her face. She couldn't do anything, unable to utilize her qi due to the technique she used against the beast.
For the first time in her life, she felt so helpless as her body collapsed to the ground, her eyes closing. A tear escaped her eye as she fell asleep.
Seeing her unconscious under the flower's effect, the impostor licked his lips, examining Yun Xiu's appearance.
As he stretched his hand to touch her, it was suddenly stopped. Confused, he realized, "You! Kid, give this body to me, or I will make your life worse than death," he shouted in anger.
He tried to reach the woman again, but the resistance was much stronger than before. "Okay, okay, I will kill you first!" he said, closing his eyes.
As soon as he closed them, the scenario changed. In the next moment, a middle-aged figure wearing a black, tattered robe with long black hair and an average face stood in front of Hun Yu. Both were standing on top of a boundless sea.
Hun Yu looked surprised as he glanced around, but the system quickly explained that he was currently in his Spiritual Sea. He looked at the middle-aged man in front of him.
"You shitty old man, you want my body? Dream on!" he said. Although he was not easily angered, this motherfucker wanted to lay hands on the sect master.
No, death wouldn't be enough for this bastard. He didn't care who the one standing in front of him was. The only thing he knew was that this was his Spiritual Sea, his body.
Since this was his Spiritual Sea, he should be able to control everything here, and the system had briefly explained these things. He thought of a huge sword falling from the sky, and as he did, it really happened.
A sword the size of a mountain fell from the sky, aiming for the middle-aged man. But as it was about to touch him, the sword vanished in an instant.
Surprised, Hun Yu asked, "System, what happened just now?"
"The person's spiritual level is much higher than yours. You cannot harm someone with higher spiritual power than yours," the system replied.
Falling into confusion, Hun Yu wondered how he could defeat him if he couldn't harm him. "System, there should be a way," he asked, but before he could hear the reply, he heard the voice of the middle-aged man.
"Be honored you are dying by my hand The Dark Spirit Lord," the man said, raising his hand. As he did, Hun Yu felt a strong pull, drawing him into the grasp of the middle-aged man. His soul seemed to be slowly sucked into the man's body. He tried to break free, but nothing happened. "System, do something!"
"The person's spiritual level is much higher than yours. You cannot harm someone with higher spiritual power than yours."
Just as the system said, he fell into confusion. Since he couldn't harm him, how was he going to defeat him?
"System, there should be a way," he asked, but before he could hear the system's reply, he heard the voice of the middle-aged man.
"Be honored you are dying by my hand, Evil Spirit Lord," the man said, raising his hand.
As he did, Hun Yu suddenly felt a strong pull as he was directly pulled into the grasp of the middle-aged man calling himself the Evil Spirit Lord.
Suddenly, his soul seemed to be slowly sucked into this man. He tried to break free, but nothing happened.
"System, do something!"
He somehow managed to say this.
"The system cannot do anything. Energy points possessed by the host are too low in quantity."
He heard the system. Although he was not afraid of death, he didn't want to die now. Even if he did, he wanted to somehow take this man with him. As he thought of this, his soul grew weaker and weaker as it was sucked away.
He did not have the strength to do anything. Even in his soul state, he lost consciousness.
Suddenly, everything seemed to stop, and the whole scenario of the spiritual sea changed.
In the sky, an eye appeared, shining in a chaotic orange color.
As it did, everything in the spiritual sea stopped happening.
The Evil Spirit Lord looked at the strange occurrence. He seemed to have a bad feeling about it.
He let go of Hun Yu's soul and wanted to rush out of his body, but he seemed to be blocked by some kind of barrier.
Panic flashed across his face. He had spent hundreds of years waiting for someone to come by and be his host. How could he be willing to die so easily?
As he was trying to escape, the whole scene changed.
It became a realm of unfathomable darkness and chaos, where swirling vortexes of black energy spiraled endlessly amidst jagged, obsidian cliffs.
The sky above was a canvas of shifting shadows, pierced by bolts of crimson lightning that illuminated the twisted landscape below.
Everything seemed disordered.
A pale expression appeared on the face of the one calling himself the Evil Spirit Lord.
The eye in the sky looked directly at the Evil Spirit Lord, illuminated in a dark aura.
The Evil Spirit Lord's face turned even paler.
and there was clear fear evident in his eyes.
"This..."
The Evil Spirit Lord muttered in shock, unable to comprehend the overwhelming evil energy.
Before he could react, he was sucked into the eye that had materialized in the sky. He tried to run and fly away, but nothing worked. With a scream, he was drawn inside.
Only his screams echoed, and soon the scenario returned to normal. The boundless sea and clear sky reappeared.
Hun Yu, still unconscious, lay on the ground a few meters away from Yun Xiu.
A symbol of a burning eye was visible on his hand but soon vanished into thin air. The cave fell silent.
Hours passed, and Yun Xiu opened her eyes. She stood up, relieved to find her clothes intact, but her relief turned to concern as she saw Hun Yu lying on the ground. She slowly picked up her sword,
recalling that this was no longer Hun Yu. Though she wasn't fully unconscious earlier, she was aware of her surroundings and had heard the ghost's angry shout.
It must have been Hun Yu fighting for control that stopped the ghost. She looked at him, her expression complex, unsure if it would be the ghost or the real Hun Yu who would wake up.
Nonetheless, she decided to wait and put down her sword, believing that Hun Yu's resistance had thwarted the ghost's plans.
She didn't know how to thank Hun Yu for this.
Since he had done so much for her, she resolved to do everything to help him, but for now, she could do nothing but wait. It was nighttime, and she held her sword, waiting for him to wake up.
Hours passed, but he did not wake up. Anxiousness grew within her heart, and she bit her nails, feeling more worried each day.
A week passed with no change. Yun Xiu sat in the cave, looking at Hun Yu, who remained unconscious. She tried every method to wake him, from pouring water to kicking, but he did not flinch, let alone wake up.
The anxious feeling grew, as if she might lose someone close to her again. Just as she was imagining the worst, Hun Yu's eyes flickered open.
He looked at the ceiling of the cave, confused, wondering if he had survived the middle-aged man's attack.
As he sat up, a sharp pain in his neck sent a chill down his spine. From the smell, he knew it was Yun Xiu. "Miss Yun, it's me," he said, gulping and sweating.
"Prove it," he heard her cold voice.
"How?" he asked, unsure how to prove he was the real one.
Yun Xiu fell silent, also uncertain about how he could prove his identity.