Chapter 98: The Art of Soul Shifting

"Pfft!!"

Ming Yi spat out a mouthful of blood, mixed with fragments of his organs. His eyes were filled with disbelief as he slowly turned around, staring incredulously at Zhao Feng. He lowered his head and saw a gaping hole the size of a bowl in his chest.

"Urgh!!" He let out a pained, guttural cry.

"Qi Refining, Level Ten?"

"How can there be a cultivator at the tenth level of Qi Refining in this world?!"

He let out a wailing shriek and struggled to flee into the distance. But he was doomed. He could not escape.

"Thud!!"

His body crashed heavily to the ground, and within moments, his breathing ceased.

Zhao Feng's face twisted with malice as he approached the corpse. "Even in death, I won't let you off easy!" He extended his right hand and pressed his palm against Ming Yi's forehead.

"Soul Extraction!!"

He practically roared the words.

In an instant, a translucent phantom was yanked out by Zhao Feng. An ordinary person's soul is unconscious, but cultivators who have trained their bodies and spirits possess conscious souls.

Ming Yi was dazed for only a moment before he snapped back to his senses. "How am I here?!" He stared blankly at Zhao Feng. "What did you do to me?!"

A cruel smile curled at the corners of Zhao Feng's mouth. "I did nothing!"

"Just..."

"Just this—I'll make sure you can neither live nor die for the rest of your existence!"

Ming Yi was utterly terrified. "Who on earth are you?! Why can you extract a person's soul? That's a technique only the Holy Master possesses!"

"Holy Master? What Holy Master?!"

Zhao Feng demanded sternly.

Ming Yi trembled in fear. He stammered, "I... I don't know. I've only heard rumors!"

"Hm?"

A dangerous glint flickered in Zhao Feng's eyes. "Are you lying to me?"

"No! I'm not!" Ming Yi hastily shook his head.

Zhao Feng sneered. "It doesn't matter if you won't tell me. I can find out for myself! The only problem is—you might end up as a senile old fool."

Ming Yi was startled. "The Soul Search Art?!"

"Bingo! Congratulations, you got it right!"

"Boom!"

Zhao Feng shot out his eagle-like claw and seized Ming Yi's head.

"Soul Search Art!!"

"Buzz!!"

Brilliant divine light blazed around Zhao Feng, bursting forth in dazzling seven-colored radiance. Even ordinary mortals could see it. Anyone who didn't know better would think Zhao Feng was performing some auspicious miracle. In truth, he was using the cruelest of arts!

Zhao Feng closed his eyes as memories poured into his mind, drop by drop.

An image appeared. It was a temple, thick with incense smoke and thriving with worshippers.

Zhao Feng frowned. This was all he could see.

Zhao Feng took a deep breath. Suddenly, his spectral soul slammed headlong into the vision.

"Craaack!"

"Tinkle!"

The sound of shattering glass, like crystal breaking apart.

Now Zhao Feng could see more. It was still that same temple, but the scene had changed. This temple was thick with foul smoke and murky air. Inside, the monks drank and reveled, living lives of debauchery. It was truly the most chaotic place in the mortal world.

Anger appeared on Zhao Feng's face. "I will find it!"

"Who?!"

A startled shout rang out.

Zhao Feng was taken aback. An ethereal palm came flying toward him. He was surprised only for a moment—instantly, he extended his eagle claw and struck out with his palm.

"Boom!"

The two soul-formed palms collided.

The corner of Zhao Feng's mouth curled up slightly. "I thought it was something special. Turns out it's just a Qi Refining Level Seven cultivator who's barely mastered soul power!"

The other party was horrified. "Who are you?!"

"Someone who's going to kill you!!"

Zhao Feng wanted to continue fighting, but unfortunately, the Soul Search Art's time had run out. He had no choice but to retreat, feeling a pang of regret.

Back in the outside world, Zhao Feng opened his eyes. His gaze was filled with darkness and gloom. He turned abruptly to Hong Chang. "Erase their memories!"

"Alright!"

Hong Chang said nothing more and began erasing the memories of the crowd. However, when it came to one particular person, an unexpected complication arose.

That person was Xiaomin.

Xiaomin's eyes were brimming with tears. "Please... please don't erase my memories! Let me remember you, okay?"

Something in Zhao Feng's heart was stirred.

"Ah..."

Zhao Feng let out a faint sigh. He walked over to Xiaomin, raised his right hand, and gently placed it on her forehead. "We will meet again."

"Really?"

"Really. I never lie!"

Zhao Feng smiled and personally erased Xiaomin's memories.

When that was done, Zhao Feng looked at Hong Chang. "Wait here for me. I have something to do."

Hong Chang frowned. He couldn't shake the feeling that Zhao Feng's words were full of commands. This version of him felt unfamiliar and unsettling.

Before Hong Chang could even nod, Zhao Feng grabbed Du Wei's corpse and Ming Yi's corpse, then vanished into the distance in an instant.

In a pitch-black cave.

Zhao Feng sat cross-legged, regulating his breath. Before him lay two corpses—those of Ming Yi and Du Wei. He slowly opened his eyes.

"The Medicine Extreme Sect can bring the dead back to life and regrow flesh from white bones. Among its forbidden arts is the Soul Transfer Technique!"

"As a successor of the Medicine Extreme Sect, how could I not know the Soul Transfer Technique?!"

Zhao Feng's words sounded like a question to himself, yet also a declaration!

He took a deep breath. "Du Wei died not long ago, so his soul hasn't scattered yet. But his physical body has already been destroyed."

"Ming Yi, however, is different. He's a cultivator. When a cultivator cultivates to great accomplishment, his physical body endures for eternity—heaven cannot bury it, earth cannot extinguish it!"

Zhao Feng's eyes burned with sharp brilliance. He extended his right hand and formed a hand seal. Instantly, Ming Yi's soul appeared.

"I simply need to supplement Du Wei's soul with Ming Yi's soul power, then drive Du Wei's soul into Ming Yi's body!"

"The Soul Transfer Technique... will be complete!"

Without further ado, Zhao Feng put the plan into action. He formed the hand seal.

Instantly, a translucent, unconscious soul drifted out from Du Wei's body. The phantom bore Du Wei's exact likeness.

A faint smile appeared on Zhao Feng's face. "Now, I extract Ming Yi's soul power!"

"Buzz!"

Zhao Feng extended his eagle claw and clamped it directly onto Ming Yi's head. In an instant, a wisp of pure white, nearly transparent gas appeared. The white gas coiled around Zhao Feng, trying to burrow into his mind.

"Hmph!!"

Zhao Feng let out a cold snort, and the gas immediately submitted and behaved itself. Zhao Feng grabbed the gas, and in an instant, it condensed into a single mass. He seized that mass and drove it straight into Du Wei's head.

"Bam!!"

Du Wei's soul abruptly snapped open its eyes, emitting a piercing, brilliant light.

He blinked. "Who am I?! Where am I?"

"Du Wei! Wake up this instant?!"

Du Wei shuddered and instantly regained full clarity. He stared blankly at Zhao Feng. "Little brother, what happened to me? Didn't I die?"

Zhao Feng smiled faintly. "With me here, even death would find it hard to take you."

Du Wei looked at their surroundings and was startled. "Little brother, you killed someone?!"

"I had no choice."

Zhao Feng explained calmly.

Du Wei glanced at Zhao Feng and immediately understood the whole sequence of events. "Little brother, you're an extraordinary man! You must have used some special method to save me."

Zhao Feng nodded but said nothing.

"What was the price?" Du Wei asked.

"Ten years of my lifespan," Zhao Feng replied flatly, as if speaking of something utterly insignificant.