Chapter 9: Superior Yin Pearl

Dong Lin's condition was rapidly deteriorating. His yin body had been severely weakened, and it might collapse at any moment. He would have to find a physical body to possess in order to stabilize his condition.

"Zhang Lingjun, you wench! Just you wait!" Dong Lin called out fiercely.

Possession was an art in and of itself. Someone too young would be incapable of having sexual intercourse with Zhang Lingjun, and someone too old might already have developed spiritual power, affecting how comprehensive his possession was. If he were at peak strength, whatever spiritual resistance his unfortunate host could muster would be irrelevant, but now that his yin body was on the verge of breaking apart, it would be problematic for him to encounter a host with any spiritual power at all. However, spiritual power was hardly easy to cultivate; the younger the host, the less likely he was to have any.

Dong Lin glanced at the various unconscious bodies on the deck and homed in Xiao Nanfeng.

Xiao Nanfeng had no time to react before Dong Lin's yin body entered his physical body through the center of his forehead, where the soul was hosted. This wasn't the first time Dong Lin had taken possession of another body, and he made his way in without any resistance at all.

Given his past experience, he was aware that the interior of the forehead was, on a spiritual level, dark and turbid like primordial chaos. All he had to do was shatter the host's will and claim his body for his own.

This time, however, Dong Lin immediately realized that he had miscalculated. The moment he entered Xiao Nanfeng's soulspace, he knew something was wrong. The soulspace brimmed with blue light, like clouds of fog obscuring his vision.

"Spiritual power? How could this be?!"

Anyone who possessed spiritual power would be able to muster up a rudimentary defense against possession. Dong Lin's yin body was on the verge of giving out; he was easy prey!

Suddenly, the misty blue spiritual power transformed into a whirlpool, surrounding Dong Lin and worsening the injuries he had sustained. Xiao Nanfeng was taking the offensive.

"Enough spiritual power to form a whirlpool? How in the world did you manage such a feat? Even an ordinary cultivator at the peak of Immanence would only have traces of spiritual power—what's wrong with you?!" Dong Lin was wracked with fear and shock.

His yin body, at peak strength, was more than sufficient to obliterate Xiao Nanfeng's consciousness. However, he was currently so grievously wounded, his yin body so unstable, that Xiao Nanfeng was able to pose a threat to him despite his nascent cultivation.

"Damn it—if not for Zhang Lingjun's sneak attack, I wouldn't have been so weak! Just who are you?" Dong Lin howled again.

It was obvious in hindsight that Xiao Nanfeng had only been pretending to be unconscious. How had he been so lucky as to choose a host with spiritual power?!

Xiao Nanfeng clutched his head in pain as he recited from Body of Yin. The backlash from the spiritual attacks that he had marshaled sent waves of pain through his head.

"Lad, you won't be able to hold out for long. Just give up and let me out, and I'll pretend as if nothing has happened!" Dong Lin shouted urgently.

But would Xiao Nanfeng be tricked? You're already trapped in my soulspace, so why would I release you? Do you really think I'm so naive as to believe you would let me go if I were to free you?

Xiao Nanfeng didn't respond to Dong Lin's pleas or exhortations. Dong Lin grew more and more nervous—his condition was worsening by the second, and at this point, his body was held together by willpower alone.

Suddenly, the snowball—the superior yin pearl—in Dong Lin's hands began to release gusts of cold air.

"Damn it, what's the matter now? What's the superior yin pearl reacting to? I haven't had time to claim ownership of the pearl, and it's going to weaken my body even further! Stop, stop! Lad, let me out! I swear that, as long as I survive, I won't trouble you. Let me out, now!" Dong Lin shouted.

It was difficult enough for him to resist Xiao Nanfeng's advances, let alone suppress the pearl's sudden activity. His life was on the line!

Xiao Nanfeng continued to ignore him. Despite a splitting headache, he continued to grind at Dong Lin's yin body that was on the verge of giving out.

At the same time, the superior yin pearl began releasing ever more bursts of cold air, which flash-froze Dong Lin's yin body. If he were at peak strength, he would easily be able to suppress the attack, but his cracked body's defenses proved incapable against the sudden cold. It froze within moments.

"No!" Dong Lin let out a mournful cry of despair.

As gusts of icy air surrounded him, his yin body shattered like ice into countless shards of crystal.

Is he finally done for?

Xiao Nanfeng gasped, as though suddenly relieved of a heavy burden.

The superior yin pearl fell to the floor of his soulspace, releasing a burst of icy cold that caused Xiao Nanfeng to shiver. Fortunately, it wasn't enough to freeze his soulspace. The pearl then seemed to return to an inert state.

At this point, within Xiao Nanfeng's soulspace were vortices of spiritual power, numerous fragments of spiritual matter from Dong Lin's yin body, and a large, pure white pearl of superior yin, floating at its center.

Xiao Nanfeng slowly opened his eyes, still unable to believe what had happened. Was the crisis finally over?

He tried to extract the foreign matter from his soulspace several times, but was unable to do so.

Even so, Xiao Nanfeng was confident that he was safe for the moment.

He sucked in a deep breath and forced himself to remain calm. The situation had been tremendously dangerous, but he had also profited far beyond his wildest expectations.

The superior yin pearl that two cultivators of supreme strength were fighting over had ended up in his possession. Dong Lin, who had tried to possess him, was now dead, and fragments of his yin body were now secure in his soulspace.

Although he was yet unable to retrieve anything out of it, he was certain that he would be able to do so. What he had to ensure was that no one else knew what had happened.

Xiao Nanfeng got up and took a few deep breaths, then turned to look all around him.

The disciples on the deck were all slumped over, having fainted, including Zhang Lingjun herself. That meant that no one was aware of his secret—that he could keep the pearl all for himself!

What should he do next? Pretend to be unconscious? Yes—and to pretend to wake up just like everyone else, later!

Before he enacted his plan, however, he caught sight of Ye Dafu and the others not far from where he was standing. He frowned. Ye Dafu and his clique were essentially naive children, but they had been targeting him all throughout his journey. It was past time to teach them a lesson.

"Rummaging through my belongings, trying to set me up, to steal from me—I've had enough of all of you. And you even call me a poor bastard…? Well, blame yourself for what I'm going to do next. All of you are the pride of your families, aren't you? You've grown bigheaded and complacent, but I'll help you correct that. Don't thank me. My fees are exorbitant, you'll see."

Xiao Nanfeng felt at their pockets and pouches, amassing a number of taels of gold and promissory notes.

"Is this it? It can't be—aren't you supposed to be the young master, the scion of the Ye clan? You must have more money than this! Ah, a VIP key? Let me see. If you've rummaged through my belongings, surely you won't mind if I do the same to yours."

Xiao Nanfeng rushed up into Ye Dafu and his lackeys' rooms, searched them thoroughly, and then returned the keys to their respective owners.

Looking at the wad of banknotes he had collected, Xiao Nanfeng smiled at Ye Dafu. "As expected of Young Master Ye and his lackeys, eh? Enough banknotes to be exchanged for ten thousand taels of gold…"

Xiao Nanfeng wrapped the banknotes in wax paper, sealed it, found some tools, took off his clothes, jumped into the sea, dug a small groove into the hull of the ship, and pinned the bundle of wax paper within it to ensure that it wouldn't be lost on the voyage. He didn't dare carry the banknotes with him personally in case he was searched for the theft.

After all that, Xiao Nanfeng climbed back on board, wiped himself dry, and put on his clothes again.

There was little time to waste. Worried that everyone would soon wake up, Xiao Nanfeng was just about to lie down and pretend to have fainted when he suddenly frowned. "Ah, I've forgotten something."

He looked at Zhang Lingjun, who had fainted in the distance.

Dong Lin had caused the majority of her clothes to explode off her body. Although her private regions were still covered, her fair white skin, voluptuous body, and long white legs were still visible to one and all. Despite Xiao Nanfeng's exposure to the Internet in his past life, he felt as though he were about to have a nosebleed. After all, his hormones were surging right around now…

"It would be better if she were to wake up before everyone else—but what if she remained unconscious long after others did? Would she grow furious at the state of her undress and kill everyone on the ship? No one on it would be a match for her…"

If Zhang Lingjun were to wake up, a disaster might well unfold!

What was he to do?

Xiao Nanfeng thought of a plan quickly. He simply had to drag her to one of the lifeboats and have her float away. That would save her the embarrassment and create some distance between her and the ship—it would be enough to prevent her anger, wouldn't it?

Xiao Nanfeng sucked in a deep breath, took off his outer robes, and covered Zhang Lingjun up.

Just as he did so, preparing to lift her up and into one of the lifeboats, Zhang Lingjun's eyes fluttered.

Xiao Nanfeng's eyes widened. He couldn't be that unlucky, could he?

Zhang Lingjun suddenly opened her eyes as Xiao Nanfeng froze. Their gazes met in silence; the air around them seemed to suddenly turn cold. Xiao Nanfeng's forehead began beading with sweat.