Chapter 44: Possession
"Thank you, Senior Brother, for bringing it over."
Lu You took the package, but suddenly frowned. The bundle had a faint smell of sweat. He subconsciously opened it and found that the outer sect uniform inside was old and dirty, clearly unwashed.
He looked again at the cultivator who had delivered the clothes. The man was wearing a brand-new set of garments, not even a wrinkle on them. At a glance it was obvious they were new.
In the next moment, Lu You realized what had happened, and his expression darkened.
This man had actually taken the new clothes meant for him, and deliberately brought him a set of dirty old ones as a provocation.
"What are you looking at? The one in your hand is your uniform," the cultivator said without the slightest attempt to hide it. He even laughed.
"This is the rule of the Deep Literary Pavilion's outer sect. Since you newcomers already have the advantage of being 'new,' you have to wear old clothes so you can integrate faster. Hurry up and wash that set and put it on. Otherwise, people from the Deep Literary Pavilion will come teach you the rules."
"Senior Brother, we are both outer sect disciples. Why make things difficult for each other?"
Lu You tossed the clothes onto the ground and sighed.
All the outer sect disciples were being exploited by the Foundation Establishment inner disciples, yet instead of uniting, they fought desperately among themselves. Outside the Verdant Cloud Sect, rogue cultivators at least hid themselves when robbing others. Inside the sect, however, it was practically open plunder.
"I'll say it one last time. Pick up the clothes, wash them, and put them on."
Seeing Lu You throw the clothes away, the delivering cultivator narrowed his eyes. Spiritual energy began to surge from his body as he deliberately released the pressure of his ninth level Qi Refining cultivation.
The cultivators of the Deep Literary Pavilion all knew Lu You's strength. After all, during the recruitment trials he had already shown his ability—even with a treasured artifact in hand, he couldn't defeat someone at the ninth level of Qi. And now he stood there empty-handed.
"Senior Brother, do others know you came here to trouble me?" Lu You asked calmly.
He carefully sensed the surroundings and discovered the man had come alone. The courtyard where Lu You lived was quiet, and unless someone rented nearby, very few people passed through.
"Heh. What, you hoping someone will come help you? Let me tell you something—I'm bullying you, so what? Go complain wherever you want. But right now, immediately pick up those clothes and put them on."
"So there really is no one else around."
Lu You's eyes suddenly turned blood-red, and within his pupils appeared the shape of the Evil Eye.
Eye of Hell — Activate.
Illusion Technique — Puppet Control.
An endless flow of cultivation origin blood poured into the Evil Eye. Crimson light flared within Lu You's pupils. The cultivator was caught off guard and met Lu You's gaze.
In the next instant, his eyes also turned red.
The power of the Evil Eye invaded the cultivator's mind, destroying his consciousness and taking control of his spirit.
"Speak. Who ordered you to come trouble me?"
Against someone in the Foundation Establishment realm, Lu You was a whole major realm weaker, so the Evil Eye could not control them. But against Qi Refining cultivators, there was no way to escape the Evil Eye's illusion.
Even someone at the ninth level of Qi Refining, unless they specialized in spiritual cultivation techniques, would become the Evil Eye's puppet within a second.
"No one ordered me," the cultivator replied blankly. "I knew your cultivation was weak and that you had money, so I wanted to extort some spirit stones. My plan was to take the new clothes issued to you, then ask to borrow some spirit stones from you."
Under the erosion of the Evil Eye illusion, the cultivator had completely lost his own thoughts. Whatever Lu You asked, he answered truthfully.
The most critical aspect of this illusion technique was consumption. To keep the illusion active, the Evil Eye required a constant supply of cultivation origin blood.
But coincidentally, consumption was the one thing Lu You feared the least.
"From now on, you will regard me as your master. Until you receive further instructions from me, continue living your life as usual. If anyone suspects that you are being controlled, you must immediately commit suicide."
Lu You was worried that this cultivator might be discovered by stronger cultivators, or by those who cultivated special spiritual power techniques, so he added an extra layer of insurance. He took out a Thunder Technique Talisman and instructed him to place it in his chest pocket.
"If there's any risk of being suspected, activate the Thunder Technique Talisman immediately and blow yourself up."
"Understood."
The cultivator didn't hesitate in the slightest. He immediately took the talisman and stuck it to his chest.
"What's your name?"
"Hu Ke."
Heh, seems like I'm quite fated with people surnamed Hu.
Lu You curled his lips and ordered, "Give me my clothes. Pick up that smelly set yourself and go back and wash it properly."
"Yes, Master."
Hu Ke behaved like a machine, obeying Lu You's commands without question. He quickly removed the new clothes he was wearing and handed them to Lu You. Then he picked up the dirty clothes from the ground and hurried back toward the large communal courtyard.
As he ran, the blood-red color in his eyes gradually faded. Without further instructions from Lu You, Hu Ke's behavior returned to that of a normal person.
"Hehehe, Boss, that's awesome! I didn't know illusion techniques could be used like this!"
After seeing Lu You use the Eye of Hell, the Evil Eye suddenly felt that Lu You was the destined owner of this power. When it came to using illusions and puppetry, Lu You seemed endlessly creative. Previously he had used puppetry as suicide soldiers, and this time he controlled someone at the same cultivation level as a slave.
Both methods were things Lu You had never tested before. Yet he used them immediately—and they worked perfectly on the first try.
Lu You picked up the outer sect uniform. First he used a Rain-Calling Talisman to wash it, then a Beginner Wind Talisman to dry it before putting it on.
Hearing the Evil Eye praising him, Lu You didn't become smug. These two methods were nothing special. Once his cultivation improved a bit more, he planned to show the Evil Eye what Tsukuyomi was... and what Kyōka Suigetsu truly meant.
While changing clothes, Lu You noticed the communication talisman and suddenly his eyes lit up.
"I was planning to deal with those three after things cooled down. But now that Hu Ke has delivered himself to me, it seems I've found a scapegoat."
Lu You activated the Eye of Hell again. The consumption of origin blood doubled as he remotely controlled Hu Ke, who had already run off, making him hurry back.
Lu You tossed the new clothes in his hand to Hu Ke and ordered:
"Put them on. Let everyone know that you robbed them from me."
After saying that, Lu You handed the communication talisman to Hu Ke.
"This talisman—you also stole it along with the clothes."
The three Foundation Establishment cultivators from that day had already stirred killing intent in Lu You's heart. He took out dozens more Thunder Technique Talismans from his robe and handed them to Hu Ke as well.
"First go show off the clothes you stole. Wait for my instructions for the next move."
After arranging everything, Lu You tightly shut his door and returned to his secret cultivation room.
On the bed, he once again spread out a layer of spirit stones. After activating a Purifying Heart Talisman, Lu You sat cross-legged and opened the Eye of Hell.
Remotely controlling a puppet didn't only consume cultivation origin blood, it also consumed spiritual energy. Lu You's current cultivation level wasn't high enough yet to control it freely, so he needed spirit stones constantly restoring his energy.
If he were still using the Minor Five Elements Qi-Nourishing Technique, then even with unlimited spirit stones he wouldn't be able to remotely control a living cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining.
But after switching to the proper Five Elements Qi-Nourishing Technique, controlling a Qi Refining cultivator became just barely manageable.
The next moment, Lu You's eyes turned crimson.
His vision shifted.
It felt as if he were playing a game with 3D glasses. In front of his eyes appeared everything that Hu Ke was seeing. Lu You could control Hu Ke's five senses, and could even manipulate him to speak.
The ability of the Evil Eye was no longer merely an illusion technique.
It was clearly a different form of possession.
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