Chapter 132: A Bizarre Technique

The toxic mist began to corrode him through this very gap. Lin Zhifa was naturally aware of this and could see it clearly; although he had not yet managed to shake off the silken web of light woven by Zhang Pu, he understood that if this stalemate continued, Zhang Pu would inevitably exhaust himself before he did.

"Kid, I'll show you soon enough that old ginger is truly spicier!" Lin Zhifa’s heart began to swell with smug triumph.

He prepared to seize a moment to regain control over Zhang Pu. As he pondered how Zhang Pu had broken through his seal earlier, he realized he had severely underestimated this young man.

Lin Zhifa finally spotted an opening, but just as he was about to strike, a shadow flickered before his eyes.

How could Lin Zhifa have ever imagined that Old Ge was lurking here? No one was more familiar with this valley than he; apart from himself dwelling in the depths of this abyss, there was rarely even a bird or a beast to be seen. Furthermore, Old Ge had exhausted every effort to conceal himself for this ambush.

At first, Lin Zhifa assumed it was an illusion, but by the time he realized the truth, he had already been struck by Old Ge.

Lin Zhifa was not felled by a single blow, but it was enough to create an opening for Zhang Pu.

Zhang Pu launched an all-out attack immediately. While unleashing his Sun-Moon Technique, he greedily considered a possibility—to plant a seed of psychic energy from his necromantic arts, just as he had done to the ghost-shadow Old Ge.

Naturally, although he possessed the innate memories from the cultivation world and understood this technique, his current cultivation was too shallow; he had only just stepped into the Foundation Establishment stage. Moreover, Old Ge was weaker than Lin Zhifa, and even then, he had not been able to fully control him—otherwise, Old Ge would not have retained his own soul. Besides, Old Ge’s temperament was far superior to Lin Zhifa’s.

Still, seeing this chance, Zhang Pu felt he could give it a try. Even if it failed, adding another layer of attack would force Lin Zhifa into further disarray.

Because Old Ge’s sudden appearance caught Lin Zhifa completely off guard, his mental defenses were momentarily weakened. Combined with the assistance of Zhang Pu’s necromantic psychic seed, Lin Zhifa was thrown into a state of frantic confusion.

"You... how have you suddenly become so powerful, boy?" Lin Zhifa stammered while struggling to parry, sounding filled with regret. "Have I fallen into a trap?"

Zhang Pu could not be bothered to indulge him; he felt increasingly hopeful that he would defeat Lin Zhifa. Even the strange mist created by Lin Zhifa began to dissipate under the circulation of Zhang Pu's Sun-Moon Technique.

"Stop!" Lin Zhifa suddenly shouted. "I have something to say—"

But Zhang Pu, who possessed a thousand years of combat experience from the cultivation world, was hardly going to believe anything Lin Zhifa said, nor would he grant him even the slightest breathing room.

"Fine! You stop first!" Zhang Pu shouted back, feigning compliance.

"Alright, if I stop, you must stop attacking!" Lin Zhifa hurriedly cried.

"Then you stop!" Zhang Pu pressed on, taking advantage of the chaos.

In truth, while Lin Zhifa called for a truce, he was secretly and frantically preparing an underhanded, surprise attack. *Why do I feel more and more that this ghostly kid is no ordinary student? How could a student possess such seasoned combat experience and psychological depth? Could he be some alien entity that has taken over a body? Is this just the shell of a common student, while the true core inside is...* Lin Zhifa lamented inwardly.

But with Old Ge’s help, Zhang Pu’s finger struck Lin Zhifa’s forehead with the speed of lightning. In an instant, Lin Zhifa felt a mixture of lethargy, weakness, and other malevolent forces washing over him.

"This..." He knew immediately that this was Zhang Pu’s doing. *Blast it! What is wrong with this kid? Does he know some kind of dark sorcery?*

"You’re breaking your word! Why are you still attacking?" Lin Zhifa was truly unwilling to accept this. He clutched at the last straw, wishfully trying to coax Zhang Pu as if he were merely a student, hoping to distract him with words.

But ultimately, he had to wilt like a frost-bitten eggplant.

Zhang Pu exhausted every ounce of his strength to forcibly breach Lin Zhifa’s final defense, driving his psychic seed—despite his shallow cultivation—straight into his mind.

Lin Zhifa, already plagued by the effects of lethargy and weakness, moved even slower. With Old Ge harassing him like a phantom, he could no longer resist Zhang Pu’s nearly fatal calculation.

"Ah—what is happening to me?"

As Lin Zhifa stood there, his body and spirit in disarray like a man who had lost his soul, Zhang Pu slumped to the ground, gasping for air. He had truly given his all.

Zhang Pu felt as though he could not muster another shred of strength. Looking at Old Ge, he noticed that the old man’s shadow had become so translucent it was nearly invisible. Zhang Pu realized that Old Ge had also staked everything on this battle.

Yet, Zhang Pu knew this was no time to relax. Lin Zhifa had indeed been struck by the psychic seed, but his own cultivation was too shallow, and Lin Zhifa might still put up a desperate, cornered struggle.

Through meditation, Zhang Pu could see the seed he had planted in Lin Zhifa’s mind was only just germinating; if Lin Zhifa regained his senses, he could potentially pluck it out.

Suddenly, a string of strange incantations spilled from Zhang Pu’s lips, encircling Lin Zhifa like the tightening headband used to control the Monkey King.

Lin Zhifa’s psychic energy surged, attempting to crush the sprouting seed, but the barrage of headache-inducing characters battered his spirit like grass in a storm. Zhang Pu’s psychic seed immediately sank its roots deeper, and under the drive of the incantations, it grew rapidly from its nascent state.

When Zhang Pu had first acquired this technique in the Necromantic Star Realm, he had been instantly captivated. He found it both practical and intriguing. The Necromantic Sovereign had originally used this bizarre technique to control undead creatures such as specters, vampires, and corpse-demons. According to the Sovereign, this soul-planting art could not be used on humans.

Now that Zhang Pu had been reborn on Earth, a world dominated by humans, he had felt a tinge of regret. However, he could clearly see that Lin Zhifa’s true nature was not human at all. Nor was Old Ge. Using this technique against the two of them was truly like applying the sharpest blade to the most vital edge.