Lu Jun stroked his chin and nodded in satisfaction.
Speaking of which, there were still many ways to make use of Astral Projection. He suddenly recalled the Zu Clan's [Cursed Possession Technique].
After killing Zu Jiming, he made sure not a single part of the soul or body was wasted—he squeezed the body like a "watermelon" to extract juice and placed a curse on the ancient Soul Armor's remnant spirit. The soul's memories were also extracted and then sent into reincarnation for transcendence.
Among them were many little-known curse-type secrets that supplemented his foundation. The Cursed Possession Technique was the most important of all.
Although limited by Zu Jiming's status, the inheritance he obtained was scarce, but the general framework remained.
It involved using curse-element Super-tier magic as the guide to refine the origin soul of a slain demon or monster and embed it into a special magic tool. During battle, the refined soul could then be summoned to possess oneself like raising a spirit familiar or horse-possessing spirit.
It shared the same underlying concept as Astral Projection, except it was reversed letting other objects possess oneself.
Lu Jun had not acquired the method to make such magic tools nor the detailed cultivation technique, but once his Mind Element and Curse Element both reached Super Tier, he was confident in replicating seventy to eighty percent of it.
Outside, he opened his eyes and was slightly stunned at the sight of Ding Yumian collapsed beautifully on the ground.
The girl's white dress clung tightly to her sweat-slick body, outlining a curvaceous silhouette. Her chest rose and fell—breathtaking.
Seeing this, Lu Jun feigned embarrassment (with ill intentions) and said, "Yumian, I've learned Astral Projection and want to run a little experiment."
"But if I use monsters or animals for training, their beastly nature may affect the unstable soul. If I use someone else, it's Unsafe the risk of exposing privacy is too high. So what do you suggest?"
On the ground, Ding Yumian was still muddled, unable to recover from the lingering pleasure, and reflexively muttered, "Just possess me then. It's fine if I possess you, so the reverse should be okay too."
Hearing that, Lu Jun had been waiting for those exact words. He clumsily manipulated the Star Constellation, forming one dazzling and strange transparent Star Map after another, combining into a majestic Constellation in the shape of a brain. At the center, a vertical pupil shimmered like lightning slicing through it.
He stood proudly at the pupil's core its grandeur rivaling other high-tier Constellations.
Buzz buzz buzz!
The next moment, Lu Jun's body began to fall limply. Luckily, shadows wriggled beneath him, and the Night Thunder Dream Beast he had summoned earlier caught his back in time.
Meanwhile, a cloud of white mist churned out from his forehead, hovering in mid-air. The transparent mental waves condensed into a fragile fog-like figure far less solid than Ding Yumian's jade-like soul.
That was only natural. He was just at the Fifth Realm of Spiritual Energy, while Ding Yumian was already at the Seventh Realm, nearing the peak of high-tier cultivation. Even when she first experimented with Astral Projection, she had at least Sixth Realm strength.
At that moment, Lu Jun's senses felt odd. When activating Soul Deception: Mind Control (High-Tier, Level One), his Celestial Gate on the crown opened wide. Divine winds coursed through his body—he was ascending, passing through the Dragon Gate.
Then, in a blink, he found himself floating mid-air, looking down at his own body. It lay calmly against the black-and-white back of the Night Beast, breathing evenly. A strong pulling force emanated from it.
Seeing this, Lu Jun felt a sudden urge to return. With his soul exposed in the open air, it was like standing naked in the cold wind—shivering, filled with a primal terror and a sense of rootless helplessness.
He dared not hesitate. His gaze landed on the beautiful young woman reclining nearby, and his soul decisively lunged.
"No!"
Ding Yumian had snapped out of it, gasping and covering her mouth in shock. But she couldn't block the soul forcing its way in.
She feared resisting too hard would scatter Lu Jun's soul, making it a hopeless loss. Helplessly, she stepped back and withdrew her mental defenses, allowing him to enter.
"You're inviting the wolf into your house…"
Inside the spiritual world, two sub-personalities groaned and beat their chests.
As Lu Jun passed through a thin membrane, his view suddenly opened wide. A radiant, colorful world unfolded before his eyes.
Three vast Star Rivers transparent, crimson, and shadowy intertwined and hung like divine serpents across the sky. At each river's core stood a faint figure Ding Yumian's three soul personalities.
"So she's already high-tier in all three systems…"
Lu Jun was shocked, then started to assess the state of his consciousness. His soul felt like it was soaking in a hot spring, with streams of warm energy nurturing and even strengthening it.
So that's how it was the flesh vessel was the ferry to help the soul cross over.
Now he understood. No wonder Ding Yumian always felt so delighted every time she inhabited his body, becoming increasingly dependent eventually developing other emotions.
It was because his physical body brimmed with vitality, far beyond ordinary people. The pursuit of life force was hardwired into all creatures an instinct even stronger than the desire to survive, countless times over, utterly irresistible.
And thus, Lu Jun discovered Ding Yumian's secret one that gave him the leverage to hold over Little Ding.
"What are you trying to do?"
Beside him, a beautiful illusory image of Ding Yumian in a flowing white dress appeared, her tone weary and resigned.
"Nothing much, just giving it a try."
Lu Jun rubbed his hands together. With a thought, his originally vast spiritual body scattered apart, and countless threads of white mist interwove into a cage, encasing Ding Yumian's consciousness and sealing it deep within the mind.
In the next moment, his vision wavered slightly, and his five senses gradually became clear. He had replaced Ding Yumian, taking full control of her body.
That was the effect of a Tier 1 Advanced Spell: Mind Control.
Crude and forceful, it suppressed the primary consciousness of another, allowing one to split off a strand of spiritual thought to manipulate them for simple commands.
The downside was considerable the other's consciousness would continually attack the prison. Once spiritual pressure failed to hold, the spell would be broken.
Take Ding Yumian for example at her level of mental cultivation, she could kick Lu Jun's consciousness back to his body at any time if she truly wished.
However, with the amplification from an out-of-body state, the Control's capacity was significantly strengthened. The higher-tier versions of this Advanced Spell each grew stranger and more formidable.
Lu Jun moved with curiosity. He first stood up slowly from the ground and nearly stumbled, but the body's supple waist forcibly corrected itself with astonishing balance.
Male and female bodies were vastly different—Ding Yumian's body was much lighter, though correspondingly weaker in strength.
He tried walking a few steps. In the depths of their shared mind, Ding Yumian nervously instructed him the entire time: "No, no, not there—ah, ah, not here either…"
When Lu Jun's walking became steadier and more practiced, he finally heard her let out a long sigh of relief.
"You're celebrating too early."
Seeing this, Lu Jun's lips curled as he shifted his focus to studying the body's differences. He opened a pair of slender, jade-like hands before his eyes, then looked down toward the ground he couldn't see his toes.
Mm, truly a beauty of the mortal realm.
Ding Yumian's main soul was overwhelmed with shame and fury. The moment she saw Lu Jun's hands about to make a move, she exploded in rage: "Get out!"
Thud! Lu Jun let out a muffled grunt. It felt like he'd been smacked hard on the head—sharp pain shot through him as his vision swayed and snapped back to his own body.
Holding his aching head, he slowly got up, only to see Ding Yumian standing opposite him, her delicate face flushed with anger. Lu Jun gave an awkward laugh, then suddenly stepped forward and pulled the beautiful, elegant woman in the white dress into an embrace. He whispered into her ear:
"I'm sorry. I was wrong."
As those words fell, Ding Yumian was momentarily stunned, frozen in place.
Deep within her soul, the two subordinate personas roared: "No, this isn't right you're the one being manipulated by him!"
For additional chapters
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