Chapter 34: Untamable! Possession
Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Untamable! Possession
"Haha, not dead? Then become my shrine!"
The Fungus God roared with laughter, its mouth slowly splitting open to its ears. A glistening, crystalline fluid trickled from the tear.
"God Seizure!"
The Fungus God’s chin remained in place as the top half of its skull flipped open like a lid. Countless pure-white mycelia erupted from its throat.
The tips of these mycelia, each glowing with a bright point of light, shot swiftly toward Yu the Scholar.
Yu the Scholar stood tall, once again raising his calligraphy brush and swiping it forcefully at the mycelia from a distance.
"Break!"
Light flared in his eyes, which shone like two white stars. The character for "Scholar" on his chest blazed as brightly as the sun.
The mycelia, with their glowing tips, were instantly severed as if by something sharp and vanished into thin air.
At the same time, Xigui—Hua Liusha’s ghost—transformed her entire blood-red body into a torrent of crimson water thick with resentment and soared into the sky, charging the Fungus God’s physical shrine.
Zhu Ge, meanwhile, had grabbed a rock and thrown it, only to find the mycelia couldn’t be hit by physical objects. He immediately sat down cross-legged.
"Kunpeng, equip!"
With a single thought, Zhu Ge’s entire presence underwent an earth-shattering transformation, and the flow of time around him seemed to slow.
A massive, red, egg-shaped soul erupted from his body and shot toward the heavens. The energy formed by the burning of ten years of his lifespan surged into it, causing it to blaze with light.
’Calm!’
’Transcendence!’
Zhu Ge silently recited the traits of "Kunpeng" that he had already explored, carefully discerning the differences.
His entire soul was now undergoing a metamorphosis from the inside out.
Although he had previously tried to learn and adapt to these traits without equipping "Kunpeng"...
...and had indeed learned "Transcendence" and adapted to "Calm," it was still no match for the metamorphosis fueled by ten years of his life.
’There’s more...’
Zhu Ge glanced at the simulator.
[Name: Zhu Ge]
[Lifespan: 14 Years]
[Trait: Kunpeng]
[Inventory: Kunpeng]
Fourteen years!
He previously had a lifespan of twenty-three years, but now it had only decreased by nine!
It was supposed to burn ten years of his life!
’Is it because I practiced the Martial Dao and strengthened my body, allowing me to equip the trait with a smaller cost to my lifespan?’
After all, for the same task—providing fifty degrees of heat for one minute—different qualities of coal would be consumed in different amounts.
Zhu Ge’s former body was like poor-quality coal; providing that heat for a minute required burning a massive amount.
But now, after training in the Martial Dao, his body had improved slightly, so he could get by burning less coal.
’Or is it because my body has adapted to having its lifespan drawn out?’
’Or did it burn less of my life because I learned to achieve the effects of "Transcendence" and "Calm" without equipping the trait?’
’It could also be because I’m sharing a soul with Xigui...’
Zhu Ge instantly listed many possibilities in his mind before finally reaching a conclusion.
It could be any of them!
They could all be factors!
Therefore, if he survived this, he could explore even more of the simulator’s possibilities!
With this thought, his soul turned to face the Fungus God before him.
Only a single instant had passed since he equipped the trait; all these thoughts flashed through his mind in that brief moment.
Now, in his soul’s vision, the Fungus God ahead emanated a shimmering blue radiance.
The Fungus God was clearly condensed from a soul and bore no resemblance to Hua Liusha’s human form. In his soul’s vision, the mycelia had all turned blue.
Xigui, on the other hand, was not in the form of bloody water but was instead a red papercut of the "Double Happiness" character—her true form!
In his soul’s vision, an overwhelming tide of mycelia surged forward. The "Double Happiness" papercut could only parry a portion of them; the vast majority were being severed by Yu the Scholar.
Yu the Scholar appeared to be radiating pure white light, especially from his chest. Just a glance at him made Zhu Ge’s soul feel a burning sensation.
"Zhu Ge! Ram it!" Yu the Scholar’s voice reached Zhu Ge’s ears.
"Alright!" Zhu Ge immediately directed his giant, egg-shaped soul to charge forward, aiming for the Fungus God’s true form.
However, just as Zhu Ge was about to make contact with the Fungus God, a cold laugh echoed from its soul.
"Haha! You’ve finally arrived!"
The Fungus God’s mycelia instantly changed direction. "I’ll be taking that soul inside your body!"
Like a silkworm’s cocoon, the tendrils wrapped layer upon layer around Zhu Ge’s giant egg-soul, instantly engulfing him.
"Not good!" Yu the Scholar’s expression changed. He brandished his calligraphy brush even faster, trying to sever the mycelia wrapping around Zhu Ge’s soul.
"Hua Xiaomei, sever the mycelia! Zhu Ge is the only one in the entire village who still has a soul! We can’t let it perform God Seizure on him! If we do, we’re all dead!"
"Let go of my Brother!" Even before Yu the Scholar had finished speaking, Xigui’s "Double Happiness" form began to tremble violently.
HUMMM—
It was like a red-hot iron ball plunged into water, making the very space around it boil. It vibrated all the mycelia in front of her to pieces.
But the mycelia were layered as thick as a ball of yarn; cutting one layer only revealed another beneath it. They were incredibly dense.
"Haha, Brother Zhu, your physical body may be dead, but your soul is quite delicious!" the Fungus God’s voice boomed, wild and arrogant.
Seeing this, Yu the Scholar shouted coldly, "The vast terraces nurture the Human Race, and Jianshan’s will is made manifest in Wanqian!"
As his voice fell, a book flew out from the lap of the cross-legged Zhu Ge, and the characters upon it blazed with light.
The title read: *Notes on the Jianshan Terraces*, by Yu Wanqian.
Yu the Scholar’s real name was Yu Wanqian!
BOOM!!!
*Notes on the Jianshan Terraces* transformed into a long rainbow that blasted forward. Everywhere it passed, the mycelia were severed and dissipated, like a knife slicing through tofu.
"My body is endless! Let’s see how much you can shatter!" the Fungus God’s words were as cold as a blade. Even more mycelia surged from its body, wrapping layer after layer around Zhu Ge’s soul.
As long as it completed the God Seizure, Zhu Ge would lose his soul!
But just then, a cold and disdainful voice sounded from deep within the mycelia.
"Insolence!"
The sea cannot chain the Kun; the heavens cannot crush the Peng.
How could the Kunpeng’s true nature ever tolerate being parasitized?
It is defiant by birth!
"Insolence"—this trait prevented his soul from being trapped, bound, parasitized, or controlled!
Zhu Ge was the only person in the village with a soul. How could he not know that himself?
Therefore, he had been playing along the whole time!
He used himself as bait to lure the Fungus God into using its full power, and then...
WHOOSH!!!!
Zhu Ge’s soul shot past.
"Looks like you’re having fun playing with my wife’s body, huh?"
Zhu Ge’s voice was cold and defiant. "How about you let me have a turn?"
In the next instant, the egg-soul passed through the countless strands of mycelia as if they were mist and plunged violently into Hua Liusha’s standing body.
"You bastard!" The Fungus God’s expression twisted in fury, and all its mycelia tried to retract.
But the "Double Happiness" papercut and *Notes on the Jianshan Terraces* were pinned firmly in mid-air, blocking the mycelia. Only a small fraction managed to pull back.
At the same time, once inside Hua Liusha’s body, Zhu Ge deactivated "Transcendence," and a sense of control immediately washed over him.
"Body possession successful!"