An indescribable oppression suffocated him, making it hard to breathe, like the struggle before drowning. He could clearly feel himself being slowly swallowed by darkness, struggling to survive in a swamp, the more he struggled, the more desperate he became.
Finally, he entered the abyss.
Li Feng saw the light.
Li Feng awoke from his deep sleep, his brow furrowing at the sharp pain in his arm. He wasn’t some useless coward like Li Jiyan; he quickly gathered his thoughts and analyzed the situation.
Analyzing from the signs just now.
He was awakened by physical pain. Could it be that his existence was related to pain? If so, by keeping his body in pain indefinitely, wouldn’t he be able to occupy this body indefinitely?
Li Feng, quick-witted, smiled and had a vague answer in his mind.
But he didn’t have time to think about it now, and he didn’t know how long he could occupy the body this time. He had to hurry up and find his lover.
He didn’t care whether Li Jiyan needed to handle important military affairs; all he wanted was to be with Yu Ziyu, to hold her and kiss her. He’d let Li Jiyan clean up the rest of the mess himself.
After quickly treating his wound and bandaging it, Li Feng rushed to the Yu family. Upon arrival, he learned that Yu Ziyu had become a nun and was currently at the Tou Tian Xuan Guan temple on Jueyin Mountain.
He couldn’t help but pat his head; it was really troublesome that the two of them shared the same body—there were just too many information gaps. While he was asleep, he had no idea what Li Jiyan had done, nor what changes had occurred around him.
Yu Qingdai looked at Li Feng and felt something was off, as if the person in front of her was not the Li Jiyan she had met before.
”General Li, why don’t you come in and sit down? The secret guard just came back with news that Ziyu is meditating at the Taoist temple. I’m going to see her this afternoon, so we can go up the mountain together then.”
Li Feng took a step back and said, “I’m sorry to have disturbed Madam Yu.” He didn’t say anything more and turned to leave.
……
Without stopping, Li Feng immediately set off for Jueyin Mountain, heading straight for the Taoist temple at the summit.
He kept pressing the wound on his arm from time to time, trying to keep the pain going. He was afraid that if he wasn’t careful, his body would be taken over by Li Jiyan again.
Even if he didn’t know what Li Jiyan did when he possessed the body, the basic knowledge system in his mind was the same.
He had never been to a Taoist temple before, yet he knew exactly how to get there. Li Jiyan, that good-for-nothing, was illiterate, which led to him also being illiterate. Li Jiyan was highly skilled in martial arts, and naturally, he could fully utilize his physical prowess.
Inside the Toutian Xuanguan Temple.
Yu Ziyu was meditating with her eyes closed on the millstone. She needed to cultivate relentlessly, striving to subdue that evil spirit Li Feng as soon as possible. Otherwise, if Li Feng went to harm innocent people, things would be terrible.
Yu Ziyu felt an increasing burden on her shoulders, and she meditated more earnestly than ever before.
Li Feng tiptoed and quietly crept up behind Yu Ziyu, covering her eyes with his hands and speaking warmly into her ear: “My wife, have you missed me? I’ve missed you so much.”
Just as Yu Ziyu was about to draw her sword, Li Feng grabbed her wrist.
He turned around quickly, walked around to Yu Ziyu, took out a purple magnolia he had picked on the road, and held it in front of her: “Wife, I picked this for you, do you like it?”
”Li Feng?” Yu Ziyu thought it was Li Jiyan who came to find her again, but the tone clearly indicated that it was not Li Jiyan, but that evil spirit Li Feng.
Li Feng tucked the magnolia flower behind her ear: “Yes, it’s me. My wife, I’m out.”
He acted boldly, unlike Li Jiyan who was timid and hesitant. He directly pressed down on Yu Ziyu’s knees, pulled her close, and held her tightly in his arms, kissing the top of her head: “Ayu, I’ve missed you so much.”
”You pervert, don’t hug me!”
Yu Ziyu struggled to her feet, her right hand forming a sword incantation as she began chanting, “Five weapons emerge from the heavens, souls from all directions perish, the three heavens open their eyes, all things submit, I obey the command of the Supreme Lord Laozi, may this be done swiftly!”
Li Feng deliberately teased her, his face contorted as he covered his head, pleading, “Taoist Master, spare my life! I have never harmed anyone, please spare my life, Taoist Master.”
Seeing his pained expression, Yu Ziyu couldn’t contain her excitement. She jumped off the millstone and laughed wildly, “Hahaha! I did it! I did it! Heaven rewards those who persevere! I did it! I can exorcise ghosts now!”
”Grandmaster, Grandmaster, please come out and see! I’ve subdued this evil spirit!”
She ran towards the side hall of the temple with a maniacal laugh, but after a few steps she remembered that the Ancestral Master had gone to the palace early that morning and was not here.
She turned back and grabbed Li Feng by the neck: “You little brat, you’ve seen how powerful I am now. I can kill ten brats like you a day, so don’t you dare be so presumptuous!”
Li Feng, his eyes sparkling with desire, grasped Yu Ziyu’s wrist, pulled her up, and kissed her.
”Master, I am a wandering ghost with nowhere to go. You are kind and compassionate, and can save all things. Please take me in and help me.”
Yu Ziyu’s heart was stirred, and her enthusiasm surged. Subduing demons and monsters was a blessing, and saving all things was a great merit. If she could save this evil spirit and turn it into a useful person, wouldn’t that be wonderful!
She is a spiritual practitioner dedicated to saving all sentient beings, not a ruthless and cruel Yama. If any imp is inclined towards good, she should also redeem and guide them.
Seeing that Yu Ziyu was still hesitating, Li Feng took her hand again, his tone becoming more pitiful.
”Master, I have never done anything to harm anyone. I am only infatuated with you. Do you still want to kill me? Master, please do some good deeds.”
Yu Ziyu felt numb from what he said and finally put down her sword.
”Then tell me, where exactly did you, this wretched creature, come from?”
Li Feng said in a serious tone, “I don’t know. I’m just a wandering ghost, living in a daze, and I don’t even know where I came from. I don’t even know why I possessed Li Jiyan’s body.”
Yu Ziyu was overjoyed, happy that she had subdued an evil spirit. She affectionately patted Li Feng’s head and said, “Poor child. No matter what, it’s wrong for you to possess someone else. Here’s what we’ll do: get out of Li Jiyan’s body first.”
”Master, I don’t know how to get out either, please help me.”
Yu Ziyu frowned, as she knew absolutely nothing about this matter and was truly worried sick.
She turned around and opened the “Dongling True Scripture” spread out on the millstone. She looked down at it for a long time but still couldn’t grasp the true meaning of exorcising ghosts. She had no choice but to turn around and look at Li Feng seriously.
”Alright then, since you haven’t harmed anyone and aren’t an irredeemable ghost, you’ll stay by my side from now on and cultivate with me. Then, when I attain immortality, you can also become a ghost immortal.”
Li Feng truly didn’t expect that Yu Ziyu would be so easily fooled.
He hugged her again and kissed her on the cheek: “Thank you, Daoist Master. From now on, Li Feng will stay by your side and never leave you. Thank you for taking me in.”
Yu Ziyu pushed him away in disgust, wiping the drool off her face: “You lecherous scoundrel, you’d better get rid of your philandering thoughts as soon as possible. Purify your mind and cultivate with me carefully, otherwise I won’t be able to save you.”
”I have been obsessed with you, Master, for a long time. Whenever I see you, I become possessed and have all sorts of wild thoughts. That’s why I can’t control myself. Please help me get rid of these distracting thoughts.”
Yu Ziyu felt that she was once again burdened with a heavy responsibility and the pressure had increased. She nodded and said, “Yes, just listen to me and follow me in cultivation.”
”I’ll do whatever Ayu says.”
Li Feng smiled smugly; he knew that Yu Ziyu would always be his.
Yu Ziyu returned to the side hall, took out the “Tao Te Ching” and gave it to him: “Study this book carefully, read it a hundred times, and then copy it a hundred times. When you understand the truth within, your heart will naturally be purified.”
Li Feng took the book, flipped through a few pages, and realized he didn’t recognize many characters. Suddenly, he thought, why not take this opportunity to have Yu Ziyu teach him to read and write? This would be a perfect chance.
He wasn’t like Li Jiyan, who always had to hide the truth about being illiterate. He openly admitted that he couldn’t read: “Ayu, I’ve never been to school, I don’t know a single word, can you teach me?”
”You little brat, you’re always bothering me with everything! Why don’t I just cultivate for you!”
Despite saying this, Yu Ziyu still brought over a small stool and sat down to explain the knowledge in the book to Li Feng. She liked to talk about scriptures and doctrines, but others didn’t like to listen to her rambling and said she was eccentric.
Now that a little ghost was willing to cultivate with her, Yu Ziyu was secretly delighted. With this ghost, she became even more convinced that there were gods and immortals in this world.
Pointing to the words in the book, she began to preach in a measured and methodical manner.
”The Tao that can be spoken of is not the eternal Tao. The Tao of this world can be spoken of, but through words, the true truth of the Tao cannot be truly expressed. This Tao is something that exists in all things in the universe, invisible and intangible, yet it truly exists.”
Li Feng didn’t quite understand: “Then what exactly is this Dao?”
”What exactly is the Dao? No one can say for sure. You can only comprehend it yourself, which is why it is called enlightenment. If you can thoroughly understand the Dao, you can attain immortality.”
Li Feng was completely confused, but he didn’t care; he just wanted to learn to read.
Pointing to a character in the book: “What about this one? How is this character pronounced?”
Yu Ziyu glanced at it, shook her head and said, “A name that can be named is not a constant name. This character is pronounced ‘ming,’ meaning the name of a name. Your name is Li Feng, and my name is Yu Ziyu.”
She tilted her head and asked, “Didn’t you say you couldn’t read? Then how do you know your name is Li Feng?”
Li Feng’s hands were not behaving properly again, and he quietly touched her waist: “Although I can’t read, I am not so illiterate that I don’t even know my own name.”
Yu Ziyu used her sword sheath to push his hand away: “You lecherous scoundrel, don’t touch me.”