40: Lost Soul Jade, Expected Possession

Because the mechanical bodies hadn't been dealt with yet, Lin Chen and the other two were very cautious and didn't dismantle houses or destroy buildings to obtain treasures hidden throughout the architecture.

Instead, Yu Shu led the way to see what was summoning her.

This was Yu Shu's opportunity; they might be able to benefit by following her. Even if they couldn't, they could at least broaden their horizons and gain knowledge, so there was no loss either way.

The three proceeded cautiously, Bypass a series of corridors, and arrived in front of the central room of the courtyard.

"The feeling of being summoned is getting stronger; that thing is inside."

Lin Chen remained silent, simply checking the information of various treasures hidden in this room after using the old dengs book appraisal technique, finally locking onto one treasure.

Item: Lost Soul Jade

Grade: Weak God-tier

Effect: A product used by reincarnated grand cultivators to anchor their past life's soul. It can attract current life souls to approach to gain the blessings of a past life. Currently in a 'dusted' state.

Value: Varies from person to person

Looking at the item's description, Lin Chen's gaze towards Yu Shu was somewhat strange. So, this was the current incarnation of a grand cultivator from tens of thousands of years ago. He just didn't know how many times she had reincarnated.

"Shu Shu, try to see if you can reverse-summon the thing that's summoning you. This room has a barrier, and we can't open it without the corresponding method."

"Brother Chen, I'll try."

Only this room in the entire courtyard was protected by a barrier.

Although Lin Chen had a method to open the barrier, it would cause a huge commotion and attract the attention of the mechanical bodies standing at the front gate. Therefore, he could only let Yu Shu try this method to obtain the Lost Soul Jade.

Yu Shu didn't know how to reverse-summon, so she followed her instincts, feeling that doing so would succeed, and thus she did it.

As it turned out, Yu Shu succeeded.

She stretched out her hand, and a jade pendant flew out of the room, effortlessly passing through the barrier and landing in her hand.

The next moment, the jade pendant melted into Yu Shu's body.

Yu Shu instantly fell into a coma, a red energy shield appearing around her to protect her, as if she had entered some kind of incubation state.

In this situation, Lin Chen and Oriental Red Sleeve could only silently guard her and protect her.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Lin Fan was, as expected, chosen by Yingchuan Shangren as the target for possession.

Among the three hundred geniuses who entered the Heart-Questioning Trial, there were some more talented than Lin Fan, but Yingchuan Shangren simply felt a connection with Lin Fan and desperately wished to possess him and live another life.

And so, Yingchuan Shangren followed his inner choice.

When Lin Fan fell into the Heart-Questioning illusion, Yingchuan Shangren's remnant soul began to stir, adding some elements to the illusion and personally orchestrating the Heart-Questioning plot.

Lin Fan, who had entered the Heart-Questioning Gate, saw his vision go black. When he woke up again, his head was splitting, and he could only lie there looking at the white ceiling above, taking a long time to recover.

"Hey, wasn't I exploring a ruin? How did I suddenly end up in a hospital?"

"Little Fan, if it weren't for a big shot saving you, you would have been successfully possessed. Now your soul is a bit damaged, but you'll be fine after a month of rest."

"Hongxiu, it seems I'm somewhat unlucky and too overconfident."

"You learn from your mistakes, it's nothing."

Lin Fan didn't doubt her, trusting "Oriental Red Sleeve" implicitly, subconsciously overlooking many illogical aspects.

A month slowly passed. Lin Fan's soul damage was repaired. During this time, "Lin Chen" and "Oriental Red Sleeve" visited him together multiple times. He only vaguely sensed that the two seemed a bit off.

It seemed Brother Chen used to call Dongfang, but he didn't know why he started calling her Hongxiu now. Of course, he didn't think much of it. They had known each other for so many years; he knew what kind of person Brother Chen was.

Subsequently, the three embarked on adventures together, their relationship growing stronger. They all passed the entrance exams to top martial arts universities, ventured into the starry sky, and witnessed its vastness and the strangeness of myriad races.

Until that day, Lin Fan decided to step onto the Ascension to God long staircase, embarking on the path to godhood.

He encountered betrayal from those around him. "Oriental Red Sleeve," who had already achieved the Ascension to God rank, shattered his chance to become a god and crippled his cultivation.

"Hongxiu, why did you do this?!"

Lin Fan was heartbroken, lying on the ground, staring fixedly at "Oriental Red Sleeve."

"Lin Fan, you're really foolish! Do you know? I actually envy and resent you. I'm barely a demigod now, and you're about to step onto the Ascension to God long staircase. You have so many opportunities, but I haven't gotten many, so I hate it!"

At this moment, "Lin Chen" appeared, looking smug.

"And one more thing, Hongxiu and I have actually secretly pledged our lives to each other long ago. Only my Suspended Mountain Lin Family can protect the only Imperial Clan Divine Blood Descendant in this world, so we are together."

Lin Fan, lying on the ground and watching the affectionate "Lin Chen" and "Oriental Red Sleeve," recalled the bits and pieces of their past years. He realized he had been deceived long ago, but he was too foolish to notice at all.

"You despicable pair, I won't let you off even if I become a ghost!"

"You won't have a chance to become a ghost. You're a prodigy; I wouldn't dare let your true spirit remain."

"Lin Chen" and "Oriental Red Sleeve" attacked with full force, attempting to obliterate Lin Fan's soul and true spirit. The reality, however, was that Yingchuan Shangren was breaking through Lin Fan's psychological defenses, intending to replace everything of Lin Fan through assimilation.

Everything that had happened before was merely Yingchuan Shangren's ploy to make Lin Fan believe his soul was being obliterated due to the attacks of "Lin Chen" and "Oriental Red Sleeve."

"Hongxiu, you kill him. I know you have feelings for him, so sever that affection. From now on, let's be immortal companions."

"Brother Chen, I'll do it now."

"Oriental Red Sleeve" walked towards Lin Fan, casually setting up a barrier to isolate the inside from the outside.

She walked to Lin Chen's side and slowly leaned in to speak.

"Little Fan, rest in peace. I don't love him, but you couldn't protect me. I want to live, so I had to do this."

"Oriental Red Sleeve's" final words, her final kiss, completely shattered Lin Fan's mental defenses.

"It's finally going to succeed! This excellent body, this soul containing supreme potential, they're all mine!"

Yingchuan Shangren was very pleased. Lin Fan's resistance instantly weakened to an imperceptible level. He easily occupied Lin Fan's soul and began to devour it.

"No, this is fake!"

"No, how could I fall into an illusion!"

Yingchuan Shangren's remnant soul let out a sharp shriek.

He had only taken one bite of Lin Fan's soul when he discovered a problem. Not only did he not receive any substantial soul power replenishment, but his own soul power was rapidly draining away.

"You scoundrel, I finally got you!"

"What kind of ridiculous plot did you write? Brother Chen and Hongxiu betraying me? That's laughable. It's more likely that I would betray them and sell them for a chance to become a god."

"They both will eventually become gods, but where is my path to godhood? I have no clue yet. I already saw through such a ridiculous plot."

Yingchuan Shangren looked at Lin Fan's appearing soul. The surrounding environment had already changed, becoming Lin Fan's soul dwelling. Everything here was controlled by Lin Fan.

Four tall pagodas suppressed the four directions, and the surging suppressive force pressed down on Yingchuan Shangren's remnant soul, making him unable to lift his head. His soul power was absorbed by the pagodas every moment, and he grew weaker and weaker, on the verge of death.

"Junior, you won. It seems that my inner perception that possessing you was the best choice was also a bait you released."

"Old fellow, you're quite clever. The moment I confirmed this was a trap, I planned all of this, just to devour you."

Lin Fan explained, while Yingchuan Shangren looked like a defeated dog.

"The younger generation is formidable. It's no injustice for this old man to lose."

Yingchuan Shangren accepted his defeat. One misstep, and the whole game was lost.

In a short while, Yingchuan Shangren's remnant soul was drained of its mental energy. All memories within his remnant soul were recorded by the Ancient Book Spirit into the Ancient Book Spirit Tower. Lin Fan could enter the pagoda at any time to view Yingchuan Shangren's memories.

The Ancient Book Spirit Tower was not merely a place for storing books; its greatest function was to 'question the mortal world' and 'temper the heart with the mortal world.'

The memories of countless people were stored in the Ancient Book Spirit Tower.

As an Ancient Book Spirit Tower built during the Imperial Era, it was not inherently a righteous divine artifact. It was an imperial divine artifact that served the imperial family and plundered all spirits.

Now that Yingchuan Shangren's soul memories were recorded, it could be considered a legacy left behind, and one that could be directly experienced firsthand.

Lin Fan was able to keep up with Oriental Red Sleeve's pace because the four spirit pagodas he acquired during his first exploration of the ruins played a crucial role.

Otherwise, purely based on his aptitude and spatial talent, he would have a considerable gap compared to Oriental Red Sleeve, who possessed strong talent, profession, and bloodline. At most, he could only contend with Lin Chen, who had maxed-out resources.

As Yingchuan Shangren died, Lin Fan departed from the predetermined Heart-Questioning Trial and entered the real map, directly appearing before the mechanical body.

"Master, you succeeded!"

"Ah Fu, I succeeded."

Lin Fan perfectly disguised himself as Yingchuan Shangren, without any flaws.

Although he hadn't experienced Yingchuan Shangren's life memories, the Ancient Book Spirit could extract the memories Lin Fan needed from them. At least, dealing with the mechanical body named Ah Fu in front of him was no problem.

"Ah Fu, give each person who passed the Heart-Questioning Trial a low-grade treasure and a half-god tier inheritance, then send them out."

"Yes, my esteemed master."

Lin Fan no longer paid attention to Ah Fu, who was busy with the previous command, and walked directly into the courtyard, heading towards the treasure room at its very center.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he detected familiar auras at his destination, and all three auras were present, clearly waiting for him.

"Indeed, I was the one with the most difficult path."