Ling Yun nodded to himself. It seemed the black-haired girl hadn't lied; she was indeed a World Spirit. However, although this World Spirit possessed its own consciousness, its thinking wasn't yet systematized, like a toddler learning to speak. It could only understand what happened within the barrier itself, but knew nothing about the outside world. Therefore, in front of the two, it appeared to be a naive and innocent girl. Moreover, this girl's form was merely a manifestation of the World Spirit; its true form remained those spatial structural points. This meant the World Spirit had only recently formed consciousness, let alone a physical form.
Ling Yun suddenly remembered the Yin spirit that Yu Xiujie and Yu Lao planned to use to transform their physical bodies. Wasn't it similar to this World Spirit? The only difference was that the Yin spirit was a naturally occurring spirit, while the World Spirit was the achievement of a highly developed civilization. No wonder the World Spirit had such great power. If he explained it using the unfamiliar civilization he had seen in the information, everything would become much clearer.
However, even with such peak power, it was still no match for the City of Death.
"Senior Realm Spirit, we now know your origins. Thank you for your honesty." Ling Yun's expression shifted as he spoke slowly, carefully considering his words. He could tell that the Realm Spirit was naive and knew nothing, essentially just a child. However, this didn't mean the Realm Spirit wasn't dangerous; on the contrary, she was the most dangerous being. You never knew her emotional state, and a single outburst of anger could kill Ling Yun and Xiao Rou at any moment. How could he deal with this being who possessed destructive power yet was so young? Ling Yun felt incredibly troubled. He was astonished to find that all his explanations seemed useless. Although the Realm Spirit was a senior and had indeed existed for a long time, her consciousness was less than that of Ling Yun, who had only lived for eighteen years.
Moreover, the Realm Spirit hadn't explained why they needed to pass four trials and meet certain requirements. How could a Realm Spirit with the intelligence of a child create such an ingenious test? Ling Yun found it somewhat unbelievable. Perhaps the Realm Spirit itself was hiding something, but he just didn't know it. Ling Yun needed to slowly extract information from the Realm Spirit while simultaneously devising a countermeasure.
Chapter 361 Pulse
Xiao Rou had been silently listening to their conversation, her eyes never leaving the perfect face of the spirit realm. Unlike Ling Yun, the girl seemed focused on something else entirely: the beautiful appearance of the black-haired girl the spirit realm had materialized into. Women, when it comes to each other, are always most concerned with each other's looks.
In reality, Jie Ling is not more beautiful than Xiao Rou. Overall, Xiao Rou is more beautiful. Although Jie Ling is extremely beautiful, she still looks somewhat out of place. The problem is that no matter which part of her figure or appearance is taken out individually, it is flawless and perfect. However, when all these perfections are put together, they show a lack of attraction. Like a person in a painting, she is beautiful but lacks a sense of liveliness.
Her whole person is more like a standard beauty painted by a magical paintbrush. Because she is too standard, she looks a bit pale, rather than stunning like a slightly flawed but realistic beauty.
"Is this a form you transformed yourself?" Xiao Rou knew that the black-haired girl's form was just an external disguise of the spirit, so she asked. For her, the black-haired girl's ability to constantly change her appearance was very interesting.
“Yes, dozens of ferries have sunk in the waters around here. I found some information about your world on the ferries. Based on the comparison, my current appearance should conform to your world’s aesthetic standards. If I want to integrate into your world, I must appear with the same appearance as you, otherwise it will cause panic.” The black-haired girl answered mechanically.
"To integrate into our world?" Ling Yun sensed something was amiss, and his expression turned grim. The thought of such a powerful being, lacking even basic intelligence, integrating into the real world was bound to cause unforeseen consequences. "You're already in this world, and as a world spirit, you summoned us into your inner realm and subjected us to countless trials. What is your purpose?"
Ling Yun had originally planned to probe indirectly, using subtle questioning to uncover the Realm Spirit's true purpose. However, to his surprise, the Realm Spirit answered immediately and explained everything in detail, no matter what he asked. Dealing with the Realm Spirit felt straightforward, unlike other higher-ups who seemed to conceal deep schemes and whose words required careful consideration of the other person's feelings. The Realm Spirit was like a deep, unfathomable pool of clear water, flowing with the times and adapting to circumstances, its depths completely transparent.
Since that's the case, Ling Yun decided to get straight to the point, and presumably the spirit would answer truthfully.
As expected, the spirit immediately replied, "My original body was severely damaged when it entered the spatial turbulence. Now, the remaining energy is insufficient to support the barrier's continued operation. Fortunately, I had already developed consciousness at that time, so I could choose to possess and reincarnate in this world. When I landed in the ocean of your world, I saw many sunken ferries. Relying on the information on the ferries, I roughly understood your world. However, to my disappointment, most of the life in your world is very weak. Although some life in the ocean can barely possess a body, they do not possess the ability to think automatically. So I have been waiting..."
Ling Yun smiled bitterly, "Waiting for us to pass by? Discovering we meet your standards? You want to possess us?" He had already understood the Realm Spirit's meaning. Clearly, this barrier was on the verge of decay due to insufficient energy, which was normal for a barrier, just like a river drying up or mountains rising up; a barrier without energy would naturally disappear with the wind. However, once the barrier itself possessed consciousness, it naturally didn't want its consciousness to disappear so soon, so it tried every means to find a substitute that could be transferred. And Ling Yun and Xiao Rou unfortunately became the Realm Spirit's best targets for possession.
Compared to the vast majority of life forms on Earth, those with superpowers are incredibly strong. Naturally, they are among the best candidates for possession by a spirit, but it's unexpected that the spirit's true purpose is this.
"Yes," the spirit replied briefly, showing no sign of impatience.
Ling Yun remained silent for a long while: "Since you are so powerful, why not choose to possess me directly instead of making us go through four trials?"
"Because I need to mold my possessed bodies to a perfect standard, so that they can fully inherit my original consciousness and withstand the greatest energy conversion. Although you two have a good foundation, you are still a bit short of my standard, so I need to make some modifications to you. The so-called test is this modification process. I want to reach the high point of your world before integrating into it. Therefore, I have chosen four virtues that are highly regarded in your world as the standard for the test. If you can pass them one by one, it means that you have reached the standard for me to possess you." The spirit of the world spoke without any emotion.
"What if we fail the test?" Xiaorou asked.
"If you don't pass, you're eliminated. I'll keep waiting until someone else passes."
"But this is the depths of the ocean, and no one will pass by here. Even if you wait for thousands or tens of thousands of years, there is no chance that any superhumans like us will pass by."
"This is not on my radar, and besides, now that you've approved it, there's no point in saying anything more."
…………
Ling Yun gave another bitter laugh. It didn't look good at all. It turned out that he and Xiao Rou had fought their way through four trials, only to end up becoming someone else's stepping stone.
It's like someone studying hard for ten years, acquiring a wealth of knowledge, and then taking an exam for someone else, making that person the top scorer. Although the spirit didn't explain what possession really meant, even if you haven't eaten pork, you've seen pigs run. You can figure out what possession means even if you're clueless. It's no different from being dead. In fact, for both of them, being possessed is worse than being dead, because their bodies are still there, but their spirits have completely become someone else.
Despite the immense crisis looming ahead, how could the two possibly resist the terrifying power of the Realm Spirit? They couldn't even manage to die, as Ling Yun already had a deep understanding of the Realm Spirit's methods of imprisonment.
"Do you have any other questions? If not, I will choose to possess her." The spirit said calmly, its gaze suddenly turning to Xiao Rou. "I prefer this body, so I plan to possess her. As for you, your name is Ling Yun, right? I can transform you into pure energy to fill this body, so that the body I possess will be more refined."
Xiao Rou's expression changed, and her mental energy field was about to erupt. The World Spirit had already stated its purpose, which was a blatant threat. If the two of them didn't resist, they might not even be able to exist in a while. As for possession, that was something Xiao Rou wouldn't even consider. She would rather self-destruct than let another being take over her body.
The spirit merely glanced at her calmly, its expression unmoved. No matter how strong Xiaorou's counterattack was, the spirit didn't care.
Ling Yun gently stopped Xiao Rou's actions. Fighting back against the Realm Spirit was pointless; she felt neither anger nor fear. A suicidal attack would only hasten her own destruction. Moreover, given the Realm Spirit's power, the two would be imprisoned before they even made a move. Then everything would be over. Therefore, before they could move again, they needed to devise a proper plan. Ling Yun anxiously pondered in his mind, trying to find a way to persuade the Realm Spirit to spare them. Countless ideas flashed through his mind, but they all vanished like the moon's reflection in water.
In the face of absolute power, all cunning and scheming are laughable.
"I'd like to ask, if I possess her body, is it possible to retain her consciousness?" Ling Yun asked after thinking for a moment.
"No!" The cold, ruthless voice of the spirit rang out. "I need to take complete control of this body. Not only can I not retain her consciousness, but I also need to completely separate it. This is very troublesome, and I will even need a long time to get used to it."
"Do you mean you're going to kill us?" Ling Yun's voice turned cold. "For your own survival, you're going to strip us of our consciousness? Is this how you, a product of a strange civilization at its peak, operate?"
“I learned from your world’s information that the weak obey the strong, which is a jungle law,” the World Spirit said. “I am stronger than you, and you are weak, so you must obey me unconditionally.”
“But you don’t understand that there are emotions in our world,” Ling Yun said angrily. “Just because you are the strong and we are the weak doesn’t mean we have to obey you. The law of the jungle only applies to animals, not humans.”
"I don't need to understand emotions," the spirit said indifferently. "I only need to understand the extent that allows me to successfully possess and continue to live. As for what you're saying, I won't look at it or consider it. Besides, I'm not human. My goal is to break free from my original body, not to perish with it. Do you have any more questions? If not, I don't want to waste any more time."
“I have another question!” Ling Yun said immediately.
"What?"
"If we were to possess your body, what would you choose?"
"I will choose to sacrifice myself willingly." The World Spirit did not hesitate for a moment. "Being able to possess a more powerful being means that my life has been sublimated, and that I can exist in another form. Isn't that better?"
"But that's not you anymore? Why do you think it's better?"
"Consciousness will always perish. Hundreds of years from now, beings like you will also disappear. At that time, you will still not be yourself. Will you feel bad about that? Or even if you feel bad, do you have any other choices?" The spirit of the realm had a strange expression on her face as she spoke softly. In just a short moment, her expression suddenly changed, as if she had grown up quite a bit during her conversation with Ling Yun and Xiao Rou.
“That was when we had no choice, it was the law of nature, not like now, where you forcibly strip away our lives,” Ling Yun said calmly. “For you, relying on a more powerful being is one way, but for us, having the right to independent life is the most important thing. We just want to maintain our own consciousness, not to submit.”
“I don’t understand this, and I don’t want to understand it, but what you said makes sense. I will try to learn and understand it after I possess you, because I need to integrate into your world, and that means I have to become like you.” The spirit said quietly.
Ling Yun wanted to say something more, but the Realm Spirit suddenly reached out a hand to him. Ling Yun immediately cried out in alarm. His mental energy field had barely gathered when an irresistible force was applied to him, and all his mental power vanished as quickly as snow under the spring sun. Ling Yun was terrified. He tried to scream, but to his astonishment, he couldn't even utter a sound. He was both shocked and furious, never expecting the Realm Spirit to attack so suddenly, without even giving him time to react.
"You talk too much. I can see through your thoughts. You're just trying to stall for time with questions, but it's pointless. Your power is far inferior to mine; any resistance is futile." The Realm Spirit said calmly, easily seeing through Ling Yun's intentions. "Just obediently choose to accept the possession. It will benefit both of us."
Suddenly, she stretched out her other slender, snow-white hand and froze Xiao Rou, who was rushing towards her, in mid-air. A silver light, as thick as a finger, instantly emanated from her palm and entered Xiao Rou's body.