Could it be that I am the cruel villain?

If he wakes up in just one day after resisting for so long... her first reaction would be to stab Jiang Feng to death.

Because that would mean her junior brother has been completely possessed, his Divine Soul shattered.

"You've forgotten the girl you once brought trouble to? If she hadn't come to help recently, the sect would still be in complete chaos."

"Huh?"

His eyes widened in disbelief.

Hearing the word "trouble," he instinctively thought he had done something bad again, but then remembered he had lived a clean life, never messing around, and certainly not getting into trouble due to drunkenness.

After a few seconds of thought, he finally realized who his senior sister was referring to and said with a wry smile, "You mean Yu Ying, right? She's back from the Twin Peaks?"

"Yes."

Nodding.

"She's not a bad person, it's just that her way of handling things is too overbearing, combined with her harsh methods. That's why she's not well-liked within the sect."

"Otherwise, with her talent and background, she could easily have a protector position in the inner sect by now; being a steward is beneath her. Practitioners of music are rare, let alone someone who understands the human heart and can observe Divine Souls."

"If she resided permanently within the sect, there wouldn't have been such chaos. Maybe she couldn't bring out Xuan Xiaozi, but dragging out that Deacon Ma shouldn't have been too much trouble."

After the initial surprise came calm, as the young man listened intently. He wanted to know what had happened after he fainted, causing him to remain motionless for four days.

"Yu Ying once fell victim to your trickery out of curiosity. Although I know that child has tough methods, I never expected her to be bold enough to pry despite knowing you are my junior brother."

"So her soul being damaged, causing her to lie in bed for half a month, is her own fault. Haven't you noticed? After suffering such a big loss, she kept silent, knowing in her heart she's at fault, or she would've retaliated by now given her nature."

"Back then, she tried to spy on your Divine Soul and memories by sneaking into your Dan Mansion. Your realm was low at the time, struggling even with inner vision. If it weren't for the Divine Soul I left within you..."

"The first Divinity Transformation Stage cultivator to die at your hands might very well have been a fellow disciple."

"Given her knowledge of Divine Soul and her realm, it took half a month for her to get out of bed after being hurt. How does your realm compare to hers?"

"Even though your damage wasn't as severe as hers, the crack in your Divine Soul was visible, having been breached by outsiders. Awaking in less than five days already shows your robust constitution."

"For someone with a weaker constitution, it would probably take another two or three days to recover."

A bitter smile appeared.

He hadn't thought about it before, nor experienced such things. Merely having a hole drilled left him in a near-death state, lying like a dead pig for four days.

Yu Ying, having lost nearly half her Divine Soul, still followed him two hundred miles after knowing he was out alone, fearing something might happen to him.

As his senior sister said, she was indeed not a bad person, just had a bit of a difficult personality.

"And then there's the issue concerning the sect."

Liu Tangxi's voice brought the young man's attention back.

"Ever since you were attacked last time, the whole sect has been in an uproar. The negative impact of this incident on the sect was so great that it had to suspend the Nine Peaks Martial Meet to quell the disturbances."

"No one expected Xuan Xiaozi and Deacon Ma to suddenly make their move. It wasn't that the sect's defenses were lacking, but all attention was focused on the mountain gate and the towns at the foot, preventing external forces from causing trouble."

"No one anticipated that the external enemy had already infiltrated deep into the Purple Cloud Palace, and penetrated so deeply. If I'm not mistaken, Xuan Xiaozi had probably been preparing for this for decades, finding ways to select favored disciples within the mountain gate."

"Although this might make you a bit unhappy, I still have to mention it."

"Xuan Xiaozi is cunning, hard to guard against. Being able to come up with the so-called Longevity Technique makes him truly exceptional, though unfortunately, his skills and talents are all devoted to sinister paths."

"If he were to apply them to the righteous path, his achievements would likely be much greater than they are now."

It was rare to see his senior sister praise someone, especially an opponent.

Liu Tangxi had such a personality; regardless of who it was, as long as they were excellent and capable, they could earn her recognition.

Even though their stances might differ, despite being on opposing sides, with the impressive performance of Xuan Xiaozi's plan, she could acknowledge that he was one of the more difficult opponents she had encountered.

"Yes."

A nod in agreement.

Though he was nearly killed by that bastard, Xuan Xiaozi's cultivation techniques still resonated in his mind, dispersing his Divine Soul and flesh, integrating into others' bodies, only to reintegrate after success.

In this way, as long as the Divine Soul existed and the flesh remained, one could achieve an undead state, integrating into another's body and soul through parasitism, completely merging both personalities.

This was considered the most supreme form of soul possession, far more frightening than merely occupying a body, because with such an operation, even the identity would be stolen by Xuan Xiaozi.

As long as a person has their own Divine Soul, memories, and body, they are Jiang Feng.

Seeing his junior brother still showing traces of anxiety, Liu Tangxi knew the psychological shadow cast by this event wouldn't disappear in just a few days, but she continued, "He lurked in the sect for years without making a move, likely due to the sect's usual tight defense making it hard for him to act."

"With no less than ten elders and Peak Masters residing in the mountain at all times, as long as someone dared to reveal abnormalities and traces were discovered, all Great Elders and Peak Masters would act immediately, leaving him no chance to escape."

"So he chose to lie in wait for the right moment. If I'm not mistaken, he sneaked into our Purple Cloud Palace decades ago, witnessing the Nine Peaks Martial Meet firsthand, where our personnel arrangements, rules, and so on were the same as now."

"So he must have planned his scheme after learning the rules. If I'm not mistaken, whether it's Xuan Xiaozi or that Deacon Ma, the initial target was likely Gu Miyun."

"Master Gu's grandson, calling him the chief among third-generation disciples is no exaggeration. After you were trapped, he was the first to face Deacon Ma at the peak of the Nascent Soul Stage, protecting other sect disciples and mortals completely on-site."

"If not for him, once mortals got involved, our Purple Cloud Palace would be criticized for decades."

Nodding again.

Now he didn't even know what to cut in and say. He had heard of Chief Gu's reputation; being the Sect Master's grandson, it was impossible not to be famous. He had heard he was the fastest in the sect to break through to the Nascent Soul realm in nearly a hundred years, supposedly.

But like other disciples, he did not receive special treatment because of his status. He had been training outside and guarding the borders, so the two hadn't met yet. He was somewhat curious about what this favorite to win looked like.

"If I hadn't had my Divine Soul and the remains of the Demon Night True Monarch in you, the final outcome would likely have been your memories and flesh completely integrating with his."

"At that point, with no distinction between you, during the elders' investigation, no one would think it was a case of soul possession since Xiao Xuan's body was still there."

"We found Xiao Xuan's remaining Divine Soul in the Martial Arts Arena where you and Xuan Xiaozi fought. It was Yu Ying who helped locate and extract some of the fragmented memories."

"What's interesting is that Xuan Xiaozi didn't actively possess them, or rather, he never actively possessed others, instead allowing the others to welcome him of their own volition."