Love Travels through Time (My father who traveled through time and space to cultivate immortality came back to pick me up) - Chapter 14
Chapter 14: Soul Possession
“Tian Kuang.”
Xiang Haikui announced the sword’s name.
“And me, Tian Bao.”
Bai Xingxian cracked his tooth again.
Three times in one day—tsk, his gums were aching.
Daochen had been unsure of their capabilities, his mind unsettled.
But now, seeing this, he laughed.
“Well, well, the flood dashes against the Dragon King’s temple—turns out we’re all one family!”
Pah! Who the hell is family with you?
Xiang Haikui cursed inwardly but maintained the dignified demeanor of the Second Lady of Silver Sand City.
She couldn’t embarrass her father.
“Daochen, for the sake of our shared sect ties, hand over the snake demon, leave Silver Sand immediately, and I’ll spare your life.”
Snake demon?
So they didn’t know the truth.
The Tianren Sword hovered above Daochen’s head as he chanted a Buddhist invocation, calculating how to kill them.
“Young benefactor, your tone is bold for your age. Here at the border, I’ve built a foundation over ninety years—far beyond what a disgraced city lord’s daughter can shake. If you don’t believe me, go ahead and tell the people. See who they’ll trust?”
As he spoke, the magic array before him suddenly brightened.
Daochen’s eyes gleamed in response.
Yin Changli—truly a mighty demon with the blood of a world-forging divine beast!
With just a wisp of soul energy channeled into the array, the effect was astonishing.
The quicksand sealing the Mirage Demon was being drawn in!
Xiang Haikui didn’t understand arrays, but seeing Daochen’s expression, she knew things were bad.
“Daochen, I’ve slain many beasts but never a human. Don’t make my first kill a fellow disciple.”
Killing humans and killing beasts were different, after all.
Daochen’s smile deepened.
“Don’t you know? Among the Twelve Divine Swords, none can harm another. Especially when facing my Tianren, your Tian Kuang has already lost its will to fight.”
She felt it—bathed in Tianren’s benevolent aura, Tian Kuang lay sluggish in her grip.
As the quicksand array drew closer, Daochen’s mood lifted.
He crooked a finger at her.
“Don’t believe me? Try stabbing me with your Tian Kuang!”
“You know what? The Sword Sect’s founder should’ve forged a Pretentious Sword—perfect for you.”
Xiang Haikui rolled her eyes.
“Last chance. You really won’t back down?”
Daochen spread his arms, smiling.
His expression screamed: Go ahead, try to cut me. If you land a single strike, I’ll eat my words.
“Fine!” Xiang Haikui tightened her grip on Tian Kuang with her left hand, roared, and charged at him like the wind.
When Tian Kuang slashed down at Daochen’s head, it met an invisible golden Buddha shield with a resonant clang.
Tianren had indeed blocked Tian Kuang.
Just as Daochen was about to mock her, a sharp pain exploded in his chest—a dagger had stabbed into him!
Lu Xiqiao, watching from the sidelines, was stunned.
While Xiang Haikui’s left hand swung Tian Kuang, her right had drawn a dagger from her waist.
One slash, one stab.
Her hands moved so fast they blurred into streaks of light!
Unlike Lu Xiqiao’s shock, Bai Xingxian—who had watched Xiang Haikui grow—found this perfectly normal.
Besides, this magic dagger had been lent to her by his uncle on the way here.
While the dagger could pierce protective qi, Daochen’s cultivation far surpassed hers, making the strike anything but easy.
Bai Xingxian glanced at her wrist—blood vessels had ruptured, her entire arm turning purplish-red with web-like cracks.
The moment the dagger struck, Xiang Haikui leaped back several yards, swallowing the blood rising in her throat.
She laughed.
“Daochen, are you an idiot? The swords can’t hurt each other, so I just switched weapons!”
All’s fair in war.
This wasn’t something her master had taught her.
She’d learned it from her boss.
Still, the pain was real.
She gritted her teeth to keep from grimacing, now too weak to lift Tian Kuang, so she slung it over her shoulder.
“You—” Daochen spat blood.
Her cultivation wasn’t enough to pierce his heart, but his protective qi had shattered.
The array disk flickered out.
“I’ll kill you!”
Daochen recalled Tianren, ready to strike her down, but the wisp of black mist hidden in his sleeve—Yin Changli’s soul—seized the moment his defenses broke.
It surged through the wound in his chest, invading his body.
Daochen’s mind reeled in horror!
Yin Changli was trying to devour his soul and steal his body!
Seeing Daochen’s panicked, agonized expression, Xiang Haikui was baffled.
Damn, am I that strong? Did I beat him to tears? Or was it rage?
“Finish him, Sister Kui!” Lu Xiqiao shouted from behind, waving his fists.
Right!
She moved to deliver the final blow—when an arrow whistled toward her from behind.
She flipped aside, dodging it.
Wuming and his group had abandoned their mounts and flown over.
Along with Silver Sand’s guards were tribal chiefs searching for Daochen.
Both Daochen and Xiang Haikui had come and gone abruptly, raising suspicions, so they’d followed.
The crowd gasped at the sight of Daochen shrouded in black mist, his face twisted in fury.
Daochen struck first.
“Everyone, this woman and the Lu family’s young master sought to release an ancient Mirage Demon trapped in the desert. I caught them in the act… You must… I must stop the demon… even at the cost of my life…”
With that, he formed a hand seal, summoned a cloud beneath his feet, and fled at top speed.
In this situation, chasing him was impossible.
Since he’d already failed and left the snake behind, she let him go.
She picked up the jar—inside, the little black snake lay curled in a ball, its body encased in thick ice.
Not dead, but seemingly self-sealed?
She didn’t know if Daochen’s trick of stitching its wound with her hair had done any harm.
“You vile wench!” Wuming clenched his fists, livid.
“I knew you were a seductress sent by the royal capital!”
“How dare you attack the master!” The tribal leader was equally furious.
With Tianren gone, Tian Kuang regained its vigor.
Xiang Haikui sealed the jar and tossed it to Lu Xiqiao on his camel.
“Hold this.”
Then she signaled Bai Xingxian to prepare for battle.
Reasoning with them now was pointless.
Surrendering wasn’t an option either.
So, fighting it was.
Meanwhile…
Xiang Tianqing arrived at Daochen’s place but didn’t find him.
Following the villagers’ directions, she rode her camel in pursuit.
Halfway there, she spotted a figure half-buried in the sand—only a corner of a monk’s robe visible.
She hurried over and pulled him out.
It was Master Daochen.
“Master? Master?”
Startled, she glanced around.
A sandstorm was coming.
She hoisted him onto her camel and sought shelter in a nearby cave.
Along the way, Daochen kept murmuring.
“Master? What did you say?”
She strained to listen, catching fragments: “Seventh Lord… kill me…”, “Come… let’s gamble our lives…”, “Who wins… who loses… not certain…”
Xiang Tianqing didn’t understand.
Inside the cave, she laid him flat, then fetched a bamboo flask to give him water.
As she studied him, she realized—normally, he seemed veiled in an intangible light, but up close, he was strikingly handsome.
A cough.
The man’s eyes snapped open—cold, gleaming with frost.
Xiang Tianqing recoiled in shock before quickly leaning in.
“Master Daochen, you’re awake.”
Daochen?
This wasn’t Daochen.
This was Yin Changli.
His soul had been extracted by Daochen and trapped in his sleeve cage.
But when Xiang Haikui shattered Daochen’s defenses, Yin Changli instinctively invaded his consciousness and seized control of his body.
Still unaccustomed to his new vessel, Yin Changli’s vision blurred.
After a few blinks, he vaguely made out her delicate silhouette.
“You are…?”
Xiang Tianqing paused.
“Master, don’t you remember me? I’m Xiang Tianqing, daughter of Silver Sand City’s lord, Xiang Heng.”
Yin Changli repeated the name—no recollection.
“You call me ‘Master’?”
He touched his head.
His hand froze.
Noticing his odd state, she asked cautiously, “Master… what’s wrong?”
He didn’t answer.
He couldn’t remember who he was, but a faint instinct told him—I am not Daochen.
Instead, he changed the subject.
“Did you save me, miss?”
Xiang Tianqing nodded.
“I found you unconscious in the sand while passing by.”
“My thanks.”
Yin Changli lowered his gaze, attempting to sit up—when a sharp pain tore through him.
What…?
He clutched his waist—no wound, yet the agony was unbearable.
“Let me help you.”
She reached for him.
“No need.”
He raised a hand to stop her, an instinctive aversion to being touched.
Xiang Tianqing awkwardly withdrew.
Realizing he couldn’t reveal himself as a soul usurper, Yin Changli softened his tone.
His gaze fell on the lush black hair hidden beneath her red scarf.
“Miss… may I see your… hair?”
“Huh?”
She bit her lip, shyly removing the scarf to reveal cascading dark tresses.
Yin Changli reached out, his finger stopping half an inch from her locks.
He closed his eyes, sensing.
Not her.
