Chapter 1084: Kicked Against a Hard Place

In her dream, the bamboo basket in Little Mushroom's hands no longer contained colorful mushrooms, but instead overflowed with human heads. Frightened, she instinctively dropped the basket, looked around in confusion and desperation, and frantically called out Vajra's name.

The surrounding world had plunged into a misty darkness.

Little Mushroom tried to sense the fluctuations of the surrounding natural laws. Before she could succeed, an incredibly powerful aura suddenly descended behind her. A bone-chilling sensation enveloped every part of her body. Without even turning around, she could feel an intensely cold gaze fixed upon her.

"Little girl, welcome to the dream world I've woven."

Little Mushroom suddenly turned around and saw a handsome middle-aged man. He wore a black cloak, and dark blue light emanated from his pupils. A playful smile perpetually lingered on his lips. In front of him lay a guqin, yet despite him not plucking the strings, sound waves continuously resonated throughout the surroundings.

"You, who are you...?"

"Little girl, I am the one who can fulfill your wishes! Don't you often feel lonely? Just help me with a favor, and I can help you achieve your desires."

Little Mushroom's dazed eyes widened as she continued her numb conversation with the strange-looking figure before her, still half-asleep.

"Wishes... what are my wishes? I, I don't remember!"

"Freedom! Little sister, haven't you always yearned for freedom? But you also know that your brother Vajra has always refused to help you achieve your wish, but I can! As long as you give this flower to your brother Vajra, he will be able to take you to fulfill your desires."

In her semi-dazed state, Little Mushroom's mental defenses were significantly weakened. More importantly, she was inherently naive and innocent. How could she outwit the black-robed figure before her? Soon, she began to feel swayed.

Gently taking the remarkably vibrant light-blue flower, Little Mushroom was truly captivated. She had a natural interest in all kinds of rare and exotic flowers. Upon seeing this nameless, celestial light-blue blossom, she immediately became entranced. The bewildered light in her beautiful eyes quickly faded, replaced by a light-blue halo infused by this peculiar and wondrous flower.

Because of this, Little Mushroom was finally brainwashed by this individual, becoming the only soul among the Glory Squad currently conquered and transformed by this deceptive second-in-command.

A creak.

The cabin door was gently pushed open by the girl. This movement was far lighter than her usual boisterous crashes, and even her skipping seemed out of place.

However, at that moment, all the members of Xu Yang's Glory Squad were gathered on the deck, and no one paid any attention to the girl.

"Brother, brother, look, isn't this flower beautiful?"

A faint blue light flashed in the girl's pupils before quickly disappearing. She then instinctively quickened her pace and rushed towards Vajra.

Vajra was momentarily puzzled, but after all, the girl was the person he trusted most. Who could ever suspect their own sister?

Just as Vajra opened his arms to embrace Little Mushroom, an incredibly cold aura instantly emanated from Ling Yao, precisely piercing the flower in Little Mushroom's hand.

"Don't go near her! The second-in-command has controlled her!"

Vajra, without a second thought, instinctively embraced the little girl. However, he didn't expect that even though Ling Yao had weakened half of the light-blue celestial blossom, its other, sharper half still extended, and in an instant, she cruelly plunged it into her brother Vajra's neck.

At that moment, the blue light in Little Mushroom's pupils had turned blood-red. A sinister smile, revealing cruelty and coldness, spread across her face—an expression never seen on her before.

"She's been controlled."

Xu Yang calmly murmured. His body blurred into an afterimage, and with a swift gust of wind beneath his feet, he flew forward. While others were still in a state of panic, Xu Yang had already appeared before Vajra and the little girl.

Just as Xu Yang was about to act and retrieve the rampaging Little Mushroom, Vajra's eyes also changed. He bared savage, sharp teeth, and his bloodshot eyes glared fiercely. He instinctively unleashed a powerful palm strike at Xu Yang.

*Boom!*

Xu Yang, of course, was fearless of any external force, but the members of the Glory Squad around the deck were terrified. These two individuals, in their furious rampage, unleashed such destructive power that a single clash of palms sent other team members scrambling back a hundred meters.

If not for the spacious deck of the Black Pearl, that single strike might have shattered it.

"Vajra, wake up. Both of you need to calm down."

Xu Yang's voice remained calm, as if nothing in this world could affect his emotions.

Finally, realizing that both individuals had been genuinely affected by this extremely peculiar plant, Xu Yang decisively acted. He opened a box, instantly freezing the rules of time and space, and directly snatched the light-blue flower from Little Mushroom's hand.

Indeed, the secret was hidden within the flower. Inside, a continuously flowing guqin melody constantly influenced the mental state of any external soul it touched, thereby controlling it.

"Heh, you certainly have your ways. Unable to break through my Angelic Domain, you resort to this method, striking from within our Glory Squad. Quite clever of you."

Sensing Xu Yang's mental power suddenly infiltrate, the opponent's first instinct was to flee!

However, after trying for a long time, he finally discovered that Xu Yang's incredibly powerful mental energy foundation had already completely sealed all channels connecting this place to the outside world. It was simply not something the second-in-command's mental strength could easily break free from.

"Heh, so your greatest reliance is the power of angels. My big brother really did guess correctly. But unfortunately, no matter how powerful you are, I will absolutely not give you a chance to break free alive. In fact, when you entered this flower, your soul already completely separated from your body. I will ensure they lose all connection. At that point, this flower will be the sole vessel for your soul."

It was at this moment that Xu Yang finally understood this individual's methods. Similar to the third-in-command, the second-in-command excelled at a series of three secret cultivation techniques: soul infiltration, soul control, and soul modification.

Controlling Little Mushroom was the path of soul infiltration. Affecting Vajra involved the application of soul control, specifically transplanting the rampaging soul essence contained within the light-blue flower.

As for the so-called soul modification, that was the method he intended to use on Xu Yang: completely sealing Xu Yang's soul essence within this flower, separating it from his physical body to become a solitary spirit. Then, by continuously infiltrating the flower's internal seal with his own mental power, he would forcibly modify Xu Yang's trapped soul essence.

It could be said that if such a set of techniques were perfectly executed, the results would be unimaginable.

If he hadn't encountered Xu Yang, it's likely the entire Glory Squad would have suffered a severe defeat at the hands of this second-in-command.

"Your plan is perfect, and your techniques are powerful and unique, but none of that means anything in front of me. You dared to harm my people; even if eighteen generations of your ancestors rose up, they wouldn't be able to stop me, Xu Yang!"