Chapter 789: Meat Body Acting Foolishly

Saint realm experts can seal space with their power, trapping anyone within as if they've fallen into a quagmire, unable to move.

This technique, known as True Qi Space Lock, can only be broken by someone who has also reached the Saint realm. Otherwise, both speed and strength will be severely restricted, allowing one to unleash at most one-tenth of their former power.

His expression grim, Zhang Xuan gritted his teeth and continued to ascend rapidly into the sky.

However, restricted by the opponent's True Qi Space Lock, his speed was reduced to one-tenth of its original, making him move like a snail.

"You think you can escape from my grasp? Dream on!"

With a light snort, the woman raised her delicate eyebrows and flicked her fingers three times in a row towards Zhang Xuan's location.

Thump, thump, thump!

The air boiled with qi, and Zhang Xuan immediately felt a dull ache in his chest. His enormous soul body trembled uncontrollably, his head splitting with pain, as if he might lose control at any moment and fall from the sky.

"Soul attack..."

His face turned ashen.

This woman must be an elder or a high-ranking member of the Ethereal Academy; her mastery of soul attacks was truly perfected. Those three simple flicks of her fingers had injured him, making his body feel like it was being electrocuted.

"I must return to my physical body, otherwise, I might be killed by this person..."

A chill ran down his spine.

If it were other Saint realm experts, even among the Ten Grand Elders like Principal Mi or Principal Zhao, it would be extremely difficult to harm his Witch Soul.

The Witch Soul is intangible; unless one possesses soul-attacking techniques, physical attacks are essentially ineffective.

However, this high-ranking member of the Ethereal Academy had a thorough understanding of souls, capable of killing him in an instant.

If his Witch Soul were killed, he would die, with no possibility of survival.

His only chance was to return to his physical body.

Although this would expose his physical body, he had no other choice at this moment.

It was better than being killed directly here.

Enduring the intense pain, he flew straight towards the large tree in the courtyard. Before he had gone far, he heard another cold snort from below.

"Still trying to escape..."

Swish!

Immediately after, the woman flipped her hand and clapped a few times in the air.

A massive force tore through the air, and Zhang Xuan felt as if his whole being had been struck by a meteor. His Witch Soul tumbled several times in the sky, feeling like it could explode at any moment.

Fortunately, his soul body was over ten meters tall, its enormous size defusing much of the attack power. Moreover, he cultivated the Heaven's Path Witch Soul, making his soul energy pure. Otherwise, he would surely have died from that blow.

Even so, his soul was heavily injured, feeling a tearing pain.

Knowing that continued attacks from the opponent would certainly lead to his death, Zhang Xuan was about to endure the pain and continue darting towards the large tree when a thought suddenly popped into his mind. His whole body stiffened, and he stopped in place.

Given the opponent's attack strength, an ordinary Witch Soul would certainly have died. It was because his soul body was powerful and had undergone countless trials that it wasn't fundamentally harmed.

If he continued to flee, the opponent would certainly be surprised and unleash even greater attack power. If he kept being attacked, no matter how strong his defense, the outcome would still be death.

But if... he could make her believe he had been killed, perhaps he could escape this ordeal.

As expected, he stopped in mid-air, his body curled into a ball and appearing to dissipate, making no further movements. The woman visibly relaxed.

"Witch Soul Masters betrayed humanity back then, becoming accomplices of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. Now one has appeared. Could it be... related to that incident? Damn it, I shouldn't have killed him directly..."

Feeling no movement in the air, the woman suddenly remembered something, and her expression darkened.

Witch Soul Masters had been completely exterminated by humanity. If any lineage still existed, it would likely be connected to the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe.

The academy had just experienced an incident, and now one of them appeared. Could the two be related?

If that were the case... she shouldn't have acted to kill this fellow just now!

"Wait a minute, if it's a Witch Soul, how dare it escape from the room? If it's not a Witch Soul, then what is it?"

While she was pondering, she suddenly remembered something.

Witch Souls, being Yin and cold in nature, normally wouldn't dare to appear during the day. Otherwise, the scorching sunlight could easily burn them to death.

Even if they didn't die, the Yang Burn Decay, one of the Five Decays of Soul Power, would be enough to make them suffer greatly.

The intangible thing that leaped out just now clearly wasn't afraid of the sun. Could it be... it wasn't a Witch Soul?

What else could it be, then?

As a Saint realm expert, she knew the world was vast, filled with many incredibly strange special occupations and techniques. Even with her extensive knowledge, she couldn't claim to know everything.

For instance, there was a Saint Beast called the Weak-Scaled Beast. On land, its entire body was jet black, like ink, a colossal creature wherever it went. But once it entered water, it would immediately turn transparent, as if invisible.

Could this fellow from just now also be such a creature?

Possible!

Otherwise, human Witch Souls, though varying in strength, couldn't possibly be over ten meters tall!

Clearly beyond comprehension!

"Damn it, this fellow must be feigning death..."

Her eyebrows shot up.

What she used just now were Ethereal Master's soul-attacking techniques. If the opponent was a Witch Soul, it would certainly be difficult to withstand. But if it were a special Saint Beast, with its thick hide and robust body, it might be fine.

This means... this fellow appears motionless, but in reality, is feigning death.

"Trying to fool me? Get out here!"

Her expression darkened. The woman lifted her foot and stomped hard on the ground.

Boom!

The ground immediately shook violently, and surging True Qi formed hot airwaves that spread outwards.

"Discovered?"

Zhang Xuan, who had been motionless in the air, had thought he had fooled the opponent. Hearing this, he knew he hadn't succeeded at all, and his face filled with dejection. Just as he was about to continue darting towards the nearby large tree, he saw the huge tree trunk sway...

Thud!

A figure resembling a corpse fell stiffly from above and plunged headfirst into the ground, creating a large pit.

Everything went dark before his eyes, and Zhang Xuan almost fainted.

This fellow, if not his physical body, then who else could it be!

Originally hidden securely in the tree forks, his physical body had been relatively stable. But the woman's True Qi impact made the large tree sway, causing it to fall straight down.

He had originally thought that even if his Witch Soul was discovered, as long as his physical body remained hidden, he would be safe. After all, his Witch Soul was formless and intangible; without the Eye of Discernment, its appearance couldn't be seen. As long as he escaped this courtyard, he would be as free as a fish in the wide sea or a bird in the high sky.

Now, his physical body had fallen headfirst and was clearly seen by the opponent. There was no escaping now!

"Who are you?"

He was so frustrated he almost spat blood. The woman was even more surprised, and with an angry roar, she raised her palm and slapped it straight towards him.

Boom!

Violent True Qi, carrying an irresistible aura, crushed down from above.

"This is my chance to return to my physical body..."

Knowing this was his only chance, Zhang Xuan gritted his teeth, intending to re-enter his body, only to see his physical body, with its head still buried in the ground, suddenly slap its palm on the ground and charge straight forward!

Its speed was as fast as an arrow.

Heaven's Path Movement Art!

"It's... the Thoughtless State..."

Everything went dark before his eyes, and Zhang Xuan's soul body swayed.

His physical body had comprehended the Thoughtless State; even without his soul within it, it would instinctively react to danger.

The opponent's palm strike was powerful, and his physical body, sensing it was no match, instinctively fled to avoid harm.

Watching the distant retreating figure, Zhang Xuan felt like crying but had no tears.

Damn it!

If you had delayed by half a breath, I would have already entered! But you suddenly darted out as if seeing a ghost, how embarrassing is that for me...

The most crucial thing is, you're running so fast, how am I supposed to catch up?

His Witch Soul only possessed the strength of a Spirit Converging realm pinnacle, while his physical body had the strength of a Bridging Heaven realm. Furthermore, with the Heaven's Path Movement Art and the Mortal World Stepping Heaven Steps... once it started to run at full speed, the distance between them would only increase!

What kind of situation is this?!

"Damn it, where do you think you're going?!"

The woman saw the young man who had fallen from the tree turn around and run, making her so furious she almost exploded. She stomped her foot on the ground, leaped into the air, and pursued him directly.

The physical body, using the Heaven's Path Movement Art, was extremely fast. Even she needed to exert herself and run at full speed to close the distance.

"Catch it quickly..."

Seeing the woman make her move, Zhang Xuan sighed in relief. Just as he finished shouting "Catch it quickly" in his heart, a strange expression appeared on his face.

What kind of situation is this!

Cheering for someone to catch himself... just thinking about it made him feel absurd.

If he hadn't gotten such a foolish physical body, how could he be so undignified!

"Wait, if this fellow is caught, I won't be able to get back in..."

After his dejection subsided, he quickly leaped up and rushed closely behind it. He then saw the physical body crash into a wall, creating a hole, and continue forward.

"Go easy on yourself..."

A pang of heartache, and Zhang Xuan almost burst into curses.

This Thoughtless State could only react to danger with defense and couldn't dodge in various ways like a real person. Even so, deliberately crashing into a wall was a bit excessive!

I told you to seek fortune and avoid disaster, to evade attacks, not to smash your physical body to pieces!

Even if you escape with your life like this, in such a dilapidated state, how am I supposed to get back in?

"Stop right there!"

While he was feeling dejected, he saw the woman in the air had already caught up. She clapped her hand, sealing the space around the physical body with True Qi, as if forming a cage.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Sensing danger, the physical body continued in its Thoughtless State and unleashed Heaven's Path Fist Art, attempting to break open the cage. However, with the True Qi of a Bridging Heaven realm combined with the physical body, its strength of 16 million ding was nowhere near enough to break through the over 100 million ding of power of a Saint realm expert.

"Who are you? Why were you hiding in the Ethereal Academy's library courtyard?"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The physical body naturally did not answer, frantically attacking the cage and emitting a series of booming sounds.

"You court death!"

Seeing that she was asking a question, this fellow actually ignored her completely, treating her as if she were nothing. The woman's face flushed red with anger. She flipped her wrist, and a world-destroying power gathered from her palm.

From her expression, if it didn't answer again, she might blast it to death with a single palm strike.

The Thoughtless State was an extreme state for a Witch Soul Master's physical body. With the Witch Soul lineage having disappeared, even the woman, being a Saint, didn't know this was just a soulless physical body and thus couldn't answer at all.

"If my physical body is smashed to pieces, returning would be useless..."

Zhang Xuan had finally rushed over at this moment. Seeing that the opponent was about to attack at any moment, he was instantly scared out of his wits. Daring not to linger further, he leaped into the cage and drilled into the physical body's glabella.

The cage was a physical defense and couldn't stop a Witch Soul.

As soon as his soul entered the physical body, he immediately noticed that the power in the woman's palm was about to descend at any moment. He hastily controlled the physical body to stop, cupped his fist, and said with a clear voice, "Thank you, Senior, for helping me suppress my inner demons and avert the misfortune of cultivation deviation..."