Chapter Eighty-Seven: Soul-Seizing Art

With his lips moving in a low murmur, Zhou Qi activated the Soul-Seizing Art. He pointed his right hand at the cultivator before him, and the man’s entire body began to tremble violently, as though in unbearable torment. Yet he did not awaken. From within his body rose a wisp of black smoke—that was a sliver of the cultivator’s soul. Zhou Qi guided it into suppressing itself within his own sea of consciousness.

As he silently recited the Soul-Seizing Art, he could clearly sense this man’s thoughts. Zhou Qi inscribed a command into the shadow of that soul: the orders of Boss Zhou must be obeyed unconditionally.

After the command was carved in, Zhou Qi decided to test its effect. He roused the cultivator, then quickly retreated to the side, fully on guard.

The cultivator slowly woke. He only felt that something new had been added to his mind. A strikingly handsome young man appeared in his thoughts, and with sudden clarity he understood: this is Boss Zhou. I must obey him.

Looking up, he saw Zhou Qi standing tensely in the distance. Zhou Qi had already dismissed his disguise and now wore his true face. The cultivator sprang to his feet and, in an instant, was before Zhou Qi. Startled, Zhou Qi had already begun to raise the Immortal-Slaying Sword, when the man lowered his head and bowed. “Hello, Boss.”

Zhou Qi awkwardly lowered his hand. From that sliver of soul he could sense the other’s submissive aura; it was only that the man had moved too quickly for him to react in time. This Soul-Seizing Art was truly overbearing. It had merely been a bonus thrown in with the purchase of Nine, yet the three hundred million spirit stones had already been worth it. Still, such a powerful method of control had only been a bonus; there must surely be side effects, though West Wind Pavilion had not mentioned them.

“What is your name?” Zhou Qi asked.

“This humble one is named Yu Jing,” the cultivator answered respectfully.

“Slap yourself twice.”

Without the slightest hesitation, Yu Jing smacked himself twice across the face, hard. His cheeks swelled at once. After striking himself, he mumbled, “Boss, do you have any other orders?”

Zhou Qi shook his head, his expression complicated. This Soul-Seizing Art was a little wicked. Anyone struck by it had no freedom at all. For a moment, he felt reluctant to continue. A warrior may be killed, but not insulted. Was it too evil to control a member of the same race by such means?

So be it. The situation was unusual. Once the time was right in the future, he would let them go free again.

Zhou Qi shook his head, forcing such foolish thoughts deep into his heart. This was no time for softness.

He moved on to the next person and repeated the process. Soon, ten cultivators at the first stage of Foundation Establishment, nine at the second stage, seven at the third, and three at the fourth had all become employees of Boss Zhou. Two fourth-stage cultivators and one third-stage cultivator, however, died in agony during the casting of the Soul-Seizing Art.

Apparently, the Soul-Seizing Art could not guarantee a hundred percent success. When attempting to control cultivators whose cultivation exceeded one’s own, failure was possible; and the consequence of failure was that the victim’s soul was shattered into oblivion.

Looking at the twenty-nine newly acquired employees, Zhou Qi was quite pleased. In his previous life, the thing he had wanted most was to be a boss. Unfortunately, he had died before that wish could be fulfilled. Now he was in charge of thirty-three people under him, enough to run a small-to-medium company.

He brought the ten cultivators above the third stage of Foundation Establishment out of the Medicine Immortal Sacred Manor. Boss Zhou told them that outside there was an evil fifth-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator who wanted to kill Boss Zhou’s little sister. Upon hearing this, everyone became outraged. Anyone who dared touch Boss Zhou’s little sister was making an enemy of them all. No matter how high his cultivation or how noble his status, they would swear to kill him.

At last, the second Illusory Immortal Formation began to disperse gradually. Zhou Qi activated the Forbidden-Sky City, preventing the fifth-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator from escaping.

Finally, the formation faded away again. The fifth-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator could not help but breathe a huge sigh of relief. Neither of the two times the formations had been activated had they attacked him; clearly, the other side had not been confident. So what if the formation was formidable? With a cultivation three stages below his own, they still could not do anything to him. Even if there was another formation of this kind, at most it would only trap him for a bit longer. Thinking of this, his confidence surged.

All of it would be his—the mid-grade spirit weapon, those two foxes, and surely other, even more valuable things on that man’s person. If he could take everything for himself, a sixth stage of Foundation Establishment would be within reach.

Yet the sight before him left him stunned. The cultivators who had vanished earlier had appeared once more, only three fewer than before, and one unfamiliar face had joined them. It was Zhou Qi.

For a moment, the fifth-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator could not make sense of what was happening. Then he saw those ten people bow respectfully to him and address him as senior.

“What happened to you all?” he asked suspiciously. Something was wrong.

“Senior, we are fine. Where is that demon fox? We will go kill it at once,” one cultivator answered, still remembering the matter of slaying the fox earlier.

“Isn’t that demon fox right there?” the cultivator said, pointing toward Nine in the distance, along with the fox she held in her arms.

Nine also saw Zhou Qi, now restored to his true appearance, standing among the enemies. “Brother, are you all right?”

Zhou Qi smiled and shook his head at Nine, then pointed at the fifth-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. “This is the evil fifth-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. What are you waiting for?”

“Senior, so you are that evil cultivator. Though I do not know how you are evil, what Boss says can never be wrong,” said one cultivator.

“You actually want to kill our boss’s little sister? Fellow daoists, charge together! We must not let this man escape.”

The cultivator was greatly alarmed. Seeing the others already closing in, he knew that although he was at the fifth stage of Foundation Establishment, he would not fare well against seven third-stage cultivators and three fourth-stage cultivators attacking at once.

With a dark look at Zhou Qi, he guessed that Zhou Qi must have used some sort of control method. So be it. This matter could no longer be carried through. He had best leave this place first, then find a few fellow daoists and make plans slowly.

He was decisive. He immediately took out a Breaking-Earth Talisman and prepared to teleport away.

No good—he could not teleport. He was shocked. He had originally laid down the Forbidden-Sky Formation here himself, and after secretly undoing it, he had not expected the other side to have set up the same formation as well.

The attacks were already upon him. A phantom great bell descended from above, and behind it came a flaming giant palm, flying swords, enormous fists...

The ten men’s spells crashed down on him like a storm from the heavens.

“Damn it!” The cultivator’s eyes narrowed as a sharp sense of danger slammed into him.

Any one of these people alone would not have worried him; he could even have killed them. But now they attacked together, and he felt immense pressure.

A phantom mountain instantly appeared before him. The moment it materialized, it was shattered by the many spells. The cultivator coughed up a mouthful of blood. He had used the Mountain-Hugging Seal too hastily; before it could fully form, it was interrupted. He had suffered backlash from the spell and was already injured, quite seriously.

“Rise.” The cultivator took a pale yellow little shield from his storage ring. The shield grew with the wind, and in an instant it became a great shield about six feet across, blocking the front and withstanding the ten men’s spells.

The attacks were stopped by the great shield and dispersed one by one. But none of them gave up. Boss Zhou’s command made them forget the difference in cultivation and forget that they had once been on the same side as this senior. The strongest thought in their hearts was only to kill this man and relieve the boss’s troubles.