Chapter 274: Chapter 271: Parasitic Soul Seizure

The power of a Half-Immortal, caught between two fingers. What an utterly shocking sight!

Zhongli stared blankly, his mouth agape. He looked at the point of contact between Mo Qi’s fingers and the sword, his face a mask of utter disbelief.

He was so stunned that he completely forgot about the weakness from having forcibly executed the Sword Technique a second time.

Who could catch his killing blow with just two fingers?

A Demi-Immortal? An Immortal?

This was completely beyond his comprehension.

"No, you can’t be an Immortal!" Zhongli roared, shaking his head. "It’s impossible for a powerhouse of this level to appear in the Mountain and Sea Empire!"

It wasn’t just Zhongli; even Li Yuanhao, who had witnessed the entire thing, was dumbfounded.

He had assumed Mo Qi’s confidence stemmed from his four Void Realm subordinates. He thought Mo Qi would use some Secret Technique, borrowing their power to deal with the people from the Wuji Sect.

Who would have thought that Mo Qi wouldn’t need anyone’s help? With just a raised hand and a single sentence, everyone from the Wuji Sect was on their knees.

And then, with just two fingers, he nonchalantly caught a sword attack of the Half-Immortal Level.

Li Yuanhao was certain that even his father, the King of Kaosan, would be utterly incapable of such a feat.

He wouldn’t even dare to imagine it!

’Could it be... this Uncle Qin is truly an Immortal?!’ Li Yuanhao wondered.

Only that could explain all the incredible things about Mo Qi.

Who but an Immortal could earn such high esteem from the Blessed Qin Daye?

Who but an Immortal could have four Void Realm subordinates?

Who but an Immortal could conjure a Teleportation Array out of thin air?

And who but an Immortal could help him break through two minor realms in his Vajra Realm Cultivation with a single pill?

There was nothing like it in the real world, nor were there any records of such a thing even in the Empire’s most ancient texts!

At this thought, Li Yuanhao’s perception of Mo Qi was completely overturned.

He also gained a new understanding of what an Immortal could be.

A living Immortal!

So close to him!

’He’s a natural goofball and always does such ridiculous things.’

’So, Immortals aren’t all high and mighty like the legends say. Just like mortal Cultivators, they have passions and desires.’

’However, there was one thing Li Yuanhao couldn’t figure out. From the looks of it, this Uncle Qin was clearly a close relative, perhaps a brother, of the Blessed Qin Daye.’

’If that’s the case, why would Qin Daye still want to enter the Imperial Academy?’

’Wouldn’t it be better to receive personal guidance from an Immortal?’

’Or could it be that Qin Daye was really the womanizer the rumors claimed he was? Did he go to the Imperial Academy just to chase girls?’

Mo Qi had no idea that Li Yuanhao was busy concocting an elaborate backstory for him and his External Incarnation.

He applied a little force with his fingers and pulled the longsword from Zhongli’s hand.

"I never said I was an Immortal. But even if one came here, they’d have to behave themselves!"

As Mo Qi spoke, both the Pig Emperor and Yan turned away, trying to stifle their laughter.

’Boss, is it really okay to be bluffing like this?’

’Immortal is just a general term; there are many different levels within it.’

’There are strong Immortals and weak Immortals!’

’It’s true you can borrow the power of the Dragon Vein Within the Pass, but at most, you can only handle the weakest of Immortals.’

’If you ran into a truly formidable one, they could flatten the entire region Within the Pass with a single slap.’

Of course, these were just their thoughts. They would never undermine Mo Qi at a time like this.

Mo Qi held the powerful weapon and twisted it with both hands.

The longsword twisted like a pretzel and was completely ruined.

"This..."

Zhongli fell into complete despair.

Catching his sword might have been possible with the help of some hidden external power.

But twisting a Half-Immortal Level weapon into a spiral? That couldn’t be explained by external power.

At least, Zhongli himself couldn’t imagine how.

PTUI!

His concentration shattered. No longer able to suppress the backlash from forcibly wielding Half-Immortal Level power, he spat out a mouthful of blood and fell backward.

Mo Qi stared at the sword in his hand, now no better than scrap iron, and felt an urge to cry but couldn’t shed a tear.

’Damn it, I overdid the act. That was a Half-Immortal Level weapon, and I just went and destroyed it!’

’What a shameful waste!’

After reluctantly tossing the sword aside, Mo Qi glanced at the utterly despondent Zhongli, then at the four unconscious ancestors of the Wolf Fang Sect. A sliver of consolation finally entered his heart.

’Five Void Realm cultivators. Not bad.’

Just then, Zhongli spoke. "I, Zhongli, have walked the Martial Dao for one thousand one hundred and thirty-eight years. I have dominated sects and the Empire, my journey smooth and unimpeded. I have outshone all my contemporaries and never known a single defeat. To think that today, I would lose so completely!"

"However, losing to an Immortal is no disgrace!"

Mo Qi looked at him as if he were an idiot. ’Immortal my ass. I’m not even at the Purity Realm yet!’

Although that’s what he thought, he wasn’t bored enough to bother explaining anything to Zhongli. Instead, he took out an Ancient Ice Ant egg.

The Chaos Scripture had recently provided him with information on a new function of the Ancient Ice Ant eggs: Parasitic Soul Seizure!

To put it simply, if an unhatched Ancient Ice Ant was activated with a Secret Technique, it could become a parasite in the host’s Sea of Consciousness, absorbing its power to rapidly grow and mature.

Once it hatched, it could merge with the host’s soul and seize control.

The Ancient Ice Ant matriarch had acknowledged Mo Qi as her master and bore his Slave Seal.

Therefore, the eggs she laid would naturally obey Mo Qi’s commands.

In other words, Mo Qi could use the eggs to control other Cultivators.

This was why he had gone to such great lengths to lure Zhongli and the others here.

Five Void Realm cultivators were a juicy prize!

Mo Qi walked over to Zhongli and squatted down. "Tell me, why has your Wuji Sect been abducting young women?"

Zhongli took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I have nothing to say. Kill me or torture me, do as you wish!"

"Not talking? That’s fine by me. Let’s see how powerful this Ancient Ice Ant is."

With that, Mo Qi flicked his finger, and the Ancient Ice Ant egg burrowed into the center of Zhongli’s forehead.

As his Sea of Consciousness was invaded, Zhongli’s face paled in horror. He was just about to rally his remaining power to fight back when a sudden chill descended, instantly freezing his entire Sea of Consciousness.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

It wasn’t just his Sea of Consciousness; his entire body was encased in ice.

Nourished by Zhongli’s Sea of Consciousness, the Ancient Ice Ant rapidly hatched.

The moment it hatched, the ice on Zhongli’s body melted on its own.

Zhongli opened his eyes, his pupils unfocused.

He first glanced around blankly, then stared at Mo Qi for a long time.

Suddenly, his pupils contracted and focused. His expression changed, the dazed look vanishing completely.

"This subordinate, Zhongli, greets Master."

Dragging his broken body, Zhongli prostrated himself respectfully before Mo Qi.

Mo Qi used the Slave Seal to check on the Ancient Ice Ant inside Zhongli. He discovered that it hadn’t affected Zhongli’s core consciousness.

In other words, the current Zhongli still retained his independent thoughts. Aside from an added loyalty to Mo Qi, he was no different than before.

He was not a mindless Puppet!

"Incredible!"

The results of putting the Ancient Ice Ant to use far exceeded Mo Qi’s expectations.

If there was one drawback, it was that the number of Ancient Ice Ant eggs was too small. According to the matriarch’s production rate, she could only lay a single egg per day.