Chapter 1133: The Soul Enslaving Parasite

Ling Feng settled the Feng family patriarch into a seated position. After a moment's thought, he drew a row of golden needles and drove one into the Shenting point at the top of the old man's head.

A muffled gasp escaped the patriarch. He coughed violently and then slowly cleared his eyes.

"Chan'er, go. Leave this place at once," he urged the girl the moment he regained enough strength to speak.

The patriarch pushed at his daughter's shoulders, panic in his voice. The entire Feng clan was under the Tiejian Sect's control. Their doom already felt sealed.

"Patriarch Feng, steady your mind and guard your spirit," Ling Feng said. "If I'm not mistaken, there is a Soul Enslaving Parasite inside you. This gu parasite feeds on true qi and life force while tightening its hold on the mind. At the same time, it constantly releases venom that eats away at your organs."

He paused, watching their faces. "The Tiejian Sect leader clearly knows the incantation that commands the parasite. He can force it to speed the poison. Once he does, you lose control of your will and suffer unbearable torment. This is not an ordinary affliction."

The patriarch and Feng Chan exchanged grim looks. Neither had ever heard of such a parasite, but the gravity in Ling Feng's voice left no room for doubt.

"Young friend," the patriarch rasped, "you have already done more than enough. The Feng family owes you a debt. Leave now while you still can. I can endure this a little longer."

Even he himself couldn't resist the parasite, what can a young man barely past twenty do?

Ling Feng however ignored and sent a thread of spiritual consciousness into the patriarch's sea of mind and probed for the parasite's hiding place.

"

Uh

..."

The patriarch's eyes widened. The force of that spiritual consciousness was enormous. This felt like the work of an emperor-level cultivator.

This young man... is he somehow a Human Emperor?

"Senior, I am no Human Emperor," Ling Feng said calmly. "I am only at the Spirit Refining stage. Let me examine your sea of mind, please don't resist."

The patriarch forced a bitter smile. "At this point, even if I wished to resist, I doubt I could."

Ling Feng's brows rose as he focused. He pushed his spiritual consciousness to five times its prior strength.

An emperor-level sea of mind is vast and deep. To find a parasite quickly required everything he had.

The patriarch gasped. Though his conscious will was mostly gone, instinct still recoiled at the intrusion. Inside his sea of mind, two spiritual consciousness clashed and sent up violent waves.

Feng Chan cried out, "Mr. Ling, stop. Daddy cannot take any more!"

"No, I can still hold on," the patriarch panted.

Sensing the youth's strength, a flicker of hope returned to his mind. The power pressing on him was fierce and steady. Perhaps, he thought, this young man could free him from the sect leader's control.

Pain shook the old man. He trembled, drenched in sweat, each breath ragged. At any moment he might faint.

Even Fatty Huang and Lan Yingying felt chills run down their spines. What level of pain could reduce a Human Emperor to this?

At last Ling Feng smiled faintly. "Found you. You hid well, but that only proved my guess."

He chuckled softly. "The parasite consumes the host's spiritual energy and masks itself with matching soul fluctuations. That old trick is so basic even Zifeng would be embarrassed to use it!"

"Come out!"

Ling Feng wove his spiritual consciousness into a net and drew a gray insect from the patriarch's ear. The old man howled as the tiny creature was pulled free. The parasite squirmed, screeched, and snapped its fanged mouth in fury. It was about the size of a thumb.

It was the notorious Soul Enslaving Parasite.

If not for the Classic Formula of Ten-thousand Poisons he had taken from Su Dongling, the Tianbai Empire's Top Poison Master, Ling Feng might not have recognized it.

He squeezed his fingers. With a faint crack, the parasite burst into fragments. Its venom would fetch a price from scholars and poisoners, but Ling Feng had no interest in such filth.

"The parasite is gone," he said. "The Tiejian Sect leader can no longer seize your mind."

Ling Feng smiled faintly. "Next I will purge the venom from your body and restore your cultivation."

Feng Chan's scalp tingled. "That terrifying thing was inside Daddy?"

The patriarch drew a shuddering breath. His face was pale and cold sweat soaked his brow, but he could feel the pressure inside him lift. "It's gone. I can feel it. Young friend, you are extraordinary!"

"It is not over yet," Ling Feng said. "The parasite's venom has already eaten into your organs. If I do nothing, you will not last a month."

His words fell like cold water, washing away their brief relief.

"But it is not beyond remedy. A poison like this will trouble me only a little," he added with a small, steady laugh.

"Mr. Ling," Feng Chan said, scolding despite her relief, "don't talk like that. You frightened me half to death!"

Ling Feng smiled. He had learned that trick long ago traveling with his grandfather, Ling Kun. As a wandering physician he had learned to make threats sound real, because if people did not fear the danger, they would not take the cure seriously.

A memory flashed through him. Long journeys with his grandfather, tiring days that still felt warm. Now the world was wide and he still did not know where his grandfather had gone.

"Ling Feng, is it?" the patriarch said, color returning slowly to his face as his spirit steadied. "If the Feng family ever rises again, you will be the first we must thank. I will grant whatever you ask for!"

"That day is still far off," Ling Feng answered with a quiet smile. "The Tianluo Ancestor's reason for taking the Second Young Miss may be more than it appears. Until he is dealt with, none of this ends. But first, we will rid your body of this poison."