Chapter 106: Turning the Tables

Before Zhang Pu could respond, his keen gaze suddenly caught something. Although the Shadow Spirit seemed to be making a strenuous effort to mask his state, no matter how he tried to hide it, his minute movements could not escape Zhang Pu’s sharp, discerning eyes.

*Is this Shadow Spirit... severely injured?* Zhang Pu wondered to himself.

Furthermore, even after Zhang Pu remained silent, the Shadow Spirit seemed to lack the strength to press the question further.

*Has my opportunity arrived?* A surge of wild joy welled up in Zhang Pu’s heart. In truth, it was not that he lacked the confidence to battle the entity; it was simply that the Shadow Spirit’s initial, thunderous display of power had been so swift that he had been unable to react in time. Yet, throughout this journey, Zhang Pu had been constantly searching for an opening to strike back. Now, it seemed that opportunity had truly come.

Zhang Pu did not move, choosing instead to observe the situation quietly, for he was in the Shadow Spirit’s territory, where the latter held the advantage of the terrain. However, his piercing eyes never left the patch of shadows. Finally, he saw the entity stir as if to make a move, yet it appeared to be a gesture of impotence, lacking the strength to follow through.

*This Shadow Spirit must have exhausted himself trying to put on a show of power earlier, and now he is spent! If I don't act now, when will I?*

At this moment, Zhang Pu realized that if the Shadow Spirit were indeed a cultivator, he must have suffered such grievous wounds that he had lost his physical body, becoming a mere soul entity. While some soul entities were formidable and not to be underestimated, this one had clearly miscalculated, turning the situation to his own disadvantage.

Zhang Pu was no mere high school student; he was a warrior with a millennium of experience in the cultivation world. Once he had gauged the true condition of the soul before him, he wasted no time on pleasantries. He struck immediately, layering his attack with defensive spells to counter any tricks the entity might attempt to use within the cave. With Zhang Pu’s precise handling of the situation, the Shadow Spirit proved truly vulnerable.

"Stop!" the Shadow Spirit shrieked, sounding desperate. He seemed terrified that one more strike from Zhang Pu would obliterate his remaining shadow, ending his existence entirely.

"Tell me, what now?" Zhang Pu had locked the Shadow Spirit into a corner. With his thousand years of experience, he had no fear that the entity could turn the tables.

"Speak your terms," the Shadow Spirit replied, seemingly realizing that Zhang Pu’s capabilities far exceeded anything he could have imagined.

Back at the campfire, the Shadow Spirit had recognized that Zhang Pu possessed extraordinary spiritual roots. Among the dozens of people present, the Shadow Spirit had discerned that Zhang Pu’s aptitude for cultivation far surpassed the sum of everyone else’s combined. In a world like Earth, where cultivators were nearly extinct, this was a rare treasure indeed.

The Shadow Spirit had once been a powerful cultivator himself, but after a space-time anomaly, he had lost his body. Fortuitously, he had managed to preserve his soul on Earth. He had spent every day longing to regain a physical form and return to the cultivation world. This life as a soulless, ghost-like entity was miserable; for instance, when he caught the tantalizing scent of roasted meat, he was drawn to it, yet he lacked the physical mouth to taste the delicacies he craved. He had hoped that by capturing a youth with such exceptional spiritual roots as Zhang Pu, he could perform a soul-transference ritual to seize his body. Unfortunately, his grand plan had failed because Zhang Pu’s strength was beyond his comprehension.

For Zhang Pu, now that the Shadow Spirit had conceded, the initiative lay firmly in his hands. The roles of interrogator and interrogated had been reversed.

"Are you a cultivator?" Zhang Pu asked. The Shadow Spirit admitted that he was. Zhang Pu fell into deep contemplation.

He recalled the mist barrier the Shadow Spirit had conjured earlier—a specialty of those who primarily cultivated dark-element spiritual energy in the cultivation world, a mist that was often poisonous. *Could this bodiless cultivator have been a master of dark arts?*

Zhang Pu proceeded to ask how the cultivator had ended up in this state. The entity, knowing his life was in Zhang Pu’s hands, told him almost everything. He was a man who knew when to bend; as long as his deepest secrets remained safe, he was willing to talk. During their exchange, the Shadow Spirit began to suspect that Zhang Pu was also from the cultivation world. However, with the power dynamic tilted in Zhang Pu’s favor, there were things he dared not ask, and Zhang Pu had the means to withhold information as well.

Through their conversation, Zhang Pu gained a general understanding of the Shadow Spirit’s situation. Even if the latter omitted certain details, it mattered little. Zhang Pu was now focused on how to restrain the entity to prevent any future "backlash."

"What are you doing?" Suddenly, the Shadow Spirit saw a string of strange, glowing characters flickering above his head as Zhang Pu chanted.

Ignoring the entity’s cries, Zhang Pu unleashed a low-level binding spell. The Shadow Spirit, already fragile from his earlier overexertion, became completely immobilized. Only after the strange characters had fully merged into the shadow and vanished did Zhang Pu stop, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"You..." When the Shadow Spirit regained the ability to speak, he sounded terrified. "Did you just use the Great Implantation of the Spiritual Seed on me?"

*He knows of the Great Implantation of the Spiritual Seed?* The Shadow Spirit’s reaction startled Zhang Pu. That was a forbidden technique practiced by those who delved into necromancy, known to almost no one. It seemed he had underestimated the Shadow Spirit, who was indeed like an old fox, using evasive language to keep his true nature ambiguous.

"You are truly well-informed," Zhang Pu remarked.

"You..." The Shadow Spirit seemed unable to find the words, though he struggled to suppress his agitation. "I reached the Transformation Stage in the cultivation world. I never imagined you would be so far beyond me. I have no words to defend my defeat, but... however..."