Chapter 897: Resurrected from the Dead

How could the words spoken by the Eldest Senior Sister ever be false.

"Of course I believe Junior Brother Lu committed suicide." Dai Bufan forced a smile, his legs trembling violently, never having felt death so close at hand.

No matter how one looked at it, this seemed as though the Eldest Senior Sister had accidentally beaten Junior Brother Lu to death and was now destroying the evidence, and he had blindly run over here to show concern for Lu Yang.

Had he lived long enough, or what? In a situation like this, he could barely secure his own safety!

This Immortal Peach was truly not so easy to accept; one moment he had taken it and owed Junior Brother Lu a favor, and the next moment he had to pay for it with his life—was this what they called the destiny of cause and effect?

"Then I shall leave you to your business, Eldest Senior Sister. Call for me if you need anything."

Dai Bufan retreated stealthily, and taking advantage of Yun Zhi's momentary inattention, he took off, flying away with all his might, not daring to look back even once.

"Wait a moment, come back."

How could Yun Zhi allow Dai Bufan to escape? If she did not explain things clearly now, it would be even harder to explain them clearly in the future.

With a mere thought, Yun Zhi pulled Dai Bufan straight back, causing him to return along his exact path.

"Eldest Senior Sister, spare my life! I truly saw nothing at all!" Sensing that things boded ill, Dai Bufan immediately fell to his knees, begging for mercy.

Yun Zhi pressed a hand to her forehead, explaining helplessly, "Junior Brother is truly not dead. He is currently in a state of feigning death, it is just that he feigned it so perfectly that he managed to deceive the Soul Lamp."

Dai Bufan had never heard of such a spell existing, but currently, he was the meat on the chopping block while she was the cleaver; he would believe whatever Yun Zhi said.

The Immortal Fairy had detected Dai Bufan’s arrival long ago, and on the principle that outsiders must not know of her existence, she had immediately hidden herself to one side.

Originally, Yun Zhi would also have detected Dai Bufan’s arrival, but at that moment, she was agonizing over whether or not to cremate her Junior Brother, and had been momentarily distracted.

Had she known Junior Brother Dai was coming, she would certainly have hidden her Junior Brother’s corpse well... though why did that still feel somewhat amiss?

Yun Zhi wondered to herself, as it seemed there was no correct way to handle this matter.

When Yun Zhi approached Lu Yang with the golden flame in hand, before the spark could even touch his body, Lu Yang abruptly resurrected, springing up with a sharp cry.

The Soul Lamp in Dai Bufan's hand instantly flared back to life from the dead ashes.

"It really was feigning death?!"

Dai Bufan was greatly astonished, never expecting such a miraculous spell to exist, one capable of deceiving even a Soul Lamp. Was it an ancient lost magic, or a spell created by the Eldest Senior Sister herself?

Dai Bufan quietly breathed a sigh of relief; it appeared he would not have to die after all.

"Junior Brother Lu, are you quite alright?"

Lu Yang bared his teeth in excruciating pain. He had been sleeping soundly just moments ago, when he suddenly felt a searing burn upon his soul, which jolted him awake instantly.

Once he awoke, that burning sensation vanished without a trace once more.

"I—I am fine. Senior Brother Dai, why are you here?"

In his heart, Dai Bufan thought, I came to be buried along with you.

"Are you truly fine? Why don't you take a look at what you look like right now?" Dai Bufan appraised Lu Yang from head to toe, an odd expression on his face.

"What do you mean, what do I look like?" Lu Yang was puzzled, failing to grasp Senior Brother Dai's meaning. He lowered his gaze, only to find his own corpse lying perfectly intact upon the ground, while he himself had become an astral projection!

Were it not for Senior Brother Dai's presence, Lu Yang would have dearly wished to ask the Immortal Fairy what on earth was going on.

"A minor issue, I am indeed fine." Lu Yang waved his hand, indicating that everything was under control.

Seeing that nothing major was amiss with Lu Yang, Dai Bufan departed, albeit with lingering suspicion.

Once Dai Bufan had gone, Lu Yang leaned backward, attempting to merge back with his physical body.

Unfortunately, he failed; upon standing up, he remained in a state of astral projection.

"Fairy, come out and explain what is happening here."

The Immortal Fairy emerged from behind a certain grand tree, full of praise for Lu Yang's talent in magic: "Little Yangzi, you have officially crossed the threshold of learning!"

Lu Yang pointed at his own soul, then pointed at the corpse on the ground: "Are you certain this is called crossing the threshold?"

"Of course. What is the Art of Feigning Death? It is a technique to deceive the heavens. To deceive heaven and earth, one must first deceive oneself."

"Your physical body is currently in a state of being deceived, having become a corpse!"

"If you do not believe me, let Girl Yun try using a corpse-driving spell on it; I guarantee she can move your body."

How could Lu Yang dare to say he disbelieved her.

"In your current state, you could even scam insurance; you would surely make a fortune."

"Therefore, your current state should not be called astral projection, but rather a wandering ghost." The Immortal Fairy corrected Lu Yang’s mistaken understanding, her choice of words being entirely precise.

"Your learning progress is much faster than Xiao Ling and Lian Yi. When those two first started learning, what they practiced could not be called the Art of Feigning Death at all; it should have been called the Art of Feigning Sleep. They couldn't fake death so they just forced it, as if I couldn't tell they were pretending to sleep."

Observing Lu Yang from the side, the Eldest Senior Sister nodded slightly: "So that is how it is. Feigning death deceived the Soul Lamp, deceived Dai Bufan, and even deceived your own physical body. It appears, Junior Brother, that you can even deceive a cultivator of the Tribulation Transmutation Stage."

The Eldest Senior Sister could perceive that when Lu Yang executed the Art of Feigning Death, there remained a faint, microscopic trace of vitality within his soul, a degree of vitality that not even a Tribulation Transmutation Stage cultivator could see through.

"Fairy, do not praise me just yet. Tell me first how I am supposed to return to my original state." Lu Yang did not let the Immortal Fairy's praise get to his head, asking calmly instead.

"It is simple, you need only possess a body."

"Possess a body?"

Just as Lu Yang was about to ask whose body he should possess, he looked down and saw his own corpse lying quietly upon the ground.

"Naturally, you are to possess yourself."

The Immortal Fairy circled around Lu Yang’s corpse, her tone as enthusiastic as if she were marketing an unsellable product: "Look at how perfectly matched your soul and your physical body are, they are simply a match made in heaven. Possessing your own body will yield absolutely no rejection whatsoever!"

Lu Yang: "..."

I concede that your words make sense, Fairy, but could you please speak no more of it.

Although Lu Yang had never systematically learned how to possess a body, as an unfortunate soul who was frequently possessed by the Immortal Fairy, he had managed to learn it after experiencing it a couple of times.

Circulating his profound cultivation technique, he merged with the physical body, successfully possessing himself.

With hands on her hips, the Immortal Fairy spoke proudly: "Hmph, now you know why this Immortal is so proficient at possessing you, do you not? It was all practiced back when this Immortal was developing the Art of Feigning Death!"

Lu Yang was not entirely certain what there was for the Fairy to be proud of.

"Is this how the Art of Feigning Death is executed?" the Eldest Senior Sister murmured softly, attempting to circulate the profound technique. As she sat upon the imperial throne, all signs of life completely vanished from her.

Right at that moment, a massive spatial portal opened, and Daoist Master Hanhai came rushing through in a frenzy, holding a Soul Lamp to investigate the situation.

"Has something happened to Yun Zhi?"

Upon his arrival, he saw Yun Zhi sitting upon the imperial throne, her vitality dissipated, with not a single shred of life detectable.

Seeing this, Daoist Master Hanhai actually breathed a sigh of relief: "So she is just feigning death."

Beside him, Lu Yang was bewildered: "Founder, you also know of the Art of Feigning Death?"

Daoist Master Hanhai was mystified: "What Art of Feigning Death?"

"Then why did you say she is feigning death?"

Daoist Master Hanhai rolled his eyes: "There is not a single external injury on her entire body, nor has she experienced any combat, and it does not look like her cultivation technique has gone awry. If she isn't feigning death, could she possibly have been killed by a lad like you?"