I, the transmigrated villain, please wait, gentle master.

Chapter 138 Mental Power and Mental Control

Having made up his mind, Li Tingyun pulled the zombie out of the ground, woke him up with a hammer, and said, "Lead the way back to the market."

[Host, if you're going to find Mei Shiyu, why are you going back to the border market?]

[Don't you also think he's most likely going to retrieve Yuan Che's body? Then why don't you just go find him in hell... Remember to complete the system task!]

Returning to the border market would be a waste of time, wouldn't it?

Mei Shiyu was at the border market at that time.

【Huh? How did you know?】

"Explaining to an idiot like you is a real waste of time."

【…】

"From now on, whatever I say goes. No explanations will be given. If you don't understand, then just keep it to yourself."

Li Tingyun's words left Wang Laoliu feeling depressed.

I'm feeling down, but I don't dare to protest.

Mao Jiang finally crawled out of the soil, stood on the ground swaying, shook his head vigorously, and said to Li Tingyun, "The market? What market? I don't know the way, I don't know where it is."

Li Tingyun smacked him on the head with a hammer. "Playing dumb with me? You said before that you escaped from the border market. What, you've already forgotten that?"

Li Tingyun was certain that Mao Jiang knew the way back.

He had previously used "memory rewind" to forcibly extract all of Mao Jiang's memories of Mei Shiyu. He discovered that this zombie had interacted with Mei Shiyu not only at the Rebirth Inn...

After that, in the border market, a group of cultivators of unknown identity, disguised and infiltrating the territory, happened to target the transformed zombie. Somehow they saw that there was a non-human body wrapped under the snow silk robe, and they chased the zombie all the way.

Fortunately, speed and endurance were Mao Jiang's strengths, and he managed to shake off the group of Taoist cultivators. Turning the corner, he saw a familiar figure—it was Mei Shiyu, who had saved his life and given him a second chance at life.

Mao Jiang was running too fast and couldn't stop. He caught a glimpse of the immortal's departing figure out of the corner of his eye. It was just a fleeting glance before he turned and ran away. Then he stopped abruptly and went back to look for the person, but couldn't find him.

However, he did see several ghostly hands emerge from underground, grabbing a living person and dragging him underground.

Mao Jiang looked closely and realized that this person's clothes and appearance were exactly the same as those of the group of cultivators who had tried to capture him before!

Seeing his bad luck, Mao Jiang slipped away.

Once again, I brushed past Mei Shiyu, who had come upon hearing my voice.

These scenes were all gleaned from Mao Jiang's memories by Li Tingyun, and were witnessed firsthand from a first-person perspective, as if he had personally experienced them.

These all happened before Mao Jiang left the border market.

It's very warm.

Therefore, it can be inferred that Mei Shiyu is very likely still in the market at this moment, and has already discovered that something is wrong with those ghost hands... He may have already dragged the "Tai Sui" out of the ground and destroyed it.

Li Tingyun made this guess.

He said to Mao Jiang, "I know what you're worried about. You're afraid I'll go and cause trouble for that immortal, right?"

Mao looked at him warily, his face clearly saying: Isn't that right?!

"You're mistaken. You don't know, I'm friends with that immortal, we're very close. Why would I cause him trouble? I'm too busy being nice to him, let alone harming him."

Li Tingyun said with a smile.

The zombie shuddered. "I don't believe you... You don't look like a good person at all! Do you think I'm stupid and easy to fool?"

Li Tingyun gave a forced smile, "Then do you think it's easy to refuse someone as bad as me?"

Zombie: "..."

After a while.

Mao, seemingly powerless, led the way.

He was being mind-controlled.

You really are... willing to go to any lengths.

Wang Laoliu let out a sigh.

[Host, how could you possibly try to use "mental power" with a zombie?]

Spiritual power is another standard for judging the strength of a cultivator, in addition to cultivation level and realm. The level of spiritual power represents the strength of the soul.

The soul refers to the three souls and seven spirits, which is different from concepts such as spirituality and intelligence, and should not be confused with them.

For example, people often say that all things have spirits, which usually refers to the spirituality and intelligence of all things, rather than a soul.

Plants and animals have a spirit, but only humans possess a soul.

All other kinds of demons, spirits, and monsters that evolved from non-living things such as plants, animals, and even stones have a hurdle they must overcome in the process of cultivation: cultivating into human form.

The process of them cultivating into human form is not just about taking human shape; more importantly, it is about cultivating the complete three souls and seven spirits, which is the "soul".

The soul is the most important part of "life".

[A zombie doesn't even have a soul. Using mind control on him is just bullying an honest person.]

[Host, you're no different from that weirdo who snatched a candied hawthorn from a three-year-old.]

Ugh, what a wicked person!

Wang Laoliu has a sharp tongue; he can't feel satisfied without making a few sarcastic remarks.

"Shut up."

Li Tingyun spoke leisurely and calmly.

He was in a good mood at the thought of meeting Mei Shiyu soon, so he didn't hold a grudge against Wang Laoliu.

[Mental strength... Host, speaking of which, I suddenly remembered that this thing is quite important, especially for you right now!]

If, as you suspect, your current body is not your original form, but rather a physical body reconstructed from primordial chaos energy...

So, if you want to regain your original body and control it, you'll need to use "mental power."

Under normal circumstances, a being with complete and intact three souls and seven spirits possesses a certain level of spiritual power, and vice versa; the two are mutually necessary and sufficient conditions.

Only when both the soul and spirit are complete can one cultivate spiritual power.

Whether an individual's mental strength can be expanded into mental control, mental defense, or even mental attack against others depends on the level of their mental strength cultivation.

Those who cultivate themselves not only focus on improving their own cultivation and spiritual realm, but also generally cultivate their spiritual power.

Only when the soul's spiritual power is strong enough can it not be easily possessed or controlled by others.

For any living being, the soul is the most, most, most important thing! Now that your soul has been attached to a new body, this body is your true self.

Even if you find the original body, your soul can't return. You can only control it with your mental power, making it your clone.

[If your original body hasn't developed sentience, it's fine; you can easily control it with your mental power. But if it has already developed sentience... oh my god, that would be incredibly exciting.]

He most likely won't listen to you!

Li Tingyun said indifferently, "If they don't listen to me, then wipe them out. It's no big deal."

How could you be so cruel to yourself?!

Wang Laoliu sighed.

But actually... you didn't have to be so ruthless.

Even if your original self developed sentience and had their own thoughts, at most they would only be "enlightened." They couldn't possibly condense another soul. Controlling them with your mental power is still a viable method.

Wang Laoliu thought for a moment, then said, "Unless... he can kill you!"

If he could shatter all your souls and spirits, he could then rebuild his own soul after you vanish into nothingness.

From what I've observed, you're ruthless to others, but even more ruthless to yourself! You and your original self might actually fight over interests, and it could be a fight to the death...

My goodness, the scene is too beautiful to imagine.

Li Tingyun listened to Wang Laoliu's speculation.

Lost in thought.