Chapter 767: 767. New Member
"You want to kill me?" Tyler asked as he looked at Jin with a strange expression.
Jin was startled and hurriedly waved both hands. "No, no, no! Junior Brother, you’ve misunderstood completely. Why would I kill such a good customer? What I’m talking about is Sleeving."
"Sleeving?"
Jin nodded enthusiastically and dragged over another chair. "It’s a soul cultivation technique. Simply put, it allows your soul to directly control another body. Think of it as controlling a clone. Your real body stays safe while your consciousness enters the corpse. Whenever you want, you can return to your original body."
Tyler immediately became interested.
"So... body snatching?"
"Not exactly." Jin shook his head. "Body snatching means abandoning your own body forever. Sleeving is different. You keep your original body and simply borrow another one. The higher the synchronization between your soul and the corpse, the better you can control it. That’s why people usually choose corpses with similar physiques, bloodlines, or even twins. The better the compatibility, the faster the synchronization."
Tyler glanced toward the coffin where the female corpse rested.
"So earlier..."
"That was me."
"You were controlling her?"
Jin proudly nodded.
"Exactly. My real body has been sitting here the entire time."
Tyler rubbed his chin.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
He had seen similar techniques before, but they were much rougher than this one.
"But I’ve only just entered the Qi Refining Realm."
"That’s precisely why I’m recommending it now." Jin smiled. "Sleeving techniques are easiest to cultivate during the early stages. Besides, you’re cultivating Yin Wood techniques, aren’t you? They complement each other quite well."
Tyler didn’t immediately answer.
Instead, he looked at Jin for several moments before asking the question that mattered most.
"You’re giving me this technique for free?"
"Of course."
"No conditions?"
"There are conditions."
Tyler finally smiled.
That sounded much more reasonable.
Jin leaned back and crossed his arms.
"The technique itself isn’t worth much. What makes it valuable is the corpse."
He pointed toward the coffins lining the cave.
"When you reach the late stages of Qi Refining, you’ll naturally want a better body. One with higher compatibility. Better physique. Better potential. That’s where I come in."
"You’ll sell me one?"
"I’ll help you find the best one."
Only then did Tyler understand.
So this fellow wasn’t selling cultivation techniques.
He was selling corpses.
The technique was simply bait to attract long-term customers.
"What made you choose me?"
Jin scratched his head and laughed.
"I’ve been observing you these past few days."
Tyler narrowed his eyes.
"You spend contribution points like water. You eat spirit food almost every day. You keep buying strange materials from the market, and you’re always carrying goods around to sell. No matter how I look at it, you’re someone with deep pockets."
Tyler couldn’t help laughing.
"So that’s your reason."
Jin nodded honestly.
"I never do business with poor people."
Tyler accepted the jade slip containing the cultivation technique and stood up.
"Thanks."
"No problem."
"If it works well, I’ll buy from you in the future."
Jin’s smile immediately widened.
"I’ll be waiting."
After chatting for a little longer, Tyler returned to his own cave.
...
The following morning, Tyler had just finished reading a formation manual when loud footsteps echoed outside.
"Boss!"
"Boss Tyler!"
Before Tyler could answer, the cave door opened and Lee and Louch dragged a young woman inside.
She looked to be around twenty-five years old. Her hair was messy, her robes were covered with pill stains, and she wore an expression that suggested she had already given up resisting. Following behind her was a skeleton carrying a small medicine furnace on its shoulder.
The woman looked at Tyler the moment she entered and pointed at herself with a serious expression. "You can have my body." Then she pointed at the skeleton behind her. "Or you can have that body." She suddenly placed a hand over her chest and declared solemnly, "But not my heart."
The skeleton immediately reached into its own ribcage, dug out a pale bone heart, and respectfully offered it to Tyler.
The woman’s face turned black.
"You idiot! I wasn’t talking about your heart!"
The skeleton stared blankly at her for a moment before stuffing the bone heart back into its chest as if nothing had happened.
Tyler silently watched the entire exchange before turning toward Lee and Louch. "...Would either of you like to explain what exactly happened?"
Lee scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed laugh. "Boss... this really isn’t our fault."
"It really isn’t," Louch agreed with a nod. "We just did what you told us."
Tyler folded his arms. "Start from the beginning."
Earlier that morning, the two of them had gone to the Pill Hall looking for someone capable of refining Qi Refining pills. After asking around, they finally found a tenth-layer Qi Refining disciple who was considered one of the better pill apprentices among the outer disciples.
The moment they explained why they had come, the disciple looked at them as though they were fools.
"A Formation Hall project?"
"Yes."
"Started by a newcomer?"
"Yes."
"Our boss said he’ll pay well," Louch quickly added. "There’ll even be a share of the future profits."
The pill apprentice laughed outright.
"What cultivation is your boss?"
"First-layer Qi Refining."
The smile disappeared from his face.
"Get out."
Lee cupped his fists and tried once more. "Senior Brother, at least hear us—"
"I don’t have time to waste on greenhorns."
Just as the two were about to leave empty-handed, the pill apprentice suddenly called after them.
"Wait."
He pointed lazily toward one corner of the hall where a young woman was sorting herbs while a skeleton beside her carefully ground medicinal powder.
"If all you need is someone who can refine pills, take her."
The woman looked up in confusion.
"...Me?"
"Exactly." The pill apprentice sneered. "Take her away. She’ll only get in my way here."
"Ehhh?"
Before she could react, Lee and Louch had already dragged her out of the Pill Hall.
"...And that’s everything," Lee finished proudly.
Tyler looked at the woman, then at Lee and Louch before rubbing his forehead.
"So... you kidnapped her."
"We invited her," Louch corrected seriously.
"I never agreed," the woman snapped through gritted teeth.
Tyler didn’t bother arguing. He simply took out two low-grade spirit stones and tossed them over.
She caught them instinctively.
The moment she felt the rich spiritual qi inside, her eyes widened.
She weighed the stones in her palm several times before looking back at Tyler. The anger on her face disappeared without a trace.
She immediately cupped her fists.
"Boss."
Tyler blinked.
Her tone had become respectful enough to rival an obedient disciple.
"What do you need? Pills? Poison? Elixirs?" She paused for a moment before asking seriously, "Or... do you still want my body?"
