Darkness had never been so scary. It was like howling shadows looming over in all directions surrounding her—like a blanket of ominous fear. The more time passed, the more awful and dangerous it felt.
'I would soon probably vanish and mix into the darkness...' Liyue thought restlessly.
She had already ended her Breakthrough Dream, but why was it still going on?
Why was it that she felt as if everything was just wrong?
She tried to move in the darkness, but she didn't know where to go.
There was nowhere to go!
She felt more uncomfortable by the passing second. She was in this darkness, but due to some weird reason, she could still sense her own body. She could feel the familiar hands of Han Li behind her thighs and back, carrying her in a princess carry.
Her mind was going crazy with fear!
Suddenly, she heard Han Li speak from outside the darkness.
"You were the only one among all of you who always complained I don't love you enough. Here. Proof for you that I indeed do love you. Let me tell you, this bastard monk with the feather..." It faded.
She felt her panic rising, and she could now feel her body more vividly. It was moving, it was glaring. After a while of speaking with the monk and with a remark, Han Li left the Temple Steps and walked up. On the way, he flirted with her like usual.
"Liyue, how do you feel after Evolving? Think you can take more of me at night?"
"Tsk, Tsk, Big Brother, you only think of that!" 'Liyue' retorted playfully, hugging his neck and looking into his eyes. He was obviously dazed at her—she hadn't grown more beautiful, but the aura around her, the sense of confidence, was startling.
She felt like an Empress.
From the darkness, she echoed in pain, "Big Brother, that's not me!"
They arrived in a room, 'Liyue' asked, "What are you going to do? No celebrations for your dear Liyue Evolving successfully?"
Han Li kissed her lips.
"Of course, there are going to be celebrations. But before that, get comfortable with everything. Check your Empty Space and see your Dao Soul—you no longer have a Spark but an actual Dao Soul—You can even try using Magic Powers. I'll give you a neutral Dao Crystal if you want to try one."
"Ah, I don't want to do it now; that's too much of a waste, Big Brother..." Liyue kissed him back. "I'll accumulate my Dao Crystals myself, and I don't have any Magic Powers of the Starlight Dao..."
"Don't worry about that," Han Li smirked. "I know 3 of them, and the Starlight Family should have more Magic Powers of the Starlight Dao, too. I'll try bargaining with them using that Monk. He seems guilty that he tried to play the trick on me. He can be used."
'Liyue' furrowed her brows in anger. "Untrustworthy, obstinate assholes!" she said, hatred evident in her gaze. "They seem so high and mighty all the time, but they are all crooks. I hate them now... Big Brother, let's move out into the mountains."
"Yeah, someday. But now, you check yourself entirely, meditate, and see the difference."
Inside the darkness, she could feel the sensation of Han Li lying on her lap and soothing her into meditation using one of his Magic Powers. Everything except sight was so vivid, but she was not the one controlling her own body.
With a painful gaze, she tried to look at herself. Was she the Dao Soul now?
No. She wasn't a naive, unlearned woman.
She was Han Li's proud student.
Dao Souls were not like this.
Her hands were transparent. Her existence itself was transparent here.
Existence.
Inside her Empty Space, a Starlight Minor Dao Soul stood mightily. A golden white apparition. It passively collected the energy in the surroundings and turned them into Dao Crystals. She would pay the Crystals to the Heavens to use its Magic Powers.
"Starlight Dao... huh..." She thought. Then she looked around for the true Liyue's Existence. It should have been here—it would normally be incapable of leaving the Empty Space.
Where had Liyue's Existence gone?
She could feel that it was still alive—if the host's Existence died before the complete Takeover and getting possessed by her, she would be forcefully pushed out of the body.
It wouldn't be a bad thing in other Worlds but in the Seven Continents, the Heavens always tried to Devour the consciousness if it came out of the body.
Just like how it did while in the process of Evolving. She would have to quickly possess another body if that were so, and her Existence has weakened far too much for that to be possible anymore.
Then where was Liyue's Existence?
She had seen it earlier and suppressed it with fear using her Heart Qi.
"Pest," she muttered and furrowed her transparent eyebrows—she herself was an Existence now. She waved her hands.
Shards of mirrors appeared around her, and each shard showed a different image. Outside the body, Han Li was sleeping on her lap, occasionally fondling her butt or just hugging her waist in relaxation.
She looked at it impassively before turning to another sight; it was in a more distant place. A white-haired woman was playing there along with Yue Li, Hua Feilan, and Li Yao.
They were using a ball made of threads to throw at each other and talking about Liyue.
She frowned—she had first planned to possess that white-haired girl, but the girl's Existence had been crazily strong; it was almost as if she was looking at a Beast Emperor rather than a young, uncultivated girl.
Then Yue Li... that woman was the most worrying.
A golden shadow loomed over her existence; it was heart-rending, peaceful yet corroding—it almost felt as if she was standing before something beyond Sacred when she looked at the woman's existence. She shouldn't loo—
Yue Li gazed back at her with a frown.
Her nonexistent heart skipped a beat before she cut the mirror, reflecting them down.
Hua Feilan was a true Evolved, and it was impossible for Evolved to be possessed by a weak Existence like her own, and Li Yao was worthless since she didn't even have a Spark. Liyue had been the best choice among the mix to possess.
She would be the most vulnerable while having her Breakthrough Dream, too.
Success had been easy.
What was it now? Where was her Existence then?
Without devouring the true Liyue's Existence, she couldn't even use the Starlight Dao Soul!
Han Li would grow... wary.
"Oh, young girl, wherever you hide, it is no use!" She said eerily. "Just think of it, I may not be able to kill Han Li, but I'll gently move toward your mother, Li Yao, and then a knife in the heart. Ahh... just think of it: how betrayed would she feel as life left her?
"Then I will move to Ruo and kill her, too. The tender thing would surely scream and believe me or not, your Big Brother Han would be nothing more than a lifeless living after that—he cares far more about her than the likes of you!"
Nobody answered her, but she only smirked.
"I will then move and kill your dear Mother Yue too..." She giggled. "Or I will concoct a poison and put it into all of your loved ones' food. Nobody would be wary of you, the loving, gentle Liyue, after all."
Nobody answered her. Her smirk grew.
"Come out, Little Liyue! Come!"