A New Companion

-FROZEN LAKE SECT'S DUNGEON-

I managed to complete the illusion array with 3 tier 2 runes and 1 tier 1 rune. I kinda lost focus at the last part as my soul power is getting weaker. It's a good thing as well that even with poor strokes, my soul power could guide my drawing technique that it lead me to make it perfect. I have to rest to use it again.

"Even so, you did great. Tier 2 runes use a lot of soul power, for someone who used soul power for the first time, this is really something. But next is to activate the array. To activate the array, you have to infuse your energy on the runes. Runes' effectiveness depends on the strokes. Once the strokes started to fade, that's the time it loses its effects so you have to redraw it. Runes like formation arrays have a longer duration. Since this is just an illusion array, it would last longer than any defensive array. You can also deactivate the illusion at your own will." That was really tiring though...

Now, if I'm not wrong, its effect is it lets the owner choose what other people would see when they set eyes upon the illusion. Right now, I would let them think that I am currently sleeping or whatever.

One by one, I infused energy towards the runes and they started to lit up and it finally worked. To me, the edges of the cell look blurry which probably indicates that the array is working.

I need to rest soon. You should rest too, master. I know you exhausted yourself while transferring your technique a while ago.

"We still got one more thing to do. Now, pull out one of the coffins from the storage ring." Right! The corpse.

There are 4 coffins but... dude, can I take a peek inside? If I gotta choose one, I'll make sure it's pleasant to look at.

"Just open those coffins dimwit. Those are preservation coffins, it lets the corpse stay fresh." Fresh huh... I hope they don't look- wait... this girl, she kinda looks cute...

"Yeah, she is but that girl is lunatic. She sacrificed herself just to wound me. Basically, she's the reason why I died. Before she died, her cultivation is at early Earth Realm while I was at peak Earth Realm." Damn... Earth Realm... I feel so useless right now.

"You'll get there someday. So? Will she be your soul puppet?" I have decided. So, the use of the illusion array is to trick people that she is me. Is that right?

"Yes. After that, you can just leave this place without making a scene, just enter the storage ring yourself and let your soul puppet throw the ring outside the small cell window near the ceiling and come out of the ring again and boom... freedom." It's that easy?! Damn... but what if people would recognize me?!

"Then freaking create a tier 2 illusion rune again and draw it on your body. With that, no one will ever know that it's you even from someone who's at Void Realm. Oh, right. I also have some treasures related to hiding your appearance and energy realm. That might come in handy." Is it just me or you're used to this? I feel like you did something horrible before...

"We can talk about how bad I am all day but we have more important things to do than that. Get your soul fragment ready but first, I'll put life to this corpse. Let me borrow your body for a bit." Got it, master.

My hands suddenly moved on its own and... *SLAP* Ouch! That hurt! Why did you slap my face?!

"Well, I was just testing if it works." It works real good and would you stop pretending like this is your first time possessing my body, you asshole!

"Gahaha! Well, that's what you get for using me too much. Anyway, I'll get into it now." He put my hands on top of the girl and somehow, energy is flowing through her body. Master is giving up a portion of his cultivation to bring this girl to life.

...

Long hours have passed and he's still doing it. How long is he going to transfer energy? This would greatly weaken him.

Wait... what is happening? Master, is it normal for the corpse to open its eyes? Eck?! Master?!

"Who are you?! Where the hell am I?!" Shit?! She woke up and suddenly choke me with her right hand and then pull me up like a helpless animal! I thought this corpse should be an empty vessel or something?!

"Damn it! The girl somehow managed to leave a fragment of her soul before she died! Her will to live is stronger than I thought! Hurry! Use your soul to enter her soul realm!" Damn it! Here goes nothing! I closed my eyes and focused my mind. Before I lost consciousness, both of us collapsed!

...

I opened my eyes and from the looks of this place... this should be her soul realm. It's an empty dark place with...

"Who the hell are you?!" Shit! That scared me! I found a soul just like when I met master but this one is a little bit different. It's too small without a body, just like a little bean... This means her soul is way weaker than my master.

"Wow! How come my I have a full body and you don't?" Did I say that loud?

"You jerk! You entered my soul realm!" Uhhh...

"You were about to snap my neck in two! What am I supposed to do then?!" Things got complicated...

"Now now, let's not get into trouble. We're all in the same boat here." Master? You can enter here too?

"You?! Hundun, you devil! I will kill you for what you've done to our Sect Leader!" What the hell did you do, master?

"Jeez... Bei Shang, for the millionth time! I didn't kill our sect leader! You've been hunting me without any proof just because I found our sect leader dead." I shouldn't meddle with this issue...

"No one's capable of defeating our sect leader but you!" I guess, my master is pretty strong.

"Can you hear yourself right now? You're accusing me based on that? You were just looking for someone to blame even if you know it's not the right way. Oh, and by the way, both of us are already dead, thanks to you." Well, my master got a point.

"You fucking deserved it! Even before our sect master's death, you already hated him for how he handles our sect. You have the most motives to kill him! Even with death, I'll hunt you down!" I seriously need to get away with their fight right now. This really doesn't concern me.

"You know I can crush you right now with my fingers. Since it comes to this, Hmmmm... My disciple, you can devour her now." Uhhh... is that really necessary?

"Wait! Wait! Uhhh... You know, I just woke up and memories of my past filled my head... Maybe I was just overreacting or something... Maybe we can talk about this?" It looks like she wants to live after all.

"Now you want to talk? Come on now, devour her, my loyal disciple!"

"No no no! Wait!" Uhhh... Do I really have to? Maybe there's another way, master?

Looking at Bei, *Sighs* "Well, since you were blinded by your own vengeance, I can't blame you for killing me since you also killed yourself." Then master looked at me.

"I'm definitely jealous that she gets to live again earlier than me. She killed me, you know-"

"You killed me first!" Now now, that's not a good way to make someone stop from killing you.

"You ambushed me and even killed my wif... my soul puppet! Anyway, I'll give you two options, my disciple. Your first option is to devour her soul and use the body as your own to make a soul puppet. The second one is to leave a fragment of your soul, the same as making a soul puppet, within her soul realm. This soul fragment will devour her soul even for the slightest betrayal. This also means that she will have full control over the body and can exceed your cultivation level but her soul won't be able to train as well and even if she does, it would only benefit your soul fragment. Also, when she dies, it would only affect her soul while yours would come back to your body. One catch though, you shouldn't get too far from her or else, the link between Hei An's soul fragments would collapse." The latter seems the most viable one.

"My name is Liu Hei An. If I choose to let you live. Will you become my servant and never to betray me?" This sounded worse than I imagined...

"Over my dead- Uhh..." Then it dawned on her that she will definitely die right now if she chooses the wrong words.

"Your humble servant will obey." There you go.

"Gahahaha! Since I am your master's master, then I am also your master!" I don't think that now is the time to be a jerk, master.

"What is that? Are you about to cry now?"

...

After my master made fun of her, I left a fragment of my soul and it felt like I'm connected with her. The good thing about this is I don't have to worry about losing the fragment of my soul if she dies and it would be better if I have a companion that has her own mind.

So, we're back in the real world and seeing the place she's currently at, "It seems, my young master is in a pickle." You don't have to remind me that.

"Well, to cut it short, I killed a bunch of bullies and now they're about to execute me in public after half a year." Since my master's soul isn't within Bei Shang anymore, he won't be able to hear Bei Shang if talk with our soul fragments so instead, it's better if we talk in person.

"This cell, having an illusion array, I could tell that you're planning on leaving this place while leaving me here. I guess it's your master's idea." She's quite sharp.

"Of course she's sharp, she was the leader of the group that tracked me down to my death. She's a valuable ally since she doesn't' have a choice but to obey you now." And vice versa, Bei won't be able to hear master as well.

"That's right and since I made a lot of effort today, I would better rest in my storage ring." I haven't explored the storage ring myself so it's a good idea that I can get inside now.

"No problem, little master."

...

-HEI AN'S STORAGE RING-

I was teleported to a mansion. Since using my mind to pull items out, I haven't really explored this place. The interior of the mansion isn't big but there are rooms dedicated for their purposes. There's an alchemy room, blacksmith room, runemaster room, few rooms with bedrooms inside, a weird room filled with coffins, a treasury, a training room, and... is that a cultivation room? There are quite a lot of energy cores and energy crystals lying around on the floor.

"Yes, I use that room to cultivate when I have enough energy cores and energy crystals, this type of cultivation is quite costly though. Using natural energy outside the world is always better but I only do secluded cultivation when I have to avoid being in public." That would benefit me greatly.

"If you need currency to buy more energy cores and crystals, you can visit the auction and sell some of the materials I've gathered all my life. They won't be of any use to you anyway since all the important materials were used by me while trying to stay alive, as you can see, it didn't help much." Really?! This is awesome!

"There are also spirit grade treasures in the treasury but before we do that, we might need to rest as it was the plan from the very beginning." Right...

Time to take a nap.