Although Han Shuo couldn’t move, perhaps due to the effect of the purple protective barrier, he was actually able to hear a few snippets of conversation from afar. However, after hearing “Amitabha, Boundless Heavenly Honored One” twice, he couldn’t make out the rest. Still, he understood in his heart that at least a monk and a Taoist had arrived, because that’s always how monks and Taoists start their conversations on TV.

Judging by what Logan Bennett had just said, whether he won or lost in the end, Ryan Carter was doomed.

Ryan Carter was born in YZ City. After graduating from vocational high school, he managed to get into a second-rate university. After graduating from college, instead of looking for a job like everyone else, he messed around online, tinkering with small websites and running little online shops, but never made any real money. He was a complete homebody, and a useless one at that—lost, with no prospects.

After spending so much time online, Ryan Carter’s mind was filled with wicked thoughts. But since he stayed at home all day, and with today’s society being so law-abiding, plus the fact that Ryan Carter’s parents weren’t billionaires or powerful officials, he had enough self-awareness never to act on those evil ideas.

In his twenties and still a failure, his parents arranged a blind date for him. The girl thought he was shifty and had no proper job—so that was a bust.

Recently, under pressure from his parents, he was reluctantly preparing to send out résumés and look for a proper job. Who knew that before he could even turn over a new leaf, he’d run into this mess.

Thinking that his life was about to end, Ryan Carter’s mind grew sluggish. For the first time, he felt that he’d truly wasted his life—not only had he accomplished nothing, he’d never done anything to be proud of, and as for women—he hadn’t even been with one.

“Sigh, I really am unlucky. I was ready to start over, so why can’t I get that chance? If I survive this, I’ll definitely act on every wicked thought in my head, never let anyone look down on me again, never have a thief’s heart without a thief’s courage, never again…”

Now, the only thing he could move was his mind. Other than letting his thoughts run wild, Ryan Carter really had nothing else to do. The more he thought, the more regretful and furious he became…

Suddenly, a thunderous, earth-shattering noise came from afar. Amid the booming explosions, Logan Bennett’s maniacal laughter could be heard.

But after a while, Owen Bennett suddenly shouted, “Despicable!” Then came another round of deafening explosions. The massive commotion made the ground where Ryan Carter was tremble nonstop, as if mountains were collapsing and the earth was splitting. Immediately after, a loud voice rang out: “Logan Bennett, you’re dead this time!”

“Huh, that’s a demonic consciousness escape! He’s planning to use a demon-seeding technique—there must be a demon seed hidden nearby!”

“Amitabha, for the sake of all living beings, even if this old monk dies, I cannot let him succeed in seeding the demon. Amitabha, Great Nirvana Mantra!”

“Monk, don’t—!”

Another violent rumble sounded, and then a black light shot rapidly toward Ryan Carter, as swift as a meteor or lightning. Within the black light, something vague could be seen, twisting and writhing like liquid.

“Mercy, mercy! Master Yuan Kong sacrificed himself to stop the demon-seeding technique. Now we can finally rest easy. From now on, Logan Bennett will never again threaten the hidden cultivation world!”

Ryan Carter only heard the last voice, and then the black light surged into the purple barrier. It felt as if something foreign entered his mind, followed by a thunderous explosion. Ryan Carter was in excruciating pain, as if his internal organs had all burst, and he immediately lost consciousness.

……

Chapter One: Crawling Out of the Grave

No one knows how much time passed before Ryan Carter opened his sore eyes, feeling pain all over his body, and an even worse pain in his head, like a severe migraine. His mind seemed stuffed with all sorts of chaotic things.

Looking around, he saw only darkness. Piles of eerie white bones were scattered everywhere, and in the distance were some black, strange substances emitting a stench so foul that just one whiff made him want to vomit.

“Sigh, I really am dead. This must be the underworld!”

Ryan Carter was utterly disheartened, thinking, “I died so young—what bad luck. My last life was a waste. I’d better hurry up and reincarnate, and hope my next life isn’t like the last.”

As Ryan Carter was thinking this, his head suddenly throbbed with pain. After clutching his head and crying out for a while, he felt as if he suddenly knew a lot of things.

“Brian… Brian… Who is Brian?”

Half an hour later…

Ryan Carter was dumbfounded. He thought, “How could something as bizarre as soul possession from TV dramas happen to me? And I’ve actually possessed a foreigner’s body! Did that crazy Logan Bennett mess up his demon-seeding technique?”

By now, Ryan Carter’s eyes had gradually adjusted to the darkness. He moved his limbs and brought his right arm up to his eyes. The black mole on his wrist was gone, replaced by hideous scars, twisting along his arm like earthworms. Just one look made Ryan Carter shudder.

This body wasn’t his. Ryan Carter was stunned, then realized he really had possessed a corpse…