Thread by @dodoscreamb

ideas about #JiangCheng post canon and the demonic cultivators who took advantage of it.
cw: possession, PTSD.

After the core reveal, JC felt disassociated from his body. If the core was not his, wouldn't that mean his body which was sustained by the core also not entirely his?

These thoughts were so invasive that they literally affected JC's cultivation: he was out of sync with his own body, losing control of his cultivation, etc.

However, since the problem was his mind (subconsciously rejecting the core etc) there was nothing the healers do to help.

Meanwhile, a group of demonic cultivators was planning something big.

They've been trying to resurrect YLLZ for years. They believed that his soul was trapped in Luanzang Gang, so they've been summoning him these last 13 years.

In the end, they managed to call forth an entity that claimed to be YLLZ. They realized soon that it wasn't the actual WWX because WWX was resurrected by MXY, but the entity promised them great power, so they went through with the plan and worshipped this entity instead.

However, this entity required a host. Since it was a powerful ancient being, the host needed to fill a couple of requirements to be successful:

1. It has to be a living host (it refused to possess a corpse)
2. It has to be a cultivator in prime condition,

because only a body with a strong golden core could withstand the possession.

Now, this was a tricky situation. Technically, the stronger the cultivator, the better host they would be. However, a strong cultivator had great control over their mind and body,

so possession was unlikely to happen. On the other hand, if they picked a moderate cultivator, the body would not be able to hold the entity for long, It would, uh, burst after one or two possession attempts.

However, a moderate host was better than no host, so the dcs had been

kidnapping cultivators left and right to make them hosts.

Wait, did I say cultivators? Sorry, I mean YOUNG cultivators. The dcs figured out that a youthful body made up for a moderate core, so the body of junior cultivators tended to last longer.

Now, you could imagine the chaos.

Kids were missing left and right. Jianghu issued a curfew which essentially banned the kids from night-hunting.

JC was anxious as fck, because JL was a kid, but he was also a sect leader who often couldn't help but leave home at night.

On top of that, JC's cultivation was getting messier. YMJ had lost three kids--three aspiring young cultivators who never came home from their hunt. JC was stressed, depressed, worried about his sect and nephew etc, which affected his cultivation even more.

It was so bad that eventually, the dc's spies figured out that JC didn't have maximum control over his body. They tested him a couple of times, and yes, they confirmed that JC's mind was slipping, and it was possible to take a hold of him. Hm, maybe the return of the real YLLZ

had messed him up.

Long story short, they managed to capture JC, and as predicted, the possession process went smoothly. In fact, the Entity got so cozy in JC's body, that it preferred him as its go-to host.

However, even the strongest host had their limit. The body got weaker after each possession, the mind deteriorated, and the soul chipped away. Eventually, even the body of Sandu Shengshou would burst into pieces, and his soul shattered.

We must hurry to save JC!

*excerpt* (dark!A-Ling)

The man on the floor was more a bloody pulp than a man. YMJ disciples had whipped and beat him, but just like the others, he remained tight-lipped.

His wild eyes flicked around the dim dungeon.

Looking for an escape route?

No, not likely.

Looking for /the thing/.

/The thing/ was not a merciful being. To keep its secret, it executed its own captured followers. They all learned it the hard way.

Jl crouched down next to him. "I am giving you the last chance," he said in low voice, "tell me where the altar is.

And I will let you go."

The man laughed a shrill, maniacal laugh. "Oh, Little Sect Leader Jin, you know that won't help me," he spat, "whether I tell you the secret or not, it won't matter. /He/ will get to me."

The last bit was whispered in fright as the man's eyes roamed the

room once more, as if afraid /the thing/ would hear him.

JL cocked his head. "No, that wouldn't happen. There's a chance it wouldn't find you."

The man's head snapped to him. "W-what did you say?"

JL's lips twitched. "Did you know how your higher ups keep /it/ from possessing

Sandu Shengshou as /it/ pleases? They created a special talisman. This talisman," JC flicked a paper out of his sleeve, "would hide Sandu Shengshou from /its/ sight. So that /it/ could only possess the body when your higher-ups need it. I suppose it would also be useful for you?"

"Give it to me!" The man lunged forward, trying to snatch the paper with his teeth. JL kept it from the man's reach and kicked his chest.

The man slid on the floor with a grunt.

"Tell me where the last altar is," JL demanded, his voice echoing in the cold chamber. "Then I will

give this to you. I promise."

The man's breath grew ragged. His eyes flicked around one last time, before he stuttered, "t-the last altar... the altar of the East. W-where the red crake nested, where the water married the earth--o-oh nononono!" He cowed, tears streaming down his

face. His eyes stared wildly at the ceiling. "/He's/ coming, /he's/ coming!"

YMJ disciples who kept guard looked around, but there was nothing in the room.

"/He's/ coming, /he's/ coming! Please, please, zongzhu, save me! Hide me, please, please!" The man was getting hysterical.

JL grabbed the man's face and forced him to look at him. "Finish the poem. Now!"

The man's body shook in fear, he could barely form sentences. "T-t-the water bleeds, the mothers weep. The bones of the children entangled, the hackberry bear the taste of loss! Zongzhu, please!

/It's/ here, /it's/ here! Activate the talisman now!"

JL rose to his feet & turned around, walking away. The man screamed.

"Zongzhu! I gave you the poem! The talisman! You promised!" The man had started to writhe as an invisible force started to crawl on him. "Please!"

JL looked back from the door. "There is no talisman," he said, voice dripping with ice. "I lied."

The man's scream echoed in the dungeon before it abruptly stopped with a wet, squelching sound.

.
.
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"We get the location of the last altar. The cemetery at the eastern border, by the Hongwang lake. It's where people bury the stillbirth children and planted hackleberry trees to protect the graves. Prepare yourself, we're leaving at dusk."

WWX stared at him.

JL scowled.

"What now?"

"A-Ling, you cheated that man."

For a second JL's face frowned in confusion, before he understood what WWX meant. He scoffed.

"Really? You're going to lecture me about ethical investigation, now?"

"That's not what I mean," WWX swallowed. He saw how JL manipulated

the man's fear. He saw how ruthless the boy had become. When that man was writhing in pain, there was no pity in JL's eyes.

There was nothing in his eyes, only coldness. It scared and saddened WWX.

"You would have done the same," JL accused. And he was right. WWX would have

done the same. But he never wanted shijie's A-Ling to go down that path.

"Jiang Cheng wouldn't want you to," WWX's voice was caught in his throat.

JL gave him a mirthless laugh. "What does it matter? He doesn't even remember me anymore."

.
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As usual, JL found JC at the Peony Pavilion. Healer Fu said the sun and the view would be good for him, so YMJ set up a small lounge and took him to sit there in the morning.

JC didn't even turn his head when JL approached. JL tried not be bothered by it.

"Hi, Jiujiu."

JC gazed listlessly to the bobbing lotus flower.

JL kneeled down next to him and took his thin, skeleton-like hand. The skin had started to regain its color, but it'd take a long while until JC got his muscles back, if ever.

Healer Fu said they were lucky he survived at all.

The multiple possessions had put too much strain on his body. Not even a golden core as strong as his would be able to flush out the poisonous resentment in his veins.

As for his mind, well. Healer Fu said the amnesia happened as a defensive mechanism against the trauma.

JL didn't want his jiujiu to forget him forever, but of it made JC forgetting the nightmares he endured during his time in the hands of the dcs...

JL swallowed. He didn't want to think about it right now.

Instead, he put his head on JC's lap. JC's hands fell limp to his sides,

so JL took one of them and put it on his head, pretending JC was patting him, just like he used to.

JL closed his eyes.

"I'll destroy them all, Jiujiu. It will be over soon. I promise," he sniffled, "you don't need to worry, okay? I'll take care of it. I'll take care of you."