Chi Cheng's mind was consumed by devastation. He couldn't align his thoughts to believe that the dark spirit had been inhabiting the void space of his mind without his knowledge.
Had he grown so weak that he couldn't even detect the presence of the dark spirit?
All those days of experiencing an ominous presence lingering on his shoulders, he never once thought to consider it was the devil's work at hand. Instead, he foolishly brushed it aside.
Now, it became clearer. The absence of the three Qi barriers protecting his Celestial Essence in his mind was penetrated through and destroyed by the dark spirit.
'I let my guard down…' Chi Cheng realised, reaching a quivering hand to claw at his chest. 'It must have inhabited me when I tried to fight it in the Frost Forest.'