From Ruin to Reign Leander's Unbreakable Will novel Chapter 572

"Hm?"

He didn't stop pulling energy from the lake. His hand was still locked in place, spiritual energy still swirling as the water boiled beneath it. And in that rising turbulence, she appeared. A female figure. Just like that. Out of nowhere.

Leander froze. He had checked earlier. The water had been clean and clear. Nothing had been hiding down there. His senses were tuned like radar, and he hadn't picked up a single thing. All he'd sensed were fish.

But now, a woman with long hair was floating upward. Naked. Pale. Slow. He lowered his hand a little. The suction stopped.

Most of the energy from the spring of life had already been pulled out. Now his focus was fully on her.

This Oasis was part of the Westerian Divinity Vault. Hardly anyone in the world even knew it existed. He'd been the only one to step in. No one else had made it inside. So how the hell was there someone in the lake? And why was she sitting upright as she rose?

Leander stood at the edge and watched. Her hair shimmered in soft, icy blue. Her body was flawless, sculpted like it belonged in a gallery. Her skin gleamed under the sunlight.

Her eyes were closed. Her face looked almost unreal. Her hands rested on her knees as she hovered, still seated, just inches above the water.

Leander didn't move. He kept a thirty-yard distance, his face unreadable. He didn't care about her body.

What caught him off guard was the spiritual strength coming off her. It was huge. Her spiritual strength was on par with an Origin Realm.

But something didn't add up. The energy she was giving off didn't feel like it came from her. It felt forced. Like it was trying to slam its way into her mind and take over her spirit core from the inside.

Leander stared longer. His eyes narrowed.

"Is this a takeover?"

Everything made sense. The spirit he was sensing wasn't hers. It belonged to someone else. A soul that didn't belong to this body. One that had died already and was now trying to steal her body for itself.

When spiritual strength practitioners got strong enough, they could hold onto their consciousness even after their bodies died. Some turned into pure energy. Others stuck around, wandering.

Just like the so-called spirits in old Eastsun folklore. The kind people feared and worshipped.

Leander didn't expect to find one in a place like this. Especially not one powerful enough to force a possession. But that was exactly what was happening. The spirit was attacking her spirit core. It was trying to break through.

If it succeeded, everything she was—her mind, her memories, her soul—would disappear. She'd be wiped clean as time passed. The spirit would take the reins, fully possess her body, and come back to life using her form. That was the ancient process called takeover.

Leander had read about it in old records. He didn't find it surprising. It wasn't common, but it wasn't unheard of either.

Still, for something like this to show up in the middle of a desert? He kept staring. This woman came all the way here just to get taken over by a wandering spirit.

Her original spirit was slipping. The invader was closing in. One more hit, and it would be over.

Leander didn't lift a finger. She was a stranger. Not his problem. The world had its own way of balancing things. He wasn't about to interfere.

If she hadn't tried to get into the Divinity Vault, she wouldn't have caught the spirit's attention.

That was her mistake. Not his burden.

So it worked, Leander thought.

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