Is he still salvageable?

The line of text on the green jade slip was the Great Yin Origin Nourishing Technique. Besides that, there was a line of small text, and then nothing else.

Xu Ying walked towards the green jade slip, intending to examine it closely, but was stopped by the old servant, Zhou Buyi.

"Young Master Xu, to decipher the green jade slip, you must first study the Tuo Yu Immortal Scripture. Otherwise, you won't be able to understand the content on the green jade slip."

Old servant Zhou Buyi said with a half-smile, "Those who can comprehend the green jade slip here are all elders of the Zhou family. Their cultivation is profound, and their knowledge is immense. They have been studying the Tuo Yu Immortal Scripture for decades, and only then can they barely understand a little of the content on the green jade slip. Young Master Xu has just arrived and wants to look at the green jade slip; isn't that overestimating yourself?"

Xu Ying smiled faintly, "Buyi, when did you become qualified to tell me what I should and shouldn't look at? If you had the ability, Zhou Qiyun would have asked you to decipher the immortal scripture. If you don't have the ability, please step aside and don't point fingers at capable people."

Old servant Zhou Buyi was both ashamed and angry, but he dared not act out. He had no choice but to retreat to the side, thinking to himself, A country bumpkin who doesn't know how to behave.

Xu Ying stepped forward. At this moment, the voice of the Great Bell came, saying, "A Ying, this thing is called a jade slip, a type of special jade bamboo. In extremely ancient times, Qi Refiners used this jade-like bamboo to record their insights, hence it is also called a jade slip dao book. However, jade bamboo is extremely rare and valuable, not something ordinary Qi Refiners can obtain. What is recorded inside may be much more precious than the Tuo Yu Immortal Scripture!"

Xu Ying was puzzled, "Jade bamboo? Can bamboo be made of jade? Can jade grow from the ground?"

The Great Bronze Bell replied with an air of "it's obvious," "Is it strange for jade to grow from the ground? Is it strange for wood to grow from the ground? Some creatures can even grow metal and iron inside their bodies, purer than what you refine!"

Xu Ying thought carefully and felt that jade growing from the earth seemed quite reasonable now.

He walked to the side of the jade slip dao book and looked up at the small characters.

There were a total of eight characters here, also in Bird Seal Insect Script, but the writing was different from the Bird Seal Insect Script he had seen before. The strokes seemed to hide many profound meanings.

As soon as he saw the first character clearly, he understood its meaning. However, at the same time as recognizing the character, he lost the ability to express its meaning in words.

He could not describe or depict the meaning of this character in any language he knew.

If forced to express it, he could barely use the word "Tai."

The moment he understood the character "Tai," strange sounds echoed in his ears, causing his body to involuntarily perform corresponding movements!

He stood still, one palm to the left, one palm to the right, bent his middle two fingers, and rotated his upper body backward, his waist twisting almost a full circle, making his bones crackle!

After completing this movement, Xu Ying felt the vital energy within him and the water of the Heavenly River surging along his spine, transforming into rain, cleansing the Realm of Serenity, and washing through his internal organs!

He saw the second character, which, if forced to be described in known languages, could be called "Yin."

The strange sounds in his ears changed drastically, as if someone were chanting mysterious scriptures, causing a rustling sound to emanate from his bone marrow.

Xu Ying's body moved involuntarily. He squatted down, one palm in front, one palm behind, his neck extending forward. He felt streams of cool air flowing through his bone marrow, and the sound of his bones rattling echoed throughout his body.

Finally, all his strength and energy gathered at the Black Iron Profound Pass at his tailbone, settling there!

He saw the third character, "Yuan." The sounds in his ears changed again, and Xu Ying followed suit, performing the third movement: one foot forward, one foot back, hands on the ground, tilting his head back as much as possible.

The water within his body rose to the heavens, and the fire rose to the land. Water and fire mingled, refining all the acupoints in his body!

Finally, water and fire converged near his dantian!

There were eight characters on the jade slip dao book. Xu Ying read them from beginning to end. With each character he saw, he heard a different Dao sound. After reading all eight characters, his internal organs, tailbone, dantian, spine, throat, under the tongue, tongue, and the space between his eyebrows – inside and out – each experienced wondrous changes!

Xu Ying felt as if he had been cleansed from the inside out, more comfortable and pleasant than Great Sun Body Tempering or Thunder Sound Body Tempering!

The eight Bird Seal Insect Script characters on the jade slip dao book had meanings that could be expressed by the eight words: Tai, Yin, Yuan, Yu, Yi, Yang, Yong, Zhen.

However, the profound mysteries within could only be comprehended by understanding the meaning of the characters and hearing the Dao sounds they transformed into.

Even stranger, the eight characters on the jade slip dao book vaguely corresponded to the eight realms of Qi Gathering, Knocking on the Gate, Mutual Refinement, Second Knock on the Gate, Chong Lou, Jade Pool, Divine Bridge, and Ascension!

After practicing once, Xu Ying felt that his physical body, soul, spiritual sense, vital energy, and bloodlines were all comfortable. Every thought in his mind was smooth and clear, no longer chaotic as before.

Even the Dao Manifestations within the Realm of Serenity had become much more stable!

"Could the Great Yin Origin Nourishing Technique just be these eight words?"

Xu Ying wondered, thinking to himself, "This cultivation technique is too simple!"

Compared to the eight words of the Great Yin Origin Nourishing Technique, the Tuo Yu Immortal Scripture was much more substantial.

The Tuo Yu Immortal Scripture was an interpretation of the Great Yin Origin Nourishing Technique by the ancient Qi Refiner Tuo Yu. It was divided into eight realms, each with lengthy annotations. It used many complex words for annotations, and to explain these complex words, even more complex words were needed for annotation!

However, in the final analysis, Tuo Yu's annotations and the annotations of her annotations were all her insights into these eight words, containing her understanding of the Dao, thus making them obscure and difficult to understand, baffling the proud talents of the Zhou family.

But in Xu Ying's view, the meaning Tuo Yu intended to convey did not exceed the eight words of the Great Yin Origin Nourishing Technique.

"Moreover, Senior Tuo Yu's understanding seems a bit off. She grasped the essence of words like Tai, Yin, Yuan, and Yu, but her comprehension of Yi, Yang, Yong, and Zhen is not sufficient."

Xu Ying thought to himself, "This might be why practicing the Tuo Yu Immortal Scripture turns one into a woman."

He stood before the thirteen Zhou family elders, who were diligently studying scriptures, and practiced the Great Yin Origin Nourishing Technique repeatedly. His movements were peculiar, attracting the attention of many geniuses from the Zhou family.

"Who is this person?" a Zhou family disciple with white hair asked old servant Zhou Buyi.

Zhou Buyi quickly bowed and smiled, "Young Master Youyou, this is a young genius from the countryside. Young Master Youyou, do you remember Xu Ying, who caused quite a stir some time ago?"

The white-haired young man, Zhou Youyou, asked in surprise, "You mean that criminal who practiced demonic arts? I heard many people died trying to capture him."

Zhou Buyi nodded and smiled, "He disdains the Tuo Yu Immortal Scripture and wants to decipher the jade slip."

Zhou Youyou shook his head, "Nonsense. Country folk truly lack vision, hyping up a swindler to the heavens."

Suddenly, a voice came from outside, "Which one is Xu Ying?"

The voice was loud, making everyone's eardrums buzz. Xu Ying turned to look outside and saw several young men and women rushing in.

The man in the lead, dressed in white and red, was in a hurry. As soon as he entered the hall, he shouted, "I heard the ancestor captured the criminal Xu Ying and brought him here to decipher the immortal scripture. Who is Xu Ying? Step forward quickly!"

Xu Ying stepped forward and said, "I am Xu Ying."

The man in white and red clothes sized him up and sneered, "Did you kill Second Brother Zhou and Uncle Zhou Yihang?"

The old servant, Zhou Buyi, stepped forward and coughed, "Young Master Fan, Young Master Xu was invited by the Old Ancestor to decipher the heavenly texts. Please don't cause trouble."

The man was Zhou Fan from the Zhou Family's inner mansion. He sneered, "Uncle Yi, do you know how many people he killed from my Zhou Family? The entire Lingling County City, the Nu Masters were wiped out! Second Brother Zhou Yang, Uncle Yihang, both died by his hand! Half of Yongzhou Prefecture's elites were injured or killed, how many people died because of him? Even Zhou Zheng is dead!"

Zhou Buyi said, "Young Master Fan, please forgive me. The Old Ancestor instructed me to look after Young Master Xu. I cannot let you kill Young Master Xu to vent your anger."

Zhou Fan laughed in anger, "I didn't say I was going to kill him, just teach him a lesson! Uncle Yi, you won't even allow me to do that?"

The old servant Zhou Buyi turned to look at Xu Ying and sighed, "Young Master Xu, you see, it's not that I'm not looking after you, but the public's anger is hard to quell. Just take the hit and let them vent. With me here, your life is safe, you'll just be injured at most."

A smile appeared on his wrinkled face, "Fortunately, my Zhou Family's healing is absolutely the best in the world. As long as you're not dead, we can save you."

Zhou Fan strode towards Xu Ying. Before he even got close, he raised his right hand and slapped fiercely towards Xu Ying's face, sternly saying, "I'm slapping you for Second Brother Yang, that's not too much, is it?"

Xu Ying shrugged and raised his hand. In an instant, his palm became engorged with blood, as large as a cattail fan. He unleashed a palm strike accompanied by thunder, arriving later but striking first, and ruthlessly slapped Zhou Fan across the face!

"Slap!"

The sound wave exploded, blood splattered, and Zhou Fan's head twisted more than halfway around from the blow.

At one moment, he saw his own backside. The next, his body spun violently, tumbling and rolling in the air before crashing against a pillar about four zhang away with a thud, then falling to the ground.

However, Zhou Fan was formidable. He leaped up, still full of energy.

The moment he leaped, he saw a sword light pointed at his brow, forcing him flat against the pillar.

In the great hall, a group of Zhou Family disciples stepped forward, each shouting, "Presumptuous!" "Bastard!" "Put the sword down quickly!"

Four zhang behind the sword light, Xu Ying stood there, saying calmly, "Whether it's too much or not depends on strength. In front of me, do you have the strength to be excessive?"

He scanned the surroundings, taking in the expressions of the Zhou Family members. His face was gentle as he said, "I never really understood before. Zhou Yang, the old master, was already the County Magistrate, the highest official in our area. He had everything he wanted, over a dozen beautiful wives, thousands of acres of fertile land, inexhaustible gold and silver treasures, and endless delicious food. He traveled in an eight-bearer sedan chair, and was welcomed home by beautiful and charming wives. We farmers and vegetable sellers had nothing. Many couldn't afford to get married and had no descendants. Many couldn't afford to build houses and slept in mud huts and thatched sheds. Our homes were so poor we barely had enough to eat from one meal to the next. Why was Master Zhou still so greedy, still extorting from us poor folk? Why did he extort our last remaining grain when we couldn't even afford to eat?"

He smiled, "Seeing you all, I finally understand. You were the ones he needed to feed. You lived in fine clothes and ate delicacies, with no worries about food or clothing. You went out on spirited horses, surrounded by countless servants fawning over you. It turns out that behind all this were County Magistrates like Zhou, supporting you all like gods!"

Yuan Qi slapped the ground with his tail and praised, "Great rats, great rats, don't eat my millet! That's what they say about you fat rats! A Ying, am I right?"

Xu Ying clapped his hands and praised, "The Old Niu Family truly lives up to its reputation as a scholarly family. That saying is quite insightful."

Yuan Qi laughed heartily, "You finally admit that my knowledge is better than yours!"

The Zhou Family members' faces turned ashen.

The old servant Zhou Buyi trembled all over with anger, pointing at Xu Ying and shouting, "Rumors, these are all rumors against my Zhou Family! If you dare to say this today, I don't dare to imagine what you'll do tomorrow!"

Yuan Qi was surprised, "You're a servant of the Zhou Family, yet you speak like one of their masters? Things we experienced firsthand become rumors in your mouth. Are you the heavens, speaking with absolute authority?"

The old servant Zhou Buyi's hands also started to tremble, and he angrily cursed, "You insignificant snake demon dare to spout nonsense! My Zhou Family carries out imperial decrees and disseminates imperial grace. If you dare to question the Zhou Family, you are questioning the Emperor, questioning the imperial decree! You are rebelling!"

Yuan Qi roared, "You're allowed to be local emperors, but I'm not allowed to rebel?"

Xu Ying coughed, interrupting them. He lightly tapped Zhou Fan's face with his sword light, making a "pa pa" sound, "I'll let you off this time, but there won't be a next. If you want to spar with me, you're always welcome. If you want to avenge Zhou Yang and his son, then we'll follow the rules of vengeance."

He dissipated the sword light, his gaze turning somewhat stern, "But you must remember clearly, the enmity between me and Zhou Yang and his son is a deep-seated hatred. If you want to avenge him, come with your lives!"

Zhou Fan stared at the sword tip. As soon as the sword light dispersed, he let out a series of explosive sounds from within his body. His right arm's muscles grew wildly. As he raised and lowered his arm, a fleshy wing, four to five zhang long, formed!

The muscles on the wing were as angular as rocks, filled with unimaginable explosive power!

As his arm swung, crimson-gold feathers emerged from the inside of the fleshy wing, growing rapidly and covering the entire wing in an instant!

Those golden feathers were incredibly sharp, as if meticulously crafted by the finest blacksmiths from the best steel, exquisite and detailed!

This was a Nu technique that had comprehended the Great Dao Manifestation!

Zhou Fan raised his arm and swung it down. His arm transformed into a fleshy wing of golden feathers, several zhang long. The transformation was completed in an instant!

The moment his arm fell, the fleshy wing of golden feathers, like a blade, descended upon Xu Ying's head. He roared, "To avenge Second Brother Yang, what can you do? This is the Zhou Family!"

On Xu Ying's shoulder, a brilliant sword energy met the tip of his crimson-gold feathered blade, cutting straight forward. It pierced through everything, tracing a dazzling sword light. In an instant, it sliced from the blade's tip to Zhou Fan's brow, and with a "Zheng" sound, it passed through his body and struck the pillar behind him.

The bronze pillar was carved with dragons and phoenixes, extremely ancient, emitting a greenish luster.

At this moment, a thin bloodline appeared on the pillar.

Xu Ying was somewhat surprised that his World Breaker sword strike had not damaged this bronze pillar at all, showing that Huaihua Palace was indeed a treasure trove.

"The Zhou Family's healing is the best in the world, can he still be saved?" Xu Ying asked the old servant Zhou Buyi, tilting his head.

In front of the bronze pillar, Zhou Fan had a bloodline on his brow. The previous World Breaker strike had split his brain, cleaving open his Ni Wan Secret Treasury.