Carefully placing the jade slip inside his robe, Master Zhong let out a long breath. A fierce confidence burst from his eyes.
With a gentle wave of his hand, a black shadow suddenly appeared before Master Zhong. It was as tall as he was. Slowly, the shadow began to reveal its form—but it was Master Zhong's elderly appearance from before he reached the Innate Stage. Then, with another gentle tremor, its appearance gradually grew younger, slowly becoming exactly the same as he looked now.
At forty years old, Master Zhong did not know why he had changed. He had originally looked to be in his forties or fifties, but after spending a night with Zixun Fairy, his face had grown much younger, making him look around forty.
Looking at the person before him whose appearance was identical to his own, Master Zhong also let out a long breath.
"Space Shadow? It's practically identical to me. There are two of me—I have two bodies." Master Zhong smiled.
This was the special ability Master Zhong had grasped by traversing space: one person controlling two bodies. Moreover, this Space Shadow body could transform into a shadow, pass through cracks as narrow as a door gap, and hide within another person's shadow. It was incredibly wondrous.
Of course, this was a special ability. Under the effects of light and shadow, Master Zhong and this Space Shadow could still project black shadows again. It was simply that this Space Shadow was more special—similar to the external incarnation from novels on Earth decades ago, or perhaps the legendary second Primordial Spirit, or even a peculiar magical treasure. Yet it was far more wondrous than any of those.
At this point, Master Zhong renamed his two bodies: his original body and his Shadow Body.
"That settles it. The Hidden Body will hold down Zhong Manor. Otherwise, if those old fellows from the Kaiyang Sect notice anything amiss, it will be troublesome. The Red Phoenix Heavenly Scripture can't be cultivated by the Hidden Body, so I'll find a cultivation method for it later. Still, as long as the original body doesn't die, the Hidden Body won't perish. The red bead will be kept by the Hidden Body, while the original body will head to the Kaiyang Sect." Master Zhong made arrangements for his two bodies.
The two bodies embraced one another. Then the original body stamped its foot against the ground, and another underground entrance appeared. After straightening his clothes, the original body tucked the jade slip into his robe and walked down. Once he had descended, the underground entrance closed again.
The Hidden Body continued sitting on the meditation cushion, cultivating and regulating its breath. Now that the original body had reached the Innate Stage, the Hidden Body was no longer shackled and would soon reach the Innate Stage as well.
The original body, Master Zhong, walked underground. There was another railway tunnel beneath the earth.
Even a crafty rabbit had three burrows, let alone Master Zhong. His secrets were not something those adopted sons could possibly grasp.
Riding the train, he spent ten days before arriving at another estate.
This was also one of Master Zhong's properties. The estate was likewise situated beside a vast mountain range, and the Kaiyang Sect was within those mountains. It was not that Master Zhong had been unwilling to build the railway farther into the mountains. It was simply that the mountains here were filled with countless hard ores. Even with a hundred years, they could only open tunnels through a few mountains.
After resting at the estate for two days and fully preparing everything he needed, Master Zhong gave his final instructions to the steward. Carrying a bundle on his back and gripping a great saber, he set off on foot toward the deep mountains.
Beyond this point lay endless mountains, rarely visited by humans. There were countless venomous insects and poisonous plants, miasma shrouded the land, and many fierce beasts lurked within. Even demonic creatures appeared there. Unless one had reached the Innate Stage, no one would dare enter alone.
The mountains here were true high mountains. Peaks several thousand meters tall were commonplace. In the distance, one mountain after another thrust into the clouds. Master Zhong had to cross these mountains one by one to reach the depths of the wilderness—the Kaiyang Sect.
After reaching the Innate Stage, his movements had become far more nimble. Crossing a high mountain was merely a matter of leaping continuously. Along the way, he encountered venomous insects and poisonous plants, but avoided them all.
However, the Kaiyang Sect was too far away. By nightfall, he could only find a place to rest.
At dusk, Master Zhong found a relatively clean valley. By "relatively clean," he meant that the undergrowth was sparse, there were few venomous insects or poisonous plants, no miasma, and no large wild beasts roaming about.
There was a hollow in the valley that happened to block the wind and rain. It could barely fit one person; anything more would not get inside. After clearing out the interior and scattering some specially prepared medicine outside, he sat cross-legged within it.
Start a fire? Master Zhong would never dare. Starting a fire was tantamount to placing himself in the most dangerous position. Most wild beasts on Earth feared fire, but did the wild beasts here—even demonic beasts—fear fire as well?
Master Zhong simply sat inside and waited for dawn.
He sat there until deep into the night.
"Awooooooooooooooooo!"
In the dead of night, an extremely high-pitched wolf howl pierced through the valley.
Master Zhong furrowed his brows, opened his eyes, and looked outside.
At that moment, a full moon hung in the sky, bathing the valley in an especially bright silver light. The wolf howl had come from the summit of this mountain. Master Zhong looked up.
A huge silver wolf stood there, three meters tall—a three-meter-tall great wolf.
The silver Great Wolf threw back its head and howled at the moon. As it howled, its entire body seemed to shine with an especially brilliant silver light. But it was not silver light—it was more moonlight pouring down upon its body. Was it absorbing the moon's essence?
A demonic beast?
Seeing this scene, Master Zhong's pupils constricted. He recognized at a glance that it was a demonic beast.
At this thought, Master Zhong's heart jolted. He hurriedly drew back and immediately activated the Turtle Breath Technique, hoping the Great Wolf would not see him.
Master Zhong knew that demonic beasts had leaped beyond the boundaries of ordinary wild beasts. Even the lowest-level demonic beast possessed the strength of a human at the Innate Stage. The Innate Stage? Master Zhong had only just advanced and was among the weakest of Innate cultivators. Moreover, he had no cultivation method suited to the Innate Stage, only the techniques he had used before. If he possessed Innate techniques, he might have been able to fight it, but now, it was obvious that he could only hide and hope the Great Wolf had not seen him.
Master Zhong held his breath with the Turtle Breath Technique. But did wolves rely only on breath? A wolf's nose was extraordinarily keen. After howling at the sky and absorbing the moon's essence, the Silver Wolf's allotted time passed, and it immediately fixed its gaze on the valley below. A cold glint showed in its eyes.
This was a place where the Silver Wolf often appeared. It naturally caught the scent of a living human at once. Moreover, at the entrance to the hollow where Master Zhong was hiding, the medicinal herbs he had scattered to ward off venomous insects gave off an unusual scent that instantly drew the Silver Wolf's attention.
With a leap, then several more, the Silver Wolf jumped into Master Zhong's valley and stared toward the hollow where he was hiding.
Feeling the Silver Wolf leap down and fix its gaze on him, Master Zhong knew he was finished. There was no escaping now. He had been discovered.
Master Zhong shrank backward in terror.
Yet in the Silver Wolf's eyes, this sight was utterly amusing. A human? It had not tasted human flesh in a long time.
Without the slightest warning, the Silver Wolf lunged at Master Zhong.
With no other choice, Master Zhong swiftly drew his great saber and raised it to block.
"Rumbleeeeeeeeeeeee!"
The Silver Wolf repeatedly clawed at Master Zhong in the hollow. Master Zhong had chosen the location well—the Silver Wolf's enormous body actually could not squeeze inside.
The Silver Wolf extended its sharp claws and forced its huge wolf head inward, as though it could bite Master Zhong at any moment.
The situation grew incomparably dire. The surrounding rocks shook without pause. Clearly, it would not be long before this section of stone was ground through and the Silver Wolf could bite him.
Master Zhong rapidly infused the great saber in his hand with true qi. Then he thrust it toward the Silver Wolf.
"Screeeeech!"
It only managed to tear a little skin.
"Awoooooo!"
The Silver Wolf cried out in pain. It swung a claw toward the great saber.
"Clanggggggg!"
Master Zhong felt his hand go numb. The great saber was knocked flying. I'm out of weapons?
The pain inflicted by the great saber made the Silver Wolf grow even more berserk. Its eyes turned blood-red as it forced itself into the hollow, sending countless bits of stone tumbling down. It seemed as though it could gnaw on Master Zhong at any moment.
Pressed against the stone wall, Master Zhong could already smell the rank stench from the Silver Wolf's mouth. Its jaws were right in front of him, and could bite him at any moment. Moreover, they were drawing closer and closer.
Death. The feeling of death. Master Zhong suddenly sensed death bearing down on him.
Judging from this demonic beast, if the rocks here shattered, he would certainly die on the spot. What should he do? What should he do? A dagger? He still had that dagger, the one he had traded from a cultivator. Perhaps it could work—but it was inside his robe. If he moved, the Silver Wolf might bite him.
The dagger wouldn't work. True qi? The Red Phoenix Heavenly Scripture?
I'll gamble on it.
He circulated the true qi in his hand and infused it with a thread of Red Phoenix Energy.
A vast amount of pink mist suddenly burst from his palm. Under Master Zhong's urging, the tiny hollow was instantly filled with Red Phoenix Mist—the Number One aphrodisiac under heaven.
The Silver Wolf continued charging inward. But after a while, it sensed that something was wrong, and its breathing grew rapid.
Its eyes had already been blood-red, but now they became even redder. Yet the red at this moment seemed to be an entirely different concept from the red before.
For a time, countless illusions of female wolves flickered through the Silver Wolf's mind. Endless desire surged forth in its heart. What was happening? It wanted to eat a human—so why did it suddenly want female wolves instead?
The Silver Wolf charged for a while longer, but finally could not endure it.
It could not endure it any longer. It could not endure it any longer. The Silver Wolf quickly turned and fled, its eyes burning red as it ran toward some unknown place in the deep mountains.
The crisis was over.
"Whew!"
Master Zhong let out a long breath, his eyes filled with shock.
He picked up the great saber the Silver Wolf had knocked away, slung the bundle over his back, and quickly left the area. This place was not fit to linger in. It was better to leave as fast as possible.
P.S. During the ranking rush, I humbly beg for recommendation votes—and follows as well.