The Outcome of the Struggle
"The sixth chapter of the Mental Strengthening Chapter is about a chance change in nature caused by the accumulation of quantity, which then provides the opportunity to enter the seventh chapter!"
Ren Anran and Ren Yisheng each have their own circumstances, but their primary intention in pushing their abilities to the limit was not to improve significantly. Their fundamental goal was to advance Chapter Seven of the Mental Strengthening Chapter and see if it could resolve the problems Zuo Luo had created in Zhang Xuezhou's mind.
After the explanation of 'luck', everyone felt that Zhang Xuezhou's current situation was relatively stable.
But the sooner the better.
The advancement of Chapter Six of the Mental Strengthening Chapter has brought the issue back into the public eye, and even Zhang Xuezhou, who is only good at learning but not at researching, has participated in the discussion.
However, his performance during the discussion was similar to Ren Wuyang's, with most of his remarks being ineffective.
Zhang Xuezhou spent two days discussing matters at the Jishi Medical Center in the Academy District, and then sheepishly returned to North Rehe.
Interestingly, during their leisure time, Zhang Xuezhou discussed a great deal about the Kunlun Sacred Land with Ren Anran, and he even possessed Ren Anran's paintings depicting the construction of the Western Kunlun Holy Land.
Compared to Cai Ma's simple and hasty map with just a few circles, Ren Anran almost drew a three-dimensional map for Zhang Xuezhou.
Ren Anran recounted to Zhang Xuezhou everything he had been to, including how he managed to get around.
Zhang Xuezhou murmured something to the map Ren Anran had drawn, finally putting aside his desire to explore and study it.
"If only I could integrate Zuo Luo's spiritual energy into my spiritual power system, a simple combination would increase my spiritual power by nearly half!"
Zhang Xuezhou murmured to himself.
But he also knew very well that this was wishful thinking.
Zuo Luo's power belongs to Zuo Luo, while Zhang Xuezhou's power belongs to Zhang Xuezhou. The two do not possess the same nature and are difficult to merge.
Even the injection of the Heavenly God General's potion and other substances relies on Zhang Xuezhou's main body, generating new power based on Zhang Xuezhou's body, rather than simply injecting a power into his body out of thin air.
He pondered and understood, but stopped studying it. Instead, he waited for Ren Anran and others to provide him with guidance on the spiritual chapters, striving to enter the seventh chapter and achieve a qualitative change in his spiritual realm.
This allows Zhang Xuezhou to counteract the negative effects of Zuo Luo's mental impact, so that even if Zuo Luo turns against him, it won't have a significant impact on him.
It's even highly likely that Zhang Xuezhou's greatly enhanced mental strength will allow him to reject the mental energy left behind by Zuo Luo.
"These bitter herbs really have no effect; they're only good for promoting the poison-avoidance technique!"
Zhang Xuezhou had spent a lot of time at the Jishi Medical Center these past few days, and he couldn't do much special things on the remaining day, not even the plan to steal the items from the Luo Yan Emperor's Mausoleum using the Tongtian Jade Ruler.
The unexpected turn of events involving Zuo Luo has disrupted many of his plans, making his life unpredictable.
This led Zhang Xuezhou to brew several kinds of bitter medicines to promote the Longevity Formula on the last day, which made his face turn blue.
As Zhang Manqian said, the bitter medicine contains poison, but it also nourishes the poison-avoidance technique, thus promoting certain aspects of cultivation.
Zhang Xuezhou felt that things had turned out unexpectedly well; the bitter medicine was very effective, but taking it was clearly not a pleasant experience.
The pills he refined were ultimately not up to standard, and all of them had some flaws.
Zhang Xuezhou took three doses of bitter medicine, and then felt nauseous, finding it difficult to swallow even a single mouthful of medicine.
He had been using medication to make others feel nauseous and vomit for years, but when it happened to him, Zhang Xuezhou didn't realize it was such a good side effect.
"Go back to rest and recuperate!"
With nothing going on, Zhang Xuezhou had no choice but to plan how to seek help from the Western Kunlun Holy Land.
Having severed ties with Ren Anran, Zhang Xuezhou felt that the Emperor was probably in a bad mood, and even if he returned to the Sacred Land, he wouldn't be very friendly.
He sealed himself inside the X432 device, using advanced medical technology to boost his thinking and begin to consider related matters.
Scenes and maps of the Western Kunlun Holy Land flashed through Zhang Xuezhou's mind, and he constantly compared and verified them with areas such as Wondrous Dharma Palace and Myriad Longevity Pavilion where he had previously lived, which made Zhang Xuezhou understand the Western Kunlun Holy Land more and more thoroughly.
He wasn't thinking about anything else right now; he just wanted to repair his brain, get his life back to normal, and then return to his old path of dealing with the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon, instead of getting entangled in all sorts of unexpected events.
Zhang Xuezhou kept calculating and deducing in his mind. In a daze, he felt that there was also a hazy figure sitting opposite him.
As if imprisoned in a cage, Zhang Xuezhou was deducing and calculating where his path lay, while the hazy figure seemed to be searching for a way out as well.
Through the blur, Zhang Xuezhou strained his eyes and saw that the other person was also looking at him.
It's as if they are separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, or as if there is only a shimmering stream in front of them, and they can touch each other by simply reaching out.
"As long as the void remains, my body will never perish!"
A hazy figure whispered, and Zhang Xuezhou's hair stood on end.
"It really was you! Can't you just stay away from me?!"
Zhang Xuezhou didn't shout, but his words were clearly articulated.
The power of the mind enabled communication that transcended barriers, and it also allowed Zhang Xuezhou to truly encounter the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon lurking in his mind for the first time.
"My body is immortal!"
The hazy figure raised its head, its eyes transforming into two unfathomable flames of hell.
Amidst the raging flames, a hazy figure repeatedly uttered the same words.
He stared at Zhang Xuezhou as if he wanted to engulf Zhang Xuezhou in flames.
"If you can't stay away from me, I won't obediently accept my fate. I will fight you to the death, and even if you get my body, you will only be a corpse," Zhang Xuezhou said fiercely.
"Immortal!"
The low murmurs, the indistinct voices, kept repeating their expression.
This kind of communication is clearly extremely ineffective.
Zhang Xuezhou angrily extended his right hand.
His body, inside the X432 device, remained completely still, but a right hand appeared out of thin air and reached out to grab the hazy figure.
"It's something Zuo Luo left in my brain, one of those chip-like chips!"
No matter how Zhang Xuezhou reached out, he even felt as if his right hand pierced through nothingness and grasped the figure, but he never actually grabbed the other person.
A sense of emptiness washed over Zhang Xuezhou, who suddenly recalled the chip fragments he had seen in the imperial tombs and in Pan'an, among the corpses of emperors.
Only now does he finally understand his own situation.
The appearance of this hazy figure was not without reason, and Zuo Luo's hasty departure from the B13 research institute also had other reasons.
After Zhang Xuezhou switched worlds, the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon did indeed fight Zuo Luo in his place, and it's even possible that Zuo Luo implanted a chip into the demon's body.
This sense of disorientation surprised Zhang Xuezhou and also reminded him of the fortune he had been accumulating in the Luo Yan Emperor's Mausoleum.
"In the end, it served a good purpose!"
Going left is one option, and going right is another.
Zhang Xuezhou was originally heading left, but with the help of luck and other factors, his direction changed to right.
"It seems I've unintentionally succeeded in targeting you!"
When Zhang Xuezhou thought of the replicated power that appeared in Huang Shi 'Zhang Xuezhou mind, he felt that the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon were so powerful that he had no solution.
No matter what he cultivates, the other person will know it, and their level will even be several levels higher than his.
No matter how hard Zhang Xuezhou tried, he was still inferior to his opponent.
This is not difficult to understand; the two sides have completely different levels of understanding.
Although Zhang Xuezhou was quite outstanding, the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon was a great cultivator who had lived for countless years.
He could only be considered an excellent primary school student at best, while the other party had already graduated from university. Even if the other party's aptitude in some aspects was not as good as Zhang Xuezhou's, the other party's experience was much greater and stronger, and he could easily answer difficult questions that Zhang Xuezhou could not answer, which made the other party seem to be better than Zhang Xuezhou in everything.
This was an extremely futile resistance, which made Zhang Xuezhou repeatedly consider fighting to the death rather than letting the other side gain an advantage.
At that moment, Zhang Xuezhou realized that he had actually won a battle by sheer luck.
He was not seriously injured at this time, while the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon was under the influence of Zuo Luo's control, resulting in him being imprisoned.