The Decline of a Legacy

"Unlucky!"

The rigid mounts moved tirelessly, like machines.

With his hair clinging to the horse's belly, Hongku finally mounted the horse and rode alongside Zhang Xuezhou.

He couldn't help but spit out a curse, clearly showing that Hongku was quite dissatisfied with his trip to Huainan.

"What's so unlucky about it? Did you get beaten up or something?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"Does hearing that you got beaten up make you feel any better?" Hongku replied.

"I always said that we spellcasters are not suited to showing our faces in public, so please don't be too high-profile," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"I'm very low-key!"

Hongku replied to Zhang Xuezhou with great dissatisfaction.

He didn't really want to talk to Zhang Xuezhou, since he was able to come to Huainan thanks to Zhang Xuezhou, who helped him verify whether the cultivators in Huainan were practicing the Southern Bright Flame.

Before he could find out anything about the Southern Fire, Hongku discovered that the Huainan Kingdom had produced a whole host of remarkable things.

This group of people can not only turn water into meat, but also Turning Stone into Gold, and the fall of the star into Huainan also brought about an unpredictable series of fortuitous opportunity.

For various reasons, Hongku stayed in Shouchun City a little longer, and his Yangpo incarnation was also shattered by the King of Huainan's two swords.

Although he was a venerable figure from a Sacred Land, Hongku's current strength was truly insufficient to deal with the pursuit of Tian You and his group.

No different from Zhang Xuezhou, Hongku was flexible and resilient, and he did not hesitate at all when it came to buying his life.

"And why did you come to Huainan?" Hongku frowned and asked, "Did you follow me the moment I left Chang'an City?"

"Teacher, what are you saying? Do you think I'm that kind of person?" Zhang Xuezhou shook his head repeatedly and said, "I heard that a group of my fellow villagers were arrested by the King of Huainan's Household, so I came to take a look!"

"You're too fast!" Hongku said.

"Thanks to the generous gifts of Venerables White Bone and Black Mountain, I received the Black and White Horses. My cousin and I rode here quite fast," Zhang Xuezhou said, shaking his head. "Even if you had started a day earlier, our journey to Huainan would have been similar to yours."

"You little thing, you transformed into my appearance and used magic to deceive Lingbao. White Bone and Black Mountain have asked me about those two mounts countless times over the years, and each time it has left me embarrassed and speechless," Hongku complained.

"Then you should be grateful that I took the bullet for you, otherwise you would have been killed by the Jiu Feng Demon King long ago," Zhang Xuezhou said.

The situation was one when Zhang Xuezhou and Hongku were exchanging ideas in Chang'an City, but it was another when they encountered risks in the wild.

Zhang Xuezhou knew very well that Hongku had suffered a great loss this time and was likely trying to use the Black and White Twin Horses to avoid disaster.

Zhang Xuezhou was worried that it would take a long time for a large group of people to ride to Chang'an City, and that the journey would be quite risky.

Without official documents from the imperial court, it would be difficult for Rong Tianding to drive his mounts on the road without any obstacles, and he could not use the official roads to travel freely. Moreover, these rigid mounts had a high mortality rate in the short term, and they might all die halfway through the journey. The journey also involved many middle-aged and elderly women who needed to eat and rest.

Zhang Xuezhou will inevitably return to Chang'an City before returning to the real world, to avoid becoming a burden to the team.

For various reasons, Hongku was eyeing Zhang Xuezhou's precious child, while Zhang Xuezhou was also hoping Hongku would help him, so that Rong Tianding wouldn't have to lead the team alone and face too much difficulty.

"Where are your black and white horses?" Hongku asked.

"The journey to Huainan was long, and it dissipated after use," Zhang Xuezhou waved his hand and said, "We can only refine it back into its original form after returning to Chang'an City!"

"Oh!"

Hongku replied in disappointment.

Although the Black and White Horses were spiritual treasures used by Venerables White Bone and Black Mountain for many years, Hongku really didn't know the ins and outs of this Spirit Artifact.

Zhang Xuezhou casually made up a few things, and Hongku didn't doubt it much. After all, Zhang Xuezhou wasn't hiding any treasures, but rather he could refine them again after returning to Chang'an City.

"That horse is pretty fast," Hongku sourly.

"Absolutely!" Zhang Xuezhou exclaimed excitedly, "If you don't compare it to the Flying Leap, the Black and White Twin Horses are arguably the best travel Law Treasure in the world!"

"The best in the world may not be so," Hongku said. "There are always people more capable than you, and there's always something beyond your understanding. There must be a treasure that surpasses the Black and White Twin Horses!"

"Anyway, I haven't seen a better treasure than the black and white twin horses," Zhang Xuezhou waved his hand and said, "These two horses can be ridden interchangeably, traveling a thousand li by day and eight hundred li by night, which means they can cover two thousand li in a day, and even at night it won't delay our journey!"

"You've exaggerated by two hundred miles," Hongku said.

Don't worry about such details!

Seeing that Hongku was in high spirits, Zhang Xuezhou figured that Hongku was most likely going to ask for the treasure.

In the past, Hongku might have been wary of the two Venerables White Bone and Black Mountain, having left hidden traps in the treasures, but Zhang Xuezhou has been using the Black and White Twin Horses for so many years without suffering any harm.

If you think things through, you'll lower your guard.

Having Hongku and not having a Hongku are obviously two different things. Zhang Xuezhou can run around aimlessly with this Spirit Artifact, Hongku will definitely be even more powerful once he gets his hands on it.

However, figuring out how to make an exchange with Zhang Xuezhou was a real headache for Hongku. After all, treasures can't be used just by snatching them; a magical Spirit Artifact without an incantation is just a tribute that can only be looked at but not used.

Zhang Xuezhou spoke with great enthusiasm, while Hongku was lost in thought.

"It's done. I've led Tian You down another path. From now on, as long as we follow the direction I point out, we won't run into him again!"

While the two were lost in their own thoughts, they heard Jin Chang's voice coming from behind.

Under the sunlight, Jin Chang peeked out from the shadow of his mount.

After briefly recounting the consequences of his actions, he pointed at Zhang Xuezhou, and then at Hongku.

"I've come to collect my payment!"

Jin Chang pondered for three seconds, and finally decided to ask Hongku for it first.

Although Jin Chang needed the Yin Yang Great Compassion Nine Heavens Incantation, Jin Chang was genuinely afraid that Hongku would run away, since Hongku was not as easy to find as Zhang Xuezhou.

"I want the kind of technique you described that allows me to become invisible and fly," Jin Chang said.

"Your technique allows you to become invisible and run in the shadows, which completely surpasses ours," Hongku. "Practicing this technique won't bring you any benefit; it will only waste your cultivation time!"

"You're not my senior brother, what business is it of yours!"

Jin Chang replied irritably.

As Hongku said, the technique Hongku demonstrated overlapped with Jin Chang's Following Like a Shadow Technique, but Hongku did not understand what this meant for Jin Chang.

The emergence of this technique not only troubled the Great Han Dynasty and the King of Huainan's Household, but also posed a huge challenge to the Yin-Yang School School's Nine People Sect.

If the Mohists mechanical arts and the Yin-Yang School Puppet Technique each have their own merits, then the Yang Soul Transformation Technique completely surpasses the Following Like a Shadow Technique.

The Nine People Sect was the faction within the Yin-Yang School responsible for warfare. When its most advantageous techniques could be replaced by other schools, this faction lost its reason for survival.

Moreover, Jin Chang was well aware of the hardships he had endured while cultivating the Nine People Sect's Technique Method. Seeing that Hongku could achieve mastery in just a few years, and even engage in large-scale cultivation, he realized that the threshold for cultivation was far lower than that of the Following Like a Shadow Technique.

There's a reason why Zhang Xuezhou's Shadow Follower Technique is so bad. This technique requires talent as well as years of arduous practice; it's not something that can be mastered overnight.

If there were any technique that possessed the advantages of the Following Like a Shadow Technique, and could be practiced quickly and smoothly, it would mean that the Yin-Yang School of thought was becoming outdated.

Jin Chang wasn't particularly interested in cultivation, but he couldn't bear the thought of the Yin-Yang School's lineage disappearing in the future.

Either the Nine People Sect will be eliminated in the future, or they will try their best to integrate, in order to secure a future for themselves and for the future of the Yin-Yang School.

No matter what Hongku says, Jin Chang will choose to cultivate, even prioritizing this cultivation over the fusion of Yin and Yang Realm Technique.